Made in America: Perspectives on Friendship in West African Immigrant Families

This qualitative study compared West African immigrant parents’ and adolescents’ perspectives on parental monitoring of adolescents’ peer groups. Parents (n = 31) and adolescent children (n = 25) were interviewed using focus groups and individual interviews, and data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach. Parents expressed a general concern about external influences on their children, particularly their mistrust of their children’s friends. Adolescents reported that they were aware of their parents’ fears and described their attempts to manage their parents’ concerns while simultaneously maintaining friendships with same-ethnic and other-ethnic peers. This study offers both parent and adolescent perspectives in an effort to better understand adolescents’ peer socialization and parental monitoring among West African immigrant families, one of the fastest growing demographic groups in the United States. Recommendations for mental health professions are discussed.     

Intergenerational Transmission of Trauma-Related Distress: Maternal Betrayal Trauma,Parenting Attitudes,and Behaviors

The purpose of this study was to elucidate mechanisms involved in the intergenerational transmission of trauma-related distress. This study investigated whether betrayal trauma (BT; abuse by a person close to the victim) and specific parenting attitudes and behaviors among mothers with child abuse histories predicted internalizing and externalizing symptoms in their children. Mothers and children (ages 7–11) were recruited for a project on parenting and stress (N = 72). Maternal betrayal trauma predicted both internalizing (β = 0.33, p < .01) and externalizing symptoms (β = 0.25, p < .05) even when controlling for mothers’ trauma-related symptoms. Negative attitudes toward limit setting predicted externalizing symptoms (β = ?0.33, p < .05). Poorer communication (β = ?0.39, p < .05) but higher parenting satisfaction (β = 0.38, p < .01) predicted internalizing symptoms. These findings demonstrate the importance of assessing maternal trauma and parenting characteristics as part of interventions with symptomatic children.     

Cognitive adaptation and its consequences: a test of cognitive continuum theory

Cognitive Continuum Theory (CCT) is an adaptive theory of human judgement and posits a continuum of cognitive modes anchored by intuition and analysis. The theory specifies surface and depth task characteristics that are likely to induce cognitive modes at different points along the cognitive continuum. The current study manipulated both the surface (information representation) and depth (task structure) characteristics of a multiple‐cue integration threat assessment task. The surface manipulation influenced cognitive mode in the predicted direction with an iconic information display inducing a more intuitive mode than a numeric information display. The depth manipulation influenced cognitive mode in a pattern not predicted by CCT. Results indicate this difference was due to a combination of task complexity and participant satisfacing. As predicted, analysis produced a more leptokurtic error distribution than intuition. Task achievement was a function of the extent to which participants demonstrated an analytic cognitive mode index, and not a function of correspondence, as predicted. This difference was likely due to the quantitative nature of the task manipulations. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

When Is Seeking Safety Functional? Taking a Pragmatic Approach to Distinguishing Coping From Safety

Currently, most exposure-based treatments call for clinicians to assess for and remove all safety behaviors during exposure tasks. However, the notion that safety behaviors are detrimental across all scenarios has recently been challenged, and research regarding the effects of safety behaviors on exposure outcomes is limited and inconsistent. In clinical practice, classifying a strategy as a safety behavior can be a complex and challenging endeavor, particularly when distinguishing between harmful safety behaviors and helpful coping behaviors. We outline an approach that emphasizes the pragmatic truth criterion and uses functional outcomes to classify behaviors as serving either safety or coping functions. Our focus on doing what “works” simplifies decision-making for clinicians and maintains the focus of treatment on enhancing functioning. We propose a model for using functional outcomes to distinguish between safety and coping behaviors and illustrate our approach through case examples.     

幸福者更适应,还是适应者更幸福?——基于大学新生的追踪研究

本研究对122名大学新生进行了半年追踪,采用交叉滞后分析法考察适应性与幸福感之间的关系。入学三个月时初次测试（T1）,初测半年之后后测（T2）。结果发现：（1）幸福感和适应性之间显著正相关,同时预测的效果高于继时预测;（2）交叉滞后相关分析表明,适应性T1对幸福感T2的预测（r=0.50）高于幸福感T1对适应性T2的预测（r=0.32）;（3）学习适应性T1（18%）和人际适应性T1（11%）共同预测主观幸福感T1中29%的变异;（4）控制初测总体适应性T1（31%）,对大学的认可度T2（21%）和个人情绪适应性T2（3%）还可以解释幸福感T2中24%的变异。因此,本研究发现大学生适应者更幸福,而不是幸福者更适应。该结果对于提升大学生的幸福感具有一定的教育启示意义。     

父母对幼儿消极情绪的反应方式与幼儿情绪调节能力的关系

以西安市280名幼儿及其家长为被试,采用问卷法考察母亲、父亲对幼儿消极情绪的反应方式对幼儿情绪调节能力的单独效应和联合效应。结果发现：（1）母亲对幼儿消极情绪的支持反应正向预测幼儿的情绪调节能力,非支持反应负向预测幼儿的情绪调节能力;（2）父亲对幼儿消极情绪的支持反应和非支持反应显著预测女孩的情绪不稳;（3）在女孩的情绪调节能力上,母亲和父亲非支持反应的交互作用显著,部分支持了分歧模型。     

共同冗思的概念、测量和理论解释

共同冗思指个体在双向关系中过度讨论个人问题的行为。共同冗思对个体产生适应权衡效应,即它不仅与积极的友谊属性有关,还与抑郁和焦虑等内化问题相关。以往研究主要分析共同冗思的性别差异、发展特点及其在不同亲密关系中的表现。结果发现共同冗思的适应权衡效应在女性群体中比在男性群体中更为突出,在青少年群体中比在儿童群体中更为突出。研究者主要从同伴传染、压力生成、共情痛苦以及生理机制等角度解释共同冗思与内化问题的关系。友谊等亲密关系中的共同冗思对个体适应的负面影响难以察觉,它可以作为个体抑郁和焦虑等内化问题的危险信号。后续研究可以从考察共同冗思的人格以及环境影响因素等角度深化对该主题的理解。     

Physical stature influences character perception in women

It is well established that height influences the perceived character of men but very little evidence exists that the same influences of height exist for women. To investigate the effects of female height on perception of their character, we used a novel technique of digitally altering the perceived height of two women depicted in photographs such that the same targets appeared to be of tall or short stature to different participants. We asked participants to rate each of the two women on personal qualities and characteristics that reflected the instrumental/expressive distinction in masculine/feminine stereotypes. Overall, tall women were rated as more intelligent, affluent, assertive and ambitious than shorter women. A perceiver-sex difference was found such that men rated short females more highly than tall females on expressive characteristics while women raters did not. Thus, we provide the first direct evidence that female height influences perception of their character.     

中国文化中自尊结构的内隐社会认知研究

本研究同时运用外显的自陈式量表和自行设计的内隐联想测验(IAT)及Go/No-go联想任务(GNAT)来研究中国大学生的自尊结构,结果表明：(1)运用内隐联想测验和Go／No-go联想任务来测量内隐自尊是敏感的;(2)中国文化中自尊是一个双重的结构：包括一个内隐的成分和一个外显的成分。(3)自尊在内隐和外显两个层面上都不存在性别差异。     

修仙的宿命与道教的宗教性——以《抱朴子内篇》为中心

在现代学术研究中,道教长生久视的修行理想往往被视为一种世俗功利,神仙信仰因之被当作盲目崇拜为研究者所不屑。然而,通过对《抱朴子内篇》的宗教现象学考察,我们发现:神仙信仰的确立并非缘于修习者对理性论证的信服,而是缘于为"我命在我"的自由理想所感召,并通过修行实践逐步实现对神仙学说的切身体证。因此,长生追求的本质并非功利,而在于摆脱一切有形和无形的束缚,不把解脱的幻想寄托于来世或他人的救赎,而是着眼于此世和当下的努力。这才是道教信仰的真精神之所在。