Formal Employment and Health-Related Quality of Life among People Living with HIV in South Africa

This study examined the link between formal employment and characteristics of the workplace (especially awareness of workplace HIV policies and HIV status disclosure to work colleagues) and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) among people living with HIV (PLHIV). The study analysed medical treatment and employment history since first being diagnosed as HIV-positive among 554 adults, 55 % females, who had been on HIV treatment for at least 2 years in South Africa. Additional cross-sectional data on HRQoL were collected using the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short Form (SF-36) (QualityMetric Incorporated). Two hundred and forty four (44 %) of the study participants (39 % and 49 % among males and females, respectively) were formally employed at the study interview. Formally employed study participants reported higher HRQoL than those not formally employed, as reflected in mean scores in the physical and mental component summaries of the SF-36 instrument. HRQoL was unrelated to study participants’ CD4 count, viral load and duration since HIV diagnosis. Among the formally employed study participants, 27.9 % reported awareness of workplace HIV policies in their organisations, while 50.8 % said they had disclosed their HIV status to work colleagues. The awareness of workplace HIV policies was associated with higher mental component summary scores after controlling for study participants’ socio-demographic characteristics, but had no significant association with the physical component summary scores. The disclosure of HIV status to work colleagues was associated with neither mental nor physical component summary scores. The finding of a positive association between formal employment and HRQoL among PLHIV suggest the need for facilitative interventions for employment entry and continuation among PLHIV for their wellbeing.     

Love in cross-cultural perspective: Mozambique-France comparison

The study aimed to characterise the conceptualisation of love in Mozambique (a collectivist society) and France (an individualistic society) on three attributes: passion, intimacy, and commitment. The study sample comprised 310 Mozambican adults (females = 57%; age range = 18-64) and 220 French adults (females = 54%; age range = 18-64). They completed 27 information scenarios on passion, intimacy, and commitment. The data were analysed utilising mixed-method estimation of the variance accounted for by the three components of love. Results indicated that for the Mozambican participants passion was the most important factor (46%) in love expression, followed by commitment (37%), and intimacy (17%). For the French participants, passion was the most important factor (50%), followed by intimacy (28%), and commitment (22%). Across countries, the weight given to passion was reported to decline over age while the weight assigned to commitment was reported to increase with age.     

Australian Norms and Retest Data for the Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test

This article presents normative data for the Rey Auditory and Verbal Learning Test (RAVLT). A representative sample of 390 healthy young adults aged between 18 and 34 living within the Sydney metropolitan area, Australia, completed Form AB of the RAVLT as part of the Macquarie University Neurological Normative Study. Retest data were collected from a subsample of 98 participants after an interval of 1 year. Norms were derived for commonly used measures of the RAVLT and are presented for the whole sample as well as separately for males and females with different levels of education. Age was not found to impact significantly on test performance for this group of young adults, and therefore age‐adjusted norms are not provided. An excel program to calculate RAVLT standard scores (mean of 10 and standard deviation of 3) can be downloaded from http://www.psy.mq.edu.au/RAVLT . Poor test–retest reliability raises concerns about the use of the RAVLT in clinical diagnosis.     

The effects of sexual permissiveness,target gender,subject gender,and attitude toward women on social perception: In search of the double standard

The sexual double standard, if held by perceivers, should result in more negative evaluations of sexually permissive females than males. Previous research on the double standard has generally ignored this normative issue, and has instead relied on self-report methods to measure personal sexual behavior and the stated limits of acceptable behavior for others. Male and female subjects, either liberal or traditional in their sex role attitudes, were exposed to a male or female target of one of four levels of sexual permissiveness. On most scales, representing a wide range of social judgments, there was no evidence of a sexual double standard. Limited evidence emerged in that male, but not female, subjects may have exhibited a double standard in their ratings of how sexual the target was. In addition, liberal males and traditional females rated female targets who had casual sex as less agreeable than comparable male targets. Despite the general absence of a double-standard effect, sexual permissiveness affected ratings such that more permissive targets were judged as less moral, less conventional, more assertive, more sexual, marginally more likable and less conforming. The findings are discussed in terms of the double standard, the effects of sexual permissiveness on social perception, and gender differences in perceiving sexuality.     

Sex in the Media,Sex on the Mind: Linking Television Use,Sexual Permissiveness,and Sexual Concept Accessibility in Memory

The present study explores the interrelationships between emerging adults’ exposure to sexual depictions on mainstream television, their attitudes toward sexually permissive behaviors, and the salience (accessibility) of concepts related to sexual activity in their implicit memory. Findings indicate a small but significant relationship between increased exposure to sex on television and increased favoring of sexually permissive behaviors, when taking sexual concept accessibility into account. When taking television exposure into account, young adults who held stronger sexually permissive attitudes found it easier to access concepts of sexual activity in memory, suggesting these ideas were top-of-mind for these participants, compared to participants scoring lower on permissiveness. However, there was no direct connection between exposure to sex on television and accessibility of sexual activity in memory when accounting for permissive attitudes, suggesting that sexual permissiveness is at the center of any link between exposure and accessibility. Implications for examining sexual permissiveness as a lens for structuring sexual information in memory, as well as implications for designing sexual health messages are discussed in light of the findings.     

Associations Among Family Structure,Demographics, and Adolescent Perceived Life Satisfaction

Relationships between perceived life satisfaction and family structure were examined among 5,021 public high school adolescents using the self-report CDC Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS). Adjusted multiple logistic regression analyses and multivariate models (via SUDAAN) constructed separately, revealed significant race by gender effects. Living with other relatives, non-relatives, or guardians was significantly related (p < .01) to reported life dissatisfaction for all race and gender groups, except black males. However, white females and males living with both parents were significantly less likely (p < .001) to report dissatisfaction with life. Black females living with their mothers only were also significantly less likely (p < .001) to report dissatisfaction with life while black males living with their fathers only and white females living with their mother and another adult/adults were significantly more likely (p < .01) to report dissatisfaction with life. Differing family structures appear to exert disparate effects for life satisfaction on adolescents as a function of race and/or gender. Thus, a particular health promotion intervention may not benefit all adolescents. Intervention efforts must be tailored to adolescents’ specific race and gender characteristics.     

Exploring the links between gender,dwelling, and career orientations of African emerging adults

The study explored the socio-ecological (i.e. gender and geographical location) influences on the career orientations of emerging adults. The participants comprised a convenience sample of 159 black African South African university students (57% rural, 43% urban; 63% females, 37% males; mean age = 19.0, SD = 2.24). The emerging adults completed a career orientations inventory and also self-reported their demographics. We applied hierarchical regression analysis to predict the emerging adults’ career orientations from their gender and place of dwelling (geographical location) controlling for age. Results indicate that gender predicts interest in entrepreneurial creativity orientations for males rather than for females, and interest in service-oriented occupations for females compared to males. Geographical location predicted interest in entrepreneurial, general management, and service type of occupations for those from the rural rather than urban areas. Urban location predicted interest in technical and functional careers anchors. Career orientations among South African emerging adults appeared to be gendered and tied to place of geographical origin, suggesting social context socialisation influences.     

Alcohol Use,Problem Drinking and Health Risk Factors Among South African Youths

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence and associated factors of problem drinking among South African youth (18–24 years). A cross-sectional population-based household survey was conducted using a multi-stage stratified cluster sampling approach. The total sample included 3123 participants (age range 18–24 years, 45.4% women) from four of nine provinces in South Africa. Results indicate that current alcohol was relatively more common among male (40.7%) than female youths (21.3%). Similarly, hazardous or harmful drinking was more prevalent among males (24.3%) than among women (12.9%). In multivariable analyses among men and women high on sexually permissiveness had hazardous or harmful alcohol use. Lifestyle including high peer pressure, and spending more nights away in a week were associated with hazardous or harmful alcohol use.     

Youths’ attributions for power-related gender differences: nature,nurture, or God?

This study examined beliefs about power-related gender traits among 73 early adolescents in middle school (M age=12.5), 84 late adolescents in high school (M age=16.1), and 111 young adults in college (M age=20.9). Males believed that men had more dominant traits than female participants, and females thought that women had more submissive traits than male participants. Older participants perceived more gender differentiation for these traits than younger participants. Youths believed most strongly in social explanations for differences, followed by biological and religious explanations, although there were age and sex differences in responses. Findings suggest that religious and biological attributions decrease between early adolescence and adulthood for both males and females, but that social attributions increase for females only. Religious attributions were linked to traditional attitudes towards women, social attributions were linked to egalitarian attitudes, while biological attributions were linked to traditional attitudes for males only.     

Is there a Relationship between Family Structure and Substance Use among Public Middle School Students?

We investigated the relationship between family structure and substance use in a sample of 2,138 public middle school students in a southern state. The CDC Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey was utilized and adjusted logistic regression models were created separately for four race/gender categories (African American females/males, and Caucasian females/males) to examine associations among selected drug use variables (tobacco, alcohol, marijuana and inhalants). Analyses were adjusted for social economic status. Results suggested differences (p ≤ .05) among race/gender groups for the protective effect of living in an intact family (both mother and father, real or adoptive) regarding substance use among middle school students. In addition, family structure appeared to have a stronger relationship with substance use for Caucasians as opposed to African American adolescents. Caucasian adolescents living in cohabitated family households were more likely to report substance use, when compared to those living in intact two-parent households. Adolescents who are undergoing parental divorce may need special attention as they transition into new family structures.     

Perceived social image and life satisfaction across cultures

We studied the relationship between perceived social image and life satisfaction in four different cultural groups. One-hundred nine Indian (63 females, 46 males), 67 Pakistani/Bangladeshi (36 females, 31 males), 76 White British (43 females, 33 males), and 94 European Americans (43 females, 48 males) completed measures on the cultural importance of social image, positive and negative emotions, academic achievement, and perceived social image. Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants valued social image more than White British and European-American participants. Consistent with this value difference, a positive perceived social image predicted life satisfaction among Indian and Pakistani/Bangladeshi participants only. For these participants, perceived social image predicted life satisfaction above and beyond the effects of emotions and academic achievement. Academic achievement only predicted life satisfaction among White British and European Americans. Emotions were significant predictors of life satisfaction for all participants.     

Childbirth and Alcohol Consumption Impact of Recent Childbirth on Alcohol Consumption

While the devastating effects of parental alcohol use on children’s health are well known, the specific impact of childbirth on parental alcohol consumption has rarely been examined in the general population. We sought to examine patterns of alcohol use associated with childbirth. Data were drawn from the US National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. We compared successively the characteristics of alcohol use among females living with a child under 1 year with (i) those of females not living with children under 1 year and (ii) those of females living with an older child. Mean daily ethanol intake was lower among females living with a child under 1 than among females either not living with children under 1 year (p?<?0.001) or living with an older child (p?<?0.01). Moreover, low-to-mild drinking frequencies fell among females living with a child under 1, compared with females either not living with children under 1 year (adjusted odds ratio (AOR)?=?0.56; 95% CI [0.40, 0.80] for at least once a month and AOR?=?0.40; 95% CI [0.27, 0.58] for less than once a month) or living with an older child (AOR?=?0.52; 95% CI [0.36, 0.75] for at least once a month and AOR?=?0.66, 95% CI [0.46, 0.94] for less than a month). No significant difference was found for males. Our study suggests that childbirth, as opposed to motherhood per se, reduces several (though not all) dimensions of alcohol consumption in females, but not in males.     

Do Affiliative and Autonomous Styles Relate to Peer Relational Victimization and Aggression?

This study considers whether established depressogenic personal styles based on Beck’s theory of autonomy and sociotropy relate to peer relational victimization and aggression. A diverse emerging adult sample was administered a computer-based survey. Latent profile analysis revealed affiliative, autonomous, and more balanced personal styles. Autonomous and affiliative style participants reported greater peer relational aggression than balanced style participants. Peer relational victimization mediated autonomous style differences in peer relational aggression. Additionally, peer relational victimization mediated the affiliative style difference in peer relational aggression among males and depressed females. Finally, the effect of peer relational victimization on relational aggression was greatest among depressed affiliative and depressed autonomous adults. Results highlight the potential that personal styles relate to depression risk pathways for peer relational victimization and aggression.     

Gender differences in the psychosocial correlates of suicidal ideation among adolescents.

Gender differences in the psychosocial correlates of suicidal ideation were studied. A sample of 613 high school students (ages 14-19) completed measures of suicidal ideation, depression, hopelessness, life stress, loneliness, alcohol and drug use, and reasons for living. The results of a discriminant function analysis indicated that males reported higher loneliness and substance abuse scores than females whereas females reported greater suicidal ideation, depression, and reasons for living. The results of multiple regression analyses found that, although the same four variables, depression, hopelessness, substance abuse, and few reasons for living emerged as significant predictors of suicidal ideation in both samples, the predictive equation accounted for more of the variance in ideation scores in females (57%) than in males (46%). In a final analysis a discriminant function analysis of the subscales of the reasons for living inventory revealed that females have a greater fear of death and injury whereas males have a greater fear of social disapproval over having suicidal thoughts. This may account for the greater rate of suicide completing among males. Fear of social disapproval, more anger and impulsivity, and less help-seeking behavior among males are offered as potential variables to explain the observed gender differences.     

Eternal Connection: An Exploratory Study of the Effects of Learning About Near-Death Experiences on Adult Grief

We examined the effectiveness of a near-death experience (NDE) psychoeducational group bereavement intervention in reducing distressing aspects and enhancing a growth aspect of grief among bereaved adults. Participants were 22 females and 2 males (2 African American, 3 Asian, 2 Latina/o, and 17 White non-Latina/o) ranging in age from 20 to 71, with a mean age of 35.3 years. In this experimental design, we randomly assigned 12 participants to the experimental group and 12 participants to the waitlist control group. Effect size findings based on Hogan Grief Reaction Checklist scores indicated modest to substantial benefits of the NDE learning module intervention for bereaved adults in the form of decreased panic behavior, blame and anger, and detachment and increased personal growth. Conclusions include that further research into the effectiveness of NDE-related psychoeducational programs with bereaved individuals is warranted.     

Centrality of Religiosity of Relationships for Affectionate and Sexual Behaviors Among Emerging Adults

Emerging adults’ religiosity has been consistently linked with less participation in sexual behaviors as supported by cognitive dissonance theory. However, this association may be different when examining centrality of religiosity of relationships (CRR), meaning participating in and discussing religiosity and spirituality with a current or anticipated romantic partner. The goal of this study is to examine the influence of CRR for emerging adults’ affectionate and sexual behaviors. Additionally, we test if the association between CRR and affectionate and sexual behaviors varies by gender, given males’ more positive attitudes towards sexual behaviors compared to females. Data for this study comes from 284 emerging adults, ages 18 to 29 (mean age = 20.9 years; 70.1% female) from an area in the Midwestern United States. Results illustrated that CRR is negatively associated with affectionate behaviors, intimate touching behaviors, oral sex behaviors, and sexual (vaginal) intercourse. Additionally, gender significantly moderated these relationships. Male participants reporting low levels of CRR conveyed significantly higher participation with these sexual behaviors compared to males reporting high levels of CRR, whereas CRR did not appear to significantly alter female participants’ engagement with these sexual behaviors. These findings provide some evidence that CRR contributes to males’ romantic development and that CRR may increase intimacy in females’ romantic relationships, which could promote sexual activity. Other implications for religious and sexual development are discussed.     

An exploration of the attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of body image among male and female adolescents from six Latin American cities

Using survey methodology, this exploratory study examined the attitudinal and perceptual dimensions of body image among 1,272 eighth- and ninth-grade males and females from higher and lower socioeconomic backgrounds in Buenos Aires, Argentina (n = 195), Guatemala City, Guatemala (n = 212), Havana, Cuba (n = 213), Lima, Peru (n = 218), Panama City, Panama (n = 195), and Santiago, Chile (n = 239). The two dimensions of body image were assessed by showing the participants nine male and nine female silhouettes depicting body sizes ranging from extremely thin (#1) to extremely obese (#9). Approximately 50% of the male and female adolescents chose silhouette #3 as best depicting the attractive male body. Silhouette #2 was chosen by 45% of the females as best depicting feminine attractiveness, while 45% of the males chose silhouette #3. When identifying the silhouette that best depicted the healthy male body, 26% of the participants chose silhouette #2, 41% chose #3, and 19% chose #4. Silhouette #2 was selected by 33% of the adolescents as best depicting the healthy female body, 38% chose #3, and 14% chose #4. In all cities, the effect of body mass index (BMI) on body satisfaction was highly significant (p < 0.001). Almost 40% of the middle weight adolescents indicated a preference to be thinner, even though 72% of the males and 84% of the females in this subgroup already perceived themselves as thin. Similarly, 89% of the heavier weight participants indicated a preference to be thinner, even though only 10% of the males and 2% of the females in this subgroup perceived themselves as heavy. In five of the six cities, a significantly higher (p < 0.05) percentage of females than males desired to be thinner, the exception being Havana, where the distribution of desired change in body size was almost identical for males and females. Findings suggest a need for culturally sensitive, age- and gender-specific preventive interventions focusing on the importance of achieving a healthy weight during adolescence to promote body size acceptance among adolescents who are at a healthy weight.     

Beyond Similarities: Cross-Gender and Cross-Orientation Best Friendship in a Sample of Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Young Adults

The research investigates differences between heterosexual (n?=?714) and lesbian and gay men (n?=?386) young adults regarding best friendship patterns, well-being, and social anxiety. Based on data from a paper-pencil survey of 1,100 Italian young adults aged 18 to 26, this study underlines the importance of the best friend in young adults’ psychological adjustment, highlighting patterns of friendship in heterosexual and lesbian and gay men young adults. Overall, the majority of participants declared that they had best friends; in the total sample, significant differences were found between women and men, and between lesbian/gay men participants and heterosexual young adults. Lesbian and gay men participants reported more cross-gender best friendships than heterosexual participants did, as well as more cross-orientation best friendships. Gender differences were found only with regards to cross-gender friendships: gay men reported more cross-gender friendships than lesbians did, while heterosexual females reported a higher percentage of cross-gender best friendship than heterosexual males did. MANOVA analysis, only in the gay and lesbian sample, showed the effect of gender, cross-gender, and cross-orientation on well-being and social anxiety. For the well-being dimension, gay men participants with female best friends reported higher scores. In terms of social anxiety, lesbian and gay young adults with cross-gender and cross-orientation best friends reported lower levels of social anxiety.     

Age- and sex-related differences in temporal judgments to visual stimuli: support for hemispheric equivalence

Light-emitting diodes in avisual half-field display were employed to examine hemispheric asymmetries in temporal resolution among young and older adults. Participants judged whether pairs of spatially separated diodes were illuminated simultaneously. No visual field threshold differences emerged for either age group, thus supporting hemispheric equivalence. Older adults had significantly higher thresholds than did younger adults, regardless of spatial location. The results further revealed that older females had significantly higher thresholds than did older males, younger males, and younger females. The results further revealed sex differences, favoring females, when interhemispheric transfer times (IHTTs) were examined for a central bilateral presentation. However, sex effects were not revealed when IHTTs were examined for a peripheral bilatepresentation, indicating a disadvantage forolder females.     

Family Functioning Moderating the Effects of Childhood Sexual Abuse on Memory Specificity

The main goal of this study was to investigate if adults sexually abused as children who were raised in a functional family are more able to generate specific autobiographical memories and suffer fewer depressive symptoms than sexually abused adults who were raised in a dysfunctional family. We found that abused males retrieved fewer specific memories than nonabused males, abused females, and nonabused females. The three latter groups did not differ from each other. Further, childhood sexual abuse did not predict depression among males and females. After accounting for family functioning, there were no group differences regarding memory specificity. Functional families appear to have beneficial effects on the adjustment of male victims of childhood sexual abuse.