Trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder in people with schizophrenia

This study evaluated the hypothesis that trauma and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) severity would be positively associated with schizophrenia symptoms. Forty-seven clients with schizophrenia were assessed for schizophrenia severity and for lifetime trauma history and PTSD symptoms in 2 independent symptom interviews; 35 (74%) participants reported at least 1 event in which there was threat of harm or life threat and subjective distress, and 6 (13%) had current PTSD. Trauma across the life span was associated with greater severity of PTSD. Within the total sample, PTSD symptoms were associated with greater emotional distress, but not with schizophrenia-specific symptoms. Distress among clients with schizophrenia and PTSD suggests the need for routine assessment of PTSD and development of PTSD interventions in this population.     

Reclaiming the individual from Hofstede's ecological analysis--a 20-year odyssey: comment on Oyserman et al. (2002)

D. Oyserman, H. M. Coon, and M. Kemmelmeier (2002) challenge the stereotype that European Americans are more individualistic and less collectivistic than persons from most other ethnic groups. The author contends that this stereotype took firm empirical root with G. Hofstede's (1980) monumental publication identifying the United States as the most individualistic of his then 40 nations. This empirical designation arose because of challengeable decisions Hofstede made about the analysis of his data and the labeling of his dimensions. The conflation of concepts under the rubric of cultural individualism plus psychologists' unwarranted psychologizing of the construct then combined with Hofstede's empirical location of America to set a 20-year agenda for data collection. Oyserman et al. disentangle and organize this mass of studies, enabling the discipline of cross-cultural psychology to forge ahead in more productive directions, less reliant on previous assumptions and measures.     

The Listening Partners Program: An Initiative Toward Feminist Community Psychology in Action

The Listening Partners intervention is described and analyzed as a synthesis of feminism and community psychology, within a developmental framework. Working from an empowerment perspective, this social action, peer group intervention supported a community of poor, rural, isolated, young, White mothers to gain a greater voice, claim the powers of their minds, and collaborate in developmental leadership—creating settings that promote their own development and that of their families, peers, and communities. High quality dialogue, individual and group narrative, and collaborative problem-solving were emphasized, in a feminist context affirming diversity, inclusiveness, strengths, social-contextual analyses, and social constructivist perspectives. The power of enacting a synergy of feminism and community psychology is highlighted.     

Leading the Way on Diversity: Community Psychology's Evolution from Invisible to Individual to Contextual

To take up the AJCP editor's call to think forward in this article, I offer up three challenges that revolve around further contextualizing our understandings of diversity, i.e., reconsidering the notion of “difference” between discrete categories; more fully emphasizing diversity as socially situated; and further delving into local, setting‐specific practices that shape the meanings of diversity. Enhanced attention to these three challenges can transform theory, research, and action about diversity as we move into community psychology's next 50 years.     

Distressing Relationships,Anger, and Stress Amplification in a Sample of Young Adult African Americans

This study examined the impact of relationship distress in a sample of 637 African American young adults from the Family and Community Health Study. Using data from privately collected, in-depth interviews, we assessed how distress in nonmarital romantic partnerships and best friendships influence anger. While social support researchers have examined the stress buffering influence of supportive relationships, we utilized the principle of negative potency to test the stress amplification effect of relationship distress through an assessment of stressful life events and racial discrimination. Our analysis showed that distress in relationships was associated with anger, while the presence of these relationships was not. Support for the stress amplification hypothesis was found as men and women who experience intense racial discrimination coupled with a more hostile best friend had elevated levels of anger. Gender differences were also evident and discussed.     

When the Going Gets Tough: The “Why” of Goal Striving Matters

No prior research has examined how motivation for goal striving influences persistence in the face of increasing goal difficulty. This research examined the role of self‐reported (Study 1) and primed (Study 2) autonomous and controlled motives in predicting objectively assessed persistence during the pursuit of an increasingly difficult goal. In Study 1, 100 British athletes (64 males; M_age = 19.89 years, SD_age = 2.43) pursued a goal of increasing difficulty on a cycle ergometer. In Study 2, 90 British athletes (43 males; M_age = 19.63 years, SD_age = 1.14) engaged in the same task, but their motivation was primed by asking them to observe a video of an actor describing her or his involvement in an unrelated study. In Study 1, self‐reported autonomous goal motives predicted goal persistence via challenge appraisals and task‐based coping. In contrast, controlled goal motives predicted threat appraisals and disengagement coping, which, in turn, was a negative predictor of persistence. In Study 2, primed autonomous (compared to controlled) goal motives predicted greater persistence, positive affect, and future interest for task engagement. The findings underscore the importance of autonomous motivation for behavioral investment in the face of increased goal difficulty.     

Systematic Analyses of the Effects of Acceptance on Tolerance of Radiant Heat Pain

The Psychological Record - Numerous studies have demonstrated the utility of acceptance-based strategies for coping with pain. The current research comprised three studies (N = 186)...     

The Conscientiousness Paradox: Cultural Mindset Shapes Competence Perception

Studies comparing personality across cultures have found inconsistencies between self‐reports and measures of national character or behaviour, especially on evaluative traits such as Conscientiousness. We demonstrate that self‐perceptions and other‐perceptions of personality vary with cultural mindset, thereby accounting for some of this inconsistency. Three studies used multiple methods to examine perceptions of Conscientiousness and especially its facet Competence that most characterizes performance evaluations. In Study 1, Mainland Chinese reported lower levels of self‐efficacy than did Canadians, with the country effect partially mediated by Canadian participants' higher level of independent self‐construal. In Study 2, language as a cultural prime induced similar effects on Hong Kong bilinguals, who rated themselves as more competent and conscientious when responding in English than in Chinese. Study 3 demonstrated these same effects on ratings of both self‐perceived and observer‐perceived competence and conscientiousness, with participants changing both their competence‐communicating behaviours and self‐evaluations in response to the cultural primes of spoken language and ethnicity of an interviewer. These results converge to show that self‐perceptions and self‐presentations change to fit the social contexts shaped by language and culture. Copyright © 2013 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Coming Attractions: Parental Mediation Responses to Transgender and Cisgender Film Trailer Content Targeting Adolescents

Adolescents increasingly rely on media for socialization and identity development, and marketing plays a prominent role in this dynamic. Film trailers are one form of advertising that children actively seek out and attend to in their exploration of media. However, little attention has been paid to these advertisements’ gendered narratives and parents’ responses to them. The present study examines parents’ mediation responses to film trailers that promote themes of gender development and are aimed at adolescents. Respondents viewed a trailer that featured either a cisgender or transgender coming-of-age story and responded to cognitive, emotional, and attitudinal survey measures. Results identified both parent and child factors that influence parents’ mediation intentions and support for censorship. Practical implications in parenting, gender development, and marketing are further discussed.     

Maintaining lies: The multiple-audience problem

In an examination of lying in social context, undergraduates were videotaped while describing teachers. Each student described a teacher truthfully to one peer, described the teacher deceptively to a second peer, and was then required to describe the teacher to both peers as the latter sat side-by-side. Three experiments examined the psychology of this multiple-audience predicament. Results of an initial experiment show that students who are in the predicament appear deceptive. They appear deceptive whether they are lying or telling the truth. A second experiment replicates this finding, and suggests that the students’ apparent deceptiveness is conveyed more strongly by audible than visible cues. In the interpersonal predicament created by multiple audiences, students offer equivocal, disfluent remarks, as a third experiment shows. Discussion centers on the challenge of maintaining lies in the context of multiple relationships.