The role of social support and self-esteem in the relationship between shyness and loneliness

This study aimed at examining the role of social support and self-esteem in the relationship between shyness and loneliness. The sample consisted of 399 college students, ranging in age from 18 to 30. Cheek and Buss shyness scale, multi-dimensional scale of perceived social support, Rosenberg self-esteem scale and emotional and social loneliness scale were used for data collection. Structural equation modeling showed partial mediation effects of social support and self-esteem between shyness and loneliness. Furthermore, a multi-group analysis found that shy male college students tend to have a more negative self-evaluation compared to their female counterparts. The results are discussed in terms of the conceptional context.     

Self-esteem, academic self-concept, and aggression at school

The present study explores the relation between academic self-concept, self-esteem, and aggression at school. Longitudinal data from a racially diverse sample of middle-school students were analyzed to explore how academic self-concept influenced the likelihood of aggressing at school and whether high self-concept exerted a different pattern of influence when threatened. Data include self-reported academic self-concept, school-reported academic performance, and parent-reported school discipline. Results suggest that, in general, students with low self-concept in achievement domains are more likely to aggress at school than those with high self-concept. However, there is a small sample of youth who, when they receive contradictory information that threatens their reported self-concept, do aggress. Global self-esteem was not found to be predictive of aggression. These results are discussed in the context of recent debates on whether self-esteem is a predictor of aggression and the use of a more proximal vs. general self-measure in examining the self-esteem and aggression relation.     

What's missing from multicultural competency research: review, introspection, and recommendations

Much of the multicultural counseling research has pointed out the need for counselors to become culturally competent to appropriately address the needs of an emerging diverse community. To date, however, this body of research has largely focused on counselor competencies, with little attention being given to the client perspective of multicultural counseling competencies. This article discusses the importance of integrating the client perspective within the historical context of the multicultural literature by examining client preferences and expectations, as well as the adequacy of the current empirical data. The authors also raise the issue of politics inherent in multiculturalism and discuss how this affects the research. A number of recommendations are made as a guide for future research.     

Self-esteem and reactance: Further evidence of attitudinal and motivational consequences

The present experiments were designed to explore further the relationship between self-esteem and reactance within the domains of achievement and persuasion. Previous research in the achievement context has shown that self-esteem and reactance are positively related. Experiment 1 sought to extend this relationship into the persuasion setting. As predicted, a positive self-esteem/reactance relationship was obtained. The second experiment was designed to identify a factor that might moderate the relationship between self-esteem and reactance: degree of freedom threat. Previous research in the persuasion context has shown that the aforementioned self-esteem/reactance relationship is attenuated or even reversed when freedom threat is low rather than high. Experiment 2 sought to extend this relationship into the achievement context. As predicted, the positive self-esteem/reactance relationship was considerably weakened in the low-threat environment of Experiment 2, especially in comparison to previous research in which freedom threat was considerably higher. Taken together, the present and previous studies show consistent relationships between self-esteem and reactance across achievement and persuasion domains, suggesting that the essence of reactance is similar in these two domains. Practical implications are also discussed.     

‘I never talked about,ever’: A comprehensive process analysis of a significant client disclosure event in therapy

Aims: The present study was intended to examine how a particular client disclosure came about and what made it important to the client. Method: A client‐identified significant therapy event involving disclosure of childhood abuse was analysed using Comprehensive Process Analysis (CPA), a qualitative interpretive method for examining the process, effects and context of significant events in therapy. Results: The analysis identified therapist invitation and client universalisation as the key elements of the disclosure event. The context analysis showed how the event linked to the client's symbolisation of her fear earlier in the session and in the previous session. The client gained insight into how the earlier abuse had affected her life, linking it to the victimisation that was her primary reason for seeking therapy, and to her relationship with her mother. The therapist facilitated the event by following up the client's hints, trusting the strength of the alliance, and staying close to the client's frame of reference. Conclusion: The findings suggest that the initial significance of an invited disclosure event may diminish for a client over the course of therapy.     

The positive effects of mindfulness on self-esteem

Positive psychological research has clearly highlighted the importance of investigating factors that contribute to well-being. One factor contributing greatly to psychological well-being is mindfulness, which has been related to a wide range of positive outcomes, including healthy self-esteem. Here, we present two studies that aim to extend prior research on mindfulness and self-esteem. In Study 1, we propose and test a theoretically derived model of the role that mindfulness plays in the prediction of self-esteem and life satisfaction. Four facets of mindfulness significantly predicted increased self-esteem, which in turn predicted overall life satisfaction. In Study 2, we extended this study by examining the direct effects of a brief mindfulness induction on state self-esteem, and found that experimentally enhancing state mindfulness led to an increase in state self-esteem. The two studies presented clearly demonstrate that mindfulness and self-esteem are related, and, importantly, that mindfulness training has direct positive effects on self-esteem.     

Parental Attachment and Adolescents' Perception of School Alienation: The Mediation Role of Self-Esteem and Adjustment

The present study examined the relationship between adolescents' attachment to parents and their feelings of alienation in the school context by considering the mediating role of adjustment and self-esteem. It was proposed that the degree of attachment to one's parents was associated with adjustment and self-esteem, which in turn predicted possible school alienation. A total of 227 students completed self-report measures on parental attachment, adjustment, self-esteem, and alienation from school. Results were consistent with the attachment theory and related literature that posits that (a) secure attachment to parents was associated with adjustment and self-esteem, (b) secure attachment to parents was negatively associated with feelings of school alienation, and (c) adjustment and self-esteem were a crucial mediators between attachment to parents and school alienation. In addition to enhanced adjustment, the self-esteem of adolescents may be an additional factor in reducing alienation at school. The results also supported the mediator role of self-esteem in the relationship between attachment to parents and adjustment. Finally, the relationship between self-esteem and school alienation were shown to be fully mediated by adjustment. The results were discussed in the context of responsibilities of teachers and school counselors, which may provide both students and parents with the skills to improve social functioning in the school context.     

Enhancing the Self-Esteem and Social Competence of Hyperactive Children: A Semi-Structured Activity Group Therapy Model

This article proposes a semi-structured activities group model for addressing the fragile self-esteem and social discord often shown by hyperactive children. Included is a discussion of the amount of structure and types of activities necessary to foster effective group work with this client population. The author asserts that hyperactivity oftentimes is better conceptualized in terms of unmet exhibitionistic needs, the sensitive handling of which can impact the acquisition of healthy self-esteem. Another key focus is the role of shame in manifestations of aggression and externalization of blame that diminish the social competence of hyperactive children. Clinical vignettes are used to illustrate key points.     

Client as Expert: Incorporating Spirituality Using the Tree Ring Technique

Addressing spirituality with clients from diverse spiritual backgrounds is a facet of culturally competent and ethical practice, yet various obstacles contribute to spirituality being overlooked. This article features a counseling technique used with clients who are experiencing difficulty with issues of a spiritual nature. Based on constructivist principles, the tree ring technique provides a context and process for examining clients’ spiritual conflicts, whereby the client is the expert and the counselor adopts a not‐knowing stance.     

从自尊的文化差异说起

在不同的文化背景中,自尊既有相似性,也有差异性。在东西方文化中,自尊在其根源性、包容性及表达性等方面均存在差异。树立文化差异性与普遍性的意识,加强对自尊文化差异的研究对于科学地认识社会心理现象和学科建设都具有重要意义。未来可以从自尊的内涵、自尊研究的内容及研究方法等方面开展自尊的中国化研究。     

Bartering

Summary

This article examines issues related to bartering arrangements in the context of providing professional mental health services. The risks associated with significant conflict of interest in the professional-client relationship and the potential for exploitation of the client are analyzed by examining the interplay of personal, business, and clinical interests in bartering relationships. Professional practice guidelines are suggested.     

Moving beyond the trait conceptualization of self-esteem: The prospective effect of impulsiveness, coping, and risky behavior engagement

Past research has largely focused on examining self-esteem as an independent as opposed to a dependent variable. At the same time, research suggests that during adolescence, self-esteem is subject to yearly, monthly, as well as daily change, and consequently, it is important to identify underlying vulnerability factors and behaviors, which shape self-esteem lability. In the current multi-wave, longitudinal study, 142 adolescents between the ages of 12-18 completed monthly assessments across 4 months. At the initial assessment, adolescents provided self-report data pertaining to impulsiveness, maladaptive coping, risky behavior engagement, and self-esteem. At each of the follow-up assessments, adolescents provided information about risky behavior engagement and self-esteem. Results of time-lagged, idiographic multilevel mediation analyzes indicated that risky behavior engagement mediated the relationship between impulsiveness/maladaptive coping and subsequent low self-esteem. Critically, when included in the same model, impulsiveness was significant above and beyond maladaptive coping. Additionally, the reverse model with self-esteem as the predictor and risky behavior included as the dependent variable was not significant suggesting that our effect was unidirectional. As a whole, these findings suggest that impulsive youth may engage in behaviors, which ultimately precipitate negative self-evaluations and transient declines in self-esteem.     

Innovative Moments in Humanistic Therapy II: Analysis of Change Processes Across the Course of Three Cases of Grief Therapy

The current study is an extension of a complementary investigation examining links between process and outcome within six-session psychotherapies in which three eminent psychotherapists each worked with a bereaved client, using person-centered, existential, and constructivist approaches, respectively. The Innovative Moments Coding System (IMCS) was used in both studies to examine processes of change in the moment-by-moment unfolding of grief therapy. The initial study's findings help inform theory regarding the relevance of humanistic interventions when working with bereaved clients, particularly those that help promote meaning making in the wake of loss. The current investigation extends the original by offering a fine-grained analysis of the progression of innovative moments (IMs) in the context of good-outcome grief therapy, liking specific therapy procedures with positive indicators of client functioning, while providing case illustrations of each therapy dyad. Findings highlight the promise of humanistic approaches in grief therapy, and suggest directions for further research in this area. Implications for future use of the IMCS in psychotherapy process and outcome research are also discussed.     

A narrative social constructionist approach to therapeutic empathy

The concept of empathy has been a centrol conceptual element in approaches to counselling and psychotherapy that emphasise exploration of meaning in the context of a facilitative relationship. However, the existing literature on therapeutic empathy lacks theoretical coherence. a narrative social constructionist perspective represents a theoretical approach that enables the integration of diverse strands of clinical observation and research into the creation of empathic understanding in counselling. From a social constructionist position, therapeutic empathy can be understood as a relational process, a step-by-step co-construction by counsellor and client of the life-narrative of the client. In this paper, the Barrett-Lennard (1981) cyclical model of empathy is used as a fremework for examining the counsellor and client actions, strategies and tasks that constitute empathic engagement around the task of emploring and re-authoring life-narratives. Constructionist analysis of the cultural origins of the concept of empathy suggest some limitations of this way of conceptualising what happens in therapy. The implications of these ideas for theory, training and research are discussed.     

Self-Esteem Instability and Humor Styles: Does the Stability of Self-Esteem Influence How People Use Humor?

The purpose of the present study was to examine whether self-esteem instability moderated the association between self-esteem level and the use of humor. This was accomplished by examining the associations that humor styles had with self-esteem level and self-esteem instability among 499 undergraduates. The results of the present study show that self-esteem instability moderated the association between self-esteem level and humor styles such that individuals with stable high self-esteem reported the highest levels of affiliative humor as well as the lowest levels of aggressive and self-defeating humor. These results suggest that individuals with stable and unstable forms of self-esteem employ different styles of humor.     

A MEDIATIONAL MODEL OF AUTONOMY, SELF-ESTEEM, AND EATING DISORDERED ATTITUDES AND BEHAVIORS

This study expands upon existing literature by examining how the relationship between autonomy deficits and low self-esteem may create a psychological environment conducive to the development of eating disordered behaviors. Findings supported a mediational model to account for eating disordered behaviors in 71 college women. In this model, lack of autonomy was related to decreased global self-esteem, which in turn was associated with bulimia, body dissatisfaction, and drive for thinness. Although only tentative and cross-sectional in nature, this study is of particular importance because it links autonomy and self-esteem in a coherent model predictive of eating disordered behaviors in college women. Developmental aspects of eating disorders and treatment implications are discussed.     

中国员工基于组织自尊的内容探析：概念构图法的应用

基于对26名来自不同组织、有不同职业背景员工的深度采访,本文运用定性和定量相结合的分析方法——概念构图法,实证探索了中国员工基于组织的自尊（OBSE）的内容。本研究发现,中国员工自尊包括五个维度：基于工作单位的自尊、基于工作绩效的自尊、基于工作角色的自尊,基于领导的自尊和基于下属和同事的自尊。本文通过对OBSE的实证分析详细介绍了概念构图法的过程和应用,为如何对新概念、新现象进行探索性研究提供了参考。     

Caring-self and Women's Self-esteem: A Feminist's Reflection on Pastoral Care and Religious Education of Korean-American Women

After reviewing the notion of caring-self from a Korean feminist perspective, this paper argues that caring-self, in spite of its great contribution to pastoral care and education of women, is an essentialist notion based on Western individualism, one that excludes the experiences of men and women of nonwestern/communal cultures. Critically examining psychological literature of women's self-esteem and Korean self-esteem literature, I argue that to provide more appropriate pastoral care and education for Korean women, it is necessary to understand what and how their concept of the person is formed in a Korean communal context.

Clarifying the role of the "other" category in the self-esteem IAT

A. Karpinski (2004) recently criticized Implicit Association Test (IAT) measures of self-esteem, arguing that their measurements of self-associations are compromised by their contrasting self with a putatively extremely negative second category, the nonspecific other. The present data show, to the contrary, that the nonspecific other category in the self-esteem IAT is near neutral in valence. Validity of the self-esteem IAT is most appropriately assessed by examining its correlations with conceptually related measures. That has been done in several previous studies that are reviewed here. The nonspecific other category is only one of several choices for representing the concept of other in self-esteem IATs. Choice of the appropriate other category to contrast with self in self-esteem IATs should be guided by the needs of the research question being addressed.     

Assimilation ideology and situational well-being among ethnic minority members

Two experimental questionnaire studies were conducted to test whether assimilation ideology affects the relationship between ethnic self-esteem and situational well-being of Turkish-Dutch participants. Social identity theory argues that ethnic identity can buffer the effects of group identity threat on well-being, and self-esteem research suggests that a positively evaluated self-aspect can form an important source of well-being. Results show that in an assimilation context, ethnic self-esteem is positively related to feelings of global self-worth and general life-satisfaction. The findings suggest that ethnic self-esteem is an important factor for well-being in an assimilation context that undermines minority group members ability to live their ethnic identity and threatens their group’s positive distinctiveness.