Is the relationship between self-esteem and physical aggression necessarily U-shaped?

Recent research by Perez, Vohs, and Joiner [Perez, M., Vohs, K. D., & Joiner, T. E., Jr. (2005). Discrepancies between self- and other-esteem as correlates of aggression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 24, 607–620] has supported a U-shaped curvilinear relationship between self-esteem and physical aggression in a sample of 140 undergraduates. The present study attempted to replicate this effect with a sample size more than 12 times larger. Thus, 1781 undergraduates completed items from Rosenberg’s [Rosenberg, M. (1965). Society and adolescent self-image. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University] Self-Esteem Scale and from the Physical Aggression subscale of Buss and Perry’s [Buss, A. H., & Perry, M. (1992). The Aggression Questionnaire. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63, 452–459] Aggression Questionnaire. The results did not support a U-shaped relationship between self-esteem and physical aggression; if anything, they supported an inverted U-shaped one, such that the simple relationship between self-esteem and physical aggression became more negative and as self-esteem increased. Controlling for gender strengthened these effects, consistent with a pattern of mutual suppression between gender and self-esteem.     

Effects of aerobic exercise on anxiety sensitivity

Anxiety sensitivity is a known precursor to panic attacks and panic disorder, and involves the misinterpretation of anxiety-related sensations. Aerobic exercise has been shown to reduce generalized anxiety, and may also reduce anxiety sensitivity through exposure to feared physiological sensations. Accordingly, 54 participants with elevated anxiety sensitivity scores completed six 20-min treadmill exercise sessions at either a high-intensity aerobic ( n = 29 ) or low-intensity ( n = 25 ) level. Self-ratings of anxiety sensitivity, fear of physiological sensations associated with anxiety, and generalized anxiety were obtained at pre-treatment, post-treatment, and one-week follow-up. Results indicated that both high- and low-intensity exercise reduced anxiety sensitivity. However, high-intensity exercise caused more rapid reductions in a global measure of anxiety sensitivity and produced more treatment responders than low-intensity exercise. Only high-intensity exercise reduced fear of anxiety-related bodily sensations. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Reliability of the bipolar form of the profile of mood states using an alternative test protocol

The bipolar version of Profile of Mood States was completed by 124 participants (58 women and 66 men, M age 26.5, SD=3.9 yr.) on two occasions--once when the measure was self-administered according to that test protocol and once when POMS-BI items were projected onto a screen with participants being asked to provide oral responses to items. Data from both modes of administration provided similar support for the internal consistency of the measure (alpha values ranged from .78 to .90).     

Career And Relationship Satisfaction Among Female Faculty in Marriage and Family Therapy Programs

This study explored career and relationship satisfaction of women faculty in accredited marital and family therapy (MFT) programs. Faculty were more satisfied with teaching duties than research or service duties and more satisfied with service than research duties. A backwards multiple regression procedure showed that the combined variables of psychosocial mentoring functions, expanded service duties, and having received an award for research or service were associated with greater levels of career satisfaction while career mentoring functions were associated with reduced levels of career satisfaction. Implications and suggestions for improving the academic climate are presented for institutions, MFT programs, the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy (AAMFT), and the Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE).     

An existential framework of spirituality

A holistic approach to spirituality indicates a spiritual development that is relevant for all students and not just for those who have a religious background. However, debates in England surrounding spirituality in education often generally locate it within the religious domain (Blake, 1996 Blake, N. (1996). Against spiritual education. Oxford Review of Education, 22(4): 443–456.  [Google Scholar];Carr, 1995 Carr, D. (1995). Towards a distinctive conception of spiritual education. Oxford Review of Education, 21(1): 83–98.  [Google Scholar], 1999 Carr, D. (1999). Spiritual language and the ethics of redemption: a reply to Jim Mackenzie. Journal of Philosophy of Education, 33(3): 451–461.  [Google Scholar];Isherwood, 1999 Isherwood, L. (1999). Liberating spirituality: empowered people for a world in need of passion. British Journal of Religious Education, 21(2): 80–89.  [Google Scholar]). Conceptualizing spirituality in such a way tends to deny access to this development for non‐religious students or students in non‐religious contexts. Alternatively the other approaches to spirituality have adopted non‐religious viewpoints (see Erricker, 2003 Erricker, C. (2003). Against the protection of childhood innocence. International Journal of Children's Spirituality, 8(1): 3–7.  [Google Scholar], p. 7). Such either/or approaches work against the notion that spirituality should be conceived as intrinsic to the enterprise of education. This paper offers a brief view of a more elaborate existential framework of spirituality which has been developed in order to transcend the religious/secular divide. A short account of Existentialist philosophy is provided before an outline of the framework is discussed.     

Emotional regulation goals and strategies of teachers

This study addresses two questions: what goals do teachers have for their own emotional regulation, and what strategies do teachers report they use to regulate their own emotions. Data were collected from middle school teachers in North East Ohio, USA through a semi-structured interview. All but one of the teachers reported regulating their emotions and there were no gender or experience differences in spontaneously discussing emotional regulation. Teachers believed that regulating their emotions helped their teaching effectiveness goals and/or conformed to their idealized emotion image of a teacher. Teachers used a variety of preventative and responsive emotional regulation strategies to help them regulate their emotions. Future research on teachers emotional regulation goals and strategies should examine the role of culture and the relationship of emotional regulation goals with teachers other goals, stress, and coping.     

The relationship between women's body satisfaction and self-image across the life span: the role of cognitive control

The authors examined the relationship between body dissatisfaction and self-image across the life span. A sample of 106 women between the ages of 20 and 65 years completed questionnaire measures of body dissatisfaction, body importance, cognitive control over the body, self-concept, and self-esteem. The authors found that body dissatisfaction and body importance did not differ among the groups of women who were younger, middle aged, and older. Although body dissatisfaction was related to self-concept and self-esteem for the entire sample, the strength of that relationship reduced with increasing age and increasing perceptions of cognitive control. The authors concluded that the cognitive strategies of women who were older protect their self-concept and self-esteem from the influence of body dissatisfaction.