Discriminatory Experiences and Depressive Symptoms among African American Women: Do Skin Tone and Mastery Matter?

We apply structural equation modeling techniques to data from the National Survey of American Life to investigate the relationship between perceived discrimination and depressive symptoms among African American women ages 18-98 years (N=2,299). In addition, we evaluate whether or not personal mastery accounts for the intensity of African American women's psychological response to discrimination and whether or not exposure to discrimination varies by skin complexion. Findings reveal that discrimination is a major threat to African American women's mental health. They are vulnerable to discrimination, in part, because discrimination undermines their beliefs in mastery making them less psychologically resilient. Experiences of discrimination do not differ by complexion. We conclude that complexion does not matter, but mastery does.     

Understanding Adult Participant and Parent Empowerment Prior to Evaluation in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network

The burden of living with an undiagnosed condition is high and includes physical and emotional suffering, frustrations, and uncertainty. For patients and families experiencing these stressors, higher levels of empowerment may be associated with better outcomes. Thus, it is important to understand the experiences of patients with undiagnosed conditions and their families affected by undiagnosed conditions in order to identify strategies for fostering empowerment. In this study, we used the Genetic Counseling Outcome Scale (GCOS-24) to assess levels of empowerment and support group participation in 35 adult participants and 67 parents of child participants in the Undiagnosed Diseases Network (UDN) prior to their UDN in-person evaluation. Our results revealed significantly lower empowerment scores on the GCOS-24 in adult participants compared to parents of child participants [t(100)?=???3.01, p?=?0.003, average difference?=???11.12, 95% CI (??3.78, ??18.46)] and no significant association between support group participation and empowerment scores. The majority of participants (84.3%, 86/102) are not currently participating in any support groups, and participation rates were not significantly different for adult participants and parents of child participants (11.4 vs. 19.7%, respectively, FE p?=?0.40). Open-ended responses provided additional insight into support group participation, the challenges of living with undiagnosed conditions, and positive coping strategies. Future research will evaluate the extent to which empowerment scores change as participation in the UDN unfolds.     

Is There Any Socially Significant Psychological Difference in Being an Only Child?: The Evidence from Some Adult Behavior1

Current fertility patterns and expectations in many countries point to substantial future increases in the proportions of only children. While of undoubted social significance, demographically, will this development also be of social significance. psychologically? An answer was sought through analysis of voting records of members of the United States Congress relative to the number of their siblings: records pertaining to matters of genuine social significance and free of deficiencies characterizing data used in previous enquiries. The analysis clearly supported the null hypothesis that no socially significant behavioral differences exist between adult singletons and nonsingletons: or, as it happens, between those with but one sibling and those with two or more. If we are to become either concerned or pleased about an increase in the proportion of singletons in the population, it will apparently have to be on some grounds other than the existence of socially significant personality differences between such persons and the rest of the population.     

Reviewing Faculty Competency and Educational Outcomes: The Case of Doctor of Ministry Education

Abstract. This research report interprets data from a 1902 survey of directors of Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) programs regarding the competency of faculty members viewed through the interpretive lens of peer review. According to directors, faculty members are more competent in teaching theological reflection than in teaching social science methods, despite the expectation that such methods are part of D.Min. education. The article discusses implications of the data for improving faculty performance, and suggests how the concept of critical friendship might assist those who teach in religious studies to give and receive criticism from peers. The article concludes with suggestions for further research in D.Min. education.     

Church-based social interactions and psychotic experiences among Black Americans: findings from the National Survey of American Life

Religious attendance has generally been salutary for mental health, though recent evidence suggests that church attendance has no significant relation with psychotic experiences. This study will examine how various types of church-based social interactions might be related to psychotic experiences. We analysed data from the National Survey of American Life –a representative sample of Black Americans in the United States –and used multivariable logistic regression to examine associations between seven church-based social interaction variables and lifetime psychotic experiences. In separate models, church attendance, church member interaction, and closeness to church members were not significantly associated with psychotic experiences, while greater emotional support, negative social interactions, providing help to other church members and receiving help from fellow church members were associated with increased odds of reporting psychotic experiences. But in a fully adjusted model including all church-based social interaction variables, only negative church interactions and giving help to church members were significantly associated with psychotic experiences. Church-based social interactions did not protect against psychotic experiences, and in some cases increased risk. Future studies should explore why the deleterious aspects of social interactions prevail over the beneficial ones.     

Effectiveness of an empirically supported treatment for social phobia in the field

This study examined the effectiveness of individual exposure combined with cognitive restructuring for social phobia in a clinical setting as well as the influence of sample restriction criteria on the effect size. Participants were 217 unselected patients with a primary diagnosis of social phobia who were treated by 57 therapists in four outpatient clinics of the Christoph-Dornier-Foundation of Clinical Psychology in Germany. Results 6 weeks after the end of therapy showed highly significant reductions in social phobic fears and avoidance as well as in general anxiety and symptoms of depression. However, patients who dropped out during therapy reported a significantly higher degree of depression. Results did not differ between the four outpatient clinics and are comparable with the average effect-sizes reported by meta-analytic studies of controlled efficacy research, using selected patients. Also, restricting the sample according to the selection criteria often applied in research settings did not result in higher effect sizes for the applied outcome measures. We conclude that individual cognitive behavioural therapy for social phobia can be transported from research settings to the field of mental health.     

„Bluttaten“ und „schizophrene Politik“

Background

The role of printed media in the maintenance of stigmatization has been a subject of debate for several years now. As for stigmatization of schizophrenia, previous research has frequently focused on stereotypes in newspaper articles and the metaphoric use of the word “schizophrenic” for something contradictory, aloof or ridiculous.

Aim

The objective of this study was to quantify the frequency of stigmatizing articles with regard to the specific type of stigmatizing content in German broadsheets and tabloids.

Material and methods

A total of 391 articles extracted from the entirety of all issues of the Süddeutsche Zeitung, Spiegel, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung and the tabloid BILD from 2011 were content-analyzed for stereotypes, false statements and metaphoric use of schizophrenia.

Results

Stigmatizing elements were prevalent in each newspaper (40.4–66.7?%). Among broadsheets the metaphoric use constituted the predominant form of stigmatization, whereas depictions of persons with schizophrenia as dangerous and unpredictable prevailed in the tabloid BILD.

Conclusion

Metaphoric use and blatant discrimination are still highly prevalent in German newspapers. While metaphoric use may be stopped by renaming the disorder schizophrenia, further efforts are needed to raise awareness for and ultimately prevent the reification of stereotypes in printed media.     

Additional Responses to Hugh Heclo's On Thinking Institutionally

Issue 13:3 of this journal (July 2010) included a “Conversation” on Hugh Heclo's recent publication On Thinking Institutionally (Paradigm Publishers, 2008) with a book review by Robert Fennell and responses by Richard Ascough, Tat‐siong Benny Liew, Michael McLain, and Lynne Westfield. Here we publish two additional responses to this same book. In the first essay Timothy D. Lincoln draws lessons from the specific “small world” of religion departments and theological schools. In the second essay Robert C. Fennell reminds us that we have an always‐already‐invested status within institutions. We should therefore think from the inside of institutions, to help shape them to express our highest callings.     

Intraclass correlation associated with therapists: estimates and applications in planning psychotherapy research

It is essential that outcome research permit clear conclusions to be drawn about the efficacy of interventions. The common practice of nesting therapists within conditions can pose important methodological challenges that affect interpretation, particularly if the study is not powered to account for the nested design. An obstacle to the optimal design of these studies is the lack of data about the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), which measures the statistical dependencies introduced by nesting. To begin the development of a public database of ICC estimates, the authors investigated ICCs for a variety outcomes reported in 20 psychotherapy outcome studies. The magnitude of the 495 ICC estimates varied widely across measures and studies. The authors provide recommendations regarding how to select and aggregate ICC estimates for power calculations and show how researchers can use ICC estimates to choose the number of patients and therapists that will optimize power. Attention to these recommendations will strengthen the validity of inferences drawn from psychotherapy studies that nest therapists within conditions.