Disordered eating among sex trafficking survivors: An application of objectification theory to experiences of extreme objectification.

OBJECTIVE: Substantial evidence demonstrates the physical, mental, and social health disparities experienced by sex trafficking survivors (STSs) in the United States. The limited exploration of disordered eating symptomology in STSs is a notable gap in understanding their health needs, especially considering the known link between exposure to trauma and disordered eating. One purpose of this study was to document the occurrence of disordered eating in a sample of STSs. This study also examined the unique effect of the sex trafficking experience, separate from other traumas, in explaining disordered eating directly and indirectly through mechanisms of self-objectification, including self-surveillance and body shame. METHOD: Survey data related to sex trafficking status, disordered eating, self-surveillance, body shame, and discrimination were collected from 180 nontrafficked women and 113 trafficked women. RESULTS: Findings reveal that STSs reported higher rates of disordered eating than their nontrafficked counterparts, with 74% of STSs demonstrating clinically significant disordered eating. Additionally, when controlling for general trauma and subjective socioeconomic status, trafficking status, self-surveillance, and body shame explained 56% of the variance in disordered eating. CONCLUSIONS: These results have implications for future research and clinical work with STSs, which will be instrumental in mitigating the impact of the sex trafficking epidemic plaguing women in the United States. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The relationship of the clinician-rated Functional Status Interview with executive functioning.

Self/informant-report and performance-based instruments are typically used to measure activities of daily living (ADLs) and instrumental activities of daily living (IADLs). Minimal attention has focused on clinician-rated measures. Executive functioning (EF) contributes significantly to functional independence, and the validity of functional status measures has been examined through its relationship to EF scores. The current study used a clinical sample of older U.S. Veterans who completed a neurocognitive evaluation (n = 266). The psychometric properties of a novel, clinician-rated Functional Status Interview (FSI) and its relationship to EF measures, including the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB) and Trail Making Test (TMT-A and TMT-B), were explored. Two FSI factors (IADL and ADL) emerged with all items loading strongly onto the subscales as predicted. EF correlated strongly with IADL but had small to medium correlations with ADL. In regression models that controlled for sociodemographic variables, all EF measures uniquely contributed to the IADL model, but only FAB and TMT-A contributed to the model for ADL. Notably, results may have been limited by prominent floor effects on TMT-B. Overall, the FSI is a promising measure with demonstrated content validity. Thus, there is preliminary support for clinicians to incorporate multiple sources of information to rate functional status using the FSI.

An Exploration of the Link Between Masculinity and Endorsement of IPV Myths in American Men.

Current research has established a connection between men's endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology and their perpetration of intimate partner violence (IPV) toward women. However, research has not yet identified the cognitive and affective pathways that link the endorsement of masculinity ideology and men's beliefs about IPV. The current study examined men's fear of intimacy, ambivalent (i.e., hostile and benevolent) sexism, and relationship dominance as potential mediating factors of the relationship between endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology and the acceptance of myths about male-to-female IPV in a community sample of 101 American men. Results supported the hypothesized relationship between men's endorsement of traditional masculinity ideology and their support of myths minimizing the impact of male-to-female IPV or shifting the perceived responsibility for the offenses from the male perpetrators to the female victims. Multiple regression analyses indicated that while men's hostile sexism and a preference for dominance in relationships did partially mediate the proposed relationship, fear of intimacy did not. The sample was largely homogeneous in terms of race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and educational background, although heterogeneous in age. Implications for prevention of IPV include the importance of addressing and challenging the pervasiveness of societal support of IPV myths. Clinical implications include the need for male-centric therapeutic interventions that respect male viewpoints, struggles, and strengths, and that work with, rather than against, a client's sense of masculinity.

The relation of social support, connectedness, and collective self-esteem to the psychological well-being of lesbian, gay, and bisexual youth.

The present study extended the research on the mental health of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) youth by testing the relationship of social support, social connectedness, and collective self-esteem to psychological well-being in a sample of 218 LGB youth. Perceived social support significantly predicted psychological well-being subscales; social connectedness and collective self-esteem contributed significantly to the psychological well-being of the LGB participants when controlling for perceived social support. Age moderated the relations between several of the social and psychological well-being variables. Results of the study suggest that helping professionals working with LGB youth consider assessment of the youth's sense of connectedness to those around him/her and esteem related to LGB group membership in addition to assessing general social support.