Stable same‐sex friendships with higher achieving partners promote mathematical reasoning in lower achieving primary school children

This study was designed to investigate friend influence over mathematical reasoning in a sample of 374 children in 187 same‐sex friend dyads (184 girls in 92 friendships; 190 boys in 95 friendships). Participants completed surveys that measured mathematical reasoning in the 3rd grade (approximately 9 years old) and 1 year later in the 4th grade (approximately 10 years old). Analyses designed for dyadic data (i.e., longitudinal actor‐partner interdependence model) indicated that higher achieving friends influenced the mathematical reasoning of lower achieving friends, but not the reverse. Specifically, greater initial levels of mathematical reasoning among higher achieving partners in the 3rd grade predicted greater increases in mathematical reasoning from 3rd grade to 4th grade among lower achieving partners. These effects held after controlling for peer acceptance and rejection, task avoidance, interest in mathematics, maternal support for homework, parental education, length of the friendship, and friendship group norms on mathematical reasoning.     

FROM FREUD TO FEMINIST PERSONALITY THEORY: GETTING HERE FROM THERE

After a discussion of the impact of psychoanalysis on psychological thinking about personality theory and the changes that have been taking place within psychoanalytic theory about women, eight criteria arising out of feminist therapy theory are stated. These criteria represent suggested minimum conditions that a woman-based theory of female development and personality needs to fulfill. Freudian theory, current psychoanalytic theory, and several feminist theories are then evaluated in light of the stated criteria. The author concludes that feminists have arrived at some degree of general agreement about personality theory, although they have often arrived at their specific approaches via diverse theoretical routes.     

Cross-fertilization versus transmission: Recommendations for developing a bidirectional approach to psychotherapy dissemination research

Psychotherapy researchers are increasingly engaged in collaborations with clinical practitioners and mental health administrators. Each party brings its own perspectives, values, and agendas to bear in these encounters. Viable research—practice collaborations depend on understanding and negotiating some of the tensions in these relationships. In this article, we discuss the contexts that prevail for various participants in a psychotherapy dissemination study as well as the values, goals, costs, and benefits related to research participation. This article is a collaboration among the researchers, mental health administrators, therapists, and clients involved in an ongoing treatment dissemination study. Our recommendations for research—practice collaborations are based on our experiences and dialogues over the course of this study.     

Children's judgements of social withdrawal behaviours

Ding et al. (Brit. J. Dev. Psychol., 2015; 33, 159–173) demonstrated that Chinese children discriminate between the three subtypes of social withdrawal: Shyness, unsociability, and social avoidance. This commentary on the Ding et al.'s paper highlights the need to further explore the following: (1) children's understanding of the implications of being shy, unsociable, or socially avoidant, including assessing these which we know are associated with outcomes for socially withdrawn children; (2) what additional subtypes might exist naturally within the Chinese culture; and (3) consider the implications of social withdrawal on children's developing social skills.     

Self-Objectification and Alcohol Use in Young Adult College Women

Few studies have explored factors contributing to women’s increasing alcohol consumption and associated consequences. One potential gender-relevant factor is self-objectification or the perspective toward the self where the body is primarily valued for its appearance and sexual appeal (Fredrickson & Roberts, 1997). In the current study, we investigated the link between self-objectification and young adult college women’s alcohol use as well as alcohol use prior to casual sexual activity or “hooking up.” In addition, we examined novel explanatory (i.e., sexual self-esteem, body consciousness during sexual activity, alcohol sexual enhancement expectancies) factors in predicting young adult college women’s drinking behaviors via a parallel-serial multiple mediation model. We recruited participants (N?=?518; 85% White, 74% heterosexual) via a psychology department human research pool and Facebook advertisements to complete an online survey. Results revealed that self-objectification was positively correlated with alcohol use and alcohol use prior to hooking up. In addition, self-objectification was indirectly related to alcohol use through sexual self-esteem and alcohol sexual enhancement expectancies, as well as indirectly related to alcohol use prior to hooking up through alcohol sexual enhancement expectancies. None of our theorized three-stage mediation chains linking self-objectification to alcohol use behaviors were significant. These findings highlight the potential negative role of self-objectification in women’s health and the importance of focusing on alcohol sexual enhancement expectancies in intervention strategies.