Moving Beyond Anger and Depression: The Effects of Anxiety and Envy on Maladaptive Coping

According to general strain theory (GST), life stressors, or strains, lead to different types of negative emotions, some of which increase the likelihood of maladaptive coping. A considerable body of research testing GST focuses on anger and depression as manifestations of negative emotionality. Less research considers other types of negative emotions (e.g., anxiety and envy). The current study addresses this void in the literature through the use of surveys administered to a university-based sample. We also consider whether the effects of negative emotions vary by sex. The implications of our findings for theory, research, and mental health providers are discussed.     

Exploring the Relationship Between Religious Coping and Spirituality Among Three Types of Collegiate Substance Abuse

Religion and spirituality are protective factors against collegiate substance abuse; however, considering the variance among different types of drug abuse is important. We investigated religious coping and spirituality in relation to hazardous drinking, marijuana use, and psychostimulant use. Results indicated that positive religious coping and several dimensions of spirituality protect against hazardous drinking and marijuana use. Furthermore, differences in religious coping and spirituality may not exist between groups of psychostimulant users.     

Impaired face detection may explain some but not all cases of developmental prosopagnosia

Developmental prosopagnosia (DP) is defined by severe face recognition difficulties due to the failure to develop the visual mechanisms for processing faces. The two‐process theory of face recognition (Morton & Johnson, 1991) implies that DP could result from a failure of an innate face detection system; this failure could prevent an individual from then tuning higher‐level processes for face recognition (Johnson, 2005). Work with adults indicates that some individuals with DP have normal face detection whereas others are impaired. However, face detection has not been addressed in children with DP, even though their results may be especially informative because they have had less opportunity to develop strategies that could mask detection deficits. We tested the face detection abilities of seven children with DP. Four were impaired at face detection to some degree (i.e. abnormally slow, or failed to find faces) while the remaining three children had normal face detection. Hence, the cases with impaired detection are consistent with the two‐process account suggesting that DP could result from a failure of face detection. However, the cases with normal detection implicate a higher‐level origin. The dissociation between normal face detection and impaired identity perception also indicates that these abilities depend on different neurocognitive processes.     

Gender and mental health: An examination of procedural justice in a specialized court context

The procedural justice framework has been applied in the criminal justice contexts of policing, corrections, and courts. According to this perspective, fair treatment, respectful dialogue and being given a proper voice will contribute to citizens' positive views of authority figures. While this literature has grown immensely, several questions remain unanswered. Do males and females perceive similar levels of procedural justice? Does mental health status influence perceptions of fair treatment? Whether procedural justice is a general perspective that can be applied across social groupings has important implications for correctional treatment in that programs that truly “work” for all are more cost‐effective. Toward that end, the current study investigates the relationships among procedural justice perceptions, gender, and mental health status in specialized drug courts, a context that has received little empirical attention. We do so using secondary data originally collected between 2003 and 2009 for Rossman, Roman, Zweig, Rempel and Lindquist's Multisite Adult Drug Court Evaluation (MADCE). Results from a full‐sample analysis reveal that women report higher levels of procedural justice; that drug court participation significantly influences procedural justice perceptions; and that depressive symptomology is a significant predictor of procedural justice perceptions. In male‐ and female‐specific subsamples, drug court participation exerts similar effects for males and females, as does depressive symptomology. Implications for theory, research, and practice are discussed.     

The importance of narcissism in predicting proactive and reactive aggression in moderately to highly aggressive children

The present study examined the importance of psychopathy-linked narcissism in predicting proactive and reactive aggression and conduct problems in a group of 160 moderately to highly aggressive children (mean age of 10 years, 9 months). Children's self-report of self-esteem and parent and teacher report of dimensions of psychopathy [narcissism, callous-unemotional (CU) traits, and impulsivity], proactive and reactive aggression, and conduct problems were collected. Composites of parent and teacher ratings of children's behavior were used. Consistent with the study's hypotheses, narcissism predicted unique variance in both proactive and reactive aggression, even when controlling for other dimensions of psychopathy, demographic variables associated with narcissism, and the alternative subtype of aggression. As hypothesized, impulsivity was significantly associated with only reactive aggression. CU traits were not related to proactive or reactive aggression once the control variables were entered. All dimensions of psychopathy predicted unique variance in conduct problems. Consistent with prediction, narcissism was not significantly related to general self-esteem, providing support that narcissism and self-esteem are different constructs. Furthermore, narcissism and self-esteem related differentially to proactive aggression, reactive aggression, and conduct problems. Furthermore, narcissism but not self-esteem accounted for unique variance in aggression and conduct problems. The importance of narcissism in the prediction of aggressive behaviors and clinical implications are discussed.