Mindy J. Erchull

Beyond Medical Risk: Investigating the Psychological Factors Underlying Women's Perceptions of Susceptibility to Breast Cancer, Heart Disease, and Osteoporosis

The relationships of epidemiological (objective) risk indices, perceived disease characteristics, and cognitive heuristics to womens perceived susceptibility to breast cancer, heart disease, and osteoporosis in a community sample of 312 women ages 40-86 were examined. Epidemiological indices accounted for a small to moderate proportion of the variance in perceived susceptibility. Psychological factors (perceived similarity to women who contract the target disease and perceived disease prevalence) predicted perceived susceptibility above and beyond medical risk factors. Opposite to actual risk, age correlated negatively with perceived susceptibility to all 3 diseases. Exploratory analyses suggested that perceived similarity, perceived prevalence, and absent/exempt beliefs might mediate this relationship. Confirmatory factor analyses verified that measures of absolute and direct comparative risk assess the same underlying construct of perceived susceptibility.

Empowering or Oppressing? Development and Exploration of the Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale

Sexualization of girls and women in America is rampant and has many negative consequences. Women, however, often report enjoying being sexually admired by men. Given this paradox, it is unclear whether such enjoyment represents an authentic empowerment of women’s sexuality or is related to traditional feminine norms and sexist beliefs. In Studies 1 and 2, the authors developed and tested the eight-item Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale (ESS). It had good reliability and was differentiated from related constructs including body surveillance, body shame, self-sexualizing behaviors, and appearance-contingent self-esteem. In Study 3, endorsement of traditional gender norms, endorsement of benevolent sexism, and endorsement of hostile sexism were all positively related to the ESS. Moreover, women who both enjoyed sexualization and engaged in self-objectification reported more negative eating attitudes. Overall, there was little support for positive effects of enjoying sexualization. The extent to which enjoying sexualization actually empowers women or contributes to their oppression is discussed.

Predictors and Effects of Self-Objectification in Lesbians

The majority of research on self-objectification has focused on heterosexual womens experiences. This study sought to examine experiences of self-objectification in lesbian women. A path model was developed to examine the relationships between participants’ feminist self-identification, levels of internalized heterosexism, objectified body consciousness, and the clinically relevant variables of negative eating attitudes and depression. As has been found with heterosexual women, body surveillance led to shame, which led to negative clinical outcomes. A direct path was also found between levels of surveillance and negative eating attitudes, consistent with previous research on self-objectification among lesbians. Feminist self-identification was not significantly related to the other variables, in contrast to previous research with heterosexual women. Internalized heterosexism was related to negative clinical outcomes, both indirectly through objectification variables and directly to depressive symptomatology. These results provide evidence that self-objectification and internalized heterosexism have negative impacts on the mental health of lesbian women.

Perceived susceptibility measures are not interchangeable: absolute, direct comparative, and indirect comparative risk.

OBJECTIVE To provide an explanation of perceived susceptibility judgment that accounts for both inconsistencies among commonly used measures of perceived susceptibility (i.e., absolute risk, direct comparative risk, and indirect comparative risk) and their inconsistent relationships to disease risk factors. Inconsistencies are attributed to differential processing of general versus personal risk factors, coupled with the method of computation of the risk measures. DESIGN AND MEASURES Study 1 characterized risk factors as general versus personal. In Studies 2 and 3, community-residing adult women (ns = 432 and 147, respectively) rated perceived susceptibility to osteoporosis, breast cancer, heart disease, and diabetes, rated risk factors, and reported personal medical history. RESULTS Correlations and regression analyses mainly supported our characterization of the source of inconsistencies among susceptibility measures and their relationships to risk factors. CONCLUSION Perceived susceptibility measures are not interchangeable and can lead to opposite conclusions about correlates of perceived susceptibility. Researchers are cautioned against using indirect comparative measures, computed as difference scores, and are encouraged to use other methods to compel participants to consider the risk of others when making comparative judgments.

WELL . . . SHE WANTS IT MORE: PERCEPTIONS OF SOCIAL NORMS ABOUT DESIRES FOR MARRIAGE AND CHILDREN AND ANTICIPATED CHORE PARTICIPATION

The current study examined how desire for marriage and children related to anticipated chore involvement for both men and women. An online survey was completed by 466 college students recruited from multiple colleges and universities in Virginia. Participants provided information about their own desire for marriage and children, expectations for future division of household labor, and their perceptions of the typical womans and mans desires for marriage and children. Men and women did not differ in their self-reported desires for marriage and children. However, the typical man was perceived as having a lower desire for both marriage and children and the typical woman as having a higher desire for both. Desire for marriage and children was predicted by anticipated chore involvement above and beyond liberal attitudes for women but not for men. These findings are discussed in terms of how social norms and stereotypes affect power in relationships through the principle of least interest.

EVERYONE FEELS EMPOWERED: UNDERSTANDING FEMINIST SELF‐LABELING

Research findings raise questions about whether the feminist identity development model provides information about womens social identification as a feminist. Specifically, the penultimate stage, Synthesis, has been theorized to capture when feminist identity formation coalesces and women take on the feminist label. However, available data have suggested this stage may not be related to feminist self-labeling, calling for a better understanding of the variables associated with identifying oneself as a feminist. An online questionnaire was administered to 653 female self-identified feminists and nonfeminists in order to investigate the association between feminist self-labeling and Synthesis scores and to better understand what it means to take on the social identity of a feminist. Feminist self-labeling was not associated with Synthesis; however, women who self-labeled as feminists were more likely to acknowledge the existence of sexism, view the current gender system as unjust, and believe that women should work together in order to enact change. Synthesis was related to a combination of feminism- and conservatism-related constructs. Women high in Synthesis viewed the current gender system as just yet also believed that women should work together to enact change. We discuss the paradox represented by this combination of beliefs as well as their implications for the feminist identity development model and the womens movement in general.

Not hating what you see: Self-compassion may protect against negative mental health variables connected to self-objectification in college women

Self-objectification is related to maladaptive mental health variables, but little is known about what could ameliorate these associations. Self-compassion, a construct associated with mindfulness, involves taking a non-judgmental attitude toward the self. In this study, 306 college-aged women were recruited; those who were highest (n=106) and lowest (n=104) in self-compassion were retained for analyses. Levels of body surveillance, body shame, depression, and negative eating attitudes were lower in the high self-compassion group. Furthermore, the fit of a path model wherein body surveillance related to body shame, which, in turn, related to negative eating attitudes and depressive symptomatology was compared for each group, controlling for body mass index. The model fit significantly differently such that the connections between self-objectification and negative body and eating attitudes were weaker in the high self-compassion group. Treatment implications of self-compassion as a potential means to interrupt the self-objectification process are discussed.

“Stop Looking at Me!” Interpersonal Sexual Objectification as a Source of Insidious Trauma

Objectification has been conceptualized as a form of insidious trauma, but the specific relationships among objectification experiences, self-objectification, and trauma symptoms have not yet been investigated. Participants were women with (n = 136) and without (n = 201) a history of sexual trauma. They completed a survey measuring trauma history, objectification experiences (body evaluation and unwanted sexual advances), constructs associated with self-objectification (body surveillance and body shame), and trauma symptoms. The relationships among the variables were consistent for both women with and without a history of sexual trauma. Our hypothesized path model fit equally well for both groups. Examination of the indirect effects showed that experiencing unwanted sexual advances was indirectly related to trauma symptoms through body shame for those with and without a history of sexual trauma. Additionally, for women with a history of sexual trauma, the experience of body evaluation was indirectly related to trauma symptoms through the mediating variables of body surveillance and body shame. The data indicate that the experience of sexual objectification is a type of gender-based discrimination with sequelae that can be conceptualized as insidious trauma. Clinicians may consider the impact of these everyday traumatic experiences when working with women who have clinical symptoms but no overt trauma history.

Differences in Beliefs and Behaviors Between Feminist Actual and Anticipated Mothers

The transition to parenthood has been linked to an increase in traditional attitudes and behaviors. The goal of our study was to determine whether feminist mothers differed from feminist non-mothers on attitudes and behaviors related to motherhood. Self-labeled feminist mothers (n = 344) and non-mothers who indicated that they wished to have children (n = 361; anticipated mothers) were asked about their feminist beliefs, their actual or expected division of labor after they had children, and actual or expected child surname choices. Results indicated that liberal feminist beliefs were higher among anticipated mothers. Liberal feminist beliefs with a focus on equality in the workplace may not be as salient to mothers. Cultural feminist beliefs, however, were higher among actual mothers. Cultural feminism, which focuses on valuing care, communal traits, and the role of women as mothers, may be particularly appealing to mothers. Additionally, feminist anticipated mothers expected a more egalitarian division of labor than feminist mothers actually experienced. Finally, feminist anticipated mothers expected to make significantly more nontraditional name choices for their children than feminist mothers actually made. Feminist women may experience social pressures that are unanticipated by women who are not yet mothers. The impact of cultural feminism on feminist motherhood is also discussed.

“It's Normal…Mom Will Be Home in an Hour”: The Role of Fathers in Menstrual Education

The purpose of this exploratory study was to examine fathers’ self-reports about their role in educating daughters and sons about menstruation. Through postings in online venues, 110 fathers were recruited. Fathers indicated that they were an important source of information for their children, particularly sons. Traditional beliefs about mothering, but not fathering, negatively predicted knowledge and comfort in talking about menstruation. Fathers reported that they would talk about it earlier to their daughters than to their sons, but conversation topics were generally similar for both sexes. Negative aspects of menstruation (e.g., mood swings) were more likely to be raised with sons, however.