Impact of Social Networking Sites on Children in Military Families

Youth in military families experience a relatively unique set of stressors that can put them at risk for numerous psychological and behavior problems. Thus, there is a need to identify potential mechanisms by which children can gain resiliency against these stressors. One potential mechanism that has yet to be empirically studied with military youth is social networking sites (SNSs). SNSs have gained significant popularity among society, especially youth. Given the significance of these communication tools in youths’ lives, it is important to analyze how SNS use may affect military youth and their ability to cope with common military life stressors. The current review examines the potential positive and negative consequences associated with SNS use in coping with three common stressors of youth in military families: parent deployment, frequent relocation, and having a family member with a psychological or physical disability. By drawing from SNS and military literature, we predict that SNS use can be a positive tool for helping children in military families to cope with stressors. However, certain SNS behaviors can potentially result in more negative outcomes. Recommendations for future research are also discussed.     

Effects of control deprivation on effort expenditure and accuracy performance

Theoretical positions lead to diverging predictions regarding the impact of control deprivation on subsequent performance. Learned helplessness research suggests that control deprivation impairs subsequent performance. This effect can be attributed either to a decrease in motivation or to a decrease in attentional resources. In contrast, control motivation hypothesis predicts that control deprivation increases careful processing of incoming information, and thus accuracy performance, unless the task is perceived as ego‐threatening. In order to test these diverging predictions against each other, participants were exposed to zero, one, two, four, six or eight unsolvable (vs. solvable) problems and then asked to complete two letter cancellation tasks. This task allowed independent evaluation of effort expenditure (i.e., the number of letters scanned) and accuracy performance (i.e., percentage of letters correctly marked). Overall, the results were consistent with the predictions of the cognitive explanations of learned helplessness deficit as control deprivation at high levels reduced accuracy performance but not effort expenditure. Unexpectedly, effort expenditure was affected by problem solving activity. These results suggest that control deprivation could heighten motivation and, at the same time, deplete cognitive resources. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

How guilt leads to reparation? Exploring the processes underlying the effects of guilt

It is widely assumed that guilt leads people to engage into reparatory behaviors. However, the processes underlying this effect are in need for further specification. Four studies tested potential underlying cognitive mechanisms. Results suggest that guilt increases attention toward positive and reparation-oriented cues (Study 1) and makes attitudes toward reparation-oriented primes more positive (Study 3). No effect was found for accessibility of reparation words (Studies 2a, b). Taken together, these results suggest that guilt leads people to pay more attention to reparation means and to develop a more positive attitude toward reparation means, but does not render reparatory means more accessible. Implications for a better knowledge of guilt’s behavioral consequences are discussed.     

Profiles and Correlates of Children’s Self-Reported Coping Strategies Using a Cluster Analytic Approach

We used cluster analysis to identify children’s coping profiles and to examine self- and parent-reported correlates of coping in a community sample. Participants included 135 children (M age = 11.27, s.d. = .59) recruited from local public elementary and junior high schools and 116 of their parents. Analyses included hierarchical cluster analysis (Ward’s method), followed by non-hierarchical (k-means) cluster analysis to confirm the cluster solution. Results yielded four clusters reflecting high, active, low, and indiscriminant patterns of coping strategies. Members of the active coping group self-reported the fewest symptoms of distress and the greatest number of prosocial competencies after controlling for social desirability. No differences emerged for parent-reported psychosocial functioning across coping profiles. Our results suggest that a combination of active coping strategies may be associated with better psychosocial functioning than a combination of active and avoidant coping strategies.     

The evaluation-behavior link: Direct and beyond valence

The present research tests the hypothesis that affective stimuli automatically trigger approach/avoidance tendencies. A first experiment showed that in a vigilance task participants responded faster with an approach behavior (i.e., arm flexion) to happy words than to sad words and faster with an avoidance behavior (i.e., arm extension) to sad than to happy words that were presented outside of conscious awareness. These findings were replicated and extended in a second experiment. In this experiment, emotion words presented outside of conscious awareness were responded faster by arm flexion when they were associated with approach than when they were associated with avoidance, irrespective of their valence. Conversely, emotion words associated with avoidance were responded faster by arm extension. Globally, these findings suggest that the implicit perception of affective stimuli automatically triggers the behavioral responses that are associated with them.     

Repressive Adaptation in a Nonclinical Sample: Consistent and Inconsistent Reports of Child Psychosocial Functioning Across Informants

A method is described which utilizes the Picture Arrangement subtest of the Wechsler Scales as a technique in the investigation of fantasy material. The method can be readily adapted to the quantitative and qualitative analyses which are suitable for other thematic tools. A case history was presented illustrating the method and its integration with the results of the intelligence test itself.     

Repressive adaptation in a nonclinical sample: consistent and inconsistent reports of child psychosocial functioning across informants

Using multiple indicators (self-report, parent report, school grades, and disciplinary referrals), we compared the psychosocial functioning of children across Weinberger's (1990) and Weinberger, Schwartz, and Davidson's (1979) repressive adaptive style (RAS) groups. Participants included 134 children ages 10 to 13 years that were recruited from public schools and 117 of their caregivers. Relative to nonrepressors, we hypothesized repressors to evidence lower levels of self-reported distress but higher parent-reported distress on the Behavior Assessment System for Children (BASC; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 1992). Summary scores from the BASC self-report differed significantly between repressors and nonrepressors in the expected directions. No significant group differences in parent-reported distress or school functioning emerged. Consistent with Phipps (2005), results question the predominant assumption that the RAS is associated with risk of psychosocial difficulties in children.     

Ageing-related stereotypes in memory: When the beliefs come true

Age-related stereotype concerns culturally shared beliefs about the inevitable decline of memory with age. In this study, stereotype priming and stereotype threat manipulations were used to explore the impact of age-related stereotype on metamemory beliefs and episodic memory performance. Ninety-two older participants who reported the same perceived memory functioning were divided into two groups: a threatened group and a non-threatened group (control). First, the threatened group was primed with an ageing stereotype questionnaire. Then, both groups were administered memory complaints and memory self-efficacy questionnaires to measure metamemory beliefs. Finally, both groups were administered the Logical Memory task to measure episodic memory, for the threatened group the instructions were manipulated to enhance the stereotype threat. Results indicated that the threatened individuals reported more memory complaints and less memory efficacy, and had lower scores than the control group on the logical memory task. A multiple mediation analysis revealed that the stereotype threat effect on the episodic memory performance was mediated by both memory complaints and memory self-efficacy. This study revealed that stereotype threat impacts belief in one's own memory functioning, which in turn impairs episodic memory performance.