Introduction to the Special Section: Advances in psychological prevention and treatment interventions to promote children's mental health

This paper introduces the Special Section on Advances in Psychological Prevention and Treatment Interventions to Promote Children's Mental Health. The three articles in the Special Section provide perspectives on the adaptation, evaluation, and implementation of evidence‐based psychological interventions for children in countries in Northern and Eastern Europe, and Latin America. The articles highlight disparate methodologies for the examination of intervention data, including addressing causal inference in the absence of availability of true experiment data (i.e., randomised controlled trial data), randomised trial data from a school‐based prevention programme, and predictors of change in an evidence‐based treatment programme. Together, the articles highlight the movement of evidence‐based practices into routine care settings and emerging strategies for settings in which randomised trial data are not yet available. They demonstrate the contribution of psychological research to the advancement of practices for improving children's mental health.     

Efficacy and social support as predictors of parenting stress among families in poverty

Using a sample of low‐income mothers enrolled in Early Head Start (n = 65), this study tested the hypothesis that parenting stress is affected by social support and self‐efficacy, in addition to family risk status and family income. Specifically, it was proposed that social support and self‐efficacy are psychological resources that are associated with lower parenting stress levels, and would moderate the impact of family income on parenting stress. A significant proportion of variance in parenting stress was explained by self‐efficacy, family risk, and the interaction of self‐efficacy and family income; family income alone was not a significant predictor of parenting stress levels. Mothers higher in self‐efficacy had lower levels of parenting stress, and income was less associated with parenting stress levels for mothers high in self‐efficacy. Social support was not associated with lower parenting stress levels, nor did social support moderate the effect of income on parenting stress. Family risk was also a strong and reliable predictor of parenting stress, suggesting that family circumstances are perhaps better predictors of parenting stress levels than income alone. These findings suggest that parenting stress among low‐income parents should be viewed as a function of psychological, as well as financial, resources.     

‘It all boils down to respect doesn't it?’: Enacting a sense of community in a deprived inner‐city area

Audio recordings of meetings of two community groups in a deprived inner‐city area were analysed, using discursive psychological and conversation analytic techniques to explore situated enactments of ‘community’. Participants situated themselves as members of a geographical community, of an ‘imagined’ community and of other constitutive communities. A sense of community was enacted through five interactional strategies: Affirming moral codes, ‘defending’ other members, distinguishing insiders from outsiders, enacting empowerment and challenging institutions. Participants regularly employed emotional displays and affirmed moral positions, both to constitute ‘community’ and to take action in it. In so doing they worked up social capital and positioned community concerns in ways more reflective of their own situated values than of criminal law or government policy. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

On-again/off-again dating relationships: what keeps partners coming back?

Building on research comparing on-again/off-again (on-off) relationships to other dating relationships, the current study focused on a unique feature of these relationships-renewals. A sample of 274 participants who had experienced an on-off relationship completed a survey about why they renewed their relationships, characteristics of their breakups and renewals, and what stressors and benefits they experienced. These characteristics were used to predict the occurrence of renewals, separately as well as in multivariate analyses. In addition to lingering feelings being a predominant reason for renewals, findings suggested uncertainty about what the preceding breakup indicated, not having dated others after breakups, and feeling the on-off nature improved the relationship were all related to an increased chance of renewals. Mutual initiations of breakups, as well as reporting uncertainty about the general nature of the relationship, were also related to a decreased chance of renewals.     

Direct and indirect relationships among posttraumatic stress disorder,depression, hostility,anger, and verbal and physical aggression in returning veterans

Hostility, anger, and aggression are conceptually related but unique constructs found to occur more often among veterans with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than among civilians or veterans without PTSD. However, the pathways between PTSD, depression, hostility, anger, and aggression have not been comprehensively characterized. Therefore, drawing on a sample of returning Operation Enduring Freedom/Operation Iraqi Freedom combat veterans ( N = 175; 95% male; mean age 30 years), this study sought to examine the direct and indirect relationships among PTSD, depression, hostility, anger, and four types of aggression: verbal, and physical toward self, others, and objects. Functional modeling of direct effects was done using multiple least-squares regression and bootstrapped mediation analyses were carried out to test indirect effects. Results indicate that PTSD is not the overall direct contributor to different forms of aggression, supporting the mediating role of depression and trait anger. Depression symptoms explain part of the relationships between PTSD and verbal aggression, physical aggression toward objects, and physical aggression toward self and trait anger explains part of the relationships between PTSD and verbal aggression, physical aggression toward objects, and physical aggression toward others. Our findings support the importance of assessing for anger, depression, and different types of aggression among veterans presenting for PTSD treatment to develop individualized treatment plans that may benefit from early incorporation of interventions.     

Objectification in Heterosexual Romantic Relationships: Examining Relationship Satisfaction of Female Objectification Recipients and Male Objectifying Perpetrators

Sex Roles - Sexual objectification is one of most the common manifestations of discrimination against women in Western societies; however, few studies have examined objectification in the context...     

Linking Femininity, Weight Concern, and Mental Health among Latina, Black, and White Women

Studies examining women's appearance ideals and weight concern have predominantly relied on samples of White women. This study addresses this oversight, examining the different relations among embodied femininity, weight concern, and depressive symptomatology that exist for different groups of women. Using a nationally representative sample of women between the ages of 18 and 45, bivariate analyses were conducted using three samples of Latina, Black, and White women. When sample size allowed, a multivariate model was tested (i.e., for Black and White respondents). Results confirm, as hypothesized, different patterns of relations between embodied femininity, weight concern, and depressive symptomatology for each of the samples. At the bivariate level, embodied femininity, weight concern, and depressive symptomatology were positively intercorrelated among Latina respondents. Whereas weight concern fully mediated the relation between embodied femininity and depressive symptomatology for the White respondents, the mediational model was not borne out for the Black respondents. For the latter, although embodied femininity and weight concern were related, weight concern was unrelated to depressive symptoms. Both of these patterns are discussed, as well as the need for greater empirical sensitivity to various constructions of femininity among women of different ethnicities.     

Teachers' Conservatism, Openness to Change, Transcendence and Self-Enhancement in Daily Life and in School Situations

In the present study we examined conservatism, openness to change, transcendence and self-enhancement as reflected in the relationships among teachers' values, attitudes and behaviors that presumably share common motivations, in daily life as well as in school situations. It is assumed that values cannot be fully understood and meaningfully measured without reference to the attitudes and behaviors which express them. In this study we hypothesized that the relationships among values as expressed in Schwartz's theory (e.g., 1992), also guide relationships among the respective attitudes and behaviors. We expected more consistency among values, attitudes and behaviors in daily-life as compared to school situations. Participants were 130 Israeli female teachers. Findings revealed compatibility between values and attitudes sharing common motivations and partial but nevertheless lawful relationships between values, attitudes and behaviors. We found that teachers' conservative behavior in daily life and their openness to change and transcendence in school situations were explained both by values and attitudes. However, attitudes were mediators between values and behaviors only with regard to conservatism in daily life and openness to change in school situations. We also found that across the motivational themes, values explained behaviors in daily life situations whereas attitudes explained behaviors in school situations.     

Engaging in distancing tactics among sport fans: effects on self-esteem and emotional responses

The authors examined the effects of distancing tactics on self-esteem and emotions, following a win or loss of one's favorite team. They measured state self-esteem and emotional responses of basketball fans as they exited the sport arena after their team had won or lost an official game. Half of the fans were given the opportunity to increase or decrease their association with the team before the measures of self-esteem and emotions; the remaining fans were given the opportunity after the measures. The fans tended to associate more with the team after team success than after team failure. In addition, self-esteem and positive emotions were higher, and negative emotions lower, when measured after, rather than before, the opportunity to increase or decrease association with the team. Those effects were more pronounced among high-team-identification fans than among low-team-identification fans. The results suggest a distinction between the short- and long-term effects of game outcome on the willingness to associate with one's team. In the short term, willingness to associate with the team may oscillate in accordance with team performance, even among high-team-identification fans; in the long term, only high-team-identification fans may maintain their allegiance to the team.