Interpersonal Style, Stress, and Depression: An Examination of Transactional and Diathesis-Stress Models

The present study examines a transactional, interpersonal model of depression in which stress generation (Hammen, 1991) in romantic relationships mediates the association between aspects of interpersonal style (i.e., attachment, dependency, and reassurance seeking) and depressive symptoms. It also examines an alternative, diathesis-stress model in which interpersonal style interacts with romantic stressors in predicting depressive symptoms. These models were tested in a sample of college women, both prospectively over a four-week period, as well as on a day-today basis using a daily diary methodology. Overall, there was strong evidence for a transactional, mediation model in which interpersonal style predicted romantic conflict stress, and in turn depressive symptoms. The alternative diathesis-stress model of depression was not supported. These results are interpreted in relation to previous research, and key limitations that should be addressed by future research are discussed.     

Psychological Health From the Teens to the 80s: Multiple Developmental Trajectories

Data from the long-term Intergenerational Studies are used to explore men’s and women’s psychological health trajectories from early adolescence to late adulthood, as elucidated by Nagin’s (Group-based modeling of development. Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 2005) finite mixture modeling method. Two separate measures of psychological health, one from the California Q-sort (CQS; Block in The Q-sort method in personality assessment and psychiatric research. Thomas, Springfield, IL, 1961) and one from the California Psychological Inventory (CPI; Gough and Bradley in CPI manual, 3rd edn. Consulting Psychologists Press, Palo Alto, CA, 1996) are used, with a maximum of six pooled points of data collection. Distinct subtypes of developmental trajectory are uncovered, including patterns of nearly life-long trajectories of stability, as well as trajectories of increasing psychological health. For both measures of psychological health, the most common path (53% for CQS data, and 46% for CPI data) is that of relatively high initial psychological health with a subsequent modest linear increase. Results from the two measures neither perfectly replicate nor completely contradict one another. Both indicate the existence of discrete subgroups of change, including stability of psychological health for some and significant increase for others.     

The Ambiguity of Text,Birth, and Nature

This essay examines the language of the Heng Xian and suggests that the text purposefully plays with Ru-style rhetoric, particularly that associated with the “Heart Method” for self-cultivation. The playful rhetoric is reminiscent of writings collected in the Zhuangzi and the use of parables associated with fourth century BCE philosopher Hu Shi.     

NAVIGATING THE FUTURE IN A SEA OF CRISPR UNCERTAINTY

Humanity's toolkit for altering the world we live in now includes CRISPR. Through an evolutionary process, bacteria acquired a way to protect themselves from an invading virus, making their immediate future more secure. In human hands, this powerful genome-editing tool offers the potential to impact, at a breathtaking rate, not only our own evolutionary future, but the future of other life on this planet. Ethical concerns about altering genomes are not new, but the birth of two CRISPR gene-edited babies last year created a renewed urgency around navigating the future and the lack of an agreed-upon map to guide us is distressing. The goal of this article is not to provide that map but to suggest two essential questions, drawn from the context of events surrounding CRISPR to date, that should guide its drafting—“Who do we trust?” and “When is it time to act?”—and to consider what Unitarian Universalism might contribute to answering those questions.     

To be or not to be: an exploration of ethnic identity development in context

This qualitative study focused on the intersection of personal and ethnic identities among forty African American, Puerto Rican, Dominican, and Chinese American high school students. The patterns in content indicated that for the Puerto Ricans, the intersection of their personal and social identities was a series of accommodations to a positive peer climate and a resistance to being Dominican. For the other ethnic groups, the intersection of their personal and social identities consisted of a process of resistance and accommodation to negative stereotypes projected on them by their peers and, for African Americans, themselves.     

Care for the Caregiver: Clues for the Pastoral Care of Clergywomen

In this article, we report the results of a qualitative study on the special challenges faced by clergywomen: the impact of gender, work demands, and personal and professional stressors, and the positive and negative coping strategies these clergywomen employed. We include a discussion of the pastoral care issues that emerged from the study and make recommendations for ways pastoral counselors may care for their own.     

Men’s and Women’s Change and Individual Differences in Change in Femininity from Age 33 to 85: Results from the Intergenerational Studies

This investigation illustrates men’s and women’s change in femininity, and individual differences in change in femininity from early (age 33 or 35) to late (age 78 or 85) adulthood. Members of three long-term longitudinal samples (total N = 327) provided California Psychological Inventory (CPI) Femininity scale scores, collected a maximum of five times. Application of longitudinal hierarchical linear modeling indicates: (1) both men and women show significant variability in initial level and change in femininity, (2) gender predicts both individuals’ initial level and change in femininity—the average man, initially low in femininity, becomes significantly higher in femininity across the lifespan; the average woman, initially high in femininity, becomes significantly lower in femininity across the lifespan, (3) change in femininity is unconnected to marital or parental status, and (4) change in femininity is connected to psychological health level for women only—more psychologically healthy women show a decline in femininity, while less healthy women increase their femininity level. Overall, results support Jung’s androgyny hypothesis of a cross-over of gender roles in men and women, but do not support Gutmann’s hypothesis that such cross-over is tied to “parental emergency.” Additional exploration of the data indicates Gough and Bradley’s (1996) CPI-derived personality types also predict femininity initial level for women and femininity change for men.     

Civic engagement patterns and transitions over 8 years: the AmeriCorps national study

Latent transition analysis was used to examine civic engagement transitions across 2 waves spanning 8 years in a sample of AmeriCorps participants and a comparison group (N = 1,344; 77% female). Latent indicators of civic engagement included volunteering, community participation, civic organizational involvement, local and national voting, civic consciousness, and perceptions of civic knowledge. Three latent statuses were identified; inactive, voting involved, and highly committed. Consistent with life cycle theories of political engagement, the inactive status was most prevalent at Wave 1 and the voting-involved status most prevalent at Wave 4. AmeriCorps members were less involved in voting at Wave 1 but, among voters, were more likely to become highly committed by Wave 4. Compared with those who did not attend college, those who did had higher levels of civic engagement initially and over time. Young participants and Asian youths demonstrated lower levels of involvement initially compared with older participants or White youths. Findings suggest that national service programs geared toward young people who are not in college may hold promise for addressing gaps in civic engagement.     

Implementation of a mental health consultation model and its impact on early childhood teachers' efficacy and competence

Early childhood mental health (MH) consultants work closely with childcare teachers onsite to serve as a resource for childcare providers as they foster and enhance children's early development. The increase in the quality of care that can be supported through an early childhood MH consultation program makes this type of consultation an optimal tool for enhancing the childcare environment and overall child development. This article details the initial launch of the MH consultation program to childcare centers in the state of Louisiana. Analyses support the assertions that (a) a model of MH consultation can be implemented successfully at a statewide level, (b) MH consultation is associated with an increase in teacher self‐efficacy, and (c) teachers' report that the MH consultation increased their competence in specific areas related to children's socioemotional development. Analyses indicate that there is a differential impact on teachers based on their age and level of experience. The clinical implications of these findings are discussed.