The Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale (URCS): reliability and validity evidence for a new measure of relationship closeness

A fundamental dimension along which all social and personal relationships vary is closeness. The Unidimensional Relationship Closeness Scale (URCS) is a 12-item self-report scale measuring the closeness of social and personal relationships. The reliability and validity of the URCS were assessed with college dating couples (N = 192), female friends and strangers (N = 330), friends (N = 170), and family members (N = 155). The results show that the scale is unidimensional, with high reliability across relationship types (M α = .96). Evidence consistent with validity included substantial within-couple agreement for the romantic couples (intraclass correlation = .41), substantial friend-stranger discrimination for the female friends (η2 = .82), and measurement invariance across relationship types. Evidence of convergent and divergent validity was obtained for inclusion of other in the self and relational satisfaction, respectively.     

Cognitive,Affective, and Behavioral Responses to Ingroup’s Devalued Social Status: a Field Study at a Public University

In this study based on an actual event, we examined how group members cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally respond to devaluation of ingroup’s social status. Integrating predictions from Social Identity Theory (SIT; Tajfel and Turner 1986) and Intergroup Emotions Theory (IET; Smith et al. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 93(3), 431–446 (2007)), we explored how appraisals about ingroup’s perceived decrease in status (i.e., stability and legitimacy of status change and permeability of group boundaries) are associated with discrete group-level emotions (e.g., anger, shame), and how those emotions in turn predict different coping strategies Blanz et al. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28(5), 697–729 (1998). Analyses of the results showed that: First, preference for each coping strategy varied according to appraisals of ingroup status, and the patterns were largely consistent with what SIT predicts. Second, different group-level emotions were reported according to appraisals of ingroup status. Third, inclusion of group-level emotions as mediators of associations between ingroup status appraisals and coping strategies significantly increased the explanatory power of the path models. In sum, this study demonstrated how the two theories on intergroup relations can be used together to offer a more detailed account of group identity management. For future direction, experimental or longitudinal designs as well as cross-cultural comparisons were suggested.     

Depression Moderates the Relationship between Body Image and Health-Related Quality of Life in Adolescent Girls

Body image can predict health-related quality of life (HRQoL) in adolescent girls through self-esteem and psychological well-being. Additionally, depression is a significant predictor of adolescents’ HRQoL and is associated with body image. Therefore, we investigated whether the relationship between body image and HRQoL in adolescent girls is moderated by depression. In this cross-sectional study, adolescent girls’ body image, depression, and HRQoL (n?=?385, age: 12–15 years) were measured through self-report questionnaires. Multiple regression and simple slope analyses were conducted to examine the moderating effect of depression. Body image was positively correlated with HRQoL, whereas depression was negatively correlated with body image and HRQoL. Body image, depression, and their interaction explained 44.9% of the variance in HRQoL. Simple slope analysis showed that a more positive body image was associated with higher HRQoL among adolescent girls without depressive symptoms, but was not significantly related to HRQoL for adolescents with depressive symptoms. The moderating effect of depression was confirmed. In conclusion, screening for depression is recommended for adolescent girls prior to implementing body image interventions in schools and the community that are aimed at improving HRQoL. Furthermore, health care providers in schools and the community should provide psychological support for depression along with body image interventions to improve the HRQoL of girls in schools and the community. In particular, for girls with depressive symptoms, depression management should be conducted beforehand.     

Individual differences in online spoken word recognition: Implications for SLI

Thirty years of research has uncovered the broad principles that characterize spoken word processing across listeners. However, there have been few systematic investigations of individual differences. Such an investigation could help refine models of word recognition by indicating which processing parameters are likely to vary, and could also have important implications for work on language impairment. The present study begins to fill this gap by relating individual differences in overall language ability to variation in online word recognition processes. Using the visual world paradigm, we evaluated online spoken word recognition in adolescents who varied in both basic language abilities and non-verbal cognitive abilities. Eye movements to target, cohort and rhyme objects were monitored during spoken word recognition, as an index of lexical activation. Adolescents with poor language skills showed fewer looks to the target and more fixations to the cohort and rhyme competitors. These results were compared to a number of variants of the TRACE model (McClelland & Elman, 1986) that were constructed to test a range of theoretical approaches to language impairment: impairments at sensory and phonological levels; vocabulary size, and generalized slowing. None of the existing approaches were strongly supported, and variation in lexical decay offered the best fit. Thus, basic word recognition processes like lexical decay may offer a new way to characterize processing differences in language impairment.     

Relational Spirituality,Mature Alterity,and Spiritual Service among Ministry Leaders: An Empirical Study

Christian communities in the United States increasingly are debating sociopolitical issues and the relevance of social justice and cultural diversity to Christian spirituality. The present study investigated connections between spiritual maturity, mature alterity, spiritual service, and spiritual leadership in a predominantly female and ethnically diverse sample of Christian ministry leaders (N = 115) in the United States. Spiritual maturity was operationalized based on a relational spirituality model using measures representing dwelling- and seeking-oriented dimensions. Spiritual service was assessed through (a) sanctification of service and (b) a differentiated posture of listening to the struggles of others. Results showed both measures of spiritual maturity were significantly and positively related to social justice commitment, differentiated listing, and intercultural competence (the latter among female but not male ministry leaders) over and above effects for age and spiritual impression management. A dwelling-oriented measure of spiritual maturity was positively associated with the sanctification of leadership service, whereas a seeking-oriented measure of spiritual maturity showed a modest positive association with spiritual leadership. Spiritual leadership was unrelated to measures of mature alterity. Findings are discussed with respect to limitations, future psychological research, and theological implications for postcolonial pastoral leadership and spirituality.