Forgiveness as a moderator of the association between anger expression and suicidal behaviour

Anger is often associated with poor physical and mental health, including suicidal behaviour. Anger expression is typically conceptualised as inward or outward-directed, with each mode of expression having potentially different aetiologies and health manifestations. Individual characteristics such as religion or spirituality may buffer against the effects of anger. One such characteristic, forgiveness, is the voluntary process of changing ones’ beliefs, behaviours, and emotions towards a transgressor from negative to positive. We examined forgiveness of self, forgiveness of others and feeling forgiven by God as moderators of the relationship between anger expression and suicidal behaviours in a sample of 372 ethnically diverse college students. In independent and full models, we found that forgiveness of self was a significant moderator of the association between inward and outward anger and suicidal behaviour. Interventions targeting anger via the promotion of forgiveness may be useful in the prevention of suicide ideation and attempts.     

Prejudice and self-esteem: A transactional model

This paper reviews three theoretical models of how prejudice affects the self-esteem of its targets. The stimulus-response model assumes that prejudice has a direct, negative effect on self-esteem. The stimulus-perception-response model recognises that perceptions of prejudice may not directly mirror experiences with prejudice, but predicts that the subjective perception of being a target of prejudice has a direct, negative effect on self-esteem. Both of these models are found to be inadequate. We propose a third, transactional model, which assumes that individuals do not respond in uniform way to being the target of prejudice. Rather, this model contends that self-esteem and emotional responses to prejudice are determined by cognitive appraisals of prejudicial events and coping strategies used in response to these events; these processes, in turn, are shaped by personal, situational, and structural factors. Experiments are presented showing that self-esteem in response to perceived prejudice is moderated by presence or absence of threats to personal identity, clarity of prejudices cues in the situation, ingroup identification, dispositional optimism, endorsement of legitimising ideologies, and group status. We argue that a transactional model of responses to prejudice emphasises sources of resistance as well as vulnerability among targets of prejudice.     

Effective regulation of affect: An action control perspective on emotion regulation

The present review adopts an action control perspective on emotion regulation, contextualising the gap between emotion control goals (e.g., I want to remain calm) and emotional outcomes (e.g., anger, anxiety, and aggression) in terms of the broader literature on goal pursuit. We propose that failure to effectively regulate emotions can result from difficulties with the self-regulatory tasks of (i) identifying the need to regulate, (ii) deciding whether and how to regulate, and (iii) enacting a regulation strategy. Next we review evidence that a technique traditionally associated with regulating behavioural goals (forming implementation intentions or “if-then” planning) can help to overcome these difficulties. Meta-analysis indicated that forming implementation intentions is effective in modifying emotional outcomes, with a large effect relative to no regulation instructions (k = 21, N = 1306 d ₊ = 0.91, 95% CI = 0.61 to 1.20) and a medium-sized effect relative to goal intention instructions (k = 29, N = 1208, d ₊ = 0.53, 95% CI = 0.42 to 0.65). Our conclusion is that research on emotion regulation might benefit from an action control perspective and the interventions that this perspective offers.     

Five-Factor Measure of Borderline Personality Traits

This study provides psychometric data for a new self-report measure of borderline personality traits from the perspective of the Five-factor model (FFM) of general personality. Subscales were constructed in an undergraduate sample (n = 109) to assess maladaptive variants of 12 FFM traits (e.g., Affective Dysregulation as a maladaptive variant of FFM Vulnerability). On the basis of data from a second undergraduate sample (n = 111), the Five Factor Borderline Inventory (FFBI) subscales were shown to have good internal consistency, convergent, discriminant, and incremental validity. These psychometric results were replicated in a clinical sample of female residents at a substance abuse treatment facility (n = 94).     

A Qualitative Study of Faith Leaders’ Perceptions of Health and Wellness

The effectiveness of faith-based health and wellness interventions is moderated by the attitudes, perceptions, and participation of key leaders within faith-based organizations. This qualitative study examined perceptions about the link between health, spirituality, and religion among a volunteer sample of faith leaders (n = 413) from different denominations. The major themes included: influences on health and wellness promotion and a relationship between spirituality and health. The results indicated that perceptions about the link among health, spirituality, and religion vary among faith leaders, regardless of denomination. Future faith-based interventions should be developed with consideration for denomination as a socially and culturally relevant factor.     

Perceptions of Younger Single Adults as a Function of Their Gender and Number of Children

ABSTRACT. Research suggests that children may interfere with single parents’ romantic experiences. Although both male and female single parents face these challenges, they have stronger associations with the romantic satisfaction of single mothers as compared to single fathers. The two current studies examined aspects of attractiveness and dating across various dimensions for both younger single women and men, with and without children. Results of Study 1 indicated interactive effects of target gender and parental status on perceptions of both attractiveness and dating potential. Results of Study 2 indicated differential ratings on multiple dimensions (i.e., attractiveness, stress, motivation for dating, and positive qualities) of younger single adults on the basis of gender, parental status, and the number of children single parents were reported as having. Implications for importance of social support and difficulty of repartnering are discussed.     

The new social psychology of France: The Girardian School

Like Lacan, Girard's thought is centered not on appetite for objects but on the relation between the self and the subjectivity of the other, in this case by way of what Girard calls ‘mimesis’, a tendency to imitate not only the actions but also the inward attitudes, and especially the desires, of others; prompted by a sense of deficiency, we seek out something to desire, hoping to attain through it the ontological plenitude symbolized for us by the (god‐like) ‘mediator’ or model of our desire. Girard's theory of social origins is rooted in the idea that mimesis leads to generalized conflict which becomes resolved through a ‘victimizing mechanism’ culminating in a ‘sacrifice’. Girardian political economists, such as Paul Dumouchel, Jean‐Pierre Dupuy, and André Orléan, have drawn on these ideas in analyzing market mechanisms and the concepts of wealth and value. Jean‐Michel Oughourlian, a psychiatrist, has applied them to the analysis of suggestion and hypnosis, hysteria, and possession. The Girardian economists’ unmasking of the idea of wealth as an idol symbolizing our fascination with images of ontological plenitude adds a new element to the traditional Christian critique of avarice as well as the Buddhist critique of desire, and Oughourlian's analysis of the phenomena of possession and sorcery throws a new light both on traditional Wester demonology and on rituals of possession.