The concept of ‘mine‘ 1

Misunderstanding of the word mine and its shifting relations to ‘pro‐attitudes’ inspired much of Aristotle's attack on collectivism at Politics 1261B 15ff. Similar misunderstandings contribute to certain criticisms leveled by modern conservatives like Goldwater against ‘welfarism’, they presuppose confused psychological and ethical doctrines. Thus semantically necessary truths may be misconstrued as entailing contingent propositions about political and economic arrangements. Different confusions about mine and ‘pro‐attitudes’ lend a correspondingly specious aura of certainty to some Platonic and Marxist claims. The ownership model of mine impedes our understanding of men.     

Gender Differences in Problem Solving: Expectancy and Problem Context

In this study, we investigated gender differences in problem solving as a function of problem context and expectations for success. Subjects were 90 women and 56 men from introductory psychology classes who were administered a set of mathematical problems varying in gender context under male-expectancy, female-expectancy, and neutral-expectancy conditions. No significant gender differences or interaction of gender with problem context were found. However, significant effects of problem context and expectancy were found. Both male and female subjects made higher scores on female-context problems and lower scores in the female-expectancy condition. When mathematics aptitude was used as a covariate, an interaction of gender with expectancy was found. Men in the female-expectancy condition made significantly lower scores than either men or women in the male-expectancy condition.     

Sex education for parents using behavior rehearsal

Abstract

In reviewing the family assessment literature, there appears to be a need for behaviorally based report procedures capable of describing important aspects of family functioning. Thus far, most activity in this direction has involved the development of methods of evaluating marital relationships with relatively little attention to parent-adolescent assessment. This article introduces an adaptation of the Areas of Change Questionnaire (originally developed for work with marital pairs) for the assessment of parent-adolescent relationships. The potential utility of this instrument in clinical and research efforts is described, and initial psychometric evaluations are presented.     

Editorial: Three Perspectives of Employment Discrimination 50 Years After the Civil Rights Act—A Promise Fulfilled?

Purpose

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, this paper reviews contradictory perspectives of the status of employment discrimination.

Design/Methodology/Approach

Arguments are derived from psychology, management, law, and political science to contrast perspectives that civil rights legislation has (a) done its job, (b) gone too far, and (c) not gone far enough.

Findings

We determine that disagreement is inevitable and that no unified conclusion can be drawn. Recognition of the viewpoints embedded in opposing perspectives, however, offers direction for the future of organizational science and practice.

Implications

Consideration of these disparate views of civil rights legislation enables thoughtful reflection on the past, present, and future of civil rights legislation.

Originality/Value

This paper offers a variety of lenses through which to consider employment discrimination in the organizational sciences and underscores the value of the papers collected in the special issue.     

On fineness of grain

A central job for propositions is to be the objects of the attitudes. Propositions are the things we doubt, believe and suppose. Some philosophers have thought that propositions are sets of possible worlds. But many have become convinced that such an account individuates propositions too coarsely. This raises the question of how finely propositions should be individuated. An account of how finely propositions should be individuated on which they are individuated very finely is sketched. Objections to the effect that the account individuates propositions too finely are raised and responses to the objections are provided. It is also shown that theories that try to individuate propositions less finely have serious problems.     

The Relationship Between Trajectories of Family/Cultural Stressors and Depression and Suicidal Ideation Among Substance Using Mexican-American Adults

We used an intersectional minority stress perspective to examine the association between family/cultural stress and mental health among substance-using Mexican-Americans. Employing a unique longitudinal sample of 239 socioeconomically disadvantaged, non-injecting heroin-using Mexican-Americans from San Antonio, Texas, we examined how culturally relevant stressors are related to depression and suicidal ideation. First, we identified depression and suicidal ideation prevalence rates for this disadvantaged sample. Second, we determined how cultural stress is experienced over time using stress trajectories. Third, we evaluated how family/cultural stressors and stress trajectories are related to depression and suicidal ideation outcomes. Results showed high rates of baseline depression (24 %) and suicidal ideation (30 %). We used latent class growth analysis to identify three primary stress trajectories (stable, high but decreasing, and increasing) over three time points during 1 year. We found that the increasing stressors trajectory was associated with higher rates of depression and suicidal ideation, and that stress trajectories had unique relationships with mental illness. We also showed that baseline stressors, sum stressors, and high but decreasing stressors maintained positive associations with mental illness after controlling for baseline depression. Our results highlight the importance of focusing on within-group, culturally specific stressors and addressing both operant and cumulative stressors in the study of mental health for marginalized populations and suggest the importance of early intervention in minimizing stressors.     

Multi-domain Models of Risk Factors for Depression and Anxiety Symptoms in Preschoolers: Evidence for Common and Specific Factors

Relatively few studies have examined multiple pathways by which risk factors from different domains are related to symptoms of anxiety and depression in young children; even fewer have assessed risks for these symptoms specifically, rather than for internalizing symptoms in general. We examined a theoretically- and empirically-based model of variables associated with these symptom types in a diverse community sample of 796 4-year-olds (391 boys, 405 girls) that included factors from the following domains: contextual (SES, stress and family conflict); parent characteristics (parental depression); parenting (support/engagement, hostility and scaffolding); and child characteristics including negative affect (NA) effortful control (EC) sensory regulation (SR), inhibitory control (IC) and attachment. We also compared the models to determine which variables contribute to a common correlates of symptoms of anxiety or depression, and which correlates differentiate between those symptom types. In the best-fitting model for these symptom types (a) SES, stress and conflict had indirect effects on both symptom types via long-chain paths; (b) caregiver depression had direct effects and indirect ones (mediated through parenting and child effortful control) on both symptom types; (c) parenting had direct and indirect effects (via temperament and SR); and temperament had direct effects on both symptom types. These data provide evidence of common risk factors, as well as indicate some specific pathways/mediators for the different symptom types. EC was related to anxiety, but not depression symptoms, suggesting that strategies to improve child EC may be particularly effective for treatment of anxiety symptoms in young children.     

Early Adolescent Growth in Depression and Conduct Problem Symptoms as Predictors of Later Substance Use Impairment

Most studies of adolescent substance use and psychological comorbidity have examined the contributions of conduct problems and depressive symptoms measured only at particular points-in-time. Yet, during adolescence, risk factors such as conduct problems and depression exist within a developmental context, and vary over time. Though internalizing and comorbid pathways to substance use have been theorized (Hussong et al. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 25:390-404, 2011), the degree to which developmental increases in depressive symptoms and conduct problems elevate risk for substance use impairment among adolescents, in either an additive or potentially a synergistic fashion, is unclear. Using a school-based sample of 521 adolescents, we tested additive and synergistic influences of changes in depressive symptoms and conduct problems from 6th to 9th grade using parallel process growth curve modeling with latent interactions in the prediction of late adolescent (12th grade) substance use impairment, while examining gender as a moderator. We found that the interaction between growth in depression and conduct disorder symptoms uniquely predicted later substance use problems, in addition to main effects of each, across boys and girls. Results indicated that adolescents whose parents reported increases in both depression and conduct disorder symptoms from 6th to 9th grade reported the most substance use-related impairment in 12th grade. The current study demonstrates that patterns of depression and conduct problems (e.g., growth vs. decreasing) are likely more important than the static levels at any particular point-in-time in relation to substance use risk.     

The health benefits of writing about positive experiences: The role of broadened cognition

This study tested the potential to elicit a broadened attentional focus through writing about a positive life experience and to derive health benefits from such writing. Participants (n = 38) wrote for 20 min each day for 3 consecutive days about either a positive life experience or a control topic. Writing about positive experiences led to improved physical health (measured 4–6 weeks after writing) compared to control and higher levels of global cognitive focus after writing mediated this effect. Notably, while the positive writing condition was more broadened than control, positive affect was not responsible for this difference. Implications for disclosive writing and the broaden and build model are discussed.