The measurement of self-esteem among Korean Americans: a cross-ethnic study

Studies have indicated that Asians' self-esteem is generally lower than other ethnic groups'. The authors hypothesized that an item response bias would result in lower self-esteem scores for Asians. Specifically, it was hypothesized that positively worded items would be rated lower by Korean Americans but that there would be no difference on negatively worded items across ethnic groups. The hypothesis was tested using 214 individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia who were Korean American, Caucasian, African American, or Latino. Results supported the hypothesis. Korean Americans had significantly lower self-esteem scores than the other 3 groups on all positively worded items but were no different from the other groups on negatively worded items. Additional analyses showed modest support for the cross-cultural construct equivalence of this measure of self-esteem.     

The moderating effects of individual and community social capital on the relationship between depressive symptoms and suicide in the elderly

Current Psychology - Previous studies indicated that social capital is related to suicide. This study aimed to verify the moderating effects of community and individual social capital on the...     

The effects of four days of intensive mindfulness meditation training (Templestay program) on resilience to stress: a randomized controlled trial

The interest in mindfulness meditation interventions has surged due to their beneficial effects in fostering resilience and reducing stress in both clinical and non-clinical populations. However, the relaxation benefits that may occur while practicing mindfulness meditation and long-term benefits of these interventions remain unclear. Fifty-one participants were recruited and randomized into the experimental and control groups, which underwent 4 days of Intensive Meditation (Templestay program, n = 33) and Relaxation (Control, n = 18), respectively. The self-report measures of Cognitive and Affective Mindfulness Scale-Revised (CAMS) and the modified Korean version of the Resilience Quotient Test (RQT) were administered pre-, post- and 3 months after the intervention to measure participants’ levels of mindfulness and resilience. Participants in both the Templestay program and Control groups showed significant increases in their scores on CAMS and RQT after completing the program. During the 3-month follow-up, a significant interaction effect of the intervention method and time was revealed for the individuals’ CAMS and RQT scores. Our findings support the hypothesis that while relaxation practices may have certain stress reduction effects, the effects are predominantly mediated by the mindfulness meditation practice. Furthermore, the long-term benefits of increased resilience observed in the Templestay program group suggest that the practice may be a possible treatment strategy in clinical populations, such as patients with depression and anxiety.     

Pornography Consumption and Attitudes Toward Homosexuality: A National Longitudinal Study

This study utilized national panel data gathered in 2008 (T1) and 2010 (T2) to examine associations between Black and White U.S. adults' pornography consumption and homosexuality attitudes (indexed via moral judgments of homosexuality and attitudes toward same‐sex marriage). Pornography consumption at T1 predicted interindividual change in attitudes toward more acceptance of homosexuality at T2 for moral individualists, Whites, and men. Women expressed more positive homosexuality attitudes than men, but their attitudes did not vary with exposure to pornography. Homosexuality attitudes at T1 did not predict interindividual change in the probability of pornography consumption at T2. Results were parallel when moral judgments of homosexuality and attitudes toward same‐sex marriage were analyzed separately or were combined into a composite index.     

Inhibitory Control and Moral Emotions: Relations to Reparation in Early and Middle Childhood

ABSTRACT. This study examined links between inhibitory control, moral emotions (sympathy and guilt), and reparative behavior in an ethnically diverse sample of 4- and 8-year-olds (N = 162). Caregivers reported their children's reparative behavior, inhibitory control, and moral emotions through a questionnaire, and children reported their guilt feelings in response to a series of vignettes depicting moral transgressions. A hypothesized meditation model was tested with inhibitory control relating to reparative behavior through sympathy and guilt. In support of this model, results revealed that high levels of inhibitory control were associated with high levels of reparative behavior through high levels of sympathy and guilt. However, the mediation of inhibitory control to reparation through guilt was significant for 4-year-olds only. Results are discussed in relation to the temperamental, regulatory, and affective-moral precursors of reparative behavior in early and middle childhood.     

Cyclophosphamide impairs hippocampus-dependent learning and memory in adult mice: Possible involvement of hippocampal neurogenesis in chemotherapy-induced memory deficits

Cyclophosphamide (CYP) is an anti-neoplastic agent as well as an immunosuppressive agent. In order to elucidate the alteration in adult hippocampal function following acute CYP treatment, hippocampus-related behavioral dysfunction and changes in adult hippocampal neurogenesis in CYP-treated (intraperitoneally, 40 mg/kg) mice (8–10-week-old ICR) were analyzed using hippocampus-dependent learning and memory tasks (passive avoidance and object recognition memory test) and immunohistochemical markers of neurogenesis (Ki-67 and doublecortin (DCX)). Compared to the vehicle-treated controls, mice trained at 12 h after CYP injection showed significant memory deficits in passive avoidance and the object recognition memory test. The number of Ki-67- and DCX-positive cells began to decrease significantly at 12 h post-injection, reaching the lowest level at 24 h after CYP injection; however, this reverted gradually to the vehicle-treated control level between 2 and 10 days. We suggest that the administration of a chemotherapeutic agent in adult mice interrupts hippocampal functions, including learning and memory, possibly through the suppression of hippocampal neurogenesis.     

Conceptualizing stress associated with clinical experiences of Korean counseling repatriates

This study explored stress associated with clinical experiences of Korean counseling repatriates who returned to South Korea after obtaining their doctoral degree in the United States. Concept mapping revealed six major clusters of stressors: difficulties associated with language and communication, cultural differences between therapists and clients, clients’ attitudes toward and expectations regarding therapy, lack of ethical standards and licensure issues, hierarchical collectivistic working culture, and mental health system not being well-established.     

Moderating Effects of Prevention-Focus on the Paths from Two Insecure Attachment Dimensions to Depression

The present study investigated the moderating effects of prevention-focus on the paths from the dimensions of insecure attachment (attachment avoidance and attachment anxiety) to depression. Two hundred twenty eight Korean college students completed the Experience in Close Relationship – Revised Scale; the Regulatory Focus Strategies Scale; and the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale. Results revealed a significant moderating effect for prevention-focus on the path from attachment avoidance to depression, but not on the path from attachment anxiety to depression. They further suggest that different interventions are needed for different combinations of persons' insecure attachment dimensions and levels of prevention-focus. Counseling implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.     

Factors Associated with Functional Dependence in Alzheimer's Disease

The purpose of this study was to determine whether common geriatric conditions, family function, and nutritional problems have independent associations with functional dependence beyond the effect of cognitive impairment in patients with Alzheimer's disease. It was found that some common geriatric conditions affecting patients with Alzheimer's disease appear to have multiple and differential relationships with specific instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs) dependency. These results have implications for medical care. Preventing one condition may not be sufficient to prevent further IADL dependences because the conditions are independently related to individual outcome variables. Thus, multiple conditions may need to be managed concurrently if further functional dependence is to be expected.     

Interactions between visual working memory representations

We investigated whether the representations of different objects are maintained independently in working memory or interact with each other. Observers were shown two sequentially presented orientations and required to reproduce each orientation after a delay. The sequential presentation minimized perceptual interactions so that we could isolate interactions between memory representations per se. We found that similar orientations were repelled from each other whereas dissimilar orientations were attracted to each other. In addition, when one of the items was given greater attentional priority by means of a cue, the representation of the high-priority item was not influenced very much by the orientation of the low-priority item, but the representation of the low-priority item was strongly influenced by the orientation of the high-priority item. This indicates that attention modulates the interactions between working memory representations. In addition, errors in the reported orientations of the two objects were positively correlated under some conditions, suggesting that representations of distinct objects may become grouped together in memory. Together, these results demonstrate that working-memory representations are not independent but instead interact with each other in a manner that depends on attentional priority.