“Drive On”: The Relationship Between Psychological Variables and Effective Squad Leadership

The U.S. Reserve Officer Training Program (ROTC) conducts systematic assessments of cadets’ leadership abilities during field training exercises (FTX) to assess their leadership abilities. While cadets in ROTC programs learn specific tactical operation procedures to augment FTX performances, much less is known about the relationship between psychological variables and squad leadership performance. To this end, 220 cadets completed self-efficacy, psychological flexibility, and grit questionnaires, which were then compared to FTX performance scores. Results underscored that only self-efficacy was significantly related to cadets’ squad leadership ability. Furthermore, prior service in the U.S. Army had no effect on the performance score one attained, highlighting an interesting paradox. Therefore, while self-efficacy can be cultivated through prior experiences, it seems more prudent to educate ROTC cadets on how to apply psychological skills to bolster self-efficacy in preparation for upcoming challenging leadership experiences.     

A Comparison of the Cross-Sectional and Sequential Designs when Assessing Longitudinal Mediation

Mediational studies are often of interest in psychology because they explore the underlying relationship between 2 constructs. Previous research has shown that cross-sectional designs are prone to biased estimates of longitudinal mediation parameters. The sequential design has become a popular alternative to the cross-sectional design for assessing mediation. This design is a compromise between the cross-sectional and longitudinal designs because it incorporates time in the model but has only 1 measurement each of X, M, and Y. As such, this design follows the recommendation of the MacArthur group approach, which stresses the importance of multiple waves of data for studying mediation. These 2 designs were compared to see whether the sequential design assesses longitudinal mediation more accurately than the cross-sectional design. Specifically, analytic expressions are derived for the bias of estimated direct and indirect effects as calculated from the sequential design when the actual mediational process follows a longitudinal autoregressive model. It was found that, in general, the sequential design does not assess longitudinal mediation more accurately than the cross-sectional design. As a result, neither design can be depended on to assess longitudinal mediation accurately.     

Stress-Induced Drinking in Parents of Boys with Attention-Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder: Heterogeneous Groups in an Experimental Study of Adult-Child Interactions

Research on whether parents of children with externalizing disorders are at elevated risk for alcohol problems is equivocal. To reduce this ambiguity, we examined how individual differences in stress reactivity might moderate the drinking behavior of such parents. Parents (119 mothers, 44 fathers) of ADHD sons interacted with different child confederates during each of two counter-balanced sessions. In one, the confederate portrayed a friendly, cooperative, “normal” boy; in the other, the confederate portrayed a “deviant” boy who exhibited behavior characteristic of externalizing disorders. Following each interaction, parents were given an opportunity for ad lib consumption of alcohol while anticipating a second interaction. Latent class analysis identified three subgroups of parents using distress scores and alcohol consumption: minimal stress reactivity; reacts to child deviance with increased distress, but not increased drinking; marked stress-induced drinking. Decisions about the nature and proper treatment of parents raising children with ADHD may be compromised by failure to attend to individual differences in stress reactivity and inclinations to use drinking to cope.     

Marked Difference: Tattooing and its Association with Deviance in the United States

Despite historical associations with deviance and marginality, tattooing is practiced by a diverse population in the United States today, leading some to argue that it has grown beyond its negative associations. Drawing on a nationally representative data set (n = 500) comprised of both tattooed and non-tattooed respondents, this analysis examines the social characteristics of those who are tattooed and the associations of tattooing with deviant behavior. Findings indicate that while tattooing has developed a broad demographic appeal, there remain some strong associations with deviance, particularly criminality. Specifically, highly visible placement of tattoos appears to be most strongly associated with deviant behaviors.     

Race and Girls’ Self-Evaluations: How Mothering Matters

Research conducted in the United States shows that Black adolescent girls have higher self-esteem and, to a lesser extent, a higher sense of control than White girls. However, few studies conducted with representative samples of Black and White girls systematically examine why Black girls may have higher self-esteem and sense of control. Drawing on Black feminist thought, we posit that Black mothers’ socialization of their daughters may explain Black girls’ higher self-esteem and sense of control. Using survey data collected in 1994 from a nationally representative sample of U.S. Black (N?=?1,330) and White (N?=?3,797) girls and their mothers, we examine racial differences across two key components of the self-concept: self-esteem and sense of control. We ask: 1) Do Black girls have higher self-esteem and sense of control than White girls? 2) Do Black girls have more positive relationships with their mothers and receive more encouragement of academic achievement and independence from their mothers than White girls? and 3) Do more positive mother-daughter relationships and mothers’ encouragement help to explain Black girls’ higher self-esteem and sense of control in comparison to White girls? Findings indicate that Black girls have higher self-esteem and sense of control than White girls, and Black mothers’ relationship with their daughters and stronger encouragement of daughters’ independence in part explain race differences in self-evaluations.     

Preliminary Psychometric Evidence for Distinct Affective and Cognitive Mechanisms Mediating Contamination Aversion

Contamination aversion is implicated in a range of psychological disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and health anxiety. Despite broad implications, the core mechanisms mediating contamination aversion are mixed and have not clearly been elucidated. The present studies are psychometric investigations of the components of contamination aversion and tests of the different mechanisms that mediate the severity of these components. In Study 1, items from existing measures of contamination aversion were compiled into one measure and administered to a large sample of nonclinical participants (N?=?1,286). Exploratory factor analyses demonstrated a two-factor structure, with one factor comprised of items related to intrinsically (direct) contaminated objects and the other factor comprised of items related to extrinsically (indirect) contaminated objects. In Study 2, items were added and confirmatory factor analyses supported a two-factor model in another large nonclinical sample (N?=?612). In Study 3 (N?=?471), structural modeling demonstrated distinct relations between the two factors and affective and cognitive constructs. Affective constructs related more to aversions toward more directly contaminated objects and situations while cognitive constructs related more to aversions toward more indirectly contaminated objects and situations. The present studies help clarify and articulate the unique roles of cognition and affect in specific contamination aversions, and, as such, have important implications for conceptual modeling of contamination-related psychopathology.     

The Assessment and Treatment of Post-Abortion Syndrome: A Systematic Case Study From Southern Africa

This article reports a clinical case study of “Grace”, a black Zimbabwean woman with post-abortion syndrome (PAS), a form of post-traumatic stress disorder precipitated by aborting an unwanted pregnancy. She was treated by a middle class white South African trainee Clinical Psychologist. The case narrative documents the assessment and the course of treatment which was guided by ongoing case formulation based on current evidence-based models. Factors that made her vulnerable to developing PTSD included active suppression of the memory of the event and lack of social support. An understanding of these factors was used to guide an effective intervention. In spite of the differences in culture and background between client and therapist, there was considerable commonality in their experience as young women and students who each had to balance personal and occupational priorities. The narrative also highlights the commonalities of Grace's experiences with those reported in the literature on post-abortion syndrome, which is mostly from the U. S. A. and Europe.     

Young Children's Memory for the Times of Personal Past Events

Remembering the temporal information associated with personal past events is critical for autobiographical memory, yet we know relatively little about the development of this capacity. In the present research, we investigated temporal memory for naturally occurring personal events in 4-, 6-, and 8-year-old children. Parents recorded unique events in which their children participated during a 4-month period. At test, children made relative recency judgments and estimated the time of each event using conventional time scales (time of day, day of week, month of year, and season). Children also were asked to provide justifications for their time-scale judgments. Six- and 8-year-olds, but not 4-year-olds, accurately judged the order of two distinct events. There were age-related improvements in children's estimation of the time of events using conventional time scales. Older children provided more justifications for their time-scale judgments compared with younger children. Relations between correct responding on the time-scale judgments and provision of meaningful justifications suggest that children may use that information to reconstruct the times associated with past events. The findings can be used to chart a developmental trajectory of performance in temporal memory for personal past events and have implications for our understanding of autobiographical memory development.     

The Role of Contextual Threat in Predicting Self-Reported Distress among Siblings of Children with Cancer

Each year, 14,000 children are diagnosed with cancer in the United States. Prolonged, intensive treatment regimens disrupt the entire family system, but effects on siblings are poorly understood. In this preliminary investigation, we employed a risk and resistance framework to study adjustment among 30 siblings (aged 10–17) of children undergoing cancer treatment. We examined whether or not objective stress associated with the cancer experience (contextual threat) predicted sibling distress and explored demographic and disease-related predictors of sibling adjustment. Contextual threat was positively associated with sibling-reported distress, independent of sibling age, gender, birth order relative to the child with cancer, and cancer treatment intensity. From among the demographic and disease-related factors, only younger birth order relative to the child with cancer was independently associated with sibling distress. These results suggest that a subset of siblings may be at increased risk for elevated distress in the face of their brother’s or sister’s illness.     

Improving memory after environmental context change: A strategy of “preinstatement”

A change in environmental context between study and test can produce detrimental effects on memory. For instance, when a change in the environment occurs after an event, memory for the event declines. However, the negative effects of context change can be eliminated when participants are provided with contextual cues. Here, we report that, as predicted by the Lehman–Malmberg model (Lehman & Malmberg Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition 35(4):970, 2009, Psychological Review, 2012), participants can overcome a change in the environment by recalling the future test environment while studying, a strategy referred to as preinstatement.