Emotional intelligence and smoking: Protective and risk factors among Canadian young adults

A sample of 20 and 21 year old participants (n = 2699) of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth (NLSCY) was used to investigate the association between emotional intelligence and smoking in young adulthood. Emotional intelligence was measured with a short-form of the original EQ-i (Statistics Canada, 2008), which assessed overall emotional intelligence and five dimensions: interpersonal competencies, intrapersonal competencies, stress management competencies, adaptability competencies and general mood. Using self-reported smoking behaviors, participants were classified as daily, occasional or non-smokers. Multinomial logistic regression analyses were conducted to test the association between emotional intelligence (and its dimensions) with daily and occasional smoking (compared to non-smoking - the reference category). Analyses were conducted on the total sample and were also stratified across gender. Stress management emerged as a protective factor against occasional and daily smoking among both males and females. Unexpectedly, a higher score on interpersonal competencies was associated with occasional smoking (compared to non-smoking) among males, suggesting that this group may consist of several social smokers. Our results suggest that emotional intelligence may comprise gender-specific protective and risk factors for occasional and daily smoking, which in turn should be considered in the development of smoking prevention programs.     

The Socially-Responsible University: Talking the Talk while Walking the Walk in the College of Business

This article presents a stakeholder-based example of corporate social responsibility (CSR) within a university context. The first section provides a literature review that builds the case for CSR efforts by educational institutions. The next section details aspects of the focal corporate social responsibility program at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg (USFSP) from its early conception to its implementation. The Talking the Talk section describes the overarching mission of the larger university and its influence on the mission of the newly formed College of Business which undertook an ambitious community outreach program in a downtown neighborhood. The execution of the program is discussed subsequently in the Walking the Walk section, with an emphasis on formation of advisory boards, development of appropriate coursework, relevant interactions with external constituencies, and plans for assessment and continuous improvement. The article closes with recommendations for universities considering similar endeavors.     

Peer relationships in counseling psychology training

Twelve students from APA-accredited counseling psychology doctoral programs were interviewed about their experiences with peers in their program, and about their values and beliefs about peer relationships in graduate school. Interview data were analyzed using consensual qualitative research. Participants reported a wide range of positive (e.g. collaborative and supportive) and negative (e.g. competitive and hostile) interactions with peers inside and outside of the classroom, in research, and in clinical work. Compared to advisory and supervisory relationships, peer relationships were typically less formal and more open. The sharing of common training experiences generally facilitated mutual understanding among trainees. In addition, a visual analog scale, the peer relationship scale (PRS), was used to measure participants’ closeness with peers. Results from the PRS appeared to be useful in distinguishing participants with the most positive and negative peer relationships, warranting further investigation of its psychometric properties and application in program evaluation and research on training. Implications for training are discussed.     

Mediational models of spirituality and depressive symptomatology among HIV-positive Puerto Rican women

A survey of 142 Puerto Rican women living with HIV/AIDS in New York City revealed high Centers for Epidemiological Studies Depression (CES-D) scores, with 66% of the sample scoring above the conventional threshold of possible clinical depression. Most respondents (71%) were Catholic, 29% considered themselves members of a church or other place of worship, and 30% reported attending religious services 1-3 times a month. As predicted, spirituality was high and negatively associated with CES-D scores. A series of simultaneous multiple regression analyses controlling for all potentially confounding medical and sociodemographic variables demonstrated that both mastery and self-esteem scores mediated this relationship. Implications for future research and the provision of services to HIV-positive Puerto Rican women are discussed.     

Haybron on Mood Propensity and Happiness

Daniel Haybron has made an original contribution to philosophical discussions of happiness. He has put forward a theory that identifies happiness with moods and the propensity to experience moods. Haybron’s contribution deserves a critical examination. The first section of my paper is interpretive. I show how Haybron uses the concepts of ‘central affective states’ and ‘mood propensity’ to define happiness. The second and third sections of the paper are critical. They focus on the inclusion of mood propensity in Haybron’s theory. In the second section I argue that his theory fails because there is an example that shows a subject can be happy even when that subject does not have a positive mood propensity. In the third section of the paper, I consider Haybron’s objection that the case in question is ‘object-specific’ and that it is not ‘emotionally-based’. I discuss both of these technical terms in detail. Moreover, I argue that a modified version of the counter example accommodates these technical terms while retaining the persuasiveness of the original example.

The mediating influence of unconditional self-acceptance and labile self-esteem on the relationship between multidimensional perfectionism and exercise dependence

ObjectivesPrevious research has indicated that perfectionism may be an important antecedent of exercise dependence (Hagan, A. L., & Hausenblas, H. A. (2003). The relationship between exercise dependence and perfectionism. American Journal of Health Studies, 18, 133–137; Hausenblas, H. A., & Symons Downs, D. (2002a). Exercise dependence: a systematic review. Psychology of Sport and Exercise, 3, 89–123, Hausenblas, H.A., & Symons Downs, D. (2002b). How much is too much? The development and validation of the exsrcise dependence scale. Psychology and Health, 17, 387–404). To date, however, few studies have sought to examine the psychological processes that underpin this relationship. The purpose of the present investigation was to determine the degree to which self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism were associated with exercise dependence, and to ascertain whether the relationships were mediated by unconditional self-acceptance and labile self-esteem.MethodThree hundred and seven middle-distance runners completed a multi-section inventory that included Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. [(1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 456–470] Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale, Chamberlain, J. M., & Haaga, D. A. F. [(2001). Unconditional self-acceptance and psychological health. Journal of Rational Emotive and Cognitive Behavior Therapy, 19, 163–176] Unconditional Self-acceptance Scale, Dykman, B. M. [(1998). Integrating cognitive and motivational factors in depression: initial tests of a goal orientation approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74, 139–158] Labile Self-Esteem Scale, and Ogden, J., Veale, D., & Summers, Z. [(1997). The development and validation of the Exercise Dependence Questionnaire. Addiction Research, 5, 343–356] Exercise Dependence Questionnaire.ResultsStructural Equation Modeling provided support for three hypotheses. First, that self-oriented perfectionism had a direct positive effect on exercise dependence. Second, that unconditional self-acceptance fully mediated the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and exercise dependence. Third, that labile self-esteem mediated the relationship between unconditional self-acceptance and exercise dependence. Multi-group invariance analysis further indicated that there were subtle variations in the nature of these relationships for male and female samples.ConclusionsThe findings from the present study indicate that both self-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism may be critical antecedents of exercise dependence, but that the psychological mechanisms underpinning their association with exercise dependence may differ.