Risk‐Related and Protective Correlates of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury and Co‐Occurring Suicide Attempts among Incarcerated Women

Individual and environmental correlates of nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and co‐occurring suicide attempts (SA) among incarcerated women (N = 104) were examined. Participants completed measures of putative risk and protective factors, including coping styles, childhood maltreatment, and hopelessness. Results indicated that active coping was uniquely, negatively associated with the presence and frequency of NSSI, whereas avoidant coping and childhood physical/emotional abuse were positively associated with NSSI frequency. Conversely, among women with a history of NSSI, hopelessness was uniquely, positively associated with the presence and frequency of SA. Further, childhood sexual abuse was associated with the presence of SA, while physical/emotional abuse was associated with SA frequency. Hopelessness was more strongly related to SA frequency than NSSI frequency. These findings help disentangle the unique risk and protective factors for NSSI and co‐occurring SA in incarcerated samples.     

ASIAN AMERICAN WOMEN's RETROSPECTIVE REPORTS OF THEIR SEXUAL SOCIALIZATION

This study used qualitative research methods to investigate the sexual socialization experiences of young Asian American women, a group often overlooked in psychological research on sexuality. Focus group interviews were conducted with 30 ethnically diverse young Asian American women to explore their perceptions and interpretations of the direct and indirect sexual communication they received from parents during adolescence. Interviews were analyzed using open and focused coding techniques based on principles of grounded theory. Although most participants initially reported that sexuality was a closed or taboo topic of discussion in their family, they described several indirect, implicit, and nonverbal strategies their parents used to clearly convey their sexual attitudes and expectations, most of which were restrictive in nature. Women interpreted parents' silence and restrictiveness about sexuality as tied to their upbringing and cultural heritage and as a feature characterizing Asian parents more broadly.     

Long-term psychological sequelae of smoking cessation and relapse.

The authors examined whether smoking cessation and relapse were associated with changes in stress, negative affect, and smoking-related beliefs. Quitters showed decreasing stress, increasing negative health beliefs about smoking, and decreasing beliefs in smoking's psychological benefits. Quitters became indistinguishable from stable nonsmokers in stress and personalized health beliefs, but quitters maintained stronger beliefs in the psychological benefits of smoking than stable nonsmokers. Relapse was not associated with increases in stress or negative affect However, relapsers increased their positive beliefs about smoking and became indistinguishable from smokers in their beliefs. For quitters, decreased stress and negative beliefs about smoking may help maintain successful cessation. However, for relapsers, declining health risk perceptions may undermine future quit attempts.     

The effect of culture and self‐construals on predispositions toward verbal communication

This study tested the effects of culture and self‐construals (i.e., independence and interdependence) on predispositions toward verbal communication. For the purpose of this study, we focused on two main areas of verbal communication predispositions: (a) communication apprehension and (b) argumentativeness. In our path model, we expected that culture‐level individualism increases one's construal of self as independent, which, in turn, leads to a higher degree of argumentativeness and a lower level of communication apprehension. We also expected that culture‐level individualism decreases one's construal of self as interdependent, which, in turn, leads to a lower degree of argumentativeness and a higher level of communication apprehension. Data to test the model were drawn from undergraduates (N=539) studying in Korea, Hawaii, and mainland U.S. The data were partially consistent with the theoretical predictions made. The implications of the results for theory and practice are discussed.     

Is the medial amygdala part of the neural circuit modulating conditioned defeat in Syrian hamsters?

Conditioned defeat is a model wherein hamsters that have previously experienced a single social defeat subsequently exhibit heightened levels of avoidance and submission in response to a smaller, non-aggressive intruder. While we have previously demonstrated the critical involvement of the basolateral and central nuclei of the amygdala in the acquisition and expression of conditioned defeat, the role of the medial amygdala has yet to be investigated. In Experiment 1, muscimol, a GABA(A) receptor agonist, was infused bilaterally into the MeA prior to initial defeat training. Experiment 2 examined the effects of muscimol injections given prior to subsequent testing with a non-aggressive intruder. Finally, in Experiment 3, anisomycin was used to block protein synthesis in the medial and basolateral amygdala to examine the involvement of these nuclei in memory consolidation related to conditioned defeat. Submissive behavior was significantly reduced in animals that received muscimol prior to initial defeat training as well as in animals injected prior to testing with the non-aggressive intruder, indicating that the MeA is necessary for the acquisition and expression of conditioned defeat. In Experiment 3, however, anisomycin reduced conditioned defeat only when administered into the BLA, and not when injected into the MeA. The results of the present series of experiments suggest that, while the MeA may serve an important gateway for sensory information that is crucial for conditioned defeat, it does not appear to play a role in the plasticity including this behavioral response to social defeat.     

Increasing therapeutic exercise participation by individuals with acquired brain injury using self‐recording and reinforcement

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of self‐recording and contingent reinforcement on exercise participation by four adults with acquired brain injury. The results indicate that self‐recording and contingent reinforcement increased participation in stretching, aerobic, and weight‐lifting activities for each participant. The results also indicate that each participant was able to accurately self‐record his or her exercise participation. Possible operant conceptualizations for the observed behavior change, as well as limitations to the results, are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Subjective well-being in urban adolescents of color

Relationships among predictors and criteria of subjective well-being were examined in a sample of 151 urban adolescents of color, ages 12-15. The relative strengths of family, peer, and school-related support and esteem in predicting three measures of subjective well-being (life satisfaction, positive affect, and negative affect) were explored. Results suggested that sense of worth in one's family explained a significant amount of variance in subjective well-being variables, above and beyond the contributions of individual, school, and peer-related variables. Implications for prevention and mental health promotion with urban adolescents of color are discussed based on these findings.