Christina A. Downey

Perceptions of adolescent bullying: Attributions of blame and responsibility in cases of cyber-bullying

Cyber-bullying (where victims are targeted via online social networking or other electronic means) has gained increased attention in research and the broadcast media, but previous research has not investigated attribution of blame in such cyber-bullying events. This experiment hypothesized that participants would assign higher ratings of blame to bullying perpetrators when the bullying situations were depicted as having highly foreseeable outcomes (vs. unforeseeable outcomes), and as occurring in school (vs. online). In addition, a significant interaction was predicted between outcome foreseeability and bullying situation, with highly foreseeable in-school events being rated as the most predictable and attributable to the bullys actions. One-hundred sixty-three participants completed surveys containing demographic items, items regarding their past experiences of victimization, and one of four randomly-assigned vignettes detailing a bullying situation (which participants rated). While hypotheses regarding outcome foreseeability were supported, no cyber-bullying vs. in-school main effects (or corresponding interaction effects) were detected. Implications for future research and practice, as well as study limitations, are discussed.

Perfectionistic cognitions and eating disturbance: Distinct mediational models for males and females

OBJECTIVE Perfectionism has long been known to correlate with eating disturbance (ED). One mechanism through which this personality tendency may lead to ED is through increasing ones daily perfectionistic thoughts. This study examined the mediating role of perfectionistic thinking in the personality perfectionism-ED relationship among both male and female college students, and included measures assessing both typically-male and typically-female ED symptoms. METHOD A majority-White sample of 140 males and 329 females completed online versions of the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991), Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory (Flett, Hewitt, Blankstein, & Gray, 1998), Drive for Muscularity Scale (McCreary, Sasse, Saucier, & Dorsch, 2004), items from the Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire (Fairburn, 2008), and other measures. Regression tests examined the hypothesized role of perfectionistic cognitions as a mediator, including participant age, BMI, and positive and negative affect as covariates. RESULTS Among women, relationships between both self-oriented (Sobels statistic=-4.63, p<.001) and socially prescribed perfectionism (Sobels statistic=-5.77, p<.001) and dieting behavior were fully mediated by increased perfectionistic thinking. Among men, however, the relationship between only self-oriented perfectionism and bulimic (but not dieting) behavior, was fully mediated by increased perfectionistic thinking (Sobels statistic=-2.53, p=.01). CONCLUSIONS Perfectionistic cognitions play an important linking role between personality perfectionism and ED, and can illuminate important differences by gender in eating disturbance. Such findings can improve validity of ED assessment in both genders, and provide a clear pathway to interventions to decrease ED in both genders.

Assessment of everyday beliefs about health: The Lay Concepts of Health Inventory, college student version

This research investigated lay conceptualisations about health using a progressive mixed-method approach, culminating in a new self-report measure of lay concepts of health. In Study 1, 223 community and college-aged adults provided everyday descriptors of healthy people. These open-ended qualitative responses were narrowed to 259 distinct descriptors, and subsequently rated on their importance to health by a second lay sample (Study 2). The health descriptors rated as most important were then subjected to exploratory factor analysis in Study 3, resulting in five distinguishable factors. Proposed scale items were then administered again (to college students, in Study 4), and a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was performed. The CFA supported a four-factor model, comprised of Social-Emotional Health, Positive Health Practices, Absence of Stress and Anxiety, and Adequate Rest, presented as the college student version of the Lay Concepts of Health Inventory. The measure, as well as limitations and recommendations for future research, are presented.

Multidimensional Clinical Competence: Considering Racial Group, Development, and the Positive Psychology Movement in Clinical Practice

The present volume has brought together a wide set of empirical findings from many areas, which are usually (and often quite usefully) considered separately from one another. Specifically, we have endeavored to present a balanced, developmental picture of mental health, and illness in the five most commonly recognized racial groups within the United States. We have encouraged our contributors to offer their expertise on positive and negative psychological functioning in particular subgroups, and to make recommendations for future investigation on each subgroup. We hope that the result of this work is a useful, comprehensive, and informative volume that inspires much future work.

History of Cultural Context in Positive Psychology: We Finally Come to the Start of the Journey

This chapter summarizes how issues of culture have been approached across the history of psychology, with particular attention paid to cultural considerations in positive psychology. It is argued that one main criticism leveled by leaders in the twenty-first century positive psychology movement – namely, that psychology on the whole had largely ignored questions of human flourishing over its history before the founding of positive psychology – is not wholly supported. Examples tracing back as far as William James, Wilhelm Wundt, and G. Stanley Hall are offered, and the disciplines of developmental psychology, humanistic psychology, and counseling psychology receive special attention. Regarding culture, however, it is concluded that interest in strengths and protective factors associated with culture is only beginning in earnest, and the knowledge base in this area is yet far too small. Continuing work in this area is critical to redress past injustices and present disparities related to cultural group membership.

Integrating Positive Psychology and Developmental Viewpoints into the Study of Mental Health Across Diverse Groups

In 1998, nearing the end of his presidential term at the American Psychological Association, Martin Seligman raised a public call for a new focus in psychology, what he referred to as a positive psychology (Seligman 1998). Then, in January of 1999, Martin Seligman invited several up and coming researchers to join him and a few senior colleagues to discuss what a positive psychology may look like in both theory and action. The first author was one of those fortunate to have been selected. We gathered in a small town in sunny Akumal, Mexico, and for several days and nights, we shared our thoughts and experiences of what a bold new psychology may look like. What was not questioned was the potential value of establishing such a psychology in the field. Now, nearly a decade later, the results of those early discussions have not only impacted the imagination of thousands of individuals, but they have also come to bear fruit in the form of hundreds of journal and book publications, confirming the interest and value of positive psychology in our world.

Psychology of European American Adults: Challenges, Advantages, and the Push for Further Growth

This chapter presents information on mental health issues in European American (White) adults, focusing on poverty, traumatic experience, and alcohol abuse as major challenges to the maintenance of mental health in this group; access to health care, willingness to seek assistance for mental health issues, and selected cognitive factors as strengths contributing to resilience in this group; and how some of the advantages enjoyed by Whites in the United States can be furthered to strengthen the overall mental health of this group.

Race, Age, and Mental Health: Expanding on the Transactional Model of Development to Include the Impact of Racial Group Membership

There should now be little doubt in the thoughtful reader’s mind that empirical study of race and ethnicity in relation to mental health has been granted elevated status, particularly in recent years. This seems to reflect a growing and deepening acknowledgement of the variations in experience that members of differing social groups have in American society (Anderson and Nickerson 2005). In particular, the research reviewed throughout the preceding chapters highlighted how greater value is being placed on uncovering differences in typical mental and emotional stability in various groups, and how this topic is receiving increased attention in research and clinical settings. Authors contributing to the present volume collectively reinforced how every major event in the life cycle of mental disorder can be impacted—positively or negatively—by one’s racial group status. Specifically, the distribution of risk and protective factors for mental disorders; experience of activating events such as reduced healthcare or trauma exposure; issues involving the diagnostic process; choices made regarding treatment and administration of services; and the quality of relapse prevention care all appear to be moderated, at least in part, by issues of race. In addition, the preceding review illustrated how these differences are already apparent early in the lifespan (e.g., childhood; also see Tamminen 2006, for further discussion) and often persist throughout adulthood and into older age.