M. Meghan Davidson

The Scale of Ethnocultural Empathy: Development, validation, and reliability

Summary and Overall Discussion The purpose of this study was to develop a scale to quantita-tively and effectively measure the construct of ethnocultural em-pathy. On the basis of a review of the literature, ethnoculturalempathy as a construct was derived from definitions of generalempathy, multiculturalism, and cultural empathy. Our effort tocreate a three-factor scale was partially supported by the results ofthe factor analysis. Although there are parallels between the in-tended definition of the three factors and the final results, the factoranalysis revealed the presence of a fourth factor. The factorscontributed to the amount of variance accounted for by the scale inthe following order, from strongest to weakest: Empathic Feelingand Expression, Empathic Perspective Taking, Acceptance of Cul-tural Differences, and Empathic Awareness. The four-factor solu-tion suggests that there are four distinct components underlyingscores on the SEE.The four factors of the SEE closely replicate the theoreticalconstructs of empathy found in the literature and bring new un-derstanding to the construct of ethnocultural empathy. Duan andHill (1996) suggested that the concept of general empathy consistsof two components: empathic emotions and intellectual empathy.The most comprehensive model of cross-cultural empathy, dis-cussed by Ridley and Lingle (1996), includes communicativeempathy in addition to the similar emotional and intellectualaspects. The four factors revealed in the present study not onlysupport the existence of the emotional, intellectual, and commu-nicative aspects of ethnocultural empathy but also suggested thatthe components of ethnocultural empathy may be more compli-cated than has been conceptualized in the existing literature (i.e.,there may be more than three components). For example, theintellectual aspect of ethnocultural empathy may encompass one’sperspective taking and awareness toward racial and ethnicdifferences.Table 5Univariate Analyses of Variance on Racial Differences in SEE Subscale Scores

Clinical and Subclinical Eating Disorders: An Examination of Collegiate Athletes

Abstract

Food, mood, and attitude: reducing risk for eating disorders in college women.

Food, Mood, and Attitude (FMA) is a CD-ROM prevention program developed to decrease risk for eating disorders in college women. Female 1st-year students (N = 240) were randomly assigned to the intervention (FMA) or control group. Equal numbers of students at risk and of low risk for developing an eating disorder were assigned to each condition. Participants in the FMA condition improved on all measures relative to controls. Significant 3-way interactions (Time x Condition x Risk Status) were found on measures of internalization of sociocultural attitudes about thinness, shape concerns, and weight concerns, indicating that at-risk participants in the intervention group improved to a greater extent than did low-risk participants. At follow-up, significantly fewer women in the FMA group reported overeating and excessive exercise relative to controls.

Same-Sex Intimate Partner Violence: Lesbian, Gay, and Bisexual Affirmative Outreach and Advocacy

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is pervasive and crosses all boundaries of sexual orientation, race, and class. Scholars contend that the intimidation of another person through abusive acts and words is not a gender issue. Organizations seeking to offer equitable services to survivors of IPV must intentionally establish themselves as inclusive agencies. This article presents a review of common societal myths and barriers to help-seeking for survivors of same-sex partner violence and offers program guidelines for lesbian, gay, and bisexual affirmative outreach services and advocate training.

The Relationship Between Victimization and Substance Use Among Homeless and Runaway Female Adolescents

Each year, thousands of female adolescents run away from home due to sexual abuse, yet they continue to be victims of sexual assault once on the street. To date, few studies have examined how various forms of victimization are related to different types of substance use. The purpose of this article is to investigate the relationship between street exposure, childhood abuse, and different forms of street victimization with alcohol and marijuana use among 137 homeless and runaway female adolescents. Results from path analysis revealed that child sexual abuse was positively linked to trading sex and sexual and physical victimization. In addition, those who have traded sex experienced greater physical victimization, and who have spent more time away from home, used alcohol more frequently. Moreover, trading sex and experiencing more types of sexual victimization were positively linked to more frequent marijuana usage. Age, age at first run, longest time away from home, sexual abuse, and trading sex had significant indirect effects on alcohol and/or marijuana use. Together, these factors accounted for 27% of the variance in alcohol use and 37% of the variance in marijuana use.

The Computerization of Career Services: Critical Issues to Consider:

Increasingly, career centers on university and college campuses are making use of the World Wide Web to help their users with a myriad of career related needs. This technological service delivery mode has many advantages that will be briefly reviewed in this article. As well, a computer emphasis has the potential for drastically changing career centers as we know them: their traffic patterns, staffing needs, resource procurement, and perhaps most importantly, their outcomes in the lives of the students who make use of them. This article discusses these changes and through a review of seven critical issues, challenges the reader to closely examine the implications for technology within their own career centers.

Advancing career counseling and employment support for survivors: an intervention evaluation.

The purpose of this research was to conduct a replication-based and extension study examining the effectiveness of a 5-week career group counseling intervention, Advancing Career Counseling and Employment Support for Survivors (ACCESS; Chronister, 2008). The present study was conducted in a markedly different geographic region within a larger community as compared with the original investigation conducted by Chronister and McWhirter (2006). Women survivors of intimate partner violence (N = 73) participated in ACCESS, with career-search self-efficacy, perceived career barriers, perceived career supports, anxiety, and depression assessed at preintervention, postintervention, and 8-week follow-up. Women survivors demonstrated significant improvements in career-search self-efficacy and perceived career barriers at postintervention. Moreover, these same improvements were maintained at the 8-week follow-up assessment with the addition of significant improvements in perceived future financial supports, anxiety, and depression compared with preintervention scores. This work replicates the initial findings regarding the effectiveness of ACCESS with respect to career-search self-efficacy (Chronister & McWhirter, 2006) as well as extends the initial research to include improvements in perceived career barriers and perceived career supports. Moreover, the present study extends the work to include the mental health outcomes of anxiety and depression; results demonstrated improvements in these areas at 8-week follow-up. This investigation begins to fill a critical need for evaluated career-focused interventions for the underserved population of women survivors of intimate partner violence.

A Psychometric Examination of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale Among College Men

Whereas sexual objectification has most commonly been studied among women, recent calls by counseling psychologists have urged for an extension of objectification research to more fully include men (e.g., Heimerdinger-Edwards, Vogel, & Hammer, 2011). The present study examined the factor structure of the Interpersonal Sexual Objectification Scale (ISOS; Kozee, Tylka, Augustus-Horvath, & Denchik, 2007) with men. Specifically, analyses included exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with a sample of 287 college men and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with an independent sample of 221 college men. A correlated 3-factor structure was suggested by multiple criteria in EFA and was further confirmed by CFA with a bifactor model illustrating the most item variance associated with a general interpersonal sexual objectification dimension for men.

Strategies to Recruit and Retain College Smokers in Cessation Trials

Techniques to recruit and retain college fraternity and sorority members who reported past 30-day smoking into a cessation trial are described. Recruitment efforts included relationship-building, raffles, and screening survey administration during existing meetings. Surveys were administered to 76% (n = 3,276) of members in 30 chapters, 79% of eligible members agreed to participate, and 76% of those completed assessments and were enrolled in the trial (n = 452). The retention rate was 73%. Retention efforts included cash incentives, flexible scheduling, multiple reminders, chapter incentives, and use of chapter members as study personnel. Retention was not related to demographic, behavioral, or group characteristics. The strategies of partnership, convenience, and flexibility appear effective and may prove useful to investigators recruiting similar samples.

The Ripple Effects of Stranger Harassment on Objectification of Self and Others

Despite the frequency and negative consequences of stranger harassment, only a scant number of studies have explicitly examined stranger harassment and its consequences through the lens of objectification theory. The current study introduced and tested a mediation model in which women’s experiences of stranger harassment may lead to self-objectification, which in turn may lead to objectification of other people. To examine this model, undergraduate women (N = 501) completed measures of stranger harassment (including the verbal harassment and sexual pressure subscales of the Stranger Harassment Index), body surveillance, and objectification of other women and men. Consistent with hypotheses, significant positive correlations emerged among total stranger harassment, verbal harassment, sexual pressure, body surveillance, and other-objectification of women. Other-objectification of men showed a similar pattern of results, with the exception of being unrelated to total stranger harassment and sexual pressure. Consistent with the proposed model, body surveillance was a significant mediator of the relation between total stranger harassment and other-objectification of both women and men, as well as the relation between verbal harassment and other-objectification of both women and men. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as future directions for research on stranger harassment, are discussed.