Mojisola F. Tiamiyu

Problematic smartphone use and relations with negative affect, fear of missing out, and fear of negative and positive evaluation

For many individuals, excessive smartphone use interferes with everyday life. In the present study, we recruited a non-clinical sample of 296 participants for a cross-sectional survey of problematic smartphone use, social and non-social smartphone use, and psychopathology-related constructs including negative affect, fear of negative and positive evaluation, and fear of missing out (FoMO). Results demonstrated that FoMO was most strongly related to both problematic smartphone use and social smartphone use relative to negative affect and fears of negative and positive evaluation, and these relations held when controlling for age and gender. Furthermore, FoMO (cross-sectionally) mediated relations between both fear of negative and positive evaluation with both problematic and social smartphone use. Theoretical implications are considered with regard to developing problematic smartphone use.

Welfare Reform: Can Higher Education Reduce the Feminization of Poverty?

In this paper we address what is meant by “feminization of poverty.” We also provide a very brief historical review of poor women, their children, and their need for financial assistance. Furthermore we identify some of the obstacles women face while trying to become self-sufficient and how women attempt to overcome these obstacles while relying on government aid. A strategy used by some of these women on welfare is to attend college and earn a degree. We show how this group of women now faces a major obstacle with a recent reform in the welfare system. Finally, we offer some suggestions as to how policies and practices of institutions of higher education can help female students on welfare, thereby reducing the feminization of poverty in the United States.

Depression and social anxiety in relation to problematic smartphone use: The prominent role of rumination

Purpose Previous research has found support for depression and anxiety severity in association with both increased and problematic smartphone use. However, little research has explored transdiagnostic psychopathology constructs as mediators that may account for these relationships. Our primary aim was to test rumination as a possible transdiagnostic (cross-sectional) mediator in these relationships. Design/methodology/approach We recruited 296 college students to complete relevant web survey measures, including the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (for depression severity), Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (for social anxiety severity), Ruminative Thought Styles Questionnaire, Smartphone Addiction Scale-Short Version (to measure levels of problematic smartphone use), and a measure of smartphone use frequency. Findings We found support for a structural model whereby the severity of depression and social anxiety accounted for variance in rumination, which in turn correlated with problematic smartphone use lev...

Gratitude, depression and PTSD: Assessment of structural relationships

Gratitude, the tendency to appreciate positive occurrences in ones life that can be partially attributed to another person, has been shown to be a robust predictor of greater well-being. Researchers have also found gratitude to be inversely related to several emotional disorders, including major depressive disorder (MDD) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Both of these emotional disorders are highly comorbid and share dysphoric symptoms (e.g., restricted affect, detachment, anhedonia) that could account for deficits in the experience and expression of gratitude. We used confirmatory factor analysis to test the relationships between gratitude and the symptom factors of PTSD (using the DSM-5 model) and MDD in a sample of trauma-exposed college students (N=202). Results indicated that gratitude is more strongly related to PTSDs negative alterations in mood and cognition (NAMC) factor than to other PTSD factors. Implications of these findings for the study of gratitude and trauma are discussed, including whether gratitude and gratitude-based interventions might prove particularly suited to targeting depressive symptoms.

Relationships Between Latent Factors of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Growth.

Abstract In the present study, we examined posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) responses among a nonclinical sample of 202 participants. Instruments included the PTSD Checklist for the DSM-5 (fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) and Posttraumatic Growth Inventory. Confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated the most support for the 6-factor DSM-5 PTSD model and 5-factor PTG model, previously supported in the literature. Canonical correlation analysis evidenced a strong relationship between PTSD and PTG subscales. Path analysis results demonstrated that PTSD’s re-experiencing subscale was related to PTG’s appreciation for life subscale. Posttraumatic stress disorder’s avoidance was related to PTG’s personal strength subscale. We also tested curvilinear relationships between PTSD and PTG subscales. Results and implications are discussed in the context of the constructs of PTSD and PTG.

GREEN consumption values and Indian consumers’ response to marketing communications

Purpose This paper aims to report on a study that assessed Indian consumers’ response to green marketing communications, based on their GREEN consumption values. GREEN (Haws et al., 2014) refers to consumers’ tendency to express their environmental concern through their consumption behaviors. This study applies this construct in a marketing communications context. Design/methodology/approach Two conceptual models involving GREEN were developed, and data to test the models were collected in a survey conducted among a convenience sample of 284 Indian consumers. Findings The results show that GREEN can enhance understanding of consumers’ green attitudes and intentions. GREEN consumption values have an impact on how Indian consumers respond to advertising and public relations stimuli, as GREEN influences perceptions of green brand trust, attitudes toward green marketing communications and green brand support and purchase intentions. Research limitations/implications The research adds to the growing literature on green marketing in emerging economies and extends the application of the GREEN construct from the domain of consumer behavior to that of green marketing communications. Practical implications The results suggest that marketers should focus on developing green marketing communications strategy, rather than just green advertising strategies, and they can position their green products to appeal to consumers based on GREEN consumption values. Originality/value The study is the first to apply the GREEN construct in assessing consumer response to a brand’s green marketing communications; it also explores this issue in an emerging economy.

Development of a Screening Instrument for Post-Traumatic Symptoms

Traumatic events in Sri Lanka, such as a decade-long civil war and the 2004 tsunami, necessitate a language specific and time-efficient screening instrument for post-traumatic symptoms. The Sinhala version of the Impact of Event Scale-Revised (SIES-R) was administered to 438 adult participants. Internal consistency estimates for the total SIES-R and each subscales were acceptable (α = .70). A one-week test-retest reliability (n = 54) analysis provided evidence of temporal stability. Adjusted item-to-scale reliability estimates were less supportive. Confirmatory factor analysis using LISREL indicates a three factor structure best represents the SIES-R’s underlying factor structure. Results suggest the SIES-R as appropriate for screening of post-trauma symptoms in Sinhala speaking SriLankans in an urban area.

Use of Consumers with Disabilities in Advertising: A Proposal for Research

According to a 2012 US Census Bureau report, in 2010 there were some 56.7 million members of the non-institutionalized US population that had a disability; this represented slightly more than 18 % of the population. The report further stated that people with disabilities in the United States accounted for more than

Attitudes Toward Seeking Help Among College Students Enrolled in Helping Profession Courses: A Comparative Study Between Clinical Mental Health Counselors, Social Workers, and Psychologists

200 billion in discretionary spending and also spurred technological innovation and entrepreneurship (US Census Bureau). Moreover, in 2008, the federal government spent an estimated

Social Worker Hope and Perceived Burnout: The Effects of Age, Years in Practice, and Setting

357 billion on programs for working-age people with disabilities; this was about 12 % of total federal expenditures for the year (Brault 2012). However, a cursory examination of current advertising in the US would never lead to the conclusion that about one-in-five persons suffers from a disability, or that this group is a target for goods and services. Not surprisingly, there has not been much academic discourse on the image of disability in advertising.