Provided and received partner support in the context of HIV-related stigma : effects on couple members' daily depression and relationship satisfaction

The entire thesis text is included in the research.pdf file; the official abstract appears in the short.pdf file; a non-technical public abstract appears in the public.pdf file.Title from PDF of title page (University of Missouri--Columbia, viewed on March 29, 2010).Thesis advisor: Dr. B. Ann Bettencourt.Vita.Ph. D. University of Missouri-Columbia 2009.[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] The current study utilized a diary methodology to better understand whether perceiving and encountering HIV-related stigma influences the ways in which provided and received partner support predict day-to-day feelings of depression and relationship satisfaction. These associations are examined, over the course of a 3-week period, among 17 couples in which one member has been diagnosed with HIV/AIDS. Results confirm that perceptions of and encounters with HIV stigma are differentially associated with psychological and relationship outcomes, depending on a person's illness status. Moreover, following an encounter with a stigmatizing event, as long as supportive behaviors are provided by at least one partner on that same day, even in the absence of reciprocated support, better psychological and relational outcomes are likely for both couple members.Includes bibliographical references

Sexual orientation and substance use trajectories in emerging adulthood

ABSTRACT Aims The current study examined developmental changes in substance use behaviors (SUBS) based upon sexual orientation. The analyses also attempted to address a number of methodological limitations in the extant longitudinal literature (i.e. distinct operationalizations of sexual orientation, timing of sexual orientation assessment with respect to reports of SUBs, non-linear growth). Participants Data were drawn from a longitudinal study of incoming first-time college students at a large public university (n = 3720). Design After a paper-and-pencil assessment just prior to matriculation, participants completed a web-based survey every fall and spring for 4 years (sub-sample n = 2854). Findings Latent growth models revealed that sexual minorities demonstrated significant heterogeneity with regard to substance use trajectories. Initial levels and trajectories of the frequency of substance use for sexual minority individuals were distinct, generally, from their exclusively heterosexual peers. Methodologically, the timing of the assessment of sexual orientation influenced the results, and modeling non-linear components indicated that sexual minorities are at risk for exponential increases in their frequency of certain SUBs over time (i.e. drunkenness; cannabis use). Conclusions Sexual minority and majority individuals exhibited differences in SUBs during emerging adulthood, especially when using self-identification to define sexual orientation. Individuals who endorsed a sexual minority self-identification at the onset of emerging adulthood, as opposed to 4 years later, evidenced exponential increases in rates of drunkenness and cannabis use. These results support that the timing of assessment is important and that some trajectories of sexual minority SUBs are non-linear during this developmental period

State-level impulsivity, affect, and alcohol: a psychometric evaluation of the Momentary Impulsivity Scale across two intensive longitudinal samples.

We reexamined the psychometric properties of the Momentary Impulsivity Scale (MIS) in two young adult samples using daily diary (=77) and ecological momentary assessment (=147). A one-factor between- and within-person structure was supported, though "I felt impatient" loaded poorly within-person. MIS scores consistently related to emotion-driven trait impulsivity; however, MSSDs of MIS scores were unrelated to outcomes after accounting for aggregate MIS scores. We observed positive, within-person correlations with negative, but not positive, affect. Between-person MIS scores correlated with alcohol problems, though within-person MIS-alcohol relations were inconsistent. MIS scores were unrelated to laboratory-based impulsivity tasks. Findings inform the assessment of state-level impulsivity in young adults. Future research should prioritize expanding the MIS to capture the potential multidimensionality of state-level impulsivity