Being tolerated: Implications for well-being among ethnic minorities

Tolerating or condoning practices that one finds objectionable is typically considered a positive way to negotiate intergroup differences. However, being the target of tolerance might harm well-being, which we examined in three studies (a survey and two experiments) among a total of 1,054 members of various racial/ethnic minority groups in the United States. In Study 1, we found that perceiving oneself to be tolerated on the basis of one’s ethnic group membership was associated with more negative well-being. In Study 2, we found that bringing to mind experiences of being tolerated results in less positive and more negative affect than thinking about experiences of acceptance, but more positive and less negative outcomes than thinking about overt discrimination experiences. In Study 3, we replicated the results of Study 2 while demonstrating that threat to social identity needs mediates the tolerance–well-being link. These results suggest that being tolerated is related to minority targets’ well-being in ways that are intermediate between being treated with outright discrimination and full acceptance, but that being tolerated follows a pattern closer to discrimination.     

Fear Learning in Veterans With Combat-Related PTSD Is Linked to Anxiety Sensitivity: Evidence From Self-Report and Pupillometry

Several studies have observed heightened Pavlovian fear conditioning in PTSD. However, it is unclear how fear conditioning in PTSD is related to risk factors for the disorder, such as anxiety sensitivity. Fifty-one combat-exposed veterans (20 with PTSD, 31 without PTSD) completed a differential fear conditioning task in which one colored rectangle (CS +) predicted a loud scream (US), whereas a different colored rectangle (CS-) predicted no US. Veterans with PTSD were characterized by greater anxiety to the CS + but not the CS- during acquisition and extinction, and greater US expectancy during the CS + but not the CS- at extinction. Also, veterans with PTSD had greater pupil dilation to both CSs at extinction, but not at acquisition. Anxiety sensitivity was correlated with anxiety and US expectancy in response to the CS +, but not the CS-, at both acquisition and extinction, and also with pupil diameter to both the CS + and CS- at extinction. Nearly all of these relations held when covarying for PTSD symptoms and trait anxiety. These findings suggest that increased fear conditioning in PTSD may be related to elevated anxiety sensitivity.     

Parent–Child Conflict Profiles in Chinese American Immigrant Families: Links to Sociocultural Factors and School‐Age Children's Psychological Adjustment

Research suggests that parent–child conflict is a salient family process in Asian immigrant families and often a stressful experience for Asian American youth due to value discrepancies between Asian and Western cultures. The present study examined ratings of parent–child conflict across conflict topics from parents' and children's perspectives in a sample of Chinese American immigrant families with school‐age children (N = 239; age = 7.5–11 years). Latent profile analyses identified three parent‐rated conflict profiles and four child‐rated conflict profiles. Parent and child conflict profiles were unrelated to each other and differentially related to family sociocultural factors and children's psychological adjustment. Parents' moderate conflict profile scored highest on parent‐rated child behavior problems and had the highest household density and lower parent Chinese orientation. Children's moderate‐specific and high conflict profiles scored higher on child‐reported behavior problems than the low conflict profile. These results highlight the need to assess family conflict from both parents' and children's perspectives and target parent–child conflict communication as a pathway to prevent or reduce behavioral problems in Chinese American children of immigrant families.     

Parent and Child Factors Associated with Household versus Community Adversity among Black and Hispanic Children

Journal of Child and Family Studies - The purpose of this study was to describe exposure to within-household and community adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and to identify child- and...     

Sociality and intergenerational transfer of older adults’ nostalgia

Interest in nostalgia has blossomed, yet its nature in older adulthood and potential for intergenerational transfer to younger adults has remained neglected. In Experiment 1, we focused on the content of older adults’ nostalgic (vs. ordinary) recollections and asked whether older adults’ nostalgia could be transferred to younger adults. We showed that nostalgia expressed in older adults’ narratives was positively associated with nostalgia reported by young-adult readers. In Experiment 2, undergraduates read a nostalgic or ordinary narrative written by an older adult. Then they rated their own nostalgia as well as their perceived social connectedness, self-continuity, and meaning in life. Exposure to older adults’ nostalgic (vs. ordinary) narratives promoted concurrent nostalgia among young adults, along with associated psychological benefits (social connectedness, self-continuity, meaning). The findings illustrate the potential for intergenerational transfer of nostalgia through written narratives, and attest to the universality of nostalgic themes across younger and older adults.     

The Development of Latent Dimensions of Psychopathology across Early Childhood: Stability of Dimensions and Moderators of Change

Recent research has described the structure of psychopathology as including one general and multiple specific factors, and this structure has been found in samples across development. However, little work has examined whether this structure is consistent across time, particularly in young children, within the same sample. Further, few studies have examined factors that influence the magnitude of the stability of latent dimensions of psychopathology. In the present study, we examine these issues in a community sample of 545 children assessed at ages 3 and 6. In addition, we explored child temperament, parental history of psychopathology, and parenting behaviors as potential moderators of the longitudinal stability of latent dimensions of psychopathology. We found that the same bifactor model structure identified at age 3 provided an adequate fit to the data at age 6. Further, our model revealed significant homotypic stability of the general, internalizing, and externalizing specific factors. We also found evidence of differentiation of psychopathology over time with the general factor at age 3 predicting the externalizing factor at age 6. However, we failed to identify moderators of the longitudinal associations between psychopathology latent factors. Overall, our results bolster support for the bifactor structure of psychopathology, particularly in early childhood.