Associations between Stress,Psychosomatic Complaints,and Parental Criticism among Affluent Adolescent Girls

A growing body of research has shown that adolescent girls in the context of affluence face a series of unique pressures that may increase social-emotional problems. Little research, however, has examined associations between perceived stress and psychosomatic complaints among privileged youth. In the present study, we investigated the relationships between stress, psychosomatic complaints, and parental criticism in a sample of preadolescent and adolescent girls (n?=?218) from selective, private schools. Using OLS regression analyses, cross-sectional and longitudinal associations were evident between perceived stress and psychosomatic complaints, with increases in stress associated with increases in psychosomatic problems. Parental criticism was also examined as a predictor of girls’ psychosomatic complaints and stress levels. Results indicated that parental criticism was significantly and positively associated with psychosomatic problems in cross-sectional models and that perceived stress levels mediated this association. Additional analyses demonstrated that the relationship between psychosomatic complaints and stress may be bidirectional. Taken together, results from this exploratory study suggest that girls in the context of affluence may also experience psychosomatic complaints, in addition to social-emotional problems.     

A Brief Alcohol Intervention During Inpatient Psychiatric Hospitalization for Suicidal Adolescents

Alcohol use and suicide-related thoughts and behaviors are common in psychiatrically hospitalized adolescents and each problem can exacerbate the other. Despite knowledge about the functional relationship between alcohol use and suicide-related thoughts and behaviors, inpatient psychiatric units only cursorily address alcohol use because suicide risk is considered primary. In this paper we provide theoretical and empirical rationale for the inclusion of brief motivational interventions for alcohol use in inpatient treatment settings for suicidal adolescents. We give a case example of the brief intervention in practice, including when and how to use specific techniques. Following the case example, we discuss the flexibility of this intervention and how it can be adapted for adolescents with varying risk profiles. We conclude with recommendations for future research, including the development and testing of technology-based boosters following hospital discharge.     

Women’s Introduction to Alternative Sexual Behaviors through Erotica and Its Association with Sexual and Relationship Satisfaction

Women’s interests in bondage, discipline, dominance/submission, and sadism/masochism (BDSM) behaviors are one of the most poorly understood research topics, even though erotica novels—typically read by women—are increasingly including these activities. The present study explored potential links between women’s engagement in BDSM behaviors, consumption of erotica literature, relationship communication and satisfaction, and overall well-being using a multi-study approach. Results from three exploratory studies using multiple methodologies revealed a positive association between erotica, BDSM behaviors, and physical satisfaction, but brought attention to the relatively little information available for women who are interested in practicing alternative sexual behaviors. Practical suggestions for social scientists and mental health professionals are provided.     

Patient Perspectives on Medical Trauma Related to Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in response to medical trauma are understudied in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Two studies identify...     

The patient experience of medically unexplained symptoms: an existentialist analysis

This article explores the patient experience of medically unexplained symptoms (MUS) from an existentialist standpoint. Drawing on the work of Jean-Paul Sartre and Simone de Beauvoir, I explore their concepts of existential situation, existential project, authenticity, and praxis. I then analyze the situation of MUS patients in the current cultural and institutional context, elucidating that a lack of explanation for their symptoms puts MUS patients in an existential bind. I illustrate the effects of the experience of MUS on patients’ existential projects. Last, I develop an ethical response in the existentialist tradition from the perspective of patients, providers, and society at large. I argue that there is a collective responsibility to foster conditions more conducive to authentic patient well-being and to improve the experience of patients with medically unexplained symptoms.

     

The Contribution of Executive Function to Source Memory Development in Early Childhood

Age-related differences in episodic memory judgments assessing recall of fact information and the source of this information were examined. The role of executive function (EF) in supporting early episodic memory ability was also explored. Four- and 6-year-old children were taught 10 novel facts from two different sources (experimenter or puppet), and memory for both fact and source information was later tested. Measures of working memory, inhibitory control, and set shifting were obtained to produce an indicator of children's EF. Six-year-olds recalled more fact and source information than did 4-year-olds. Regression analyses revealed that age, language ability, and EF accounted for unique variance in children's fact recall and source recall performance. These findings suggest a link between episodic memory and EF, and we propose that developmental investigations should further explore this association.     

Women's Attitudes Toward Affirmative Action: Putting Actions in Context1

Although women typically favor affirmative action, they do exhibit a range of reactions to affirmative action programs. To understand the diversity of reactions, the present study proposed an examination of various forms of affirmative action in the context of the discrimination problem such actions were designed to address. In Study 1, 60 female university students were presented with one of six scenarios describing a situation of discrimination against women, followed by a series of potential affirmative action response options which participants rated in terms of their level of endorsement. Analyses of variance showed that, despite the range of discrimination scenarios, some of which presented extreme cases of discrimination against women, respondents consistently endorsed nondiscrimination measures, and opposed affirmative action strategies involving preferential treatment. Study 2, which preselected 43 women who valued social equality, replicated this finding and found that these results were not due to women not perceiving the presence of collective discrimination. Study 3 examined the attitudes of women in a law and security police training stream (n = 19), whose vulnerability to employment discrimination, both as a group and personally, would be salient. The women in this study endorsed all forms of affirmative action, including explicit preferential treatment in the hiring of women police officers. The implications of these results for the consideration and implementation of affirmative action programs are discussed.     

Social dominance‐based threat reactions to immigrants in need of assistance

The present investigation examined how individuals higher in social dominance orientation (SDO) react to experimentally induced intergroup threat in terms of support for helping immigrants. Participants read editorials describing an incoming immigrant outgroup posing realistic threats (to tangible resources and well‐being), symbolic threats (to values and traditions) or no threats. Participants higher in SDO exhibited greater resistance to helping immigrants upon exposure to realistic, symbolic, (Experiments 1 and 2), or combined realistic–symbolic (Experiment 2) intergroup threats, but not when the same immigrants posed no threats. In Experiment 2, SDO exerted indirect effects on modern prejudice through both heightened infra‐humanization and intergroup anxiety, with modern prejudice itself predicting greater resistance and indifference to helping immigrants. Moderated mediation analyses revealed strongest SDO‐infra‐humanization relations under conditions of symbolic threat. Implications for prejudice‐reduction interventions are considered. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Strain and Depression following Release from Prison: The Moderating Role of Social Support Mechanisms on Substance Use

ABSTRACT

Research on prison reentry shows that individuals with depression turn to substances to cope with the stress of reintegration. While social support drawn from families, peers, and institutions may help returning individuals avoid substance use, it is unclear how social support might condition the link between depression and substance use. Using longitudinal panel data from the Serious and Violent and Offender Reentry Initiative, results from mixed-models demonstrate that depression is significantly associated with increased substance use. Family support, but not peer support, is tied to lower use, and institutional support relates to decreased alcohol use but increased illicit drug use.     

Cultural and Cognitive Predictors of Academic Motivation Among Mexican American Adolescents: Caution Against Discounting the Impact of Cultural Processes

This study examined the role of cognitive (i.e., grit, hope, and academic skepticism) and cultural variables (i.e., generational status, familismo, ethnic identity, and bicultural stress) on academic motivation among 181 Mexican American adolescents. Results indicated that hope, grit, and familismo positively predicted academic motivation. Conversely, academic skepticism and bicultural stress negatively predicted academic motivation. This study demonstrates that culture is important to consider above and beyond cognitive variables. Implications for practice and research are discussed. Este estudio examinó la influencia que ejercen las variables cognitivas (determinación, esperanza y escepticismo académico) y culturales (estatus generacional, familismo, identidad étnica y estrés bicultural) sobre la motivación académica en 181 adolescentes mexicano‐americanos. Los resultados indicaron que la esperanza, la determinación y el familismo pronosticaron positivamente la motivación académica. Y a la inversa, el escepticismo académico y el estrés bicultural pronosticaron negativamente la motivación académica. Este estudio demuestra que es importante considerar la cultura además de las variables cognitivas. Se discuten las implicaciones para la práctica y la investigación.