Temperament, emotion regulation, and distress tolerance as related correlates of psychological symptoms

Researchers have postulated that those with difficult temperament are at risk for difficulties with regulating emotions, are less tolerant of distressing stimuli, have characteristic difficulty coping with distress, and are (at some periods of development) more apt to experience clinically significant psychological symptoms. This study used exploratory factor analyses and structural equation modeling to compose and test a model that explained how emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and coping skills interact to explain how certain temperament features translate into psychological symptoms. Because those with difficult temperament were thought to be at a unique risk for psychological maladjustment, mean-based criterion were used to identify those with relatively difficult, typical, or easy temperament and then test whether the degree of between-group differences on study variables was statistically significant. Results of correlational and EFA analyses suggested that there were statistically significant differences between constructs that were correlated highly (i.e., distress tolerance, emotion regulation, and emotion dysregulation). Results of SEM analyses indicated that the relationship between difficult temperament and psychological maladjustment was explained partially by the way in which emotion regulation, emotion dysregulation, distress tolerance, and coping skills interact, with the strength of each mediating variable differing considerably. There were also differences in the power of the relationship between variables when correlational power was considered alone rather than in the context of the larger measurement and structural models. Future directions and implications are discussed

Young Adults\u27 Attitudes Toward Same-sex Marriage And Polygamy As A Function Of Demographic, Gender, And Personality Variables

Based on a sample of 814 university students, pro- and anti-same-sex marriage and polygamous marriage groups were established based on students scoring \u3e1 SD above (n = 145; n = 132, respectively) and \u3e 1 SD below the group mean (n = 127; n = 126) on the Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage Scale (ATSSM: Pearl & Paz-Galupo, 2007) and Attitudes Toward Polygamy Scale, which was generated by modifying the ATSSM (ATPM). Compared to pro-same-sex marriage students, anti-same-sex marriage students were significantly more prejudiced against gays and lesbians, authoritarian, religious, and politically conservative. Anti-same-sex marriage students also had less contact with and appreciation for diverse cultural groups, more desire to dominate out-groups, were less autonomous in their thinking, and were more likely to be men. Anti-polygamous students were more strongly opposed same-sex marriage, idealized the traditional family, authoritarian, religious, less autonomous in their thinking, desire to dominate minority groups, and were more likely to be female compared to those who were propolygamous marriage. Results further indicated that, polygamy and same-sex marriage are predicted by different variables, with same-sex marriage being more strongly tied to prejudice against gays and lesbians and polygamous marriage being more strongly tied to beliefs about the inherent morality of conventions surrounding the traditional family. A regression analysis using data from all 814 students yielded almost identical results with regards to identifying variables most predictive of ATSSM. Followup analyses revealed that prejudice against gays and lesbians was the single best predictor of opposition to same-sex marriage and even accounted for the associations between opposition to same-sex marriage and religiosity, political conservatism, and support of traditional marriage and family. With respect to polygamy, data from regression analyses revealed that ATSSM was the best predictor of ATPM. Despite the cultural focus on this variable, however, controlling for ATSSM did not reduce the predictive power of critical variables to a non-significant level. Recommendations for challenging opposition to marriage equality are discussed

Young Adults\u27 Attitudes Toward Polygamous Marriage As A Function Of Gender, Attitudes Toward Same-Sex Marriage, And Other Sociopersonality Constructs

U.S. citizens are overwhelmingly opposed to the legalization of polygamous marriage, but specific reasons for this opposition remain unclear. In this study we examined young adults\u27 (n = 814) attitudes toward polygamous marriage as a function of myriad variables. Particular attention was given to the presumed association between attitudes toward same-sex marriage and polygamous marriage. Results indicated that, overall, young adults\u27 attitudes toward polygamous marriage were neutral. Also, attitudes toward same-sex marriage significantly correlated with attitudes toward polygamous marriage. However, not all pro-same-sex marriage participants were pro-polygamous marriage. Moreover, opposition to same-sex marriage, (female) gender, higher levels of authoritarianism, and endorsement of traditional family values conjointly and individually predicted opposition to polygamous marriage. Implications of the findings are discussed, particularly in the context of U.S. discourse over the legalization of same-sex marriage. © 2013 Copyright Taylor and Francis Group, LLC

Explaining Variation In Relations Among Intrinsic Religiosity, Political Conservatism, And Homonegativity As A Function Of Authoritarianism\u27S Three Components: An Expansion On Recent Literature

Past research suggested that the strong relationship between having high levels of religiosity and/or political conservatism and harboring a high level of negativity toward homosexuals often is accounted for by the strength of individuals\u27 authoritarian views. In an effort to build upon this extant research, the goal of this study was to examine the way in which components of authoritarianism mediate the relationship between religiosity and political conservatism and homonegativity. To achieve this goal, a recently developed modality of path analysis that allows for the effect of one independent variable on another to be controlled was used. Because preliminary analyses indicated that attitudes toward same-sex marriage and homonegativity demonstrated multicollinearity, a composite measure was created. Results suggested that the overall strength of the relationship between religiosity and political conservatism with homonegativity remains statistically significant, even after accounting for three components of authoritarianism and the potential effect of social desirability. These authoritarianism components also had a significant indirect effect on the strength of the relationship between religiosity and homonegativity, with authoritarian submission and conventionalism fully mediating this relationship. Implications of these findings were discussed. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York

Depression As A Mediator In The Relationship Between Perceived Familial Criticism And College Adaptation

Objective: This study examined relationships among emerging adults\u27 perceived familial criticism, their depressive symptoms, and their college adaptation. Participants: The current study examined the responses of 412 emerging adults (300 females and 112 males) who were college students at a large southeastern university. The majority of these emerging adults were Caucasian, but the remainder were from a broad range of racial backgrounds. Methods: Participants completed the Family Emotional Involvement and Criticism Scale as a measure of their familial criticism, the Student Adaptation to College Questionnaire as a measure of their college adaptation, and the Beck Depression Inventory-Second Edition as a measure of their depression. Results: Results were examined using correlational and regression analyses in the context of Baron and Kenny\u27s (J Pers Soc Psychol. 1986;51:1173–1182) method for determining mediation. Results suggested that for female emerging adults, the relationship between perceived familial criticism and college adaptation was mediated significantly by depressive symptoms. In contrast, this pattern of results did not hold for male emerging adults. Conclusions: Given these findings, emerging adults\u27 depressive symptoms may serve as a useful proximal target for psychotherapeutic interventions meant to improve adaptation to college (particularly for female emerging adults), even in the context of high levels of perceived familial criticism from emerging adults\u27 family of origin

Sex-Specific Disparities in Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease

In the past two decades, focused research on women at risk for cardiovascular disease (CVD) has helped to clarify our understanding of some of the sex-specific factors that are important in the prevention and early detection of coronary atherosclerosis with a resultant 30 % decrease in the number of women dying from CVD. In spite of these advances, CVD, specifically, ischemic heart disease due to coronary atherosclerosis is the leading cause of cardiovascular death of women in the USA. The 2010 landmark Institute of Medicine (IOM) report, Women\u27s Health Research-Progress, Pitfalls and Promise, highlighted the fact that although major progress had been made in reducing cardiovascular mortality in women, there were disparities in disease burden among subgroups of women, particularly those women who are socially disadvantaged because of race, ethnicity, income level, and educational attainment [1]. The IOM recommended targeted research on these subpopulations of women with the highest risk and burden of disease. Causes of disparities are multifactorial and are related to differences in risk factor prevalence, access to care, use of evidence-based guidelines, and social and environmental factors. In this article, we review a few of the contributing factors to the disparities in ischemic heart disease in women with a focus on the subgroups of women of Black, Latino, and South Asian descent who are at high risk for morbidity and mortality from CVD

Variations of emotion dysregulation in borderline personality disorder: a latent profile analysis approach with adult psychiatric inpatients

Abstract Background The purpose of the present study was to identify variations in emotional dysregulation patterns among adults diagnosed with borderline personality disorder (BPD), with an eye toward implications for treatment. Methods Latent profile analysis (LPA) was utilized to classify 156 inpatients with BPD, based on patterns of Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS; Gratz and Roemer, J Psychopathol Behav Assess 26: 41-54, 2004) subscale scores. Results Results revealed that a three class solution best fit the sample (Low Impairment, Global Dysregulation, and Emotionally Aware). Further analysis of the classes at admission revealed that the Global Dysregulation group reported significantly higher suicidal ideation than either the Low Impairment or Emotionally Aware groups, and that the Global Dysregulation group reported significantly higher functional impairment than the Low Impairment group. Conclusions All three groups improved greatly over the course of hospital treatment, although they remained distinguishable at discharge, retaining their positions symptomatically relative to one another. Limitations, implications, and future directions are discussed

Impact of stress testing before percutaneous coronary intervention or medical management on outcomes of patients with persistent total occlusion after myocardial infarction: analysis from the occluded artery trial

Background—In the Occluded Artery Trial (OAT), 2201 stable patients with an occluded infarctrelated artery (IRA) were randomized to percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) or optimal medical treatment alone (MED). There was no difference in the primary endpoint of death, re-MI or heart failure (CHF). We examined the prognostic impact of pre-randomization stress testing. Methods—Stress testing was required by protocol except for patients with single vessel disease and akinesis/dyskinesis of the infarct zone. The presence of severe inducible ischemia was an exclusion criterion for OAT. We compared outcomes based on performance and results of stress testing. Results—598 (27%) patients (297 PCI, 301 MED) underwent stress testing. Radionuclide imaging or stress echocardiography was performed in 40%. Patients who had stress testing were younger (57 vs. 59 years), had higher ejection fractions (49% vs. 47%), and had lower rates of death (7.8% vs. 13.2%), class IV CHF (2.4% vs. 5.5%), and the primary endpoint (13.9% vs. 18.9%) than patients without stress testing (all p<0.01). Mild-moderate ischemia was observed in 40% of patients with stress testing, and was not related to outcomes. Among patients with inducible ischemia, outcomes were similar for PCI and MED (all p>0.1). Conclusions—In OAT, patients who underwent stress testing had better outcomes than patients who did not, likely related to differences in age and LV function. In patients managed with optimal medical therapy or PCI, mild-moderate inducible ischemia was not related to outcomes. The lack of benefit for PCI compared to MED alone was consistent regardless of whether stress testing was performed or inducible ischemia was present