Perceptions of unconditional and conditional worth among college students

Self-esteem scales tend to represent conditional perceptions of self-esteem. The Worth Index has been previously validated as an effective measure for identifying both conditional and unconditional perceptions of worth. We administered the Worth Index to 1,161 college-aged students at Brigham Young University to assess their current perceptions of unconditional and conditional worth. Both men and women agreed more strongly with items involving unconditional worth than conditional worth. A negative correlation was found between ratings of unconditional and conditional worth. Women had lower unconditional worth scores than men, which was related to being more likely to wish they were someone else, desire to have a better body, and to being concerned about weight. Agreement with two overview measures of self-esteem involving a "good" sense of self and stability of self-esteem was positively associated with agreement on statements about unconditional worth. This research shows the importance of incorporating unconditional worth into self-esteem measures.     

Communal Behaviors and Psychological Adjustment of Family Caregivers and Persons With Spinal Cord Injury

OBJECTIVE: Examined the influence of mutual communal behaviors on the adjustment reported by persons with spinal cord injury (SCI) and their family caregivers. Previous research has found that persons who have a history of mutually communal behaviors in relationships may react differently to relationship changes after an acquired physical disability than dyads with few communal behaviors. METHOD: Family caregivers and persons with SCI were administered measures of mutual communal behaviors, depression, and life satisfaction. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relations among caregivers' communal behaviors and care recipients' communal behaviors, depression, and life satisfaction. RESULTS: Caregiver and care recipient reports of communal behaviors were not significantly correlated. Significant paths indicated that care recipients' communal behavior scores were positively associated with their life satisfaction, and care recipients' depression was inversely associated with their life satisfaction. Caregivers' communal behavior scores were unrelated to their self-reported adjustment. CONCLUSIONS: Caregiver-care recipient dyads may differ in their perceptions of communal behaviors in their relationships. Although care recipient reports of communal behavior may be related to their life satisfaction, communal behaviors may not serve a similar function among caregivers of persons with SCI.     

Satisfaction with care among low-income female outpatients

Patient satisfaction correlates with important health behaviors and outcomes. Little is known about satisfaction in disadvantaged populations of different racial/ethnic backgrounds. The current study evaluated demographic and psychological correlates of patient satisfaction among a low-income, multiethnic sample of female outpatients attending cervical cancer screening. Participants included 338 African American, Latina, and white women ages 18 - 49 years attending University of Texas Medical Branch Regional Maternal & Child Health Clinics. Data were obtained via self-report and chart review. Patient satisfaction was assessed using the Patient Satisfaction Questionnaire (PSQ). Total PSQ scores reflected two distinct underlying subscales (satisfaction and dissatisfaction), which differed from the original factor structure of the PSQ. Satisfaction was predicted by patient beliefs that their health is self-determined, beliefs that doctors control their health, self-esteem, and education. Dissatisfaction was predicted by patient beliefs that good health is a matter of chance/luck, self-esteem, social desirability, and income. Higher self-esteem, education, and beliefs that health is controlled by oneself or doctors correlated with higher satisfaction with care in the clinic setting. Understanding the influence of patient characteristics on perceptions of care is important for physicians to foster relationships with patients that increase feelings of satisfaction, decrease dissatisfaction, and ultimately, improve health outcomes.     

A Preliminary Study of Activation,Stress, and Self-Management of Parents of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental disabilities are high users of services, yet very little is known about how parents of these children interact with the health care system. Further, compared to parents of children with other developmental disabilities, parents of children with ASD experience more stress and dissatisfaction with services. Current efforts for improving services point to a need for understanding caregivers’ perceptions of their own health-care related beliefs and actions. Activation is a construct that measures the belief, knowledge, action, and persistence of managing one’s health care needs. The objective of this preliminary study was to evaluate the activation of parents of children with ASD using an adapted parent activation measure (PAM) for children with developmental disabilities called the PAM-DD. Data were collected from parents who received treatment as usual from a community-based outpatient treatment planning service for children with ASD. PAM-DD scores were compared with parent ratings of stress, self-management, and service satisfaction. Results indicated that increased activation correlated positively with parent report of satisfaction and ability to self-manage child issues such as eating, sleeping, and behavior and correlated negatively with parenting stress. The study of activation shows promise as a feature of quality of care for parents of children with developmental disabilities.     

Perceived Collective Efficacy and Parenting Competence: The Roles of Quality of Life and Hope

Parents' perceptions of their parenting competence predict successful implementation of parenting tasks and contribute to their interest and involvement in parenting and to their children's development. Thus, identifying factors that contribute to parents' perceptions of parenting competence can help inform efforts to promote children's safety and well-being. The present study employs social disorganization theory to examine the relationship between collective efficacy and parents' sense of competence, measured along two dimensions: parental efficacy and parental satisfaction. It examines the direct association between the two constructs and whether the association is mediated by parent perceptions of their quality of life (QOL) and sense of hope. Data were collected from 198 parents residing in a neighborhood in southern Tel Aviv, Israel. The analyses indicated that high collective efficacy was directly associated with high parental efficacy, but not with high parental satisfaction. Using structural equation modeling, a mediation model was found whereby higher collective efficacy was associated with (a) higher QOL, which in turn was related to a greater sense of hope, which was linked with higher parental efficacy; and (b) higher QOL, which was directly associated with higher parental satisfaction. The findings provide further support to the idea that neighborhood characteristics play an important role in parents' ability to care for their children.     

The Links Among Perceived Adherence to the System of Care Philosophy,Consumer Satisfaction,and Improvements in Child Functioning

The present study investigated the associations among perceived adherence to the system of care philosophy, changes in internalizing and externalizing behaviors, and consumer satisfaction with services. Participants included 98 families, interviewed at two time points across a one-year period. Hierarchical multiple regressions indicated that the more a child and family perceived services to be consistent with the system of care philosophy, the greater their level of satisfaction with services and the fewer internalizing and externalizing behaviors they reported one year after receiving services (controlling for initial levels of problem behaviors). Implications for children’s mental health service delivery are offered.     

Relationship of High School Seniors' Religious Perceptions and Behavior to Educational,Career, and Leisure Variables

This study used data from a national sample of U.S. high school seniors to investigate the relationship of religious perceptions and behavior to several school, career, and leisure variables. Seniors positive perceptions of religion and frequent attendance at religious services were related to positive parental involvement, positive school attitudes and behaviors, and infrequent problem behaviors. Parental involvement mediated the effects of religious perceptions and behavior on adolescents' academic attitudes and drug use. However, a large portion of the effects of religious perceptions and behavior was independent of parental involvement. Implications for counselors and educators are provided.     

Coaching behaviors associated with changes in fear of failure: changes in self-talk and need satisfaction as potential mechanisms

Cognitive-interpersonal and motivational mechanisms may regulate relations between youth perceptions of interpersonal aspects of the social ecology and their fear-of-failure (FF) levels. Youth (N=165) registered for a summer swim league rated their fear of failure at the beginning, middle, and end of the season. Extensive model comparisons indicated that youths' end-of-season ratings of coach behaviors could be reduced to three factors (affiliation, control, blame). Perceived control and blame from coaches predicted residualized change in corresponding aspects of youths' self-talk, but only changes in self-blame positively predicted changes in FF levels during the season. Perceived affiliation from coaches predicted autonomy need satisfaction which, in turn, negatively predicted the rate of change in FF levels during the season. These findings indicate that (a) youth perceptions of coaches were directly and indirectly related to acute socialization of FF and (b) both cognitive-interpersonal and motivational mechanisms contributed to this socialization process. Further research is needed to test for developmental differences in these mechanisms to determine whether findings generalize to more heterogeneous and at-risk populations and to investigate other potential social-ecological influences on socialization.     

Gendered Division of Childrearing: Ideals,Realities, and the Relationship to Parental Well-Being

Recent cultural expectations about fathers' involvement in childrearing may have changed more rapidly than fathers' behaviors, creating discrepancies between parenting ideals and realities that can generate tensions in family life. In this study, a 1999 national probability sample of 234 married parents, both mothers and fathers expressed strongly egalitarian ideals that fathers should be equally involved in child-rearing across five nurturant domains—discipline, emotional support, play, monitoring, and care-giving—as well as in financial support. In contrast, mothers perceived much less father involvement in actual parenting than fathers perceived—especially in disciplining and providing emotional support for their children. Ideal–actual discrepancies were related to well-being: if fathers were seen as less than ideally involved in nurturant parenting, parents reported more stress and fathers who perceived greater than ideal father involvement in financial support were more likely to say the division of household labor was unfair to the mother. Ideal–actual gaps differed for mothers and fathers and were sometimes differentially related to well-being. For example, less than ideal father involvement in disciplining children was associated with mothers' higher stress levels, and the discrepancy in expectations about father involvement in play and monitoring children was correlated with mothers' increased feelings of unfairness in the household division of labor. On the other hand, fathers who felt an ideal–actual gap in disciplining children almost always felt overly involved in discipline and were less likely to report that the division of labor in the household was unfair to their spouses.     

Projection of responsiveness to needs and the construction of satisfying communal relationships

This research tested a social projection model of perceived partner responsiveness to needs. According to this model, people project their own care and supportiveness for a partner onto their perceptions of their partner's caring and supportiveness. In 2 dyadic marriage studies, participants' self-reported responsiveness to the needs of a spouse predicted perceptions of the spouse's responsiveness to the self more strongly than did the spouse's self-reported responsiveness. These projected perceptions of responsiveness, in turn, appeared to promote perceivers' relationship satisfaction. These effects were independent of individual differences in attachment, self-esteem, depression, and communal orientation. A daily-diary component suggested that people projected their own chronic responsiveness as well as their daily enacted support onto perceptions of the specific benefits received from their spouses. A 3rd study found that experimentally manipulated feelings of difficulty in recalling examples of own support provision reduced perceptions of partner responsiveness. Results suggest that projection of own responsiveness is an important determinant of perceived social support and is a means by which caring perceivers maintain satisfying and subjectively communal relationships.     

Suicidality patterns and sexual orientation-related factors among lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths

Three hundred fifty lesbian, gay, and bisexual youths aged 14 to 21 years were questioned about suicidal thoughts and behaviors, families' reactions to youths' sexual orientation, and suicidality among relatives and friends. Results confirmed an association between sexual orientation and suicidality. Nearly half (42%) had sometimes or often thought of suicide; one third (33%) reported at least one suicide attempt. Many related suicidal ideation and suicide attempts to their sexual orientation. Most attempts followed awareness of same-sex feelings and preceded disclosure of sexual orientation to others. One quarter said a family member had made a suicide attempt, and nearly three quarters said a close friend had attempted suicide.     

Satisfaction with Components of the Therapeutic Model: Perspectives of Consumers and Professionals

We provide information about consumer and provider perceptions using a mixed-model pilot study within the Intensive Mental Health Project (IMHP), a school-based treatment service for children with SED and their families. Caregiver, youth, and provider questionnaires developed for this project elicited quantitative and qualitative information on treatment satisfaction, therapeutic alliance, and active involvement in treatment. Caregivers and children overall had positive perceptions of the services they received through IMHP. Providers reported very good working relationships with most children and families. Consumers also provided constructive comments about how to improve services. Our results add support to the importance of therapeutic alliance and collaboration, which are guiding principles of the IMHP.     

Males benefit twice—The influence of equity on affective and physical attraction in couples

We examined whether relationship satisfaction mediates the association between perceptions of equity in central areas of a relationship (feelings and attractiveness) and the experience of sexuality in a sample of 93 couples. Results reveal that greater levels of an individual's own relationship satisfaction significantly predict greater levels of an individual's affective and physical sexual attraction. Furthermore, findings also provide some support for the mediating role of relationship satisfaction between an individual's own equity perceptions and an individual's own experience of sexuality within the dyad. Moreover, males benefit from the females' perception of equity in the sense that equity considerations among females significantly contribute to their partners' relationship satisfaction, which, in turn, intensifies their partners' experience of passionate and emotional sex.     

Maternal employment and job satisfaction and their relationship to children's perceptions and behaviors

The impact of 179 mothers' maternal employment and maternal job satisfaction on their children's perceptions and behaviors was examined. The findings indicated that maternal employment was not related to job satisfaction or to children's perceptions or behaviors. Findings also indicated that maternal job satisfaction was not related to children's perceptions or their behaviors. It was hypothesized that maternal employment and maternal job satisfaction may not have the impact on family environment that has been previously suggested.     

Canadian and Spanish youths' risk perceptions of drinking and driving, and riding with a drunk driver

The present research compared Canadian and Spanish youths' perceptions of the potential benefits and drawbacks of driving under the influence of alcohol (DUI) and riding with a drunk driver (RDD). Eighty (41 female) Canadian and 87 (71 female) Spanish undergraduates completed a survey asking about their past and forecasted engagement in DUI and RDD, and their perceptions of the benefits and drawbacks of DUI and RDD. A sizeable proportion of both samples reported DUI and RDD in the past year. Past risk takers forecasted significantly greater chances of engaging in these behaviors in the following year compared to those who had not engaged in DUI and RDD. Both samples provided significantly more drawbacks than benefits of DUI and RDD. Whereas the benefits of both behaviors tended to refer to personal effects (e.g., save money, arrive faster) that occurred before, during, or after driving, the drawbacks referred to a range of outcomes (e.g., accident, kill/injure, penal sanction) that mostly occurred during driving. Although Canada and Spain differ in important respects (e.g., potential penalty for DUI), there were similarities in the two samples' perceptions of DUI and RDD. Young people are aware of the costs of these risky behaviors but nevertheless engage in them. These findings can inform theories of the co-occurrence of risky driving behaviors, and the development of prevention programs that focus on perceived outcomes.     

Help-agents' views about clinical interactions with acting-out children

A scale to measure nonprofessional child-aides' views about, and practices in, working primarily with acting-out children is described. The scale was used as part of an overall evaluation of a program to teach the aides Ginottian limit-setting approaches for work with such children. A prior study had shown that the training was followed by significantly more favorable treatment outcomes. Compared to 44 nontrained child-aides, the 19 trained aides had significantly higher postprogram scale scores on opinions and beliefs about acting-out children, changes in feeling about working with them, and actual observed changes in their playroom behaviors. Item analysis indicated that, following training, aides felt more comfortable with and had a richer repertoire of techniques for dealing with acting-out children. Specifically, they found it easier to set limits and to deal with overtly aggressive behaviors. Those changes may be key factors in explaining the significantly greater effectiveness of the trained aides working with acting-out children.This study was supported by a grant (MH-11427-02) from the NIMH Experimental and Special Training Branch, for which the authors express sincere appreciation. Thanks also to Mary Boike, Michael A. DeStefano, and Alice B. Wilson for their contributions to the data analyses.     

Social Involvement in Religious Institutions and God-Mediated Control Beliefs: A Longitudinal Investigation

This study examines the relationships among race, education, formal as well as informal involvement in the church, and God-mediated control. Formal involvement in the church was assessed by the frequency of attendance at worship services, Bible study groups, and prayer groups. Informal involvement was measured with an index of spiritual support provided by fellow church members. Data from a nationwide longitudinal survey of older people suggest that both formal and informal church involvement tend to sustain feelings of God-mediated control over time. The findings further reveal that compared to older whites, older African Americans are more likely to have stronger feelings of God-mediated control at the baseline survey and older blacks are more likely to sustain their sense of God-mediated control over time. In contrast, the data suggest that education is not significantly related to feelings of God-mediated control.     

Children's perceptions of marital discord and behavior problems of boys and girls

Children's feelings of nonacceptance and their perceptions of their parents' marital discord were related to parental measures of marital satisfaction and behavior problems in the children. In a sample of 50 clinic children, it was found that (1) marital discord, as predicted, was most strongly related to conduct problems in boys, (2) boys and girls perceived parental marital discord with equal and moderate accuracy, and (3) children's feelings of nonacceptance were not significantly related to ratings of marital discord. These findings are discussed as they relate to etiological explanations of the impact of marital discord on children.     

An approach to families of acting-out adolescents--a case study.

Certain types of acting-out in the adolescent express the feelings of deprivation of the parental pair in a maladaptive aggressive way. Family therapists have attempted to convert the acting-out behavioral disorders into an effective state, i.e., make the family aware of their feelings of deprivation by focusing on the aggressive component. In many instances, the family becomes depressed and then interrupts or terminates treatment. The authors feel that this is due to the therapist's interpretations which bring about the depressive state via guilt provocation. The family understands the interpretations as meaning "You are bad to have your adolescent offspring behave in such a way". The therapist is thus seen as the family's collective super-ego. In order to prevent premature termination, the therapist should instead help the members of the family to become more conscious of their loving, "welfare" feelings for one another. In this way the self-esteem of the family is increased, which then permits more verbal action of aggressive feelings--thus a decrease in the acting-out, and ultimately an increase in the capacity to mourn. It should be pointed out, however, that in certain families, the technique described is not applicable. In these cases, although there is acting-out, the families are unable to draw on sufficient good experiences together which are necessary to elicit positive feeling for one another. The absence of readily available "welfare" feelings is of diagnostic and prognostic significance and differentiates the disorganized, sociopathic or schizophrenic family from the acting-out of parental deprivation as illustrated in this paper.     

Nondelinquent youths' stealing behavior and their perceptions of parents, school, and peers

Correlates of stealing behavior were investigated in a sample of 167 nondelinquent 10- to 15-year-olds. Stealing was related to youths' attitudes toward parents and school, as well as reasons for stealing. Stealing was most frequent among older males. Attitude toward school was most consistently related to stealing behavior, though perceptions of family's values and the consequences of stealing were also important. Interventions with youths at risk for continued covert antisocial behaviors are discussed.