Healthy Eating Self‐Schema and Nutrition Behavior1

The nutrition behavior of female college students who differed in healthy eater self‐schema status was investigated. Forty‐nine female students enrolled in a nutrition class (27 schematics, 22 nonschematics) provided 4‐day food diaries. Analyses revealed that students who saw themselves as healthy eaters consumed more fiber and less total fat than did those without such a self‐schema. In addition, higher percentages of healthy eater schematics met the dietary guidelines for fiber, total fat, and dietary cholesterol. No group differences were found for either saturated fat or sugar intake.     

Cultural Adaptation of a Cognitive Behavior Therapy Guided Self‐Help Program for Mexican American Women With Binge Eating Disorders

Data on the compatibility of evidence‐based treatment in ethnic minority groups are limited. This study utilized focus group interviews to elicit Mexican American women's (N= 12) feedback on a cognitive behavior therapy guided self‐help program for binge eating disorders. Findings revealed 6 themes to be considered during the cultural adaptation process and highlighted the importance of balancing the fidelity and cultural relevance of evidence‐based treatment when disseminating it across diverse racial/ethnic groups.     

Encouraging People With Mood Disorders to Attend a Self‐Help Group1

Using an intervention based on referent power, self‐help sponsors sought to encourage attendance at self‐help meetings. They encouraged patients with major depression or bipolar disorder to attend self‐help meetings following their hospitalizations. The intervention successfully increased the attendance of the experimental group compared to those in the control group. Implications for practice are discussed.     

Gender Self‐Definition and Gender Self‐Acceptance in Women: Intersections With Feminist,Womanist, and Ethnic Identities

The author explored the relationships among women's gender identity constructs as well as the relationships of those constructs to ethnic identity. Nine of the 12 hypothesized relationships between gender self‐definition and female identity development statuses and between gender self‐acceptance and female identity development statuses were supported. Gender self‐definition and gender self‐acceptance were also both positively correlated with ethnic identity. Analyses of the Hoffman Gender Scale (R. M. Hoffman, 1996; R. M. Hoffman, L. D. Borders, & J. A. Hattie, 2000) provided additional support for its use as a measure of gender self‐definition and gender self‐acceptance.     

Problem‐Solving Skills and Relationship Attributes Among Women With Eating Disorders

This study examined interpersonal problem solving, relationship conflict, and social support among women with and without subclinical eating disorders. Thirty‐nine women scoring above the clinical cutoff on the Eating Attitudes Test‐26 (D. M. Garner & P. Garfinkel, 1979) and 39 matched controls completed self‐report Relationship Quality, Perceived Social Support, Depression, and Interpersonal Problem Solving inventories. Contrary to predictions, groups did not differ on relationship conflict and social support measures. As hypothesized, disordered eating symptoms were associated with less effective problem solving in eating and weight and interpersonal relationship situations. The discussion focuses on implications for counseling interventions among college women.     

Predictors of Hypersexual Behavior Among College Men and Women: Exploring Self‐Conscious Emotions

The authors examined self‐conscious emotions as predictors of hypersexual behavior among 235 college students. Among men, shame‐proneness and externalization predicted higher hypersexual behavior, whereas guilt‐proneness and detachment were associated with lower hypersexual behavior. Detachment predicted higher hypersexual behavior among women.     

Masculinity and Self‐Esteem in Israeli Jewish Professional Women 1

The literature suggests that while women experience unique challenges with self‐esteem and self‐acceptance, Jewish professional women in Israel face additional challenges in balancing majority culture values, ethnic traditions, and the socio‐historical‐political context of the country. The present study investigated differences in masculinity, femininity, locus of control, self‐esteem, and self‐acceptance among Israeli Jewish and other professional women, including professional women scientists. Masculinity scores were significantly lower for Israeli Jewish women, and self‐acceptance scores were significantly lower for Israeli Jewish women than for the group of professional women.     

Self‐Handicapping: On the Self‐Perpetuating Nature of Defensive Behavior

The term self‐handicapping was introduced by Jones and Berglas (1978 ) to refer to the creation of barriers to successful performance for the purpose of controlling attributions about the self. In the event of failure, attributions to lack of ability are diminished or discounted because of the handicap and, in the event of success, attributions to ability are enhanced or augmented because of the handicap. This article reviews over 25 years of research on self‐handicapping. A process model is presented in which individual differences in goals and concerns dynamically interact with situational threats to elicit self‐handicapping behavior which produces consequences that perpetuate the use of the behavior in future situations.     

Interoceptive Deficits,Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury,and Suicide Attempts Among Women with Eating Disorders

People with eating disorders (ED s) have an elevated risk for both nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI ) and suicide compared to the general population. This study tests two theoretically derived models examining interoceptive deficits as a risk factor for NSSI , and examining interoceptive deficits, NSSI , fearlessness about death, and pain tolerance as risk factors for suicide. Ninety‐six adult, treatment‐seeking women with ED s completed self‐report questionnaires at a single time point. Interoceptive deficits were significantly associated with NSSI , and NSSI was in turn associated with both pain tolerance and fearlessness about death. Further, pain tolerance was in turn associated with past suicide attempts, although fearlessness about death was not associated with suicide attempts. Interoceptive deficits had a direct association with fearlessness about death but not pain tolerance. Results regarding the relation between interoceptive deficits and suicide attempts were mixed, yet overall suggest that interoceptive deficits are related to suicide attempts largely indirectly, through the effects of mediating variables such as NSSI , fearlessness about death, and pain tolerance. Results suggest that interoceptive deficits and pain tolerance merit further investigation as potential risk factors for fatal and nonfatal self‐harm among individuals with ED s.     

The Effects of Mood on Moral Judgment: The Role of Self‐Monitoring1

After being induced, via film clips, into either a positive (happy) or negative (sad) mood, high and low self‐monitors completed a moral reasoning task (the Defining Issues Test). The results indicate that mood had a significant impact on the moral decision making of low, but not high self‐monitors. In particular, low self‐monitors induced into a positive mood demonstrated more sophisticated and principled moral reasoning strategies than did low self‐monitors induced into a negative mood. In contrast, the level of moral reasoning among high self‐monitors did not differ significantly as a function of induced mood.     

Self‐Criticism as a Transdiagnostic Process in Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury and Disordered Eating: Systematic Review and Meta‐Analysis

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and disordered eating (DE) are highly comorbid and may be regarded as belonging to a spectrum of self‐harm behaviors. We investigated self‐criticism as a transdiagnostic correlate of these behaviors, in keeping with etiological theories of both NSSI and DE. We reviewed the literature and meta‐analyzed the relation of self‐criticism to both NSSI (15 studies; 17 effect sizes) and DE (24 studies; 29 effect sizes). Results showed equivalent, moderate‐to‐large effects for the relation of self‐criticism to NSSI (r = .38; CI: .29–.46) and DE (r = .40; CI: .34–.45). The relation of NSSI to self‐criticism generalized across multiple potential moderators. DE behavior type moderated the relation of self‐criticism to DE, with a stronger relation emerging for purging than restriction. Findings support self‐criticism as a possible candidate for transdiagnostic pathways to self‐harm.     

Group Narrative Therapy for Women With Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Women with attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often struggle with the developmental challenges of adulthood and ADHD‐related problems. The authors provide specific clinical interventions from a narrative‐based group approach to help women with ADHD understand their symptoms, create strength‐based narratives, and apply these narratives to the developmental tasks of early adulthood.     

Weighing the Evidence: Social Desirability, Eating Disorder Symptomatology, and Accuracy of Self-reported Body Weight Among Men and Women

Although self-reported measurement of body weight is commonly accepted practice, this method may yield inaccurate estimates varying by respondent gender, body mass index, and eating disorder symptomatology. Given the gendered nature of idealized body weight in the U.S., we examined whether or not these variables and positive impression management are associated with inaccurate weight reporting among undergraduates. College women (n?=?107) and men (n?=?48) from a small liberal arts school in the Northeastern U.S. self-reported height and weight, completed the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire, Personality Assessment Inventory-Positive Impression Management scale, and three scales from the Eating Disorder Inventory-3, and were then weighed. Paired t-tests compared self-reported and measured body weight for men and women separately, and respondents were then categorized as under- or over-reporters by gender. Independent samples t-tests were conducted separately for men and women comparing weight under- and over-reporters on BMI, levels of eating disorder symptomatology, and social desirability. Results indicate discrepancies between self-reported and measured body weight were significant. Among those who over-reported weight, men exhibited greater over-reporting than did women. Weight under-reporting was associated with higher BMI, and for women, lower eating disorder symptomatology and higher social desirability scores. There may be inaccuracies in self-reported weight based on positive impression management, BMI, and eating disorder symptomatology, but these appear to differ by gender. Future research should explore the roles of personality, social desirability, and competing pressures for muscularity versus thinness in weight reporting accuracy among men and women.     

The Effects of Self‐Diagnostic Information on Risk Perception of Internet Addiction Disorder: Self‐Positivity Bias and Online Social Support1

This article demonstrates how self‐diagnostic information (presence of symptoms on an inventory) influences the risk perception of Internet addiction disorder (IAD). The authors also highlight 2 tendencies—self‐positivity bias and online social support—that are characteristics of risk perception of IAD. In 3 studies, it was found that if no contextual information was provided, respondents estimated their risk of IAD as higher than when contextual information (symptoms) was provided. They were also less prone to self‐positivity (i.e., the disposition for people to estimate their risk as lower than others). Finally, our research provides evidence that online social support moderates these effects.     

Explaining Consumer Conduct: From Planned to Self‐Expressive Behavior1

Within mainstream social psychology, consumer behavior has been explained mainly in terms of the theory of planned behavior (TPB). Recently, some authors suggested that self‐identity dimensions can explain different types of intentions. To compare the predictive power of a tentative new model of self‐expressive consumer behavior with that of the TPB, three studies were conducted in which, besides the classical variables of the model of TPB, variables concerning self‐identity were also taken into account. Three independent samples (N₁= 257, N₂= 214, N₃= 298) were recruited to study the intention to buy fashionable watches, trendy backpacks, and cellular telephones in relation to the aforementioned variables derived from TPB and from identity theory. Data analyses, based on structural equation modeling, show that identity variables contribute significantly to the explanation of purchase intention.     

Definitions of Suicide and Self‐Harm Behavior in an Australian Aboriginal Community

In this small qualitative grounded theory study (21 interviews and focus groups with a total of 26 participants) investigating the understandings of and attitudes toward suicide and self‐harm of Aboriginal peoples in a coastal region of New South Wales, Australia, we found that cultural factors particular to these communities influence the way such behavior is defined in an Aboriginal context. A continuation of certain “traditional” cultural forms of self‐harm behavior was evident in participant definitions, notably the practice of female hair cutting, also described as a mourning ritual, which appears to serve as a marker both to the individual and others.     

Self‐Harm and Conventional Gender Roles in Women

A total of thirty‐two women admitted to a general hospital for medical treatment after self‐harming completed measures of conventional positive and negative masculinity and femininity. Comparisons were made with two control groups with no self‐harm history; 33 women receiving psychiatric outpatient treatment and a nonclinical sample of 206 women. Multinomial logistic regression analyses showed that those with lower scores on Instrumentality and Unmitigated Agency (positive and negative masculinity) and higher scores on Insecurity (negative femininity) had greater odds of self‐harming. Relationships were weaker after accounting for generalized self‐efficacy. Results are discussed in relation to previous findings and suggestions for prevention are made.     

Self‐Image Motives and Consumer Behavior: How Sacrosanct Self‐Beliefs Sway Preferences in the Marketplace

This article reviews social cognitive research suggesting that people shape their beliefs and judgments of the social world to maintain sacrosanct beliefs of the self as a capable, lovable, and moral individual. This article then argues that consumer behavior might similarly be designed to bolster positive self‐views and then discusses the potential role played by these self‐image motives in recently documented consumer behavior phenomena (e.g., endowment, compensation, affirmation, and licensing effects). This article then articulates some questions for future research if one presumes that consumer decision making, at least in part, strives to harmonize preferences with bedrock beliefs that the self is an able and principled person.     

Examining the Relationship Between Exercise Goals,Self‐Efficacy,and Overt Behavior With Beginning Exercisers1

Despite the overwhelming evidence that associates regular physical activity with physical and mental health benefits, millions of North Americans remain sedentary. Previous research by Poag‐DuCharme and Brawley (1993, 1994) and suggestions by Bandura (1989, 1997) led to the hypothesis that goals would influence exercise behavior through the mediating variable of self‐efficacy. Changes to the social cognitions and behavioral patterns of adherers during the exercise program were also assessed. Results demonstrate that at midprogram, self‐efficacy beliefs mediated the relationship between goal influence and exercise frequency. Significant increases were observed in self‐efficacy and perceived exertion from onset to midprogram. Onset goal influence and self‐efficacy significantly discriminated adherers from dropouts. Results are discussed with respect to the need to continue investigating the changing influence of social cognitions on motivating behavior.