Linking social axioms with indicators of positive interpersonal, social and environmental functioning in Iran: an exploratory study

Social axioms are people's general beliefs about how the world functions and always involve the relationship between two conceptual entities. Social axioms have been proposed as a construct that can be useful in helping researchers interpret cultures and explain people's behaviors in different cultural contexts. Despite the growth of studies on social axioms in various countries, no effort has been made so far to investigate specifically the relation between social axioms and indicators of interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning. To fill this gap, this exploratory study sought to examine the relation between social axioms and a set of variables indicating positive interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning (namely, gratitude, connectedness to nature, social participation, perspective-taking, and empathic concern) in a sample of 303 Iranian university students. Findings showed that reward for application, religiosity, and social complexity significantly predicted gratitude when sex was controlled for. Social complexity and reward for application significantly contributed to explaining the variance in connectedness to nature over and above sex. Social cynicism and social complexity also predicted perspective-taking significantly after controlling for sex. Social axioms were not successful in predicting social participation and empathic concern. Overall, it is possible to conclude that the findings support the utility of social axioms in predicting interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning. That is, generalized beliefs about oneself, the social and physical environment, or the spiritual world are associated with individuals' interpersonal, social, and environmental functioning in this Iranian sample.     

Social dominance orientation and prejudice in an Italian sample

Social dominance orientation has been proposed as an important variable in the explanation of prejudice. For an Italian sample of 355, correlations with measures of blatant and subtle prejudice against migrant people showed social dominance orientation was positively related to blatant prejudice. Persons with less education scored higher on social dominance orientation.     

Model of Social Competence in an Early Childhood Environment

Maintaining relationships and interacting socially are essential aspects of children's occupational performance. A Model of Social Competence in an Early Childhood environment has been formulated to guide the assessment of and intervention for young children with issues in social skills. This article aims to (1) present the constructs that contribute to social competence for young children, (2) describe the interrelated contextual, foundation and environmental influences on social competence using the Model of Social Competence in an Early Childhood environment as a means of systematically examining these factors, and (3) discuss future directions for early intervention for children with social competence concerns. Cultural considerations will be discussed in relation to the Singaporean early childhood context.     

The Social Phobia Inventory: validity and reliability in an adolescent community sample

Social anxiety disorder and social anxiety are highly prevalent psychological conditions in youth. Because of the known risks associated with the spectrum of social anxiety in youth, early detection with valid and reliable assessment measures is imperative. Self-report measures have become the most widely used method of assessment for child and adolescent social anxiety. Because research to date on self-report measures of social anxiety disorder in adolescents is limited, the primary objective of the present study was to contribute to the literature by examining the validity and reliability of a new self-report measure, the Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), in a community sample of adolescents. The SPIN is a 17-item measure purported to assess the full spectrum of social anxiety disorder symptomatology. Previously, psychometric research on the SPIN in adult populations has demonstrated its validity and reliability. In the current psychometric examination, results revealed strong support for the temporal stability, internal consistency, and construct validity of the SPIN, suggesting it is an appropriate screening measure for the assessment of social anxiety disorder in adolescents.     

Psychometric Properties of the Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends Scale: Data from an Adolescent Sample in Ghana

Several studies have found that perceived social support plays a crucial role in the psychological and physical wellbeing of young people. A number of instruments measuring perceived social support have been developed and validated, including the Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends subscales. The psychometric properties of the Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends subscales have been demonstrated in a range of samples, although not in Ghana. The purpose of this study is to investigate the psychometric properties of the Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends subscales in Ghanaian adolescents using data from a school-based survey (N?=?770; 14–21 years). Participants completed a self-report questionnaire containing the Perceived Social Support from Family and Friends subscales, the Adolescent Stress Questionnaire, and the 12-item General Health Questionnaire. An exploratory factor analysis in addition to simultaneous confirmatory factor analyses with structural equation modelling were performed to evaluate the factor structure and factorial validity of the subscales along with Cronbach’s α and intercorrelations. Three factors and two factors were extracted for the Friends and Family subscales respectively. While the unidimensional model of the friends subscale had a better fit with the data than the three-factor model, the two-factor model of the family subscale had a better fit than the unidimensional model, even though the unidimensional models of both subscales produced higher internal consistency coefficients. With respect to construct validity, the family subscale demonstrated some evidence of convergent and discriminant validity, but the friends subscale demonstrated some evidence of only discriminant validity, in terms of the association between social support and common mental illness and perceived stress. It appears that the Perceived Social Support subscales are useful instruments for assessing social support from family and friends and could therefore be used to further our understanding about the role of social support in stressful life events and psychological functioning of Ghanaian adolescents, although further research is required for the friends subscale.     

青少年的人格特征与互联网社交服务使用偏好的关系

“互联网社交”快速兴起,网络社交已经成为一种人际交往方式,相当多的互联网用户在使用互联网社交服务,青少年也是这种服务的热心使用者。澄清青少年使用互联网社交服务过程中的一些基本现象,有益于教育者有重点地引导青少年的网上社交行为,对互联网社交服务的使用能够趋其利,避其害。该研究使用问卷法调查了339名青少年的外向性、神经质、社会支持和社交焦虑与互联网社交服务的使用之间的关系。研究发现（１）青少年在互联网社交服务使用偏好上存在着显著的性别和年级差异;（２）外向性、神经质对互联网社交服务的使用偏好有直接而显著的正向预测作用;（３）外向性通过社会支持间接地预测互联网社交服务的使用偏好;（４）外向性对社交焦虑有负向预测作用,并通过社交焦虑预测互联网社交服务的使用偏好;（５）神经质通过社交焦虑间接地预测互联网社交服务的使用偏好。     

Social Anxiety,Social Skills and Expectancy/ Cost of Negative Social Events

Abstract

The aim of the study was to investigate the relationships between social anxiety, social skills and estimated cost as well as expectancy of negative social/non-social events. One hundred and twenty-six students (half males and half females) filled in the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI), the Social Skills Inventory (SSI), and measures of expectancy and estimated cost of negative social and non-social events. Social anxiety was negatively correlated with self-reported social skills. Further, social anxiety was strongly related to both expectancy and estimated cost of negative social, as opposed to non-social, events. Social skills were related to expectancy, but not to estimated cost of negative social events. Finally, the correlation between social anxiety and expectancy of negative social events disappeared when social control (measured with a subscale of SSI) was partialized out of the relationship, whereas the correlation between social anxiety and estimated cost of negative social events did not. Potential therapeutic implications are discussed.     

Psychometric Properties of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory, the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, and the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale in an Adolescent Spanish-Speaking Sample

The relationship among several social anxiety measures and a semistructured interview in an adolescent Spanish-speaking sample is examined. Construct validity and test-retest reliability were tested. A principal axis factor analysis was also explored. Results revealed good construct validity and alpha coefficients for the assessment instruments such as the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI), the Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS-A), the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNES) and the Social Avoidance Distress Scale (SADS). Among these, data strongly support the validity of the Social Phobia and Difference measures of the SPAI and Total SAS-A score as assessment measures in the adolescent population even in non-American cultures and languages. Furthermore, results appear to support the presence of a single higher-order dimension, social anxiety, as measured by the instruments used in this study.     

Effectiveness of treatments for social phobia in an applied field

Social phobia is one of the most common disorders and one that requires the most attention from psychological clinics. The aim of this article was to study the effectiveness of psychological treatments in a University Psychological Clinic. Seventy-one social phobia patients requested psychological assistance. The average number of assessment sessions was 3.8 and the average number of treatment sessions was 16.1. Therapeutic success reached 64.2%, withdrawal percentage was 11.3%, and drop-out percentage was 24.5%. The effect size (Cohen's d) achieved in the Social Avoidance and Distress Scale (SAD) and Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale (FNE) were 1.96 and 1.78, respectively. Comparing these results with efficacy research (particularly meta-analysis), it has been shown that the treatment effectiveness achieved is very similar. It is concluded that cognitive behavioural treatments for social phobia can be transferred from research settings to clinical practice.     

经济正义:当代伦理学面临的重大课题

正义是一个历史范畴。人类对正义的追求经历了一个由个人正义到社会正义、由政治正义到经济正义的过程。随着经济关系成为支配社会发展的主要力量,经济发展的单向度价值取向的危害日益严重,社会不公正现象在经济领域中日益凸现,经济正义已成为当代社会正义理论中最重要、最具有社会意义的内容和形式。     

The List of Social Situation Problems: Reliability and Validity in an Adolescent Spanish-Speaking Sample

The aim of this study was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Spanish translation of the List of Social Situation Problems (LSSP; S. H. Spence, 1980). The questionnaire was administered to a sample of 388 adolescents between the ages of 12 and 18. Exploratory factor analysis identified four factors: Social Anxiety, Adult Oppositional, Assertiveness, and Making Friends, which accounted for 26.64% of the variance. Internal consistency of the total scale was high ( = .86). Correlations between the LSSP and two self-report measures of social anxiety, the Questionnaire about Interpersonal Difficulties for Adolescents (r = .45) and the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (r = .48), were statistically significant. A significant difference was found between LSSP total scores for adolescents with and without social anxiety (d = 1.14), supporting the construct validity of the scale.     

Research and publication trends in experimental social psychology: 1971–1980—a thematic analysis of the journal of experimental social psychology,the european journal of social psychology,and the zeifschrift für soziaipsychologie

The present study was designed to map out the area of research in experimental social psychology during the past decade. First of all, we found a broad range of topics that can be grouped info 21 general content domains. Theories in Social Psychology, Group Processes and Social Interaction, Social Judgement, Personality Variables and Specific Social Behaviour as well as Attitudes were the jive most widely researched fields of study. During the ten-year period 1971–1980 Attribution Theory showed a significant increase in the number of articles published. Cooperation and Conflict as well as Risky-Ship are lines of research which have nearly been abandoned. Finally, in rigorous experimental social psychology the analysis of Social Problems is evidently underrepresented. But a survey of the literature on Social Problems in the Psychological Abstracts from 1971 to 1980 revealed that social psychologists are currently serving both theoretical and practical ends.     

Peer victimization and social anxiety in adolescence: a prospective study

This study reports a one‐year prospective investigation of the relations between overt and relational victimization and social anxiety and phobia in a sample of adolescents. The Social Experience Questionnaire—Self Report Form (SEQ‐S), Social Anxiety Scale for Adolescents (SAS‐A), and Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for Children (SPAI‐C) were administered to 144 ninth grade adolescents. A follow‐up assessment with the SEQ‐S, SAS‐A, and SPAI‐C was conducted one year later. Results indicated that relational victimization predicted symptoms of social phobia but not general social anxiety and avoidance one year later. Overt victimization was not a significant predictor of social anxiety and phobia one year later. Social anxiety and phobia did not predict peer victimization one year later. However, increases in social anxiety and social phobia symptoms (for boys) over time were positively associated with increases in relational victimization over time. Implications of these findings for peer victimization and social anxiety in the development of social phobia and negative peer experiences are discussed. Aggr. Behav. 00:1–16, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The social phobia and anxiety inventory: psychometric properties in a Spanish sample

This study is a validation of the Spanish version of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory using a nonclinical sample (198 participants) and a clinical sample (72 participants with social phobia). The factor structure and concurrent validity with Fear of Negative Evaluation and Social Avoidance and Distress scales were analyzed. The Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory demonstrated good concurrent validity, showing statistically significant relationships with Fear of Negative Evaluation and Social Avoidance and Distress. Results confirmed the rationale for the division of the SPAI into two subscales. Results also demonstrated the utility of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory for differentiating between a nonclinical sample and participants with a social phobia, and its adequate reliability.     

Relationship between Anxiety Sensitivity subscales and social fears

This study examined the relationship between social fears and the three subscales of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) in a non‐clinical, student sample. In particular, the unique variance that the three ASI factors accounted for in social scrutiny fears, social interaction fears, and fear during a social challenge was investigated. Anxiety Sensitivity–Social Concern (AS‐Social Concern) was hypothesised to account for a significant proportion of the variance in social fears compared to the other two subscales. Seventy one university students completed a series of psychological‐based questionnaires and participated in a social challenge (videotaped speech task). Contrary to prediction, AS‐Social Concern did not account for a unique proportion of the variance in social fears, but AS‐Physical Concern and AS‐Mental Concern did account for unique variance in social fears. Results are interpreted in light of recent findings on the structure of ASI.     

From the front lines of welfare reform: an analysis of social worker and welfare recipient attitudes

Social workers and welfare recipients operate within the same institutional framework and share a working and/or lived knowledge of poverty, but they occupy different social and economic positions. To gain a better understanding of intergroup attitudes, the author compared how social workers and welfare recipients explain poverty and perceive the welfare system. The results highlight important similarities and differences between the two groups. Although the author did not find differences for individualistic attributions, welfare recipients regarded prejudice as playing a greater role in causing poverty than did social workers. Welfare recipients also expressed stronger support for increased welfare funding and progressive welfare policies than did social workers. The author discussed implications for strengthening interclass alliances, particularly the relationship between social service providers and welfare recipients.     

Social anxiety and problematic alcohol consumption: the mediating role of drinking motives and situations

Social anxiety is inconsistently associated with alcohol use variables. To elucidate factors that contribute to the relationship between social anxiety and problematic alcohol use, the present study investigated drinking motives and drinking situations in an undergraduate sample (N = 293). Social anxiety was significantly correlated with endorsement of enhancement drinking motives (i.e., drinking to enhance positive experiences or emotions) but not social or coping motives. Social anxiety was also correlated with endorsement of drinking in the following high-risk situations: unpleasant emotions, conflict with others, social pressure, and testing personal control. Importantly, enhancement motives and each of these drinking situations mediated the relationship between social anxiety and alcohol-related problems. Findings suggest that alcohol use to enhance positive affect or in response to these specific situations may account for the risk for alcohol-related problems among those with social anxiety.     

An Assessment of Social Phobia and Social Anxiety and their Relation to Self-Consciousness

Abstract

The translation of the Social Phobia and Anxiety Inventory (SPAI) into Icelandic was submitted to a psychometric assessment. Two hundred sixty-three university students participated in the study. In addition to the SPAI they filled in Fenigstein, Scheier and Buss' (1975) Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) as well as Spielberger's (1983) State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI). A principal components analysis of the SPAI yielded as expected an agoraphobia and a social phobia factor. As expected the Social Anxiety Scale of the SCS correlated much more strongly with the Social Phobia than the Agoraphobia Scale. The correlation of the Social Phobia Scale with the Social Anxiety Scale was substantially higher than its correlation with any other anxiety measure. The relationships between the Social Phobia Scale and Public versus Private Self-Consciousness were moreover in accordance with theoretical expectations as well as prior research. Generally the discriminant and convergent validity of the Icelandic translation of the Social Phobia Scale as a measure of social anxiety is supported.     

How Neighborhood Poverty Structures Types and Levels of Social Integration

Social integration is fundamental to health and well‐being. However, few studies have explored how neighborhood contexts pattern types and levels of social integration that individuals experience. We examined how neighborhood poverty structures two dimensions of social integration: integration with neighbors and social integration more generally. Using data from the United States Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, we linked study participants to percent poverty in their neighborhood of residence (N = 16,040). Social integration was assessed using a modified Social Network Index and neighborhood integration based on yearly visits with neighbors. We fit multivariate logistic regression models that accounted for the complex survey design. Living in high poverty neighborhoods was associated with lower social integration but higher visits with neighbors. Neighborhood poverty distinctly patterns social integration, demonstrating that contexts shape the extent and quality of social relationships.     

Understanding and coping with immigration detention: Social identity as cure and curse

Over 29,000 foreign nationals are detained yearly in British Immigration Removal Centres for undefined periods. This study investigated the role played by social identities in the way detainees are affected by, make sense of, and deal with detention. An opportunity sample of 40 detainees was interviewed on topics including support, identity, and well-being, and data were analysed using theoretical thematic analysis. Participants struggled with loss of social networks, loss of rights, loss of agency, and joining a stigmatised group. Social identities guided exchange of support, aided meaning-making, and mitigated distrust, serving as ‘Social Cures’. However, shared identities could also be sources of burden, ostracism, and distress, serving as ‘Social Curses’. Inability to maintain existing identities or create new ones fuelled feelings of isolation. Participants also reported rejection/avoidance of social identities to maximise their benefits. This study is the first to apply the Social Identity Approach to the experience of immigration detention.