Media violence use as a risk factor for aggressive behaviour in adolescence

Whether exposure to violence in the virtual reality of the media has an impact on users’ aggressive behaviour has been a controversial issue in academic as well as public debate. This article summarises a programme of research conducted with adolescents in Germany that presents cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence for the association between violent media use and aggression. It provides experimental evidence in support of mediating variables, such as hostile attributional style, increased normative acceptance of aggression, and emotional desensitisation, which might explain the pathways from media violence use to aggression. In addition it presents the development and experimental evaluation of a theory-based intervention designed to reduce media violence use and decrease its link with aggressive behaviour. The findings are discussed in the context of a large international body of research that points to the causal role of violent media use as a risk factor for aggressive behaviour.     

Hopelessness as a risk factor for post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms among interpersonal violence survivors

Post-traumatic stress disorder often co-occurs with depression, and they may share common risk factors. One possible common cognitive risk factor is hopelessness. Thus, we examined whether hopelessness was related to symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder. Participants were 202 female survivors of interpersonal violence. Relationships between self-reported and interviewer-rated measures of hopelessness gathered at 2 weeks post-trauma and self-reported and interviewer-rated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder gathered at 2 weeks and 3 months post-trauma were examined. Hierarchical, simultaneous regression analyses that co-varied trauma type revealed that hopelessness was related to self-reported symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder, both concurrently and prospectively. Follow-up analyses revealed that relationships between hopelessness and symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder were due almost entirely to shared variance with depression. No relationships were found between hopelessness and interviewer-rated symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder.     

A qualitative investigation of perceptions of violence risk factors in low-income African American children

Conducted a qualitative investigation to identify the perceptions of risk factors for violence in a sample of inner-city African American youth. Using ethnographic analyses, themes emerging from these data included concerns about the reciprocity between drugs and violence, familial quality of life issues, gender differences in the experience of violence and risk for violence, community safety concerns, and fears about managing peer relationships specific to violence. These data are interpreted relative to the risk factors the violence prevention literature has identified among youth residing in urban environments. Findings are discussed in terms of their potential contribution to generating hypotheses for the development of theory and effective violence prevention practice.     

Vocational interests,personality, and sociosexuality as indicators of a general masculinity/femininity factor

Several individual difference domains include variables that show substantial sex differences and may be considered indicators of masculinity/femininity (M/F). We examined the structure of gender-related characteristics from three domains (vocational interests, personality characteristics, and sociosexually relevant sexual fantasies) to determine whether a general factor of M/F can be derived even when participant sex is controlled, and if so, which domains and which variables within those domains are the best indicators of that factor. In a sample of 198 undergraduate students, we found strong intercorrelations between indicators of M/F across domains in the combined-sex sample but only weak intercorrelations within sex. The results also indicated that a general masculinity/femininity factor could be obtained, even when participant sex was controlled, and was defined more strongly by personality characteristics and sociosexuality of sexual fantasies than by vocational interests.     

Gender and posttraumatic stress: sexual violence as an explanation for women's increased risk

Women are approximately twice as likely as men to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), but the cause of this disparity remains unclear. This study evaluated 2 alternative explanations of gender differences in PTSD, one pointing to an intrinsic vulnerability in women and the other emphasizing sexual violence across the life span. To test these competing theories, the authors analyzed National Violence Against Women Survey data from 591 victims of partner aggression. Results suggested that gender, when considered alone, has a small but significant effect on PTSD symptom severity. However, once models factor in sexual victimization history, the latter replaces gender as a key determinant of PTSD symptoms. These findings argue against theories of "feminine vulnerability," instead linking PTSD risk to sexually violent situations.     

Type a behaviour pattern as a risk factor after myocardial infarction: A review

Abstract

This paper is a response to Eiser's (1996) call for a unifying theoretical perspective that would bridge the gap between 'individualistic and ‘social’ approaches to studying human social behaviour in general, and health behaviour in particular. While agreeing with Eiser's premise that it makes no sense to study cognition, affect, and behaviour independently of social context, the present paper takes issue with certain features of his argument that a connectionist approach provides the needed unifying theoretical framework. It is suggested that if connectionism can describe the psychological processes underlying social behavior better than non-connectionist theories, this would provide more compelling evidence of its value than claims that it affords new theoretical insights.     

Problem solving as a function of extraversion and masculinity

The present study aimed at investigating the differences in performance on five problem solving tasks in terms of extraversion-introversion and masculinity-femininity of 48 University males and females assigned to meet the requirements of a 2 × 2 × 2 between group factorial design. While the first four problems were solved with a time limit, and then the scores combined to obtain a composite index, in the fifth, the index of performance was both number of trials and time taken to solve the problem. The data were analyzed by ANOVA. The findings are: (i) Introverts are superior to extraverts on the composite performance index of the first four problems. (ii) On the fifth problem (i.e. problem squares) the male subjects performed significantly better than their female counterparts. (iii) A highly significant personality × sex role × sex interaction revealed that in males extraversion determines the level of performance, i.e. introverts perform better than extraverts regardless of their scores on masculinity-femininity; and in females masculinity boosts the performance of the extraverted group, and femininity hinders the performance of this group. (iv) When males and females were matched on E-I and M-F, the expected sex differences failed to emerge.     

Oppression and empowerment: perceptions of violence among urban youth

Youth violence in the United States has emerged as a major concern for communities, policymakers and community researchers. This paper reports on the efforts of a child mental health clinic to build a community consensus around addressing violence that affects youth and all members of the community. We describe and give case examples regarding our approach to acquiring the perspectives of the community, particularly that of youth, discuss key themes and implications that emerged from our work, and offer preliminary recommendations for designing a youth violence prevention initiative in a disenfranchised community. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Loneliness as a specific risk factor for depressive symptoms: cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses

The extent to which loneliness is a unique risk factor for depressive symptoms was determined in 2 population-based studies of middle-aged to older adults, and the possible causal influences between loneliness and depressive symptoms were examined longitudinally in the 2nd study. In Study 1, a nationally representative sample of persons aged 54 and older completed a telephone interview as part of a study of health and aging. Higher levels of loneliness were associated with more depressive symptoms, net of the effects of age, gender, ethnicity, education, income, marital status, social support, and perceived stress. In Study 2, detailed measures of loneliness, social support, perceived stress, hostility, and demographic characteristics were collected over a 3-year period from a population-based sample of adults ages 50-67 years from Cook County, Illinois. Loneliness was again associated with more depressive symptoms, net of demographic covariates, marital status, social support, hostility, and perceived stress. Latent variable growth models revealed reciprocal influences over time between loneliness and depressive symptomatology. These data suggest that loneliness and depressive symptomatology can act in a synergistic effect to diminish well-being in middle-aged and older adults.     

Maladaptive appraisals as a risk factor for posttraumatic stress: a study of trainee firefighters

This study tested the proposal that catastrophic appraisals are a risk factor for developing stress reactions after trauma. Trainee firefighters (N = 82) were assessed during training (and before trauma exposure), and 68 firefighters were subsequently reassessed 6 months after commencing firefighter duty (after trauma exposure). Initial assessment included the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale, the Traumatic Events Questionnaire, and the Posttraumatic Cognitions Inventory. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale was again administered approximately 20 months after initial assessment and after trauma exposure. Posttraumatic stress at follow-up was predicted by pre*trauma catastrophic thinking (24% of variance). These findings accord with cognitive models predicting that a tendency to catastrophize about negative events is a risk factor for developing posttraumatic stress symptoms.     

A family member's job loss as a risk factor for smoking among adolescents.

Life events are associated with an increased likelihood of adolescent smoking. This study examined a family member's job loss as a predictor of smoking initiation over a 1-year period. Southern California students completed surveys in 6th and 7th grade. Of the 2,168 students, 252 (12%) reported that an adult in the household had lost a job within the past 6 months. Controlling for demographic, socioeconomic. educational, and parenting characteristics. 6th-grade never-smokers who reported a job loss were significantly more likely to have tried smoking by 7th grade and to have smoked in the past 30 days. Job loss for a household member is a risk factor for adolescents' involvement in problem behaviors such as smoking.     

Gender,sexual harassment,workplace violence,and risk assessment:: Convergence around psychiatric staff's perceptions of personal safety

This paper reviews literature in sexual harassment, workplace violence, and risk assessment as it relates to staff in psychiatric and forensic work environments. These three areas of research overlap in their applicability to psychiatric staff in that each addresses the understanding and management of types of violence to which many staff, particularly women, are likely to be exposed while working. Employee well-being, encompassing mental and physical health, job satisfaction, and morale, has been shown to be closely tied to organizational productivity and cost. In addition, gender has been shown to be an important factor in perceptions and decision-making, and prior work has suggested that female staff often have qualitatively different experiences in traditional male workplaces such as inpatient and forensic settings. Despite these findings, research to date on psychiatric staff has typically focused only on number of assaults by patients. It has not addressed how staff's gender may impact their perceptions of personal safety and judgments of risk from patients, nor have any empirical studies been performed in naturalistic settings to investigate this issue. Given the high correlation between organizational productivity and employee well-being, it is mutually beneficial to both employers and staff to examine current understanding of how certain staff variables such as gender may influence their feelings of safety and judgments of risk from patients.     

A century of research on masculinity and femininity: a critical review

The psychological study of masculinity (M) and femininity (F) throughout the twentieth century shows two very different approaches. In the first half of last century, authors try to test the bipolar continuum hypothesis, whereas during the second half, the hypothesis of two orthogonal dimensions predominates. Empirical studies carried out in various countries with the classic M and F scales show that the data do not support: a) the bipolar continuum hypothesis; b) the close relationship between masculinity/men and femininity/women as the single pattern of functional development; and c) the convergence validity of the different assessment instruments. In turn, the empirical results obtained with the new M and F scales show: a) the multidimensionality instead of bi-dimensionality of the different scales; b) that the different M and F scales are not equivalent; and c) that there is no theory capable of guiding the development of new scales to assess these constructs. At the beginning of the 21st century, after the critical evaluation of the studies carried out during about 100 years, we face a critical question: is it worthwhile to continue talking about M and F within the field of science and, more specifically, within the field of psychology?     

New parenthood as a risk factor for the development of obsessional problems

Research on emotional disturbance during pregnancy and the postpartum period has focused primarily on mood disorders and psychosis, yet preliminary evidence suggests that early parenthood is also associated with an increased risk for the development and exacerbation of obsessional problems. In this article we describe the nature of "postpartum obsessive-compulsive disorder" (ppOCD) and present a cognitive-behavioural model to account for these signs and symptoms. The model outlines features of early parenthood that might increase vulnerability to ppOCD and proposes a conceptual framework similar to that described in cognitive-behavioural models of OCD in general. The empirical status of the model described herein is discussed, along with suggestions for future research and implications for treatment.     

Shyness as a risk factor for second language acquisition of immigrant preschoolers

The aim of this study was to examine whether shyness is a risk factor for second language acquisition in immigrant preschoolers. Results from studies on first language acquisition indicate that shy children show less favorable language development; however, it remains unclear how shyness affects second language acquisition. As second language skills are often acquired in interactions outside the family where shyness is more evident, we postulate that shyness has a strong negative effect on second language acquisition. This hypothesis was examined using standardized tests and parental ratings in a sample of 330 immigrant preschoolers cross-sectionally and with 130 immigrant preschoolers longitudinally. The analyses revealed lower second language competence as well as slower language development in shy immigrant children compared to their non-shy counterparts. The present study highlights that not only contextual but also personality factors need to be considered for a comprehensive understanding of second language acquisition in immigrant children.