Attachment security,values, and prosocial attitudes

The objective of this study was to determine whether individuals with different attachment styles held different prosocial values and attitudes given their different models of self and of others. A sample of 717 university students completed the ECR ‐S (Experiences in Close Relationships‐Spanish) and the PVQ (Portrait Values Questionnaire), and evaluated different prosocial attitudes. The results showed that secure individuals reported higher scores on self‐transcendence and in the value self‐directions of the dimension openness to change , whereas insecure individuals had higher scores on conservation and self‐enhancement . No differences were found in the attitudes of individuals with different attachment styles. These findings show a link between the dimensions of the universal values theory, and the models of self and of others.     

Self-esteem Interventions in Adults – A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Many types of intervention are used to boost adults’ self-esteem but their relative efficacy and the characteristics that moderate this efficacy remain unclear. We addressed these questions via a meta-analysis of 119 studies. Results obtained using a random-effects model showed a significant effect of interventions on adults’ global self-esteem, d = 0.38, 95% CI [0.33, 0.43]. This efficacy is moderated by some types of intervention, session format, experimenter contact, population type, and type of control group. We discuss these findings by addressing the limitations of our analyses and some issues related to this field of research (e.g., lack of power, heterogeneity of the studies included, publication bias, confounding effects) and by providing recommendations for future research and clinical practice.     

Evaluation of an integrated fluency and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy intervention for adolescents and adults who stutter: Participant perspectives

PurposeChildhood-onset stuttering is a neurodevelopmental disorder that may cause pervasive negative consequences for adults who stutter. In addition to significant challenges in personal, social, and emotional domains, stuttering has been shown to impose an economic burden on adults who stutter. Intervention for adults who stutter has historically addressed speech fluency more so than the covert psychosocial aspects of the disorder. There is an identified clinical need for holistic, efficacious, and cost-effective stuttering interventions that meet consumer needs. The purpose of the present study is to evaluate a novel, integrated intervention that combined traditional fluency techniques with Acceptance and Commitment Therapy, from the perspective of the adults who stutter who participated in the intervention.MethodTwenty-eight adults who stutter completed the intervention program. Participants were invited to complete an online post-program written survey (including qualitative comments) and a semi-structured interview to explore their evaluations of the program with respect to its authenticity, acceptability, and social validity.ResultsParticipants perceived positive psychosocial changes as a result of the program, and were satisfied with the program overall. Qualitative thematic analyses of the written survey comments and the semi-structured interviews identified two major themes: factors specific to the intervention and factors specific to the therapeutic process. Several important sub-themes were also identified.ConclusionFindings support the authenticity, acceptability, and social validity of an integrated fluency and psychosocial intervention for stuttering. Findings also highlight the need for consideration of the consumer voice in the management of stuttering disorders, in keeping with person-centred care.     

When Training Becomes Incentive for Generative Living and Working Together in Organizations

This article has come about from two considerations: on one hand, living together in a work environment is becoming more and more challenging; on the other, training professionals at work represents a used and relevant action incentive in order to support and improve individual, group, and organizational development. In light of the fact that organizations are asking more and more complex questions, this work aims at developing a reflection on how adopting a certain perspective and educational method is particularly suitable to support the organization to achieve substantial outcomes, such as developing generative living and working together in organizations. In this article, we will analyze two illustrative cases, underlining evolution and learning process with a particular focus on the consequences of living and working together in organizations.     

A Lateral Reading of Religion: Christianity in Sister Relationships

Sociologists of religion continue to give precedence to parent–child transmission in studies on religion and family. In doing so, other kinds of family relationships that also influence religious beliefs and practices remain in the background. In this article, instead of using a vertical lens, religion in the family is approached through a lateral reading of sisters’ religious lives. Drawing on 13 biographical accounts, which included family diagrams and time-lines, conducted with adult women who identified as sisters and as Christian, this article examines the intersection of religion with practices of intimacy and social context. By looking laterally, this article explores the mutual shaping of religion and sibling ties and gives recommendations for the way this under-researched area can expand the sociological study of religion within families.     

Generativity in multiple roles

Interest in the Eriksonian notion of generativity and its role in the lives of mature adults has recently increased. In the present study, we examined generativity separately in the roles of wife, worker, and mother, and examined the utility of our strategy relative to more global measurement strategies in explaining variation in well-being. Two samples of employed mothers were studied, one sample employed in private industry and the other in a university setting. Statistical analyses demonstrated that measurement equivalence existed across the two samples (i.e., that the patterns and magnitudes of factor loadings did not differ significantly). For 8 of 11 indices of well-being examined across the two samples, role-specific measures of generativity explained significantly greater variation than did global measures.     

“Should I or shouldn’t I?” Imitation of undesired versus allowed actions from peer and adult models by 18- and 24-month-old toddlers

Imitation is a common way of acquiring novel behaviors in toddlers. However, little is known about toddlers’ imitation of undesired actions. Here we investigated 18- and 24-month-olds’ (N = 110) imitation of undesired and allowed actions from televised peer and adult models. Permissiveness of the demonstrated actions was indicated by the experimenter’s response to their execution (angry or neutral). Analyses revealed that toddlers’ imitation scores were higher after demonstrations of allowed versus undesired actions, regardless of the age of the model. In agreement with prior research, these results suggest that third-party reactions to a model’s actions can be a powerful cue for toddlers to engage in or refrain from imitation. In the context of the present study, third-party reactions were more influential on imitation than the model’s age. Considering the relative influence of different social cues for imitation can help to gain a fuller understanding of early observational learning.     

Moderating variables of the sexual “victim to offender cycle” in males

Most existing research shows that outcomes after sexual abuse (i.e., behavioral, social, and psychological) are similar for men and women. The sexual abuse “victim to offender cycle” is one clear exception, in that it is reported with much greater frequency in men than in women. This comprehensive, critical review examines potential moderator variables of the sexual victim to offender cycle in sexually abused men. A conceptual model is presented, which integrates existing empirically-tested potential moderators of the victim to offender cycle into: (a) victim characteristics, (b) perpetrator characteristics, (c) abuse characteristics, (d) post-abuse factors, and (e) family factors. The literature preliminarily suggests that post-abuse masturbation, fantasy, and pleasure related to the abuse moderate the victim to offender cycle. Additionally, family factors, including parental loss, experiencing multiple forms of abuse, and family support moderate this outcome. Contrary to expectations, existing research does not indicate that the victim's relationship with the offender, perpetrator gender, victim's age at abuse onset, or penetration during abuse moderate the victim to offender cycle.     

Acculturation and its determinants among adult immigrants in France

The present study pursued three aims. First, it sought to determine the distribution of types of identification among adult immigrants in France; second, it investigated certain determinants that might contribute to the emergence of exclusively French or ethnic identifications; and third, it attempted to assess the outcomes of French or ethnic identification strategies for well-being. Participants of the study were 6211 adult immigrants in France, aged between 45 and 70 years (M = 55.8, SD = 7.21), 53.6% males. Findings revealed that participants' dominant identification style of belonging was either French (n = 2758, 44.4%) or home country/ethnic group affiliation (n = 1899, 30.6%), with a greater tendency towards the former. In relation to the study second question, it was found that lower levels of education and involvement with French society, higher degrees of religiosity, and shorter lengths of residence in France were positively connected with home country/ethnic group identification as against French and vice versa. Stronger feelings of being settled in France and a command of French, and lower degrees of involvement with the initial national/ethnic community, were associated with a significant decrease in the likelihood of home country/ethnic group identification as against French and vice versa. While respondents' personal experiences of discrimination in home country/ethnic group before migration to France predicted a lower likelihood of home country/ethnic group identification compared to French and vice versa, immigrants' reports of being discriminated against in France had no significant effect on identification choices. Findings revealed also that those identifying with their home country/ethnic group recorded relatively higher degrees of maladjustment than those asserting a French identification.     

Intelligence in childhood and risk of psychological distress in adulthood: The 1958 National Child Development Survey and the 1970 British Cohort Study

Lower cognitive ability is a risk factor for some forms of severe psychiatric disorder, but it is unclear whether it influences risk of psychological distress due to anxiety or the milder forms of depression. The participants in the present study were members of two British birth national birth cohorts, the 1958 National Child Development Survey (n = 6369) and the 1970 British Cohort Study (n = 6074). We examined the association between general cognitive ability (intelligence) measured at age 10 (1970 cohort) and 11 years (1958 cohort) and high levels of psychological distress at age 30 (1970 cohort) or 33 years (1958 cohort), defined as a score of 7 or more on the Malaise Inventory. In both cohorts, participants with higher intelligence in childhood had a reduced risk of psychological distress. In sex-adjusted analyses, a standard deviation (15 points) increase in IQ score was associated with a 39% reduction in psychological distress in the 1958 cohort and a 23% reduction in the 1970 cohort [odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) were 0.61 (0.56, 0.68) and 0.77 (0.72, 0.83), respectively]. These associations were only slightly attenuated by further adjustment for potential confounding factors in childhood, including birth weight, parental social class, material circumstances, parental death, separation or divorce, and behaviour problems, and for potential mediating factors in adulthood, educational attainment and current social class. Intelligence in childhood is a risk factor for psychological distress due to anxiety and the milder forms of depression in young adults. Understanding the mechanisms underlying this association may help inform methods of prevention.