Rethinking the Inoculation Analogy: Effects on Subjects With Differing Preexisting Attitudes

Inoculation messages employed in past studies have been consistently preventative. Yet, if inoculation strategies are to be used in mass media campaigns, researchers need to know what the effects will be on all audience members—not just those known to support a message sponsor’s position. A 3‐phase experiment was conducted involving 558 participants. Linear regression analyses identified that initially supportive, neutral, and opposed subjects exposed to the inoculation message reported significantly more positive attitudes toward the study topic of agricultural biotechnology following an attack message than did their respective controls. The inoculation message contributed to significantly increased threat levels among initially neutral and opposed subjects and marginally increased counterarguing output among initially supportive and neutral subjects. Additionally, counterarguing partially mediated final attitudes for inoculated supportive subjects.     

The influence of motives and goal orientation on feedback seeking

This study examined the relationships between feedback seeking, goal orientation, performance and four motives which, though generally considered to underlie the feedback seeking process, have not previously been measured comprehensively. Both the likelihood and the number of instances of feedback seeking were measured in two samples (employees and students) in association with perceived or selfassessed above- and below-average performance. Self-assessed performance was a major predictor of feedback seeking; also influential were goal orientation and the goal orientation-performance interaction. Increased feedback seeking was associated with the desire for useful information motive, and reduced feedback seeking with the ego defence and defensive impression management motives. The desire for useful information motive mediated the influence of performance-prove goal orientation for employees, and that of a learning goal orientation for students.     

Initial outcomes of an augmented competing stimulus assessment

Competing stimulus assessments (CSAs) are designed to identify stimuli that, when made freely available, reduce problem behavior. Although CSAs have demonstrated utility, identifying competing stimuli can be difficult for some individuals. The current study describes outcomes from an augmented CSA (A-CSA) for 6 consecutively encountered cases with treatment-resistant subtypes of automatically maintained problem behavior. When test stimuli were made freely available, only between 0 and 1 effective competing stimuli were identified for each case. Prompting and response blocking were temporarily employed in succession to promote engagement with stimuli and disrupt problem behavior. When those procedures were withdrawn and stimuli made freely available, the number of effective competing stimuli increased in all 6 cases. Findings suggest that procedures designed to promote engagement and disrupt problem behavior may allow the A-CSA to be a platform not only for identifying competing stimuli, but also for actively establishing competing stimuli.     

SEVERITY OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND REVICTIMIZATION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF COPING AND TRAUMA SYMPTOMS

Child sexual abuse (CSA) has consistently been associated with the use of avoidant coping; these coping methods have been associated with increased trauma symptoms, which have, in turn, been linked to increased risk for adult sexual revictimization. Given these previous findings, the purpose of the current study was to test a model that conceptualized the relationships among these variables. Specifically, CSA severity was conceptualized as leading to the use of avoidant coping, which was proposed to lead to maintenance of trauma symptoms, which would, in turn, impact severity of revictimization indirectly. This comprehensive model was tested in a cross-sectional study of a large, geographically diverse sample of college women. Participants were 99 female undergraduates classified as having experienced CSA who completed measures of abuse history, coping style, current levels of trauma symptoms, and adult sexual revictimization. Multivariate path analysis indicated that the data fit the hypothesized model for verbally coercive, but not physically aggressive, revictimization. Specifically, increased CSA severity was associated with the use of avoidant coping, which, in turn, predicted greater levels of trauma symptomatology and severity of sexual coercion in adulthood. Although cross-sectional in nature, findings from this study suggest that coping strategies and trauma symptoms may represent modifiable factors that place women at increased risk for verbally coercive sexual revictimization.     

THE STORIES WE TELL: THE LIVES AND FRIENDSHIP OF TWO OLDER BLACK LESBIANS

Research addressing the lives and friendships of older Black lesbians is virtually nonexistent. Using narrative analysis, we chronicle the lives of two older Black lesbians (73 and 85 years of age) through the lens of positive marginality. The concept of positive marginality asserts that living both inside and outside of the mainstream produces strengths rather than helplessness ( Mayo, 1982 ). We use four conceptual frames of reference to explore positive marginality: critical watching and reframing of life experiences on the margins, wise conversion of obstacles into opportunities, the subversion of social institutions, and the creation of safe spaces for people on the margin. From these two women's stories, we show how each, through lives of activism and seduction, created positive environments that defied traditional categories. We discuss how race, class, gender, sexual orientation, and aging affected their lives and how their friendship was an anchor for each. We offer their stories as a point of entry to future inquiry concerning older Black lesbians.     

AN EXPRESSIVE WRITING INTERVENTION TO COPE WITH LESBIAN-RELATED STRESS: THE MODERATING EFFECTS OF OPENNESS ABOUT SEXUAL ORIENTATION

Over the past two decades, expressive writing interventions have been used successfully to reduce distress and improve well-being for those dealing with traumatic events, stressors, and illnesses. The purpose of this study was to investigate an expressive writing intervention for lesbian-related stressors. As expected, writing about traumatic events related to sexual orientation reduced self-reported confusion and perceived stress over a 2-month period for those lesbians who were less open about their sexual orientation. Interestingly, writing about such traumatic experiences was associated with increases in confusion and perceived stress for those who were more open about their sexual orientation. Applying this paradigm to assist individuals in coping with stressors related to their sexual orientation represents an important addition to the expressive writing literature. Furthermore, it offers a promising, cost-effective method to assist closeted lesbians in coping with stressors related to their sexual orientation.