Does body satisfaction differ between gay men and lesbian women and heterosexual men and women? A meta-analytic review

Studies investigating body image satisfaction among groups of different sexual orientations (i.e., gay men, lesbian women, and heterosexual men and women) have produced equivocal findings. To synthesise the available research, 27 studies (20 published and 7 unpublished) were meta-analysed (N=5220). Comparisons between heterosexual (n=1397) and gay men (n=984) produced a small effect size, with the former being slightly more satisfied with their bodies. An even smaller difference was observed for studies comparing heterosexual (n=1391) and lesbian women (n=1448), with greater levels of body satisfaction being evidenced by the latter group. Tests of homogeneity for each effect size were found to be highly significant. In an attempt to identify variables that may be responsible for the observed heterogeneity, the following categorical factors were assessed: the measures used to evaluate body satisfaction, date of study (1980s versus 1990s+), publication status (published or unpublished), and body weight. The results of this exploratory search for potential moderator variables as well as limitations of the current meta-analysis are discussed.     

Relationships between ability and personality:does intelligence contribute positively to personal and social adjustment?

Intelligence/personality associations were studied in four large datasets. Correlations between general ability (g) and major personality traits were generally consistent with previous findings. For other traits, an interpretation of the correlation patterning is that traits classifiable as adaptive in terms of personal and social adjustment have positive correlations with g, whilst maladaptive traits have negative correlations. Regression modelling confirmed these associations and structural equation modelling of selected traits showed that Neuroticism acts as a mediator of g on the outcome. Non-linear relationships between intelligence and personality were not found. In two of the datasets the correlation between Neuroticism and Psychoticism decreased with ability level, and the correlation between fluid and crystallised ability increased with level of Neuroticism.     

Predictors of Satisfaction Among College-Educated African American Women in Midlife

There has been little theorizing or empirical research on satisfaction among African American women at midlife. This study addresses this gap by examining predictors of satisfaction in 3 cohorts (N = 202) of midlife college-educated African American women. Specifically, 3 domains of satisfaction were examined: overall life satisfaction, personal satisfaction, and work satisfaction. Results revealed that the women were highly satisfied with their work situation, their personal life, and generally with how their life had turned out so far. Overall life satisfaction was predicted by the women's perceptions of personal control, role quality, household burden, and their cohort status. Work satisfaction was best predicted by the women's sense of personal control and role quality. Lastly, household burden and physical well-being emerged as significant predictors of personal satisfaction. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are offered.     

Understanding families as systems

In this article, we discuss recent research that has arisen from theoretical and conceptual models that use a systems metaphor for understanding families. We suggest that research stimulated by such models leads social scientists in new and important directions in understanding the social and emotional development of children in their families. These models view development as resulting from the dynamic transactions across multiple levels of family systems, which regulate a child's behavior. Thus, these models are important in considering multiple influences on development and adaptation.     

Keeping adolescents safe from harm: management strategies of African-American families in a high-risk community

In this study, we investigated changes in parents' use of restrictive and promotive management strategies from early to middle adolescence. We also examined the antecedents of these changes and their effects on adolescents' achievement and mental health. Longitudinal data included 50 African American adolescents and their parents living in a low-income school district. There were three major findings. First, parents, on average, used less restrictive and promotive management strategies from early to middle adolescence. Second, parents who experienced increased depressive symptoms reported using more restrictive management strategies from early to middle adolescence. Third, adolescents whose parents increased their use of restrictive management strategies experienced more anger and lower grade point averages, whereas adolescents whose parents increased their use of promotive management strategies experienced less anger, higher grade point averages, and less absences from early to middle adolescence. These findings suggest that increasing parents' use of promotive rather than restrictive management strategies may be more beneficial in supporting the academic achievement and mental health of adolescents living in high-risk neighborhoods.     

GENDER-RELATED DISCOURSES AS MEDIATORS IN THE ASSOCIATION BETWEEN INTERNALIZATION OF THE THIN-BODY IDEAL AND INDICANTS OF BODY DISSATISFACTION AND DISORDERED EATING

This study examined whether the gender-related discourses of self-objectification, self-silencing, and anger suppression mediated the association between internalization of the thin-body ideal and body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. We employed a cross-sectional design to study both university ( n  = 140) and community ( n  = 76) samples of women from Ireland ranging from 17 to 30 years of age ( M  = 21.48,  SD  = 3.05). Structural equation modeling was used to test for mediation, with the final model suggesting that gender-related discourses (silencing the self/anger suppression and body surveillance) mediated the association between thin-body ideal internalization and attitudes and behaviors characteristic of disordered eating. Limitations of the current study and directions for future research are highlighted.     

Myth,Memory, and Meaning: Understanding and Treating Adolescents Experiencing Forced Migration

ABSTRACT

Refugee adolescents present a unique challenge to treatment. In their desire to be part of their new country, they often split off the formative years of their development. This includes both the person that they were in the past, their relations with peers and what made them “cool,” along with the officially documented political story that brought them asylum. This can lead them to feel disconnected and disoriented, but also as though their world is in fact built on lies.

They often come to treatment following enactments that make them appear tough, hardened and hard to reach, and which continue in the consulting room. When they are met with an official “trauma” narrative that explains their experience in political and psycho-educational terms they often find the experience alienating. They need to connect the world that they left, the world that live in now, and their own private experiences of love and hate in order to form an integrated identity.

This discussion explores aspects of the refugee narrative of psychoanalysis to help to illuminate the tasks necessary to co-create a meaningful narrative with refugee adolescent patients. It suggests ways to connect to the refugee experience and hear the young patients as they move between the political and the personal, the official and the familial, to understand themselves and return to the developmental task of creating an adult identity.     

Do details bug you? Effects of perceptual richness in learning about biological change

People often have difficulty in understanding processes of biological change, and they typically reject drastic life cycle changes such as metamorphosis, except for animals with which they are familiar. Even after a lesson about metamorphosis, people often do not generalize to animals not seen during the lesson. This might be partially due to the perceptual richness of the diagrams typically used during lessons on metamorphosis, which serves to emphasize the individual animal rather than a class of animals. In two studies, we examined whether the perceptual richness of a diagram influences adults' learning and transfer of knowledge about metamorphosis. One study was conducted in a laboratory setting, and the other was online. In both studies, adults who saw the bland diagram during the lesson accurately transferred more than adults who saw the rich diagram during the lesson.