Identification with all humanity—A test of the factorial structure and measurement invariance of the scale in five countries

Identification with all humanity measured as an individual characteristic is an important factor related to social and international relations, such as concern for global issues and human rights, prosocial attitudes, intergroup forgiveness, attitudes toward immigrants, solving global problems, reactions to hate crimes and dehumanisation. We examine the factorial structure, psychometric properties and measurement invariance of the Identification with All Humanity (IWAH) scale in student samples from five countries (the United States, Poland, France, Mexico and Chile; N = 1930). Separate confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) for each country showed a second-order model of one superordinate factor with two subfactors. The cross-country validation of the scale, based on multigroup CFA, confirmed configural and metric invariance between countries for raw scores, and full metric invariance for “pure” scores. This study showed that the IWAH scale can be successfully used for cross-country research and the results from different countries can be compared and integrated.     

Queens and Jesters of YouTube: Communicating Gay/Lesbian Identities Through Humor in YouTube Channel <Emphasis Type="Italic">Spanish Queens</Emphasis>

Considering the transformative potential humor has for minorities who experience exclusion and marginalization, I seek to explore how Spanish gay and lesbian youth construct and communicate gay/lesbian identities using humor as a rhetorical tool. Furthermore, I explore the potential implications of their use of humor for social relations, both within gay and lesbian communities and with the broader society. I approach this discussion though a critical discourse analysis of videos from Spanish Queens—a collaborative YouTube channel, in which LGBTQ youth from diverse parts of the country share their experiences, thoughts, and opinions about being LGBTQ in Spain. Stereotypical humor was the primary form of humor used by SQ vloggers when addressing gay and lesbian issues related to both identification and social relations. Looking at how SQ vloggers most frequently use stereotypical humor, three common functions emerged in all ten videos: (a) affirming identity and separating gay and lesbian experiences from those of other groups, including making a distinction between sexual orientation and gender identity; (b) challenging the conflation of sexual and gender identities (i.e., contesting the notion of gay men and lesbians identifying as members of the opposite sex); and (c) disarming discourses that construct gay and lesbian individuals as threats at both interpersonal and societal levels.     

Self-directedness and the susceptibility to distraction by saliency

People with low Self-directedness (SD) tend to explain their behaviour as being significantly influenced by events in the external environment. One important dimension of external cues is their level of salience: highly salient external stimuli are more likely to capture attention, even when such stimuli are not relevant to goals. We examined whether adults reporting low SD would exhibit greater susceptibility to distraction by highly salient external stimuli. Fifty-four (42 males) subjects completed the Attention Modulation by Salience Task (AMST) measuring reaction times to early- or late-onset auditory stimuli in the presence of high- or low-salience visual distractors. SD was assessed via self-report, and analyses tested the relationship between SD and performance on the AMST. Results showed a slowed early response to auditory cues during high salience compared to low salience. Indeed, individuals reporting low SD showed stronger salience interference, suggesting that external causality attribution is accompanied by a subconscious perceptual deficit.     

Are practitioners incorporating a strengths‐focused approach when working with multi‐problem poor families?

Multi‐problem poor families have been characterized as dysfunctional and chaotic, and problem‐centred interventions have been developed. However, the activation of families' strengths has shown itself to be an important tool for intervention, hence the relevance of promoting the incorporation of a strengths‐focused approach. So, it becomes important to determine to what extent practitioners are thinking of incorporating a strengths‐focused approach when working with these families. To achieve this goal, a semi‐structured interview was administered to 23 practitioners. The findings suggest that practitioners are able to identify strengths but do not think in a strengths‐focused way. The main obstacles are: ambiguity in the definition of strengths, a focus on problems, lack of confidence in the possibility of improvement in the lives of families. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Analyzing feature distinctiveness in the processing of living and non-living concepts in Alzheimer’s disease

The conceptual structure account (CSA) is a model specifying the role of the living and non-living domain dichotomy in the structure of semantic memory. According to this model, feature distinctiveness and the perceptual–functional inter-correlation of concepts are assumed to play a major role in impairing the ability to discriminate between living and non-living concepts in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). The hypothesis was tested in this study by using naming and sorting tasks traditionally considered as assessing distinctiveness, and a property verification task where distinctiveness and perceptual–functional inter-correlation were objectively controlled against norms especially created for this purpose. Alzheimer’s patients (n = 59) with minimal, mild or moderate dementia and normal elderly adults (n = 31) participated in the study. Overall, the findings did not support the CSA predictions. They revealed a distinctiveness effect on response accuracy with shared features dominating distinctive features regardless of domain. They also revealed more difficulties in the tasks involving effortful processes. The results stress the need to consider both cognitive demands of tasks and structural aspects of knowledge in the evaluation of semantic memory in AD.     

Religiosity,Spirituality, Sexual Attitudes,and Sexual Behaviors Among College Students

The purpose of this study was to determine whether religiosity, spirituality, and sexual attitudes accounted for differences in sexual behaviors among college students. The sample included 960 college students enrolled at four northeastern colleges. Results indicated differences in sexual attitudes, religiosity, and spirituality by gender. Moreover, sexual attitudes, religiosity, and spirituality were associated with sexual behaviors among college students. Sexual behaviors among males were influenced by their sexual attitudes, religiosity, and spirituality, while for females, their sexual behaviors were mostly influenced by their sexual attitudes. College health professionals can use these findings when discussing sexual practices with students.     

Boys’ and Girls’ Relational and Physical Aggression in Nine Countries

Distinguishing between relational and physical aggression has become a key feature of many developmental studies in North America and Western Europe, but very little information is available on relational and physical aggression in more diverse cultural contexts. This study examined the factor structure of, associations between, and gender differences in relational and physical aggression in China, Colombia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the United States. Children ages 7–10 years (N = 1,410) reported on their relationally and physically aggressive behavior. Relational and physical aggression shared a common factor structure across countries. In all nine countries, relational and physical aggression were significantly correlated (average r = .49). Countries differed in the mean levels of both relational and physical aggression that children reported using and with respect to whether children reported using more physical than relational aggression or more relational than physical aggression. Boys reported being more physically aggressive than girls across all nine countries; no consistent gender differences emerged in relational aggression. Despite mean‐level differences in relational and physical aggression across countries, the findings provided support for cross‐country similarities in associations between relational and physical aggression as well as links between gender and aggression. Aggr. Behav. 38:298‐308, 2012. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Does HPA‐Axis Dysregulation Account for the Effects of Income on Effortful Control and Adjustment in Preschool Children?

The effects of low income on children's adjustment might be accounted for by disruptions to hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)‐axis activity and to the development of effortful control. Using longitudinal data and a community sample of preschool‐age children (N = 306, 36–39 months) and their mothers, recruited to over‐represent low‐income families, we explored the associations among diurnal cortisol levels and effortful control, and we tested a model in which diurnal cortisol and effortful control account for the effects of family income on child adjustment. Continuous indicators of morning cortisol level and diurnal slope, as well as dichotomous indicators reflecting low morning levels and flat diurnal slope, were examined as predictors of rank‐order changes in two dimensions of effortful control, executive control and delay ability. Low income was related to a flat diurnal cortisol slope, and above the effects of family income, a flat diurnal cortisol slope predicted lower social competence. Low morning cortisol level predicted smaller gains in executive control and higher total adjustment problems. Further, delay ability predicted lower adjustment problems above the effects of income and diurnal cortisol levels. The results suggest that HPA‐axis dysregulation and effortful control contribute additively to children's adjustment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prospective Associations of Internalizing and Externalizing Problems and Their Co-Occurrence with Early Adolescent Substance Use

The literature is equivocal regarding the role of internalizing problems in the etiology of adolescent substance use. In this study, we examined the association of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and their co-occurrence with early adolescent substance use to help clarify whether internalizing problems operate as a risk or protective factor. A large community sample (N?=?387; mean age at the first assessment 12 years old; 83 % White/non-Hispanic) was assessed annually for 3 years. Externalizing problem behavior in the absence of internalizing problems showed the strongest prospective association with alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. A weaker, albeit statistically significant prospective positive association was found between co-occurring internalizing and externalizing behavior problems and substance use. Internalizing problems in the absence of externalizing problems protected adolescents against cigarette and marijuana use. Clarifying the role of internalizing problems in the etiology of adolescent substance use can inform the development of early intervention and prevention efforts. Our results highlight the importance of further considering the co-occurrence of internalizing and externalizing behavior problems in developmental pathways to substance use.