Psychosocial correlates of parenting stress, lack of support and lack of confidence/security

The purpose of the current study was to identify important correlates of parenting stress, frequently conceptualized as a mediator of suboptimal family function, and of social support and confidence/security, often regarded as buffers. Potential correlates of these concepts were assessed in questionnaires at delivery and at one year, in a sample of 16,000 families in Sweden. Predictors (1) of parenting stress were parental dissatisfaction and poor child sleeping patterns; (2) of lack of support included lack of confidence/security, parents born abroad, single motherhood, and maternal health problems; and (3) of lack of confidence/security were lack of support and serious life events. Mothers lacking social support or confidence/security exhibited significantly higher stress. Although parenting stress is a complex phenomenon certain risk factors can be emphasized, such as sleep problems which appear more important than child health problems. These risk factors can be used both in efforts to prevent stress and in studies of stress effects.     

The Effect of Suspense on Enjoyment Following a Desirable Outcome: The Mediating Role of Relief

Although endemic to many forms of media entertainment, suspense represents a paradox for enjoyment because it is experienced as an aversive state. Three studies are presented across two media contexts demonstrating how outcomes to suspenseful episodes affect viewers' relief. Study 1 shows that relief is elicited only when a film's outcome is unambiguously favorable and under such conditions is positively related to enjoyment. No such relationship was found given an ambiguous outcome. Study 1 provides evidence that relief is distinct from other affective responses (i.e., positive and negative affect, surprise) that may be present following suspense. Studies 2 and 3 use competitive contests as a context and provide evidence that relief mediates the effect of suspense on enjoyment. Study 2 shows that the previously positive effects of suspense and expectation disconfirmation on enjoyment are obviated in the presence of relief. Study 3 varies suspense in real time across 14 simulated races. Also manipulated are affective dispositions toward the racers and race outcome. The results reveal that relief mediates the effect of suspense on enjoyment, but only when the outcome favors a preferred competitor. The research enhances our understanding of the intertwining of cognition and affect in the enjoyment of suspense.     

Emotion valence,intensity and emotion regulation in immigrants and majority members in the Netherlands

We were interested in interethnic differences and similarities in how emotion regulation strategies (reappraisal, suppression and social sharing) can be predicted by emotion valence and intensity. The sample consisted of 389 Dutch majority members and members of five immigrant groups: 136 Turkish and Moroccan, 105 Antillean and Surinamese, 102 Indonesian, 313 Western and 150 other non‐Western immigrants. In a path model with latent variables we confirmed that emotion regulation strategies were significantly and similarly related to emotion valence and intensity across the groups. Negative emotions were more reappraised and suppressed than positive emotions. Intensity was positively related to social sharing and negatively related to reappraisal and suppression. The Dutch majority group scored higher on emotion valence than Turkish and Moroccan immigrants. Also, the Dutch majority group scored lower on reappraisal than all non‐Western groups, and lower on suppression than Turkish and Moroccan immigrants. We conclude that group differences reside more in mean scores on some components than in how antecedents are linked to regulation strategies.     

Trichotomous goals of elementary school students learning English as a foreign language: a structural equation model

This study applied structural equation modeling (SEM) techniques to define the relations among trichotomous goals (mastery goals, performance-approach goals, and performance-avoidance goals), self-efficacy, use of metacognitive self-regulation strategies, positive belief in seeking help, and help-avoidance behavior. Elementary school students (N = 105), who were learning English as a foreign language, were surveyed using five self-report scales. The structural equation model showed that self-efficacy led to the adoption of mastery goals but discouraged the adoption of performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals. Furthermore, mastery goals increased the use of metacognitive self-regulation strategies, whereas performance-approach goals and performance-avoidance goals reduced their use. Mastery goals encouraged positive belief in help-seeking, but performance-avoidance goals decreased such belief. Finally, performance-avoidance goals directly led to help-avoidance behavior, whereas positive belief assumed a critical role in reducing help-avoidance. The established structural equation model illuminated the potential causal relations among these variables for the young learners in this study.     

Item analysis and differential item functioning of a brief conduct problem screen

Research has shown that boys display higher levels of childhood conduct problems than girls, and Black children display higher levels than White children, but few studies have tested for scalar equivalence of conduct problems across gender and race. The authors conducted a 2-parameter item response theory (IRT) model to examine item characteristics of the Authority Acceptance scale from the Teacher Observation of Classroom Adaptation-Revised (AA-TOCA-R; L. Larsson-Werthamer, S. G. Kellam, & L. Wheeler, 1991) in 8,820 kindergarten children and estimated the degree of differential item functioning (DIF) by gender and race/urban status. The mean level of latent conduct problems was best represented by behaviors such as being stubborn, breaking rules, and being disobedient, whereas breaking things and taking others' property best represented the construct at one standard deviation above the mean. DIF by gender was detected, such that at equivalent levels of latent conduct problems, males received more endorsements of overt behaviors from teachers, whereas females received more endorsements of nonphysical behaviors. Moreover, overt behaviors were better discriminators of latent conduct problems for males, and nonphysical behaviors were better discriminators of latent conduct problems for females. Differences across race/urban status were not found to be conceptually meaningful. The authors' analyses also suggest that the item scaling of the AA-TOCA-R may be best represented by 5e categories instead of 6. These findings provide support for the use of IRT modeling to examine item characteristics of conduct problem scales and DIF to test for scalar equivalence across diverse subpopulations.     

Positive and Negative Expectations of Hopelessness as Longitudinal Predictors of Depression,Suicidal Ideation,and Suicidal Behavior in High‐Risk Adolescents

The relationship between hopelessness and depression in predicting suicide‐related outcomes varies based on the anticipation of positive versus negative events. In this prospective study of adolescents at elevated risk for suicide, we used two Beck Hopelessness Scale subscales to assess the impact of positive and negative expectations in predicting depression, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior over a 2‐ to 4‐year period. In multivariate regressions controlling for depression, suicidal ideation, and negative‐expectation hopelessness, positive‐expectation hopelessness was the only significant predictor of depressive symptoms and suicidal behavior. Clinical interventions may benefit from bolstering positive expectations and building optimism.