What predicts anti‐Roma prejudice? Qualitative and quantitative analysis of everyday sentiments about the Roma

The present research focused on two primary goals: (a) identifying the content of sentiments about the Roma to which Hungarians are exposed during everyday family conversations, and (b) determining which types of everyday sentiments about the Roma most strongly predict Hungarian respondents’ anti‐Roma prejudice. Content analyzing open‐ended responses from a representative sample of Hungarians (N = 505), we found that more than 76% of the respondents reported being exposed to negative stereotypes about the Roma, 27% to threats posed by Roma, and 16% to overt dehumanization of Roma; additionally more than 20% reported hearing no positive sentiments about the Roma in everyday family conversations. We then examined which negative and positive sentiments most strongly predicted respondents’ anti‐Roma prejudice (using measures of social distance and modern racism). Higher social distance scores were predicted by a lack of positive sentiments, whereas lower social distance scores were most strongly predicted by unambiguously positive sentiments expressed during family conversations. Higher modern racism scores were further predicted by sentiments expressing dehumanization, threat, and violence against Roma. Together, these results attest to the extremity of anti‐Roma sentiments expressed regularly by Hungarians, and suggest how exposure to specific sentiments may foster anti‐Roma hostility. Moreover, these findings provide guidance regarding the specific negative anti‐Roma sentiments that should be combated to enhance the effectiveness of anti‐prejudice interventions.     

Knowledge About Genetics Among African Americans

Although knowledge about genetic concepts is important for individuals to be active participants in medical technologies that use genetic science, limited information is available on knowledge about basic genetic concepts and terminology in African Americans. The purpose of this study was to evaluate knowledge about general genetic concepts and medical genetics terminology among African Americans and to identify factors having independent associations with knowledge. Participants were 109 adult African Americans enrolled in a study on attitudes about race, genetics, and smoking. The majority of respondents were knowledgeable about general genetic concepts, but were less knowledgeable about medical genetics terminology. Education was the only factor independently associated with knowledge about sporadic disorders in multivariate logistic regression analysis. Respondents with at least some college education were most likely to be knowledgeable about sporadic disorders (OR=2.70, 95% CI=1.10, 6.67, p=.03). The results of this study suggest that genetics education targeted to African Americans may need to focus on increasing understanding about technical concepts related to genetics.     

Pursuit of comfort and pursuit of harmony: culture, relationships, and social support seeking

This research examined whether people from collectivistic cultures are less likely to seek social support than are people from individualistic cultures because they are more cautious about potentially disturbing their social network. Study 1 found that Asian Americans from a more collectivistic culture sought social support less and found support seeking to be less effective than European Americans from a more individualistic culture. Study 2 found that European Americans' willingness to seek support was unaffected by relationship priming, whereas Asian Americans were willing to seek support less when the relationship primed was closer to the self. Study 3 replicated the results of Study 2 and found that the tendency to seek support and expect social support to be helpful as related to concerns about relationships. These findings underscore the importance of culturally divergent relationship patterns in understanding social support transactions.     

Perceptions of Women Condom Proposers Among Chinese Americans,Japanese Americans,and European Americans1

This study was a comparison of the judgments made about a sexually active female condom proposer by men and women of 3 ethnic groups: Chinese Americans, European Americans, and Japanese Americans. Results indicate that Chinese Americans reacted more negatively to the female condom proposer than did European Americans. Japanese Americans could not be distinguished between either of the groups on most measures. However, Japanese Americans did perceive the female condom proposer to be less sexually attractive than did the other 2 groups. These findings underscore the importance of distinguishing among subgroups of Asian Americans, especially when considering issues related to gender and sexuality.     

Assessing the Prayer Lives of Older Whites,Older Blacks,and Older Mexican Americans: A Descriptive Analysis

The purpose of this study was to see whether differences emerge between older Whites, older Blacks, and older Mexican Americans in 12 measures of prayer. These measures assess 4 dimensions of prayer: the social context of prayer, interpersonal aspects of prayer, beliefs about how prayer operates, and the content or focus of prayers. Data from two nationwide surveys of older adults suggest that with respect to all four dimensions, the prayer lives of older Whites appear to be less developed than the prayer lives of older Blacks and older Mexican Americans. In contrast, relatively few differences were found in the prayer lives of older African Americans and older Mexican Americans. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Assessing the Prayer Lives of Older Whites, Older Blacks and Older Mexican Americans: A Descriptive Analysis

The purpose of this study was to see whether differences emerge between older whites, older blacks, and older Mexican Americans in 12 measures of prayer. These measures assess four dimensions of prayer: The social context of prayer, interpersonal aspects of prayer, beliefs about how prayer operates, and the content or focus of prayers. Data from two nationwide surveys of older adults suggest that with respect to all four dimensions, the prayer lives of older whites appear be less developed than the prayer lives of older blacks and older Mexican Americans. In contrast, relatively few differences were found in the prayer lives of older African Americans and older Mexican Americans. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Social sharing of emotional experiences in Asian American and European American women

The present study investigated the relationships among ethnicity and social sharing of traumatic experiences in a sample of 88 East Asian and 88 European American women. Participants were asked to write about a traumatic experience for twenty minutes and then to rate how upsetting the experience was, how often they thought about it, how often and to whom they had previously disclosed the experience, as well as the perceived appropriateness of sharing the experience with different target audiences, e.g., friends and family members. The results indicated that Asian Americans reported speaking to others less frequently about the traumatic event and sharing it with fewer individuals, and tended to be more likely to share the event with friends than with family members when compared to European Americans. Asian Americans also reported thinking about the upsetting event less frequently than European Americans even though both groups reported that the events were equally upsetting. The more upsetting events were, the more often they were shared in the European American group, but there was no relationship between how upsetting events were and the degree to which they were shared in the Asian American group.     

Rates and correlates of undetermined deaths among African Americans: results from the National Violent Death Reporting System

Little is known about the factors associated with undetermined death classifications among African Americans. In this study, the rates of undetermined deaths were assessed, the prevalence of missing information was estimated, and whether the circumstances preceding death differ by race were examined. Data were derived from the 2005-2008 National Violent Death Reporting System. African Americans had higher prevalence of missing information than Whites. African Americans classified as undetermined deaths were more likely to be older, women, never married/single, to have had a blood alcohol content at or above the legal limit, and to have had a substance abuse problem. The results suggest that racial differences in the preponderance and the type of evidence surrounding the death may affect death classification.     

The Significance of Political and Economic Change in Two Generations of Slovaks and Hungarians

Two generations of Slovaks and of Hungarians responded to a short questionnaire sampling their opinions about recent political and economic changes in their respective countries. The younger generation were aged 18–23 and the older generation 40–45. In general, Slovaks expressed a higher degree of freedom of choice compared to Hungarians in various areas of their lives. Hungarians reported themselves to be more interested in politics at all levels (national, European and international) than their Slovak counterparts. These and other significant effects (relating to generational differences and differences in levels of education) are discussed in relation to recent changes in the political economies of the two countries. (© 1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.)     

Why do U.S. conservatives take fewer COVID-19 precautions? The role of worry,perceived risk,and governmental trust

Research suggests a U.S. political ideology gap for taking COVID-19 precautions, but we do not know the role of cognitive risk (assessed here as perceived risk) and affective risk (assessed here as worry) in explaining why conservative Americans participated in fewer recommended precautions (e.g., mask wearing) and whether governmental trust attenuates the effect. We predicted that conservatives (compared with liberals) would take fewer precautions because they thought they were less at risk and were less worried about COVID-19, but that this would be more pronounced for those with low governmental trust. In this study, U.S. adults (representative sample: N = 738; M_age = 46.8; 52% women; 78% white) who had not had COVID-19 took two online surveys 2 weeks apart during the first wave of the pandemic (April 2020). Participants reported ideology, perceived risk of getting or dying of COVID-19, worry about COVID-19, and trust in the CDC and state officials at baseline. At follow-up, participants reported on COVID-19 precautions: (1) prevention behavior participation (e.g., mask wearing) and (2) behavioral willingness for future behaviors (e.g., vaccination). Results showed that, politically conservative Americans took fewer precautions due to lower worry (but unexpectedly not due to lower perceived risk). As predicted, when trust was high, the ideology gap was muted for predicting precautions as well as for predicting perceived risk and worry. In sum, conservatives worried less about COVID-19 which predicted fewer precautions, but trust in governmental institutions reduced this ideological gap. Improving governmental trust could be one fruitful path to increasing COVID-19 precautions.     

Unvaxxed and unafraid: Unvaccinated Americans perceive less disease risk than do vaccinated Americans

Is disease risk perception accurately calibrated among the unvaccinated? People shift their attitudes to rationalize their choices, so those who choose to be unvaccinated may be motivated to feel less at risk. In three studies (total N = 1446), we asked Americans how worried they were about catching/spreading influenza and COVID-19 and whether they were vaccinated against those diseases. Unvaccinated participants felt less at risk of catching/spreading the diseases they were unvaccinated against than vaccinated participants. For instance, unvaccinated participants felt ∼24% less at risk of catching/spreading COVID-19 and had ∼28% stronger intention to engage in activities that carried a high risk of COVID-19 transmission (Study 3). Overall, those who choose to be the most vulnerable to disease feel and act the least vulnerable.     

Clinical Utility of the Rorschach With African Americans

In this study we sought to identify Rorschach differences between African Americans and White Americans and to understand these differences within a social and cultural framework. Data from the Exner (1993) Comprehensive System normative sample (N = 700) was used to form a group of 44 African Americans and 44 White Americans matched for age, sex, education, and socioeconomic status. Twenty-three Rorschach variables were chosen a priori and group differences were analyzed. The only clinically significant difference found was that African Americans offered significantly less cooperative movement. This lower frequency of cooperative movement may suggest African Americans do not anticipate cooperative interactions with others as a routine event. This may reflect a shared feeling among African Americans that most members of our society are less likely to be sensitive to or responsive to their needs relative to others. However, the study demonstrates a striking similarity between the groups, supporting the clinical use of the Rorschach with African Americans.     

The Function of Ethnicity, Income Level, and Menstrual Taboos in Postmenarcheal Adolescents’ Understanding of Menarche and Menstruation

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in knowledge about menstruation, feelings of preparation for menarche, and menstrual attitudes of early adolescent girls from different ethnic groups and income levels. An interaction between ethnicity and income level was also investigated. Participants were 165 postmenarcheal adolescent girls’ (ages 11–15) from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA, who were categorized into four groups: higher income European Americans, lower income European Americans, higher income African Americans, and lower income African Americans. It was predicted that African Americans, lower income participants, and lower income African Americans would score lower on a menstrual knowledge test, report feeling less prepared for menarche, and report more negative menstrual attitudes (i.e., fewer positive feelings about menstruation, more negative feelings about menstruation, and less openness toward menstruation) than European Americans, higher income participants, and any other income level and ethnicity grouping. Not all hypotheses were fully supported. Participants’ lacked accurate menstrual knowledge and felt unprepared for menarche, but menstrual attitudes were ambivalent. Ethnicity and income level alone did not play a substantial role in girls’ understanding of menarche and menstruation; however, they did interact. Overall, higher income European Americans fared better than the other participants. Theories and research regarding girls’ understanding of menarche and menstruation must take sociocultural factors into account.     

The Protestant Ethic in Hungary

While in the 16–17th centuries about two thirds of Hungarians belonged to the Reformed Church, the presence of the ‘spirit of capitalism’ and the ‘Protestant ethic’ is rather questionable. The Calvinists did not play a different or decisive role in the capitalization process of Hungary at the end of the 19th century. This study is a summary of a much longer analysis of the ‘Hungarian Protestant ethic’ of the 17th century. The historical analysis focuses on the Puritan doctrines which can be found in conduct-books as well as the practical religiosity of Hungarian Puritans and Reformed people in that age. The ‘Hungarian Protestant ethic’ differs from Weber's ideal-type in two respects: the Hungarian version is more pietistic, less activist; and it seems to have less practical influence in everyday life because of weak religiosity. The Hungarian case does not refute Weber's thesis, but it does call attention to two important parts of historical analysis: the reinterpreting, selecting procedure in social context, and the intensity of religiosity.     

Clinical utility of the Rorschach with African Americans.

In this study we sought to identify Rorschach differences between African Americans and White Americans and to understand these differences within a social and cultural framework. Data from the Exner (1993) Comprehensive System normative sample (N = 700) was used to form a group of 44 African Americans and 44 White Americans matched for age, sex, education, and socioeconomic status. Twenty-three Rorschach variables were chosen a priori and group differences were analyzed. The only clinically significant difference found was that African Americans offered significantly less cooperative movement. This lower frequency of cooperative movement may suggest African Americans do not anticipate cooperative interactions with others as a routine event. This may reflect a shared feeling among African Americans that most members of our society are less likely to be sensitive to or responsive to their needs relative to others. However, the study demonstrates a striking similarity between the groups, supporting the clinical use of the Rorschach with African Americans.     

Communication Styles and Marital Satisfaction in Israeli and American Couples

This study examined the conflict-related communication styles of American and Israeli couples and how these communication styles related to marital satisfaction in the two groups. An Israeli sample was recruited from Israeli couples currently living in New York City; the American sample was selected from the friendship circles of the Israeli couples. In spite of the close social ties of the two groups, we predicted that the conflict-related communication styles of the Israelis would be less calm and rational than those of the Americans and that such rational modes of communication would be positively associated with marital satisfaction for the Americans but not for the Israelis. The principle instruments were Straus' Conflict Tactics Scale, Ryder's Imagined Situation Inventory, and Spanier's Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Results largely confirmed the hypotheses. Israeli couples were more apt to be verbally aggressive (but less physically violent) and less apt to behave calmly during marital conflict, but these communication styles did not relate to marital satisfaction as strongly for the Israelis as for the Americans. These findings are discussed as a demonstration of the importance of considering cultural context when treating families.     

Emotions,Risk Perceptions,and Precautionary Behavior Under the Threat of Terror Attacks: A Field Study Among Israeli College Students

The current study uses the unique data from a natural experiment conducted in a college located in southern Israel that was exposed to rocket attacks in 2008. The study examines the relationships between the negative emotions, the perceptions of risk to oneself, the precautionary actions, and the intentions of 290 students who were exposed to terror attacks while on campus. In addition, we compared the emotions, the risk perceptions, and the precautionary behavior between the two groups: those who lived within the range of the rockets and were also exposed to rocket attacks at home and those who lived outside the range of the rockets. The results show that the risk perceptions were affected mainly by the emotion of fear while the students were on campus. In particular, fearful people became more pessimistic about their general and personal risks from terror but not about routine risks. The results also reveal that those who lived outside the rocket area (and had less or no experience with terror attacks) were more likely to take precautionary actions during their stay in the campus and were more pessimistic about continuing their studies in college in the coming year than those living in the area, who had more experience with terror attacks. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.