Emotional approach coping: Gender differences on psychological adjustment in young to middle-aged cancer survivors

Objective : The effect of emotional approach coping (EAC) varies by gender. However, this gender difference has not yet been investigated in cancer survivors. We investigated whether the effects of two kinds of EAC – emotional processing (EP) and emotional expression (EE) – vary by gender and whether EAC has effects above and beyond the effect of other coping strategies.

Design : EAC and other coping strategies were assessed at baseline in a sample of 248 young to middle-aged adult (between the age of 22 and 55) cancer survivors. One hundred and sixty-six survivors responded to psychological adjustment one year later.

Results : EAC had different relationships with Time 2 adjustment in men and women. Hierarchical regression analyses showed that for men, EE predicted lower intrusive thoughts and, for women, EP was associated with higher positive affect when other coping strategies and EE were controlled.

Conclusion : Gender differences held true in cancer survivors, and EAC was effective when other coping strategies were controlled. Further, EE was effective in reducing negative adjustment in men while EP was helpful in promoting positive adjustment in women.     

Associations of positive and negative life changes with well-being in young and middle-aged adult cancer survivors

Both positive and negative changes are commonly reported by cancer survivors, and both may impact quality of life. Yet few studies have directly compared the associations of positive and negative changes across multiple life domains with multiple aspects of well-being. This study examined positive and negative changes and their conjoint relation to a range of well-being indices. We used correlational and regression analyses of data from 237 young to middle aged (X?=?45.3?years) cancer survivors, several years after treatment. Measures included demographic and medical variables, medical post-cancer positive and negative changes on multiple life domains, and a range of positive and negative adjustment indices. Demographic factors, especially income, related to both positive and negative outcomes. On average, participants reported no change on most life domains, although modest amounts of both positive and negative changes were reported. Negative change, rather than positive change, was closely associated with cancer survivors’ adjustment. Detailed measurement of both positive and negative changes – as well as lack of change – is important to advance understanding of cancer's impact on survivors.     

NEW VISIONS FOR ENGAGED BUDDHISM: THE JUNGTO SOCIETY AND THE INDRA'S NET COMMUNITY MOVEMENT IN CONTEMPORARY KOREA

This paper examines two major Buddhist movements in contemporary South Korea, the Jungto Society and Indra's Net Community, which address issues in daily lives of lay people. Visionary monks began these movements: Jungto was established by P?mnyun in 1988, and Indra's Net by Tob?p in 1999. Both began as grassroots communities based on Buddhist principles, seeking an alternative way of thinking and living in response to contemporary society's emphasis on mass consumption, commercialism, competition, and the exploitation of the natural resources. While their activities overlap in promoting peace and ecological preservation, Jungto is better known for its humanitarian aid programmes in impoverished areas of the world, and the Indra's Net for its rural community movement in South Korea. With their steady and visible activities, these movements not only offer a new vision and work for lay Buddhists but also appeal to a wider population by involving the general public.     

Cognition and Emotion in TV Message Processing: How Valence,Arousing Content,Structural Complexity,and Information Density Affect the Availability of Cognitive Resources

This paper examines whether emotional message content alters the effects of structural complexity and information density on available resources, measured by secondary task reaction times (STRTs), and message encoding, measured by audio recognition. In addition, hypotheses relating motivational activation and resource availability based on the motivational activation concepts of positivity offset (greater appetitive activation in a neutral environment) and negativity bias (faster aversive activation) influence are tested. Results replicate previous research supporting the contention that STRTs measure available resources. In addition, they show that the basic pattern of STRTs and recognition as a function of allocated and required resources is relatively consistent regardless of emotional content of the message. Emotion appears to function as a constant, increasing both resource allocation and resources required. Finally, these data provide some initial support for predicted relationships between motivational activation and resource allocation based on the constructs of positivity offset and negativity bias.     

Religiousness as a Predictor of Academic Performance among High-school Students

Although efforts to improve academic performance previously have focused on school reform, conditions outside school hold the key to increasing our children's academic achievement. The purposes of this study were (1) to determine the relationship between religiousness and academic achievement and (2) to develop a general model that can be generalizable across various ethnic groups. The data from the first follow-up (1990) and second follow-up (1992) of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) were utilized in this study. Hierarchical regression and path analysis were employed. The result of the analysis shows that religiousness has a significant impact on academic achievement even though socioeconomic status is accounted for in advance in the analysis model. In the general model for various ethnic groups, student academic performance is determined by religiousness, socioeconomic status, locus of control, and strict parenting. Suggestions for future research are offered.     

Resilience to Childhood Abuse and Neglect in College Students

This study examined the prevalence of a history of childhood maltreatment in a college sample and identified the relationship between being maltreated as a child and later college adjustment in men and women. Results indicate that men who had been maltreated in childhood had more resilient outcomes in college than women who had been maltreated in childhood. Negative life events and protective factors acted as mediators in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and college adjustment for women, and protective factors acted as a moderator in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and college adjustment for men.     

Appraisal of applicants for ministry careers

A proposed evaluation protocol addresses the need for standards of practice in assessing candidates for ministry careers. The protocol is tailored to parish clergy psychological risk and resiliency factors articulated by personnel officers and identified in scholarly literature. It employs readily available psychological tests with demonstrated psychometric qualities. It utilises interview questions to confirm or disconfirm test-generated hypotheses and to probe for evidence of coping with challenging circumstances. The protocol generates data for appraising risk and promoting long-term resilience. Application of the protocol to 120 applicants for clergy careers in the Episcopal Diocese of the Southwest (EDSW) demonstrates that applicants respond to psychological tests in a manner different from general job applicants. Data analysis generates norms for indentifying unusual applicants who may be at risk for troubled careers. Discussion centres on identifying early markers of risk and resiliency in ministry careers.     

Pictorial rehearsal effects in younger and older adults

Abstract

In three studies, we examined pictorial rehearsal effects in younger and older adults. Concrete and abstract line drawings that varied in the amount of pictorial detail were presented for study under different presentation conditions. In the pictorial rehearsal condition, each picture was followed by a blank rehearsal interval where the picture was no longer presented. In all three experiments, the poststimulus interval enhanced picture recognition for both age groups, relative to a control condition where no rehearsal interval occurred. These findings suggest that older adults, like younger adults, form and maintain visual images across a blank rehearsal interval. Implications of these findings for current views on imaginal processes in older adults are discussed.     

Why Koreans Are More Likely to Favor “Apology,” While Americans Are More Likely to Favor “Thank You”

Two studies investigated whether apologies or thanks are preferred in asking favors in the United States and Korea, and how this relates to perceptions of reduction in positive and negative face threats. In the first study (n = 224), participants composed an e‐mail message where a favor was asked. In the second (n = 807), participants completed questionnaires including a prototypical e‐mail for the situation described in Study 1, as well as measures of negative and positive face threats. Findings showed that (a) Koreans more frequently included apologies in favor‐asking messages, while Americans more frequently included thanks; and (b) Americans considered repeated thanks to reduce the threat to hearers' negative and positive face, but Koreans considered repeated apologies to reduce the threat to speakers' positive face.