A Structural Equation Modeling Approach to the Study of Stress and Psychological Adjustment in Emerging Adults

Today’s society puts constant demands on the time and resources of all individuals, with the resulting stress promoting a decline in psychological adjustment. Emerging adults are not exempt from this experience, with an alarming number reporting excessive levels of stress and stress-related problems. As a result, the present study addresses the need for a comprehensive model of emerging adult adjustment in the context of stress and coping variables and highlights the importance of accounting for differences between males and females in research concerning stress, social support, coping, and adjustment. Participants for this study are 239 college students (122 males and 117 females), the majority of whom are Caucasian. Results of structural equation modeling suggest that stress, social support, coping, and adjustment show unique patterns of relationships for males versus females. For both males and females, stress and social support show similar relationships to adjustment. In contrast, social support is related only to coping behaviors in females. Finally, social support appears to be a more important variable for female adjustment, whereas other coping behaviors appear to be more pertinent to male adjustment. Limitations and suggestions for future research will be discussed.     

Males and Females with Eating Disorders

In this study, 15 male and 15 female patients with serious eating disorders were compared. The two groups were similar in terms of demographics, comorbid conditions, and physiological complications. All three males who had bone density assessed had significant osteopenia. Abuse histories were obtained from 10 males and 10 females; childhood sexual abuse was as common among males as among females, and physical and verbal abuse was more common among the males. Abuse of others or of self was correlated, in every case, with a history of physical, sexual, or verbal abuse. Outcome was similar, with one-third to one-half of both groups significantly improved.     

Childhood traumatic events and types of auditory verbal hallucinations in first-episode schizophrenia patients

ObjectiveEvidence is accumulating that childhood trauma might be associated with higher severity of positive symptoms in patients with psychosis and higher incidence of psychotic experiences in non-clinical populations. However, it remains unknown whether the history of childhood trauma might be associated with particular types of auditory verbal hallucinations (AVH).MethodWe assessed childhood trauma using the Early Trauma Inventory Self-Report — Short Form (ETISR-SF) in 94 first-episode schizophrenia (FES) patients. Lifetime psychopathology was evaluated using the Operational Criteria for Psychotic Illness (OPCRIT) checklist, while symptoms on the day of assessment were examined using the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). Based on ETISR-SF, patients were divided into those with and without the history of childhood trauma: FES(+) and FES(−) patients.ResultsFES(+) patients had significantly higher total number of AVH types and Schneiderian first-rank AVH as well as significantly higher PANSS P3 item score (hallucinatory behavior) in comparison with FES(−) patients. They experienced significantly more frequently third person AVH and abusive/accusatory/persecutory voices. These differences remained significant after controlling for education, PANSS depression factor score and chlorpromazine equivalent. Linear regression analysis revealed that the total number of AVH types was predicted by sexual abuse score after controlling for above mentioned confounders. This effect was significant only in females.ConclusionOur results indicate that the history of childhood trauma, especially sexual abuse, is associated with higher number AVH in females but not in males. Third person AVH and abusive/accusatory/persecutory voices, representing Schneiderian first-rank symptoms, might be particularly related to childhood traumatic events.     

Association of type A behavior and its components to ways of coping with stress

This preliminary study provides evidence suggesting that Type A behavior and its components influence how people cope with personally relevant stressful situations, and that the relationship between Type A scores and coping is different when examined separately among males and females. Among males, Type A behaviors were positively correlated to the use of problem-focused coping, and inversely related to seeking social support. Among females, Type A behaviors were positively correlated with problem-focused coping, cognitive restructuring coping, and self-denigration coping. Results were integrated into Glass' model of the role of individual differences in need for personal control in the coping process, and discussed in terms of their implications for understanding the biopsychosocial mechanisms through which some Type A behaviors might increase an individual's risk of coronary heart disease.     

Association between victimization by bullying and direct self injurious behavior among adolescence in Europe: a ten-country study

Previous studies have examined the association between victimization by bullying and both suicide ideation and suicide attempts. The current study examined the association between victimization by bullying and direct-self-injurious behavior (D-SIB) among a large representative sample of male and female adolescents in Europe. This study is part of the Saving and Empowering Young Lives in Europe (SEYLE) study and includes 168 schools, with 11,110 students (mean age = 14.9, SD = 0.89). Students were administered a self-report survey within the classroom, in which they were asked about three types of victimization by bullying (physical, verbal and relational) as well as direct self-injurious behavior (D-SIB). Additional risk factors (symptoms of depression and anxiety, suicide ideation, suicide attempts, loneliness, alcohol consumption, drug consumption), and protective factors (parent support, peer support, pro-social behavior) were included. The three types of victimization examined were associated with D-SIB. Examination of gender as moderator of the association between victimization (relational, verbal, and physical) and D-SIB yielded no significant results. As for the risk factors, depression, but not anxiety, partially mediated the effect of relational victimization and verbal victimization on D-SIB. As for the protective factors, students with parent and peer support and those with pro-social behaviors were at significantly lower risk of engaging in D-SIB after being victimized compared to students without support/pro-social behaviors. This large-scale study has clearly demonstrated the cross-sectional association between specific types of victimization with self-injurious behavior among adolescents and what may be part of the risk and protective factors in this complex association.     

Gender differences in reactive and proactive aggression

The purpose of our investigation was to study gender differences in proactive and reactive aggression in a sample of 323 clinically referred children and adolescents (68 females and 255 males). Proactive aggression and reactive aggression were assessed using the Proactive/Reactive Aggression Scale. Demographic, historical, family, diagnostic, and treatment variables were entered into stepwise regression analyses to determine correlates of proactive and reactive aggression in males and females. Results reveal high rates of aggression in both males and females in the sample. Self reported drug use, expressed hostility, and experiences of maladaptive parenting were correlated with proactive aggression for both genders. Hyperactive/impulsive behaviors were correlated with male reactive aggression. An early age of traumatic stress and a low verbal IQ were correlated with female proactive aggression. Gender differences in correlates of proactive and reactive aggression may provide possible targets for research, prevention, and treatment efforts focused on reducing maladaptive aggression in clinically referred youth.     

An assessment of the attitudes of potential caregivers toward the abuse of elderly persons with and without dementia

BACKGROUND: Dementia in the elderly is associated with a greater risk of being subjected to abuse. More than half of those in Japan who abuse elderly relatives with dementia do not realize that their behavior corresponds to abuse. OBJECTIVE: This study sought to examine the effect of the presence of dementia in the elderly on attitudes toward abuse. METHODS: The subjects of this study were 135 people aged between 18 and 86 who were not taking care of elderly relatives at the time of the survey. The subjects were asked to rate how abusive they thought each of 12 behaviors listed in a questionnaire was in regard to three categories of elderly: (1) elderly with dementia who require care (DC); (2) elderly without dementia who require care (NC); and (3) elderly without dementia who do not require care (NN). RESULTS: The results of ANOVAs showed that the attitude of the subjects was associated with experience of caregiving, category of elderly, and type of abuse. The results of Bonferroni's tests indicated that the behaviors, especially those behaviors that included physical, psychological, and economic abuse, toward the DC category were not considered to be as abusive as those toward either the NC category or NN category. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that people might rate abusive behavior as being less abusive when the person being cared for has dementia.     

Ambivalence in monkey mothering. Infant abuse combined with maternal possessiveness

The maternal behavior of an abusive Japanese macaque multiparous female was compared with that of three primiparous normal females from the same colony to evaluate the quality of the abusive mother-infant relationship. The abusive mother-infant pair scored highest on maternal warmth, protectiveness, possessiveness, and scored lowest on maternal rejectingness. The finding that the abusive mother alternated violent abuse with attentive maternal care is not consistent with the learning defect explanation of monkey infant abuse. Rather, the intense anxiety she showed in the relationship with her infant indicates that she suffered from an emotional disorder that can be adequately described by referring to Bowlby's model of anxious attachment. The implications of this case for the development of a nonhuman primate model of child abuse are examined in the light of human data clearly showing attachment disturbances in some child-abusing mothers.     

Physical and sexual abuse issues among youths with substance use problems.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate the prevalence of reported physical and sexual abuse among youths with substance use problems, to explore whether youths report relying on substances to cope with the abuse, and to examine whether individual factors related to substance use were associated with the outcome measures of reported physical abuse, sexual abuse, and using substances to cope. METHOD: We assessed 287 male and female youths (age 14 to 24 years) who presented for help for substance use problems, using a semistructured interview that focused on substance use, history of previous sexual and physical abuse, and coping strategies. RESULTS: One-half of the female youth substance abusers reported having been sexually abused (50.0%), while male youth substance users reported a significantly lower rate (10.4%). Similarly, one-half of the female youths had a history of physical abuse (50.5%), and males again had a lower rate (26.0%). Of those who endorsed a history of abuse, more females (64.7%) than males (37.9%) reported using substances to cope with the trauma. Specific associations between the outcome measures and substance use variables were found for youths in both sexes. CONCLUSION: These findings underscore the importance of why clinicians should explore abuse issues with substance-using youth of both sexes. Identifying concurrent factors will help provide better intervention strategies. Suggestions for assessing sexual and physical abuse in youths with substance use disorders are provided.     

Personality dynamics of intimate abusiveness

A new theory is proposed to account for individual differences in the tendency to be abusive, assaultive, or homicidal in intimate relationships. The focus of this theory is on men whose abuse is specific to intimate relationships and is manifested through cyclical mood swings. This group, which appears to comprise about 40% of all men who present for treatment for wife assault, appears to have a borderline personality structure. For these men, abusiveness is triggered by internal mood states rather than by external events. Several studies are cited indicating that intimate attachment generates rage in wife assaulters. The origins of this attachment-rage are traced to early development. This template generates a complex of perceptions (attributions and projections) and behaviors (abusiveness) specific to intimate relationships. A personality profile of intimately abusive males has been strongly related to intimate partners' reports of psychological abusiveness in several samples of males, including physically assaultive males, non-violent controls, clinical outpatients, college students, and gay males.