Glenn E. Good

Assessing Women's Feminist Identity Development: Studies of Convergent, Discriminant, and Structural Validity

Researchers have called for increasing sophistication in the assessment of womens feminist identity development (Enns & Hackett, 1990; Hackett, Enns, & Zetzer, 1992) to understand important psychological processes. This series of studies examined recent efforts to operationalize Downing and Roushs (1985) model of feminist identity development. Specifically, the psychometric properties of two existing measures—the Feminist Identity Development Scale (Bargad & Hyde, 1991) and the Feminist Identity Scale (Rickard, 1987)—were examined in two studies with separate samples of women (total N = 486). Results of Study 1 indicated the strengths and significant limitations associated with each scale (e.g., low internal consistency for some subscales, item-subscale inconsistency). A composite measure (derived from these scales) with better overall psychometric properties is described. In Study 2, we found good support for the composite instruments internal consistency, as well as convergent, discriminant, and factorial validity in a sample that included a wide age range and nonstudent community residents.

Masculinity research: A review and critique

Abstract This review examines and critiques recent research on masculinity ideology and masculine role conflict. First, definitions, models, and instrumentation are addressed, and then research regarding the psychosocial, biomedical, and multicultural correlates of masculinity ideology and masculine role conflict are examined. In addition, use of professional healthcare services by men and professional biases against men are discussed. In reviewing this body of research, three major criticisms are discussed: the use of inappropriate instruments, limited sampling, and research paradigm fixation. Solutions are proposed for particular methodological problems, and recommendations are made for further research.

Assessing career search expectations: Development and validation of the Career Search Efficacy Scale.

An instrument was developed to assess the career search efficacy of individuals who are interested in finding careers or jobs, changing careers or jobs, or reentering the job market. Principal components analysis of the 35-item Career Search Efficacy Scale (CSES; Solberg, Good, & Nord, 1991) yielded four factors: (a) Job Exploration, (b) Interviewing, (c) Networking, and (d) Personal Exploration Efficacy. Internal consistency for the subscales ranged from .87 to .95 indicating very good internal consistency. Convergent and discriminant validity of the CSES was also assessed. A principle component analysis indicated that the CSES converged with indices of career self-efficacy and discriminated from personality measures (e.g., assertiveness, interpersonal skills, and instrumentality). Implications for future research and practice are discussed.

The normative Male Alexithymia Scale: Measurement of a gender-linked syndrome.

This series of studies assessed the psychometric properties of the Normative Male Alexithymia Scale (NMAS), a brief scale designed to assess normative male alexithymia. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using separate samples (n = 248 and 467, respectively) indicated that the NMAS consist

Substance Use, Confrontation of Impaired Colleagues, and Psychological Functioning among Counseling Psychologists: A National Survey

Three hundred and ninety-three members of APA Division 17 (Counseling Psychology) completed a survey examining their past and current substance use, identification and confrontation of impaired psychologists, life satisfaction, work stress, and psychological distress. Respondents indicated favorable perceptions of their personal and professional satisfaction, low to moderate work stress, and minimal psychological distress. Overall, reported current levels of alcohol use were modest and use of other substances was low, although approximately 10% reported having been confronted for their substance abuse in the past. Forty-three percent of respondents reported knowledge of a male psychologists and 28% reported knowledge of a female psychologists current alcohol use problem; however, results suggested a general disinclination to confront impaired colleagues. The need to reconcile ethical obligations with the practical realities of confronting impaired psychologists is addressed.

Italian and American Masculinities: A Comparison of Masculine Gender Role Norms

This study extends empirical data regarding the social constructionist perspective of gender roles by exploring cross-cultural differences in masculine role norms. An additional aim was to test for relations between adherence to particular norms and aspects of psychological well-being. In a sample of 152 Italian male students, participants endorsed less traditional views toward 9 of the 11 masculine norms of the Conformity to Masculine Norms Inventory and reported significantly less conformity than comparable American students. Only the playboy norm received greater endorsement by Italian respondents in this sample. In addition, although male students residing in southern Italy reported greater conformity than their central Italian counterparts, they still endorsed a less traditional stance toward masculine norms than male students in the United States. The masculine norms of emotional control and self-reliance were negatively correlated with positive relations with others. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Understanding Men's Psychological Distress: Contributions of Problem-Solving Appraisal and Masculine Role Conflict

The relations among masculine role conflict, problem-solving appraisal, and 3 aspects of psy-chological distress (depression, anxiety, and dissatisfaction with social support) were investigatedusing latent variable modeling in a sample of 260 male college students. The final model indicatedacceptable representation of the data and explained 35% of variance in men’s experience ofpsychological distress. Problem-solving appraisal predicted 34% of men’s psychological distress.However, contrary to published research, masculine role conflict accounted for only 1% of men’sexperience of psychological distress via its indirect relation through problem-solving appraisal.These findings call into question the uniformity myth that greater masculine role conflict isclosely associated with men’s experience of psychological distress. Potentially salient implica-tions of the findings for practice and future research are discussed.

MORE ON THE STRUCTURE OF MALE ROLE NORMS

This study assessed the structure of a widely used measure of masculinity ideology, the Male Role Norms Scale (Thompson & Pleck, 1986), using data from four samples of male college students (total N= 656) at two large, public universities (one Midwestern, one Eastern-Central). Exploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor model best fit the data in the exploratory sample (sample 1; N = 210). The four factors were Status/Rationality, Antifemininity, Tough Image, and Violent Toughness. A series of confirmatory factor analyses on a validation sample (samples 2, 3, and 4; N = 446), tested four models based on theory (i.e., Brannon, 1976) and previous research (i.e., Thompson & Pleck, 1986). Results from Study 1, our exploratory analysis, indicated that the four-factor model derived from the exploratory sample in Study 1 provided the best fit for the validation sample data of all models tested and also provided a good fit in absolute terms, according to several model–data fit indices. Implications for the assessment of masculinity ideology and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Women's Feminist Consciousness, Anger, and Psychological Distress.

The goal of this study was to bring together several lines of research and theory on womens feminist consciousness from psychology, sociology, and philosophy. Past literatures had suggested bivariate links between feminist identity development and psychological distress, feminist identity and anger, feminist identity and interpersonal conflict, plus anger and psychological distress. Putting the pieces together, the authors hypothesized that anger would mediate the associations between feminist identity and distress. Path analyses using data from 191 women indicated consistent links with distress only for the revelation dimension of feminist identity attitudes. All 9 links were mediated by anger, as predicted, while holding social desirability constant. The authors encourage continued attention to both the positive and painful effects of politicized consciousness.

Motivational interviewing for smoking cessation in college students: A group randomized controlled trial

OBJECTIVE To examine the efficacy of four individually-delivered Motivational Interviewing counseling sessions for smoking cessation versus a matched intensity comparison condition. METHOD From 2006-2009, students attending college in the Midwest smoking at least 1 of 30 days were recruited regardless of their interest in quitting. 30 fraternities and sororities were randomized, resulting in 452 participants. RESULTS No significant differences were found for 30-day cessation between treatment and comparison at end of treatment (31.4% vs 28%, OR=1.20, 95% CI 0.72,1.99) or at follow-up (20.4% vs 24.6%, OR=0.78, 95% CI 0.50,1.22). Predictors of cessation at follow-up, regardless of condition, included more sessions attended (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.1,1.8) and more cigarettes smoked in 30 days at baseline (OR 4.7, 95% CI 2.5,8.9). The odds of making at least one quit attempt were significantly greater for those in the smoking group at end of treatment (OR 1.75, 95% CI 1.11,2.74) and follow-up (OR 1.66, 95% CI 1.11,2.47). Modeling showed reduction in days smoked for both groups. At end of treatment, more frequent smokers in the treatment condition had greater reductions in days smoked. CONCLUSION Motivational Interviewing for smoking cessation is effective for increasing cessation attempts and reducing days smoked in the short run.