Mike C. Parent

Handling Item-Level Missing Data Simpler Is Just as Good

The topic of missing data has been receiving increasing attention, with calls to apply advanced methods of handling missingness to counseling psychology research. The present study sought to assess whether advanced methods of handling item-level missing data performed equivalently to simpler methods in designs similar to those counseling psychologists typically engage in. Results of an initial preliminary analysis, an analysis using real-world data, and a series of simulation studies were used in the present investigation. Results indicated that available case analysis, mean substitution, and multiple imputation had similar results across low levels of missing data, though in data with higher levels of missing data and other problems (e.g., small sample size or scales with weak internal reliability) mean substitution produced inflation of correlation coefficients among items. The present results support the use of available case analysis when dealing with low-level item-level missingness.

His Biceps become Him: A Test of Objectification Theory's Application to Drive for Muscularity and Propensity for Steroid Use in College Men.

Mens body image problems may manifest as an unhealthy drive for muscularity and propensity to use anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS). Aspects of objectification theory were integrated with literature on mens drive for muscularity and AAS use to identify correlates of these problems. The resultant model was tested with path analyses of data from 270 college men. First, consistent with prior research on objectification theory, results indicated that body surveillance partially mediated the link of internalization of cultural standards of attractiveness with body shame. Second, positive outcome expectation for AAS use partially mediated the link of drive for muscularity with intention to use AAS. Third, drive for muscularity partially mediated the links of internalization with outcome expectation for AAS use and intention to use AAS. Finally, outcome expectation for AAS use was an additional partial mediator of the link of internalization with intention to use AAS. Body surveillance and body shame did not have unique direct or mediated relations with drive for muscularity or AAS variables. These findings point to internalization of cultural standards of attractiveness as the nexus of overlap between the objectification theory variables and mens drive for muscularity and propensity to use AAS.

CONFIRMATORY FACTOR ANALYSIS OF THE CONFORMITY TO FEMININE NORMS INVENTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF AN ABBREVIATED VERSION: THE CFNI-45

The present study undertakes the first factor analysis of the Conformity to Feminine Norms Inventory (CFNI) conducted since the instruments development. Confirmatory factor analysis using data from 243 women offered mixed support for the original 84-item CFNI structure and pointed to ways to modify the structure and reduce the length of the measure; these modifications resulted in the nine-factor CFNI-45. The CFNI-45 demonstrates superior data-model fit and comparable reliability coefficients relative to the original form of the measure. The CFNI-45 subscales also yielded high correlations with corresponding original form subscales, supporting use of the CFNI-45 as an efficient measure of the original constructs. Potential uses of the CFNI-45 in research and practice that address the role of feminine gender-role conformity in womens experiences are discussed.

Self-Objectification and Condom Use Self-Efficacy in Women University Students

This study investigated the roles of indicators of the self-objectification process in women’s condom use self-efficacy. Data were collected from 595 college women. Self-objectification variables were assessed with measures of internalization of cultural standards of beauty, body surveillance, and body shame. Participants also completed measures of perceived control over sexual activity, acceptance of sexuality, and condom use self-efficacy. Measurement and structural invariance were supported, indicating that the measurement model and hypothesized structural model did not differ across participants who were or were not sexually active. Structural equation modeling results were consistent with hypotheses and prior evidence indicating that body surveillance partially mediated the link between internalization of cultural standards of beauty and body shame. Results also indicated that body shame was associated with lower condom use self-efficacy both directly and indirectly through the partial mediation of perceived control over sexual activity; acceptance of sexuality was not a significant mediator of this link but was associated directly with greater condom use self-efficacy. These results connect the substantial literature on the self-objectification process with women’s condom use self-efficacy. Specifically, these results point to interrupting the self-objectification process and reducing body shame as well as to enhancing acceptance of sexuality and control over sexual activity as potentially fruitful targets for interventions to promote women’s condom use self-efficacy.

Moderated mediation of the relationships between masculinity ideology, outcome expectations, and energy drink use.

OBJECTIVE The consumption of energy drinks is a growing health-risk behavior for young men in the United States. The present study investigated the relationship between masculinity ideology, outcome expectations, energy drink use, and sleep disturbances. METHOD The authors recruited 467 adult males from universities and the Internet who provided data on their endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology, outcome expectations for use of energy drinks, use of energy drinks, and sleep disturbances. A theoretical model positing moderated mediation was tested using structural equation modeling and conditional process modeling. RESULTS The results supported the hypothesized model in which endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology was linked with increased outcome expectations for benefits of energy drinks, which in turn was linked with increased energy drink consumption, and which finally was linked with greater sleep disturbance symptoms. The relationship between masculinity ideology and energy drink outcome expectations was moderated by age (significant for younger men but not for older men), and the relationship between energy drink outcome expectations and energy drink use was moderated by race (significant for White men but not for racial minority men). CONCLUSION The present study adds to the literature on potential negative health implications of the endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology by offering a link between predictors of energy drink use (masculinity ideology, outcome expectations) and health outcomes of energy drink use (e.g., sleep disturbance).

Integrating self-concept into the relationship between drive for muscularity, and disordered eating and depression, among men.

Research on men’s health has increasingly recognized the importance of depression and eating disorders among men. The present study sought to extend extant work on self-concept and depression to men, incorporating muscularity-related attitudes and behaviors, and also incorporating risk for disordered eating. Two samples, one of 204 heterosexual college men and one of 197 gay and bisexual men sampled online, were recruited. Participants completed measures of drive for muscularity, self-concept, depression symptoms, and eating disorder symptoms. Data were analyzed using a structural equation model in which the relationships between drive for muscularity attitudes and behaviors, and depression and eating disorder symptoms, were mediated by physical self-concept, global physical self-concept, and self-esteem. The model was supported for the gay and bisexual men sample, but not for the college men sample. Implications for future research with men, and integration of body-related variables into therapy with men, are discussed.

A minority stress model for suicidal ideation in gay men

There is a dearth of research on mechanisms underlying higher rates of suicidal ideation among gay men compared to heterosexual men. The purpose of this study was to establish the link between social/psychological predictor variables and suicidal ideation by testing a hypothesized minority stress model. Structural equation modeling was used to assess the relationships posited in the model using data from a community sample of 167 gay men. Model fit was adequate and hypothesized relationships were partially supported. Also, depressive symptoms partially mediated the relationship between (less) outness predicting suicidal ideation. These findings imply that therapeutic approaches targeting the coming out process may be more effective than approaches targeting internalized homophobia when suicidal ideation is indicated in the clinical presentation of gay and bisexual men.

Impact of Perceived Weight Discrimination on Patient Satisfaction and Physician Trust

Fat patients may perceive weight discrimination from their physician or the support personnel with whom they interact. This in turn may harm the physician-patient relationship. Physician trust and patient satisfaction are two domains in which the effect of perceived weight discrimination can be assessed. The authors assessed whether size as measured by body mass index (BMI) is related to patient satisfaction and physician trust, and whether this relationship is mediated by perceived weight discrimination. Eighty-nine men and women of all weight classes were recruited to participate in the study. Participants completed an online survey of healthcare perceptions. The relationship between BMI and accessibility and convenience satisfaction was fully mediated by perceived weight discrimination, suggesting that measures to reduce perceived weight discrimination may be warranted in medical care settings.

Men’s Mental Health Help-Seeking Behaviors: An Intersectional Analysis:

Men seek mental health treatment less often than women. The present study sought to elucidate identities and individual difference characteristics that are associated with enhanced or decreased mental health help-seeking in a large national sample of U.S. men. Using data from 4,825 U.S. men aged 20 to 59 years, main effects of race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, age, income–poverty ratio, relationship status, depression symptoms, and body mass index were explored within the sample of men as well as intersections of these predictors with racial/ethnic group identity. While the results of main effects testing generally supported prior research (i.e., greater mental health care help-seeking among White men, nonheterosexual men, men not in relationships, older men, and more depressed men), when examined associations across racial/ethnic groups, the direction and strength of these associations showed notable variation—variation unaccounted for in prior research. These findings highlight the need for future theory building and research that accounts for this variation at the intersection of race/ethnicity and these specific predictors of help-seeking behavior among men.

Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS): Development, reliability, validity, and comparison with the ATSPPH-SF and IASMHS-PO.

Attitudes is a key help-seeking construct that influences treatment seeking behavior via intention to seek help, per the theory of planned behavior (TPB). This article presents the development and psychometric evaluation of the Mental Help Seeking Attitudes Scale (MHSAS), designed to measure respondents’ overall evaluation (unfavorable vs. favorable) of their seeking help from a mental health professional. In Study 1 (N = 857 United States adults), exploratory factor analysis (EFA), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), and item response theory (IRT) analysis were used to identify an optimal set of 9 items that demonstrated initial evidence of internal consistency, unidimensionality, and strong measurement equivalence/invariance (ME/I) across gender, past help-seeking experience, and psychological distress. Initial convergent evidence of validity was demonstrated via theoretically anticipated relationships between the MHSAS and key variables in the help-seeking nomological network (e.g., subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, intention, public stigma, self-stigma, anticipated risks and benefits, gender, previous help seeking). Initial incremental evidence of validity was demonstrated when the MHSAS demonstrated the ability to account for unique variance in help-seeking intention, beyond that accounted for by the Attitudes Toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help—Short Form scale (ATSPPH-SF) and the Psychological Openness subscale of the Inventory of Attitudes Toward Seeking Mental Health Services (IASMHS-PO). Study 2 (N = 207 United States adults at Times 1 and 2) provided initial evidence of test–retest reliability over a 3-week period. The MHSAS offers mental health professionals a new tool for measuring attitudes that may avoid limitations of current help seeking-attitudes measures (e.g., construct-irrelevant variance).