Male Role Norm Endorsement and Sexism Predict Heterosexual College Men’s Attitudes Toward Casual Sex,Intoxicated Sexual Contact,and Casual Sex

This study examined whether gender roles, particularly male role beliefs and sexism, may underlie self-reported attitudes toward and participation in casual sex and intoxication prior to sexual contact in a sample of heterosexual undergraduate men from the United States. We utilized online survey methods to examine whether men’s (N?=?223 from a large mid-Atlantic University) endorsement of traditional masculinity (power and status, toughness, and anti-femininity) and sexist attitudes regarding women’s roles (hostile, benevolent) were related to engagement in casual sex (i.e., number of one-time-only sex partners), and whether masculinity was related to intoxicated sexual contact (i.e., propensity to consume alcohol prior to sexual contact). Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) revealed that, as expected, endorsement of the toughness male role norm was positively associated with favorable attitudes toward casual sex, and endorsement of benevolent sexism was negatively associated with favorable attitudes toward casual sex. Favorable attitudes toward casual sex, in turn, were positively associated with men’s reported number of casual sex partners, as partially mediated by intoxicated sexual contact. Further, toughness endorsement was positively associated with number of casual sex partners via its positive association with intoxicated sexual contact; whereas power and status demonstrated the opposite, negative pattern. We discuss the contribution of this research to the broader literature on gender roles and sexual behavior and the utility of the findings for interventions aimed at reducing men’s casual sex behavior and intoxication prior to sexual contact.     

Differential activation patterns of occipital and prefrontal cortices during motion processing: Evidence from normal and schizophrenic brains

Visual motion perception is normally mediated by neural processing in the posterior cortex. Focal damage to the middle temporal area (MT), a posterior extrastriate region, induces motion perception impairment. It is unclear, however, how more broadly distributed cortical dysfunction affects this visual behavior and its neural substrates. Schizophrenia manifests itself in a variety of behavioral and perceptual abnormalities that have proved difficult to understand through a dysfunction of any single brain system. One of these perceptual abnormalities involves impaired motion perception. Motion processing provides an opportunity to clarify the roles of multiple cortical networks in both healthy and schizophrenic brains. Using fMRI, we measured cortical activation while participants performed two visual motion tasks (direction discrimination and speed discrimination) and one nonmotion task (contrast discrimination). Normal controls showed robust cortical activation (BOLD signal changes) in MT during the direction and speed discrimination tasks, documenting primary processing of sensory input in this posterior region. In patients with schizophrenia, cortical activation was significantly reduced in MT and significantly increased in the inferior convexity of the prefrontal cortex, an area that is normally involved in higher level cognitive processing. This shift in cortical responses from posterior to prefrontal regions suggests that motion perception in schizophrenia is associated with both deficient sensory processing and compensatory cognitive processing. Furthermore, this result provides evidence that in the context of broadly distributed cortical dysfunction, the usual functional specificity of the cortex becomes modified, even across the domains of sensory and cognitive processing.     

Differentiating the impact of episodic and chronic stressors on hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis regulation in young women.

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study was to examine the impact of episodic stress and chronic interpersonal stress on indices of HPA regulation. To explore the potential downstream consequences of altered HPA dynamics, the authors also assessed indicators of metabolic control and systemic inflammation. DESIGN: One hundred four medically healthy women between the ages of 15 and 19 participated. Following an in-depth interview of life stress, a sample of blood was drawn through antecubital venipuncture. Over the course of the next 2 days, participants gathered salivary cortisol samples. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Cortisol morning response, cortisol daily output, glucocorticoid receptor (GR) mRNA, C-reactive protein (CRP), insulin, and glucose. RESULTS: The simple presence of episodic stress or chronic interpersonal stress was not reliably associated with cortisol output, GR mRNA, insulin, or glucose. When women were exposed to an episodic stressor in the midst of chronic stress they showed increased cortisol output and reduced expression of GR mRNA. By contrast, when women had low levels of chronic stress, episodic events were associated with decreased cortisol output and increased GR mRNA. Episodic and chronic stress also interacted to predict CRP, but not insulin or glucose. CONCLUSIONS: The impact of episodic stress is accentuated in the midst of chronic interpersonal stress and diminished in its absence. Simultaneous exposure to episodic and chronic stress may create wear and tear on the body, whereas exposure to episodic stress in the context of a supportive environment may toughen the body, protecting it against subsequent stressors.     

Adherence,expectations and the placebo response: Why is good adherence to an inert treatment beneficial?

Objective: The current study sought to better understand why good adherence to a placebo treatment has been reliably associated with health benefits. We proposed a model where initial expectations shape adherence, which then influences subsequent expectations that affect placebo response. Design: Seventy-two participants were told that they were enrolling in a study of physical activity and memory, and were asked to increase their physical activity by 35% for two weeks (placebo treatment). Main outcome measures: Adherence to this physical activity target was measured by pedometer. Expectations and short-term memory (free recall) were assessed before and after physical activity. Results: Initial expectations predicted adherence to physical activity (r = .27, p < .03), but adherence did not predict subsequent expectations (r = .06, p = .60). Testing a multi-step meditational model revealed that initial expectations predicted better memory even after controlling for adherence, subsequent expectations, baseline memory and gender (c’ = 1.10, 95% CI = .46–1.74). Stronger expectations for memory improvement predicted better memory performance, but adherence and later expectations did not mediate this association. Conclusions: Good adherence to a placebo may reflect strong treatment expectations which may convey benefits by enhancing the non-specific effects of treatment.     

Making room for neutral affect: Evidence indicating that neutral affect is independent of and co-occurs with eight affective states

Motivation and Emotion - This project investigates four central issues concerning the nature of neutral affect. Specifically, whether neutral affect is (a) a common experience, (b) dependent on...     

Within-Family Effects of Smoking during Pregnancy on ADHD: the Importance of Phenotype

We sought to test within- and between- family associations of smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms using a structured interview based on the conventional Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) symptoms and the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-Symptoms and Normal-Behavior (SWAN) scale, which is a population based measure that grew out of the notion that an ADHD diagnosis exists on the extreme end of a continuum of normative behaviors and includes both above- and below- average performance on attention and activity. We used a sibling-comparison approach in a sample of 173 families including siblings aged 7–16 years (52% male) drawn from the state of Missouri, USA, wherein mothers smoked during one pregnancy but not the other. There was a within-family effect of smoking during pregnancy on SWAN hyperactivity/impulsivity and SWAN total ADHD behaviors. The associations between SDP and DSM-IV-based ADHD symptom dimensions as well as SWAN inattention were explained by familial confounds. These findings suggest that SDP exerts a potentially causal effect on increased ADHD hyperactive/impulsive behaviors and that this SDP effect is best captured when hyperactivity/impulsivity is assessed more normatively across the population, rather than specifically assessing problematic behaviors via DSM symptoms. Thus, any potentially causal effect of SDP on ADHD symptom dimensions may be restricted to hyperactive/impulsive behaviors rather than inattention, and normative, non-DSM-IV based behavioral measures may provide a more sensitive test of mechanisms of SDP-ADHD symptom associations, particularly in non-clinical samples.     

How to Talk about Gender Inequity in the Workplace: Using WAGES as an Experiential Learning Tool to Reduce Reactance and Promote Self-Efficacy

Interventions aimed at raising awareness of gender inequity in the workplace provide information about sexism, which can elicit reactance or fail to promote self-efficacy. We examined the effectiveness of experiential learning using the Workshop Activity for Gender Equity Simulation ?C Academic version (WAGES-Academic) to deliver gender inequity information. To assess whether the way gender inequity information is presented matters, we compared WAGES-Academic to an Information Only condition (knowledge without experiential learning) and a Group Activity control condition. We predicted that only the information presented in an experiential learning format (i.e., WAGES-Academic) would be retained because this information does not provoke reactance and instills self-efficacy. Participants (n?=?241; U.S. college students from a large mid-Atlantic state university) filled out a gender equity knowledge test at baseline, after the intervention, and then 7?C11?days later (to assess knowledge retention). In addition, we measured feelings of reactance and self-efficacy after the intervention. Results revealed that participants in the WAGES condition retained more knowledge than the other conditions. Furthermore, the effect of WAGES vs. Information Only on knowledge was mediated by WAGES producing less reactance and greater feelings of self-efficacy. Results suggest that experiential learning is a powerful intervention to deliver knowledge about gender equity in a non-threatening, lasting way.     

Blunted cortisol response to awakening in mild to moderate depression: regulatory influences of sleep patterns and social contacts

Cortisol is elevated during severe depression. However, some studies of outpatients suggest reduced cortisol levels, either basal or poststress. More definite evidence of this phenomenon is needed, and correlates that may explain the disparate findings should be identified. Women from the community (37 depressed and 36 nondepressed) completed electronic diaries in order to help researchers assess the cortisol awakening response (CAR), sleep, and social contacts. Depressed women had a blunted CAR compared with nondepressed women. Among the nondepressed but not among depressed women, time of waking, and number of social contacts (especially positive ones) were independently associated with CAR. These psychosocial factors may contribute to a normal CAR, but their regulatory influence may become disrupted during mild to moderate clinical depression.