African American Women's Substance Use Recovery Experiences: A Phenomenological Inquiry

We examined the lived substance use recovery experiences of eight African American women. Specifically, in this study, we examined how participants were able to achieve sustained recovery without the aid of substance use treatment. Using transcendental phenomenological analysis, we found that participants used four components of recovery capital: family, spirituality, religion, and the Black Church. This study has important relevance to working with African American women in substance use recovery.     

Something Old, Something New: Evidence of Self-Accommodation to Gendered Social Change

Two studies examined how individuals adapt the self to social trends—in particular, when the social roles of the gender ingroup change, do people readily leave behind traditional roles in favor of nontraditional roles? We hypothesized that self-relevant cognitions and behaviors would accommodate to societal change, and we found that this accommodation took the shape of greater acceptance of nontraditional roles alongside continued acceptance of traditional roles. Experiment 1 included 112 undergraduates from the Midwestern U.S. who learned about social change or social stability by reading articles ostensibly published in a newspaper. Individuals who learned about social change for their gender ingroup, relative to those learning about social stability, projected greater personal success in careers, particularly for gender-nontraditional careers. Experiment 2 examined behavioral responses to social change in a sample of 198 female undergraduates from the Midwestern U.S. Participants learned about social change or social stability and then chose to view either a website focused on physical appearance (i.e., traditional choice) or leadership (i.e., nontraditional choice). Behavioral responses to social change reflected accommodation to the anticipated social structure: Individuals who learned about social change chose to view information about nontraditional rather than traditional roles. These studies provide initial experimental evidence investigating how individuals adapt the self to the social structure.     

Evaluation of Peer Training for Teaching Abduction Prevention Skills

Child abduction is a serious problem, with approximately 100 children killed each year by nonfamily abductors. Training programs to teach children the correct skills to use if they ever come into contact with a stranger can be effective when they incorporate behavioral skills training (BST) and in-situ training (IST) into their protocol. However, these methods can be rather time and energy consuming. The current study evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of a peer tutoring approach to teaching abduction prevention skills. Peer trainers implemented BST sessions and IST sessions with their younger peers. Children successfully acquired the target safety behaviors taught by the peer trainers, and use of the skills generalized to their natural environment.     

A Function Acquisition Speed Test for Equivalence relations (Faster)

The Psychological Record - The current study employed a stimulus equivalence paradigm to assess the ability of the recently developed Function Acquisition Speed Test (FAST) to measure the existence...     

Drivers Display Anger‐Congruent Attention to Potential Traffic Hazards

Previous research has suggested that angry drivers may respond differently to potential hazards. This study replicates and extends these findings. Under simulated driving conditions, two groups of drivers experienced conditions that would either increase angry mood (N = 12; men = 6) or not (control group, N = 12; men = 6). All drivers then performed a neutral drive, during which they encountered a number of traffic events not experienced in the initial drive. These included vehicles emerging from driveways into their path and jaywalking pedestrians. Subjective anger, eye‐movement behaviour and driving behaviours (speed and reaction times) were measured as drivers drove. Subjective moods (Profile of Mood States) were assessed before and after each drive. Anger‐provoked drivers reported reliably higher increases in angry mood when compared with the control group after the initial drive, and these increases remained stable across the subsequent neutral drive. During the neutral drive, anger‐provoked drivers demonstrated evidence of more heuristic style processing of potential hazards, with shorter initial gazes at less apparent hazards and longer latencies to look back at jaywalking pedestrians obscured by parked vehicles. Anger‐provoked drivers also took longer to make corrective actions to avoid potential collisions. It is concluded that anger‐provoked drivers may initially make more superficial assessments of certain driving situations and consequently underestimate the inherent risk. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dress fit and body image: A thematic analysis of women's accounts during and after trying on dresses

This study was designed to investigate women's experiences of dress fit and body image. Spontaneous speech of 20 women aged 18–45 years was audio-recorded while they tried on a number of dresses. They were also body-scanned and photographed in their chosen dress and discussed both the scan and the photograph in semi-structured interviews. Data were analysed using inductive thematic analysis and four key themes were found: the slim hourglass ideal, functional aspects of clothes fit, body confidence and clothes fit, and clothes dimensions and size coding. All themes and component sub-themes were ratified in follow-up sessions six months after the original interviews. It was concluded that these women had a complicated relationship with clothes fit and sizing and used well-fitting clothes to increase body confidence, cover perceived flaws, and to try to attain a slender hourglass look. Ideas for future directions for research in these areas are discussed.     

Predictors of Externalizing Behavior Problems in Early Elementary-Aged Children: The Role of Family and Home Environments

As children enter elementary school they display behavioral orientations that reveal potential developmental trajectories. Developmental transitions offer unique opportunities for examining developmental pathways and the factors that influence emerging pathways. The primary goal of this investigation was to examine characteristics of family and home contexts in predicting externalizing behavior problems among children transitioning into elementary school. Dimensions of the family and home environments of maltreated and nonmaltreated children (N = 177) were examined and used to predict externalizing behavior problems. Maltreatment was assessed using case file information, characteristics of the family and home environment were rated by interviewers, and externalizing behavior was assessed by mother's ratings on the Child Behavior Checklist. Relative to nonmaltreated children, the family environments of physically abused children were characterized by higher levels of negative social interactions. Also, in comparison to nonmaltreated children, the home environments of children who experienced neglect were characterized as less organized and clean. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that physical abuse was the strongest predictor of externalizing behavior. After controlling for the contribution of physical abuse, mother's negative behavior toward the focal child, aggression between siblings, and the lack of an organized and clean home were each predictive of externalizing behavior.     

Intersections Between Nativity, Ethnic Density, and Neighborhood SES: Using an Ethnic Enclave Framework to Explore Variation in Puerto Ricans’ Physical Health

Although past research has demonstrated a “health disadvantage” for Puerto Rican adults, very little is known about correlates of health among this group. Given Puerto Ricans’ unique experiences of migration and settlement, an ethnic enclave framework that integrates nativity, ethnic density, and neighborhood SES may offer insight into factors influencing Puerto Ricans’ health. This study uses a sample of 449 adult mainland- and island-born Puerto Ricans living in New York City and Chicago. The data, collected as a part of the MIDUS Survey of Minority Groups, are stratified by neighborhood ethnic density and neighborhood SES, allowing for the examination of the individual and joint influences of neighborhood characteristics on physical health. Results revealed that ethnic density and neighborhood SES were not independently or interactively related to physical health for mainland-born Puerto Ricans. However, the interaction between ethnic density and neighborhood SES was related to self-reported health, functional limitations, and health symptoms for island-born Puerto Ricans. Island-born Puerto Ricans living in ethnically dense, low SES neighborhoods reported worse health than island-born Puerto Ricans living in other types of neighborhoods. This may be a result of isolation from resources both within and outside the neighborhood.