Locus of control as a mediator of the association between attachment and children’s mental health

Locus of control—the expectation that one is in control of one’s outcomes in life—is linked to well-being. The authors explored one of the possible antecedents of locus of control such as secure children’s attachment. The hypothesis was that locus of control acts as a mediator of the association between children’s attachment and their mental health, in terms of depression, anxiety (internalizing problems), and aggression (externalizing problems). Participants were 206 children with ages ranging from 8 to 14 years. The authors obtained data from teachers as well as by self-report. Structural equations modelling yielded significant results for both a direct path from insecure attachment to internalizing problems and an indirect pathway in which locus of control functions as a mediating variable between children’s attachment and internalizing problems. Although the data were consistent with the mediated pathway with regard to internalizing problems, different findings emerged for aggression. Insecure attachment was a significant predictor of aggressive behavior, while locus of control was not a mediator between attachment and aggressive behavior. The authors’ findings confirm the mediating role of the locus of control between attachment and internalizing problems, but not between attachment and externalizing ones.     

A review and meta-analysis of the nomological network of trainee reactions

A review and meta-analysis of studies assessing trainee reactions are presented. Results suggest reactions primarily capture characteristics of the training course, but trainee characteristics (e.g., anxiety and pretraining motivation) and organizational support also have a moderate effect on reactions. Instructional style (rho = .66) followed by human interaction (rho = .56) were the best predictors of reactions. Reactions predicted pre-to-post changes in motivation (beta = .51) and self-efficacy (beta = .24) and were more sensitive than affective and cognitive learning outcomes to trainees' perceptions of characteristics of the training course. Moderator analyses revealed reactions- outcomes correlations tended to be stronger in courses that utilized a high level rather than a low level of technology, and affective and utility reactions did not differ in their relationships with learning outcomes. The current study clarifies the nomological network of reactions and specifies outcomes that are theoretically related to reactions.     

An integrated process model of stereotype threat effects on performance

Research showing that activation of negative stereotypes can impair the performance of stigmatized individuals on a wide variety of tasks has proliferated. However, a complete understanding of the processes underlying these stereotype threat effects on behavior is still lacking. The authors examine stereotype threat in the context of research on stress arousal, vigilance, working memory, and self-regulation to develop a process model of how negative stereotypes impair performance on cognitive and social tasks that require controlled processing, as well as sensorimotor tasks that require automatic processing. The authors argue that stereotype threat disrupts performance via 3 distinct, yet interrelated, mechanisms: (a) a physiological stress response that directly impairs prefrontal processing, (b) a tendency to actively monitor performance, and (c) efforts to suppress negative thoughts and emotions in the service of self-regulation. These mechanisms combine to consume executive resources needed to perform well on cognitive and social tasks. The active monitoring mechanism disrupts performance on sensorimotor tasks directly. Empirical evidence for these assertions is reviewed, and implications for interventions designed to alleviate stereotype threat are discussed.     

Unnatural Access

Jordi Fernández has recently offered an interesting account of introspective justification according to which the very states that (subjectively) justify one's first-order belief that p justify one's second-order belief that one believes that p. I provide two objections to Fernandez's account.     

Nostalgic bonding: exploring the role of nostalgia in the consumption experience

The recently awakened awareness of the past has produced a flurry of research directed towards understanding the nostalgic aspects of the human condition, towards investigating the role of nostalgia in the lives of consumers, and towards the application of such knowledge to the design of marketing strategies. With rare exceptions, however, such research has pursued a quantitative survey‐based approach to establishing the chronology‐related and personality‐driven aspects of nostalgia. To explore the nature and types of nostalgic bonding in greater depth, the present study pursues an interpretive approach to understanding the role of nostalgia in the consumption experience. Specifically, it applies a collective approach to subjective personal introspection to draw inferences concerning the key types of nostalgic experience. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications.     

The Importance of Assessing for Childhood Abuse and Lifetime PTSD in Bariatric Surgery Candidates

For bariatric surgery candidates, history of child abuse and PTSD may be under-recognized or under-reported at pre-surgical evaluation. On a range of clinically relevant factors, we studied 3045 candidates for bariatric surgery: (1) those with a history of childhood abuse compared to those without such history; and (2) among candidates with a history of abuse, those with a lifetime diagnosis of PTSD compared to those without that diagnosis. We compared them on current and lifetime eating disorders, physical health problems, health behaviors, physical functioning, psychosocial functioning, psychiatric disorders, emotional wellness, body satisfaction, and self-esteem. We hypothesized that patients with a history of childhood abuse, and within that group, those with a lifetime PTSD diagnosis, would display greater overall impairment. Patients were interviewed with semi-structured interviews and completed self-report questionnaires. Results showed that (1) patients with a history of childhood abuse exhibited significantly greater impairment than those without abuse; and (2) among candidates with a history of abuse, those with a lifetime history of PTSD displayed significantly greater impairment than those without a PTSD diagnosis. The findings suggest that a history of both childhood abuse and lifetime PTSD should be thoroughly assessed for at pre-surgical evaluation, and that greater attention be paid to the experience of PTSD symptoms in abuse survivors presenting for bariatric surgery.