Positive and negative affectivity, stress, and well-being in African-Americans: Initial demonstration of a polynomial regression and response surface methodology approach

OBJECTIVE

The extent to which positive (PA) and negative (NA) affect conjointly impact well-being is not yet well understood. Additionally, research investigating the role of affectivity in maintaining well-being among ethnic and racial minorities is scant. The current research demonstrates how polynomial regression and response surface methodology (PR and RSM) may be used to better understand how PA and NA jointly influence stress and well-being.

DESIGN

In Study 1, 291 African-American undergraduates (M_age = 22.91, SD = 6.91; 67% female) completed measures of affectivity and psychological well-being. In Study 2, a community sample of 117 African-Americans (M_age = 31.87, SD = 13.83; 69% female) completed affectivity measures and a laboratory-based social stressor task to assess links between affectivity and salivary cortisol reactivity.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES

Study 1 included life satisfaction, perceived stress and self-reported depressive symptoms. Study 2 included salivary cortisol reactivity.

RESULTS

Across both studies, PA ascendency (i.e. high PA combined with low NA) was associated with better well-being, while NA ascendancy (i.e. high NA combined with low PA) was associated with poorer outcomes.

CONCLUSION

PR and RSM may provide new insight into the conjoint influence of PA and NA on health and well-being. We discuss potential implications for affectivity research, including race-related explorations.

Variations in Adolescent Purpose in Life and Their Association With Lifetime Substance Use

Purpose in life (PIL) promotes positive development and is associated with decreased substance use. However, to our knowledge, researchers have not investigated how different categories of PIL are associated with substance use behavior among youth. Therefore, we sought to explore categories of PIL and how they are related to substance use in a sample of adolescents. Ninth through 12th-grade students from a high school in a Midwest suburban community completed a paper-and-pencil survey ( n = 408, Mage = 15.36, SD = 1.21; 50% female; 72% White). Measures included lifetime substance use and categories of PIL. Exploratory factor analyses suggest that there are three categories of PIL. Alcohol and other drug (ATOD) use was inversely related with broad other-promoting PIL, while a broad self-promoting PIL was positively associated with ATOD use. These findings suggest that exploring PIL with students may reduce substance use behavior.

Adolescents' future orientation and nonmedical use of prescription drugs

INTRODUCTION

How adolescents think about their future (i.e., future orientation) impacts their risk-taking behavior. The purpose of the present analysis was to explore whether future orientation (future planning, perceived risk to future goals, and positive future expectations) was associated with nonmedical use of stimulants and analgesics in a sample of high school students.

METHODS

Information on future orientation and nonmedical use of prescription drugs (NMUPD) were collected using a paper-and-pencil survey from a sample of 9th-12th grade students in a Midwestern school.

RESULTS

Higher perceived risk to future goals and positive future expectations were associated with a lower likelihood of self-reported nonmedical use of stimulants (n=250; OR=0.46, 95% CI: 0.26, 0.83; OR=0.15, 95% CI: 0.05, 0.47, respectively). Only higher perceived risk to future goals was associated with a lower likelihood of self-reported nonmedical use of analgesics (n=250; OR=0.40, 95% CI: 0.24, 0.68). In a follow-up analysis limited to students who endorsed alcohol or marijuana use, perceived risk to future goals remained associated with a lower likelihood of nonmedical use of stimulants and analgesics.

CONCLUSIONS

Results suggest that risk perception might be a salient protective factor against both nonmedical use of stimulants and analgesics. Overall, the differential impact of conceptualizations of future orientation might depend on the class of prescription drug used, demonstrating a need to consider prescription drugs individually in the development of future studies and interventions.

A preliminary experimental examination of worldview verification, perceived racism, and stress reactivity in African Americans

OBJECTIVE

According to worldview verification theory, inconsistencies between lived experiences and worldviews are psychologically threatening. These inconsistencies may be key determinants of stress processes that influence cardiovascular health disparities. This preliminary examination considers how experiencing injustice can affect perceived racism and biological stress reactivity among African Americans. Guided by worldview verification theory, it was hypothesized that responses to receiving an unfair outcome would be moderated by fairness of the accompanying decision process, and that this effect would further depend on the consistency of the decision process with preexisting justice beliefs.

METHOD

A sample of 118 healthy African American adults completed baseline measures of justice beliefs, followed by a laboratory-based social-evaluative stressor task. Two randomized fairness manipulations were implemented during the task: participants were given either high or low levels of distributive (outcome) and procedural (decision process) justice. Glucocorticoid (cortisol) and inflammatory (C-reactive protein) biological responses were measured in oral fluids, and attributions of racism were also measured.

RESULTS

The hypothesized 3-way interaction was generally obtained. Among African Americans with a strong belief in justice, perceived racism, cortisol, and C-reactive protein responses to low distributive justice were higher when procedural justice was low. Among African Americans with a weak belief in justice however, these responses were higher when a low level of distributive justice was coupled with high procedural justice.

CONCLUSIONS

Biological and psychological processes that contribute to cardiovascular health disparities are affected by consistency between individual-level and contextual justice factors. (PsycINFO Database Record

Grade-Level Differences in Future-Oriented Self-Concept During Early Adolescence: Potential Relevance to School Nursing

The middle school and early high school years are a time of significant development, including an increasing ability to envision oneself in the future. Little is known about how adolescents' future-oriented self-concept (i.e., possible selves) differs across grade levels, although this knowledge may aid in establishing rapport with students and building effective health promotion and risk reduction interventions. Therefore, this study explored grade-level differences in hoped for and feared possible selves in a sample of sixth- to ninth-grade students (n = 2,498; M _age = 12.72, SD = 1.15; 51.3% female). Findings suggest that adolescents list a variety of possible selves, and the content differs according to grade level. These findings offer helpful insight for intervention work aimed at improving student outcomes and preventing risk behavior. Understanding what adolescents hope and fear for themselves in the future may be particularly beneficial for school nurses in identifying the unique challenges students experience and tailoring health promotion efforts.

Coordination of cortisol response to social evaluative threat with autonomic and inflammatory responses is moderated by stress appraisals and affect

Recent approaches to stress regulation have emphasized coordination among multiple biological systems. This study builds on evidence that hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis activity should be considered in coordination with other stress-sensitive biological systems to characterize healthy responses. Healthy African-Americans (n=115) completed the Trier Social Stress Test, and biological responses were assessed through salivary cortisol, dehydroepiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S), alpha amylase (sAA), and C-reactive protein (sCRP). Multilevel modeling demonstrated that cortisol responses typically aligned with changes in DHEA-S, sAA, and sCRP across the session. At the same time, the degree of cortisol coordination with sAA and sCRP varied by participants' subjective stress following the task; participants with higher secondary stress appraisals showed greater cortisol-sAA alignment, whereas those experiencing more negative affect showed greater cortisol-sCRP alignment. Results highlight the importance of a multisystem approach to stress and suggest that positive HPA axis coordination with the autonomic response, but not with the immune/inflammatory response, may be adaptive.

Promoting Positive Future Expectations During Adolescence: The Role of Assets

Positive future expectations can facilitate optimal development and contribute to healthier outcomes for youth. Researchers suggest that internal resources and community-level factors may influence adolescent future expectations, yet little is known about the processes through which these benefits are conferred. The present study examined the relationship between contribution to community, neighborhood collective efficacy, purpose, hope and future expectations, and tested a mediation model that linked contribution to community and collective efficacy with future expectations through purpose and hope in a sample of 7th grade youth (N = 196; Mage = 12.39; 60 % female; 40 % African American; 71 % economically disadvantaged). Greater collective efficacy and contribution to community predicted higher levels of hope and purpose. Higher levels of hope and purpose predicted more positive future expectations. Contribution to community and neighborhood collective efficacy indirectly predicted future expectations via hope. Implications of the findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Sexual Assault Perpetrators' Justifications for Their Actions: Relationships to Rape Supportive Attitudes, Incident Characteristics, and Future Perpetration

Perpetrators use rape supportive attitudes and sexual assault incident characteristics to justify forcing sex on their victims. Perpetrators who can justify their behaviors are at increased risk for future perpetration. This study examined the relationships between rape supportive attitudes, sexual assault incident characteristics, and the post-assault justifications of 183 men sampled from the community who self-reported committing at least one act of sexual aggression. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses indicated that rape supportive attitudes, expectations for having sex, misperceptions of sexual intent, victims' alcohol consumption, attempts to be alone with her, and the number of consensual sexual activities prior to the unwanted sex were significant predictors of perpetrators' post-assault use of justifications. Greater use of justifications was a significant predictor of sexual aggression over a 1-year follow-up interval. These findings demonstrate the need for further research exploring when and why perpetrators use post-assault justifications and whether they are amenable to change.

Friends matter: protective and harmful aspects of male friendships associated with past-year sexual aggression in a community sample of young men

OBJECTIVES

We extended past research on sexual violence etiology by examining the impact of perceived pressure to have sex by any means and the types of objectifying and egalitarian language that friends used when discussing women.

METHODS

We examined a community sample of young single men interested in dating women (n = 423) who completed audio computer-assisted self-interviews at baseline (spring/summer 2008) and 1 year later (spring/summer 2009). We used hierarchical logistic regression analyses that controlled for baseline sexual aggression.

RESULTS

Approximately one quarter of participants (n = 108) reported that they made a woman engage in some type of sexual activity during the past year when they knew she was unwilling or unable to consent. Past-year perpetrators perceived more pressure from their friends to have sex by any means, felt less comfortable with their friends making egalitarian statements about women, and used more objectifying statements when describing how their friends talked about women compared with nonperpetrators. Seventy-eight percent of men were correctly classified by these predictors.

CONCLUSIONS

Men's discussions with each other about women could foster an environment that encourages or discourages sexual violence. We discussed future research and prevention implications.

Relationship type and sexual precedence: their associations with characteristics of sexual assault perpetrators and incidents

Although most sexual assaults are committed by men who know their victims, few researchers have considered how characteristics of perpetrators and incidents differ depending on the victim-perpetrator relationship. This study addresses this gap with a community sample of 204 men who reported committing a sexually aggressive act in an audio computer-assisted self-interview. 2 (Relationship Type: Committed vs. Casual) × 2 (Sexual Precedence: Yes vs. No) ANOVAs revealed significant main effects of relationship type and sexual precedence associated with individual difference and incident characteristics. These findings demonstrate the importance of developing theories and prevention programs tailored for different relationship contexts.

Review of survey and experimental research that examines the relationship between alcohol consumption and men's sexual aggression perpetration

This article systematically reviews empirical studies that examine associations between alcohol consumption and men's sexual aggression with the goal of identifying major findings; gaps in current knowledge; and directions for future research, practice, and policy. We identified 25 cross-sectional surveys, 6 prospective studies, and 12 alcohol administration experiments published between 1993 and August 2013 with male college students and young adult (nonincarcerated) samples. Many cross-sectional surveys have demonstrated that distal and proximal measures of men's alcohol consumption are positively associated with sexual assault perpetration, although very few of these studies evaluated how alcohol interacts with other risk and protective factors to exacerbate or inhibit sexual aggression. There are surprisingly few surveys that examine alcohol's effects at the event level and over short-time intervals to identify how changes in alcohol consumption are associated with changes in perpetration status. Alcohol administration studies suggest some important mechanisms that warrant additional investigation.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging Findings After Acute Patellar Dislocation in Children

BACKGROUND

Acute patellar dislocation (APD) is a common knee injury in children. The pattern and frequency of injury to the medial patellofemoral ligament (MPFL) is different in pediatric compared with adult populations.

PURPOSE

To report on injury patterns sustained to the MPFL after APD in children and to determine whether predisposing factors for APD cited in adults hold true in the pediatric population.

STUDY DESIGN

Case series; Level of evidence, 4.

METHODS

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies were reviewed for 36 children sustaining APD. Evidence of injury to the MPFL was documented, and when the MPFL was torn, the location of tear was determined. Presence of trochlear dysplasia, patella alta, tibial tubercle-trochlear groove (TTTG) distance, and thickness of the lateral patellofemoral retinaculum (LPR) were recorded and correlated with MPFL tear.

RESULTS

Of the 36 patients sustaining APD, only 16 tore the MPFL. The location of MPFL tear was equally divided between the origin, the insertion, or both, with no case of midsubstance tear. There was a significant correlation identified between MPFL rupture and both LPR thickness greater than 3 mm and TTTG distance greater than 19 mm.

CONCLUSION

The MPFL does not always tear in children who sustain APD, and the tear location is variable. A thickened LPR and increased TTTG distance predispose to MPFL tear.

Explaining long-term outcomes among drug dependent mothers treated in women-only versus mixed-gender programs

Specialized substance abuse treatment for parenting women is thought to improve outcomes, but long-term impacts and how they occur are poorly understood. Utilizing a sample of 789 California mothers followed for 10 years after admission to women-only (WO) or mixed-gender (MG) drug treatment, we examine the relationship between WO treatment and outcomes and whether it is mediated by post-treatment exposures to criminal justice and health services systems. At follow-up, 48% of mothers had a successful outcome (i.e., no use of illicit drugs, not involved with the criminal justice system, alive). Controlling for patient characteristics, WO (vs. MG) treatment increased the odds of successful outcome by 44%. In the structural equation model WO treatment was associated with fewer post-treatment arrests, which was associated with better outcomes. Women-only substance abuse treatment has long-term benefits for drug-dependent mothers, a relationship that may be partially explained by post-treatment exposure to the criminal justice system. Findings underscore additional leverage points for relapse prevention and recovery-supportive efforts for drug-dependent mothers.

More alike than different: health needs, services utilization, and outcomes of Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) populations treated for substance use disorders

Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs) are often portrayed as a healthy group with minor substance use problems. Using data from two studies of patients treated in 44 community-based substance use treatment sites located in three states, 298 AAPIs and a matched comparison group of 298 non-AAPI patients were compared on demographic characteristics, treatment experiences, and 1-year outcomes. At treatment entry, more AAPIs reported recent drug use and fewer injected drugs, AAPIs had less severe medical and alcohol problems, and AAPIs reported worse general health but less desire for medical and alcohol services. After controlling for baseline problem severity, there were no differences in treatment retention, completion, or outcomes. Contrary to the model minority stereotype, AAPIs have mostly similar treatment needs, experiences, and outcomes as other racial/ethnic groups in drug treatment.

Patterns of Sexual Aggression in a Community Sample of Young Men: Risk Factors Associated with Persistence, Desistance, and Initiation Over a One Year Interval

OBJECTIVE: The goal of this study is to distinguish risk factors associated with young men's self-reports of continuing (persistence), stopping (desistance), and starting (initiation) sexual aggression against women over a one year time period. This study fills gaps in the literature not addressed in other studies by examining a wide range of predictor variables prospectively in a community sample. METHOD: Single men age 18 to 35 were recruited through telephone sampling in a large metropolitan region. In person audio computer-assisted self interviews were completed at baseline and one year later (n = 423). RESULTS: By the follow-up interview, half of the participants reported engaging in some type of sexual activity with a woman when they knew she was unwilling. Discriminant function and analysis of variance demonstrated that persistent sexual aggressors had the most extreme scores on many baseline and follow-up measures including childhood victimization, social deviance, personality traits, frequency of misperception of women's sexual intent, and expectancies about alcohol's effects. At follow-up, desisters had fewer sexual partners than did persisters. Also at follow-up, initiators misperceived more women's sexual intentions, had stronger alcohol expectancies, drank more alcohol in sexual situations, and were with women who drank more alcohol as compared to nonperpetrators. CONCLUSIONS: Given the extremely high rates of self-reported sexual aggression, universal prevention programs are needed. Targeted interventions should focus on youth who were victimized in childhood, engage in delinquent behavior, are narcissistic and unconcerned about others, enjoy impersonal sex, drink heavily, and believe that alcohol enhances sexuality.