Initial development of a brief measure of psychological distress

This paper addresses the preliminary development, construct validity, and psychometric properties of a brief self-report measure of psychological distress. 40 items were originally generated by doctoral level psychologists for use in the preliminary clinical sample. Inpatients from a psychiatric unit (N = 125) completed the items, and a principal-components analysis with a direct oblimin rotation was used to evaluate construct validity. The study indicated a four-factor solution, using the constructs of Depression, Hopelessness, Anxiety, and Anger, with good estimates of reliability. After evaluation of factor structure, item analyses, and reliability estimates, a redacted 19-item scale was identified.     

Adolescents' conceptions of the influence of romantic relationships on friendships

Although researchers have investigated how adolescents' friendships affect their romantic relationships, the influence of romantic relationships on friendships is unexamined. As a first step, 9th- (n = 198) and 11th grade students (n = 152) reported on their conceptions of friendship when one friend had a romantic relationship and when neither friend had a romantic relationship. As predicted, adolescents believed friendships in which a friend was dating would be characterized by less positive features and more negative features than friendships in which neither friend was dating. Additionally, older adolescents thought romantic relationships were more damaging to companionship and corumination than did younger adolescents. The closer nature of older adolescents' romantic relationships may result in lower quality friendships or older adolescents may be more aware of the potential negative consequences of romantic relationships for friendships. Girls viewed friendships as higher in conflict-rivalry and lower in corumination when one friend was dating while boys did not. And although girls and boys viewed friendships as lower in intimacy and companionship when a friend has a romantic partner, the difference was greater for girls than boys. Girls may be more sensitive to the effects of a friend's romantic relationship on their friendship than are boys. Findings necessitate theories of close relationships that incorporate age and gender as important variables.     

Depressive Symptoms in Young Adults: The Role of Attachment Orientations and Romantic Relationship Conflict

Although romantic involvement in adulthood has generally been associated with enhanced well-being, some aspects of adults’ romantic relationships (e.g., maladaptive conflict behaviors) have been linked with depressive symptoms. In order to better understand the role of romantic involvement in well-being, the present study examined links among attachment orientations, conflict behaviors with romantic partners, and depressive symptoms in an undergraduate sample of young adults (N = 110). Correlational analyses generally supported the hypothesized links. When a regression series was applied to the data in order to determine whether young adults’ conflict behaviors serve as a mediator in the link between their attachment orientations and depressive symptoms, mediation was not supported. Instead, results supported a model wherein attachment orientations and conflict behaviors (attacking) were independent predictors, explaining unique variance in young adults’ depressive symptoms. Findings underscore the importance of considering specific aspects of young adults’ romantic relationships in the prediction of their depressive symptoms and illuminate the role attachment orientations and conflict behaviors in their depressive symptoms.     

Age Differences in Affective Well-Being: Context Matters

The study of emotion across the adult lifespan requires an understanding of how life circumstances change with age. With this knowledge, we can predict when age is related to increases in affective well-being and when age no longer confers such benefits. In the current paper, we review research that finds age-related stability and even increases in affective well-being, as well as age-related strengths in several emotion regulation strategies. We introduce the theory of Strength and Vulnerability Integration to predict age-related patterns in emotional experience across the adult lifespan, and to identify situations when age will no longer be related to improved emotion-related outcomes. We suggest that only by understanding the context of daily life can we predict when and how age is related to affective well-being.     

Social Support, Job Stress, Health, and Job Satisfaction Among Nurses in the United Kingdom

Recruitment and retention of nurses is a major concern in healthcare provision in several countries. This study explored the relationship between perceived social support, job stress, health, and job satisfaction among nurses from 4 organizations in northwest England. A total of 350 usable questionnaires measuring stressors, perceived support, health, and job satisfaction, was obtained from a sample of 1,162 nurses drawn from 4 healthcare organizations. A follow-up study was conducted after 6 months. Results indicate that perceived organizational support is related to nurses' health and job satisfaction. Current interventions to increase support, which typically operate at individual or group level, may be limited in their effectiveness unless nurses' perceptions of organizational support are taken into account.     

Messages about sex in the workplace: A content analysis of primetime television

Because television has the potential to shape cultural beliefs about both sexual norms and appropriate workplace behavior, it seems important to examine TV’s portrayal of “sexual etiquette” in the workplace. In a content analysis of two episodes of every primetime comedy aired on all broadcast and cable networks during fall 2000, we coded every sexual remark and behavior made in a workplace scene. Across all networks, 85 percent of programs and one in four workplace interactions contained some type of sexual content. Overall, a viewer is likely to hear eleven sexual remarks and see two to three sexual behaviors in a workplace setting per hour; this jumps to twenty-three remarks and nine behaviors on cable networks. Sexual remarks were mostly explicit, made in an office setting, by White men, and were rarely (1.4%) about sexual harassment or discrimination. Although sexual content in the workplace was generally less common on broadcast than cable networks, a broadcast network (Fox) actually had the highest overall rate, with sexual content in 38 percent of workplace scenes. Given that research suggests that TV teaches youth about sexuality and cultivates sexual attitudes and beliefs consistent with televised portrayals, it is alarming that youth may learn from television that sex in the workplace is not only commonplace, but also to be tolerated and enjoyed.     

The Effects of the Structured Interview on Reducing Biases Against Pregnant Job Applicants

Some research has been conducted on the discrimination faced by pregnant women in the workplace. Few studies, however, have specifically investigated how this bias is manifested in employment or hiring decisions. The current study was designed to examine possible bias during structured interviews. Participants watched a videotaped scenario in which candidates were interviewed for a job. The 2 × 2 × 2 experimental conditions were varied to represent a structured or an unstructured interview, a pregnant or nonpregnant interviewee, and the open position of either a high school teacher or sales representative. Results indicate an overall bias against pregnant women and suggested that the structured interview reduces this bias.     

Rich interpretation vs. deflationary accounts in cognitive development: the case of means-end skills in 7-month-old infants

Seven-month-old infants appear to learn means-end skills, such as pushing a button to retrieve a distant toy (Psychological Review 104 (1997) 686). The present studies tested whether such apparent means-end behaviors are genuine, or simply the repetition of trained behaviors under conditions of greatest arousal, as suggested by a dynamic systems reinterpretation. When infants were trained to repeat behaviors that did not serve as means to retrieving toys (pushing a button to light a set of distant lights), their button-pushing differed significantly from infants for whom button-pushing served as a means for retrieving toys. Further, infants demonstrated means-end skills with behaviors that they had not been trained to repeat. Implications for early means-end abilities and for debates surrounding the interpretation of infant behavior are discussed.     

The relationship between STD locus of control and STD acquisition among adolescent girls

This longitudinal study examined adolescent girls' perception of control over sexually transmitted disease (STD) acquisition. Participants were asked questions regarding their perception of their STD locus of control (internal control; control by parents, partners, peers, and health care providers; and chance) at two waves of data collection. Of the 116 participants (mean age = 17 years), 82% were African-American and 18% were Caucasian. Responses to the measure of locus of control were significantly correlated across a 6-month interval. The responses regarding internal control, control by partner, and chance were not related to the acquisition of an STD in the next 6 months. Further, they were not influenced by an STD in the preceding 6 months. These results indicate that responses to a locus of control measure were stable over a 6-month period, and internal, partner, and chance locus of control perceptions seem to be neither determined by STD experience nor directly related to future STD acquisition. However, understanding an individual's locus of control may be helpful in providing appropriate counseling. Future research could examine how adolescent girls form their perceptions of control over STD acquisition.