A General Overview on Research on Homophobia in Turkey

Homosexuals encounter prejudice and discrimination in society. Accordingly, scholars have introduced the term ‘homophobia’ to define these negative attitudes and behaviors. Homophobia is an important topic related to all aspects of life and needs to be studied by different disciplines. Specifically, the number of studies on Turkish samples has shown an increase in the last few years. However, the research is carried out by different disciplines and there is a great diversity in terms of method, sample, instrument and type of analysis. Therefore, the purpose of this study is to incorporate empirical, theoretical and review studies into homophobia among Turkish samples and summarize their findings in a systematic way. To this end, 35 studies in national and international journals are included and main findings are summarized. The research can be grouped as the following: a) the studies investigating attitudes toward homosexuality and homosexuals as well as social psychological variables related to homophobia, b) the studies conducted either to develop a scale on homophobia or to adapt a scale into Turkish, c) the studies exploring how people perceive homosexuals/LGBT individuals and related stereotypes, d) the studies addressing the social and personal problems encountered by homosexuals/LGBT individuals and their consequences, and lastly e) the studies focusing on the interventions on changing homophobic attitudes. This review contributes to the literature in terms of identifying the missing points in the previous studies and enlightening new topics for future research

Understanding family dynamics in a cross-cultural sample: a multi-national study

The Family Systems Circumplex Model posits that balanced levels of cohesion and adaptability are associated with positive familial outcomes, whereas extremely high or low levels of these factors are associated with deleterious outcomes. Despite the popularity and utility of this model in Western cultures, there is a dearth of empirical data supporting its use in more culturally diverse contexts. The current, preregistered study assessed the Family Circumplex Model, cultural factors, and emerging adult outcomes across seven countries (i.e., China, Iran, Nigeria, Switzerland, Turkey, the United Kingdom, and the United States). Participants were N = 3,593 emerging adults, mostly self-identifying as women (71.3%). Collaborators were participants in Psi Chi’s Network for International Collaborative Exchange (NICE) and administered measures related to family dynamics and cultural orientation to participants in a random order. Results indicated that the Family Circumplex Model did not fit cross-culturally. As such, a new model was adapted, the Expanded Circumplex Model, which demonstrated invariance across samples and between women and men. The Expanded Circumplex Model retained 6 constructs with differences regarding the separation of disengagement into 2 variables and the combining of adaptive flexibility and cohesion. The current study suggests that the cultural context in which family dynamics occur should be taken into consideration when conceptualizing family dynamics theory and measurement. Future work should seek to replicate and further apply the Expanded Circumplex Model to familial outcomes

The psychological science accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

The Psychological Science Accelerator’s COVID-19 rapid-response dataset

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Psychological Science Accelerator coordinated three large-scale psychological studies to examine the effects of loss-gain framing, cognitive reappraisals, and autonomy framing manipulations on behavioral intentions and affective measures. The data collected (April to October 2020) included specific measures for each experimental study, a general questionnaire examining health prevention behaviors and COVID-19 experience, geographical and cultural context characterization, and demographic information for each participant. Each participant started the study with the same general questions and then was randomized to complete either one longer experiment or two shorter experiments. Data were provided by 73,223 participants with varying completion rates. Participants completed the survey from 111 geopolitical regions in 44 unique languages/dialects. The anonymized dataset described here is provided in both raw and processed formats to facilitate re-use and further analyses. The dataset offers secondary analytic opportunities to explore coping, framing, and self-determination across a diverse, global sample obtained at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, which can be merged with other time-sampled or geographic data

A multi-country test of brief reappraisal interventions on emotions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased negative emotions and decreased positive emotions globally. Left unchecked, these emotional changes might have a wide array of adverse impacts. To reduce negative emotions and increase positive emotions, we tested the effectiveness of reappraisal, an emotion-regulation strategy that modifies how one thinks about a situation. Participants from 87 countries and regions (n = 21,644) were randomly assigned to one of two brief reappraisal interventions (reconstrual or repurposing) or one of two control conditions (active or passive). Results revealed that both reappraisal interventions (vesus both control conditions) consistently reduced negative emotions and increased positive emotions across different measures. Reconstrual and repurposing interventions had similar effects. Importantly, planned exploratory analyses indicated that reappraisal interventions did not reduce intentions to practice preventive health behaviours. The findings demonstrate the viability of creating scalable, low-cost interventions for use around the world

Erken dönem ebeveynlik desteği: anne duyarlığını arttırmaya yönelik müdahale programının Türkiye uygulaması.

The present study aimed to adapt, apply and test the effectiveness of the Video-Feedback Intervention to Promote Positive Parenting-Sensitive Discipline (VIPP-SD) in the Turkish context. The sample consisted of 56 mothers from relatively underdeveloped regions of Ankara and Istanbul having infants between 10 and 33 months old. The sample was randomly divided into two groups and four thematic sessions were conducted among 38 intervention mothers. In each session, mother and child were videotaped during daily interactions and video feedback was provided to the mother on sensitive parenting. In the control group, 18 mothers did not receive any intervention but four telephone calls from the intervener. Maternal sensitivity was assessed through video-recorded mother-child interactions, and independent raters coded these interactions using the Maternal Behavior Q-sort and Ainsworth Maternal Sensitivity Scale. In addition, maternal attitudes toward sensitivity and sensitive discipline were assessed through self-reports. The results revealed that observed sensitivity of intervention mothers had improved in comparison to control mothers. In addition, intervention mothers had more positive attitude toward sensitivity than control mothers. These findings provide support for the effectiveness of the VIPP-SD program on promoting sensitivity among low-SES mothers in a collectivistic culture. In this sense, it extends previous research among middle-to-high SES mothers in individualistic cultures, and shed light on the applicability and effectiveness of the video-feedback intervention in different cultural and socio-economical contexts. The present study also serves as a resource for researchers and practitioners who plan to develop and implement early support or intervention programs in Turkey.Ph.D. - Doctoral Progra