Body image perceptions among Chinese children and adolescents

In order to investigate the body image self-perception and the prevalence of body dissatisfaction among Chinese children and adolescents, 9100 children aged 3-15 years living in four cities completed a questionnaire assessing body image self-percepts and ideals by figural stimuli. The results indicate that (1) children's body ratings started to be significantly related to their BMIs at age 5 and correlations increased with age; (2) a wide range of current body sizes was chosen by Chinese boys and girls; (3) the ideal body sizes of boys and girls selected by boys and girls, respectively, were "boys by boys">"boys by girls">"girls by boys">"girls by girls" and (4) the satisfaction, mild dissatisfaction, and moderate dissatisfaction rates were 40.1%, 36.4% and 23.5%, respectively. Differences as a function of gender and age were identified. It was concluded that the prevalence of body dissatisfaction among children and adolescents of urban China was striking, and that the Chinese boys were not immune to body dissatisfaction.     

Social skills and sex-role functioning in borderline personality disorder: relationship to self-mutilating behavior

This study compared the social skills functioning and sex role affiliation of female inpatients diagnosed with borderline personality disorder who engaged in self-mutilating behavior (n = 30) with female patients with borderline personality disorder who did not engage in such behavior (n = 18). Patients with borderline personality disorder who engaged in self-mutilating behavior were found to have relatively poorer skills in communicating non-verbal emotional information to others and in receiving and interpreting such information from others. In terms of sex role orientation, patients who engaged in self-mutilating behavior were significantly more likely than non-mutilators to be typed as undifferentiated using the Bem Sex Role Inventory. These participants were less likely to identify with either masculine or feminine sex roles. Patients who did not self-mutilate were found to be significantly more likely than those who did self-mutilate to identify with the masculine sex role.     

The impact of psychological distance on integrative internal dialogs

Negotiators more distanced from the negotiated goal more often exhibit integrative behavior, which maximizes both their individual and joint outcomes. Based on the assumption of an analogy between interpersonal negotiations and internal dialogs simulating social relationships, an experiment was carried out. It aimed to verify if psychological distance (proximal vs. distant perspective on the situation enacted in an internal dialog) affects the processes of integration and confrontation and, consequently, increases the frequency of integrative dialogs. Data from 115 participants (56 women) were analyzed. An increase in psychological distance was found to reduce the intensity of the confrontation process and to cause an increase in the number of integrative internal dialogs.     

Counseling in the Philippines: Past,Present, and Future

The history of colonization and persistent attempts at self‐governance in the Philippines parallel the beginnings of counseling in the country, which were largely influenced by the United States. Because of the Guidance and Counseling Act of 2004 and the Psychology Act of 2009, counseling is on its way to professionalization and regulation. Counseling is growing in depth and credibility, as evidenced by applications in practice that are not only indigenous but powerfully relevant.     

泰卜里厄哲玛提研究述评

泰卜里厄哲玛提是目前最大的跨国伊斯兰宣教运动,其以松散的组织化形式,以成员的流动性宣教而流布于很多地区。学术界主要从历史学、宗教学、政治学、社会学和人类学等学科的视角,关注了其起源、背景、领导人、思想、组织、成员、工作方式、使用文本、本土化、与政治的关系、社会影响、在不同国家和地区的活动等。研究者以西方学者为主,个别观点值得商榷。研究困难在于多学科知识、研究资料、语言三个方面。研究视野和范围仍有限,特别是缺乏深入的田野调查个案,对这一运动在不同地域中的本土化问题关照不够,同时应该重视研究的伦理和价值问题。     

Timing is everything: Anticipatory stress dynamics among cortisol and blood pressure reactivity and recovery in healthy adults

Psychological states of anticipation modulate biological stress responsivity. While researchers generally investigate how subjective distress corresponds to the magnitude of stress reactivity, physiological recovery after acute stressors must also be considered when investigating disease vulnerabilities. This study assessed whether anticipatory stress would correspond to stress reactivity and recovery of salivary cortisol and blood pressure levels in response to a well-validated psychosocial stressor. Thirty participants (63% female; mean?±?SEM age 45.4?±?2.12 years) were exposed to the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) consisting of a public speech and mental arithmetic. Ten salivary cortisol samples and systolic and diastolic blood pressure recordings were collected at time points spanning 50?min before and up to 50?min after stress exposure. These data were transformed into parameters representing stress reactivity (area under the curve) and stress recovery (percent change). The Primary Appraisal Secondary Appraisal scale assessed anticipatory stress before exposure to the TSST. Our results revealed that increased anticipatory stress predicted increased stress reactivity for cortisol (p?=?0.009) but not blood pressure. For stress recovery, increased anticipatory stress predicted greater decrements of cortisol concentration (p?=?0.015) and blood pressure (p?=?0.039), even when controlling for total systemic "output" by incorporating baseline activity. This efficient shutdown of stress responses would have otherwise been ignored by solely investigating reactive increases. These findings underscore the importance of measuring multiple dynamic parameters such as recovery when investigating physiological stress response patterns as a function of psychosocial factors.     

Validating Regulatory Sensory Processing Disorders Using the Sensory Profile and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL 1?–5)

The objective was to validate Regulatory Sensory Processing Disorders’ criteria (DC:0-3R, 2005) using empirical data on the presence and severity of sensory modulation deficits and specific psychiatric symptoms in clinical samples. Sixty toddlers who attended a child mental health unit were diagnosed by a clinical team. The following two groups were created: toddlers with RSPD (N?=?14) and those with “other diagnoses in Axis I/II of the DC:0-3R″(OD3R) (N?=?46). Independently of the clinical process, parents completed the Infant Toddler Sensory Profile (as a checklist for sensory symptoms) and the Achenbach Behavior Checklist for ages 1?–5 (CBCL 1?–5). The scores from the two groups were compared. The results showed the following for the RSPD group: a higher number of affected sensory areas and patterns than in the OD3R group; a higher percentage of sensory deficits in specific sensory categories; and a higher severity of behavioral symptoms such as withdrawal, inattention, other externalizing problems and pervasive developmental problems in CBCL 1?–5. The results confirmed our hypotheses by indicating a higher severity of sensory symptoms and identifying specific behavioral problems in children with RSPD. The results revealed convergent validity between the instruments and the diagnostic criteria for RSPD and supported the validity of RSPD as a unique diagnosis. The findings also suggested the importance of identifying sensory modulation deficits in order to develop an early intervention to enhance the sensory capacities of children who do not fully satisfy the criteria for some DSM-IV-TR disorders.     

Translating intentions into sunscreen use: an interaction of self-efficacy and appearance norms

The study examines whether self-efficacy mediates between intention and behavior, and whether appearance norms and self-efficacy are additive or synergistic predictors of sunscreen use. At two measurement points in time, 14 weeks apart, 154 individuals responded to an online questionnaire. Moderated mediation was tested by hierarchical regression analyses. Self-efficacy mediated the intention-behavior relationship, whereas appearance norms emerged as a moderator of the self-efficacy-sunscreen use relationship. The model accounted for 22% of the behavior variance at time 2. For individuals who believe that they would look more attractive with a tan, self-efficacy did not have a strong effect on behavior. Thus, for skin-protection motivation to become effective, self-efficacy is needed in conjunction with less positive appearance norms. Implications for public health promotion and mass media sunscreen use campaigns are discussed.     

Borrowing from Sleep to Pay Work and Family: Expanding Time‐Based Conflict to the Broader Nonwork Domain

We extend cross‐domain research by examining sleep, a domain within the larger nonwork domain that competes for time with work and family domains. We draw from scarcity theory and research on slack resources to contend that, because people cannot increase the amount of time they have, they borrow time from sleep in order to spend more time working and with family. Utilizing a Bureau of Labor Statistics survey of 10,741 participants, we find nonlinear and interactive effects of time spent working and time spent with family on sleep time, suggesting that the negative effects of work and family on sleep time are especially strong when demands for work and family are high. In an experience sampling field study of 122 working adults, we similarly find a nonlinear effect of work time on sleep time as well as an interaction between work time and family time in predicting time spent sleeping. Both studies indicate that as slack time resources become increasingly scarce, time spent working and time spent with family have increasingly powerful negative effects on time spent sleeping. Contrary to our expectations, we found no support for gender as a moderator of these effects.     

Perceived Neighborhood Social Resources as Determinants of Prosocial Behavior in Early Adolescence

The present study aims to develop an integrative model that links neighborhood behavioral opportunities and social resources (neighborhood cohesion, neighborhood friendship and neighborhood attachment) to prosocial (sharing, helping, empathic) behavior in early adolescence, taking into account the potential mediating role of perceived support of friends. Path analysis was used to test the proposed theoretical model in a sample of 1,145 Italian early adolescents (6th through 8th graders). More perceived opportunities and social resources in the neighborhood are related to higher levels of adolescent prosocial behavior, and this relationship is partially mediated by perceived social support from friends. The results offer promising implications for future research and intervention programs that aim to modify social systems to improve child and adolescent social competencies.