Development and Validation of an Explicit Aggressive Beliefs and Attitudes Scale

This work outlines the development and validation of a new self-report measure that assesses explicit aggressive beliefs and attitudes within the normal adult population (using 7 samples, total N = 3,533). These explicit aggressive beliefs and attitudes are expected to reflect aggressive biases including hostile attribution, potency, retribution, victimization by powerful others, derogation of target, and social discounting. The resulting scale is reliable with a hierarchical 6-factor structure, and displays convergent and discriminant validity. Criterion-related validity studies indicate incremental effects over socially desirable response bias, related implicit and explicit aggression measures, and is predictive of self-reported and other-reported aggression-related behaviors.     

Domestic horses (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Equus caballus</Emphasis>) prefer to approach humans displaying a submissive body posture rather than a dominant body posture

Signals of dominance and submissiveness are central to conspecific communication in many species. For domestic animals, sensitivities to these signals in humans may also be beneficial. We presented domestic horses with a free choice between two unfamiliar humans, one adopting a submissive and the other a dominant body posture, with vocal and facial cues absent. Horses had previously been given food rewards by both human demonstrators, adopting neutral postures, to encourage approach behaviour. Across four counterbalanced test trials, horses showed a significant preference for approaching the submissive posture in both the first trial and across subsequent trials, and no individual subject showed an overall preference for dominant postures. There was no significant difference in latency to approach the two postures. This study provides novel evidence that domestic horses may spontaneously discriminate between, and attribute communicative significance to, human body postures of dominance; and further, that familiarity with the signaller is not a requirement for this response. These findings raise interesting questions about the plasticity of social signal perception across the species barrier.     

Confirmatory Factor Analysis of the Structure of Adult ADHD Symptoms

Previous research has examined the factor structure of ADHD symptoms in adults using confirmatory factor analysis and there is mixed support for two-factor, three-factor, or more complex bifactor models. The current study re-examines these factor structures on the basis of not only overall model fit, but also criteria such as chi-square difference tests, invariance, reliability, and validity. Three datasets were pooled to form a total sample of 430 adults (50% female). Participants completed questionnaires assessing their ADHD symptoms, education, psychopathology, and parenting (the latter as validity variables). Although the bifactor models demonstrated the best fit, the reliability and construct replicability of specific factors in these models was poor. The three-factor model had good fit and demonstrated good reliability, validity, construct replicability, and some invariance across gender and dataset. Our results replicate previous studies that find superior fit for bifactor models. However, the superior statistical fit may reflect only the increased complexity of these models. The more parsimonious three-factor model may demonstrate stronger validity and clinical utility.     

Limited effects of pre‐existing maternal antisocial behaviours on infant neurodevelopment: A pilot study

Antisocial behaviour disorders (ABDs) are among the most costly and treatment resistant of all psychiatric syndromes. Select neurodevelopmental abnormalities have been labelled a risk factor for ABDs, but it is unknown if maternal ABDs are associated with early neurodevelopmental abnormalities. This study tested whether infants of ABD mothers had more neurodevelopmental abnormalities than mothers with no psychiatric disorder (ND). Thirty‐nine pregnant women (49% with ABDs; 51% no psychiatric disorder) were recruited from the community. Infant neurodevelopment was assessed at ≤1 and 8 weeks using the Neonatal Behavioural Assessment Scale and at 16 weeks of age using the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development‐III. There was no significant group difference at ≤8 weeks. At 16 weeks, ABD mothers rated their infants higher on the Adapted Behaviours subscale, specifically on the leisure and self‐directed scales, when corrected for substance use and socio‐economic status. This pilot study found higher maternal ratings of Adapted Behaviours at 16 weeks, which may be due to unrealistic expectations about infant development.

Highlights

• Maternal Antisocial behaviour disorders (ABDs) do not impact early infant neurodevelopment at ≤ 8 weeks old as measured by standardized assessment.
• Mothers with ABDs view their infants at 16 weeks as better adapted than women without any psychiatric disorder.
• Specifically, mothers with ABDs reported their infants as better adapted on the leisure and self‐direction subscales of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development‐III. This finding may be due to less knowledge about normal infant adaptive behavior.

     

Social Support,Economic Hardship and Psychological Distress in Spanish and Portuguese At-Risk Families

Individuals with low socioeconomic status generally have worse mental health outcomes than their wealthier counterparts; a tendency that is exacerbated during financial crises. However, social support might buffer the effects of stress on mental health. In this study, we tested whether social support mitigated the effects of economic hardship on psychological distress on an at-risk sample from two of the European countries most affected by the 2008 economic downturn: Spain and Portugal. Participants were 249 caregivers enrolled in Child Welfare Services (73.0% women). Results showed that economic hardship and a negative indicator of social support (network dysfunctionality) were significant predictors of belonging to the psychological distress clinical group (OR: 2.35 and 1.80, respectively). However, no significant interaction effects were observed, thereby refuting the buffering effect hypothesis. When we conducted an in depth analysis of the clinical group, a significant moderation effect emerged. Our results suggest that, for at-risk populations, the detrimental effects of dysfunctional networks on mental health can outweigh the benefits of positive assistance and that social support is a potential stress buffer only for individuals in the clinical spectrum. These findings indicate that the protective effect of social support during circumstances of intense economic adversity is limited.     

Preventing Vicarious Trauma: What Counselors Should Know When Working With Trauma Survivors

Counselors in all settings work with clients who are survivors of trauma. Vicarious trauma, or counselors developing trauma reactions secondary to exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, is not uncommon. The purpose of this article is to describe vicarious trauma and summarize the recent research literature related to this construct. The Constructivist Self‐Development Theory (CSDT) is applied to vicarious trauma, and the implications CSDT has for counselors in preventing and managing vicarious trauma are explored.     

Predicting whether multiculturalism positively or negatively influences White Americans' intergroup attitudes: the role of ethnic identification

Multiculturalism, or the belief that racial and ethnic differences should be acknowledged and appreciated, has been met with both positive reactions (e.g., decreased prejudice) and negative reactions (e.g., perceptions of threat) from dominant group members. The present research proposes that multiculturalism can either positively or negatively influence White Americans' intergroup attitudes depending on their degree of ethnic identification. In Studies 1 and 2, White Americans primed with multiculturalism exhibited higher social dominance orientation (Study 1) and greater prejudice (Study 2), especially when they identified strongly with their ethnicity. In Study 3, perceptions of threat to group values were found to mediate the relation between multiculturalism, ethnic identification, and prejudice among White Americans. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for threat perceptions, ethnic identification, and conceptions of diversity.     

系列再生法:实验模拟文化动态(英文)

系列再生法是一种用来探讨文化动态中的社会心理过程之实验方法。所谓文化动态是指文化如何形成、维持,以及如何随着时间而变化。此方法特别有利于以下研究:文化讯息是如何透过社会网络被传播、什么类型的文化讯息较可能透过社会网络被传播,以及文化讯息由一个人传到另一个人的过程中,是如何转化的。本文概述了系列再生实验方法的优点及缺点,讨论此方法的理论架构,并举例展诉如何有系统地应用此法,做有关文化刻板印象的研究。最后,本文讨论未来的研究方向,如文化动态的潜在文化差异,以及文化动态与社会网络之间的互动过程。     

A multilevel mediation model of stress and coping for women with HIV and their families

Families are influential systems and may be an important context in which to consider the stress and coping process. To date, many studies have focused on modeling the stress and coping process for the individual, isolated from the family. The purpose of this secondary analysis was to investigate a cross-sectional stress and coping model for HIV-positive African-American mothers recruited from HIV service facilities in South Florida (n=214) and their family members (n=294). Avoidance coping was hypothesized to mediate the relationship between stress and psychological distress. In addition, the family average of individual stress was hypothesized to moderate the relationship between avoidance coping and psychological distress. For all constructs, individuals reported on themselves and multilevel modeling techniques were used to account for similarities between members of the same family. The estimated mediation effect was significant. Aggregated family stress significantly moderated the relationship between avoidance coping and psychological distress. This study suggests that individuals exhibit different relationships between avoidance coping and psychological outcomes and that average stress reported by members of a family moderates the relationship between avoidance coping and psychological distress.