Power and Psychological Well-Being in Late Adolescent Romantic Relationships

Using Olsen and Cromwell's (1975) three facetsof interpersonal power (power in resources, process, andoutcomes), we examined the balance of power in lateadolescent romantic relationships and the associations between interpersonal power, adolescents'self-esteem, and depression. Participants were 61adolescent couples who were primarily European-American(90% of girls and 93% of boys), with the remainder being comprised of approximately 2-3% each of NativeAmerican, Asian, African American, and Hispanicindividuals. We assessed power in terms of access toemotional resources, control during video-tapedinteraction, and control over decision-making. Overall,couples were more likely to be described by themselvesand by independent observers as egalitarian, with themajority of couples equally contributing emotional resources, sharing power in interaction, andsharing decision-making responsibility. However,romantic relationships characterized by inequality inthe contribution of emotional resources and indecisionmaking were associated with greater psychologicalsymptomatology, especially for females.     

The role of semantically related distractors during encoding and retrieval of words in long-term memory

We examined the influence of divided attention (DA) on recognition of words when the concurrent task was semantically related or unrelated to the to-be-recognised target words. Participants were asked to either study or retrieve a target list of semantically related words while simultaneously making semantic decisions (i.e., size judgements) to another set of related or unrelated words heard concurrently. We manipulated semantic relatedness of distractor to target words, and whether DA occurred during the encoding or retrieval phase of memory. Recognition accuracy was significantly diminished relative to full attention, following DA conditions at encoding, regardless of relatedness of distractors to study words. However, response times (RTs) were slower with related compared to unrelated distractors. Similarly, under DA at retrieval, recognition RTs were slower when distractors were semantically related than unrelated to target words. Unlike the effect from DA at encoding, recognition accuracy was worse under DA at retrieval when the distractors were related compared to unrelated to the target words. Results suggest that availability of general attentional resources is critical for successful encoding, whereas successful retrieval is particularly reliant on access to a semantic code, making it sensitive to related distractors under DA conditions.     

Beyond the Belmont Principles: A Community‐Based Approach to Developing an Indigenous Ethics Model and Curriculum for Training Health Researchers Working with American Indian and Alaska Native Communities

Individuals responsible for carrying out research within their diverse communities experience a critical need for research ethics training materials that align with community values. To improve the capacity to meet local human subject protections, we created the research Ethics Training for Health in Indigenous Communities (rETHICS), a training curriculum aligned within American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) context, culture, and community‐level ethical values and principles. Beginning with the Belmont Report and the Common Rule that defines research with human subjects (46 CFR 45), the authors convened three different expert panels (N = 37) to identify Indigenous research values and principles common across tribal communities. The resulting culturally grounded curriculum was then tested with 48 AI/AN individuals, 39 who also had recorded debriefing interviews. Using a thematic analysis, we coded the qualitative feedback from the expert panel discussions and the participant debriefings to assess content validity. Participants identified five foundational constructs needed to ensure cultural‐grounding of the AI/AN‐specific research training curriculum. These included ensuring that the module was: (a) framed within an AI/AN historical context; (b) reflected Indigenous moral values; (c) specifically linked AI/AN cultural considerations to ethical procedures; (d) contributed to a growing Indigenous ethics; and (e) provided Indigenous‐based ethics tools for decision making. Using community‐based consultation and feedback from participants led to a culturally grounded training curriculum that teaches research ethical principles and procedures for conducting research with AI/ANs. The curriculum is available for free and the community‐based process used can be adapted for other cultural groups.     

Use of the MMPI-2 With Chicanos: Strategies for Counselors

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory–2 (MMPI-2) is frequently used by professional counselors to assess Chicano or Mexican American clients in various mental health settings. It is important to understand how ethnic and sociocultural variables (e.g., ethnic identity, acculturation, or racism) may influence the assessment process. This article presents strategies for the culturally competent use of the MMPI-2 with this burgeoning Hispanic subpopulation.     

Relationship between Psychological Needs and the Five-Factor Model of Personality Classification

The relationship between psychological needs, operationalized by the Adjective Check List (ACL), and the Five-Factor model of personality classification, operationalized by the NEO-PI-R, was evaluated in 147 (101 women and 46 men) psychology graduate students. We found presence of the Five Factors in the ACL in that 30 of 37 ACL scales correlated greater than 40 with at least one of the NEO-PI-R factors. This replicates and extends previous findings and is further evidence of construct validity of the five-factor model, as it pertains to personality classification.     

An experimental study of the relationship between thoughts and eating behaviour in bulimia nervosa

This study tested the hypothesis that cognitive disturbance has a causal role in the maintenance of disturbed eating in bulimia nervosa. Thoughts about eating, weight and shape were activated in one group of patients with bulimia nervosa (the experimental group) but not in another (the control group). There was an increase in negative self-statements in the experimental group following the experimental manipulation. Food consumption was then measured in a taste test. As predicted, the experimental group ate less in the short term than the control group. Contrary to expectations, they did not subsequently report more objective bulimic episodes as a consequence of this decreased food intake. They did, however, report significantly fewer subjective bulimic episodes.     

Health-related behaviours and their correlates in a general population sample of 45-year old women

Abstract

Preventive strategies for menopausal women to reduce the risks for osteoporosis and cardiovascular disease has been the focus of considerable attention, but understanding of mid-aged women's behavioural risk factors for these diseases is meagre. The current study describes a range of health-related behaviours and their psychosocial correlates, in a sample of 45-year old women, recruited from five general practices and assessed by postal survey (N=106, response rate 60%). Results suggest that health promotion for this group might best focus upon increases in regular exercise, calcium intake and breast awareness, and decreases in cigarette and caffeine consumption. The behaviours assessed were generally not inter-related. However, several associations were identified between behaviours and health and psychosocial variables. The main ones were the association between menopausal status and smoking, and the relationship between body weight, self-esteem and physical exercise. It is argued that the menopause transition can be an opportunity for preventive work.     

Multimethod Assessment of Depression in Sexually Abused Girls

This study measured depression in sexually abused Black girls using the Children's Depression Inventory (Kovacs & A. T. Beck, 1977), the Internalization scale of the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Edelbrock, 1983), and the Rorschach Depression Index (Exner, 1986). There were no significant correlations between these self-report, behavior observation (by parental report), and projective measures. The abused subjects had high scores on the behavior observation and Rorschach scales. Consistent with past research, negative results were obtained with the self-report instrument. We suggest that the low scores on self-report measures of distress produced by sexually abused children may be the result of guardedness or defensiveness rather than a genuinely low level of dysphoria in this population. There were no significant relations between abuse characteristics and scores on the depression measures. Scores on Rorschach measures of organizational activity (Zf) and available coping resources (EA) were generally positively related to depression within the abuse group and negatively related to depression within the control group.