Self-esteem in schizophrenia: relationships between self-evaluation,family attitudes,and symptomatology

Participants with schizophrenia (N = 59) were assessed on self-evaluation, symptomatology, and positive and negative affect (expressed emotion) from significant others. An interview-based measure of self-evaluation was used and two independent dimensions of self-esteem were derived: negative and positive evaluation of self. As predicted, negative self-evaluation was strongly associated with positive symptoms, a more critical attitude from family members was associated with greater negative self-evaluation, and analyses supported a model whereby the impact of criticism on patients' positive symptoms was mediated by its association with negative self-evaluation. The interview-based method of self-esteem assessment was found to be superior to the questionnaire because its predictive effects remained after depressed mood was accounted for.     

The association of ecological variables and psychological distress with exposure to community violence among adolescents

Ecological theory suggests that exposure to community violence should be related to individual, family, and community characteristics; traumatic stress theory suggests that exposure to community violence should be related to level of psychological distress. A correlational study of 468 older adolescents in New York City tested these hypotheses. Exposure was found to be moderately related to level of psychological distress, but was not related to family or neighborhood characteristics. It was concluded that the nature of exposure to community violence poses difficulties for interventions aimed at either prevention or amelioration of effects.     

Being ostracized versus out of the loop: Redundant or unique predictors of variance in workplace outcomes?

Based on the existing research, being excluded from information (i.e., being out of the loop) produces similar consequences as being ignored or excluded from activities. Consequently, one might wonder whether it is necessary to measure or study different types of exclusion in the workplace context, rather than just assessing a single type of exclusion. The current research investigated the associations between two types of workplace exclusion (i.e., being ostracized and being left out of the loop) and various workplace outcomes, with the purpose of determining whether these different types of exclusion predict unique or redundant variance in these workplace outcomes. In Study 1, we obtained a better model fit when we assigned items measuring out-of-the-loop experiences at work to a different factor than items assessing experiences with ostracism at work. In Study 2, we observed that measuring employees' experiences with being out of the loop predicted unique variance in workplace outcomes (e.g., job satisfaction), above and beyond experiences with ostracism at work. Relative weight analyses suggested that both ostracism and out-of-the-loop experiences were equally important predictors of these outcomes. Together, these studies indicate that being ostracized and being left out of the loop may be distinct exclusion experiences and better predictions about workplace outcomes can be made by assessing both types of exclusion. On a practical level, measuring different types of exclusion may prove useful, because organizations may need to implement different interventions for addressing distinct types of exclusion.     

When Home Is Where the Harm Is: Family Betrayal and Posttraumatic Outcomes in Young Adulthood

Research on institutional betrayal has found that institutional wrongdoing that fails to prevent or respond supportively to victims of abuse adds to the burden of trauma. In this two-study investigation with young adult university students, we demonstrated parallels between institutional betrayal and ways that families can fail to prevent or respond supportively to child abuse perpetrated by a trusted other, a phenomenon we call family betrayal (FB). In Study 1, psychometric analysis of a new FB questionnaire provided evidence of its internal consistency, unidimensionality, and convergent and discriminant validity. The majority (approximately 72%) of young adults abused in childhood reported a history of FB, with an average of 4.26 FB events (SD = 4.45, range 0–14). Consistent with betrayal trauma theory, Study 2 revealed that FB was 4× more likely to occur in relation to childhood abuse by someone very close to the victim (vs. non-interpersonal victimization), with a particularly strong effect for female participants. FB history predicted significant delay to disclosure of a self-identified worst traumatic event (η_p² = .017) and significant increases in dissociation (?R² = .05) and posttraumatic stress (?R² = .07) symptoms in young adulthood. Moreover, with FB in the regression models, only FB—not child abuse nor recent interpersonal victimization—predicted dissociation and clinically significant elevations in posttraumatic stress. Findings suggest that FB is a prevalent phenomenon among young adults abused as children and that it explains unique, clinically significant variance in posttraumatic distress, warranting increased attention from trauma researchers and clinicians.     

Family Studies for Classification of Variants of Uncertain Classification: Current Laboratory Clinical Practice and a New Web-Based Educational Tool

Multi-gene cancer panels often identify variants of uncertain clinical significance (VUS) that pose a challenge to health care providers in managing a patient’s cancer risk. Family segregation analysis can yield powerful data to re-classify a VUS (as either benign or pathogenic). However, financial and personnel resources to coordinate these studies are limited. In an informal assessment we found that family studies for variant classification are done by most clinical genetics laboratories that offer hereditary cancer panel testing. The process for family studies differs substantially across laboratories. One near universal limitation is that families usually have too few individuals for an informative co-segregation analysis. A unique and potential resource-saving approach is to engage patients and their families in expanding their own pedigrees for segregation analysis of their VUS. We describe a novel public educational tool (FindMyVariant.org) designed to inform patients and genetic counselors about strategies to improve the probability of variant classification using familial segregation. While the web tool is designed to be useful for any gene, the project was primarily focused on VUS’s returned in cancer risk genes. FindMyVariant.org is a resource for genetic providers to offer motivated families who are willing to gather information about their family relationships and history. Working alongside clinical or research genetic laboratories, the information they collect may help reclassify their VUS using segregation analysis.     

Cultural differences in mothers' developmental goals and ethnotheories

The influence of ecocultural context on parents' image of the adaptive adult is explored via a comparison between the child‐rearing goals and ethnotheories of 20 immigrant mothers from the former Soviet Union and 20 Israeli‐born mothers. It is assumed that parents' socializing practices are premised on developmental ethnotheories reflecting societal child rearing models and expectations for children's development. The image of the “adaptive adult” in parents' country of origin is so fundamentally ingrained in their beliefs about child rearing that it is retained after immigration, and is integrated with aspects of the image of adaptive adulthood which prevails in the host culture. The current study explored (through semistructured interviews) mothers' developmental ethnotheories concerning the nature of development, how it can be influenced, and why it should be influenced, with regard to cognitive competence, autonomy, emotional regulation, and social understanding and behaviour of their 3–4‐year‐old children. It also explored their goals and expectations for their children as adults. Analysis of the interviews with Israeli‐born and immigrant mothers lends support to the main thesis of this study. Mothers of both groups would like their children to grow into intelligent, joyful, and independent adults, to be well educated and to hold prestigious occupations. All of the mothers assume, moreover, that much of child development should be promoted through the active involvement of parents. Israeli‐born mothers, however, place a greater emphasis on social competence, autonomy, and leadership, whereas the emphasis of the Soviet‐born mothers is on achievement, emotional control, efficiency, and organization. The differences and similarities between the two groups of mothers are discussed in the context of their respective ecocultural backgrounds. It is proposed that each group's ethnotheories, developmental goals, and aspirations for their children reflect their respective values, perceptions, and understanding of the reality in which they raise their children. These values and perceptions seem, in turn, related to the respective ecocultures in which they were raised, as well as the one in which they rear their own children.