Rita C. Seabrook

Development of a positive psychology intervention for patients with acute cardiovascular disease

The management of depression and other negative psychological states in cardiac patients has been a focus of multiple treatment trials, though such trials have not led to substantial improvements in cardiac outcomes. In contrast, there has been minimal focus on interventions to increase positive psychological states in cardiac patients, despite the fact that optimism and other positive states have been associated with superior cardiovascular outcomes. Our objective was to develop an 8-week, phone-based positive psychology intervention for patients hospitalized with acute cardiac disease (acute coronary syndrome or decompensated heart failure). Such an intervention would consist of positive psychology exercises adapted for this specific population, and it would need to be feasible for practitioners and patients in real-world settings. By adapting exercises that were previously validated in healthy individuals, we were able to generate a positive psychology telemedicine intervention for cardiac patients that focused on optimism, kindness, and gratitude. In addition, we successfully created a companion treatment manual for subjects to enhance the educational aspects of the intervention and facilitate completion of exercises. Finally, we successfully performed a small pilot trial of this intervention, and found that the positive psychology intervention appeared to be feasible and well-accepted in a cohort of patients with acute cardiac illness. Future studies should further develop this promising intervention and examine its impact on psychological and medical outcomes in this vulnerable population of cardiac patients.

Our Scripted Sexuality The Development and Validation of a Measure of the Heterosexual Script and Its Relation to Television Consumption

The heterosexual script describes the set of complementary but unequal roles for women and men to follow in their romantic and sexual interactions. The heterosexual script is comprised of the sexual double standard (men want sex and women set sexual limits), courtship strategies (men attract women with power and women attract men through beauty and sexiness), and commitment strategies (men avoid commitment and women prioritize relationships). Despite evidence that women and men are aware of this script, and it is prominent in the media, there is no existing measure of endorsement of the heterosexual script. In Studies 1 and 2, we develop and validate a measure of endorsement of the heterosexual script. In Study 3, we demonstrate that television consumption predicts stronger endorsement of the heterosexual script. We discuss the implications of endorsement of the heterosexual script for sexual health and provide suggestions for future research using this scale.

Girl Power or Powerless Girl? Television, Sexual Scripts, and Sexual Agency in Sexually Active Young Women

Both traditional gender roles and traditional heterosexual scripts outline sexual roles for women that center on sexual passivity, prioritizing others’ needs, and self-silencing. Acceptance of these roles is associated with diminished sexual agency. Because mainstream media are a prominent source of traditional gender portrayals, we hypothesized that media use would be associated with diminished sexual agency for women, as a consequence of the traditional sexual roles conveyed. We modeled the relations among television (TV) use, acceptance of gendered sexual scripts, and sexual agency (sexual assertiveness, condom use self-efficacy, and sexual shame) in 415 sexually active undergraduate women. As expected, both TV exposure and perceived realism of TV content were associated with greater endorsement of gendered sexual scripts, which in turn were associated with lower sexual agency. Endorsement of gendered sexual scripts fully mediated the relation between TV use and sexual agency. Results suggest that endorsement of traditional gender roles and sexual scripts may be an important predictor of college women’s sexual agency. Interventions targeting women’s sexual health should focus on encouraging media literacy and dismantling gender stereotypic heterosexual scripts. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQs website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index.

Contributions of Social Comparison and Self-Objectification in Mediating Associations Between Facebook Use and Emergent Adults' Psychological Well-Being

Although Facebook was created to help people feel connected with each other, data indicate that regular usage has both negative and positive connections to well-being. To explore these mixed results, we tested the role of social comparison and self-objectification as possible mediators of the link between Facebook use and three facets of psychological well-being: self-esteem, mental health, and body shame. Participants were 1,104 undergraduate women and men who completed surveys assessing their Facebook usage (minutes, passive use, and active use), social comparison, self-objectification, and well-being. Data were analyzed using structural equation modeling, testing separate models for women and men. Models for each gender fit the data well. For women and men, Facebook use was associated with greater social comparison and greater self-objectification, which, in turn, was each related to lower self-esteem, poorer mental health, and greater body shame. Mediated models provided better fits to the data than models testing direct pathways to the mediators and well-being variables. Implications are discussed for young peoples social media use, and future directions are provided.

Why is fraternity membership associated with sexual assault? Exploring the roles of conformity to masculine norms, pressure to uphold masculinity, and objectification of women

Despite consistent evidence that fraternity membership is associated with greater perpetration and acceptance of sexual violence, less is known about why this link occurs. In this study, we use Structural Equation Modeling to test whether endorsement of traditional masculinity explains why fraternity membership is associated with greater rape myth acceptance and more sexual deception behaviors in a sample of 365 undergraduate men. Our assessment of traditional masculinity included the following 3 components: conformity to masculine norms, pressure to uphold masculine norms, and acceptance of objectification of women. Results suggest that conformity to masculine norms, pressure to uphold masculine norms, and acceptance of objectification of women mediate the relation between fraternity membership and acceptance of sexual violence.

Baseline physical health-related quality of life and subsequent depression outcomes in cardiac patients

Among 137 depressed cardiac patients, lower baseline physical health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was independently associated with greater depression persistence at 6 months among patients randomized to collaborative care, but not usual care. Low physical HRQoL may impact collaborative care effectiveness and indicate a need for alternate depression treatment.

Sexual Object or Sexual Subject? Media Use, Self-Sexualization, and Sexual Agency Among Undergraduate Women:

Objectification theorists argue that repeated exposure to sexually objectifying media content leads to higher levels of self-objectification. Although consequences of self-objectification for women’s sexual health and sexual agency have been proposed, efforts to test these connections have been infrequent and have yielded inconsistent results. We used structural equation modeling to test connections between exposure to three media genres (women’s magazines, lifestyle reality TV, and situation comedies), self-sexualization, and four dimensions of sexual agency among 754 heterosexual and bisexual undergraduate women aged 16–23 (M = 18.5). Our assessments of sexual agency focused on sexual assertiveness, condom use self-efficacy, sexual affect, and alcohol use to feel sexual. Findings confirmed our expectations. More frequent consumption of women’s magazines, lifestyle reality TV programs, and situation comedies each predicted greater self-sexualization, which in turn predicted greater use of alcohol to feel sexual, less condom use self-efficacy, and more negative sexual affect. We discuss implications for women’s sexual well-being and for research on media sexualization. We also offer suggestions for practitioners, parents, and educators to disrupt the associations among media use, self-sexualization, and diminished sexual agency. Online slides for instructors who want to use this article for teaching are available on PWQ’s website at http://journals.sagepub.com/page/pwq/suppl/index