Examining the associations among factor-analytically derived components of mental health stigma, distress, and psychological flexibility.

Mental health stigma can be detrimental not only for the recipient, but also for the stigmatizer. As mental health stigma is often conceptualized as a multidimensional construct, Study 1 first examined the factor structure of mental health stigma as assessed by the Stigmatizing Attitude-Believability (SAB; Masuda et al., 2009). Study 2 investigated differential relations between the factor-analytically derived components of mental health stigma and psychological distress and psychological flexibility. Results of Study 1 revealed that mental health stigma consisted of two related, yet separable components: Exclusion and Course/Origin. The Exclusion component was characterized by negative emotions and cognition associated with an increased desire for social distance. Course/Origin was marked by pessimistic views toward treatment prognosis and recovery. Results of Study 2 suggested that these two components have differential associations with psychological distress and flexibility. The Course/Origin component of stigma, but not Exclusion, was associated with psychological distress of the stigmatizer. Furthermore, this association was fully mediated by lower levels of psychological flexibility. These findings suggest the importance of conceptualizing mental health stigma multidimensionally

Examining the associations among factor-analytically derived components of mental health stigma, distress, and psychological flexibility.

Mental health stigma can be detrimental not only for the recipient, but also for the stigmatizer. As mental health stigma is often conceptualized as a multidimensional construct, Study 1 first examined the factor structure of mental health stigma as assessed by the Stigmatizing Attitude-Believability (SAB; Masuda et al., 2009). Study 2 investigated differential relations between the factor-analytically derived components of mental health stigma and psychological distress and psychological flexibility. Results of Study 1 revealed that mental health stigma consisted of two related, yet separable components: Exclusion and Course/Origin. The Exclusion component was characterized by negative emotions and cognition associated with an increased desire for social distance. Course/Origin was marked by pessimistic views toward treatment prognosis and recovery. Results of Study 2 suggested that these two components have differential associations with psychological distress and flexibility. The Course/Origin component of stigma, but not Exclusion, was associated with psychological distress of the stigmatizer. Furthermore, this association was fully mediated by lower levels of psychological flexibility. These findings suggest the importance of conceptualizing mental health stigma multidimensionally

Psychological flexibility and self-concealment as predictors of disordered eating symptoms.

The present cross-sectional study investigated whether self-concealment and psychological flexibility were uniquely associated with different facets of disordered eating (DE; i.e., dieting, bulimia/food preoccupation, and oral control) and whether these associations varied across gender. Participants included 621 female and 212 male college students, ages 18-24 years old. After controlling for age, ethnicity, and BMI, both self-concealment and psychological flexibility were uniquely related to dieting. Controlling for these demographic variables, psychological flexibility, but not self-concealment, was uniquely associated with bulimia/food preoccupation. Neither self-concealment nor psychological flexibility was uniquely associated with oral control. Finally, gender moderated the association between self-concealment and dieting, suggesting that self-concealment was relevant to dieting in the female group, but not in the male group. Limitations of the study and future directions are discussed

Functional fear predicts public health compliance in the COVID-19 pandemic

In the current context of the global pandemic of coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19), health professionals are working with social scientists to inform government policy on how to slow the spread of the virus. An increasing amount of social scientific research has looked at the role of public message framing, for instance, but few studies have thus far examined the role of individual differences in emotional and personality-based variables in predicting virus-mitigating behaviors. In this study, we recruited a large international community sample (N = 324) to complete measures of self-perceived risk of contracting COVID-19, fear of the virus, moral foundations, political orientation, and behavior change in response to the pandemic. Consistently, the only predictor of positive behavior change (e.g., social distancing, improved hand hygiene) was fear of COVID-19, with no effect of politically relevant variables. We discuss these data in relation to the potentially functional nature of fear in global health crises

Personality in Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes): Exploring the Hierarchical Structure and Associations with the Vasopressin V1A Receptor Gene

One of the major contributions of recent personality psychology is the finding that traits are related to each other in an organized hierarchy. To date, however, researchers have yet to investigate this hierarchy in nonhuman primates. Such investigations are critical in confirming the cross-species nature of trait personality helping to illuminate personality as neurobiologically-based and evolutionarily-derived dimensions of primate disposition. Investigations of potential genetic polymorphisms associated with hierarchical models of personality among nonhuman primates represent a critical first step. The current study examined the hierarchical structure of chimpanzee personality as well as sex-specific associations with a polymorphism in the promoter region of the vasopressin V1a receptor gene (AVPR1A), a gene associated with dispositional traits, among 174 chimpanzees. Results confirmed a hierarchical structure of personality across species and, despite differences in early rearing experiences, suggest a sexually dimorphic role of AVPR1A polymorphisms on hierarchical personality profiles at a higher-order level

Correlates of Psychopathic Personality Traits in Everyday Life: Results from a Large Community Survey

Although the traits of psychopathic personality (psychopathy) have received extensive attention from researchers in forensic psychology, psychopathology, and personality psychology, the relations of these traits to aspects of everyday functioning are poorly understood. Using a large internet survey of members of the general population (N = 3388), we examined the association between psychopathic traits, as measured by a brief but well-validated self-report measure, and occupational choice, political orientation, religious affiliation, and geographical residence. Psychopathic traits, especially those linked to fearless dominance, were positively and moderately associated with holding leadership and management positions, as well as high-risk occupations. In addition, psychopathic traits were positively associated with political conservatism, lack of belief in God, and living in Europe as opposed to the United States, although the magnitudes of these statistical effects were generally small in magnitude. Our findings offer preliminary evidence that psychopathic personality traits display meaningful response penetration into daily functioning, and raise provocative questions for future research

Changes in J-SOAP-II and SAVRY Scores Over the Course of Residential, Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment for Adolescent Sexual Offending

Although the Juvenile Sex Offender Assessment Protocol-II (J-SOAP-II) and the Structured Assessment of Violence Risk in Youth (SAVRY) include an emphasis on dynamic, or modifiable factors, there has been little research on dynamic changes on these tools. To help address this gap, we compared admission and discharge scores of 163 adolescents who attended a residential, cognitive-behavioral treatment program for sexual offending. Based on reliable change indices, one-half of youth showed a reliable decrease on the J-SOAP-II Dynamic Risk Total Score and one-third of youth showed a reliable decrease on the SAVRY Dynamic Risk Total Score. Contrary to expectations, decreases in risk factors and increases in protective factors did not predict reduced sexual, violent nonsexual, or any reoffending. In addition, no associations were found between scores on the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version and levels of change. Overall, the J-SOAP-II and the SAVRY hold promise in measuring change, but further research is needed