Predictors of Hypersexual Behavior Among College Men and Women: Exploring Self‐Conscious Emotions

The authors examined self‐conscious emotions as predictors of hypersexual behavior among 235 college students. Among men, shame‐proneness and externalization predicted higher hypersexual behavior, whereas guilt‐proneness and detachment were associated with lower hypersexual behavior. Detachment predicted higher hypersexual behavior among women.     

Who’s got the Upper Hand? Hand Holding Behaviors Among Romantic Couples and Families

The hand holding behavior of romantic couples and family dyads (n?=?886) in public locations around Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was observed. Over 90 % of males in heterosexual romantic couples, parents in parent child pairs, and older siblings in child sibling pairs tended to place their hand on top when holding hands, displaying what we consider social dominance. Women holding hands with men in romantic relationships placed their hand under their partner’s hand, and women switched to have their hand on top when holding hands with a child. Results are discussed in relation to social dominance theory and social role theory, along with implications for equality among the sexes.     

Fear as a Mediator for the Relationship Between Child Sexual Abuse and Victimization of Relationship Violence

Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) has been identified as a predictor for dating violence victimization; however, the mechanism for this relationship is unexplored. The current study examined whether fearful dating experiences may help explain the relationship between CSA and dating violence victimization. Participants (N =?327 college women) completed self-report measures of CSA, fearful dating experiences, and dating violence. In a mediational model test, CSA was found to be positively associated with fear in dating relationships and with dating violence victimization, fear was associated with dating violence victimization, and the effect of CSA on dating violence victimization scores was reduced after controlling for fear. A Sobel's test showed that fear partially mediated the relationship between CSA and current dating violence victimization.     

Residual Normality Assumption and the Estimation of Multiple Membership Random Effects Models

While conventional hierarchical linear modeling is applicable to purely hierarchical data, a multiple membership random effects model (MMrem) is appropriate for nonpurely nested data wherein some lower-level units manifest mobility across higher-level units. Although a few recent studies have investigated the influence of cluster-level residual nonnormality on hierarchical linear modeling estimation for purely hierarchical data, no research has examined the statistical performance of an MMrem given residual non-normality. The purpose of the present study was to extend prior research on the influence of residual non-normality from purely nested data structures to multiple membership data structures. Employing a Monte Carlo simulation study, this research inquiry examined two-level MMrem parameter estimate biases and inferential errors. Simulation factors included the level-two residual distribution, sample sizes, intracluster correlation coefficient, and mobility rate. Results showed that estimates of fixed effect parameters and the level-one variance component were robust to level-two residual non-normality. The level-two variance component, however, was sensitive to level-two residual non-normality and sample size. Coverage rates of the 95% credible intervals deviated from the nominal value assumed when level-two residuals were non-normal. These findings can be useful in the application of an MMrem to account for the contextual effects of multiple higher-level units.     

The Relationship Between Personality Traits and Reflective Judgment Among Female Students

Forty-three female undergraduate and graduate students preparing for careers as educators provided Omnibus Personality Inventory and Reflective Judgment Interview data. The sample included 14 seniors, 15 master's candidates, and 14 doctoral candidates. Each educational level group included participants with a range of intellectual disposition scores as measured by the Omnibus Personality Inventory. Scores on six scales of the Omnibus Personality Inventory correlated significantly with Reflective Judgment Interview scores (p < .05): thinking introversion, response bias, altruism, autonomy, complexity, and theoretical orientation. These findings support the conclusion that postformal reasoning, as described in P. M. King and K. S. Kitchener's (1994) reflective judgment model of cognitive development, is related to measurable personality traits.     

Introduction: Constructivism and social constructionism in the career field

The impact of constructivism and social constructionism upon vocational psychology has often been through the use of the more generic “constructivism.” In this article constructivism is distinguished by its focus on how the individual cognitively engages in the construction of knowledge from social construction which claims that knowledge and meaning are historically and culturally constructed through social processes and action. The considerable ambiguity in the use of these terms is also discussed. Their contributions, challenges, and opportunities to the career field’s dominant discourses are examined: the dispositions discourse, the contextualizing discourse, the subjectivity and narrative discourse, and the process discourse. Broader challenges and opportunities for the field are also noted. The historical construction of knowledge, concern with language, action, and process problematize traditional understandings of career. They raise opportunities to question fundamental assumptions, focus on context, culture, the person-environment interaction, and practice.     

Religious Faith and Substance Problems in Undergraduate College Students: A Replication

The present study examined the relations between religious faith and alcohol and drug problems in undergraduate college students at a large public university in the Southeastern United States. The Santa Clara Strength of Religious Faith Questionnaire—Short Form and the Alcohol Problems and Drug Problems scales of the Personality Assessment Inventory were given to 303 undergraduate students. Findings indicated that religious faith was inversely associated with drug and alcohol problems in both males and females. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Personality and gender differences in global perspective

Men's and women's personalities appear to differ in several respects. Social role theories of development assume gender differences result primarily from perceived gender roles, gender socialization and sociostructural power differentials. As a consequence, social role theorists expect gender differences in personality to be smaller in cultures with more gender egalitarianism. Several large cross‐cultural studies have generated sufficient data for evaluating these global personality predictions. Empirically, evidence suggests gender differences in most aspects of personality—Big Five traits, Dark Triad traits, self‐esteem, subjective well‐being, depression and values—are conspicuously larger in cultures with more egalitarian gender roles, gender socialization and sociopolitical gender equity. Similar patterns are evident when examining objectively measured attributes such as tested cognitive abilities and physical traits such as height and blood pressure. Social role theory appears inadequate for explaining some of the observed cultural variations in men's and women's personalities. Evolutionary theories regarding ecologically‐evoked gender differences are described that may prove more useful in explaining global variation in human personality.