DRESSING TO IMPRESS: BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES REGARDING WORKPLACE ATTIRE

The purpose of this study was to examine individual differences in beliefs and attitudes regarding workplace attire including: the value placed on clothing, the impact of attire on workplace outcomes (e.g., promotions, raises), the effort and planning involved in dressing appropriately for work, how their clothing made them feel, and whether they used their attire to manage the impression of others in the workplace. Results from a sample of MBA students indicate that those who valued workplace attire used it to manage the impressions of others and believed that it positively impacts the way they feel about themselves and their workplace outcomes. Dressing to impress appeared to have particular utility for high self-monitors and those in management/executive positions. Women were found to be more interested in clothing and experienced more “appearance labor” when compared to men. Suggestions for future research are proposed.The authors wish to thank the University of Southern Indiana for its sponsorship of this research through a 2004 Faculty Research and Creative Work Award grant.     

Preferences for sadness when eliciting help: Instrumental motives in sadness regulation

This investigation tested whether people are more willing to experience and express sadness, the more useful they expect sadness to be. Building on assumptions about the function of sadness, we predicted that people would expect sadness to be more useful when eliciting help to prevent a loss (vs. not). In Study 1, we examined preferences for sadness and its expected usefulness when eliciting donations for the sake of preventing a loss (vs. not). In Study 2, participants expected to elicit help to prevent a loss (vs. attain a benefit). In both studies, participants expected sadness to be more useful and were more willing to experience and express sadness when eliciting help to prevent a loss (vs. other reasons). Furthermore, the more useful participants expected experiencing and expressing sadness to be, the more willing they were to experience and to express sadness, respectively. We discuss the implications for research on emotion regulation.     

A Psychometric Investigation of the Suicide Status Form II with a Psychiatric Inpatient Sample

We investigated the psychometric validity and reliability of the Suicide Status Form‐II (SSF‐II) developed by Jobes, Jacoby, Cimbolic, and Hustead (1997) . Participants were 149 psychiatric inpatients (108 suicidal; 41 nonsuicidal) at the Mayo Clinic. Each participant completed assessment measures within 24 hours of admission and 48–72 hours later. Factor analyses of the SSF core assessment produced a robust two‐factor solution reflecting chronic and acute response styles. The SSF core assessment had good to excellent convergent and criterion validity; pre‐post SSF ratings also demonstrated moderate test‐retest reliability. The results replicated previous research and show that the SSF‐II is psychometrically sound with a high‐risk suicidal inpatient sample.     

Predictors of Mental Health Among College Students in Guam: Implications for Counseling

The authors investigated sociodemographic predictors of the mental health status of college students (N = 308) in Guam. Results indicated prevalence rates of 17.8%, 40.2%, and 25.6% for moderate or more severe levels of depression, anxiety, and stress, respectively. Psychological distress was found to be predicted by gender, ethnicity, living arrangement, and academic level. Comparisons with college students in the U.S. mainland and Hong Kong were also examined. Implications for counseling services and strategies are discussed.     

Effects of Cognitive Restructuring Intervention Program of Rational-Emotive Behavior Therapy on Adverse Childhood Stress in Nigeria

This study examined the effects of cognitive restructuring intervention program of rational-emotive behavior therapy on irrational thoughts/behaviors arising from adverse childhood stress in Nigeria. The participants (n = 26) are the identified victims of adverse childhood stress who met the criteria for inclusion through self-report questionnaire. The treatment process is guided by the adverse childhood stress management manual. It consists of 12 weeks of full intervention and 2 weeks of follow-up meetings. The study used repeated measures ANOVA in order to see the improvement of each participant and across control and treatment groups’ thoughts/behaviors after the intervention program. The results show that sex differences do not determine experience of adverse childhood stress. Through cognitive restructuring intervention program of rational-emotive behavior therapy, irrational thoughts/behaviors arising from adverse childhood stress experience were significantly reduced in the treatment group when compared to the control group. Significant improvement was also observed at the end of the intervention of the treatment group. The implication for research and practice were discussed in line with these outcomes. Finally, the study stressed the importance of a follow-up study in Nigeria that would assess irrational beliefs and one or more measures of PTSD symptoms or emotional disturbance.     

“On the outside: Interventions with infants and families at risk”

Infants and families at high psychosocial risk may be considered “on the outside,” that is, outside of the mainstream for healthy development and for well-being because of many different factors. They may be lacking the crucial ingredients that are necessary for healthy physical and emotional development that include good nutrition and health care, predictable caregiving, and guidance to develop the intellectual and emotional skills to succeed in school and in life. Some of the risk factors that may keep infants and families “on the outside” include poverty, teenage pregnancy, and violence exposure. In this paper, I will discuss different types and levels of intervention for infants at risk taking place in different settings around the world carried out by WAIMH members including a naturalistic intervention an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia, a community-based intervention program in Puerto Allegre, Brazil, and a community-based violence prevention and intervention program in New Orleans, Louisiana. Variety and levels of evaluation and assessment are also discussed. Finally, as President of WAIMH, I consider different perspectives on the future for WAIMH. © 1998 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health     

Transition to motherhood: A longitudinal study

A prospective longitudinal study assessed the development of the mother-child relationship within the context of other important aspects of transition to parenthood. In the prenatal phase, 238 women who were 8 months pregnant with their first child completed a set of questionnaires. At 1 month post-partum, 165 of these women completed a second set of questionnaires, and a subset of 86 were observed for 1 hour at home with their infants. When their child was 2 years old, 62 of the 86 mothers completed questionnaires and were observed in interaction with their toddler in the laboratory. The several hundred individual variables were reduced to internally consistent composite variables, 5 in the prenatal phase, 7 postpartum, and 14 in the toddler phase. Preliminary analyses reported in this paper assessed the structure of relationships among the composite variables within each phase (Pearson correlations) and whether there was significant prediction from one dimension to another across the phases, beyond stability in the predicted dimension (multiple regressions). Causal modeling analyses are still in progress. The results indicate that the development of maternal attachment is a gradual process and that feelings of attachment are related to a number of other measures of women's psychological well-being. Parenting confidence was found to play a central role in adaptation to motherhood within each phase, as well as from the prenatal to postpartum and postpartum to toddler phases.     

Enabling Action: Reflections upon Inclusive Participatory Research on Health with Women with Disabilities in the Philippines

People with disabilities experience health disparities arising from social, environmental, and system-level factors. Evidence from a range of settings suggests women with disabilities have reduced access to health information and experience barriers to screening, prevention, and care services. This results in greater unmet health needs, particularly in relation to sexual and reproductive health. Women with disabilities are also more likely to experience physical and sexual violence than women without disabilities, further undermining their health. Community-based participatory research (CBPR) can generate knowledge and underpin action to address such health disparities and promote health equity. However, the potential and challenges of disability inclusion in CBPR, particularly in contexts of poverty and structural inequality such as those found in low- and middle-income countries, are not well documented. In this paper, we reflect on our experience of implementing and evaluating W-DARE, a three-year program of disability-inclusive CBPR aiming to increase access to sexual and reproductive health and violence-response services for women with disabilities in the Philippines. We discuss strategies for increasing disability inclusion in research and use a framework of reflexive solidarity to consider the uneven distribution of the benefits, costs, and responsibilities for action arising from the W-DARE program.