Reducing a Male Bias in Language? Establishing the Efficiency of Three Different Gender-Fair Language Strategies

Sex Roles - Different strategies of gender-fair language have been applied to reduce a male bias, which means the implicit belief that a word describing an undefined person describes a man. This...     

Similarity to prototypical heavy drinkers and non-drinkers predicts AUDIT-C and risky drinking in young adults: prospective study

Objective: The aim of the present study was to explore whether constructs within the Prototype Willingness Model (PWM) predicted risky drinking as measured by AUDIT-C, drinking harms and unplanned drunkenness in a sample of UK young adults. Previous studies exploring the PWM often do not use validated measures of alcohol consumption, and the outcomes of risky drinking are underexplored. Design: An online prospective study design with 4 week follow-up was employed and 385 young adults completed the study (M age?=?21.76, SD?=?3.39, 69.6% female; 85.2% students). Main outcome measures: Intentions to get drunk, AUDIT-C, drinking harms experienced in the last 4 weeks, and unplanned drunkenness in the last 4 weeks. Results: Heavy and non-drinker prototype similarity predicted AUDIT-C, drinking harms and unplanned drunkenness when controlling for past behaviour and reasoned action pathway constructs. Intentions and willingness both mediated the relationship between prototype perceptions and AUDIT-C. Conclusion: This study supports the use of the PWM in the prediction of AUDIT-C, drinking harms and unplanned drinking in a UK sample. Prototype perceptions influenced behaviour via both reasoned and reactive cognitions. Targeting similarity to heavy and non-drinker prototypes should be the focus of future interventions in this population.     

The use of the political categories of Brexiter and Remainer in online comments about the EU referendum

In June 2016, the United Kingdom held a referendum on EU membership; 52% of those who voted, voted to leave, and 48% voted to remain. During the referendum campaign, two identities emerged: “Brexiter” and “Remainer,” which remained salient post‐referendum. This study explores how the categories of Brexiter and Remainer were deployed by posters online. Data comprise comment threads collected from four online newspapers both during the campaign and after the vote, which focus on the Brexit campaign promise: “We send £350m a week to the EU. Let's fund our NHS instead.” We draw on membership categorization analysis and discursive psychology to analyse when categories were made salient and what responses to the invocation of categories were. Analysis revealed that posters explicitly categorize the out‐group and in doing so implicitly define their group. Posters resisted other political identities when attributed to them in relation to the referendum. The analysis shows how Brexiter and Remainer are new, albeit contested, political categories and identities in their own right, with other political identities resisted when used. The paper highlights implications for the political system in the United Kingdom and for social divisions within U.K. society.     

How Palestinian students invoke the category “human” to challenge negative treatment and media representations

Dehumanisation of opponents in conflict has been shown to be a common and damaging feature in the media. What is not understood is how this dehumanisation is challenged, which is the novel contribution that this research will make. Drawing on focus groups (four focus groups each with four to six participants) conducted in the West Bank in 2015 that discussed media coverage of international conflict, this article demonstrates the ways in which young Palestinian participants attempt to rehumanize themselves in the context of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict. Discursive analysis demonstrates how this was achieved in a number of ways: categorising Palestinians as “human being”; by directly and explicitly challenging the suggestion that Palestinians are less than human; by drawing the enemy into the category “human”; and by embodying the “human.” These findings, the first to address the talk of young Palestinians about the reporting of violent conflicts around the world, demonstrate the importance of categorization and how, in this case, the specifics of the use of the (human) category work to rehumanize Palestinians in the face of (claims of) dehumanisation.     

Chaos,danger, and maternal parenting in families: Links with adolescent adjustment in low‐ and middle‐income countries

The current longitudinal study is the first comparative investigation across low‐ and middle‐income countries (LMICs) to test the hypothesis that harsher and less affectionate maternal parenting (child age 14 years, on average) statistically mediates the prediction from prior household chaos and neighborhood danger (at 13 years) to subsequent adolescent maladjustment (externalizing, internalizing, and school performance problems at 15 years). The sample included 511 urban families in six LMICs: China, Colombia, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, and Thailand. Multigroup structural equation modeling showed consistent associations between chaos, danger, affectionate and harsh parenting, and adolescent adjustment problems. There was some support for the hypothesis, with nearly all countries showing a modest indirect effect of maternal hostility (but not affection) for adolescent externalizing, internalizing, and scholastic problems. Results provide further evidence that chaotic home and dangerous neighborhood environments increase risk for adolescent maladjustment in LMIC contexts, via harsher maternal parenting.     

Towards an evidence‐base for student wellbeing and mental health: Definitions,developmental transitions and data sets

Against a background of huge changes in the world of university and college students since the turn of the millennium, together with a multitude of reports on student mental health/wellbeing, this article argues that the field of student mental health is hampered by the imprecise use of terms, a rush to action by universities in the absence of a robust evidence‐base, and a lack of overall coordination and collaboration in the collection and use of data. In response, we argue for clearer and more consistent use of definitions of, as well as differentiations between, student wellbeing and mental health, for a longitudinal approach to the student body that captures their developmental transitions to and through university, and a strategic and systematic approach to the use of bona fide measures in the collection of data on wellbeing and on the process of outcomes in embedded university counselling services. Such a coordinated approach will provide the necessary evidence‐base upon which to develop and deliver appropriate support and interventions to underpin and enhance the quality of students’ lives and learning while at university or college.     

Eliciting human intelligence: The effects of social exclusion and inclusion on information disclosure

Eliciting information from semicooperative sources presents a major challenge in investigative and intelligence settings. This research examines the role of the human need to belong in individuals' willingness to disclose critical information. We hypothesised that social exclusion would exert a threat to individuals' need to belong and self‐esteem, which would make them strive for social reconnection through sharing information with others. In two experiments (N = 150 and N = 135), social exclusion and inclusion were manipulated before participants were given the opportunity to disclose critical information in a semicooperative game setting (Study 1) or a mock intelligence interview (Study 2). Social exclusion did not influence information disclosure in any of the experiments. Instead, however, social inclusion unexpectedly increased information disclosure in the interview setting. We conclude that prior social experiences can influence the outcome of subsequent interviews, but the precise mechanisms underlying such influence are currently unknown.     

Illness perception clusters and relationship quality are associated with diabetes distress in adults with Type 2 diabetes

This report aims to augment what is already known about emotional distress in Type 2 diabetes, by assessing the predictive value of illness perception clusters and relationship quality on four subcategories of Diabetes Distress.162 individuals with Type 2 diabetes responded to a postal questionnaire assessing demographics, depression, diabetes distress, illness perceptions and relationship quality. Long-term blood glucose was retrieved from participants’ General Practitioner. Three illness perception clusters emerged from the data, capturing three subgroups of participants sharing similar illness perception schemas. Regression analyses were performed across each diabetes distress subscale, with demographics, illness perception clusters, and relationship variables entered into three blocks. Covariates explained 51.1% of the variance in emotional burden, 41% of the variance in regimen-related distress, 20% of the variance in interpersonal distress, and 8.6% of the variance in physician-related distress. Cluster membership was strongly associated with emotional burden, regimen-related distress, and to a lesser degree interpersonal distress, but was not associated with physician-related distress. Relationship quality most strongly predicted regimen-related distress. Illness perception schemas and interpersonal issues influence emotional adjustment in diabetes. This study provides direction for the content of a novel approach to identifying and reducing diabetes distress in people with Type 2 diabetes.     

Everyday worry in adolescents with and without chronic pain: a diary study

Young people report frequent worry, but we know little about the extent, character, or consequence of worry in adolescence, or individual differences associated with worry. Adolescents with chronic pain are one population that are known to have high levels of anxiety, which is associated with higher levels of disability and depression, impairing function. In this study we report a diary study: adolescents (N = 60; aged 16–18) recorded their worry over seven days. Our first aim was to describe the characteristics of adolescent worry and its consequences in a community sample. Our second aim was to compare the experience of girls to boys, and to compare the experience of those with and without chronic pain. Adolescents reported characteristics of each worry they had throughout the week, including content, frequency, strength, interference, emotion, and the strength of emotion associated with worry content. Adolescents reported the consequence for each content and the strength of the consequence. Worry content and consequences were categorised into four categories; health, relationship, personal competence, and other. Adolescents reported 675 unique episodes of worry over the seven-day period that were predominantly about personal competence. The strength of worry content was (M = 6.61, SD = 1.27) and the strength associated with the worry consequence was (M = 5.59, SD = 1.41). Worries were not reported as highly interfering (M = 4.14, SD = 1.61). Contrary to predictions, there were no differences in worry characteristics between adolescents with and without chronic pain. To conclude, worry is a frequent occurrence in older adolescents and the characteristics of worry are discussed. Adolescents worry mostly about personal competence. Adolescents with and without chronic pain reported similar worry characteristics.     

The internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity among 8- to 11-year-old students in Wales

ABSTRACT

The Francis Scale of Attitude toward Christianity was designed in the mid-1970s to assess individual differences in attitude through childhood, adolescence, and adulthood from the age of 8?years upwards. This study examines the internal consistency reliability, factor structure, and construct validity of the instrument 40?years later among 1511 year 4 students (8–9 years), 1544 year 5 students (9–10 years), and 1526 year 6 students (10–11 years) in Wales attending Church in Wales voluntary aided and voluntary controlled primary schools. The data support the internal consistency reliability and construct validity of the instrument among the age range and commend the instrument for continued use in research.