Social Identities of Clients and Therapists During the Mental Health Intake Predict Diagnostic Accuracy

Across countries, common mental disorders are often more prevalent and/or more persistent among disadvantaged members (e.g., ethnic minorities) compared with advantaged group members. Although these disparities constitute a heavy challenge to national health organizations, there is little empirical evidence to help account for the mechanism underlying them. In this study, conducted in clinics across Israel, we investigated processes, rooted in the clinical encounter that may contribute to mental health disparities. We focused on the accuracy of diagnostic decisions, which are likely to substantially impact the client’s prognosis. Therapists’ diagnostic decisions following the initial intake with their client were compared with independent structured diagnostic interview of the client. Results revealed that therapists were twice as likely to misdiagnose mental illness when their client was a member of a disadvantaged (relative to advantaged) group. Implications for the quality of mental health services that members of disadvantaged groups receive are discussed

How Children of LGBQ Parents Negotiate Courtesy Stigma over the Life Course

Drawing on in-depth interviews with 28 U.S. adults who have at least one lesbian, gay, bisexual, or queer (LGBQ) parent, we examine how this group negotiates the courtesy stigma of a parent’s sexual identity over the life course. Respondents reported less control over revealing courtesy stigma during childhood, when they were closely linked to their parents, but increased ability to conceal parents’ sexual orientation as they aged. During childhood and adolescence, parents’ gender presentation and choice of partner(s) impacted the visibility and degree of courtesy stigma, as did their peer networks and social environments. As adults, respondents continued to face issues of visibility; those who identified as heterosexual struggled to gain acceptance within LGBQ communities, while those who identified as LGBQ negotiated fears about how their own sexual orientation reflected upon their families of origin. Recognizing that people with one or more LGBQ parents face courtesy—rather than direct—stigma sheds light on past research, while providing a sociological framework with which to analyze future work on this population

Stereotype deduction about bisexual women

Bisexuals are an invisible sexual minority. However, at the same time, bisexuals are stereotypically associated with confusion and promiscuity. Stereotype learning theories suggest that individuals who are unfamiliar with a social group are less likely to have stereotypical beliefs about its members. In contrast, it has been recently hypothesized that stereotypes about bisexuality are not necessarily learned but rather deduced based on common conceptualizations of sexuality. Because stereotypes are suppressed only if they are recognized as offensive, lack of knowledge regarding bisexual stereotypes should actually enhance their adoption. To assess the strength of the two competing accounts, we examined the relationship between explicit knowledge of bisexual stereotypes and stereotypical evaluation of bisexual individuals. Heterosexual participants (N = 261) read a description of two characters on a date and evaluated one of them. Bisexual women were evaluated as more confused and promiscuous relative to nonbisexual women. Moreover, the stereotypical evaluations of bisexual women were inversely related to knowledge about these stereotypes. The findings support the notion that bisexual stereotypes are not learned but rather deduced from shared assumptions about sexuality. Consequently, public invisibility not only exists alongside bisexual stereotypes but might also exacerbate their uninhibited adoption

How does intergroup contact affect social change? Its impact on collective action and individual mobility intentions among members of a disadvantaged group

A current debate surrounds the issue of whether prejudice-reducing interventions such as intergroup contact may reduce resistance to unequal intergroup relations among disadvantaged groups. Addressing this question, the present research investigates how positive contact with members of the advantaged group shapes action strategies to cope with disadvantage. Using survey data from a sample of Latino-Americans (N =112), structural equation modelling revealed that friendship contact with Anglo-Whites was overall negatively associated with interest in collective action. This relation was due to both reduced identification with the disadvantaged group and positive attitudes toward the advantaged group, which predicted reduced anger about inequality. Contact was also positively associated with an individual mobility orientation, a relation which was explained through increased perceived permeability. Individual mobility orientation did not, however, predict reduced motivation for collective action. The theoretical and practical implications of these findings for societal change and novel directions for future research are discussed.PostprintPeer reviewe

Views of sexual assault following #MeToo: The role of gender and individual differences

One way social movements can achieve change is through impacting public opinion, yet research testing effects of real-world collective action is scarce. In this research, we investigated both short and long-term impact of #MeToo, a global social media movement. We tracked changes in dismissal of sexual assault with self-report surveys among US participants recruited online across four waves of measurement (initial N approximate to 500): twice before #MeToo movement, at the peak of the #MeToo, and six-months later. We investigated whose attitudes will be most or least affected by the movement by considering individual differences pertaining to gender, gender and feminist identification, and social dominance orientation (SDO). Overall, dismissal of sexual assault reduced following #MeToo among both men and women, and this change persisted six-months later. This effect was moderated by SDO such that low-SDO men and high-SDO women showed the most reduction in dismissal of sexual assault. We did not find a backlash effect as would be suggested by prior work, or by vocal criticism of #MeToo. Potential explanation for SDO's unique influence and implication for social change efforts are discussed

Migration and Cultural Change: A Role for Gender and Social Networks?

From the Introduction: To incorporate the insights from the literature on gender and migration, we focus upon three key concepts that have emerged regarding the role of social networks, households, and communities for affecting migration processes. The three key concepts we interrogate are: “social embeddedness” (Portes and Sensenbrenner 1993), “circular and cumulative causation” (Massey 1990), and “relative deprivation” (Stark 1991). We propose considering these three concepts through the lens of a third area of research, the sociology of culture, and we draw upon ideas about identity formation, trust, and normative expectations. Our empirical examples come primarily from Thailand where we draw upon both secondary and primary data but also from secondary data from Latin America and the Caribbean migrant experiences. In our effort to demonstrate that social networks and gender are essential elements for understanding migration and cultural change, our discussion refers to international, internal, permanent, and temporary migration

Reporting Risk, Producing Prejudice How News Reporting on Obesity Shapes Attitudes about Health Risk, Policy, and Prejudice

News reporting on research studies may influence attitudes about health risk, support for public health policies, or attitudes towards people labeled as unhealthy or at risk for disease. Across five experiments (N = 2123) we examined how different news framings of obesity research influence these attitudes. We exposed participants to either a control condition, a news report on a study portraying obesity as a public health crisis, a news report on a study suggesting that obesity may not be as much of a problem as previously thought, or an article discussing weight-based discrimination. Compared to controls, exposure to the public health crisis article did not increase perception of obesity-related health risks but did significantly increase the expression of antifat prejudice in four out of seven comparisons. Across studies, compared to controls, participants who read an article about weight-based discrimination were less likely to agree that overweight constitutes a public health crisis or to support various obesity policies. Effects of exposure to an article questioning the health risks associated with overweight and obesity were mixed. These findings suggest that news reports on the obesity epidemic and, by extension, on public health crises commonly blamed on personal behavior may unintentionally activate prejudice

The effect of moral loss and gain mindset on confronting racism

In the present research, we tested whether the prospect of moral failure or moral gain can motivate (some) people to confront racism. We investigated the influence of moral loss and moral gain mindset on people's tendency to contest racism as a function of their moral commitment to non-prejudice.Drawing on research on regulatory focus, we predicted that a moral loss mindset (vs. control) would increase confronting tendencies among those who are morally committed to non-prejudice (to safeguard their moral self-concept). A moral gain mindset (vs. control) was expected to increase confronting among those who are less committed to non-prejudice (to enhance their moral self-concept). In Experiment 1, participants were presented with racist scenarios. We varied the framing of moral considerations involved (loss vs. gain vs. control) and assessed confronting intentions. In Experiment 2, participants went through a moral mindset intervention. After a few days, using a behavioral paradigm, we tested their actual confronting during a racist situation. We found partial evidence to our predictions. Those highly committed to non-prejudice (as indicated by a measure of moral conviction in Experiment 1, but by a measure of moral identity in Experiment 2) were significantly more prone to confront in the loss mindset condition than in the control. Confronting in the gain condition was not significantly different than in the control condition at any level of moral commitment to non-prejudice. These findings suggest that a moral loss mindset intervention may be effectively used in promoting (some) people's tendency to speak up against racism