Depression Among Transgender Older Adults: General and Minority Stress

This study aims to (a) examine the direct and indirect effects internalized heterosexism, disclosure of gender identity, and perceived general stress in association with depression among transgender older adults; and (b) to assess the relative contribution of each relationship. Secondary analyses of data from a large community‐based study of older sexual and gender minorities were conducted utilizing structural equation modeling with a subsample (n = 174) of transgender adults aged 50 to 86‐years old. Disclosure of gender identity had no significant direct or indirect effects on either perceived general stress or depression. Internalized heterosexism did not have a direct effect on depression, but did have a significant indirect effect through perceived general stress. Finally, perceived general stress had an additional significant direct effect on depression, over and above internalized heterosexism. Total effect sizes appear to be considerable with standardized betas greater than 5.0. Perceived general stress and internalized heterosexism independently and cumulatively have significant direct and indirect effects on depression among transgender older adults. Implications for depression among transgender older adults and the role of community psychology are discussed.     

A developmental study of the influence of task characteristics on motor overflow

Motor overflow refers to involuntary movement or muscle activity that may coincide with voluntary movement. This study examined factors influencing motor overflow in 17 children (8-11 years), and 17 adults (18-35 years). Participants performed a finger pressing task by exerting either 33% or 66% of their maximal force output using their dominant or non-dominant hand. Attention was manipulated by tactile stimulation to one or both hands. Overflow relative to the target force was greater in children compared to adults, and at the lower target force for both groups, but was not influenced by attentional stimulation. Childhood overflow was greater when the left-hand performed the task. Although an immature motor system may underlie an inability to suppress involuntary movement, childhood overflow may provide motor stabilization.     

Making sense of “the inevitable”

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics -     

Adult psychological development: A jungian perspective

Jung was one of the first to describe an adult developmental position in psychology. Using his work, Levinson describes three adult seasons of summer, fall and winter, beginning roughly at twenty, forty and sixty years of age. During the first half of life (under forty), Jung sees the therapies of Freud and Adler as addressing the central problems. For the later fall and winter seasons of life, Jung's psychology alone has specific relevance. Different stages have typical characteristics, problems, orientations and requisites for effective therapy. Knowing these is important both for therapist and for analysand.Dr. Hoy is Assistant Director and Associate Psychologist at the Rhode Island Youth Guidance Center, special lecturer in the graduate school of Providence College, and the founding Director of the C.G. Jung Center of Rhode Island. His address is: 32 Paris Street, Pawtucket, RI 02860.     

The social competence of very-low-birthweight children: Teacher,peer, and self-perceptions

Whether very-low birthweight (VLBW 1500 gm) children differ from normal birthweight (NBW > 2500gm) children with respect to social (as opposed to intellectual) competence has been a relatively neglected issue. The social competence at school age of 183 VLBW children was therefore compared with that of 183 NBW children born at the same hospital matched for age, gender, social class, parity, and maternal age. A multi-informant, multidefinilional approach to social competence was adopted involving teacher, (same-gender) peer, and self-ratings of the 366 children's levels of social maladjustment, social skill, and peer acceptance. VLBW children from the upper, middle, and lower social classes received significantly higher mean sadness/unhappiness scores (even with IQ covaried) than their NEW counterparts. Mean scores for the VLBW group were also higher for social withdrawal, and lower for both social skill and peer acceptance. Possible antecedents and consequences of such group differences in affect and sociability are suggested.This study was supported by grants from the Department of Health and Social Services, the Chest, Heart and Stroke Association, the Perinatal Trust Fund (all of Northern Ireland), and the Medical Research Council (U.K.) for the investigation of The cognitive, social, and behavioral adjustment of very-low-birthweight infants at school age. The resources provided by the Northern Ireland Department of Economic Development ACE scheme arc also gratefully acknowledged. The authors wish to thank all 15 research assistants on the Very Low-Birthweight (VLBW) Team, and especially those parents, children, and school personnel who participated so willingly in the NI VLBW project.     

Female business owners in industries traditionally dominated by males

This study examined selected demographics, personality traits, and job-related characteristics of females and males operating small businesses in traditionally male-dominated industries. Of the 56 participating businesses owners, all but 2 were Caucasian. Organizational characteristics were also observed. Significant gender differences were found in marital status, industry experience, age of firms, number of females hired, and effectiveness of communication scores.     

The hyperactive child at adolescence: Cognitive,emotional, and social functioning

In view of the paucity of detailed followup studies on hyperactive children, the performance of 15 adolescents diagnosed hyperactive 5 years previously was compared to that of a control group of equivalent age, sex, intelligence, and social class. Eleven cognitive tests measuring sustained attention, visual-motor and motor skills, abstraction, and reading ability, as well as three self-assessment tests examining selfesteem, activity level, social functioning, academic status, and career aspirations were administered. The hyperactives performed significantly worse than the controls on the sustained attention, visualmotor, and motor tasks, and on two of the four reading tests. They also gave themselves significantly lower ratings on some of the selfesteem and sociability items. It would appear that the hyperactives at adolescence still have attentional and stimulus-processing difficulties, which affect not only their academic performance but also their social functioning.This study was supported by a Federal-Provincial Mental Health Grant to Dr. G. Weiss. The authors wish to thank Katherine Levine and Margaret Radigan for their assistance with test preparation and scoring. Thanks are also extended to Ken MacRae for his computer-processing advice, particularly his help with several multivariate and principal components analyses from which the present authors have derived their current theoretical position. Klaus Minde and Nancy Cohen are now at the Toronto Hospital for Sick Children, while Elizabeth Hoy is at the Queen's University of Belfast, Northern Ireland.     

The Counselor and the School as a Social Organization

Role relations in the public school are viewed within the perspective of organization theory; the public school is like the prison and the public mental hospital in that neither client nor organization exercises choice concerning client participation in the organization. Based on previous studies of prisons and mental hospitals and on clues provided in a case study of a junior high school, it was predicted that counselors and principals would be less “custodial” in pupil control ideology than teachers. An instrument that measured pupil control ideology along a custodial-humanistic continuum was administered to 945 teachers, 181 principals, and 180 counselors. Results confirmed the predictions. Counselor adaptations to ideological conflict concerning pupil control in both the secondary and the elementary school are discussed. It was speculated that adaptations would function to reduce overt conflict and contribute to organizational equilibrium.