A prosocial value intervention in gateway STEM courses.

Many college students, especially first-generation and underrepresented racial/ethnic minority students, desire courses and careers that emphasize helping people and society. Can instructors of introductory science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses promote motivation, performance, and equity in STEM fields by emphasizing the prosocial relevance of course material? We developed, implemented, and evaluated a prosocial utility-value intervention (UVI): A course assignment in which students were asked to reflect on the prosocial value of biology or chemistry course content; our focus was on reducing performance gaps between first-generation and continuing generation college students. In Studies 1a and 1b, we piloted two versions of a prosocial UVI in introductory biology (N = 282) and chemistry classes (N = 1,705) to test whether we could encourage students to write about the prosocial value of course content. In Study 2, we tested a version of the UVI that combines personal and prosocial values, relative to a standard UVI, which emphasizes personal values, using a randomized controlled trial in an introductory chemistry course (N = 2,505), and examined effects on performance and motivation in the course. In Study 3, we tested the prosocial UVI against a standard UVI in an introductory biology course (N = 712). Results suggest that the prosocial UVI may be particularly effective in promoting motivation and performance for first-generation college students, especially those who are more confident that they can perform well in the class, reflecting a classic expectancy-value interaction. Mediation analyses suggest that this intervention worked by promoting interest in chemistry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Utility-value intervention promotes persistence and diversity in STEM.

We tested the long-term effects of a utility-value intervention administered in a gateway chemistry course, with the goal of promoting persistence and diversity in STEM. In a randomized controlled trial (N = 2,505), students wrote three essays about course content and its personal relevance or three control essays. The intervention significantly improved STEM persistence overall (74% vs. 70% were STEM majors 2.5 y later). Effects were larger for students from marginalized and underrepresented racial/ethnic groups, who were 14 percentage points more likely to persist in STEM fields in the intervention condition (69% vs. 55%). Mediation analysis suggests that the intervention promoted persistence for these students by bolstering their motivation to attain a STEM degree and by promoting engagement with course assignments. This theory-informed curricular intervention is a promising tool for educators committed to retaining students in STEM.

Considerations for employing intersectionality in qualitative health research.

Intersectionality theory has recently emerged in the health sciences as a critical theoretical and methodical approach. Though some scholars have outlined explicit guidelines for applying intersectionality in research using quantitative methods, others have cited epistemological concerns and additive thinking to advocate for the analysis of intersectionality with qualitative methods. Thus, there remains a need for additional guidance and support for utilizing and applying intersectionality theory throughout the qualitative research process. With the goal of demystifying the process of utilizing intersectionality as a methodological approach in qualitative research in the health sciences, this paper provides researchers with recommendations, specific examples, and important considerations for incorporating intersectional approaches into study conceptualization, participant recruitment, data collection, and data analysis. Additionally, this paper reviews challenges that researchers may experience in conducting research using intersectional approaches and offers suggestions for overcoming challenges. This paper offers timely and relevant information that can be used to strengthen the theoretical and methodological rigor of qualitative health research, especially studies that seek to advance health equity.

Ethnic variations in parental ethnic socialization and adolescent ethnic identity: a longitudinal study.

Achievement of a positive ethnic identity has been linked to positive outcomes for ethnic minority youth and is fostered by parental ethnic socialization practices. In light of findings of variability in developmental trajectories and outcomes, we examined ethnic group variations in parents' ethnic socialization practices and adolescents' ethnic identity. Within a sample of 370 adolescents who self-identified as White, African American, Latino/a, or Asian American, and their parents, parental ethnic socialization practices (including preparation for bias, promotion of mistrust, and cultural socialization) and adolescent ethnic identity development (including identity exploration and commitment) were assessed at 10th and 11th grades. Consistent with predictions, African American youth reported higher levels of ethnic identity exploration and commitment than youth from other ethnic groups, and parents of African American youth tended to report higher levels of ethnic socialization than other parents. Parental cultural socialization significantly predicted adolescent ethnic identity exploration and commitment 1 year later; ethnicity did not moderate this link. Findings are discussed in the context of the schools and urban community from which the sample was recruited, highlighting the importance of sociocultural context in development.

Robust but plastic: gender differences in emotional responses to sexual debut.

Data reported by Sprecher ( 2014 ) indicate that gender differences in emotional responses to sexual debut should be included among the handful of exceptions to Hyde's ( 2005 ) gender similarities hypothesis, which states that men and women are similar on most but not all psychological variables. While these gender differences have been relatively robust over the three decades of data collection reported by Sprecher ( 2014 ), the evidence of historical change in the magnitude of these gender differences indicates that they are still plastic. The experience of first intercourse has become generally more positive over that time, with more pleasure and less guilt among women and less anxiety among men. In this commentary, gender differences in pleasure, anxiety, and guilt in response to first intercourse are discussed in connection with the system of compulsory heterosexuality.

Gender differences in self-conscious emotional experience: a meta-analysis.

The self-conscious emotions (SCE) of guilt, shame, pride, and embarrassment are moral emotions, which motivate adherence to social norms and personal standards and emerge in early childhood following the development of self-awareness. Gender stereotypes of emotion maintain that women experience more guilt, shame, and embarrassment but that men experience more pride. To estimate the magnitude of gender differences in SCE experience and to determine the circumstances under which these gender differences vary, we meta-analyzed 697 effect sizes representing 236,304 individual ratings of SCE states and traits from 382 journal articles, dissertations, and unpublished data sets. Guilt (d = -0.27) and shame (d = -0.29) displayed small gender differences, whereas embarrassment (d = -0.08), authentic pride (d = -0.01), and hubristic pride (d = 0.09) showed gender similarities. Similar to previous findings of ethnic variations in gender differences in other psychological variables, gender differences in shame and guilt were significant only for White samples or samples with unspecified ethnicity. We found larger gender gaps in shame with trait (vs. state) scales, and in guilt and shame with situation- and scenario-based (vs. adjective- and statement-based) items, consistent with predictions that such scales and items tend to tap into global, nonspecific assessments of the self and thus reflect self-stereotyping and gender role assimilative effects. Gender differences in SCE about domains such as the body, sex, and food or eating tended to be larger than gender differences in SCE about other domains. These findings contribute to the literature demonstrating that blanket stereotypes about women's greater emotionality are inaccurate.

Stability in Mother-Child Interactions from Infancy through Adolescence.

OBJECTIVE: The current study examines homotypic stability in mother-child interactions, applying similar rating scales of mother-child interactions at 1 and 4.5 years, and heterotypic stability from 1 to 13 years and 4.5 to 13 years, using conceptually similar but not identical rating scales at age 13. DESIGN: We coded videotaped mother-child interactions in 202 families when children were 1, 4.5, and 13 years of age during age-appropriate and developmentally salient structured tasks for relationship quality. RESULTS: Multiple regression analyses controlled for the effects of child birth order and gender as well as maternal age and education. Maternal and dyadic, but not child, mother-child interaction qualities at 1 year significantly predicted similar or equivalent constructs at 4.5 and 13 years. Heterotypic stability from 1 to 13 years was partially or fully mediated by the same constructs at 4.5 years. CONCLUSIONS: Maternal behaviors showed a pattern of homotypic and heterotypic stability, whereas dyadic behaviors were somewhat less stable. Child behaviors showed evidence of both homotypic and heterotypic instability.

Cross-national patterns of gender differences in mathematics: a meta-analysis.

A gender gap in mathematics achievement persists in some nations but not in others. In light of the underrepresentation of women in careers in science, technology, mathematics, and engineering, increasing research attention is being devoted to understanding gender differences in mathematics achievement, attitudes, and affect. The gender stratification hypothesis maintains that such gender differences are closely related to cultural variations in opportunity structures for girls and women. We meta-analyzed 2 major international data sets, the 2003 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study and the Programme for International Student Assessment, representing 493,495 students 14-16 years of age, to estimate the magnitude of gender differences in mathematics achievement, attitudes, and affect across 69 nations throughout the world. Consistent with the gender similarities hypothesis, all of the mean effect sizes in mathematics achievement were very small (d < 0.15); however, national effect sizes showed considerable variability (ds = -0.42 to 0.40). Despite gender similarities in achievement, boys reported more positive math attitudes and affect (ds = 0.10 to 0.33); national effect sizes ranged from d = -0.61 to 0.89. In contrast to those of previous tests of the gender stratification hypothesis, our results point to specific domains of gender equity responsible for gender gaps in math. Gender equity in school enrollment, women's share of research jobs, and women's parliamentary representation were the most powerful predictors of cross-national variability in gender gaps in math. Results are situated within the context of existing research demonstrating apparently paradoxical effects of societal gender equity and highlight the significance of increasing girls' and women's agency cross-nationally.

The missing discourse of development: commentary on Lerum and Dworkin.

Lerum and Dworkin offer a provocative interdisciplinary feminist commentary on the Report of the APA (American Psychological Association) Task Force on the Sexualization of Girls. This commentary notes limitations to their argument and evidence, which make it a less convincing critique of the report's conclusions. Most notably, Lerum and Dworkin omit a developmental approach to the topic of sexualization and media exposure. In addition, their criticism that the report over-determines the negative effects (i.e., overstates the negative effects and ignores the positive effects) of sexualization on girls is unsupported by the empirical literature. This commentary also addresses their concerns about the language used in the report and highlights the need for clear and precise language in this dialogue.

Perceived stigma, self-blame, and adjustment among lung, breast and prostate cancer patients.

People who suffer from disease have often been stigmatised. The internalisation of stigma leads to the experience of self-blame. The relationship among stigma, self-blame and adjustment was framed with two theoretical perspectives: the looking-glass self and learned helplessness models. These models were studied in 96 lung, 30 breast and 46 prostate cancer patients. Consistent with the looking-glass-self model, we predicted that perceived stigma and self-blame would be associated with poorer psychological adjustment; the data supported these hypotheses. Consistent with the learned helplessness model, we predicted that self-blame would mediate the link between perceived stigma and psychological adjustment; data supported these hypotheses. The mediation model explained a greater percentage of the variance in adjustment in the lung cancer sample compared to the breast and prostate cancer sample. Participants who reported internal causal attributions reported poorer psychological adjustment. Lung cancer patients were more likely than breast or prostate cancer patients to report internal causal attributions for their cancer. Future research and cancer care are discussed in light of these findings.

Assessment of guilt and shame in patients with non-small-cell lung cancer compared with patients with breast and prostate cancer.

PURPOSE: Patients with lung cancer might feel more guilt and shame resulting from previous smoking. This study was designed to determine the levels of guilt and shame among patients with non-small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) compared with breast and prostate cancer. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Surveys were sent to participants 3 times (at enrollment, 2 months, and 6 months). Patients were eligible if they had stage IV NSCLC, breast cancer, or prostate cancer. The survey included tests of generalized guilt, shame, depression, and anxiety as well as guilt, shame, and embarrassment related to one's cancer. RESULTS: One hundred seventy-two participants completed >or= 1 questionnaire: 96 patients with NSCLC, 30 patients with breast cancer, and 46 patients with prostate cancer. Of the patients with NSCLC, 91.7% were current or former smokers versus 67.1% of the comparison patients. A composite score of embarrassment related to one's cancer (perceived cancer-related stigma; PCRS) was higher in patients with NSCLC (P < .01). Mean baseline generalized guilt and shame scores were not different among groups and did not change over time. A history of smoking correlated with increased levels of guilt and shame, regardless of tumor type. A personal identification of past behaviors as contributing to cancer correlated with higher levels of guilt, shame, anxiety, and depression. Of the patients with NSCLC, 29.5% felt that their behaviors contributed to their cancer compared with 10.5% of the comparison patients. CONCLUSION: Patients with NSCLC had higher levels of PCRS than patients with prostate cancer or breast cancer but not higher baseline levels of shame and guilt. Smoking is correlated with higher levels of guilt and shame. A belief that one caused one's own cancer is correlated with higher levels of guilt, shame, anxiety, and depression. These findings could be translated into an increased need for open communication among patients and their providers surrounding issues of cancer causation, guilt, shame, depression, and anxiety.

Differences in the nonword repetition performance of children with and without specific language impairment: a meta-analysis.

PURPOSE: This study presents a meta-analysis of the difference in nonword repetition performance between children with and without specific language impairment (SLI). The authors investigated variability in the effect sizes (i.e., the magnitude of the difference between children with and without SLI) across studies and its relation to several factors: type of nonword repetition task, age of SLI sample, and nonword length. METHOD: The authors searched computerized databases and reference sections and requested unpublished data to find reports of nonword repetition tasks comparing children with and without SLI. RESULTS: Children with SLI exhibited very large impairments in nonword repetition, performing an average (across 23 studies) of 1.27 standard deviations below children without SLI. A moderator analysis revealed that different versions of the nonword repetition task yielded significantly different effect sizes, indicating that the measures are not interchangeable. The second moderator analysis found no association between effect size and the age of children with SLI. Finally, an exploratory meta-analysis found that children with SLI displayed difficulty repeating even short nonwords, with greater difficulty for long nonwords. CONCLUSIONS: These findings have potential to affect how nonword repetition tasks are used and interpreted, and suggest several directions for future research.

Gender differences in temperament: a meta-analysis.

The authors used meta-analytical techniques to estimate the magnitude of gender differences in mean level and variability of 35 dimensions and 3 factors of temperament in children ages 3 months to 13 years. Effortful control showed a large difference favoring girls and the dimensions within that factor (e.g., inhibitory control: d = -.41, perceptual sensitivity: d = -0.38) showed moderate gender differences favoring girls, consistent with boys' greater incidence of externalizing disorders. Surgency showed a difference favoring boys, as did some of the dimensions within that factor (e.g., activity: d = 0.33, high-intensity pleasure: d = 0.30), consistent with boys' greater involvement in active rough-and-tumble play. Negative affectivity showed negligible gender differences.

Context counts: long-term sequelae of premarital intercourse or abstinence.

An individual's first sexual experience is a highly salient and meaningful event, with potential to shape sexual scripts and the affect associated with sexual expression. Using data from the National Health and Social Life Survey, we tested abstinence-only advocates; assertions that premarital sex results in psychological and physical harm such as sexual dysfunction, sex guilt, poor health, sexually transmitted diseases, and poor life satisfaction. The first vaginal intercourse was premarital in 82.9% of the sample. Average age at first intercourse was 17.7 years. Relationship status as first intercourse was not consistently associated with later psychological or physical health outcomes. If the first experience was prepubertal, forced, with a blood relative or stranger, or the result of peer pressure, drugs, or alcohol, poorer psychological and physical health outcomes in adulthood were reported consistently. There is little evidence that premarital sex per se is disastrous for later sexual functioning or sex guilt; insofar as first sexual experiences are related to later functioning, the context of the experience is the crucial element.

Children's temperament and behavior problems predict their employed mothers' work functioning.

Numerous studies have been conducted on the impact of dual-earner parents' employment on their children, yet the reverse process-the impact of children and their behavior on the work functioning of their parents-has been ignored. This study investigated spillover from the mother role to the work role in a sample of more than 300 families. At 4 months, 12 months, 3.5 years, and 4.5 years of age, child's difficult temperament was significantly associated with mother's work outcomes, including work role quality and rewards from combining work and family. The evidence was consistent with a structural model in which maternal sense of parenting competence and maternal depressed affect mediated these effects.