Self-esteem among lesbian,gay, bisexual and same-sex-attracted Mormons and ex-Mormons

Lesbian, gay, bisexual and same-sex-attracted (LGB/SSA) individuals in conservative religions often experience stigma, shame, and psychological distress in reconciling their religious and sexual identities, yet religion can also provide existential comfort and social support. We investigated relationships among self-esteem, participation in the Mormon Church, and sexual identity acceptance among 348 LGB/SSA Mormons and ex-Mormons in 2013–2014 and found that the two groups reported similar self-esteem. By testing plausible mediators (family support, gay/SSA identity acceptance, and agreement with Mormon Church policy prohibiting same-sex behaviour) through a path model, results revealed different pathways to self-esteem. Practicing LGB/SSA Mormons reported higher family support and lower gay/SSA identity acceptance than ex-Mormons, while those self-identifying as SSA but not gay reported lower gay/SSA identity acceptance. We suggest that religiously active Mormons demonstrate low self-acceptance of their gay/SSA identity while ex-Mormons suffer loss of familial and social support, resulting in equal self-esteem across church status groups.     

Drinking to belong: The effect of a friendship threat and self-esteem on college student drinking

The current study examined how implicit and explicit self-esteem and time spent drinking with friends influence college student drinking after a friendship threat manipulation. Poisson regression analyses revealed that students with low implicit self-esteem showed a greater increase in alcohol consumption when drinking with friends after experiencing a friendship threat than in the control condition. These effects were not found among students with high implicit self-esteem. A similar, but weaker, pattern emerged when testing the independent effects of explicit self-esteem. We suggest that low self-esteem students are drinking because they lack the self-resources to deal with unmet belongingness needs. These findings suggest that low implicit self-esteem may be a risk factor for college student drinking.     

Social connection and social networking: Daily conflict increases nightly Facebook use among avoidant participants

Using a daily diary methodology we explored whether attachment style predicted evening Facebook use and whether this effect was moderated by daily interpersonal conflict. High anxiety participants reported spending significantly more time on Facebook at night, regardless of daily conflict. Conversely, participants high in avoidance only reported increased time on Facebook on nights following days of more (vs. less) conflict. Daily conflict did not influence time spent in face-to-face interactions for avoidant participants. Interestingly, increased time on Facebook led to lower self-esteem next day , but increased time in face-to-face interactions led to higher self-esteem. Results suggest people high in avoidance use Facebook as an indirect way to seek connection following conflict, but, ironically, Facebook fails to fulfill avoidant’s belongingness needs.     

Relationships between gender self-esteem,sexual prejudice,and trans prejudice in cisgender heterosexual college students

Our understanding of sexual prejudice, or prejudice against gay men, lesbian women, bisexual people, and other sexual minorities, has improved substantially over the last few decades. Less is known about the factors that predict trans prejudice, or prejudice against trans people. Using the framework of social identity theory, we examined the relationship between gender self-esteem, sexual prejudice toward gay men and lesbian women, and trans prejudice in a sample of 391 self-identified cisgender heterosexual students from a Midwestern university in the United States. Compared to women, men reported more sexual prejudice, trans prejudice, more prejudice toward gay men than lesbian women, and more violence toward, teasing of, and discomfort around trans women than trans men. Whereas both men and women reported more teasing of trans women than of trans men, men reported more discomfort around trans women and women reported more discomfort around trans men. Gender self-esteem significantly predicted sexual prejudice and trans prejudice in men but not women. Consistent with other research, our results indicate that men's sexual prejudice and trans prejudice may be motivated by similar factors, whereas the predictors of women's prejudice may be more specific to the type of prejudice.     

Chinese college students’ gender self-esteem and trans prejudice

Most studies of trans prejudice, or prejudice against transgender people, have been conducted in Western countries. The current study explored trans prejudice in a sample of 124 heterosexual college students from the People's Republic of China. We also examined the relationship between gender self-esteem—the importance of gender to one's self-identity—and trans prejudice. Results indicated that men reported more trans prejudice than women. Both women and men reported more violence toward, teasing of, and discomfort with trans women compared with trans men. Gender self-esteem was not a significant predictor of trans prejudice for men or women. These results suggest that some of the predictors of trans prejudice in Chinese people may be similar to predictors found in Western samples. However, differences may be due to cultural factors such as membership in a collectivistic versus an individualistic society.     

感恩与生活满意度的关系:多重中介探究

目的:基于感恩对生活满意度的独特预测作用,在应对方式、自尊、情绪、一般自我效能感中探讨哪些中介变量可能是感恩能够独特预测生活满意度的原因。方法:采用Rosenberg自尊量表、一般自我效能感量表(GSES)、积极情绪和消极情绪量表(PANAS)、简易应对方式问卷(SCSQ)、大五人格简版问卷(NE0-FFI)测量338名大学生。结果:(1)控制性别、人格后一般自我效能感、应对方式、消极情绪的回归效应不显著;自尊和积极情绪的回归效应显著。(2)控制性别、人格后自尊的中介效应显著,积极情绪的中介效应不显著,自尊和情绪的对比中介效应显著。结论:(1)应对方式、消极情绪、一般自我效能感等中介变量在感恩与生活满意度间的中介作用可能受人格的影响。(2)自尊可能是感恩能够独特预测生活满意度的原因,自尊与生活满意度可能存在因果关系。     

Extraversion modulates functional connectivity hubs of resting‐state brain networks

Personality dimension extraversion describes individual differences in social behaviour and socio‐emotional functioning. The intrinsic functional connectivity patterns of the brain are reportedly associated with extraversion. However, whether or not extraversion is associated with functional hubs warrants clarification. Functional hubs are involved in the rapid integration of neural processing, and their dysfunction contributes to the development of neuropsychiatric disorders. In this study, we employed the functional connectivity density (FCD) method for the first time to distinguish the energy‐efficient hubs associated with extraversion. The resting‐state functional magnetic resonance imaging data of 71 healthy subjects were used in the analysis. Short‐range FCD was positively correlated with extraversion in the left cuneus, revealing a link between the local functional activity of this region and extraversion in risk‐taking. Long‐range FCD was negatively correlated with extraversion in the right superior frontal gyrus and the inferior frontal gyrus. Seed‐based resting‐state functional connectivity (RSFC) analyses revealed that a decreased long‐range FCD in individuals with high extraversion scores showed a low long‐range functional connectivity pattern between the medial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, middle temporal gyrus, and anterior cingulate cortex. This result suggests that decreased RSFC patterns are responsible for self‐esteem, self‐evaluation, and inhibitory behaviour system that account for the modulation and shaping of extraversion. Overall, our results emphasize specific brain hubs, and reveal long‐range functional connections in relation to extraversion, thereby providing a neurobiological basis of extraversion.     

The effects of school anxiety on self-esteem and self-handicapping in pupils attending primary school

School anxiety appears to be related to self-esteem and self-handicapping strategies. This study aims at identifying children with atypical levels of anxiety and examining the relationship between their self-esteem at school and their use of self-handicapping strategies. The sample included 120 pupils (M = 8.6 years) attending third grade of primary school and was divided into three groups: pupils with low anxiety, average anxiety and high anxiety. Children were administered the Scale for Evaluation of Anxiety (SAFA A), the TMA - Multidimensional test of Self-esteem- and the Self-Handicapping Scale for Children. On the whole, results demonstrate a nearly normative distribution of school anxiety in a nonclinical sample. Pupils with an average level of school anxiety showed a higher level of Self-esteem and engaged more in self-handicapping strategies. The developmental perspective suggests the importance of preventive research in order to identify any risk factors of subsequent anxiety disorders at an early age.     

The lack of dominance and choice deferral: Choosing to defer to cope with the feeling of being out of control

The present study aimed to explore whether emotional dominance can also account for choice deferral. This research manipulated emotional dominance through the difference in attractiveness among current alternatives in Experiment 1 and the readability of fonts for describing current options in Experiment 2, to investigate the role of dominance in choice deferral. The results revealed that increasingly submissive decision environments were related to more choice of deferral options. Mediation analyses indicated that dominance could mediate the effects of experimental manipulations on choice deferral, and that the actual choice of a deferral option was associated with more increase in dominance of retrospective emotion. The results indicate that dominance plays an important role in choice deferral and that choosing to defer can minimize the explicit confrontation of being out of control.