Religious Experiences of GBTQ Mormon Males

This article examines the relationship between sexual orientation and religious experience of men from early adolescence to adulthood. Data have been obtained from an online survey of 1,042 males who were part of a larger sample of lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer/questioning (LGBTQ) persons who are current or former members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter‐Day Saints (LDS, Mormon). While early religious experience was essentially identical to that of heterosexuals, the gap between religious norms and experience widened as these men moved through early and mid‐adulthood. Those who married did so at a later age, and experienced a high rate of divorce. Continued participation, integration, and conformity to LDS ideals was not attributable to faith in, or a departure from, fundamental doctrinal belief. Instead, the responsible variable was sexual orientation, measured by the Kinsey Scale scores across behavior, attraction, and identity. For those near the exclusively homosexual end of the spectrum, the failure to change sexual orientation after intense effort over many years resulted in loss of belonging, belief, and participation, along with increased negative emotions and a sense of mistreatment.     

A Reply to Szabó’s “Descriptions and Uniqueness”

Szabó (2000) follows Heim (1982,1983) in viewing familiarity, rather thanuniqueness, as the essence of the definitearticle, but attempts to derive bothfamiliarity and uniqueness implicationspragmatically, assigning a single semanticinterpretation to both the definite andindefinite articles. I argue that if there isno semantic (conventional) distinction betweenthe articles, then there is no way to derivethese differences between them pragmatically.     

Psychological trauma and schizotypal personality disorder

Two studies examined the relation between psychological trauma and schizotypal symptoms. In Study 1, in which 1,510 adults completed telephone interviews, both childhood maltreatment and the experience of an injury or life-threatening event were significantly associated with schizotypal symptoms. In Study 2, in which 303 adults (oversampled for having elevated levels of schizotypal symptoms) completed extensive in-person assessments, both childhood maltreatment and meeting posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) Criterion A were significantly associated with schizotypal symptoms. The links between schizotypal symptoms and at least some forms of psychological trauma could not be fully accounted for by shared variance with antisocial and borderline personality disorders, absorption/dissociation, PTSD symptom severity, family history of psychotic disorder, or signs of neurodevelopmental disturbance (as indexed by minor physical anomalies and inconsistent hand use). Schizotypal symptoms were more strongly associated with childhood maltreatment among men than among women, whereas schizotypal symptoms were more strongly associated with PTSD Criterion A among women than among men. Finally, among men, the association between childhood maltreatment and schizotypal symptoms was moderated by signs of neurodevelopmental disturbance.     

Writing problems in developmental dyslexia: under-recognized and under-treated

The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as unexpected problems of neurobiological origin in accuracy and rate of oral reading of single real words, single pseudowords, or text or of written spelling. However, prior research has focused more on the reading than the spelling problems of students with dyslexia. A test battery was administered to 122 children who met the inclusion criteria for dyslexia and qualified their families for participation in a family genetics study that has been ongoing for over a decade. Their parents completed the same test battery. Although a past structural equation modeling study of typically developing children identified a significant path from handwriting to composition quality, the current structural equation modeling study identified a significant path from spelling to composition for children and their parents with dyslexia. Grapho-motor planning did not contribute uniquely to their composition, showing that writing is not just a motor skill. Students with dyslexia do have a problem in automatic letter writing and naming, which was related to impaired inhibition and verbal fluency and may explain their spelling problems. Results are discussed in reference to the importance of providing explicit instruction in the phonological, orthographic, and morphological processes of spelling and in composition to students with dyslexia and not only offering accommodation for their writing problems.     

Latent growth modeling of the relationship between depressive symptoms and substance use during adolescence.

To explicate the nature of the relationship between depressive symptoms and substance use, the authors conducted research that incorporated both individual and group approaches and utilized longitudinal data across development. Multiple-group latent growth curve models were used to assess specific dimensions (cross-sectional and longitudinal correlation, within-individual change, and movement off developmental trajectories) of the relationship between depressive symptoms and substance use during adolescence and how this relationship differs by gender. Annual survey data from 8th through 11th grade were provided by 441 girls and 510 boys in the Raising Healthy Children project (E. C. Brown, R. F. Catalano, C. B. Fleming, K. P. Haggerty, & R. D. Abbott, 2005). Levels of depressive symptoms and substance use in early adolescence were positively associated for alcohol, marijuana, and cigarette use for girls, but only for marijuana use for boys. Individual changes in depressive symptoms and substance use across adolescence were positively associated for each type of substance use. Evidence was also found for positive association between episodic expressions of depressive symptoms and alcohol use that fell outside developmental trajectories. Predictive relationships across constructs were not found, with the exception of higher level of depressive symptoms in early adolescence predicting less increase in alcohol use.     

Can Psychology Ethics Effectively Be Integrated into Introductory Psychology?

This study evaluated the integration of psychology ethics into an introductory psychology course. Students in two general psychology sections were exposed to an infusion of psychology ethics in teaching, research, and clinical practice, whereas students in two sections were exposed to traditional course content. Students completed a pre and post-test assessment including a psychology ethics questionnaire and open-ended responses to three ethics case studies. Students in the ethics group displayed a statistically significant increase in scores on both measures from pre to post-test. However, students in the traditional group showed no improvement in scores.     

The influence of prior offender/victim relationship on offender stalking behavior

The present study examined the influence of prior offender/victim relationship on offender stalking behavior. The actions that were present within the stalking offences were recorded using content analysis of victim and witness statements, and all other relevant material within the police files of 50 stalking cases. The sample was analyzed using a non‐metric multidimensional scaling procedure known as Smallest Space Analysis. The results suggested that when a prior sexual relationship existed between the offender and the victim the offender was more likely to engage in a majority of controlling style actions. However, an offender who did not have a prior sexual relationship with the victim was more likely to engage in a majority of infatuation style actions. Therefore, the study lends support to the influence of prior relationship on the actions that offenders engage in over the stalking period. Implications of the study and future research ideas are discussed. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality,social support and burnout among human service professionals in India

Recent research has investigated the relationship between personality and social support in predicting various forms of adjustment. This study explores this relationship in a sample of 137 human service professionals engaged in post‐degree clinical skills training at the Christian Counselling Centre in Vellore, India. The impact of certain forms of social support on burnout was examined, after controlling for the effect of the personality trait of anxiety. As hypothesized, perceived social support was negatively associated with burnout, even after controlling for the effects of anxiety. This pattern was strongest for the males in this sample. Emotional exhaustion and depersonalization were the components of burnout most strongly related to perceived support. The perception of support received from ‘work‐related’ and ‘other’ relationships made a stronger contribution than did ‘family’ or ‘social’ ties with respect to burnout. Implications for future cross‐cultural investigation of the relationships among personality, social support and adjustment are discussed. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.