James W. Crosby

A Reliability Generalization Study of Coefficient Alpha for the UCLA Loneliness Scale

Loneliness is a psychological construct that has been reported in a variety of populations and associated with a number of other negative psychological problems. This study was an examination of coefficient alpha of a prominent measure of loneliness: the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980; Russell, 1996). We utilized reliability generalization to provide an aggregate estimate of the reliability of the scale over time and in a variety of populations as well as to assess and identify sampling and demographic characteristics associated with variability in coefficient alpha. Of the 213 studies examined, 80 had reported alpha estimates, and we used them in this analysis. We discuss conditions associated with variability in coefficient alpha along with pertinent implications for practice and future research.

The religiosity gap: preferences for seeking help from religious advisors

As unique cultural variables receive increasing attention in the extant psychotherapy and counselling literature, religiosity seems an apt target for continued close examination. In a sample of 235 college students, the current study focused on variables associated with preferences for seeking help from a religious advisor (for psychological distress), rather than the help of a psychological professional. Results indicated that religiosity accounted for the most variance (R 2 = 0.20) in preferences for religious help-seeking (PReHS). Additionally, the perceived benefits of self-disclosure, religious involvement, mental illness stigma, and attachment anxiety all accounted for much smaller amounts of unique variance in PReHS. Practitioners are encouraged to consider internal aspects of religiosity (e.g., thoughts and beliefs) at intake and throughout treatment, in addition to more external aspects such as religious affiliation and church attendance. Limitations, implications for future research, and conceptualisations of religiosity in mental health care are discussed.

Frequency, Nature, and Correlates of Hate Crime Victimization Experiences in an Urban Sample of Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Community Members

The present study examines two central research questions. First, we sought to add to current knowledge on the frequency and types of hate crime experiences in an urban sample. Also, drawing on existing frameworks for sexual minority specific (SMS) stress, we examined internalized SMS stress (defined by internalized homophobia and acceptance concerns regarding one’s minority status) as a mediator of the association between hate crime victimization (i.e., objective or social SMS stress) and mental health symptoms (i.e., symptoms of depression, anxiety, and general stress). Participants were 336 self-identified lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) community members who elected to participate in research at a community health agency in an urban southwestern United States jurisdiction. Results suggested (a) approximately one third of the sample reported lifetime hate crime victimization, with the most common types characterized by interpersonal, as opposed to property, crimes; (b) approximately half of participants reported their most recent victimization to law enforcement; and (c) internalized SMS stress mediated the relation between hate crime victimization and overall mental health symptoms. Findings are discussed with respect to implications of the unique nature of hate crimes in an urban setting, as well as theoretical and practical implications of SMS stress findings.

Measuring Attitudes About Hate: Development of the Hate Crime Beliefs Scale

Employing the federal Hate Crimes Prevention Act (HCPA) of 2009 and other such legislation as a backdrop, the present study evaluated the nature of beliefs about hate-crime legislation, offenders, and victims. In addition, it investigated construct validity (i.e., political beliefs and prejudice) and predictive validity (i.e., blame attribution and sentencing recommendations). A total of 403 U.S. adults completed measures of prejudice and an initial pool of 50 items forming the proposed Hate Crime Beliefs Scale (HCBS). Participants were randomly assigned to read one of four hate-crime vignettes, which varied in regard to type of prejudice (racial-, sexual orientation-, transgender-, and religion-based prejudices) and then responded to blame and sentencing questions. Factor analyses of the HCBS resulted in four sub-scales: Negative Views (i.e., higher scores reflect negative views of legislation and minority group protection), Offender Punishment (i.e., higher scores suggest endorsement of greater punishment), Deterrence (i.e., greater scores denote support for hate-crime legislation as a deterrent of more violence), and Victim Harm (i.e., higher scores reflect pro-victim attitudes). Greater pro-legislation and pro-victim beliefs were related to liberal political beliefs and less prejudicial attitudes, with some exceptions. Controlling for a number of demographic, situational, and attitudinal covariates, the Negative Views sub-scale displayed predictive utility, such that more negative views of legislation/minority group protection were associated with elevated victim blame, as well as lower perpetrator blame and sentencing recommendations. Results are discussed in the context of hate-crime research and policy, with additional implications considered for trial strategy, modern prejudice, and blame attribution theory.

Preferences for religious help-seeking: racial and gender differences, interfaith intolerance, and defensive theology

We examined the relation between preference for religious help-seeking and defensive theology, interfaith intolerance, spiritual conceptualisations of mental health problems, race/ethnicity, and gender in a predominantly Christian sample of 389 college students. MANOVA revealed significant main effects for race/ethnicity, with African American participants showing higher scores than Caucasians and Latinos/as across all main study variables. Follow-up ANOVA yielded main effects for race across all four variables and main effects for gender on spiritual conceptualisation of mental health problems and defensive theology. All race/ethnicity by gender interactions were nonsignificant. Preference for religious help-seeking was regressed in a hierarchical manner on race/ethnicity and gender, followed by interfaith intolerance, defensive theology, and spiritual conceptualisation of mental health problems. A statistically significant model explaining 46% of the variance emerged incorporating all variables except race. A framework for understanding help-seeking preference is presented, followed by directions for future research.

Treatment beliefs and techniques of clinicians serving child maltreatment survivors.

A significant focus in the child maltreatment field is greater dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatments (EBTs). Research has attempted to identify attitudes toward EBTs and training experiences that predict clinicians’ use of EBTs; however, these findings have yielded mixed results. This study reports on the results of a nationwide (United States) sample of 256 clinicians serving child maltreatment survivors, who completed questionnaires assessing beliefs about the clinical process, treatment technique selection, and attitudes toward EBTs. Psychometric data are presented on two new scales. The first scale examines clinicians’ beliefs about two components of the clinical process: (1) the extent to which treatment should be structured/directed by the clinician and (2) children’s verbal capacity to discuss traumatic events. The second scale assesses clinician-reported selection of various treatment techniques and contains four subscales: Cognitive–Behavioral, Play/Experiential, Psychodynamic, and Uncommon. Using these scales, a series of analyses were performed to determine which attitudes, beliefs, and training variables were associated with the selection of treatment techniques. After controlling for the impact of other variables, significant associations between the two clinical process beliefs and cognitive–behavioral and play/experiential techniques utilization were observed. Implications of these results for increasing implementation of EBTs with child maltreatment survivors are discussed.

Personality, spirituality, suicide, and self-injury proneness among lesbian, gay, and bisexual adults

The present study sought to clarify gaps in current knowledge integrating personality, spirituality, and risk for suicide/self-harm among sample of 336 lesbian, gay, and bisexual community members. It was hypothesised that Neuroticism would positively predict, and Extraversion and Agreeableness would negatively predict, measures of suicide and self-injury proneness. Additionally, it was predicted that spirituality, defined as Spiritual Life Integration (SLI) and Social Justice Commitment, would interact with personality traits to attenuate risk for suicide and self-injury. Results supported the role of Neuroticism, and identified an unexpected predictor of Conscientiousness, at the main effect level. Moderation patterns were observed such that Agreeableness and Extraversion interacted with SLI to attenuate risk, such that high levels of each trait and high levels of spirituality were protective against suicide and self-injury proneness. Theoretical and practical implications with emphasis on counselling intervention implementation and future research are discussed.

Making Sense of Quest's Multidimensionality: The Search for a Higher Order Structure

The multidimensionality of the Quest construct has been suggested by a number of authors, although there is a paucity of multidimensional Quest scales in the extant literature. Further, the vast majority of researchers continue to utilize unidimensional measures of Quest. In a sample of 436 university students, the Multidimensional Quest Orientation Scale (MQOS; Beck & Jessup, 2004) was subjected to a principal axis factor analysis. The results suggested a nine-factor structure, although the Exploration scale was removed, due to its suspected measurement of apologetics. The remaining eight factors were subjected to a secondary factor analysis, suggesting a higher-order factor structure consistent with Edwards et al.s (2002) concepts of “hard” and “soft” Quest. Correlational analyses between the MQOS subscales and other measures of religiosity (e.g., extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, religious commitment, and defensive theology) support the usage of multidimensional measures of Quest, due to the unique information provided by each of the dimensions and their respective higher order factors. However, the higher order structure helps to elucidate the broader themes suggested within the multiple dimensions of Quest.