Non-Erotic Cognitive Distractions During Sexual Activity in Sexual Minority and Heterosexual Young Adults

The present study examined 100 lesbian and gay college students and 100 heterosexual students to determine whether group differences exist in frequency of a range of non-erotic cognitive distractions during sexual activity. Non-erotic cognitive distraction is a descriptive term for both self-evaluative cognitions related to physical performance and body image concerns, as well as additional cognitive distractions (e.g., contracting an STI or emotional concerns) during sexual activity. Participants were matched on gender (96 males and 104 females), age, and ethnicity, and completed questionnaires assessing frequency of non-erotic cognitive distractions during sexual activity, as well as measures of additional variables (trait and body image anxiety, attitudes toward sexual minorities, self-esteem, and religiosity). Results indicated that sexual minorities experienced significantly more cognitive distractions related to body image, physical performance, and STIs during sexual activity than heterosexuals. Regarding gender, men reported more distractions related to STIs than women. Interaction effects were observed between sexual orientation and gender for body image-, disease-, and external/emotional-based distractions. Implications of these findings are discussed

The Importance Of Considering Undocumented Immigration From Multiple Perspectives In The Context Of Social Justice

Undocumented immigration is a contested topic in the United States and elsewhere. Currently, it is estimated that close to 12 million people reside in the United States without legal authorization (Pew Hispanic Center, 2009). Few issues are as polemic and contentious as the issue of undocumented immigration. Although much can be said and written about this issue, I will limit my discussion of this topic to aspects of this debate that I consider to be neglected. Specifically, when people advocate for the rights of undocumented immigrants to reside in the United States in the name of social justice, whose social justice do they have in mind?. © 2011 The Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues

Psychosocial adjustment of Mexican-American college students as a function of acculturation level: the melting pot vs. bicultural hypothesis

Due to the character of the original source materials and the nature of batch digitization, quality control issues may be present in this document. Please report any quality issues you encounter to [email protected], referencing the URI of the item.Includes bibliographical references.Not availabl

Homohysteria: Useful Construct? Or An Unnecessary Splitting Of Hairs?

In this commentary to McCormack and Anderson (2014, this issue), I offer my reaction to a relatively new construct—homohysteria—that characterizes heterosexual men’s negative attitudes and affective reactions toward gay men in the context of gendered (traditional) behaviors. I propose that similar to other forms of “isms” used in both academia and the general community (e.g., racism, sexism), little is to be gained by continuing to splinter established terms such as heterosexism or homophobia. More specifically, I argue that by creating new terms for prejudice against gays and lesbians—terms that simply reflect either different degrees or motives of heterosexism—we risk muddling research findings and ultimately trivializing the pernicious phenomenon of prejudice and discrimination against the LGBT community. I also argue that in the absence of empirical support for the validity of homohysteria (as a distinct construct from heterosexism or homophobia), those embracing this new term are investigatively putting the cart before the horse

A Comparison Of African American And White College Students\u27 Affective And Attitudinal Reactions To Lesbian, Gay, And Bisexual Individuals: An Exploratory Study

African American (n = 70) university students were compared with White students (n = 140) on their affective (homophobia) and attitudinal (homonegativity) reactions to lesbian, gay, and bisexual individuals. The results initially suggested that African Americans had modestly higher homophobia and homonegativity scores than Whites. However, those ethnic differences vanished after controlling for frequency of church attendance, religious commitment, and socioeconomic status. For both ethnic groups, gender and religiosity variables significantly predicted homophobia and homonegativity. Men in both ethnic groups had significantly higher homophobia and homonegativity scores than their female counterparts. Lastly, additional regression analyses revealed that one aspect of African American culture-family practices-significantly predicted homophobia, but not homonegativity, above the predictive ability of religiosity. Implications of the results are discussed

Attitudes toward seeking therapy among Puerto Rican and Cuban American young adults and their parents

Una muestra de adultos jóvenes americanos de origen cubano y puertorriqueño, así como uno de sus padres (la madre o el padre), cumplimentaron una serie de instrumentos, entre ellos, Beliefs toward Mental Illness Scale, Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help, y Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form. Entre los padres, pero no así en sus hijos, cuanto más creían la existencia de un estigma social ligado a aquellos con enfermedad mental y a pensar que la enfermedad mental es intratable, menor probabilidad presentaban de buscar ayuda terapéutica para problemática emocional. Por el contrario, los adultos jóvenes estaban más abiertos a buscar terapia y eran menos proclives a percibir la gente con enfermedad mental como estigmatizados, peligrosos y carentes de habilidades sociales. Tanto para los padres como para los adultos jóvenes, el aumento en aculturación hacia la cultura estadounidense se asoció significativamente con actitudes menos peyorativas hacia la enfermedad mental y su terapia. Se comentan otros resultados y se proporciona recomendaciones para los terapeutas que ayuden a clientes americanos de procedencia cubana y puertorriqueña.Puerto Rican and Cuban American young adults and one of their parents (mother or father) completed the Beliefs toward Mental Illness Scale, the Stigma Scale for Receiving Psychological Help, the Attitudes toward Seeking Professional Psychological Help Scale-Short Form, and additional measures. Among parents, but not young adults, the more they believed there is social stigma attached to those with mental illnesses and that mental illnesses are untreatable, the less likely they would seek therapy for emotional problems. The young adults were significantly less likely than their parents to perceive those with mental illnesses as dangerous, lacking social skills or being stigmatized, and were more open to seeking therapy. For young adults and parents, increases in acculturation toward the United States culture were significantly associated with less pejorative attitudes toward mental illness and therapy. Other findings and recommendations for therapists treating Puerto Rican and Cuban American clients are provided

Application Of Feminist Therapy: Promoting Resiliency Among Lesbian And Gay Families

Lesbian and gay (LG) parents face common and unique challenges compared to heterosexual parents. In addition to the typical challenges that all parents encounter while rearing children, LG parents often face myriad obstacles to having and rearing children in a society that struggles to accept alternative family structures. In this paper, we provide a brief overview of the empirical literature related to LG parenting and children of same-sex couples. Then, some fundamental principles of feminist theory as they relate to the provision of therapy are discussed. Last, we present a case study that exemplifies judicious application of feminist therapy as a means to validate, strengthen, and promote resiliency among the family members of a lesbian couple who had sought treatment. Future directions of research with LG families are discussed. © 2006 by The Haworth Press, Inc. All rights reserved

Relationship Satisfaction Of Mexican American And Non-Hispanic White American Interethnic Couples: Issues Of Acculturation And Clinical Intervention

Despite the increasing prevalence of interethnic marriages, remarkably little empirical literature exists for guiding clinical interventions offered to these couples. This study compared the marriages of 72 couples with one Mexican-American partner and one non-Hispanic White American partner, 75 Mexican-American couples, and 66 non-Hispanic White couples. Overall, the interethnic couples were more similar to non-Hispanic White couples than they were to Mexican-American couples across multiple domains, with the latter group indicating modestly higher levels of relationship distress. Among interethnic couples, Mexican-American wives\u27level of acculturation related significantly to both their own marital- and parental-role orientation and to distress in their relationships with children, as well as to their husbands\u27 marital distress regarding child rearing and the couple\u27s interactions regarding finances. Implications for clinical interventions with Mexican- and White-American interethnic couples are discussed

Assessing Family-Of-Origin Functioning In Mexican American Adults: Retrospective Application Of The Family Environment Scale

Although both theoretical and empirical literature suggests that individuals\u27 family-of-origin experiences affect subsequent relationship functioning as adults, few studies have examined the appropriateness of family assessment techniques when applied retrospectively for use in either theory development or clinical applications. This study examined psycho-metric characteristics of the Family Environment Scale (FES) when used retrospectively with Mexican Americans to assess their families-of-origin. Findings provided qualified support for the internal consistency of the FES and showed significant mean profile differences for this population across gender and when compared to the normative sample for this measure. Retrospective reports on the FES related to independent measures of family history of distress and, to a lesser extent, with current relationship functioning, providing preliminary support for the criterion-related validity of the FES when adapted for retrospective assessment. Limitations and implications of findings for further research are discussed. © 2006 Sage Publications

A Comparison Of Pro- And Anti-Nudity College Students On Acceptance Of Self And Of Culturally Diverse Others

This study examined if college students supportive of social nudity would differ from students opposed to social nudity on self-acceptance and acceptance of culturally diverse others. Using data from 384 participants, pro- and anti-nudity groups were formed based on students scoring in the upper (n = 59) and lower (n = 64) quartiles on a measure assessing attitudes toward social nudity. Hypotheses were partially supported. Results indicated that pro-nudity students significantly differed from anti-nudity students on comfort with their bodies\u27 appearances, but not on self-acceptance. Pro-nudity students also were significantly more accepting of other religious groups and gays and lesbians compared with anti-nudity students, but they did not differ on their attitudes toward the disabled. A trend was noted indicating that pronudity students were less prejudiced toward ethnically dissimilar others compared with antinudity students. Follow-up exploratory analyses suggested that pro-nudity students\u27 increased openness to sexuality in general accounted for the two groups\u27 discrepant views toward religiously dissimilar others and gays and lesbians. Pro-nudity students\u27 relative tolerance for cultural diversity is discussed