Implicit Sex Guilt Predicts Sexual Behaviors: Evidence for the Validity of the Sex-Guilt Implicit Association Test.

Self-report measures of sexuality may be influenced by people's conscious concerns about confidentiality and social desirability. Alternatively, non-conscious measures (e.g., implicit association tests; [IATs]) are designed to minimize these validity concerns. We constructed an IAT measure of sex guilt using 154 male and female university students. The sex-guilt IAT demonstrated convergent validity as it correlated with various sexual behaviors and incremental validity as it improved the prediction of several sexual behaviors beyond that provided by the Brief Mosher Sex Guilt Scale. We conclude that a non conscious measure of sex guilt may complement the use of self-reports in studying sexual behaviors.

What motivates individuals with sickle cell disease to talk with others about their illness? Reasons for and against sickle cell disease disclosure.

This interview study documented how individuals with sickle cell disease make decisions about who to talk with concerning their illness based on psychological and interpersonal issues that are important to them. Reasons for sickle cell disease disclosure to specific persons were self-related (receiving support, venting feelings), other-related (educating others about sickle cell disease, forewarning others about sickle cell disease-related problems, someone asked for information about the disease), or situational (mostly focusing on another person being physically close or available to talk to). Reasons for sickle cell disease nondisclosure to specific persons were self-related (fear of rejection, being stereotyped, maintaining privacy) or other-related (lack of support, not worrying someone).

How patients' self-disclosure about sickle cell pain episodes to significant others relates to living with sickle cell disease.

OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional study examines to whom and how fully sickle cell disease (SCD) patients talk to others about sickle cell pain, how helpful it is to talk with others about these pain episodes, and the association between talking to others about sickle cell pain episodes and patients' psychological adjustment and coping strategies in managing the disease. METHODS: A convenience sample of 73 African American patients with SCD (30 men and 43 women), were recruited from two SCD clinics at the time of routine medical visits. Most participants had been diagnosed with hemoglobin SS, and they reported an average number of 8.61 pain episodes in the previous 12 months. Participants were asked to whom, how fully, and how helpful it was to talk to significant others about SCD pain episodes experienced in the last 12 months. Patients also completed measures of their psychological adjustment as well as how they would manage a future sickle cell pain episode. Self-report ratings were made on Likert-type scales. RESULTS: Based on paired samples t-tests, participants talked significantly more fully about their thoughts and feelings concerning pain episodes to God and to their primary medical providers than to either their parents, siblings, or an intimate partner/close friend. Bivariate correlations indicated that amount and helpfulness of talking about pain episodes to God and to parents were significantly associated with better psychological adjustment on selected measures. Also, bivariate correlations indicated that helpfulness in talking with siblings, intimate partner/close friend, and primary medical providers was positively related with willingness to go to a physician in the event of a future pain episode. CONCLUSIONS: The results document to whom and how helpful it is to talk with others about SCD pain episodes and how SCD disclosure is related to strategies for managing this disease.

The Revised Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale: its psychometric properties and a proposed ten-item version.

Mosher introduced his Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory some 40 years ago and, over the following decades, his subscale measuring sex guilt has been the most widely used measure of this construct. Mosher revised his instrument in 1998, but he did not provide data regarding the reliability of the scale, its construct validity, or its overlap with the original scale. In this study, a sample of 272 undergraduate college students (95 men and 177 women) were administered both the original Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory and the Revised Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale, a Non-Acceptance of Sexuality Scale, and several items regarding their sexual experiences. Results of this study provide support for the psychometric soundness of the 50-item Revised Mosher Sex-Guilt Scale. Results also revealed that the 50-item scale had a high degree of overlap with the original forced-choice version, and that it had statistically significant correlations in the predicted directions with the sexual experiences items. This study also proposes a brief 10-item version of Mosher's 50-item scale, which has similar psychometric characteristics and could serve as an efficient substitute for the longer scale.

Daily events and mood state among individuals living with HIV: examination of the within-persons approach to data collection using daily diary methodology.

Studies examining the link between stressful events and coping with HIV have relied on a between-persons approach focusing on how individuals differ on some characteristics. Although the between-subjects approach has yielded important information, our goal was to use a within-persons approach, making repeated measurements of the same persons over many days, to examine the impact of changing circumstances on the mood states of those with HIV. A second goal was to determine if asking participants to report their daily experiences via a computerized interactive voice system is a viable way to collect such information. This study collected a variety of trait measures for seven HIV patients and subsequently used a computerized telephone system to collect information regarding daily events and mood states over 21 consecutive days. Several daily measures, including self-esteem, optimism, and positive social interactions were significantly related to daily mood states. Trait measures, with the exception of symptom distress, were ineffective in predicting variations in daily mood states. It was concluded that a computerized telephone system is a viable means of collecting information from HIV patients on a daily basis and within-persons methodology may provide useful information about daily events affecting mood states beyond that generated by a between-persons approach.

Body image ups and downs: prediction of intra-individual level and variability of women's daily body image experiences.

This investigation assessed body image states in the context of everyday life among 108 college women. Participants initially completed measures of body image traits and eating attitudes and subsequently called an automated telephonic response system twice daily for 6 days to convey current body image experiences on the Body Image States Scale. The research examined the extent to which selected pretest variables predicted the level and variability of body image states. As hypothesized, less favorable body image state levels were associated with lower trait body image satisfaction, more body image dysphoria, more dysfunctional investment in appearance, more disturbed eating attitudes, and the use of less adaptive and more maladaptive body image coping strategies. Also as expected, body image variability was predicted by psychological investment in one's appearance, disturbed eating attitudes, and appearance-fixing coping strategies. Implications of the results and future research directions are discussed.