Psychological Defensiveness as a Mechanism Explaining the Relationship Between Low Socioeconomic Status and Religiosity

People who are low in socioeconomic status (SES) are more likely to be religious than their higher status counterparts; however, little research has tested the mechanisms for this relationship. Using data from 90 diverse societies and multilevel path analysis, we replicated findings that individuals low in SES are more religious and furthermore found that in wealthy countries this relationship was mediated by a measure of psychological defensiveness even while controlling for participants' sense of financial insecurities. These results suggest that religious belief may play a psychologically protective role for low SES individuals, independent of realistic economic concerns.     

Negative Interpretations of Interpersonal Situations and the Relation Between Low Perceived Support and Psychological Distress Among Divorced Adults1

This research tested hypotheses for a mechanism by which low perceived support may lead to psychological distress. According to social‐cognitive models, perceived support guides the interpretation of interpersonal situations. People with low perceived support interpret these situations more negatively than do people with high perceived support, and these negative interpretations lead to psychological distress. This mechanism is hypothesized to be distinct from similar mechanisms involving other social‐cognitive constructs, such as dysfunctional attitudes. These hypotheses were tested in 2 samples of adults adjusting to divorce. The data were consistent with predictions. Implications for understanding low perceived support's relation to distress and adults' adjustment to divorce were discussed.     

Moderating Effects of Religious/Spiritual Coping in the Relation Between Perceived Stress and Psychological Well-Being

Although the relationship between stress and depressive symptoms is well documented, less is known about the role of coping strategies, in particular strategies for coping via religious or spiritual means. To investigate the relationships among these factors, data was collected with questionnaires completed by 127 MSW students at a northeastern university in 2003. Significant Stress×Religious/Spiritual Coping buffer interactions were found in the relationship between stress and depression. EQS 6.1 and hierarchical moderated regression analysis showed that religious/spiritual coping reduced the impact of stress on depression. Implications for practice are discussed.     

The Mediational Role of Perceived Competence in Psychological Adjustment to Rheumatoid Arthritis1

Chronic illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis (RA) have been linked to poor psychological adjustment, although individual differences in this relationship have been observed. This study examines the role of perceived competence as a mediator between RA and adjustment. Persons with RA (N= 208) were surveyed three times at 6-month intervals concerning several potential antecedents of adjustment (pain, psychosocial impairment, social support, and control beliefs), self-perceived level of competence, and level of adjustment (life satisfaction and depressive symptomatology). Within each observational period strong evidence was obtained for perceived competence as a mediator of adjustment. Longitudinally (across the year) the data were consistent with a mediational model, but strong evidence establishing mediation was not obtained. Implications of these findings, and the importance of examining the role of perceived competence in adaptation to chronic illness, are discussed.     

Socioeconomic Status and Child Mental Health: The Role of Parental Emotional Well-Being and Parenting Practices

This study examined the role of parental emotional well-being and parenting practices as mediators of the association between familial socioeconomic status (SES) and child mental health problems. The sample included 2,043 5th-7th graders (50.7 % female) participating in the second wave of the Bergen Child Study. Children completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, parents reported family economy and education level, emotional well-being (measured with the Everyday Feelings Questionnaire), and the use of negative disciplinary and affirmative parenting practices (measured using the Family Life Questionnaire). Path analyses were conducted to examine the associations between SES and externalizing and internalizing problems. Results supported a model where family economy was associated with externalizing problems through parental emotional well-being and parenting practices, whereas maternal education level was associated with externalizing problems through negative discipline. The direct association between paternal education level and externalizing problems was not mediated by parenting. For internalizing problems, we found both direct associations with family economy and indirect associations with family economy through parental emotional well-being and parenting. The results suggest that parental emotional well-being and parenting practices are two potential mechanisms through which low socioeconomic status is associated with child mental health problems.     

The Relation Between Masculine Role Conflict and Psychological Distress in Male University Counseling Center Clients

This is the first study to examine the relations between components of masculine gender role conflict and specific symptoms of psychological distress in a sample of men seeking counseling services. One hundred and thirty male clients from 2 university counseling centers completed the Gender Role Conflict Scale and the Symptom Checklist-90-Revised. Participants reported moderate to high levels of psychological symptoms, which were correlated with components of masculine role conflict. Results of simultaneous multiple regressions supported previous findings in nonclinical samples of relations between masculine role conflict and depression and interpersonal issues. In addition, masculine role conflict significantly predicted paranoia, psychoticism, and obsessive compulsivity. Implications for counseling and future research are discussed.     

主观社会经济地位与心理幸福感的关系：创造力的中介和安全感的调节作用

为探讨主观社会经济地位对心理幸福感的影响,以及创造力的中介作用和安全感的调节作用,采用问卷法调查了556名18～60岁城市成年人的主观社会经济地位、安全感、创造力和心理幸福感。结果发现：(1)主观社会经济地位正向预测心理幸福感;(2)性格优势之创造力是主观社会经济地位与心理幸福感的中介变量;(3)安全感调节了中介过程的前半路径。只有当个体的安全感较高时,主观社会经济地位对创造力才存在显著的正向预测作用。结果表明,提升社会经济地位的同时,还需要提升个体的安全感,这样才能更好地促进创造力的发展,并进一步增加个体的心理幸福感。     

Socioeconomic Status and Perceived Expectations As Measures of Family Influence

This is a study of changes in the educational plans of a longitudinal group of 255 males over grades 8, 9, 10, and 11. Subjected to testing and confirmed is the hypothesis that the student's perceived interaction with parents, regardless of socioeconomic status, is more directly associated with his educational plans than is socioeconomic status itself. The results also suggest that peers do not exceed parents in their influence upon adolescent plans when both sources of possible influence are measured by the same method.     

The Relation of Cultural Mistrust and Psychological Health

The relation between cultural mistrust and psychological health was examined using a sample of 125 African American students. Results did not support the notion that mistrust of Whites is psychologically healthy but suggested that a moderate amount of trust of Whites is related to perceptions of personal well‐being. La relación entre la descofianza cultural y la salud psicológica se examinó utilizando una muestra de 125 estudiantes Americanos Africanos. Los resultados no sostuvieron la noción que la desconfianza de los Blancos es psicológicamente sana pero sugirió que una cantidad moderada de la desconfianza de los Blancos es relacionada a percepciones del bienestar personal.     

Why Socioeconomic Status Affects the Health of Children

Abstract— This article provides an overview of research on socioeconomic status (SES) and physical health in childhood. SES has a gradient relationship with children's health, such that for each incremental increase in SES, there is a comparable benefit in children's health. In this article, I discuss psychosocial mechanisms underlying this association and argue that it is important to utilize knowledge about how the relationship between SES and health changes with age to inform a developmentally plausible search for mediators of this relationship. Furthermore, SES at different points in a child's lifetime may have different effects on health. I advocate an interdisciplinary approach to searching for mediators that would allow researchers to understand how characteristics of society, the neighborhood, the family, and the individual child are involved in the processes linking SES and children's health.     

Perceived Discrimination Among Ethnic Minority Young People: The Role of Psychological Variables1

Because of difficulties in objectively determining discrimination, attention has turned to individual differences in perceptions of discrimination. This study aimed to build on such work by investigating the role of psychological variables in predicting perceived discrimination (PD) in a UK sample of ethnic minority young people (n= 154). A series of multiple regression analyses yielded 3 pathways leading to PD. There was a direct effect of gender on PD. Depression and low self‐esteem and need for approval predicted anxiety, which in turn was related to higher PD. Finally, private collective self‐esteem correlated with public collective self‐esteem, which in turn predicted lower PD. The results point to the importance of psychological variables, both personal and collective, in the perception of ethnic discrimination. Furthermore, the findings enhance our understanding of the complex associations between self‐esteem, affect, and PD.     

The Relation Between Parental Mental Illness and Adolescent Mental Health: The Role of Family Factors

Children of parents with a mental illness are often found to be at high risk of developing psychological problems themselves. Little is known about the role of family factors in the relation between parental and adolescent mental health. The current study focused on parent–child interaction and family environment. This cross-sectional questionnaire study included 124 families with a mentally ill parent and 127 families without a mentally ill parent who at the time of the study had children aged 11–16 years old. Parents completed questionnaires about their mental health, parent–child interaction (i.e., parental monitoring and parental support), and family environment (i.e., cohesion, expressiveness, and conflict). Adolescents reported their internalizing and externalizing problems. Path analyses were used to examine the direct associations between parental mental illness and adolescent problems as well as the indirect relations via parent–child interaction and family environment. The results showed that interaction between parents with a mental illness and their child was significantly worse compared to parents without a mental illness. The family environment of parents with mental illness was also more negative. Mentally ill parents monitored their adolescents less, which in turn related to more externalizing problems of the adolescents. No factors mediated the relation between parental mental health and adolescent internalizing problems. Moreover, no direct effects of parental support, family cohesion, and family expressiveness with externalizing problems were found. These findings imply that parental monitoring should get a specific focus of attention in existing interventions designed to prevent adolescents with a mentally ill parent from developing problems.     

The Role of Socioeconomic Status in SAT-Grade Relationships and in College Admissions Decisions

This article examines the role of socioeconomic status (SES) in the relationships among college admissions-test scores, secondary school grades, and subsequent academic performance. Scores on the SAT (a test widely used in the admissions process in the United States), secondary school grades, college grades, and SES measures from 143,606 students at 110 colleges and universities were examined, and results of these analyses were compared with results obtained using a 41-school data set including scores from the prior version of the SAT and using University of California data from prior research on the role of SES. In all the data sets, the SAT showed incremental validity over secondary school grades in predicting subsequent academic performance, and this incremental relationship was not substantially affected by controlling for SES. The SES of enrolled students was very similar to that of specific schools' applicant pools, which suggests that the barrier to college for low-SES students in the United States is a lower rate of entering the college admissions process, rather than exclusion on the part of colleges.     

心理委员胜任力与心理健康的关系:领悟社会支持和心理弹性的链式中介

目的:探究领悟社会支持和心理弹性在心理委员胜任力与心理健康之间的中介作用。方法:采用问卷调查法对某高校433名大学生进行测查。结果表明:(1)相关分析显示,心理委员胜任力与领悟社会支持、心理弹性呈现显著正相关,与大学生心理健康呈现显著负相关;(2)结构方程模型分析表明,心理委员胜任力对大学生心理健康的直接效应显著,领悟社会支持和心理弹性在心理委员胜任力与大学生心理健康之间中介作用均显著,且领悟社会支持-心理弹性的链式中介作用也显著。结论:心理委员胜任力既可以直接预测大学生心理健康,又可以分别通过领悟社会支持、心理弹性的中介作用,以及领悟社会支持-心理弹性的链式中介作用间接预测大学生心理健康。     

The Relation Between People's Connection With a Target and the Perceived Importance of Justice

We propose that actors will perceive justice as more important with respect to a target when they experience moderate versus extremely high or extremely low connection with the target. In two studies, we manipulated actors’ connection with (e.g., similarity to) a target and the target's standing on the appropriate justice criterion. Both studies yielded the predicted curvilinear relation between connectedness and the perceived relevance of justice. In Study 2, actors’ decisions were more affected by the justice criterion in the moderate versus extreme connectedness conditions. Our findings have important implications for the interplay between connection with others and moral motivations.     

The Role of Culture in the Relationship Between Religiosity and Psychological Well-being

Several measures of religious practice and religious orientation (intrinsic/extrinsic/quest) and two measures of psychological well-being (positive affect and negative affect) have been employed in a cross-cultural survey of undergraduate university students from five different cultural/religious environments: Slovenia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, the United States of America, and Japan. Results suggest that measures of exstrinsic, intrinsic, and quest religiosity are not entirely applicable in most of the cultures observed. Nevertheless, it was possible to discern abbreviated cross-culturally valid scales for each dimension. The strength and direction of the correlation between psychological well-being and a particular type of religious orientation proved to depend substantially upon culture. More importantly, the cultural environment plays a crucial role in shaping the relationship between general measures of religiosity and psychological well-being. According to the data, higher general levels of religiosity at the societal level are linked to more positive correlations between religiosity and psychological well-being. The overall picture leads to the conclusion that there is no culturally universal pattern in the relationship between measures of religiosity and psychological well-being and that the particular cultural and religious context should always be considered in studies dealing with this issue.

The Pathways Between Socioeconomic Status and Adolescent Outcomes: A Systematic Review

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a significant risk factor for negative adolescent development outcomes. Identifying the pathways between SES and these outcomes may inform interventions for adolescents from this demographic. We conducted a systematic literature review of eight databases for studies investigating pathways between SES and adolescent psychosocial outcomes. A total of 59 articles met inclusion criteria. Significant risk factors identified include economic stress, chaos in the home, and violence in the community. These risk factors appear to be mediated through parent depression, conflict between parents, parenting practices, and adolescent resilience. Interventions focusing on the identified risk factors are recommended.     

Spiritual Struggles and Health: Assessing the Influence of Socioeconomic Status

Growing evidence suggests that spiritual struggles may play a major role in explaining the relationship between religion and health. Even so, there are significant gaps in the literature. More specifically, researchers do not know enough about how spiritual struggles arise in the first place. This study has two major goals. The first is to see whether socioeconomic status is associated with spiritual struggles. The second is to see whether spiritual struggles are associated with physical health. A conceptual model is tested that contains the following core hypotheses: (1) individuals with lower levels of educational attainment are more likely to encounter chronic economic difficulties; (2) people who experience ongoing financial strain are more likely to live in rundown neighborhoods; (3) people who live in dilapidated neighborhoods will be more angry than their well‐to‐do counterparts; (4) people who are more angry will, in turn, be more likely to experience spiritual struggles; and (5) greater spiritual struggles will be associated with more symptoms of physical illness. Data from a recent nationwide survey (N = 2,146) provide empirical support for each hypothesis.     

Life Change and Psychological Distress: The Role of Perceived Control and Desirability

Two studies were conducted to specify what attributes of life change events increase the risk of future psychological distress. It was hypothesized that the events perceived as both undesirable and uncontrollable would be most likely to be linked to subsequent distress. In the fiist study, which employed a retrospective methodology, 117 college students reported the life changes that occurred to them over a 3-month span and indicated the desirability and controll-ability of each event. These subjects also responded to an inventory, used in studies of community mental health, to assess symptoms of psychological distress. The findings indicated that only events perceived as both undesirable and uncontrollable were related to the incidence of psychological distress symptoms. Study 2 examined the same hypothesis in a prospective methodology. As in Study 1, only undesirable, uncontrollable life events were significantly related to subsequent psychological distress symptoms. The results of both studies implicate the importance of perceptions of control over aversive events in understanding the link between real life outcomes and illness.