Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk Behaviors for African American Adolescent Girls: The Protective Role of Natural Mentorship and Organizational Religious Involvement

African American adolescent girls are at increased risk of being exposed to community violence and being diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection. Fewer studies, however, have examined the protective roles of natural mentorship and organizational religious involvement as potential moderators that could lessen the effects of violence exposure on health risk behavior. Data from 273 African American ninth grade girls were used to test hypothesized independent and moderated‐moderation models. Results suggest that natural mentorship and religious involvement were protective for girls who reported at least one mentor and moderate to high levels of religious involvement. Our findings may be relevant for community stakeholders and organizations that directly interact with religious institutions and community programs that focus on outreach to African American adolescent girls.     

Associations of Parent-Adolescent Discrepancies in Family Cohesion and Conflict with Adolescent Impairment

Family cohesion and family conflict are important protective and risk factors respectively in the development of child psychopathology. Our study examines parent-adolescent discrepancy of the family environment constructs, family cohesion and family conflict, and their associations with adolescent impairment. The sample consists of 141 parent-adolescent dyads evaluated at an outpatient behavioral health clinic. The mean adolescent age is 14.8 (range 11–18) while the mean parent age is 48.9 (range 32–67). Findings show that adolescents report significantly less family cohesion but do not differ significantly in reports of family conflict. Greater family cohesion is associated with less adolescent impairment by multiple reporters. Nonetheless, greater family conflict is associated with more adolescent impairment by the same reporter. The results show that both adolescent and parent reports of family cohesion and conflict are important to consider when integrating information gathered in a clinical assessment.     

Humility,Virtue Epistemology,and the New Atheism

Most criticisms of the New Atheism are attempts at traditional apologetics. However, Christians who wish to defend the faith against the onslaughts of these critics might appeal to virtue epistemology by showing that the New Atheists do not possess the necessary habits of thought that a person would need to make a careful and thoughtful consideration of the evidence. In fact, the New Atheists fail to practice intellectual humility and this prevents them from genuine engagement with the strengths religion offers.     

Minority Stress and the Risk of Unwanted Sexual Experiences in LGBQ Undergraduates

Sexual assault is prevalent among lesbian, gay, bisexual, and queer (LGBQ) college students, but its relationship to anti-LGBQ stigma has not been established. The goal of the present study was to determine whether minority stress, specifically internalized homophobia, predicted unwanted sexual experiences among LGBQ undergraduates (N = 763), whether routine behaviors (number of consensual sexual partners and alcohol use) mediated this relationship, and whether sense of LGBTQ community was a protective factor. Significant proportions of sexual minority men (10 %), women (18 %), and non-binary or transitioning students (19 %) reported an unwanted sexual experience since entering college. Internalized homophobia was associated with greater risk of unwanted sexual experiences. It also had a negative indirect effect on unwanted sexual experience risk through a negative association with number of sexual partners. Alcohol use did not mediate the relationship between internalized homophobia and unwanted sexual experiences. Sense of LGBTQ community was associated with lower risk, mediated by lower levels of internalized homophobia. The relationships between internalized homophobia and unwanted sexual experience risk were similar for women and men. These findings demonstrate that minority stress increases LGBQ students’ risk of sexual victimization and that in-group social relationships can mitigate this risk. We argue that minority stress is an important risk factor for sexual violence. Violence prevention interventions should attempt to reduce internalized homophobia, and colleges and high schools should establish LGBQ-affirming social climates and provide resources for LGBQ students, including targeted violence prevention efforts and programs that foster a sense of supportive community.     

Perceived discrimination and mental health symptoms among Black men with HIV

People living with HIV (PLWH) exhibit more severe mental health symptoms, including depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms, than do members of the general public. We examined whether perceived discrimination, which has been associated with poor mental health in prior research, contributes to greater depression and PTSD symptoms among HIV-positive Black men who have sex with men (MSM), who are at high risk for discrimination from multiple stigmatized characteristics (HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation). A total of 181 Black MSM living with HIV completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews (ACASI) that included measures of mental health symptoms (depression, PTSD) and scales assessing perceived discrimination due to HIV-serostatus, race/ethnicity, and sexual orientation. In bivariate tests, all three perceived discrimination scales were significantly associated with greater symptoms of depression and PTSD (i.e., reexperiencing, avoidance, and arousal subscales; all p values < .05). The multivariate model for depression yielded a three-way interaction among all three discrimination types (p < .01), indicating that perceived racial discrimination was negatively associated with depression symptoms when considered in isolation from other forms of discrimination, but positively associated when all three types of discrimination were present. In multivariate tests, only perceived HIV-related discrimination was associated with PTSD symptoms (p < .05). Findings suggest that some types of perceived discrimination contribute to poor mental health among PLWH. Researchers need to take into account intersecting stigmata when developing interventions to improve mental health among PLWH.     

An Examination of the Association between Difficulties with Emotion Regulation and Dating Violence Perpetration

The perpetration of aggression in dating relationships is a prevalent problem among college students. Research that examines factors related to perpetrating dating violence is needed, as this could help guide prevention programming. This study examined how emotion regulation is related to dating violence perpetration among male and female college students (N = 440). Findings showed that the association between broad difficulties with emotion regulation, as well as more specific emotion regulation problems, were associated with dating violence perpetration and could differentiate individuals who had perpetrated and not perpetrated aggression. These findings varied slightly depending on the gender of the perpetrator and the type of aggression examined. Implications of these findings for prevention programs and future research are discussed.     

LGB-Affirmative Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Social Anxiety: A Case Study Applying Evidence-Based Practice Principles

Guided by the American Psychological Association's principles of evidence-based practice, this article reviews a single-case treatment outcome study whereby a client characteristic, sexual identity, was integrated into the assessment and treatment of social anxiety symptoms. The case involved a young adult European-American male who presented to a training clinic with a primary diagnosis of social anxiety disorder as well as secondary symptoms of excessive worry and concerns of sexual identity confusion. Recent evidence suggests that gay men report more symptoms of social anxiety when compared to heterosexual men, and those who make more efforts to conceal their sexual identity experience increased anxiety and have greater difficulty committing to a personal identity. Further, it has been hypothesized that fear of rejection from heterosexual individuals underlies this anxiety. The client attended 50 sessions over the course of 18 months. Treatment progress was assessed via self-report questionnaires assessing social anxiety and worry. Consistent with principles of evidence-based practice, a cognitive behavioral treatment protocol was employed at the outset of therapy and resulted in a decline in the client's social anxiety scores. However, once the case conceptualization and treatment focus shifted to focus on sexual identity, his scores continued to decline at an even steeper rate. He ultimately came to identify himself as having a same-sex sexual orientation, began living his life in a manner consistent with that identification, and reported a number of positive outcomes at termination of therapy. Implications for treatment of social anxiety in sexual minorities are discussed.     

The pattern of subjective anxiety during in-session exposures over the course of cognitive-behavioral therapy for clients with social anxiety disorder

Exposure-based therapies are efficacious treatments for social anxiety disorder (i.e., Gould et al., 1997). Much of the theory behind these treatments is derived from Foa and colleagues' (Foa, Huppert, & Cahill, 2005; Foa & Kozak, 1986) work on emotional processing. However, there has been little research examining individual differences in emotional processing patterns within and between treatment sessions among clients with social anxiety disorder. This study utilized longitudinal data analytic methods to examine changes in subjective anxiety during the first 3 exposure sessions in group and individual cognitive-behavioral therapy for social anxiety disorder. The results of this study provide preliminary evidence that, although anxiety generally decreases across exposures, some individuals experience considerable fluctuations in anxiety during a single exposure. Although anxiety during the first exposure was not significantly related to outcome, the relationship between anxiety during exposure and outcome became stronger during subsequent exposures. Overall, this study highlights the need to conduct more fine-grained analyses to better understand the mechanisms underlying exposure-based therapies for social anxiety disorder.