Language and the bicultural dialectical self

We examined the effect of language priming on na?ve dialecticism, with special attention paid to effects on dialectical beliefs about the self. European Americans responding in English and bilingual Chinese responding in either Chinese or English completed several measures designed to tap dialectical thinking and dialectical self-perceptions, including tolerance of contradiction, change in thoughts and behavior over time and context, holistic beliefs, and self-concept inconsistency. As expected, those answering in Chinese reported greater dialecticism on most of these measures, relative to those responding in English. European American responses were highly similar to those of bilinguals responding in English. We discuss advantages of language priming and offer directions for future research.     

The minimal A-theory

Timothy Williamson thinks that every object is a necessary, eternal existent. In defense of his view, Williamson appeals primarily to considerations from modal and tense logic. While I am uncertain about his modal claims, I think there are good metaphysical reasons to believe permanentism: the principle that everything always exists. B-theorists of time and change have long denied that objects change with respect to unqualified existence. But aside from Williamson, nearly all A-theorists defend temporaryism: the principle that there are temporary existents. I think A-theorists are better off without this added commitment, but I will not argue for that in any great detail here. Instead, I will contend that a very tempting argument for temporaryism is unsound. In the first half of the paper, I will develop the Moorean ??common sense?? argument for temporaryism and dispute its central premise, namely that temporaryism is the best generalization from our ordinary beliefs about creation, destruction, coming to be, and passing away. I will argue that given the pervasive vagueness in our ordinary beliefs and the background commitments of all A-theories, temporaryists cannot claim to have the common sense view because no party can accommodate most of our common sense beliefs. In the second half of the paper, I will propose a permanentist A-theory that explains all change over time as a species of property change. I call it the minimal A-theory, since it dispenses with the change in existence assumption. As we??ll see, the permanentist alternative performs well enough in explaining our ordinary beliefs, and it has better prospects for answering three objections commonly levied against A-theories.     

Parenting Perfectionism and Parental Adjustment

The parental role is expected to be one of the most gratifying and rewarding roles in life. As expectations of parenting become ever higher, the implications of parenting perfectionism for parental adjustment warrant investigation. Using longitudinal data from 182 couples, this study examined the associations between societal- and self-oriented parenting perfectionism and new mothers’ and fathers’ parenting self-efficacy, stress, and satisfaction. For mothers, societal-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with lower parenting self-efficacy, but self-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with higher parenting satisfaction. For fathers, societal-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with higher parenting stress, whereas higher levels of self-oriented parenting perfectionism were associated with higher parenting self-efficacy, lower parenting stress, and greater parenting satisfaction. These findings support the distinction between societal- and self-oriented perfectionism, extend research on perfectionism to interpersonal adjustment in the parenting domain, and provide the first evidence for the potential consequences of holding excessively high standards for parenting.     

Profiles of Non-Suicidal Self-Injurers and Associated Patterns of Alcohol Use

This study used latent variable mixture modeling (LVMM) with a combined sample of undergraduates and internet users who endorsed non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI; N?=?440) to identify profiles of non-suicidal self-injurers. LVMM results revealed four distinct subtypes (“Experimental NSSI,” “Mild NSSI,” “Multiple Functions/Anxious,” and “Automatic Functions/Suicidal” groups) that were similar to those found in a prior study of undergraduates Klonsky and Olino (Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 76:22-27, 2008), with an additional fifth “Multi-method.” ANOCOVAs and logistic regressions showed the first four groups differed on aspects of psychopathology in a similar fashion to the previous study. Specifically, the Experimental and Mild NSSI groups had the lowest levels of psychopathology, and the AF/Suicidal group had higher levels of psychopathology than the first three groups except for anxiety, which was higher for the MF/Anxious group. The additional Multi-method group was found to have higher levels of psychopathology than all other groups, but not significantly different from the MF/Anxious group. With regard to alcohol use and drinking motives, the MF/Anxious group had the highest level of hazardous drinking and drinking motives related to coping with depression and anxiety, enhancement, and conformity. The other four groups were not differentiated from one another on any drinking variable. Findings suggest that NSSI may be better conceptualized as a heterogeneous syndrome in clinical and research settings, with one sub-group being more at-risk for hazardous alcohol use.     

Thoughts on Thinking: Engaging Novice Music Students in Metacognition

Achieving expertise in any area requires extensive practice and engagement with the subject one desires to master. As not all practice yields good progress, methods must be found that lead learners to practice effectively. Many experts employ highly tailored practice involving metacognitive processes, but novices rarely engage in frequent and explicit metacognitive strategies during practice. As a result, novice progress may be impeded through repetition of systematic errors and ineffective techniques. Our study provides evidence of the effectiveness of teaching metacognition to novice music students through weekly lessons. Thirty‐five adolescent students of six instructors were randomly assigned to metacognitive focus or existing practice teaching conditions. Students receiving metacognitive teaching achieved higher performance ratings when compared with students receiving control instruction, even though practice time did not vary between groups. These results suggest that having students explicitly verbalize and reflect on their learning process produces more efficient practice and greater end performance. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Practical guide for prescribing MAOIs: debunking myths and removing barriers

Despite the fact that monoamine oxidase inhibitors (MAOIs) can be highly effective therapeutic agents for depression and some anxiety disorders, they tend to be underutilized in clinical practice. This is due at least in part to the fact that there is a great deal of misinformation and mythology about their dietary and drug interactions. This article is intended to serve as a guide for clinicians who are not particularly familiar with MAO inhibitors; its aim is to help these clinicians competently integrate these agents into clinical practice when appropriate.     

An examination of the Clinical Impairment Assessment among women at high risk for eating disorder onset

Identifying measures that reliably and validly assess clinical impairment has important implications for eating disorder (ED) diagnosis and treatment. The current study examined the psychometric properties of the Clinical Impairment Assessment (CIA) in women at high risk for ED onset. Participants were 543 women (20.6 ± 2.0 years) who were classified into one of three ED categories: clinical ED, high risk for ED onset, and low risk control. Among high risk women, the CIA demonstrated high internal consistency (α = 0.93) and good convergent validity with disordered eating attitudes (rs = 0.27-0.68, ps < 0.001). Examination of the CIA's discriminant validity revealed that CIA global scores were highest among women with a clinical ED (17.7 ± 10.7) followed by high risk women (10.6 ± 8.5) and low risk controls (3.0 ± 3.3), respectively (p < 0.001). High risk women reporting behavioral indices of ED psychopathology (objective and/or subjective binge episodes, purging behaviors, driven exercise, and ED treatment history) had higher CIA global scores than those without such indices (ps < 0.05), suggesting good criterion validity. These data establish the first norms for the CIA in a United States sample. The CIA is psychometrically sound among high risk women, and heightened levels of impairment among these individuals as compared to low risk women verify the relevance of early intervention efforts.     

Advancing career counseling and employment support for survivors: an intervention evaluation

The purpose of this research was to conduct a replication-based and extension study examining the effectiveness of a 5-week career group counseling intervention, Advancing Career Counseling and Employment Support for Survivors (ACCESS; Chronister, 2008). The present study was conducted in a markedly different geographic region within a larger community as compared with the original investigation conducted by Chronister and McWhirter (2006). Women survivors of intimate partner violence (N = 73) participated in ACCESS, with career-search self-efficacy, perceived career barriers, perceived career supports, anxiety, and depression assessed at preintervention, postintervention, and 8-week follow-up. Women survivors demonstrated significant improvements in career-search self-efficacy and perceived career barriers at postintervention. Moreover, these same improvements were maintained at the 8-week follow-up assessment with the addition of significant improvements in perceived future financial supports, anxiety, and depression compared with preintervention scores. This work replicates the initial findings regarding the effectiveness of ACCESS with respect to career-search self-efficacy (Chronister & McWhirter, 2006) as well as extends the initial research to include improvements in perceived career barriers and perceived career supports. Moreover, the present study extends the work to include the mental health outcomes of anxiety and depression; results demonstrated improvements in these areas at 8-week follow-up. This investigation begins to fill a critical need for evaluated career-focused interventions for the underserved population of women survivors of intimate partner violence.     

Gender and racial/ethnic differences in body image development among college students

In the present study we used longitudinal methods to examine body image development during the early part of college. Students (N = 390; 54% female) who identified as African American (32%), Latino/a American (27%), and European American (41%) completed surveys during their first, second, and third semesters at college. There were overall gender and racial/ethnic differences in all three aspects of body image, and both stability and change in body image development. Female students’ appearance evaluation became more positive, whereas male students’ appearance evaluation showed no significant change. Individuals’ body areas satisfaction increased over time, but remained stable when controlling for BMI. Appearance orientation did not change, and there were no racial/ethnic differences in body image development. Experiences in the college environment may play a role in these trends.     

How Hispanic patients address ambiguous versus unambiguous bias in the doctor's office

Two studies examined Hispanic individuals' preferences for using ten different bias reduction strategies when interacting with a doctor whose beliefs about their group were either ambiguous or clearly biased. Consistent with predictions, participants who imagined interacting with a doctor whose beliefs were ambiguous preferred strategies that facilitate positive doctor–patient interactions, whereas participants whose doctor explicitly endorsed negative stereotypes about their group preferred strategies that address stereotype content. The results also revealed that, regardless of whether the doctor's beliefs were ambiguous or clearly biased, stigma consciousness predicted participants' preferences for using strategies that address stereotype content. These findings suggest that both doctors' behavior and individual‐level factors influence how minority individuals choose to behave in a healthcare setting.