An abridged Spanish version of Sexual Double Standard Scale: Factorial structure,reliability and validity evidence

Background/Objective

Sexual double standard (SDS) has long been associated to several dimensions of sexual health. Therefore the assessment of SDS is relevant and requires self-reported measures with adequate psychometric properties. This study aims to adapt the Sexual Double Standard Scale (SDSS) into heterosexual Spanish population and examine its psychometric properties. Method: Using quota incidental sampling, we recruited a sample of 1,206 individuals (50% women), distributed across three groups based on their age (18-34, 35-49 and 50 years old and older). Results: We performed both, Exploratory Factor Analysis and Confirmatory Factor Analysis. An abridged version was yielded, consisting of 16 items distributed into two factors (Acceptance for sexual freedom and Acceptance for sexual shyness). A second-order factor structure was also adequate, which facilitates the use of a global index for SDS. Reliability, based on internal consistency and temporal stability was good for the factors. Evidence of validity is also shown and reported. Conclusions: This adapted version of the SDSS is reliable and valid. The importance for its use to estimate the prevalence of both traditional and modern forms of this phenomenon is discussed.     

When is a lie acceptable? Work and private life lying acceptance depends on its beneficiary

In this article we show that when analyzing attitude towards lying in a cross-cultural setting, both the beneficiary of the lie (self vs other) and the context (private life vs. professional domain) should be considered. In a study conducted in Estonia, Ireland, Mexico, The Netherlands, Poland, Spain, and Sweden (N = 1345), in which participants evaluated stories presenting various types of lies, we found usefulness of relying on the dimensions. Results showed that in the joint sample the most acceptable were other-oriented lies concerning private life, then other-oriented lies in the professional domain, followed by egoistic lies in the professional domain; and the least acceptance was shown for egoistic lies regarding one’s private life. We found a negative correlation between acceptance of a behavior and the evaluation of its deceitfulness.     

Representing the Good: Pastoral Care in a Secular Age

In ‘a secular age’ (Taylor 2007), pastoral care is no longer exclusively associated with specific religious traditions and communities. Pastoral caregivers who work in secular institutions provide care to religious and nonreligious people alike, and in several Western societies the term pastoral care is used in relation to nonreligious (humanist) care. In secular contexts, the term ‘pastoral care’ is often replaced by the term ‘spiritual care.’ Spiritual care, however, is provided by various professionals, so pastoral caregivers face the challenge of developing adequate and convincing language to explain what is distinctive about their work. In this article, the authors turn to philosophical language in order to develop a conceptual understanding of pastoral care that does not depend on the specific worldview—religious or nonreligious—of either pastoral caregivers or receivers of pastoral care. Using the work of Taylor (1989, 2007) and Murdoch (1970), we explain pastoral care as engaging with people’s attempts to orient in ‘moral space’ and the distinctive quality of pastoral care as ‘representing the Good.’ Murdoch associates ‘the Good’ with a secular idea of transcendence that is both a movement beyond the ego and an engagement with the reality of human vulnerability, suffering, and evil. We argue that pastoral caregivers who ‘represent the Good’ have the task not only of supporting the existential and spiritual processes of individuals but also of promoting dialogue and social justice and of critiquing dehumanizing practices in the organizations in which they work and in society at large.     

Is the Chinese number-naming system transparent? Evidence from Chinese-English bilingual children.

Chinese-speaking children have been shown to have an advantage over English-speaking children in a variety of mathematical areas, including counting. One possible explanation for the advantage in counting is that the Chinese number-naming system is relatively transparent, compared to English, in that number names typically are directly indicative of base-10 structure (e.g., 12 is named "ten-two" rather than "twelve"). To determine whether the transparency of the Chinese number-naming system influences counting in bilingual children, we tested 25 Chinese-English bilingual children between the ages of 3 and 5 years, both in English and in Chinese. Children were asked to count as high as they could (abstract counting) and also to count objects in small, medium, and large arrays (object counting). No evidence was found for transparency or for transfer from one language to the other. Instead, relative proficiency in the two languages influenced counting skill. These results are discussed in terms of linguistic and cultural variables that might account for cross-linguistic differences in counting.     

Psychological Resources and Attitudes Toward People With Physical Disabilities

In a representative sample of the population (N = 950), this study investigated the influence of psychological resources on attitudes toward people with physical disabilities. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that 2 psychological resources (liking people, belief in a just world) had a significant influence on attitude toward people with disabilities, controlling for the demographic variables of age, education, and sex. Contact, social desirability, and the Big Five dimensions of Extraversion, Neuroticism, and Openness also proved to be significant. The psychological resources of self‐esteem, life satisfaction, and hope were not significant. Practical implications are discussed.     

Regression toward the mean or heuristic processing in detecting deception? Reply to Elaad (2010)

Masip, et al. (2009) conducted a study in which observers had to make truth-lie judgments at the beginning, middle, or end of a series of videotaped statements. They found a decline in truth judgments over time and explained this finding in terms of information processing mode. Recently, Elaad (2010) challenged this explanation and contended that the decline could be a result of regression toward the mean. In the present paper, it is argued that because Masip, et al. took multiple Moment 1 judgments over time and then averaged across judgments, regression toward the mean was extremely unlikely. Furthermore, the decrease in truth judgments was found under several separate conditions; this cannot be explained by random fluctuations alone. Finally, Masip, et al.'s data were re-analyzed adjusting for the effects of regression toward the mean. The outcomes of these analyses were the same as those reported in the original article.     

Fortalezas Familiares Program: Building Sociocultural and Family Strengths in Latina Women with Depression and Their Families

The purpose of this article is to describe Fortalezas Familiares (FF; Family Strengths), a community‐based prevention program designed to address relational family processes and promote well‐being among Latino families when a mother has depression. Although depression in Latina women is becoming increasingly recognized, risk and protective mechanisms associated with children's outcomes when a mother has depression are not well understood for Latino families. We begin by reviewing the literature on risk and protective psychosocial mechanisms by which maternal depression may affect Latino youth, using family systems theory and a developmental psychopathology framework with an emphasis on sociocultural factors shaping family processes. Next, we describe the theoretical basis and development of the FF program, a community‐based 12‐week intervention for Latina immigrant women with depression, other caregivers, and their children. Throughout this article, we use a case study to illustrate a Latina mother's vulnerability to depression and the family's response to the FF program. Recommendations for future research and practice include consideration of sociocultural processes in shaping both outcomes of Latino families and their response to interventions.     

Responsividad y condicionamiento semántico en relación con el ciclo menstrual

Resumen

El trabajo examina el efecto de cambios internos atribuibles al ciclo menstrual en la responsividad y condicionamiento psicofisiológico de un grupo de mujeres normales con ciclos naturales. Los sujetos fueron examinados Premenstrualmente (PM) o Intermenstrualmente (IM), utilizando como variables dependientes medidas psicofisiológicas (Conductancia de la Piel y Tasa Cardíaca) y cuestionarios. Los sujetos IM mostraron mayor responsividad y habituación en la actividad cardíaca y menores latencies de recuperación en la conductancia de la piel ante estimulación auditiva intensa, así como mayor condicionamiento en la conductancia de la piel (respuestas al segundo intervalo) que los sujetos PM. Las medidas actuales y retrospectivas de estados emocionales mostraron mayor afecto negativo (fatiga y tensión) en los sujetos PM y en l a fase premenstrual. Estos resultados son comparados con los de estudios similares realizados con pacientes fóbicas y son discutidos en términos de diferentes estados emocionales y de activación fisiológica asociados a las fases menstruales examinadas.     

Sistemas neurales de relevancia en el contexto de la psicobiología de la ansiedad: una revisión

Resumen

La ansiedad es un estado emocional central de características muy complejas que, al menos en términos de respuesta, se asemeja en gran medida al miedo. En las ültimas décadas, estudios neurobiológicos y psicobiológicos han identificado numerosas estructuras y circuitos cerebrales estrechamente relacionados con este tipo de respuestas, así como con el estado central característico. Destacan, por su especial relevancia, el sistema límbico (incluyendo el sistema septohipocampal, la amígdala y el hipotálamo posterior) y los sistemas monoaminérgicos ascendentes (principalmente de serotonina y norepinefrina), lugares donde, además, las sustancias ansiolíticas podrían ejercer su efecto terapéutico. El principal objetivo del presente trabajo es revisar la precisa implicación de estos sistemas neurales en la modulación de ese estado emocional definido como ansiedad.