Machismo and Mexican American men: an empirical understanding using a gay sample

Machismo continues to be a defining aspect of Mexican American men that informs a wide array of psychological and behavioral dimensions. Although strides have been made in this area of research, understanding of the role of this construct in the lives of gay men remains incomplete. Our purpose in this study was to gain a deeper understanding of machismo using a sample of Mexican American gay men. This study examined for the first time whether a 2-factor model of machismo previously validated with heterosexual, Mexican American men generalized to a sample of 152 gay men of similar ethnic background. Relations between machismo, sexual risk, and internalized homophobia were also explored. Confirmatory factor analysis supported the 2-factor model with the current sample. Results also indicated machismo as predicting internalized homophobia and as an index of risky sex. Limitations are presented and implications are discussed.     

Gender-role conflict and gender-role orientation in a sample of gay men

This exploratory study was designed to examine the relationship between gender role dimensions derived from the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and the 4 dimensions of gender role conflict represented on the Gender Role Conflict Scale (GRCS) using a sample (N = 400) composed of exclusively gay men. Results from regression of 3 BSRI scores (femininity, social masculinity, personal masculinity) on the 4 subscale scores of the GRCS indicated that gender role conflict was most strongly and positively associated with the negative aspect of masculinity (social masculinity), accounting for about 11% of variability in social masculinity scores. In particular, the success-power-competition dimension of the GRCS was the major predictor of social masculinity in gay men. Gender role conflict was also strongly but negatively associated with femininity, accounting for approximately 10% of the variance in femininity scores among the men in the sample. Implications and recommendations for further studies are discussed.     

Travel behavior as a driver of attitude: Car use and car pride in U.S. cities

Individuals attribute social status and personal image to owning and using a car (‘car pride’), which may interact with their travel behavior in complex ways. This study explores the multi-directional relations among car pride, car ownership, and car use for a sample of 1236 adult commuters in New York City, NY and Houston, TX. Applying multivariate structural equation modeling and incorporating instrumental variables, we find evidence of a feedback loop among car pride, car ownership, and car use. Our results suggest that an individual with higher car pride is more likely to own a vehicle, and, enabled with this ownership, use it more frequently. And individuals who use their car more frequently are likely to feel more pride in owning and using their vehicle.This exploration of causal multi-directionality in transportation attitude-behavior relations has important implications for behavioral research, model development, and policy interventions. For researchers, potential bidirectionality must be anticipated from the outset of research design and accounted for appropriately in modeling to address underlying endogeneity. For policymakers, our results suggest that there are multiple intervention points within the reinforcing cycle of attitudes and car consumption. Policies could directly target car ownership and use or could consider influencing behavior through attitude change.     

Gender role conflict scale: validation for a sample of gay men and lesbian women

This study tested the oblique four-factor model of the Gender Role Conflict Scale for a sample of gay men and lesbian women residing in the United States. 400 gay men and 292 lesbian women recruited from university and college gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender LISTSERVs participated. The internal consistency reliability of the Gender Role Conflict Scale scores was high, but low means on the expressive dimension of gender role conflict were noted. The results of two separate sets of confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the four-factor model's fit to the data could be enhanced for both groups by applying item parceling to lower the number of indicators per factor, suggesting that the actual structural validity of the Gender Role Conflict Scale may be better than suggested by the reported fit indices.     

The association of forgiveness and 12-month prevalence of major depressive episode: Gender differences in a probability sample of U.S. adults

Research suggests that gender differences in interpersonal orientations may differentially predispose women and men to depression. While women tend to be more interdependent and show interpersonal depressive styles, men are more independent and show self-critical styles. Forgiveness is one religious/spiritual, interpersonal variable that has received very little attention in the literature on depression. Hence, the purpose of this study was to examine forgiveness as a multidimensional, inter-relational variable that may have differential associations with depression in women and men. We measured multiple forms of forgiveness and assessed 12-month prevalence of major depressive episode using a screening version of the Composite International Diagnostic Interview. We controlled for religiousness/spirituality and demographic in our analyses, and used data from a nationally representative, probability sample of 1,423 adults, ages 18 years and older. Women reported higher levels of religiousness/spirituality and forgiveness than men. Among women, forgiveness of others, forgiveness of self, and feeling forgiven by God were associated with decreased odds of depression (p < 0.05), whereas seeking forgiveness was associated with increased odds (p < 0.05). For men, only forgiveness of oneself was significantly associated with decreased odds of depression (p < 0.05).     

Population size and suicide in U.S. cities: a static and dynamic exploration

The relationship between city population size and suicide rates rarely has been examined directly, though scholars often assume such a relationship exists based on studies of the association between suicide rates and urbanization (percent of the population living in cities) in various social contexts. In an effort to determine the basic association between suicide rates and city population size, we analyze data for four time points, 1960, 1970, 1980, and 1990, using a random sample of U.S. cities with 10,000 or more population in 1960. In addition, we conduct a time series analysis of change in population size and change in suicide rates over a two decade period. Results indicate that an association between population and suicide is atypical, and even when observed is highly sensitive to methodological specifications. The results call into question the notion that larger city population size is conducive to suicide as well as the assumption that studies of suicide and urbanization can substitute for studies of suicide and city population size.     

The relationship between social dominance orientation,gender role orientation and attitudes toward gay men and lesbians in a Turkish sample

Current Psychology - Sexual prejudice refers to negative attitudes towards individuals based on their sexual orientation. Scholars have shown an interest in identifying the factors that may...     

The Male Body Attitudes Scale: A confirmatory factor analysis with a sample of gay men

The Male Body Attitudes Scale (MBAS; Tylka, Bergeron, & Schwartz, 2005) is a recently created instrument which assesses males’ attitudes regarding their muscularity, body fat, and height. Although the MBAS was created via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses, its factor structure has yet to be replicated with more diverse samples. The aim of the current study was to conduct a confirmatory factor analysis of the MBAS with a sample of gay men. Results from an online sample of 207 self-identified gay men revealed that the original three-factor structure of the MBAS, as well as a two-factor structure, consisting of muscularity and body fat, displayed strong factorial validity. These findings suggest that either a two- or three-factor structure may be used when assessing body image concerns in gay men.     

Cross-cultural evaluation of ethnic perspective-taking ability: an exploratory investigation with U.S. Latino and Guatemalan Ladino children

Children's development of ethnic perspective-taking ability (EPTA) was evaluated across 2 samples. It was hypothesized that the EPTA construct would be related to ethnic cognitions (e.g., ethnic knowledge, ethnic self-identification) and nonethnic cognition (i.e., social cognition) and that there would be variance in the EPTA construct distinct from a closely related form of social perspective-taking ability (SPTA). In Sample 1, 2nd- and 6th-grade Latino children (i.e., children of Mexican descent in the United States) were administered interview measures of EPTA and SPTA and a questionnaire assessment of ethnic knowledge. The participants in Sample 2 were Guatemalan Ladinos, who are Spanish-speaking children generally of European descent and who represent a numerical minority (10%) in the region (Quiché) of Guatemala sampled but whose culture tends to be dominant politically, economically, and linguistically. Ladinos from Grades 2-6 were administered EPTA and SPTA interviews as well as prejudice and ethnic self-identification measures. Collectively, results from these 2 samples provide support for the potential usefulness of this construct: EPTA was significantly associated with SPTA across both samples, even after variance associated with developmental level was controlled, and EPTA uniquely predicted ethnic knowledge and ethnic self-identification scores in the U.S. and Guatemalan samples, respectively.     

Friend support and psychological distress in a U.S. adult twin sample

Friend support is often assumed to exert direct environmental influences on psychological distress, yet the role of both genetic and environmental influences on this association has not been examined. This study investigates whether both genetic and environmental factors explain the link between friend support and psychological distress in adults. The sample was drawn from the Midlife Development in the United States study and included 947 pairs of monozygotic, same‐sex dizygotic (DZ), and opposite‐sex DZ twins. Results showed that genetic influences explain the association between friend support and psychological distress, suggesting that heritable contributions to friend support also shape psychological distress. Interventions focused on psychological distress should consider how individuals' heritable characteristics influence their friend support and psychological distress.     

Sport and Sexuality: Athletic Participation by Sexual Minority and Sexual Majority Adolescents in the U.S.

There are contradictory expectations regarding the relationship between sport and sexuality, one suggesting less sports participation for sexual minority males and more for sexual minority females, with the other hypothesizes no participation differences by sexuality for either males or females. I used the nationally representative Add Health Survey of middle and high school students in the U.S. to assess the degree to which sexual minority and sexual majority boys and girls play sports and the differences in the types of sports that they play. Findings from logistic regression analyses indicated there were very few differences in the degree and type of sports participation by sexuality, but somewhat larger differences as the adolescents move from middle to high school.     

Latino Employment and Non-Latino Homicide in Rural Areas: The Implications of U.S. Immigration Policy

From 1990 to 2000, rural counties experienced a major influx of low-skill Latinos. This was due in part to the increased enforcement of the U.S.–Mexican border, which encouraged Latino migrants already in the United States to stay for fear that they cannot return. We examine whether the increasing dominance of Latinos in rural low-skill labor markets raised rural homicide among non-Latino whites and blacks. Using 1990 and 2000 census and crime data for counties, we find that where low-skill labor markets shifted toward Latino labor, violence increases among non-Latino whites, but not among blacks. This is in contrast to prior research emphasizing how low-skill jobs loss is detrimental mainly to blacks. This major structural change in the ethnic structure of low-skill employment has negative consequences for rural white communities, and current theorizing on the loss of low-skill jobs must account for these effects.     

Evaluating a brief measure of social self-efficacy among U.S. adolescents

Preliminary data were collected to evaluate the performance of a social self-efficacy measure among 4,061 public high school adolescents. Principal-axis factor analysis was followed by a 4-way between-groups analysis of variance (ANOVA) to test for differences in the Total score means on selected demographic estimates and their interactions. Relations between the Total score and selected risk behaviors were examined through a series of one-way ANOVAs and the Tukey HSD test. Factor analysis results suggested a one-factor model best explained the factor structure of the scale items (factor loading range = .64 - .77, eigenvalue = 4.05, h(2) = .51). Females reported a significantly higher mean Total social self-efficacy rating than males, while White students reported a significantly higher mean Total social self-efficacy rating than Black and Asian students. Statistically significant lower mean Total social self-efficacy ratings were also noted for those who reported physical fighting, avoiding school, and being bullied.     

Self-disclosure of HIV infection: preliminary results from a sample of Hispanic men.

We examined self-disclosure of HIV infection among 101 seropositive Hispanic men residing in Los Angeles. Results indicated that disclosure was highly selective and presumably influenced by the social, psychological, and material consequences of informing others about one's medical condition. Subjects tended to inform significant others such as parents, friends, and lovers than less significant others such as employers, landlords, and religious leaders. There was a relatively high rate of disclosure (75%) to doctors/dentists who were not treating subjects for HIV infection. Gay and bisexual subjects (89% of the sample) were more inclined to disclose their HIV serostatus to homosexual or bisexual others than to heterosexuals and to inform those who were aware of their sexual orientation. Disclosure increased with severity of disease independently of length of time since testing seropositive. Self-rated negative changes in appearance correlated with disclosure to less significant others. The role of cultural attitudes and values in self-disclosure of HIV infection is discussed.     

MMPI-2 scores of Puerto Rican, Mexican, and U.S. Latino college students: a research note

In this brief report, we present MMPI-2 basic validity and clinical scale data of Latino-descent persons from Puerto Rico (n = 290), Mexico (n = 1,920), and the United States (n = 28). All were administered one of three Spanish translations of the MMPI-2. A review of the mean scores of these respective groups indicates similarities across all scales. Differences among these three groups, with the exception of the Mf scale (which is keyed to sex), were well within the one standard deviation band. More importantly, these findings are promising given the fact that three different translations of the MMPI-2 were applied.     

Mistakes as a social construct: an historical approach.

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) published To Err is Human: Building a Safer Health System in November 1999. The report focused public attention on the errors that occur within the medical system that cause death and harm to patients. It outlined a series of changes for health care that are aimed at reducing these errors by 50 percent over the next five years.This paper examines the problem of medical mistakes historically. It documents how legal, scientific, and medical trends during the years 1890-1934 intersected to effect the reporting of mistakes in the subspecialty of neurosurgery. At the start of this timeframe, mistakes were reported openly in journal articles as an educational tool. By its end, however, mistakes had gone "underground" and were buried amid a more objective, scientific reporting system. Using this historical perspective as a baseline, the paper concludes by re-examining the IOM's suggestions for change and comments on what they mean for the culture of medicine.     

Animal fears in the Antipodes: normative data from an Australian sample

The present study investigated reported fear of snakes, spiders and mutilation in an Australian sample ( N =235). Standardized questionnaires were used, and scores from the Australian sample were compared with those obtained by other authors from North American and Swedish samples. The psychometric characteristics of test scores from the Australian sample were similar to those from the North American and Swedish samples. Although there were no differences in reported fear of snakes between the three samples, both the Australian and North American samples reported greater fear of spiders than did the Swedish sample. Females scored higher on all scales than did males, and Australian and North American females reported greater fear of mutilation than did Swedish females. Test-retest reliability in a non-clinical Australian subsample ( n =48) was low for all scales. The results are discussed in terms of the adaptation/habituation hypothesis and the preparedness account of the acquisition of fear.