Rejection Sensitivity,Social Withdrawal,and Loneliness in Young Adults

Rejection sensitivity (RS) has significant negative impacts on individuals' social cognitions, feelings, and interpersonal behaviors. The present research assessed the hypothesis that the effect of RS on young adults' loneliness is mediated by their tendency to withdraw from social contact so as to avoid possible rejection. Participants completed measures of their RS, their tendencies to engage in social withdrawal to avoid rejection, and their loneliness; as well as measures of their social avoidance and distress, self‐esteem, and social self‐efficacy. Results confirmed the main hypothesis and also indicated that RS is positively related to social avoidance and distress, and negatively related to self‐esteem and social self‐efficacy. Implications of the findings for understanding and counteracting RS are discussed.     

An Analysis of Schema Theory and Learning Theory as Explanations for Variance in Adolescent Adjustment to Divorce

Learning theory and schema theory were evaluated as possible explanations for the variance found in the adjustment of adolescent children of divorce. Self-report questionnaires were completed by first year Psychology and Economics students at Stellenbosch University. Participants completed Antonovsky's Life Orientation Questionnaire (measuring adjustment); Hudson's CAM and CAF questionnaires (measuring relationships with mother and father, respectively); and a set of questions measuring attitude to divorce; as well as a biographical questionnaire. Schema theory was not supported conclusively, as results showed only limited evidence for attitude to divorce acting as a mediator between the parent-child relationship and the child's adjustment. Results did, however, support learning theory as an adequate explanation for the positive correlations found between parent-adolescent relationships and adolescent adjustment. Knowledge of the importance of learning theory in explaining variance in adolescent adjustment to divorce can increase parents' awareness of their influence on their children's adjustment. This can also be used in the design of therapeutic programs for families going through divorce.     

Religious Orientation and the Experience of Eid-ul-Azha Among Pakistani Muslims

Measures of religious orientation were used to predict the experience of Pakistani Muslims during Eid-ul-Azha , a celebration that marks the end of the Haj . Participants displayed varying degrees of correlation of the intrinsic, extrinsic-personal, and extrinsic-social orientations with interest, affect, and work-related responsibility variables during the Eid holiday. Gender differences appeared in that religious orientations were more predictive of the male Eid-ul-Azha experience, but these measures usefully clarified the religious commitments of women as well. As expected, the intrinsic orientation proved to be an especially noteworthy index of religious adjustment, and the extrinsic-social orientation was significantly lower than the other two motivations. These data demonstrated once again that religious orientation constructs developed in the West might serve as a useful point of departure for understanding the psychology of Muslim religion .     

The Relationship Between Religiosity and Narcissism

Intrinsic religiosity correlated negatively and specifically with the maladaptive exploitiveness dimension of narcissism. Data are discussed in terms of the contemporary controversy regarding humanistic-theistic values.     

Existential Confrontation and Religiosity

Recent research suggests that religious intrinsicness should predict a failure to confront existential problems whereas an interactional orientation should promote the opposite influence. This study, however, demonstrated that intrinsicness is associated only with traditional religious resolutions of such difficulties and that the interactional approach is essentially unrelated to confrontation with existential realities. These data therefore failed to support claims that orthodox, intrinsic individuals are rigid in their approach to the basic existential questions of life; the data also illustrated the importance of differentiating thought content from thought process in analyzing religious influences on psychological functioning.