Relation between testosterone concentration, sex role identity, and personality among females

Eighty-four undergraduate female students completed Baucom's Masculinity and Femininity Scales, the Bem Sex Role Inventory, and the Adjective Check List. Testosterone concentration was determined from saliva samples provided by the women. The results indicated that sex role type was related to level of testosterone concentration. More specifically, undifferentiated females had much higher levels of testosterone concentration than did the feminine-sex-typed females. Also, females with high levels of masculinity (androgynous and masculine-sex-typed females combined) had somewhat higher testosterone levels than did feminine-sex-typed females. Adjectival correlates indicated that females with higher testosterone concentrations perceive themselves as self-directed, action-oriented, resourceful individuals; women with lower testosterone concentration view themselves as conventional, socialized individuals, possessing a caring attitude coupled with an anxious and dejected mood.     

Defensiveness in Female College Students and Its Impact on Their MAST and CAGE Scores

This study found a statistically significant inverse relationship between defensiveness and female college students' Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test (M. L. Selzer, 1971) and CAGE (J. A. Ewing, 1984) scores. Female college students who produce negative screening scores were more defensive than those whose alcohol use screens were positive.     

An Examination of the Association between Difficulties with Emotion Regulation and Dating Violence Perpetration

The perpetration of aggression in dating relationships is a prevalent problem among college students. Research that examines factors related to perpetrating dating violence is needed, as this could help guide prevention programming. This study examined how emotion regulation is related to dating violence perpetration among male and female college students (N = 440). Findings showed that the association between broad difficulties with emotion regulation, as well as more specific emotion regulation problems, were associated with dating violence perpetration and could differentiate individuals who had perpetrated and not perpetrated aggression. These findings varied slightly depending on the gender of the perpetrator and the type of aggression examined. Implications of these findings for prevention programs and future research are discussed.     

Hormonal changes of intimate partner violence perpetrators in response to brief social contact with women

This study investigated whether men with a history of real-life aggressive, dominant behavior show increases in testosterone and cortisol levels after brief social contact with women. Furthermore, we tested the prediction that such changes in hormones would be larger than those observed previously in young male students. Sixty-seven male participants convicted of intimate partner violence (IPV) either had brief social contact with a female confederate (experimental condition) or a male confederate (control condition). We also performed meta-analyses to investigate whether IPV perpetrators' hormonal responses were larger than the typical responses of young male students in prior studies. All statistical analyses were preregistered. Change in testosterone did not differ across experimental conditions, and testosterone in the IPV perpetrators actually declined from baseline in the female confederate condition. Our meta-analysis showed that this testosterone decrease was different from the testosterone increase typically observed in young male students. The cortisol levels of IPV perpetrators did not change in response to contact with women. This result was consistent with our meta-analysis since young male students also did not experience a cortisol change in response to interactions with women. In sum, our findings provide no evidence that male IPV perpetrators exhibit larger hormone increases to brief interactions with women, although it is possible that the men in this sample did not perceive the social contact period as a courtship opportunity. These results suggest that hormone reactivity to social encounters may differ across subject populations and depend on how subjects perceive social situations within laboratory settings.     

Masculinity, femininity, and musical composition psychological and psychoendocrinological aspects of musical and spatial faculties

Physiological and psychological masculinity and femininity were assessed in relation to musical capacities and spatial ability. Male composers had lower mean testosterone levels than male instrumentalists and male non-musicians; female composers had higher testosterone levels than female instrumentalists and female non-musicians. Testosterone in saliva was the physiological marker for androgyny. All of the groups were found to be psychologically androgynous on Bem's Sex-Role Inventory and all groups had above average spatial ability. Musicians, however, surpassed non-musicians on spatial visualization and on Witelson's Dichaptic Stimulation Test.     

Adolescents self-report of violence in families and dating relations

The occurrence and forms of violence experienced by adolescents in families and dating relationships were investigated. Subjects were 204 juniors and seniors enrolled in a high school in central Michigan. A primary aim of the study was to examine similarities between adolescents' experiences with dating violence and those reported by college students. Findings indicate that high school students encounter a considerable amount of violence in their families. Results also reveal a remarkable similarity between their dating experiences and those of college students, suggesting that there is a pattern to "relationship violence".     

Compliance and personality: the vulnerability of the unstable introvert

The aim of the study was to assess the relationship of compliance with Eysenck's three personality dimensions: psychoticism, extraversion, and neuroticism. Three groups of participants (prison inmates, college students, and university students) completed the Gudjonsson Compliance Scale (GCS) and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire (EPQ). As predicted, compliance correlated positively with neuroticism and negatively with extraversion in all groups, whereas for psychoticism the correlation was positive among the prison inmates, negative for college students, and non‐significant for university students. A quadrant analysis according to Eysenck's original two‐dimensional framework (neuroticism–stability and introversion–extraversion) showed that compliance was highest among unstable introverts and lowest among stable extraverts. The findings are discussed in relation to recent work on person‐type approaches. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Childhood Exposure to Community and Domestic Violence: Prevalence,Risk Factors and Posttraumatic Outcomes in a South African Student Sample

The effects of exposure to direct and vicarious community and domestic violence on the posttraumatic adjustment of 323 South African students were examined. Data were collected using self-administered questionnaires, with the relationship between exposure to violence and posttraumatic outcomes being explored using binomial logistic regression analyses. Two hundred and sixty-two participants (81 %) reported that they had been exposed to some form of interpersonal violence during childhood. An analysis of risk factors for exposure to violence indicated that males were more than twice as likely as females to have experienced victimization by a community member. Direct exposure to domestic violence was the only form of violence which was found to be associated with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Among participants who had experienced direct domestic violence, clinically significant levels of PTSD were significantly predicted by both gender (being female) and by abuse chronicity.     

Pathways to women's crime: differences among women convicted of drug, violence and fraud offenses

The current study was conducted on 60 Israeli female inmates. Our aim was to examine the differences among women convicted for drug, violence, and fraud offenses by socio-demographic variables and self-control and aggression levels. Results revealed that the drug group was characterized by measures attributed to chronic delinquency, and the fraud group was found to fit the pathway to low crime. At the same time, the violence group was not characterized by any of these patterns. The findings were discussed in relation to their theoretical contribution and applicability.     

Unprovoked aggression: effects of psychopathic traits and sadism

Psychopathic individuals engage in the most violent and cold-blooded acts of aggression. In the laboratory, psychopathy traits have been linked to the commission of unprovoked aggression. The purpose of this study was to assess affective motives that may underlie the relationship between psychopathy and unprovoked aggression. One hundred thirty-seven men viewed a series of photographs depicting violent imagery, completed a lexical decision task designed to assess state affect, and competed in a laboratory-based aggression paradigm. Results indicated that participants who responded faster to happiness words after viewing violent imagery (i.e., sadistic) were significantly more likely to engage in unprovoked aggression. Additionally, Factor 1 psychopathy (emotional detachment) predicted increased probability of unprovoked aggression; however, this relationship was not mediated by sadism. Rather, Factor 1 and sadism each independently predicted unprovoked aggression. The implications of the present data suggest that the type of violence evinced may inform the risk for perpetration of future acts. That is, the individual who demonstrates unprovoked violence may be more likely to employ aggressive tactics across situational contexts than the individual who demonstrates only impulsive acts of hostile/reactive aggression.     

Social Class and Attitudes toward Education

ABSTRACT

The current study was conducted on 60 Israeli female inmates. Our aim was to examine the differences among women convicted for drug, violence, and fraud offenses by socio-demographic variables and self-control and aggression levels. Results revealed that the drug group was characterized by measures attributed to chronic delinquency, and the fraud group was found to fit the pathway to low crime. At the same time, the violence group was not characterized by any of these patterns. The findings were discussed in relation to their theoretical contribution and applicability.     

Intervening Processes Between Youths’ Exposure to Community Violence and Internalizing Symptoms Over Time: The Roles of Social Support and Coping

The roles of social support and coping as intervening processes between exposure to community violence and internalizing symptoms were examined longitudinally among a community sample of 667 middle school students in the inner city. After controlling for potential confounders (e.g., social desirability, victimization and witnessing of family violence, guardian's psychological symptomatology), internalizing symptoms at Year 2 were predicted by hypothesized changes over 1 year, such that increased community violence exposure, decreased guardian and peer support, and increased use of defensive and confrontational behavioral coping were related to more internalizing symptoms of anxiety, depression and PTSD, although some of these relations varied by gender. The relations between internalizing symptoms at Year 3 and increased changes in exposure to community violence over 2 years were moderated by social support and/or coping, such that decreased guardian support and increased use of defensive and confrontational coping were generally associated with more symptoms for boys exposed to community violence. Girls who witnessed increased community violence and who increased their use of defensive or confrontational coping experienced more internalizing symptoms. The findings underscore the importance of developmental and contextual considerations in the design and implementation of interventions.     

Defensive externality and its relation to academic performance.

This study examined the relationship between locus of control and academic performance by evaluating the academic achievement of defensive externals, which has been considered a confounding factor in previous research. A further objective was an examination of the effect of two mediating variables in their relation to locus of control and academic performance. One hundred sixty college students were administered the Internal, Powerful Others, and Chance scales, the Fear of Negative Evaluation scale, and the Achievement via Independence/via Conformance scales. Obtained results demonstrated that internals were academically superior to both defensive and congruent externals. Defensive externals were shown to have higher grade point averages than congruent externals, and female defensive externals achieved greater academic success than their male counterparts. Further results suggested that the relationship between locus of control and academic performance may not be a direct one but may be modified by specific mediating variables.     

Individual characteristics related to prison violence: A critical review of the literature

At the end of 2010, prisons in the United States incarcerated over 1,605,127 inmates, yielding an imprisonment rate of 497 per 100,000 residents (Guerino, Harrison, & Sabol, 2011). Approximately 15.6% of correctional officers have been the victim of an inmate assault (Duhart, 2001) and 21% of inmates reported being victims of violence in prison (Wolff, Blitz, Shi, Siegel, & Bachman, 2007). However, which inmates are more likely to perpetuate these violent acts while incarcerated? The present paper critically reviews the empirical literature on the relation between individual characteristics of inmates and prison violence. Variables are divided into three general categories: demographic, criminal history, and psychological variables. From over 500 studies, a representative sample of 20 studies from 1990 to 2011 was reviewed based on specified inclusion criteria, such as adult males incarcerated in English-speaking countries. Although there are some discrepant findings, a general conclusion can be reached regarding most variables. These characteristics are compiled into a prototype of an inmate at “high” risk and an inmate at “low” risk for prison violence. Methodological limitations of the research are presented, as well as suggestions for future research directions.     

Exposure to community violence in adolescence: trauma symptoms

This research explored the relationship between exposure to violence and psychological stress among adolescents. It focused on the cumulative experience of recurring community violence during the high school years, differentiated victimization from witnessing violence, and examined four conceptually separate psychological symptoms of trauma (anger, anxiety, depression, and dissociation). Considerable exposure to recurring community violence, but also considerable variation in the amount of exposure, was found in the sample of 455 first-year students at an urban college. Exposure to recurring community violence was moderately correlated with the manifestation of psychological trauma symptoms. Further, being victimized and witnessing violence had independent (as well as overlapping) relationships with trauma symptoms. It was concluded that attempts to account for psychological stress among adolescents must include exposure to community violence.     

The Link Between Psychological Abuse Victimization and Physical Health in College Students

Victims of intimate partner violence have a wide array of mental and physical health symptoms. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between psychological abuse victimization and physical health symptoms among college students. Male and female college students completed a Web-based survey to assess victimization of different forms of psychological abuse, a variety of physical health symptoms, and current academic stressors. Results found that psychological abuse victimization in the form of dominance and intimidation provided incremental predictive power above and beyond that of academic stressors in determining physical health symptoms regarding the stomach and chest, muscles and skeleton, and nervous system. Future investigation of the role of intimate partner psychological victimization on physical health issues in college students is warranted.     

暴力视频游戏接触对大学生网络攻击行为的影响：一个有中介的调节模型

以946名大学生为被试进行问卷调查,探讨暴力视频游戏接触对大学生网络攻击行为的影响机制。结果表明：(1) 暴力视频游戏接触正向预测大学生网络攻击行为;(2) 特质愤怒在大学生暴力视频游戏接触与其网络攻击行为及暴力态度的关系中均具有调节作用;(3) 暴力态度不仅部分中介了大学生暴力视频游戏接触对其网络攻击行为的影响,而且部分中介了特质愤怒与暴力视频游戏接触的交互作用对大学生网络攻击行为的影响。     

Relationships among Chinese college students’ defensive pessimism,cultural values,and psychological health

This study examined defensive pessimism, viewed as a self-regulatory strategy in Western cultures, in China among college students, and explored its relationship with Chinese cultural values and students’ psychological health operationalized as adult hope and personal growth initiative. Two-hundred and thirty Chinese students from a comprehensive university in Beijing, China, participated in the study. Data were analyzed by using structural equation modeling. The results showed that all the measures used in the study were valid for our sample. The inferential modeling demonstrated that reflectivity, but not pessimism, subscale of defensive pessimism correlated with Chinese cultural values. Additionally, pessimism and reflectivity predicted psychological health in opposite directions. Reflectivity contributed to hope and positive growth initiative, but pessimism decreased these psychological health indicators. The results seemed to suggest that reflectivity, but not pessimism, captured the essence of defensive pessimism for Chinese college students. Limitations and directions for future research were discussed.