Psychopathology of adolescent suicide: hopelessness, coping beliefs, and depression

Two studies of adolescents examined the relation of several cognitive variables and depression to suicide-related behaviors. Study 1 compared hopelessness and depression in 281 high school students. Unlike research with adults, depression was significantly related to suicidal behaviors, even after hopelessness was statistically controlled. When depression was controlled, hopelessness was unrelated to suicidal behaviors for boys and only modestly related for girls. Study 2 examined depression, hopelessness, survival-coping beliefs, fear of social disapproval, and social desirability in relation to suicidal behaviors in 53 male juvenile delinquents. Again, hopelessness did not account for a significant proportion of the variance in suicide. Depression was uniquely related to past suicide attempts. Survival-coping beliefs were associated with self-predicted future suicide and other suicidal behaviors. Survival-coping beliefs are discussed as a cognitive buffer to suicidal ideation in adolescence.     

Late adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury: the roles of coping style, self-esteem, and personality pathology

This study examined the relationship between late adolescent nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and coping style, self-esteem, and personality pathology. Participants were 302 late adolescent (18-19-year-old) college students who completed questionnaires on self-esteem, coping style, personality disorder symptoms, and NSSI. Participants who engaged in NSSI reported more personality pathology, more maladaptive coping styles, less rational coping, and lower self-esteem than did non self-harming participants. As hypothesized, total NSSI correlated with several personality disorders, emotional coping style, and inversely related to self-esteem and adaptive coping styles. Regression equations tested several mediation models to determine whether self-esteem or coping style mediates the relationship between personality disorder symptoms and NSSI. Emotional coping and self-esteem each fully mediated the relationship between various personality disorders and NSSI in the anticipated direction. Results also indicate self-esteem, rational, detached, and emotional coping partially mediate the relationship between several personality disorders and NSSI.     

Influence of sex and gender roles on high school status systems

Past research has indicated significant sex differences in determinants of male and female high school students' status as measured by how subjects would like to have been remembered from their high school years. In order to determine if remembrance preference is sex or gender role related, 671 subjects were administered the Bem Sex-Role Inventory (BSRI) and a questionnaire asking if they most wanted to be remembered from high school as a brilliant student, leader in activities, athletic star or most popular. Using both the median split and t-ratio procedures in scoring the BSRI, 206 subjects were selected because they were sex-typed (masculine males, feminine females), cross sex-typed (masculine females, feminine males), or androgynous (scoring high on both masculine and feminine traits). To find a model of best fit, the data were subjected to a log-linear analysis. The variables included were sex, gender role, and remembrance preference. Rather than sex being the influential factor, the model of best fit was a gender role by remembrance preference interaction. If subjects were masculine, they were more likely to choose athletic star than were feminine or androgynous subjects. Most popular and leader in activities were both more likely to be chosen by feminine and androgynous subjects. All groups chose brilliant student more often than any other category. It was concluded that some previously designated sex differences may instead be differences in gender role. Further research should address the distinction between the two.     

Moderating effects of age and context on the relationship between gender,sex role differences,and coping

We examined age, gender, sex role, and context differences in type of coping among adolescents through older adults. They were given measures of coping and sex role orientation for both relationship and achievement contexts. Emotion-focused coping decreased with age, with high-femininity individuals reporting higher levels of coping. Older low-feminine adults reported greater use of emotion-focused coping than all other subjects except adolescents. Problem-focused coping showed an upward trend with age for low-feminine subjects. High-feminine subjects followed a similar trend until adulthood and then showed a decrease. Achievement and relationship contexts moderated the relationship between age, gender, sex role orientation, and problem-focused coping. Results are discussed in terms of sex roles and adult development.     

Sex roles, gender, and fear

Male and female college students classified as masculine, feminine, androgynous, or undifferentiated on the Bem (1974) Sex Role Inventory (N = 199) were given the Wolpe (1969) Fear Inventory. Significant differences in average fear scores were seen between men and women and between the four sex-role categories, with sex role and gender contributing equally to the variability. The argument is raised here that excessive fearfulness or fearlessness might be as much a product of sex-role conditioning as a product of gender.     

A family-focused randomized controlled trial to prevent adolescent alcohol and tobacco use: The moderating roles of positive parenting and adolescent gender

Four years of longitudinal data from 2,153 families with a 5th- or 6th-grade preadolescent participating in a family-focused pediatric primary-care-based prevention program were used to examine whether prevention effects were moderated by positive parenting and/or adolescent gender. Alcohol and tobacco use, internalizing problems, and externalizing problems were examined. Although findings revealed no main effect of the prevention program, positive parenting and adolescent gender were moderators of internalizing problems and adolescent gender was a moderator of externalizing problems. Clinical implications and future directions for research are discussed.     

Culture, society and gender in depression

The dilemmas inherent in the inclusion of the sociocultural variables in the assessment and treatment of depression are multifold. In this article, three broad themes are selected for discussion: (1) the challenge of cultural translation of mainstream professional definitions of depression to culturally diverse groups; (2) sociopolitical discourses and power differentials regarding gender, class and race and their possible contributions to depression; and (3) the impact of migration, cultural change and generational conflict on manifestations of depression.     

Religious coping,drinking motivation,and sex

The relations for religious coping with types of drinking motivation were examined in 178 college students. Participants completed the Ways of Religious Coping Scale and the Drinking Motives Questionnaire. As expected, correlations suggested that amount of alcohol used as well as social and enhancement motives for using were negatively related to religious coping scores. These relations were more clearly evident among women than among men. Coping motivation for alcohol use and religious coping were not significantly correlated.     

Narcissism,sex roles,and self-functioning

This study examined the relationship between gender, sex role, and narcissism. Two hundred and three students completed the Bem Sex Role Inventory, the Narcissistic Personality Inventory, and the Narcissistic Personality Disorder Scale, along with several measures of self-esteem and depression. Overall, the data indicated that males and masculine individuals were not higher in their levels of maladaptive narcissism, that an adjusted narcissism was more obvious in males and in masculine subjects, and that femininity appeared to inhibit the display of an unhealthy exploitive self-concern. Androgyny failed to appear as the healthiest sex role, although multiple regression analyses suggested that future research may need to further explore this possibility.     

The role of coping, anxiety, and stress in depression post-acute coronary syndrome

Depressive symptoms are common and can affect prognosis following acute coronary syndromes (ACS). This study examined the psychological factors, coping, anxiety, and perceived stress associated with depression following ACS. Psychological variables were assessed in 15 females and 66 males (M = 57 years, SD = 12). Repeated measures at 2, 12, and 24 weeks post-ACS compared depression, anxiety, perceived stress, and coping resources as determined by the Cardiac Depression Scale, Beck Depression Inventory-II, State Trait Anxiety Inventory, Perceived Stress Scale, and Coping Resources Inventory. Depression, anxiety, and perceived stress remained high in the depressed group across time. Coping scores at 2 weeks post-ACS predicted depression scores at 24 weeks post-ACS. It appears that trait anxiety and coping resources are related to depressive symptoms post-ACS.     

Loneliness, social interaction, and sex roles

Forty-three male and 53 female college seniors maintained the Rochester Interaction Record for 2 weeks, providing information about every social interaction of 10 minutes or more. Subjects then completed the revised UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles) Loneliness Scale and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire, measuring sex-role orientation. For both sexes, loneliness was negatively related to the amount of time spent with females and to the meaningfulness of interaction with males and females. However, meaningfulness with males was more important than meaningfulness with females. Femininity was negatively related to loneliness for both sexes and partially mediated the above relationships. There were sex differences, however, in the extent to which variables overlapped in predicting loneliness. For example, a large group of nonlonely males was characterized both by having meaningful relationships with males and by spending time with females, whereas a second group of nonlonely males was characterized simply by having meaningful relationships with males. The largest group of nonlonely females was characterized simply by having meaningful relationships with males, but another sizable group was characterized simply by spending time with females. Females doing both accounted for very little of the variance.     

Race,sex, and juvenile inmate roles

Mate selection researchers have long assumed that surveyed listings of ''ideal traits'' indicate strong preferences by women for virtuous males. This assumption is contradicted, however, by increasing evidence of sexual abuse in dating relationships and suggests the possibility that the hero-centric Western culture of romance greatly complicates the mating process. A review of literary heroism revealed extraordinary individualism. Notably, George Gordon Byron's protagonists ('Byronic Heroes') are men of stupendous assertiveness and uncertain morality; derivatives abound in contemporary American popular culture. A comparison was made of three typologies; the third, domestic batterers being ''stand-ins'' for abusive dates. Byronic traits were found to much more closely resemble those of batterers than of hypothetical ideal mates. Thus, the development of intense admiration of fictional Byronic Heroes during socialization could lead to an admiration of same traits in encountered males with or even tragic results.     

Love, sex roles, and psychological health

College students were administered a series of questionnaires designed to determine the association between psychological health, involvement in a romantic relationship, and the quality of love in a relationship. As predicted, subjects who had been involved in at least one love relationship scored significantly higher on a measure of self-actualization than individuals who had never been in love. In addition, it was found that level of self-actualization directly correlated with the degree of healthy love (Maslow's B-love) among individuals who had been involved in a romantic relationship. Among individuals who had terminated their relationship, those who demonstrated higher levels of self-actualization felt less resentment toward their ex-lover. Furthermore it was discovered that females show a higher level of B-love than males, but contrary to predictions the length of a romantic relationship did not influence B-love. It is concluded that the results of this study are essentially consistent with Maslow's theories about self-actualization, hierarchy of needs, and healthy love.     

Racial differences in adolescent coping and self-esteem

Racial differences in coping strategies and self-esteem were examined for 361 male and female adolescents in Grades 7-12. Coping strategies were assessed with the Adolescent Coping Orientation for Problem Experiences (J. M. Patterson & H. I. McCubbin, 1986). Self-esteem was assessed by the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (S. Coopersmith, 1987). Multivariate analysis revealed racial differences in adolescent coping strategies of ventilating feelings, seeking diversions, developing self-reliance, avoiding problems, seeking spiritual support, investing in close friends, engaging in demanding activities, solving family problems, and relaxing. In particular, African American adolescents reported using diversions, self-reliance, spiritual support, close friends, demanding activities, family problems, and relaxation more frequently than Caucasian adolescents did. Implications for professionals and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Latent inhibition in within-subject designs: The roles of masking, schizotypy, and gender

Latent inhibition (LI) is defined as poorer associative learning with a previously exposed, irrelevant stimulus than with a non-preexposed, novel stimulus. This study examined how type of within-subject procedure, class of schizotypal symptoms, and gender modulate LI. Two within-subject procedures were examined, one excluding, and one including a masking task. The former yielded a stronger stimulus preexposure effect than the latter. However, the stimulus preexposure effect was attenuated by total schizotypy score in the masked, but not in the non-masked procedure. The results with schizotypy factors (positive and negative symptoms) as well as with schizotypy factors × gender interactions were inconsistent with those of other studies. It was suggested that in addition to LI, interference and novel pop-out effects were also produced by the procedures, particularly in the non-masked condition.     

The influence of sex stereotypes and gender roles on participation and performance in sport and exercise: Review and future directions

The role of sex stereotypes and gender roles in the sex differences observed in sport and exercise has been extensively investigated in sport psychology, past studies showing that stereotypes are internalized into the self during the socialization process. Although this research has provided clear evidence of the psychosocial roots of sex differences in athletics, focusing exclusively on an internalization explanation may not allow a complete understanding of the influence of stereotypes in this domain. This article presents two approaches that have been developed in mainstream psychology and discusses their relevance in sport psychology: (1) the situational approach, which considers that the mere presence of stereotypes in the environment is sufficient to affect individuals (e.g., stereotype threat theory); (2) the content of stereotypes approach (e.g., stereotype content model), which suggests that stereotypes about a particular group may be ambivalent, and that this ambivalence may serve to legitimize the status quo.     

Rural adolescent loneliness and coping strategies

The extent of loneliness of rural adolescents was investigated in relation to aspects of their self-esteem. The study sample consisted of 387 4-H children from rural Nebraska ranging in age from 8 to 20 years. Data were gathered using the Loneliness Inventory (Woodward, 1967), Bachman's (1970) Self-Esteem Scale, and the Coping Strategies Inventory (Woodward, 1987). It was found that rural adolescents have extremely high loneliness scores and that 10 of 12 self-esteem characteristics were significant at the .05 level in relation to loneliness scores. Resources and coping strategies used by the subjects to combat loneliness are provided and implications of the findings discussed.