Atheism as a Concealable Stigmatized Identity: Outness, Anticipated Stigma, and Well-Being

In a preliminary exploration of atheists using a concealable stigmatized identity framework, we investigated outness, identity magnitude, anticipated stigma, and psychological and physical well-being. Atheists (N = 1,024) in the United States, completed measures of outness, atheist identity magnitude, anticipated stigma, and psychological and physical well-being online. Consistent with predictions, we found small but significant associations between (a) anticipated stigma and well-being, (b) social components of atheist identity magnitude and outness as well as well-being, and (c) outness and well-being. A significant and moderate association was found between anticipated stigma and outness. There were significant, small indirect effects of ingroup ties, a social component of atheist identity magnitude, on psychological and physical well-being via outness; and of ingroup affect, another social component of magnitude, on psychological well-being via disclosure of atheist identity. Implications for research, practice, and training are offered

Toward a Human Rights Agenda: Social Issues That Have Shaped Psychology in the United States

The history of psychology is comparably brief relative to many other fields of study. Within this brief history, beginning in the late 19th century, there have been tremendous, impactful shifts and the coalescence of multiple events that have shaped the development of psychology, which has likewise impacted society. Rapid social, political, cultural, and technological changes have dramatically altered the experience of each successive generation, and the science of psychology has adapted to each change to remain relevant, effective, and innovative. The impact of these widespread changes has affected the ways in which psychologists study human behavior and practice psychotherapy. In many cases, psychology and psychologists have been the catalyst for change, discovering and dispensing evidence to support change and serving as advocates and activists for progressive social change. Issues related to human rights and social justice have markedly influenced the evolution of psychology. Since psychology’s infancy, great strides have been made toward advancing the rights of historically marginalized groups, including women, children, people of color, people with disabilities, and the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community. The psychology literature both reflects and contributes to these advancements. Historically, psychological theory and research was based primarily on the study of White men (Hegarty & Buechel, 2006). However, in the last 40 years, there has been an increase in the number of psychological studies that capture the experiences of diverse groups of people (Jackson, 2006). Accordingly, psychological theory has become more representative of the U.S and other Western populations, as well as Eastern and global cultures. This movement toward a more inclusive study of human behavior is, in large part, a response to national efforts such as the Civil Rights and Gay Liberation Movements. Although psychological research remains biased toward privileged groups (Organista, Marin, & Chun, 2010), the evolution in psychology represents an important acknowledgment of the changing demographics, enhanced understanding of the impact of privilege and oppression, and the need for social justice. In this chapter, we will review major social movements and events that shaped the landscape of psychology. We will examine how psychological fields of study, theories, and practice, as well as psychology’s governing body, the American Psychological Association (APA), have impacted and been impacted by these social movements. Of particular note, this chapter will explore the impact of various social movements on psychology within the United States (U.S.). Although these social movements have often reflected more global phenomena, the discussion will be limited to those social issues that significantly impacted psychology in the U.S. While we acknowledge the many additional global social issues that have shaped the practice of psychology over time, they are beyond the scope of this chapter

The Impact of Religious Commitment on Women’s Sexual Self-Esteem

Religious commitment is associated with decreased sexual activity, poor sexual satisfaction, and sexual guilt, particularly among women. The purpose of this paper was to investigate how religious commitment is related to sexual self-esteem among women. Participants included 196 female undergraduate students, 87 % of whom identified as Christian. Participants completed the Sexual Self-Esteem Inventory for Women (SSEI-W), Religious Commitment Inventory-10, Revised Religious Fundamentalism Scale, Brief Sexual Attitudes Scale, and a measure of their perception of God’s view of sex. Results suggested that women with high religious commitment held more conservative sexual attitudes. Significant relationships between religious commitment and two subscales (moral judgment and attractiveness) of the SSEI-W revealed that women with high religious commitment were less likely to perceive sex as congruent with their moral values and simultaneously reported significantly greater confidence in their sexual attractiveness. A significant relationship between religious commitment and overall sexual self-esteem was found for women whose religion of origin was Catholicism, such that those with higher religious commitment reported lower sexual self-esteem. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that high religious commitment and perception that God viewed sex negatively independently predicted lower sexual selfesteem, as related to moral judgment. Implications of the findings are provided

Sexuality Training in Counseling Psychology

The United States (U.S.) is characterized by some of the poorest sexual health outcomes in the industrialized world, as indicated by the teen and unplanned pregnancy rates, rate of sexually transmitted infections (STIs), and occurrence of sexual dysfunction. Many people seek psychotherapy for sex-related concerns, yet little is known about the specific education psychologists receive during their training regarding sex. Existing research has largely been conducted in Canada and among clinical psychologists. While studies have revealed that few applied psychology graduate programs offer training in sexuality, very little is known about the specific content areas covered by those programs who do offer this training. We surveyed faculty from 38 counseling psychology doctoral programs primarily in the U.S. Results indicated that relatively few programs offer comprehensive training in sexuality with particular areas such as sex therapy, sexual expression, and reproductive health especially unlikely to be covered. Commonly covered topics included sexual development, sexual orientation and gender identity, intimacy, sexual trauma and abuse, and intersectionality. Implications for training and future research are offered

Training in Counseling Psychology: An Introduction to the Major Contribution

Abstract This Major Contribution, consisting of four articles, critically evaluates the status of training in counseling psychology, especially at the entry level, and offers a model for moving the field forward. In this first article, we provide a rationale for the contribution, laying the foundation for the subsequent three articles. Specifically, we ask the questions, Do training programs in counseling psychology produce the desired results? and Is the prevailing paradigm of training effective in developing counselor competence? Then we report on the research showing a disappointing relationship among training, experience, and expertise. We conclude by inviting the profession to engage in honest self-reflection about the status and future direction of training in counseling psychology

Sexuality as a Competency: Advancing Training to Serve the Public

Sexual health and sexual well-being are vital components of overall physical and mental well-being yet remain largely understudied, approached mainly from disease prevention and intervention perspectives, and generally excluded from most health service psychology training programs. People of color; women; lesbian, gay, and bisexual people; trans and gender diverse; disabled; and poor people are disproportionately adversely impacted by a lack of access to suitable sexual health services and reproductive healthcare. Sex education is inadequate in the United States across the lifespan, including in health service psychology training programs. Therapy clients often have sexual concerns they want to discuss, yet because sexuality is seldom covered adequately in training programs, psychologists are often ill prepared and uncomfortable addressing sex. Drawing from the Benchmarks Competencies (Fouad et al., 2009; Hatcher et al., 2013), we provide a rationale for and application of several key foundational and functional competencies to explicate a template for addressing sexuality in training psychologists and positioning sexuality as a competency that should be centralized in graduate psychology training. We offer both a roadmap for a graduate course in sexuality and several ideas for infusing sexuality across the curriculum for programs that may be unable to dedicate a course to the study of sexuality

Development and Evaluation of the Atheist Identity Concealment Scale (AICS)

The Atheist Identity Concealment Scale (AICS) was developed as a tool to assess the degree to which atheists conceal their atheist identity from others. Drawing on concealable stigmatized identity (CSI) theory, the aim of this study was to provide researchers with a valid means to effectively assess atheist identity concealment. Using three separate samples of more than 500 adults in the USA, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted which ultimately resulted in a short, robust measure that comprised eight items. Additional validity evidence was provided by examining the relationship between the AICS and several previously validated tools (i.e., outness, nonreligiosity, depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem)

Hidden in Plain Sight: Working Class and Low-Income Atheists

The current study sought to qualitatively examine the role of social class in the development of atheist identity, the experience of atheism-related minority stress, and relationships between atheists. Using a critical phenomenological design, we captured the experiences of 15 working-class and the low-income U.S. American atheists and identified five themes: Early Doubts and Establishment of Atheist Values; Diverse Experiences of Antiatheist and Class-Based Stigma; Expecting Indifference, Exercising Caution; Strategies of Concealment and Disclosure; and Atheism as an Individual, Rather Than Collective, Experience. Results suggested working-class and low-income atheists engaged in strategic outness to manage risk, and their atheist identities developed similarly to studies including primarily class-privileged atheists. However, working-class and low-income atheists diverged from extant atheism scholarship in their relatively low atheist identity centrality and limited engagement with and perceived connection to other atheists. We conclude with implications for our findings and directions for future research

“Isn’t Atheism a White Thing?”: Centering the Voices of Atheists of Color

Despite a general shift toward secularity, very few people of color in the United States identify as atheist. Further, atheists of color are underrepresented in studies of atheists, and the experiences of atheists of color specifically have, to date, not been captured in the extant scholarship. Addressing this gap in the literature, we interviewed 17 self-identified adult atheists of color, predominantly from Christian backgrounds, residing in the United States, using a critical feminist phenomenological approach. Six broad themes emerged from the data: (a) atheist identity development, (b) experiences of discrimination, (c) isolation, (d) violations of cultural expectations, (e) strategic outness, and (f) benefits of atheist identification. Experiences consistent with previous literature and novel and unique experiences specific to atheists of color are reported. Implications for training, practice, and research are discussed