Community violence exposure,coping, and problematic alcohol and drug use among urban,female caregivers: A prospective study

Victimization is associated with substance use in women, but less is known about linkages between witnessing community violence and substance use, even though more women witness versus directly experience violence. Further, factors that contribute to or protect against women’s problematic substance use are less well understood. Urban female caregivers (N = 318; >92% African American/black) living in low-income communities were interviewed annually for three waves regarding exposure to community violence, coping behaviors, substance use, and protective factors. Path analyses revealed that lifetime witnessing of violence, but not victimization, assessed at baseline, was associated with changes in avoidant coping, but not active coping, one year later; avoidant coping, in turn, was related to changes in and higher levels of problematic drug use the following year. Victimization was directly related to problematic drug use, but not to alcohol use. Regression analyses indicated that high levels of religious commitment and social support at baseline were prospectively associated with lower levels of avoidant coping. Because caregivers are important role models for their children, it is important to attend to the factors that contribute to their substance use and abuse.     

Asian Indian Women: Domestic Violence,Mental Health,and Sites of Resilience

ABSTRACT

Culture is foundational to human experiences. As such, different cultural contexts and systems create different realities and lived experiences. Psychological knowledge and experiences within this context are then subject to socio-cultural systems, historical events, the distribution of economic and political power, and privileged positions of people within the system. This article highlights Asian Indian women’s lived experiences with domestic violence and their ways of healing. In particular, we present personal, political, social, and cultural factors that contribute to vulnerability and resilience in Indian women both in India and within the diaspora and note the role of community as an important indigenous source of healing.     

The affective consequences of social comparison: either direction has its ups and downs

Research on social comparison processes has assumed that a comparison in a given direction (upward or downward) will lead to a particular affective reaction. In contrast, the present two studies proposed and found that a comparison can produce either positive or negative feelings about oneself, independent of its direction. Several factors moderated the tendency to derive positive or negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. In Study 1, cancer patients low in self-esteem and with low perceived control over their symptoms and illness were more likely to see downward comparisons as having negative implications for themselves. Those low in self-esteem were also more likely to perceive upward comparisons as negative. In Study 2, individuals with high marital dissatisfaction and those who felt uncertain about their marital relationship were more likely to experience negative affect from upward and downward comparisons. The implications of these findings for social comparison theory and for the coping and adaptation literature are discussed.     

Individual and Community Resilience Factors Among Lesbian,Gay, Bisexual,Queer and Questioning Youth and Adults in Israel

Drawing on resilience theories, this study examined the individual and community factors of Israeli lesbians, gays, bisexuals, queers, and questioning (LGBQs) that contribute to positive mental health and the degree to which individual and community protective factors mitigate the adverse effect of risk factors for poor mental health. Differences in resilience factors between LGBQ youth and adults were explored. Data were collected on 890 LGBQ youth and adults. Findings emphasize the role of community‐level resilience factors in the lives of LGBQs, and that these support systems differ slightly between the two age groups. Among youth, family support was both a strong predictor for well‐being and a protective factor for mental distress. Although family support was found as a resilience factor among adults as well, other community‐level factors (friends’ support, LGBT connectedness and having steady partner) were found as protective factors for poorer mental health. These findings suggest for efforts on fostering familial support for LGBQ youth and a multi‐level system that offers support at the familial, peer, relationship and community levels for both LGBQ youth and adults.     

Effects of intergroup and interpersonal context, and individuals' appraisal of their in-group on the intragroup comparison process

The present study examined whether individuals' endorsement of intergroup context moderates the social comparison process not only in the intergroup upward comparison condition, but also in the downward comparison condition, by experimentally manipulating the direction of intergroup comparison and interpersonal comparison for participants who appraise their in-group as high or low. As predicted, participants who appraise their in-group as high showed reflection processes in the intergroup upward comparison condition, but comparison processes in the intergroup downward comparison condition because of their endorsement of their in-group position. In contrast, participants who appraised their in-group as low showed comparison processes in the intergroup upward comparison condition, but reflection processes in the intergroup downward comparison condition. These results imply that the interplay between intergroup context and individuals' internal factors affect intragroup comparison processes.     

An ecological momentary assessment of comparison target as a moderator of the effects of appearance-focused social comparisons

This research examined whether comparison target moderates the effects of naturally occurring appearance-focused social comparisons on women's affect, appearance esteem, and dieting thoughts. During daily activities, body-satisfied (BS) women and body-dissatisfied (BD) women recorded their comparison targets and reactions to comparison information. For BS women, upward comparisons with peers were associated with more positive affect (PA) and appearance esteem and less guilt than upward comparisons with media images and downward comparisons with peers were associated with less PA than downward comparisons with media images. For BD women, upward comparisons with peers were associated with more appearance esteem and diet thoughts than upward comparisons with media images and downward comparisons with peers were associated with less PA, appearance esteem, and diet thoughts and more guilt than downward comparisons with media images.     

Association of negative and positive social ties with fibrinogen levels in young women.

The associations between positive and negative aspects of social relationships and fibrinogen, a risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD), were examined in young, healthy women recruited from the community (n = 46) and from a college campus (n = 42). For community women, the perception that individuals in their social networks frequently undermined them was related to higher fibrinogen, independent of perceived frequency of support. For college women, fibrinogen was elevated among women with frequent undermining only when they also reported infrequent support. After controlling for other risk factors, the associations between social ties and fibrinogen remained significant in both samples. These results indicate that positive and negative social ties are associated with fibrinogen levels and suggest that social relationships may affect CHD risk in part through their influence on fibrinogen.     

Neuroticism and Reactions to Social Comparison Information Among Cancer Patients

In an experimental study neuroticism was examined as a moderator of breast cancer patients' affective reactions to social comparison information about a fellow patient. Fifty-seven women with breast cancer completed Eysenck's Personality Questionnaire and received social comparison information about a fellow patient who was either doing better (upward condition) or worse (downward condition) than themselves. As expected, patients showed more positive reactions to upward comparison information than to downward comparison information. Moreover, neuroticism was related to responding more negatively and less positively to social comparison information. Although respondents high and low in neuroticism did not differ in their reactions to downward comparison information, low neuroticism was associated with more positive responding to upward comparison information.     

Relation between perceived scholastic competence and social comparison mechanisms among elementary school children

According to the literature, among social comparison mechanisms, identification with an upward target would be the most frequent mechanism that students report to use. However, it remains unclear how the identification and the contrast mechanisms contribute to the construction of pupils’ scholastic perceived competence. The aim of this study was to test the two following hypotheses: (1) the more pupils report using downward identification and upward contrast, the lower their perceived scholastic competence; (2) the more pupils report using upward identification and downward contrast, the higher their perceived scholastic competence will be. Three hundred and eighty French-speaking pupils (147 fourth graders and 233 fifth graders) from public elementary schools in the district of Grenoble (France) were met in their school. Pupils responded to a standardized mental ability test and to a questionnaire about their perceived scholastic competence and their utilization of social comparison mechanisms: upward and downward identification and upward and downward contrast. Boys and girls differed on some of the social comparison mechanisms. However, the two hypotheses were confirmed and hold true for both boys and girls. Findings show that beyond the contribution of cognitive abilities, pupils’ responsiveness to these mechanisms contributed to the development of their perceived scholastic competence. One educational implication is the usefulness of analyzing the processes of social comparison as strategies to allow pupils to maintain a positive perception of their scholastic competence.     

Social Comparison,the Threat of AIDS,and Adolescent Condom Use1

This study tested hypotheses from social comparison theory about adolescent condom use. Questionnaires were administered to 457 twelfth-grade students (284 sexually active). Three different operationalizations of social comparison were used—comparative ratings, affiliative preferences, and derogation; each produced different results. Low condom users who felt threatened by AIDS made more downward comparative ratings regarding condom use than did unthreatened low users. In contrast, low users preferred upward affiliations with high users. Adolescents with higher self-esteem derogated adolescents with AIDS less as threat increased. Adolescents with lower self-esteem who made downward comparative ratings were more satisfied with their own past condom use. Satisfied low condom users were less likely to intend condom use in the future. The results provide evidence that downward comparison may act indirectly to deter behavioral change.     

Downward Comparison in Infertile Couples

The tendency of infertile individuals to compare themselves favorably to others with regard to coping efficacy was examined among 61 women and 52 men, including 52 husband-wife pairs. Comparison targets were same-sex infertile others and the spouse. Eighty-three percent of men, but only 45% of women, believed that they were coping better than same-sex others (i.e.,downward comparison). Both men (51%) and women (47%) tended to see no difference between their own and their spouses' coping efficacy. However, comparing themselves to their spouses, men in general compared downward, whereas women compared upward. For both same-sex and spouse comparisons, husbands were significantly more likely to engage in downward comparison than their partners. Analyses testing the correlates of downward comparison revealed that (a) infertile participants who were more likely to engage in downward comparison felt less threatened by infertility, (b) no association emerged between comparison indices and self-esteem, and (c) downward same-sex comparison was more likely for men who had been attempting conception for a longer period.     

Neuroticism and social comparison orientation as moderators of affective responses to social comparison at work

In a study among 72 nurses, the affective consequences of social comparison were examined and related to neuroticism (N) and to social comparison orientation (SCO). Participants were confronted with a bogus interview with an upward versus a downward comparison target. Positive affect and identification were higher, and negative affect was lower, in the upward than in the downward comparison condition. Independent of their SCO, the higher individuals were in N, the less they identified with the upward comparison target, the more they identified with the downward comparison target, and the less positive affect they showed following confrontation with the upward comparison target. In contrast, independent of their level of N, the higher individuals were in SCO, the more negative affect they showed following confrontation with the downward comparison target. The effects on negative affect stayed the same when controlling for positive affect, and the effects on positive affect stayed the same when controlling for negative affect. These effects were also obtained when perceived direction was used as a predictor instead of the experimentally manipulated direction. It is concluded that, although N and SCO are correlated, these variables seem to have independent and distinct effects upon the responses to social comparison information.     

Sociocultural factors, resilience, and coping: Support for a culturally sensitive measure of resilience

This investigation presents 1) a literature review concerning how adversity and resilience influence the development of youth from diverse cultural backgrounds; 2) an examination of measures of resilience with regard to cultural factors that relate to the nature of coping and resilience among young adults from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds; and 3) the exploration of aspects of cultural resilience: childhood stressors, global coping, adaptive coping, maladaptive coping, and sociocultural support. Results for 305 college age women indicated that cultural factors were related to measures of these five aspects of resilience. Childhood stressors were experienced differentially by individuals from different racial/ethnic and social class status backgrounds, supporting proposals that ecological aspects, notably cultural background and experiences, influence the development of resilience. A conceptual framework illustrating how culture contributes to resilience and coping is presented. Implications for the development of a measure of cultural resilience and its usefulness for developmental community interventions are discussed.     

Images of Thin and Plus-Size Models Produce Opposite Effects on Women’s Body Image,Body Dissatisfaction,and Anxiety

Mainstream media’s promotion of dangerously thin female images likely lowers self-image satisfaction and contributes to pathological body concerns and disordered eating among women. We tested upward and downward social-comparison effects on self-evaluations by exposing 145 Spanish women to images of thin (upward) or overweight (downward) models. We also tested whether explicitly asking or not asking participants to compare themselves with the models would moderate social comparison effects. Exposure to thin models deteriorated body image while increasing body dissatisfaction and anxiety. Conversely, exposure to overweight models improved body image and decreased body dissatisfaction but it did not affect anxiety. Whether participants were asked to compare themselves to the models explicitly or implicitly had no effect on the participants’ responses. Furthermore, pre-existing body image concerns were not associated with the pre-to-post exposure effects. We propose that increasing the representation of normal weight and overweight women in media advertisements could help to neutralize or at least reduce the negative impact of media’s practice to idealize thin and overly thin women as symbols of female beauty.

     

Voluntary Stigmatization and Social Comparison: Single Mothers View Their Lot1

This research examined the impact of voluntary Stigmatization, depression, and self-esteem on downward social comparisons. The stigmatized group was 51 mothers who chose to become parents as single women; 51 demographically similar married mothers were the nonstigmatized group. The women described their stressors and rated these stressors relative to other mothers of the same marital status and relative to mothers who differed in marital status. Consistent with downward comparison theory, Stigmatization increased the likelihood of making downward comparisons. Contrary to the theory, high self-esteem and low levels of depression resulted in self-enhancing comparisons, but only when individuals compared themselves to others who differed in Stigmatization status. The combination of these individual difference variables and Stigmatization increased the tendency to make downward comparisons.     

Pathways Between Social Support,Family Well Being,Quality of Parenting,and Child Resilience: What We Know

We contribute to the theoretical and research knowledge base regarding the pathways between parental social support, family well being, quality of parenting, and the development of child resilience in families with a child with serious emotional problems. Little conceptual development has been done that provides a theoretical framework for studying the relationships among these variables. We identify key findings from social support theory and research, including the impact of social support on family well being and the parents’ capacity to parent, and the experience of parental social support in families with a child with a disability. We review the constructs of family well being, quality of parenting, and child resilience. Further, we explain the pathways between parental social support, family well being, quality of parenting, and child resilience in families with a child with serious emotional problems. Key variables of the model and the nature of their inter-relationships are described. Social support is constructed as a protective mechanism with main and buffering effects that can impact family well being, quality of parenting, and child resilience at a number of junctures. The conceptual model’s implications for future theory development and research are discussed.     

Mental activation of supportive ties, hostility, and cardiovascular reactivity to laboratory stress in young men and women.

In addition to actual social interactions, internal representations of supportive ties could affect mechanisms linking relationships and health. Undergraduates (41 men, 41 women) wrote about supportive ties or casual acquaintances. Supportive ties were rated as warmer and less controlling than acquaintances, and writing about them evoked reductions in negative affect, especially for low-hostile participants. Compared with the acquaintance condition, the supportive tie condition resulted in reduced heart rate and blood pressure response during a subsequent speech stressor. Among women, the supportive tie condition reduced blood pressure response among low- but not among high-hostile participants. Hence, mental activation of supportive ties altered effects of laboratory stress and might be relevant to the effects of social relations on health.     

Examination of Gender Differences in Modeling OCBs and Their Antecedents in Business Organizations in Taiwan

This research presents a model of organizational citizenship behaviors (OCBs) mediated by social network ties using gender as a moderator. In the proposed model, OCBs are influenced indirectly by the need for power-prestige, outcome interdependence, and person-organization fit through the mediation of instrumental ties and expressive ties, which are considered social network ties. Gender moderates several paths in the model. The moderating effects of gender are simultaneously examined using data collected in Taiwan. Test results show that the influence of the need for power-prestige on expressive ties is stronger for women than for men, and the influence of the need for power-prestige on instrumental ties is stronger for men than for women. Moreover, the influence of outcome interdependence on instrumental ties is stronger for men than for women. Finally, detailed findings and their implications are discussed.     

初中生的社会比较对认知与情感信任的影响

本研究旨在探讨不同友谊状态下,初中生的社会比较对认知与情感信任的影响,及两种信任在社会比较与亲密度变化关系中的中介作用。有效被试为522名(M=12.87岁, SD=0.67),开学初让被试提名一位最亲密朋友,期中考试后让其比较与该好友的成绩排名并评价对好友的认知与情感信任水平,随后重新评价该好友的亲密度。结果表明:在亲密朋友(第二次依旧为最亲密的朋友)中,向下比较的情感信任高于向上比较,社会比较不影响认知信任;在普通朋友(第二次亲密度降低的朋友)中,向上比较的认知和情感信任均高于向下比较;社会比较只通过认知信任影响亲密度变化(完全中介),即相比于向下比较,向上比较时的认知信任水平较高,从而更有利于维持友谊的亲密性。     

Antecedents and consequences of the frequency of upward and downward social comparisons at work

The current paper examines the dispositional and situational antecedents, as well as the attitudinal and behavioral consequences, of the frequency of upward and downward social comparisons. We predicted social comparison frequency would be influenced by uncertainty-related antecedents, and that social comparisons in organizations would be characterized by contrast, not assimilation, effects. A large and occupationally diverse sample of 991 employed adults was surveyed at three separate points in time over a 12–16 week period. Our results, based on structural equation modeling, indicated that (a) role ambiguity, task autonomy, and core self-evaluations were significant predictors of upward social comparison, (b) upward social comparison was significantly negatively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment, (c) downward social comparison was significantly positively related to job satisfaction and affective commitment, and (d) upward and downward social comparisons had significant positive and negative indirect effects on the frequency of job search behaviors, respectively. The findings are discussed in terms of their general implications for understanding the importance of directional social comparison processes in organizational settings.