Do they want contact with us? The role of intergroup contact meta‐perceptions on positive contact and attitudes

This research examined the role of contact meta‐perceptions on positive intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes. Specifically, perceptions of the ingroup's and outgroup's desire for intergroup contact were simultaneously tested as predictors of intergroup contact and outgroup attitudes. Three correlational studies were conducted in three distinct contexts, international students' view of British students, general public views of people with schizophrenia, and both Muslims' and non‐Muslims' views of one another. Among these three intergroup relationships, the role of outgroup contact meta‐perceptions was consistently highlighted as predictor of intergroup contact. In stark contrast, ingroup contact meta‐perceptions did not emerge as a significant predictor of contact. Intergroup contact then predicted outgroup attitudes (Studies 1, 2, and 3) and stereotyping (Studies 2 and 3) via reduced anxiety (Studies 2 and 3). The results demonstrate the importance of explicitly highlighting outgroups' openness for intergroup interactions and are discussed in the context of intergroup relations literature.     

The path towards a professional identity: An IPA study of Greek family therapy trainees

Objective: Contemporary psychotherapy research has focused mainly on practitioners' training and education. The impact of training on professional development and the application of therapeutic skills have been the primary foci of the empirical literature. The aim of this paper is to present the experiences of seven family therapy trainees regarding their personal paths toward the development of professional identity as they underwent training in systemic psychotherapy. Method: In‐depth interviews were conducted and analysed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results & Conclusions: Seven themes were identified: The Quest, Developing by Relating, Learnings, Personification of Training, Use of Self, Self‐Care and Empowerment, and Reflecting on the Role of the Therapist. The findings are discussed with regard to the development of the ‘therapist as a person’, gaining acknowledgement and autonomy, and the development of a community of therapeutic practice.     

Living Well in Later Life: The Influence of Sense of Coherence,and Socio-Demographic,Lifestyle and Health-Related Factors on Older Adults’ Satisfaction with Life

This study aims at exploring a structural model of satisfaction with life’s (SWL) predictors in a cross-national sample of older adults. A quantitative approach was followed with a cross-sectional study design. A community-dwelling sample of 1,234 older adults from four different nationalities residing in Portugal, was assessed regarding SWL, sense of coherence (SOC) and socio-demographic, lifestyle and health-related characteristics. Sampling was performed in lifelong learning centres’ message boards and local community centres’ list-serves in the Lisbon metropolitan area and in the Algarve region. Structural equation modeling was used to investigate a structural model of the self-reported SWL, comprising SOC, socio-demographic characteristics (age, sex, education, marital and professional status, household, adult children, income, living setting and religion), as well as lifestyle and health-related characteristics (physical activity, recent disease and medication). Significant predictors are SOC (β?=?0.733; p?<?0.001), religion (β?=?0.725; p?<?0.001), income (β?=?0.551; p?<?0.001), adult children (β?=?0.546; p?<?0.001), education (β?=??0.403; p?<?0.001), living setting (β?=??0.292; p?<?0.001) and medication (β?=??. 197; p?<?0.001). The variables accounted for 24.8 % of the variability of SWL. Moreover, differences between the four nationality groups (F _{(3, 671)}?=?3.671, p?=?0.066) were not found concerning SWL. Sense of coherence is the strongest predictor of self-reported SWL. Other predictors are religion, income, adult children, education, living setting and medication. The four nationalities did not present significant differences, concerning SWL. This study points out the potential factors that influence older adults’ SWL, in particular SOC, religion and income, as promoters of aging well, within a salutogenic model of health for older populations.     

Free associate norms for 139 European Portuguese words for children from different age groups

In the present study, we present normative ratings of free association for 139 European Portuguese (EP) words among 7- to 8-, 9- to 10-, and 11- to 12-year-old children attending the 3rd, 5th, and 7th grades of elementary and middle school in Portugal. For each word, five indices are presented: (a) the percentage of associates, (b)?the strength of the first associate, (c)?the strength of the second associate, (d) the distance between the first and second associates, and (e)?the percentage of idiosyncratic responses. Additionally, grade-level frequency values for each word from the ESCOLEX database (Soares et al., in press) are also provided. As expected, the results revealed developmental changes in the knowledge organization of the children, which occurred at the ages of 9–10 (5th grade) and remained stable in the 11- to 12-year-old children (7th grade). Specifically, we observed a decrease in the percentages of associates and idiosyncratic responses, as well as an increase in the strengths of the first and second associates from the 3rd to the 5th grade. Moreover, a comparative analysis with the previous work of Carneiro, Albuquerque, Fernandez, and Esteves (2004) on EP and Macizo, Gómez-Ariza, and Bajo (2000) on Spanish, for the subsets of common words (16 and 58, respectively), showed that the present norms fit well with previous EP data, but differ from the Spanish data.     

Does spirituality really matter?: A study on the potential of spirituality for older adult's adjustment to aging

This study intended to analyze the indicators of adjustment to aging (AtA) and to investigate the latent constructs that can work as major determinants in spirituality for a cross‐national older community‐dwelling population. Questionnaires were completed to assess the participants' background information. Interviews were performed, addressing one core area: indicators of AtA. Complete data were available for 154 older adults from two nationalities (German and Portuguese), aged between 75 and 103 years (M = 86.6; SD = 6.98). The data were subjected to content analysis. Representations of the associations and latent constructs were analyzed using a multiple correspondence analysis (MCA). The most prevalent response of the interviewed participants for indicators of AtA was spirituality (43.2%). Spiritual activities was the most reported response regarding spirituality (20.0%). A significant moderate association was found between spiritual activities and nationality (V = .365; p < .001). Spirituality for older adults was explained by a three‐dimensional overall model: spiritual and existential meaning, limit‐related awareness and community embeddedness. The findings presented in this paper emphasized the need to explore the potential of spirituality for AtA and the need for improving the spiritual dimension of health care for the older cross‐national population.     

Swedish pupils' suggested coping strategies if cyberbullied: Differences related to age and gender

The aim of this study was to investigate the coping strategies that Swedish 10 and 12 year‐olds (N = 694) suggested they would use if they were cyberbullied, with a special focus on whether there are differences in these strategies related to age and gender. The most commonly suggested coping strategy was telling someone, especially parents and teachers (70.5%). Surprisingly few of the pupils reported that they would tell a friend (2.6%). Differences in suggested coping strategies were found related to age and gender. Findings are discussed in relation to the Swedish sociocultural context as well as in relation to the implications for prevention strategies against cyberbullying.     

‘In Earlier Days Everyone Could Discipline Children,Now They Have Rights’: Caregiving Dilemmas of Guidance and Control in Urban Tanzania

Caregiving practices in Tanzania are potentially affected by socio‐demographic change such as urbanization and globalization. The aim of this study is to explore adult caregivers' discourses regarding the responsibility of caregiving, related to guidance and control of children in Tanzania. Data was collected in focus group discussions with parents and grandparents in an urban area of Tanzania. The analysis found two interpretative repertoires: guidance and control as a community matter and guidance and control as a family matter. These repertoires are related to responsibility and to an ideological dilemma regarding parental authority and individual's rights. The findings are discussed in relation to the tendency to polarize between ideologically traditional versus modern societies. This illustrates how lived ideology of caregiving responsibility is historically and socially situated, in the local context and how the spread of Children's Rights ideology needs to be understood in this context. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Metacontingencies on Cooperative Behavior: A Systematic Replication Using Innovative Procedures during Isolation

The Psychological Record - The study replicated research on metacontingencies that used a chessboard simulating a simplified chess game, in a completely online environment, with participants in...     

Attachment Representations and Maternal Confidence: The Mediating Role of Postnatal Depressive Symptoms and Negative Thoughts

Attachment security can act as an inner resource to promote women’s adjustment to motherhood. However, the mechanisms explaining the relationship between attachment representations and maternal adaptation outcomes are not well understood. This study aimed to examine the direct and indirect effects of attachment representations on maternal confidence, through postpartum negative automatic thoughts and depressive symptoms. The sample consisted of 387 postpartum women who completed a cross-sectional online survey including measures of attachment representations, depressive symptoms, postpartum negative automatic thoughts and maternal confidence. Our results showed a significant relationship between more insecure attachment representations and higher depressive symptoms (p?<?.001), but also with more frequent postpartum negative automatic thoughts (p?<?.001); depressive symptoms and postpartum negative automatic thoughts were also inversely associated with women’s maternal confidence (p?<?.001). Moreover, indirect effects of attachment representations on maternal confidence were found, but only through postpartum negative thoughts [attachment-related anxiety: 95% CI?=??0.03/?0.01; attachment-related avoidance: 95% CI?=??0.05/?0.01]. The results of the present study emphasize the important role of the cognitive component of depressive symptomatology (postpartum negative automatic thoughts) in the relationship between attachment representations and maternal confidence, allowing to draw specific implications. We highlight the implications for clinical practice during the perinatal period to address both negative thoughts and women’s maternal confidence.