How Big is My Neighborhood? Individual and Contextual Effects on Perceptions of Neighborhood Scale

Neighborhood is a social and geographic concept that plays an increasingly important role in research and practice that address disparities in health and well-being of populations. However, most studies of neighborhoods, as well as community initiatives geared toward neighborhood improvement, make simplifying assumptions about boundaries, often relying on census geography to operationalize the neighborhood units. This study used geographic information system (GIS) tools to gather and analyze neighborhood maps drawn by residents of low-income communities in 10 cities. The median resident map size was approximately 30 percent smaller than the median census tract, but 25 percent of residents viewed their neighborhood as quite small (less than one-fifth of the typical census tract). Multi-level modeling showed significant within context variation in perceived neighborhood scale. Longer term residents with higher education and income and who were more engaged in the neighborhood held more expansive views. But there were also contextual influences with higher density and mixed use areas associated with smaller perceived neighborhoods, and higher collective efficacy associated with larger neighborhood sizes. Artificially imposed neighborhood units may misrepresent resident experience, but GIS tools can be used to craft more authentic neighborhood definitions for research and practice.     

Self-presentation and belonging on Facebook: How personality influences social media use and motivations

The present study examined the relationship between the Big Five and the use of Facebook to fulfill belonging and self-presentational needs. One hundred and eighty four undergraduates completed a survey assessing personality and Facebook behaviors and motivations. High agreeableness and neuroticism were the best predictors of belongingness-related behaviors and motivations. Extraversion was associated with more frequent use of Facebook to communicate with others. Self-presentational behaviors and motivations were best predicted by low conscientiousness and high neuroticism. Results suggest that conscientious individuals are cautious in their online self-presentation. Neuroticism, agreeableness, and extraversion were positively associated with the tendency to express one’s actual self. Neuroticism was positively associated with the expression of ideal and hidden self-aspects. The motivation to express these self-aspects mediated the relationship between neuroticism and self-disclosure.     

Sex differences in self-concept and self-esteem of late adolescents: A time-lag analysis

The presence of historical change in the self-concept and self-esteem of male and female late adolescents was studied using a time-lag design. Five cohorts of students enrolled in the same university and course, consecutively from 1973 to 1977 (total N=1,141), gave self-ratings to 16 evaluative items relating to traits traditionally associated with sex differences. Mean score across items was the self-esteem index, and the vector of ratings for item content was the self-concept index. Historical continuity in self-esteem was found. Males and females did not differ in mean self-esteem, within or between cohorts, and cohort differences accounted for less than 2% of the variance. Cross-cohort similarity in within-cohort sex differences in self-concept was found also. These differences were minimal, accounting for small proportions of the variance and involving no more than 5 items in any cohort. Late adolescents from recent historical eras thus rated themselves in ways inconsistent with societal stereotypes, and showed minimal differences in their self-appraisals. Results are discussed in relation to (1) theoretical positions with which they are inconsistent and (2) an emerging interactionist view, which they appear to support.A shortened version of this paper was presented at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, Houston, January 1978. The authors thank Stuart A. Karabenick, John R. Knapp, James B. Orlos, and Joyce L. Stuart for collaborating on portions of the project from which the present report is derived.     

Social Acceptability of Hypothetical Married Couples and Their Relationships

The present experiment tested whether the physical attractiveness attributed to members of married couples would vary according to the social acceptability associated with their interconnected leader-follower roles. American college students rated female and male hypothetical stimulus persons who were described as married to each other. As predicted, both partners who were described as being in a traditional relationship with the husband as leader were stereotyped as being highly attractive. Partners in relationships that deviated from this pattern were stereotyped as being less attractive: Those enacting equal leadership roles were intermediate in attractiveness, and those with the wife as leader were least attractive. Gender identity also varied according to the social acceptability of the couple's roles, with the wife and husband in the traditional relationship being stereotyped as most highly sex typed. The personal attributes of self-esteem and social status were not affected by the social acceptability of the couple's relationship. Regardless of sex, these attributes varied according to the strength of the individual's leadership role. As a consequence, the husband's characteristics were either consistently positive or negative for the different leadership conditions; the wife's attributes were inconsistent.     

Racial Socialization Experiences and Symptoms of Depression among Black Youth

Ecological barriers like racism and discrimination can weigh heavily on the shifting emotions of adolescents. We investigated the relationship of racial socialization experiences to the depression symptoms of 160 Black adolescents, including lethargy, low self-esteem, cognitive difficulties, social introversion, irritability, guilt, pessimism, sad mood, instrumental helplessness, and overall depression. Cultural pride socialization was inversely related to adolescent reports of lethargy and low self-esteem while alertness to discrimination socialization was positively related to instrumental helplessness and gender differences were found. Multiple regression findings showed that racial socialization experiences add significantly more predictability of depression symptoms over and above gender, neighborhood risk and resources. Recommendations for the family, mental health professionals and for the development of culturally relevant social interventions are provided.     

Leadership roles and the gender stereotype traits

Men generally occupy the role of leader and women the role of follower in marital relationships. This research tested the hypothesis that these implicit leader-follower roles determine the way in which the gender stereotype traits are typically assigned to women and men. In one condition, the man was described as the leader in the marriage, and in another condition, the traditional power relationship was reversed and the woman was described as the leader. Regardless of sex, the leader was perceived as strong in agency and weak in communion; the follower was perceived as strong in communion and weak in agency. A man and woman, who were described as equal leaders, did not differ in the strength of their agentic and communal traits. A relationship approach was used to formulate the connection between leader-follower roles and the gender stereotype traits.     

Resilience Among Women with HIV: Impact of Silencing the Self and Socioeconomic Factors

In the U.S., women account for over a quarter of the approximately 50,000 annual new HIV diagnoses and face intersecting and ubiquitous adversities including gender inequities, sexism, poverty, violence, and limited access to quality education and employment. Women are also subjected to prescribed gender roles such as silencing their needs in interpersonal relationships, which may lessen their ability to be resilient and function adaptively following adversity. Previous studies have often highlighted the struggles encountered by women with HIV without focusing on their strengths. The present cross-sectional study investigated the relationships of silencing the self and socioeconomic factors (education, employment, and income) with resilience in a sample of women with HIV. The sample consisted of 85 women with HIV, diverse ethnic/racial groups, aged 24–65 enrolled at the Chicago site of the Women’s Interagency HIV Study in the midwestern region of the United States. Measures included the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale -10 item and the Silencing the Self Scale (STSS). Participants showed high levels of resilience. Women with lower scores on the STSS (lower self-silencing) reported significantly higher resilience compared to women with higher STSS scores. Although employment significantly related to higher resilience, silencing the self tended to predict resilience over and above the contributions of employment, income, and education. Results suggest that intervention and prevention efforts aimed at decreasing silencing the self and increasing employment opportunities may improve resilience.