Predictors of mental distress and poor physical health among homeless women

Abstract

We tested a latent variable path model in which situational, personal, and social resources predicted several mediators and the key health outcomes of mental distress and poor physical health among 871 homeless women. Mental distress was predicted by risky sexual behavior, less social support, avoidant coping, less self-esteem, client abuse history, social support from deviant sources, less drug self-efficacy and health care utilization. Poor physical health was predicted by a client abuse history, less drug self-efficacy, fewer perceived rewards for drug use, higher perceived costs for drug use, and a doctor visit. Current risky sexual behavior was predicted by a parent drug abuse history, less drug self-efficacy, and more social support from deviant sources. Current drug use was predicted by parent drug abuse history, less drug self-efficacy, more social support from deviant sources and by high perceived costs for drug use. Implications of results for intervention and theory are discussed.     

Selective review,optimism and HIV risk perception

Abstract

Research suggests that review of risk factors increases optimism about health. The present experimental study explored the effects of reviewing risk increasing and risk decreasing factors on HIV risk perception (own risk, others' risk, optimism), self efficacy and behavioural intentions. 164 heterosexual subjects completed a questionnaire concerning their beliefs about HTV and their sexual behaviour. Subjects were allocated to either the risk increasing condition (eg. since being sexually active how often have you asked your partners HIV status?), the risk decreasing condition (eg. since being sexually active how often have you tried to select your sexual partners carefully?), or a control group. The results suggest that review of risk decreasing factors increased optimism and that this change in optimism was related to an increase in perceived others' risk. The results are discussed in terms of theories of selective focus and egocentricism in risk perception and the implications for health promotion.     

Sexual quality of life in patients undergoing coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Objectives: Despite improvements in many domains of functioning, sexual quality of life often remains impaired following coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery. This study examined associations among sexual quality of life, fear of sexual activity and receiving information from providers about sexual activity in CABG patients.

Methods: Participants completed a survey assessing sexual activity, mental health and physical health at baseline (3–5-day post-surgery; n?=?60) and 2-month post-surgery (n?=?42).

Results: Sexual quality of life showed moderate difficulties at baseline and did not improve by follow-up (p values ≥0.09). At follow-up, greater patient fear was associated with lower sexual quality of life in some domains; receiving information was related to lower fear (p values ≤0.03) and greater sexual satisfaction and interest (p values ≤0.04). Suggestive of mediation, there was a significant indirect effect of information on patient fear and of patient fear on sexual interest (p?=?0.05).

Conclusions: Though data were cross-sectional, findings suggest that fears of sexual activity may play a role in lowering CABG patients’ motivation for sexual activity and that receiving information from a medical provider may assist in hastening sexual rehabilitation. Prospective and intervention studies are needed to support findings.     

Bestiarium Judaicum: Unnatural Histories of the Jews,by Jay Geller,New York,Fordham University Press, 2017, ix + 404 pp., US$75.00 (hardback), ISBN 978 0 8232 7559 5

This review article celebrates the massive contributions José Ignacio Cabezón’s Sexuality in Classical South Asian Buddhism has made to the fields of Buddhist studies, South Asian studies, and studies in gender and sexuality. After introducing the vast scope of Cabezón’s masterwork, the article draws attention to Cabezón’s notably minimalist treatment of tantra, which he asserts did no more to challenge the denigration of queer people than exoteric Buddhism did. Even so, this article picks up on the possibility Cabezón puts forward, if only hesitantly, that Mahāyāna antinomianism and tantra have the (as yet unrealized) potential for a queer Buddhist theology, with the aim of inviting further scholarship on this potential.     

Understanding and Treatment of Narcissistic Personality Disturbances

The author discusses how sexuality on the one hand develops and changes during childhood, but on the other hand, holds onto the old residues of different, earlier phases. In adult sexuality, there always remain enigmatic, regressive, even borderline emotions and feelings from earlier experiences. These residues make sexuality incomprehensible and primitive, but also offer possibilities for dreams, fantasies and creativity later in life. Autoerotic fantasies, object fantasies, enigmatic knowledge, sexuality fantasies and creative thinking are realised via these developmental residues.     

Health Policies and Bioethics: A Psychosocial Perspective in Managing the Moral Question

In Western democratic society, the specificity of the bioethical debate over the life-sciences involves bringing together many different study factors. The dilemmas raised by the new scientific discoveries highlight how contemporary common sense is plagued by a profound feeling of anguish over possible future anthropological developments. One of the central problems is the social construction of consent as a psychological strategy seeking to orient public opinion toward accepting new applications of science and technology. On the one hand, the general features in the epistemological analysis of the mind-brain identity are called into question; and on the other, together with all those research directions concerned with the “meaning of life,” we enter the dimension of the complex issue inherent in the possibility of establishing if there exists something transcending thought and what it may be. In both cases a problem is raised on which the meaning of human life and the world depend, while between the two universes described by medical science and ethical-philosophical thought a window of opportunity for important psychological research is opened. In order to understand such phenomena the present article defends the theory that social psychology must adopt as its subject matter “thinking society,” that is, society characterized by discussion and reasoning on themes relevant to bioethics.     

Finding New Language

Abstract

This study examined the role of faith, both religion and spirituality, on the sexual satisfaction of lesbian/queer and bisexual women (n = 318). A hierarchical regression was used to determine the potential influence of religion and spirituality above and beyond the variance explained by three background variables (i.e., age, sexual orientation, living with partner status). While religion did not significantly contribute to women's reports of sexual satisfaction, results indicated that both living with a partner and spirituality had a significant positive relationship with sexual satisfaction. In particular, two aspects of spirituality (spiritual freedom and connectedness) were strong predictors of sexual satisfaction.     

An Open Letter to Health and Mental Health Care Professionals from a Survivor of Sexual Exploitation

The following is a personal acount from a woman who has cerebral palsy dealing with her experiences with sexual exploitation. The article gives suggestions to the mental and health care profession about working with a survivor of sexual abuse who happens to have a disability.     

Job Analysis of United States Air Force Military Training Instructor Duty: Identification of Screening Criteria for Instructor Candidate Suitability

Initial military training-instructor duty places noncommissioned officers (NCOs) in a critical position of trust to safely, effectively train and transition recruits into military service. In this context, ineffective or inappropriate behavior by instructors has been shown to impact trainee mental health, unit cohesion, and integration ( Foran &; Adler, 2013 Foran, H. M., &; Adler, A. B. (2013). Trainee perceptions of drill sergeant qualities during basic combat training. Military Psychology, 25, 577–587. 10.1037/mil0000023[Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Abuse of power, specifically exploitative and criminally and sexually abusive behavior by even a small number of instructors, as occurred in United States Air Force (USAF) basic military training (BMT) between 2010 and 2012, may result in a broad loss of public trust. Assessment of suitability for these duties is not consistently pursued across military services, with scant empirical work to best target what is necessary for safe, effective service as a BMT instructor. This article describes 3 job-analytic studies conducted to identify criteria for screening NCOs for USAF military training-instructor duty, as well as planned methods for evaluation.