TRANSFORMING THEORY AND RESEARCH WITH WOMEN

We look at some of the ways in which feminist theorists and researchers apply new insights to established topics in psychology, as they explore the landscape of the unknown and unspoken in the lives of girls and women. The articles in this special issue present research and reflections by a group of feminist scholars, some of us from the editorial board of the Psychology of Women Quarterly and others from the larger academic community. Each contributor, selecting from a personal interest or expertise, reconceptualizes a topical area of psychology with the intent of reframing our understanding of its meaning, its impact on women's functioning, and/or its application to feminist research and theory. To provide a background, we review a sample of contributions of feminist thought to the contemporary revolution in science. We then ask the question: In what ways have feminist perspectives and scholarship transformed psychology in the particular areas addressed by these authors?     

SILENCING THE SELF AND DEPRESSION AMONG WOMEN

The purpose of this study was to assess the validity and provide normative data for the Silencing the Self Scale, a newly devised instrument for measuring cognitive schemas hypothesized to be related to depression in women. The study also tested the hypothesis that race would moderate the relationship between silencing the self and depression. The sample consisted of 80 women: 40 African Americans and 40 Caucasians. Controlling for income and socially desirable response bias, a significant relationship between silencing the self and depression was found only for Caucasian women. It was suggested that differing values and socialization practices may be responsible for the findings.     

OPENING DOORS TO FEMINIST RESEARCH

Currently, both controversy and consensus exist concerning the conceptualization and implementation of feminist research. In this article I trace the rise of feminist research in the context of the multiple meanings of a gendered and feminist psychology. I then summarize examples of recent research studies that demonstrate some of the many ways in which feminist psychology is contributing to our understandings of human behavior. The challenge to feminist psychology is to document the variables that influence the process of gendering in social transactions, while actively questioning the perpetuation of its authority.     

Prevention of anxiety symptoms in children: results from a universal school-based trial

The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a universal school-based cognitive behavior prevention program (the FRIENDS program) for childhood anxiety. Participants were 638 children, ages 9 to 12 years, from 14 schools in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. All the children completed standardized measures of anxiety and depression, social and adaptive functioning, coping strategies, social skills, and perfectionism before and after the 10-week FRIENDS program and at two follow-up assessments (6 and 12 months) or wait period. Children who participated in the FRIENDS program exhibited significantly fewer anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lower perfectionism scores than children in the control group at 12-month follow-up. Younger children (9-10-year-olds) displayed treatment gains immediately after the intervention, whereas older children (11-12-year-olds) showed anxiety reduction only at 6- and 12-month follow-up. Perfectionism and avoidant coping acted as mediators of pre- to postintervention changes in anxiety scores. This study provides empirical evidence for the utility of the FRIENDS program in reducing anxiety and depressive symptoms among German children.