Survey of School Psychologists' Attitudes,Feelings, and Exposure to Gay and Lesbian Parents and Their Children

Abstract

School psychologists' attitudes and feelings toward gay and lesbian parents were surveyed in relation to their training and exposure, and professional services offered to gay and lesbian parents and their children. The relationship between attitudes, feelings, training, exposure, and demographic characteristics was explored as well. A stratified random sample of 500 school psychologists who were members of NASP was surveyed using a 30-item questionnaire. Out of the 500 surveys sent, 267 school psychologists (53.4%) returned them. Overall, school psychologists have positive attitudes and feelings toward gay and/or lesbian parents. More specifically, school psychologists who were female, homosexual/bisexual, or living in the Western region of the United States had significantly more positive attitudes and feelings toward gay and/or lesbian parents. Although few school psychologists (30%) received any formalized training, those who had some training indicated more positive attitudes. The majority of school psychologists (89.4%) reported having personal associations with homosexual individuals. More exposure to homosexual individuals by a school psychologist indicated more positive attitudes as well as feelings. Implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.     

From reassurance to irrelevance: adolescent psychology and homosexuality in America

American psychology by the 1920s contained a greater capacity for viewing some homosexual experiences as normal than most current historical literature suggests. Developmental psychologists agreed with psychiatrists that adult homosexuality was pathological, but they also agreed that adolescent sexual development included a homosexual phase. Until the late 1960s, developmental texts reassured parents and teachers that homosexual behavior among adolescents was transitory and quite normal. The psychiatric view of homosexuality as pathology came under attack after the middle of the century and eventually was abandoned. The developmental concern with a transitory homosexual phase disappeared gradually. This trend in psychology suggests underlying social and cultural changes.     

The Homosexual Tendencies of King James: Should this Matter to Bible Readers Today?

The question whether King James, who commissioned the translation of the Bible into English in 1604, had homosexual tendencies has been under discussion in recent years. We review the arguments presented against this view and conclude that they are largely circular and ad hominem. We then consider the evidence presented by those who argue for this view, including the emotional distance between King James and his wife; his intense affection for three men in the course of his life; contemporary criticism of his public expressions of affection toward two of these men; and contemporary allegations that his reluctance to commit England to war was due to his “effeminate” nature. We discuss his family history and his relationship to one man in particular and conclude that the argument he had homosexual tendencies is compelling. We then take up the associations that his own contemporaries made between homosexual behavior, effeminacy, pacifism, and the scholar, and present our view that in authorizing the translation of the Bible into English, he provided a scholarly model for male cooperation that was inherently superior to the martial model of male enterprise advocated by his opponents. We also suggest that his authorization of a new translation of the Bible was psycho-dynamically related to his loss of his mother in infancy and to his guilt for having failed to come to her aid when she requested his help. Finally, we make a case in behalf of the King James Version of the Bible on the grounds that it functions as a cultural selfobject (Kohut), due mainly to its maternal associations; that King James’s favorite Bible verse was Matthew 5:9—“Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God”; and that James had homosexual tendencies.     

Psychologists' attitudes toward aids

Abstract

Practicing psychologists in all areas of the country will see an increasing number of persons at risk for AIDS, or with AIDS-related illnesses. Previous research has shown that AIDS elicits negative reactions from the general public and from certain health care professionals. In the current study, a national sample of randomly selected practicing psychologists completed attitude measures after reading vignettes that described a male patient with either AIDS or leukemia who was either homosexual or heterosexual. Respondents evaluated the AIDS patient more negatively and reported less willingness to interact with him in a professional role or in casual social situations. It is important to develop training and continuing education programs to prepare psychologists to deal with persons affected by AIDS.     

Finding your Soulmate: Homosexual and heterosexual age preferences in online dating

Heterosexual age preferences have been extensively studied by evolutionary psychologists, social psychologists, and demographers. Much less is known about such preferences in homosexual men and women. Around two decades ago, D. T. Kenrick, R. C. Keefe, A. Bryan, A. Barr, and S. Brown (1995) examined heterosexual and homosexual mating preferences for age in men and women. Our study aimed to replicate these findings by examining age preferences in a larger UK online dating sample. Dating advertisements of 996 male and female heterosexuals and homosexuals were coded. Age preferences were assessed via generalized linear models with robust standard errors and bootstrapping. Results showed that the relation between own age and preferred age differed substantially between the groups. With increasing age, heterosexual men preferred younger partners. Older heterosexual men (> 50 years) exclusively sought (much) younger women than themselves, whereas younger heterosexual men sought both older and younger women. Male and female homosexuals followed this general trend of preferring increasingly younger mates with increasing age. However, they displayed a higher upper age tolerance and greater range of acceptable ages than both heterosexual men and women. Female heterosexuals' age preferences were distinct from the other groups, in that they displayed a male older norm with no substantial interest expressed in males younger than themselves. Our findings thus largely corroborate those of Kenrick et al. with some exceptions, such as a larger tolerance of age ranges in homosexual men and women compared to heterosexual men and women. Results are discussed with reference to the current literature on similarities and differences in heterosexual and homosexual mate preferences.     

Religiosity and Mental Health: A Meta–Analysis of Recent Studies

A meta–analysis was performed in an attempt to clarify the proposed relationship between religiosity and psychological adjustment. Specific focus was given to the issue of definition, namely, whether differences in researchers' conceptualizations of religiosity and mental health could account for the various contradictory findings by psychologists of religion. Analysis of 34 studies conducted during the past 12 years revealed that the definitions of religiosity and mental health utilized by psychologists in this field were indeed associated with different types and strengths of the correlations between religiosity and mental health. Discussion of results assesses the fit between relevant theory and the pattern of change in effect size across categories of religion and adjustment, and concludes with implications for therapeutic uses of religious involvement.     

Sexual Orientation and Human Rights in the Ethics Code of the Psychology and Counseling Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran (PCOIRI)

The aim of this study is to investigate the necessity of revising the Ethics Code of the Psychology and Counseling Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran (PCOIRI) with respect to people’s rights and dignity and to avoid unfair discriminations toward sexual orientation and gender identity. It is said that confused diagnoses; wrong decision making; unethical practice; and the subsequent harm caused to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender clients result from the lack of a clear code and relevant guidelines. In addition, certain conditions in Iran (such as religious perspectives, laws, cultural biases, misunderstandings, a lack of local academic and scientific resources, and Western conspiracy theories) lead professional psychologists and researchers to avoid researching sexual minorities and gender identity, which negatively impacts the Ethics Code of the PCOIRI. Iranian and Western researchers have identified four primary sources to which psychologists and counselors can refer when faced with ethical dilemmas: developmental psychology, professional ethics codes, philosophy of psychology literature, and available researches and compilations on professional ethics. Finally it is suggested that, when dealing with homosexual clients and the related ethical dilemmas, Iranian psychologists and counselors need clear and specific guidelines and a professional ethics code developed from more appropriate reference points than legal and religious sources.     

Pediatrician/Psychologist Collaboration: Opportunities for Clinical Child Psychologists

In the United States, pediatricians prescribe the majority of medications used to treat children with psychological disorders, such as ADHD. However, because pediatricians have limited background in psychology or psychiatry, opportunities exist for properly trained clinical child psychologists to assist pediatricians in assessing and treating youngsters with psychological disorders. Psychologists with additional training in psychopharmacology can make even greater contributions by helping pediatricians select and monitor appropriate medications. This paper reviews models of consultation that are especially relevant to psychologists who seek to expand their practice by consulting with pediatricians. Consultant-centered models seem most appropriate in private practice settings, but institutionally employed psychologists have opportunities to also utilize some system-centered approaches. Examples of methods in which pediatric clinical psychologists and child psychologists with psychopharmacology training can assist pediatricians in treating a child with ADHD are discussed.     

Expanding and Reconceptualizing Aberrant Personality at Work: Validity of Five‐Factor Model Aberrant Personality Tendencies to Predict Career Outcomes

This study proposes and tests an alternative methodology to conceptualize and assess aberrant personality tendencies at work beyond the dark triad. A sample of college alumni (N= 247) were administered the NEO PI‐R prior to entering the labor market and 15 years later when their professional careers had unfolded. Drawing on the dimensional perspective on personality functioning, 6 five‐factor model (FFM) aberrant compounds were computed as indicators of aberrant personality tendencies. As expected, FFM aberrant personality tendencies were highly stable across time, with test–retest correlations ranging from .61 (Narcissistic) to .73 (avoidant). With regard to predictive validity, borderline, schizotypal, and avoidant tendencies were negatively associated with extrinsic and intrinsic career outcomes. The obsessive‐compulsive tendency was largely unrelated to career outcomes, whereas individuals with antisocial and narcissistic characteristics tended toward higher hierarchical and financial attainment. In addition, relative importance analyses indicated that (a) FFM aberrant personality tendencies showed incremental validity in the prediction of career outcomes beyond FFM general traits, and that (b) both FFM general and FFM aberrant personality tendencies are important predictors when considered jointly. It is concluded that FFM aberrant personality tendencies suggest interesting avenues for personnel psychologists to form new linear combinations of FFM facets, complementing FFM general domains.     

Political Psychology in Canada

Although a number of political psychologists are active in Canada, there has been relatively little self-conscious development of the field. This article brings together contributions from political science and social psychology in Canada in an attempt to identify aspects of Canadian distinctiveness in the field of political psychology, notably the balance between mainstream and eclectic tendencies.     

Some big ideas for some big problems

Although most psychologists do not see sustainability as a psychological problem, our environmental predicament is caused largely by human behaviors, accompanied by relevant thoughts, feelings, attitudes, and values. The huge task of building sustainable cultures will require a great many psychologists from a variety of backgrounds. In an effort to stimulate the imaginations of a wide spectrum of psychologists to take on the crucial problem of sustainability, this article discusses 4 psychological approaches (neo-analytic, behavioral, social, and cognitive) and outlines some of their insights into environmentally relevant behavior. These models are useful for illuminating ways to increase environmentally responsible behaviors of clients, communities, and professional associations.     

State departments of education and behavior modification

This is an investigation of the views held by senior state department of education administrators responsible for school psychology services relevant to the acceptance or rejection of behavior modification procedures in the states by educators, parents, and school psychologists. Significant results support that there is a relationship between the administrators' preferences and the perceived functioning of school psychologists and that school psychologists are believed to be different from educators and parents in views toward behavior modification.     

Identity‐based motivation: Constraints and opportunities in consumer research

This commentary underscores the integrative nature of the identity-based motivation model (Oyserman, D. (2009). Identity-based motivation: Implications for action-readiness, procedural-readiness, and consumer behavior. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 19(3) (this issue)). We situate the model within existing literatures in psychology and consumer behavior, and illustrate its novel elements with research examples. Special attention is devoted to, 1) how product- and brand-based affordances constrain identity-based motivation processes and, 2) the mindsets and action tendencies that can be triggered by specific cultural identities in pursuit of consumer goals. Future opportunities are suggested for researching the antecedents of product meanings and relevant identities.     

Teaching Sizeism: Integrating Size into Multicultural Education and Clinical Training

Abstract

Multicultural education, training, and practice have traditionally focused primarily on race/ethnicity with gradual inclusion of gender, sexual orientation, social class, and age. Issues of size, which intersects with racism, sexism, and classism, have been notably absent from diversity discussions. Psychologists have typically framed size issues around obesity and adopted a medicalized, individualized perspective that belies data that show traditional approaches to weight management, such as dieting and exercise, are largely ineffective and non-maintainable. Here, we offer a rationale for including body size as an issue relevant to a multicultural curriculum. Strategies for training psychologists and therapists are delineated.     

Defensiveness and Defense Mechanisms

This introduction to the Journal of Personality's special issue on the topic of defense mechanisms raises the question of why defenses have been largely overlooked in personality research. Although defenses were originally discussed in the context of psychopathology, for the past 60 years psychodynamically oriented psychologists have understood that defenses play an important part in normal psychological development. Recently, psychologists outside the field of personality have incorporated the ideas of unconscious mental processes and of defenses into their research programs. In this issue, personality researchers discuss their ideas about defense mechanisms, organized around three topical areas: current conceptualizations of defense, the measurement of defense mechanisms, and the integration of defense mechanisms into personality research. The issue concludes with a commentary on these articles and provides suggestions for future work.     

Psychologists in medical schools in 1997. Research brief

The activities, income, and medical staff membership and limitations on that membership for psychologists working in U.S. medical school settings in 1997 were examined. A total of 1,938 psychologists responded to a survey conducted by the Research Office of the American Psychological Association, in conjunction with the Association of Medical School Psychologists. Some of the most salient findings were that (a) the largest number of psychologists was involved in research activities, (b) just over half of medical school psychologists were required to generate all or part of their own income through clinical work and research, and (c) the majority of these psychologists were members of a medical staff but were not extended full medical staff privileges. These and other results are discussed in the context of academic rank, tenure status, and other relevant factors.     

It's about time we had a professional oath in psychology

Symbols and ceremony are an important element in the formation and continuation of all societies. They enunciate the values of the citizenry or the membership of the society, and often provide the only tangible representation of those values. Furthermore, little has been written about the process of “formation” of identity of professional psychologists. One issue that has received little attention in terms of its symbolic importance as well as its capacity to aid formation concerns the development of an oath for professional psychologists. This paper considers the need for a professional oath for Australian psychologists. The concept of the professional oath is explored, and an examination of the merits of adopting a professional oath is considered. The practical issues of adopting a professional oath will then be briefly examined. The paper concludes by recommending that professional oath taking by psychologists be initiated as a matter of high priority.     

Poverty and Serious Mental Illness: Toward Action on a Seemingly Intractable Problem

This paper examines the issue of poverty among people with serious mental illness (SMI), positioning it as a key issue to be confronted by community mental health systems and practitioners. The paper reviews three perspectives on poverty, considering how each sheds light on poverty among people with SMI, and their implications for action: (a) monetary resources, (b) basic needs, and (c) capabilities. The paper argues that community mental health programs and systems are currently unable to address poverty as they are overly focused on individual‐level interventions that, on their own, cannot raise people out of poverty. The paper calls for a social justice value, informed by the concept of citizenship, as a necessary complement to the recovery concept that has informed community mental health practice for almost 25 years. Finally, the paper argues that community psychologists, with their concepts, methods, and values, are well positioned to contribute to this important issue. However, it also contends that addressing poverty requires collaboration from community psychologists with researchers and practitioners from other fields and domains of expertise to begin to make progress.