Self-Objectification Among Physically Active Women

Objectification Theory (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997) was used to examine (a) the mediation effects of body shame and flow on the relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating, (b) age differences in self-objectification, body shame, flow, and disordered eating, (c) the prediction of physical activity from self-objectification, flow, body shame, and disordered eating, and (d) the relationships between self-objectification, flow, and physical activity. Participants were 394 women ages 18–64. Results revealed that (a) body shame mediated the relationship between self-objectification and disordered eating, (b) younger women reported higher levels of self-objectification, body shame, dieting, and several flow characteristics, (c) older women scored higher on the loss of self-consciousness subscale of the flow measure, and (d) self-objectification was a significant predictor of physical activity.This article is based on the authors doctoral dissertation, which was completed at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro under the direction of Daniel Gould.     

Perceived Job Characteristics and Job Satisfaction among Men and Women

This study analyzes relationships between intrinsic and extrinsic job characteristics and overall job satisfaction among men and women. Zeroorder correlation and multiple regression analyses ascertain the relationships between eight perceived job characteristics and job satisfaction among a national probability sample of 1,533 workers. The results reveal similar patterns of relationships between perceived job characteristics and job satisfaction for men and women indicating that they require similar job characteristics to be satisfied with their jobs.     

Note on the Perceived Occupational Future of Physically Disabled College Students

How do physically disabled college students perceive their occupational future? The findings indicate that although the vast majority of students held high career aspirations, many sensed that their career goals may be unattainable. The findings also show that nearly three out of four respondents preferred a career that involved working with people. At the same time, most wanted to work for either a large or small business rather than an educational institution or state or federal governmental agency.     

The Frequency and Perceived Impact of Engaging in In-Person and Cyber Unwanted Pursuit after Relationship Break-Up among College Men and Women

The present study examined the extent of cyber and in-person unwanted pursuit behaviors (UPBs) reported by undergraduate men and women who pursued former partners and the pursuer’s perceptions of the impact of their pursuit on their targets. Among a sample of 1167 undergraduates (66.8 % women; 95.4 % heterosexual) approximately 80 % of men and women reported engaging in UPBs toward former partners, with cyber pursuit endorsed by a subset of those who engaged in in-person UPBs. Despite few gender differences in overall pursuit, men endorsed engaging in a number of specific behaviors more than did women. Most UPBs did receive responses from targets, and pursuers generally did not perceive their behaviors as annoying, threatening, or frightening. Women perceived that targets had more negative responses to UPBs, particularly to threatening or violent pursuit, and men perceived more positive or neutral responses overall. Minor UPBs were associated with relationship reconciliation among women and men, whereas severe UPBs were associated with reconciliation among men only. Results suggest that pursuers likely underestimate the impact of their behaviors on targets and that pursuers’ efforts, even severe and threatening, are often reinforced, particularly for men who pursue. Universities must be aware of UPBs and provide prevention programs specific to healthy relationship dissolution and pursuit. Provision of corrective information regarding the impact of severe and threatening pursuit may assist in reducing these behaviors.     

Cross-Cultural Comparisons of the Perceived Importance of Conversational Constraints

This study investigates how cultural groups may differ in their perceptions about preferred communication behavior. It focuses on the importance attached to “conversational constraints” in conversation. For the primary goal of requesting, the following five conversational constraints are identified: (a) concern for clarity, (b) concern for avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings, (c) concern for nonimposition, (d) concern for avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, and (e) concern for effectiveness. Five hypotheses are formulated regarding the relationships between individualistic-collectivistic orientation (an important dimension of“culture”) and these five conversational constraints. Data were collected from 892 participants (undergraduates studying in Korea, Hawaii, and the mainland United States). After being presented at random with one of the six request situations, participants rated the perceived importance of each conversational constraint in that situation. The results indicate that the perceived importance of clarity was higher in the more individualistic cultures. On the other hand, the perceived importance of avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings and of minimizing imposition were higher in the more collectivistic cultures. The perceived importance of effectiveness and of avoiding negative evaluation by the hearer, on the other hand, did not significantly differ across the three cultural groups. Theoretical as well as practical implications are discussed.     

The Representation of Mortality Statistics and the Perceived Importance of Causes of Death

This study investigated how different methods of presenting mortality statistics may influence subjective impressions of the importance of a given cause of death. Subjects were 214 students from the fifth year of a comprehensive school (average age 15). Each subject rated one of six causes of death on a scale labeled "extremely minor–extremely major cause of death" before and after receiving accurate information concerning the number of deaths per annum in the United Kingdom resulting from the cause in question. This information was presented in one of five forms: (a) a statement of what proportion of all deaths resulted from the specified cause; (b) a statement of what percentage of all deaths were so caused; (c) a pie chart representing the proportion pictorially; (d) a bar chart representing the proportion pictorially; and (e) a statement of absolute number of deaths from the specified cause without information on total number of deaths from all causes combined. Analysis showed that subjects discriminated between the different causes both before and after presentation of the information but their ratings were imperfectly calibrated with actual frequencies. Also, the changes in ratings following the information depended significantly on the mode of presentation. Except when subjects were told the absolute frequency, the changes were in the direction of decrease in perceived importance. This decrease was most marked in the bar chart and pie chart conditions. The data are interpreted in relation to the literature on statistical inference processes and on judgmental contrast.     

Developmental Changes in Response to Frustration among Physically Handicapped Children

Methods of coping with frustration were examined in handicapped and nonhandicapped children at three different age levels, by means of the Rosenzweig P-F Study. While an extrapunitive approach was predominant in both groups and did not differ between the groups, significant differences were found in the use of secondary coping strategies. When compared with nonhandicapped counterparts, handicapped six year olds were more likely to minimize or deny frustration. At 10 years, handicapped Ss were more likely than nonhandicapped Ss to be intropunitive or self-blaming. There was a developmental tendency for handicapped Ss to make greater use of intropunitive responses with increasing age.     

Maternal Interaction Style in Affective Disordered,Physically III,and Normal Women

Affective style (AS) and communication deviance (CD) have been suggested as markers of dysfunctional family environments that may be associated with psychiatric illness. Studies have focused mainly on parental responses during family interactions when an offspring is the identified patient. The present study is unique in examining AS and CD in mothers with unipolar depression, bipolar disorder, or chronic physical illness, and in normal controls. The sample consisted of 64 mothers with children ages 8 to 16. Unipolar mothers were more likely to show negative AS than were any other maternal group. There were no group differences for CD. Chronic stress, few positive life events, and single parenting were associated with AS. CD was associated solely with lower socioeconomic status. Results suggest that dysfunctional interactions are determined not only by maternal psychopathology, but also by an array of contextual factors that are related to the quality of the family environment.     

A Test of the Expanded Tripartite Dual Pathway Model in Physically Active Korean Men

Sex Roles - The notion that having body-related problems is a female-oriented issue ignores that men also are pressured to have an ideal body, resulting in body image concerns and problems among...     

The Role of Trait Self-Objectification in Smoking among College Women

Self-objectification, which is the internalization of an observer’s perspective of the self, has been related to restrained and disordered eating patterns and depression. Because disordered eating and depression are known co-factors for smoking, we tested the possible involvement of trait self-objectification in the relationship between these mental health dimensions and smoking in a sample of 130 college women smokers and non-smokers. As hypothesized, we found that trait self-objectification mediated the relationship between smoking status and dieting and disordered eating behaviors. There were no significant differences in depression between smokers and non-smokers, which limited further exploration of the relationship. Implications for trait self-objectification as relevant to women’s weight-control smoking and the relevance of self-objectification to other health behaviors are discussed.     

The Effects of Perceived Supervisor Support,Perceived Organizational Support,and Organizational Justice on Turnover among Salespeople

This study examined effects of three dimensions of organizational justice on salesperson perceived organizational support (POS), perceived supervisor support (PSS), performance, and actual salesperson turnover in a business-to-business setting using a sample of 384 salespeople. Results indicated that PSS is an indirect predictor of turnover intentions through POS and performance. Organizational commitment mediated the relationship between POS and turnover intentions. Procedural justice had a direct, positive influence on performance. Distributive justice, procedural justice, and interactional justice were indirect predictors of turnover through other variables. The salesperson’s performance was related directly to both turnover intentions and turnover.     

Perceived Sexism, Self-Silencing, and Psychological Distress in College Women

The current study aimed to increase knowledge related to the role of a restrictive relational strategy in the well-established link between women’s experiences of sexism and psychological distress. Utilizing self-report data, this study examined whether self-silencing mediated the relationship between perceived sexism and psychological distress in a sample of U.S. college women (n?=?143) from a large, Midwestern university. It was hypothesized that recent sexist events, lifetime sexist events, and self-silencing would predict increased psychological distress and that self-silencing would mediate the relationship between perceived sexism and distress. Higher recalled sexist events both within the past year and over a lifetime predicted increased psychological distress and self-silencing, while self-silencing predicted increased distress. Results from hierarchical multivariate regression analyses and bootstrapping supported the mediating role of self-silencing between lifetime sexist events and distress and between recent (i.e., occurring in the past year) sexist events and distress. Findings support that the adoption of a restrictive relational strategy partially explains the negative psychological consequences of perceived sexism for college women.     

Depression in Women with Heart Disease: The Importance of Social Role Performance and Spirituality

Compared with men, women are more likely to experience depression, and depression increases risk of morbidity and mortality in individuals with heart disease. Psychosocial interventions have been developed for depressed patients with heart disease; however, women's experience of chronic disease differs from men's and women may benefit from interventions tailored to address their difficulties. Spirituality and social roles have been related to depressive symptoms in other populations. To identify the relationship between depression and spirituality and social role performance (i.e., role concerns, role rewards and confidence in ability to fulfill roles) in women with heart disease, we assessed depressive symptoms, spirituality, social role functioning and medical history in 125 women with heart disease. After controlling for age and severity of medical conditions, spirituality, role confidence and role concerns were significantly associated with depressive symptoms. Consideration of spirituality and aspects of social role performance may be important when developing psychosocial interventions for depressed women with heart disease.     

Career Goals of College Women and Men and Perceived Achievement-Related Encouragement

Encouragements and discouragements for achievement-related behavior were reported in an interview setting by three groups of college seniors: Career women (n = 20), career men (n = 20), and traditional women (n = 19). Career women reported significantly more encouragement from teachers, family members (except parents), and significant others of the opposite sex than did either career men or traditional women. Career women also reported more encouragement from counselors and friends, while career men reported more encouragement from parents; however, these differences were not significant. Career women reported a significantly higher grade point average than either of the other groups. Implications of the results for the achievement behavior of women and men are considered.     

Validation of the German Version of the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory for Women and its Application in a Sample of Sexually and Physically Abused Women

Results regarding the association between global self-esteem and sexual behavior suggest the importance of a domain-specific construct—so-called sexual self-esteem (SSE). Prior studies suggested that SSE is malleable and found a negative impact of sexual abuse on SSE. In the present study, the German translation of the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory-Short Form (SSEI-SF) by Zeanah and Schwarz (1996) was validated via an online survey with 557 women and then investigated in a clinical sample of women suffering from PTSD following sexual and physical abuse compared with healthy controls (n = 130). We examined differences in SSE depending on the type of abuse. Confirmatory factor analysis revealed adequate model fit, with acceptable-to-excellent reliability (α = .78–.94) and sound convergent and discriminant validity. As expected, SSEI-SF scores were significantly lower in the clinical sample than those in the healthy control group. Within the clinical sample, there were no significant differences in SSE between clients who had experienced sexual abuse and those who had experienced physical abuse, but a history of sexual abuse was significantly linked to lower SSE and SSE was related to both sexual behavior and sexual satisfaction. In conclusion, our study supports the validity and applicability of the German version of the SSEI-SF. Results regarding the differences in SSE between survivors of abuse and healthy controls contribute to the further understanding of female sexuality and have implications for treatment.     

Heterogeneity of Incentives for Physical Activity and Self-Efficacy in Highly Active and Moderately Active Women Exercisers

The purpose of this investigation was to examine whether persons exercising 2 times per week or less versus 3 times per week or more, with intentions to maintain current level of activity form a homogenous group in terms of motivational features. A group of 86 women recruited from local fitness clubs reported on their exercise incentives, self-efficacy, exercise behavior, and exercise intentions. A discriminant function analysis revealed that self-efficacy and incentives for stress reduction and mental health discriminated highly active from moderately active women. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of stage theory and research in exercise adherence.     

Active Defending and Passive Bystanding Behavior in Bullying: The Role of Personal Characteristics and Perceived Peer Pressure

This study examined the role of pro-victim attitudes, personal responsibility, coping responses to observations of bullying, and perceived peer normative pressure in explaining defending the victim and passive bystanding behavior in bullying. A total of 462 Italian early adolescents (mean age = 13.4 years, SD = 9 months) participated in the study. The behaviors were measured through two informants: each individual student and the teachers. The findings of a series of hierarchical regressions showed that, regardless of the informant, problem solving coping strategies and perceived peer normative pressure for intervention were positively associated with active help towards a bullied peer and negatively related to passivity. In contrast, distancing strategies were positively associated with passive bystanding, whereas they were negatively associated with teacher-reported defending behavior. Moreover, self-reported defending behavior was positively associated with personal responsibility for intervention, but only under conditions of low perceived peer pressure. Finally, the perception of peer pressure for intervention buffered the negative influence of distancing on passive bystanding tendencies. Future directions are discussed.