Trajectories of motivation and self-efficacy during a smoking quit attempt: An ecological momentary assessment study.

OBJECTIVE: Conceptual models of addiction highlight self-efficacy and motivation as key variables important during a smoking quit attempt; however, recent research has primarily focused on self-efficacy. Given the importance of motivation in these models, a clearer understanding of the effects of motivation during a smoking quit attempt is needed. METHOD: This study utilized ecological momentary assessment (EMA) to investigate the dynamic effects of motivation and self-efficacy early in a quit attempt. Participants were 356 smokers (45% male; 34% African American, 33% non-Hispanic White, 33% Latino). Participants completed EMAs of motivation, self-efficacy, and smoking for 4 days prequit through 1 week postquit, and returned for a follow-up assessment at 4 weeks postquit. Trajectory parameters of motivation and self-efficacy (mean, slope, and volatility) were analyzed in separate and combined regression models to predict smoking outcomes. RESULTS: Prequit results showed that parameters of motivation and self-efficacy were not associated with smoking on quit day. Postquit analyses revealed that participants with lower mean levels of motivation and self-efficacy were more likely to smoke at the end of Week 1. Moreover, individuals with decreasing levels of motivation over the first week of their quit attempt were more likely to be smoking at the end of Week 4. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the need to incorporate dynamic measures of motivation in smoking research. Furthermore, the results underscore the value of utilizing EMA methods and trajectory parameters to gain a more nuanced understanding of the dynamic effects that key mechanisms have on smoking during a quit attempt. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Sexism, racism, and nationalism: Factors associated with the 2016 U.S. presidential election results?

After the generally unexpected outcome of the 2016 U.S. presidential election, many explanations were proposed to account for the results. Three narratives that received a considerable amount of media attention were that sexist, racist, and/or nationalist attitudes influenced voting decisions. Some empirical work has supported each of these accounts. However, sexism, racism, and nationalism are interrelated, and most studies about the 2016 election have not examined these three factors in conjunction to determine the unique contribution of each. Thus, we investigated the extent to which each factor (assessed as sexism toward women, Modern Racism, and U.S. nationalism) was uniquely related to evaluations of Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump, voting intentions, and actual voting behavior. Participants completed online questionnaires before (N = 489) and after (N = 192) the 2016 U.S. election. More positive evaluation of Clinton and intentions to vote for Clinton were associated with lower levels of Modern Racism. More positive evaluation of Trump was associated with greater sexism toward women, Modern Racism, and U.S. nationalism. Intent to vote for Trump was associated with greater sexism toward women and Modern Racism. However, only Modern Racism significantly predicted voting behavior. Greater Modern Racism was associated with greater likelihood of voting for Trump and lower likelihood of voting for Clinton. When considered in conjunction, Modern Racism was the most consistent predictor across the different election outcome variables. Sexism toward women and U.S. nationalism were generally not significantly related to evaluations, intentions to vote, or voting behavior when accounting for Modern Racism. Thus, our data indicate that Modern Racism was correlated with vote choice in the 2016 election.

Student Integration into STEM Careers and Culture: A Longitudinal Examination of Summer Faculty Mentors and Project Ownership.

It is widely recognized that the United States needs to attract and retain more people in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) careers. Intensive undergraduate research experiences (UREs) are one of the few strategies shown to improve longitudinal student interest and persistence in STEM-related career pathways; however, less is known about the underlying process linking activities to positive outcomes. The tripartite integration model of social influences (TIMSI) provides a framework for understanding the social influence processes by which students integrate into STEM careers and culture. The current study used a longitudinal design and latent growth curve modeling to examine and predict the development of scientific research career persistence intentions over the course of an intensive summer URE. The latent growth curve analysis showed that student persistence intentions declined and rebounded over the course of the summer. Furthermore, the positive impact of faculty mentor role modeling on growth trajectories was mediated through internalization of science community values. In addition, project ownership was found to buffer students from the typical trend of declining and rebounding persistence intentions. The TIMSI framework illuminates the contextual features and underlying psychological processes that link UREs to student integration into STEM careers and culture.

A review of sociocultural factors that may underlie differences in African American and European American anxiety.

Preliminary evidence indicates there may be differences in the prevalence and severity of anxiety in African Americans and European Americans. A number of sociocultural risk and protective factors have been suggested to contribute to these group differences, such as salience of physical illnesses, discrimination, stigma toward mental illness, religiosity, and ethnic identity. In this paper, the literature concerning each of these factors is reviewed. Overall, the strongest evidence was found for ethnic identity and stigma toward mental illness as factors underlying group differences in anxiety. Ethnic identity and stigma toward mental illness consistently differed by racial group and were associated with anxiety in African Americans. Ethnic identity may buffer against the negative consequences of anxiety, reducing prevalence rates in African Americans. Stigma toward mental illness may decrease African Americans willingness to report anxiety symptoms, reducing overall prevalence rates but increasing the severity of treated cases. The research regarding discrimination, salience of physical illnesses, and religiosity was less clear. Much more research is required, but the findings of this review suggest that future studies should put particular emphasis on stigma toward mental illness and ethnic identity as important factors in understanding African American anxiety outcomes.