You’re Better Respected When You Carry Yourself as a Man: Black Men’s Personal Accounts of the Down Low “lifestyle”

Although the notion of a down low life style, called various things at various times, has a long history in the black community, the past few years have been marked by an exponential increase in attention of this phenomenon in both the mainstream press and scholarly work. However, much of this work has focused on exploring whether men on the down low present a unique threat for HIV infection to black women. Currently, there exist very few scholarly works exploring the lives of black men who have sex with men and women that specifically address their own experiences living on the down low or how these men personally define what it means to be on the down low. In this article, we explore why black men who have sex with men and black men who have sex with men and women, including those who self-identify as gay, bisexual or as being on the down low, come to use the down low label and what it means to them to be on the down low.     

Parasocial Relationships with Media Personae: Why They Matter and How They Differ Among Heterosexual,Lesbian, Gay,and Bisexual Adolescents

Parasocial relationships are social bonds audiences develop with media personae. Parasocial relationships may be particularly meaningful for those who experience obstacles developing real-life social bonds. The objective of this study was to examine parasocial relationships among a relationally vulnerable population by surveying lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents (n = 106). Heterosexual adolescents (n = 321) were surveyed for comparison purposes. Results suggest that LGB adolescents have more other-gender favorite media personae than heterosexual male adolescents. LGB adolescents were more likely to select LGB media personae as their favorites, particularly if they lacked real-life LGB friends. Repeated media exposure, perceived similarity, and attraction were positively correlated with parasocial relationship strength for all adolescents, but loneliness contributed to parasocial relationship strength for LGB adolescents only. LGB adolescents were more likely to report their favorite media personae as important sources of information on a range of issues related to socialization. Though previous research suggests that parasocial relationships supplement real-life social relationships, parasocial relationships may be compensatory for LGB adolescents attempting to fill a relational void left by the absence of real-life LGB peers. Scholars must better dissect parasocial relationships with media characters when considering media’s influence on special populations like LGB adolescents.     

Engagement in community activities and trust in local leaders as concomitants of psychological distress among Israeli civilians exposed to prolonged rocket attacks

Background and objectives: Present study, conducted in the aftermath of the 2014 Israel–Gaza conflict, investigated psychological toll of exposure to rockets attacks in a sample of residents of central and southern Israel. Analyses focused on the distress-protective functions of collectively grounded resources: engagement in community activities and trust in local leadership.

Design: This cross-sectional study was conducted between 2 and 3 months after the hostilities.

Method: Participants (N?=?764) were recruited by an online survey company that distributed a questionnaire assessing, in addition to focal predictors, sociodemographic factors and prior exposure to trauma. The outcome variables were post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and nonspecific distress symptoms.

Results: Conservative regression analyses revealed that greater exposure to rocket attacks was predictive of higher levels of posttraumatic stress symptoms. Higher engagement in community activities exhibited a partial trauma-buffering function. However, higher levels of trust in local leaders appeared to exacerbate, rather than diminish, negative impact of rocket exposure on PTSD. Symptoms of psychological distress were not influenced neither by trauma exposure nor by stressor interactions with resources. Trust in local leadership exerted a beneficial main effect on distress.

Conclusions: Collectively based resources are important for coping in times of community-wide stressors, yet their role is complex.     

The Mediating Role of Self-Discrepancies in the Relationship Between Media Exposure and Well-Being Among Lesbian,Gay, and Bisexual Adolescents

Extant research suggests that exposure to depictions of sexuality in the media may influence the well-being of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) adolescents. Far less is known about the underlying processes that may explain this relationship. Self-discrepancy theory was utilized to predict that relationships between media exposure and well-being among LGB adolescents would be mediated by self-discrepancies in identity. A national survey of 573 LGB adolescents revealed that exposure to gay- and lesbian-oriented media was positively related to the well-being of LGB teens. The relationship between gay- and lesbian-oriented media exposure and well-being was mediated by self-discrepancies in identity for LGB adolescents low in sexual identity commitment. This finding suggests that increased exposure to gay- and lesbian-oriented media could decrease uncommitted LGB teens' perceived differences between their actual selves and their ideal selves, which, in turn, could increase their well-being. A positive relationship between mainstream media exposure and well-being was not mediated by self-discrepancies. The discussion focuses on the role of media in the identity development and sexual socialization of LGB adolescents.     

Mediational role of parenting styles in emotional intelligence of parents and aggression among adolescents

The present study was designed to examine the relationship between parents' emotional intelligence and adolescents' aggression, through the mediation of parenting styles. Two hundred and twenty five undergraduate students (113 boys & 112 girls; age 17–18 years), from four universities in Pakistan, participated with their parents. The Parenting Styles and Dimensions Questionnaire (Robinson, Mandleco, Olsen, & Hart, 1995), and the Scale of Emotional Intelligence (Batool & Khalid, 2011) were completed by parents. The Aggression Questionnaire (Buss & Perry, 1992) was completed by their adolescent offspring. Mediational path analysis supported our hypothesised model. Results indicate that emotional intelligence of parents indirectly links to aggression among offspring, through parenting styles. It was concluded that emotional intelligence training will help parents to improve their parenting styles, and it will lower the risk of aggression in their children.     

Middle childhood and adolescent contextual and personal predictors of adult educational and occupational outcomes: a mediational model in two countries

The authors examined the prediction of occupational attainment by age 40 from contextual and personal variables assessed during childhood and adolescence in 2 participant samples: (a) the Columbia County Longitudinal Study, a study of 856 third graders in a semirural county in New York State that began in 1960, and (b) the Jyv?skyl? Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development, a study of 369 eight-year-olds in Jyv?skyl?, Finland, that began in 1968. Both samples were followed up during adolescence and early and middle adulthood. Structural modeling analyses revealed that in both countries, for both genders, children's age 8 cognitive-academic functioning and their parents' occupational status had independent positive long-term effects on the children's adult occupational attainment, even after other childhood and adolescent personal variables were controlled for. Further, childhood and adolescent aggressive behavior negatively affected educational status in early adulthood, which in turn predicted lower occupational status in middle adulthood.