Cultural Differences in Psychological Distress Between Asian and Caucasian American College Students

The authors examined possible cultural differences in psychological distress between Asian and Caucasion American college students using the Brief Symptom Inventory.     

Sex Differences in Scholastic Ability of Jewish and Arab College Students in Israel

Abstract

Psychological variables that differentiate fast- and slow-progressing small-scale industrial entrepreneurs were studied. Twenty-two different psychosocial variables were reliably measured in 448 industrial entrepreneurs of Punjab, India. Three analyses were undertaken: intergroup comparison for the mean scores for industrial growth obtained after dichotomizing the sample at the median; comparison of the extreme 25% with highest and lowest industrial growth; correlation of the measured variables with growth in industrial productivity. Results showed that high scores on emotional stability, self-assurance, upward striving, potential for change and development, competitiveness, punctuality, hard work, tolerance for work pressure, and education were associated with a fast rate of industrial growth. Tendermindedness, guilt-proneness, anxiety, hoarding tendency, high risk-taking, and traditionality were associated with static or declining industrial growth.     

Gender Differences in American Jewish Identity: Testing the Power Control Theory Explanation

This paper addresses discrepancies in previous research about whether there are gender differences in Jewish identity. Four factors of Jewish identity are examined: multifaceted Jewish engagement, social Jewish identity, communal religious identity, and cultural Jewish identity. Using the 2011 New York Jewish Community Survey, gender differences in Jewish identity in seven denominational groups of American Jews are examined. The power control theory (PCT) is tested as an explanation for the gender differences, and found to be lacking. Measures of power imbalance in current family situations are used, in addition to measures related to socialization; the rationale for this variation is discussed. According to PCT, the Orthodox would exhibit greater gender differences in Jewish identity, but the opposite is true: significant gender differences are found for non-Orthodox denominations more than are found for the Orthodox. Being raised Orthodox does not contribute to the gender differences. Measures of power imbalance within families do not contribute to the explanation of variance in any of the Jewish identity factors. Possible generalization of the findings is discussed, as well as directions for further research.     

An Examination of Race Differences in Patients' Psychological Adjustment to Cancer

Although African Americans are at increased risk of cancer morbidity and mortality, very little is known about their psychological adjustment. African American males may be at especially high psychological risk, considering their disproportionately higher cancer mortality. Subjects were 42 African American and 56 White adults similar in age, cancer stage, marital status, and socioeconomic status. Analyses revealed no significant race or gender effects on global indices of psychological adjustment, depression, or anxiety. However, African Americans were more likely than Whites (a) to use avoidant coping strategies in dealing with the exigencies of their illness, (b) to report more cancer-related disruption in family relations, and (c) to identify fewer individuals in their social support network. No significant race differences were found on a measure of health care satisfaction. These findings highlight the need to provide a more comprehensive examination of individual, family, and socioecological variables and their relationship to psychological adaptation among minorities with cancer.     

Media Use and Adolescent Psychological Adjustment: An Examination of Gender Differences

This study examined media use and psychological adjustment (as indicated by depression and anxiety symptomatology) in a sample of 328 14- to 16-year-old adolescents. Primary goals of the study were to explore whether media use differs by gender, whether media use is related to adolescent psychological problems, and whether media use moderates the relationship between parental alcoholism and adolescent psychological adjustment. Adolescents were surveyed in the spring of 2006, and again one year later. Gender differences in media use were observed with boys spending more time playing video games than girls and girls spending more time talking on the phone than boys. Strikingly, none of the types of media examined was associated with depression or anxiety. Moreover, media use acted as a protective factor for boys. Boys who spent relatively more time playing video games and watching television had the lowest levels of anxiety, especially those from alcoholic homes. The opposite pattern emerged for girls.     

Jewish Identity and the Secular Achievements of American Jewish Men and Women

Three questions are addressed concerning the relationship of Jewish identity to secular achievements. Are the secular achievements of American Jews related at all to the strength of their Jewish identity? Which has a stronger relationship to secular achievement, a religious or an ethnic Jewish identity? Do communal aspects or private, personal aspects of Jewish identity have the stronger relationship to secular achievements? Using the 2000–2001 National Jewish Population Survey, we find that educational attainment, labor force participation, and occupational achievements are related to several expressions of Jewish identity, even after controlling for the traditional sources of variation (age, gender, education, family status). Jewish identity, as expressed in terms of religion, ethnicity, communal commitment, and private attitudes and practices, is related to contemporary Jewish secular achievement, albeit differently for men and women.     

Personality Differences and Sex Similarities in American and Indonesian College Students

Abstract

Male-female personality differences have been assumed but seldom empirically demonstrated. American and Indonesian college students were assessed for personality traits by the Cattell Clinical Analysis Questionnaire in the appropriate language. Predicted differences based on culture and nationality were found. Despite the cultural differences, similar sex differences were also found. Women of both groups were higher than their male counterparts on warmth, emotionality, prudence, sensitivity, and conformity; men were higher than their counterparts on emotional stability, dominance, and impulsivity. These findings support Chodorow's theory of universal differences in male and female personalities based on the universal role of the woman as the caretaker of the young.     

Gender Differences in Psychological Distress Among Latin American Immigrants to the Canary Islands

We compared gender differences in rates and correlates of psychological distress among Latin American immigrants to the Canary Islands, Spain. Immigrant men (n?=?150) and women (n?=?150) completed questionnaires about demographic and migration characteristics, immigration demands, and psychological distress. Women reported more distress and immigration demands related to loss and occupation than men. For women, not being employed full time and immigration demands related to loss, novelty, occupation, and language were significantly related to distress. For men, living with children/grandchildren and immigration demands related to novelty and not feeling at home were significantly related to distress. Study findings suggest that women are at higher risk for psychological distress and that sources of psychological distress are gender specific.     

Comparing Self-differentiation and Psychological Well-being between Korean and European American Students

This study examined cross-cultural differences in the relationship of self-differentiation with self-esteem and depressed mood, two indices of psychological well-being. Participants were 427 Korean and 375 European American college students. The main findings were that the levels of all components of self-differentiation were greater for European Americans than for Koreans; self-differentiation was associated with psychological well-being more strongly in American samples than in Korean counterparts; and “I position” was the most powerful predictor on self-esteem in both groups. Results suggest that differentiation is a meaningful construct for understanding psychological adjustment of college students in collectivistic Korean society.This research was supported by the Chonbuk National University funds for overseas research, 2004.     

Race and the construction of Jewish identity in French and American Jewish fiction of the 1920s

In both the United States and France, Jewish-fiction writers of the 1920s often invoked the idea of Jewish racial unity as a non-rational, uncontrollable force separating Jews from mainstream society irrespective of their desire for integration. This genre of fiction reveals an ambivalent attitude towards race-thinking. The notion that there are intractable physical differences between groups threatened the Jews status as fully privileged co-citizens. Yet a racialized self-understanding provided them with a way to articulate the intangible bonds of community, which their official status as a purely religious group normally held them back from expressing openly. The common trope of the failed Jewish-Gentile romance best expresses the dual desire of French and American Jews for acceptance and distinctiveness. A sense of racial identity often leads protagonists to reject a non-Jewish lover or spouse and draw strength from a renewed sense of connection with the Jewish people. More often than not, however, these figures are left with feelings of ambivalence and regret, as they realize that their universalist dream of uniting with someone from a different racial background is not possible in the real world, where their Jewish particularism inevitably dooms such relationships to failure.I would like to thank Hasia Diner, Laura Lee Downs and Bonnie S. Anderson for reading and commenting on previous versions of this article.     

Psychological Adjustment and Coping Styles of Urban African American High School Students

In a study of African American (n = 208) urban high school students, grade point average (GPA) and specific strategies for coping with day-to-day stressors were found to be significantly related to psychological adjustment. Students who had higher GPAs tended to use family members as a means of solving problems, minimized problems by the use of humor, and used relaxation activities less often were found to have the most positive psychological adjustment, as measured by the index score of the Affects Balance Scale (ABS). Reported negative affect was not found to be significantly influenced by coping style, whereas positive affect was.     

Defining and Exploring Modesty in Jewish American Women

Whether culture-based modesty may be a barrier to women’s health care has been a longstanding question. Numerous studies have noted that, in certain cultures, modesty is considered a barrier to mammography screening and breast feeding. Though modesty has been noted as an inherent aspect of the lived experience of many cultures, no extant measures or clear definitions were found. Jewish women, some having strict rules regarding modesty, were sampled to understand their definition of modesty. These perspectives were objectively analyzed using Q methodology. We found that although some perspectives on modesty may be accounted for by culture, there are others that are not.     

The undesired: on nudniks in Jewish American fiction

This essay discusses the recurring preoccupation in Jewish literature with the character of the nudnik, a popular figure in Jewish culture but a rather neglected one in scholarly studies. Even though the nudnik appears in many stories throughout the years, from Sholem Aleichem’s, through Franz Kafka’s, to Isaac Bashevis Singer’s stories and novels – nowhere was he more prominent than in post–World War II Jewish American fiction, more specifically in the short stories and novels of Philip Roth and Bernard Malamud. Both Roth and Malamud depict the nudnik as an embodiment of a generational divide, between the tormented Americanized young and the tormenting “Ostjuden” old. And yet, while Malamud’s nudniks serve as a critique on the fate of Jewish culture and tradition in post-Holocaust America, Roth identifies the character of the nudnik as a contaminating element that will forever haunt the younger individual. By discussing the Yiddish term “nudnik” and its ambivalent and unsettling nature in these writers’ texts, this essay will highlight the cultural impact on modern Jewish identity of the nudnik within each story.     

Exploring the Links Between Racial Identity Attitudes and Psychological Feelings of Closeness in African American College Students

The relationship between racial identity attitudes and psychological closeness to various African American groups was examined in 171 African American college students at a predominantly White southeastern university. The data were collected using the Racial Identity Attitude Scale (Helms & Parham, 1985), and a scale measuring Perceived Psychological Closeness to African Americans. The closeness scale is a 14-item instrument that was found to represent (in this sample) psychological closeness to 4 African American groups. Internalized racial identity attitudes indicated positive feelings toward various groups of African Americans. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis indicated that internalized racial identity attitudes were predictive of psychological closeness to African Americans, although this varied somewhat depending on the subgroup.     

大学生人格与网络行为:网络道德人际SEM模型

利用在线调查和纸笔测查两种方式分别对208名大学生网络使用情况、网络道德行为和社会交往特点等进行了调查,考察了大学生上网的行为特点和网络行为的心理机制,检验了有关大学生在线行为的理论模式.结果发现:(1)网络交往行为中性别的影响在一定程度上是存在的,男性比女性对网络交往更积极和主动,也给予更正性的评价;(2)根据大学生网络行为的特点和心理机制,验证了大学生网络行为的网络道德人际SEM模型.