Psychological Distress and Behavioral Vigilance in Response to Minority Stress and Threat among Members of the Asian American and Pacific Islander Community during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Stigmatization, hostility, and violence towards the Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) community have increased sharply during the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to conduct research to promote understanding of the effects of such stigmatization on the AAPI community. Accordingly, the present study used a combined minority stress and integrated threat framework to examine whether factors related to AAPI identity would moderate the relationship between stigmatization/threat associated with AAPI identity and increased psychological distress and behavioral vigilance. AAPI individuals were recruited online from both Turk Prime and Reddit and completed measures of perceived stigmatization; integrated threat; depression, anxiety, and stress; and behavioral vigilance. Perceptions of stigmatization and threat predicted relevant outcomes both as individual predictors and in multivariate analyses. However, factors relating to the strength of AAPI identification did not moderate the effects of stigmatization and threat on psychological distress and behavioral vigilance, which is a result that failed to support this aspect of the broader conceptual model on which this project was based. Instead, these proposed moderators were themselves predicted by stigmatization and threat variables. The implications of these findings for effective interventions to alleviate the negative consequences of anti-Asian stigmatization are discussed.

Rural atheists in the United States: A critical grounded theory investigation.

The occurrence and impact of antiatheist stigma appear to differ based on the geography and religiousness of the communities in which atheists live (Frazer et al., 2020; Frost et al., 2022). However, few studies have examined the potentially unique experiences of atheists living in parts of the United States (U.S.) designated as rural. Using a critical, grounded theory approach, the present study interviewed 18 rural-residing atheists about their experiences including antiatheist discrimination, outness, and their psychological well-being. Qualitative interviews resulted in five core categories of responses: (a) Harm to Atheists Living in Rural Communities; (b) Anti-Atheist Stigma Complicates Relationships in Rural Communities; (c) Hiding Atheism as a Primary Strategy for Safety in Rural Communities, (d) Personal Advantages that Promote Health and Safety, and (e) Atheism as a Part of a Healthy and Tolerant Worldview. Participants described a heightened danger to their physical safety, a preference for identity concealment, and barriers to access to health-promoting resources like non-religion-affirming health care and community, particularly in the rural Southern United States. However, conversely, participants also described the health benefits of their nonreligious worldview in the context of the challenges of living as an atheist in a rural community. Implications for future research and recommendations for clinical practice are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Sexuality training in counseling psychology: A mixed-methods study of student perspectives.

Counseling psychologists are a cogent fit to lead the movement toward a sex-positive professional psychology (Burnes et al., 2017a). Though centralizing training in human sexuality (HS; Mollen & Abbott, 2021) and sexual and reproductive health (Grzanka & Frantell, 2017) is congruent with counseling psychologists' values, training programs rarely require or integrate comprehensive sexuality training for their students (Mollen et al., 2020). We employed a critical mixed-methods design in the interest of centering the missing voices of doctoral-level graduate students in counseling psychology in the discussion of the importance of human sexuality competence for counseling psychologists. Using focus groups to ascertain students' perspectives on their human sexuality training (HST) in counseling psychology, responses yielded five themes: (a) HST is integral to counseling psychology training, (b) few opportunities to gain human sexuality competence, (c) inconsistent training and self-directed learning, (d) varying levels of human sexuality comfort and competence, and (e) desire for integration of HST. Survey responses suggested students were trained on the vast majority of human sexuality topics at low levels, consistent with prior studies surveying training directors in counseling psychology and at internship training sites (Abbott et al., 2021; Mollen et al., 2020). Taken together, results suggested students see HST as aligned with the social justice emphasis in counseling psychology but found their current training was inconsistent, incidental rather than intentional, and lacked depth. Recommendations, contextualized within counseling psychology values, are offered to increase opportunities for and strengthen HST in counseling psychology training programs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

Development and Evaluation of the Atheist Identity Concealment Scale (AICS).

The Atheist Identity Concealment Scale (AICS) was developed as a tool to assess the degree to which atheists conceal their atheist identity from others. Drawing on concealable stigmatized identity (CSI) theory, the aim of this study was to provide researchers with a valid means to effectively assess atheist identity concealment. Using three separate samples of more than 500 adults in the USA, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted which ultimately resulted in a short, robust measure comprised of eight items. Additional validity evidence was provided by examining the relationship between the AICS and several previously validated tools (i.e., outness, nonreligiosity, depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem).

Hidden in plain sight: Working class and low-income atheists.

The current study sought to qualitatively examine the role of social class in the development of atheist identity, the experience of atheism-related minority stress, and relationships between atheists. Using a critical phenomenological design, we captured the experiences of 15 working-class and the low-income U.S. American atheists and identified five themes: Early Doubts and Establishment of Atheist Values; Diverse Experiences of Antiatheist and Class-Based Stigma; Expecting Indifference, Exercising Caution; Strategies of Concealment and Disclosure; and Atheism as an Individual, Rather Than Collective, Experience. Results suggested working-class and low-income atheists engaged in strategic outness to manage risk and their atheist identities developed similarly to studies including primarily class-privileged atheists. However, working-class and low-income atheists diverged from extant atheism scholarship in their relatively low atheist identity centrality and limited engagement with and perceived connection to other atheists. We conclude with implications for our findings and directions for future research. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Coping with COVID-19: An Examination of the Role of (Non)Religiousness/(Non)Spirituality.

Psychological distress and coping strategies employed during collective trauma events may vary for theists and atheists, as well as others along the (non)religious spectrum. The present study explored these differences via data collected from a US-based sample during the COVID-19 pandemic. Statistical models suggested relationships between maladaptive coping and distress for all participants and potential differences in coping and, in turn, distress between participants high and low in institutional religiousness and individual spirituality. Additionally, all participants, though especially nonreligious participants, appeared less able to engage in adaptive emotion-focused coping strategies. Implications for future research are provided.

"Isn't atheism a White thing?": Centering the voices of atheists of color.

Despite a general shift toward secularity, very few people of color in the United States identify as atheist. Further, atheists of color are underrepresented in studies of atheists, and the experiences of atheists of color specifically have, to date, not been captured in the extant scholarship. Addressing this gap in the literature, we interviewed 17 self-identified adult atheists of color, predominantly from Christian backgrounds, residing in the United States using a critical feminist phenomenological approach. Six broad themes emerged from the data: (a) atheist identity development; (b) experiences of discrimination; (c) isolation; (d) violations of cultural expectations; (e) strategic outness; and (f) benefits of atheist identification. Experiences consistent with previous literature and novel and unique experiences specific to atheists of color are reported. Implications for training, practice, and research are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).