Return of Individual Research Results: Participant Perspectives in a Longitudinal Community-Based Sample.

The last decade has witnessed growing calls for the return of individual research results. Prior work in genetic studies has shown that individual, contextual, and cultural factors influence participants' preferences for individual research results. There is a gap in knowledge about participants' views about other types of results, specifically those lacking clinical significance. This study investigates the perspectives of 1587 mothers enrolled in the Northern Plains Environmental Influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program. Participants were presented with hypothetical scenarios to determine their perceived value of individual research results based on result type and the ability to interpret them within a normative context. Irrespective of the result type, participants attributed higher perceived value to results that were well understood than results of unknown significance.

Women's Perceived Likelihood to Engage in Sexual Risk Taking: Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms and Poor Behavioral Regulation.

Sexual abuse prior to age 18 may put some women at risk for engaging in sexual risk taking. This association could exist, in part, as a result of the impact of posttraumatic stress symptoms on behavioral regulation. The current study utilized a path analysis to investigate the association between severity of sexual abuse before age 18, posttraumatic stress symptoms, poor behavioral regulation, and expected engagement in sexual risk taking among college women. The sample consisted of 88 college women with experiences of sexual abuse prior to the age of 18. Severity of sexual abuse predicted posttraumatic stress symptoms. In addition, posttraumatic stress symptoms predicted poor behavioral regulation, which in turn predicted expected engagement in sexual risk taking. These findings indicate functional mechanisms involved in sexual decision making of women who have had past sexual abuse and experience posttraumatic stress symptoms.

Women's Behavioral Responses to Sexual Aggression: The Role of Secondary Cognitive Appraisals and Self-Regulation.

Sexual assault history, secondary cognitive appraisals, and a dual-process model of self-regulation were examined as predictors of women's intended behavioral responses to hypothetical sexual aggression. College women ( N = 435) read a sexually aggressive scenario and rated their intentions to engage in assertive, polite, and passive behavioral responses. Results indicated secondary cognitive appraisals predicted less assertive, more polite, and more passive responses. Good self-control predicted assertive and polite responses, while sexual assault history and poor regulation predicted passive responses. Poor regulation significantly moderated the relationship between secondary cognitive appraisals and passive behavioral responses. Implications for the prevention of sexual assault are discussed.

Gender Matters: The Influence of Acculturation and Acculturative Stress on Latino College Student Depressive Symptomatology.

The purpose of the study was to examine the relationship between acculturation-related variables with depressive symptomatology among Latino college students and the extent to which acculturative stress mediates the association. The extent to which gender moderates these relationships was also examined. Participants were 758 Latina and 264 Latino college students from 30 colleges and universities around the United States. Participants completed measures of acculturation, acculturative stress, and depression. Multigroup path analysis provided excellent model fit and suggested moderation by gender. Acculturative stress mediated the acculturation-depression relationship. One indirect effect was moderated by gender with effects stronger for men: Heritage-culture retention to depressive symptoms via Spanish Competency Pressures. Acculturation and acculturative stress contribute to depression differently for male and female Latino college students. Future research should note the influence of gender socialization on the acculturation process and mental health.

El propósito del estudio fue examinar la relación entre las variables relacionadas con la aculturación con sintomatología depresiva entre los estudiantes universitarios latinos y el grado en que el estrés de aculturación media la asociación. Por otra parte, el grado en que los moderados de género fue examinado estas relaciones. Los participantes fueron 758 estudiantes latinas y 264 universitarios latinos de 30 colegios y universidades en todo Estados Unidos. Los participantes completaron medidas de aculturación, el estrés de aculturación, y la depresión. Análisis camino Multigroup siempre excelente ajuste del modelo y sugirieron moderación por género. Aculturativo estrés mediada la relación aculturación - depresión. Un efecto indirecto fue moderado por el género con efectos más fuertes para los hombres: La retención de Patrimonio - cultura a los síntomas depresivos a través de presiones de competencia españolas. La aculturación y el estrés de aculturacién contribuyen a la depresién de manera diferente para los estudiantes universitarios latinos masculinos y femeninos. Las investigaciones futuras deben observar la influencia de la socializatión de género en el proceso de aculturación y la salud mental.

Family Violence Exposure and Sexual Risk-Taking Among Latino Emerging Adults: The Role of Posttraumatic Stress Symptomology and Acculturative Stress.

This study proposes that posttraumatic stress symptomology and acculturative stress may further explain the relationship between family violence exposure and sexual risk-taking behaviors among Latino emerging adults (N=1,100). A moderated mediation analysis indicated that lifetime rates of family violence exposure were positively associated with sexual risk-taking via posttraumatic stress symptomology, and this mediation significantly varied as a function of acculturative stress. Overall, the findings of the current study underscore a need for a better understanding of how family violence exposure puts Latino emerging adults at risk for aversive health outcomes and suggest the use of an ecological systemic framework that examines the interactions between family, individual, and cultural systems in relation to health risk-taking behaviors.

Meaning in Life in Emerging Adulthood: A Person-Oriented Approach.

The present study investigated naturally occurring profiles based on two dimensions of meaning in life: Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning. Cluster analysis was used to examine meaning-in-life profiles, and subsequent analyses identified different patterns in psychosocial functioning for each profile. A sample of 8,492 American emerging adults (72.5% women) from 30 colleges and universities completed measures on meaning in life, and positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Results provided support for five meaningful yet distinguishable profiles. A strong generalizability of the cluster solution was found across age, and partial generalizability was found across gender and ethnicity. Furthermore, the five profiles showed specific patterns in relation to positive and negative psychosocial functioning. Specifically, respondents with profiles high on Presence of Meaning showed the most adaptive psychosocial functioning, whereas respondents with profiles where meaning was largely absent showed maladaptive psychosocial functioning. The present study provided additional evidence for prior research concerning the complex relationship between Presence of Meaning and Search for Meaning, and their relation with psychosocial functioning. Our results offer a partial clarification of the nature of the Search for Meaning process by distinguishing between adaptive and maladaptive searching for meaning in life.

Risky business: Is there an association between casual sex and mental health among emerging adults?

A multiethnic sample of single, heterosexual, emerging-adult college students (N = 3,907) ages 18 to 25, from 30 institutions across the United States, participated in a study about identity, culture, psychological well-being, and risky behaviors. Given ongoing debates about the connection between casual sex and psychological adjustment, in the current study we assessed the cross-sectional association of participation in casual sex with psychological well-being and distress. A greater proportion of men (18.6%) compared to women (7.4%) reported having had casual sex in the month prior to assessment. Structural equation modeling indicated that casual sex was negatively associated with well-being (ß = .20, p < .001) and positively associated with psychological distress (ß = .16, p < .001). Gender did not moderate these associations. For emerging-adult college students, engaging in casual sex may elevate risk for negative psychological outcomes.

The moderating role of centrality on associations between ethnic identity affirmation and ethnic minority college students' mental health.

BACKGROUND: Prior literature has shown that ethnic affirmation, one aspect of ethnic identity, is positively associated with mental health. However, the associations between ethnic affirmation and mental health may vary depending how much importance individuals place on their ethnic group membership (ie, centrality). METHODS: Using path analysis, the current study examined the relations between ethnic affirmation and indices of mental health problems (ie, anxiety and depressive symptoms), and tested whether the process was moderated by ethnic centrality among 3,659 college students representing 3 ethnic groups (41% Latino/a, 35% Asian American, and 24% African American) who participated in a large, multisite university study. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Results suggested that the associations between ethnic affirmation and mental health were stronger for Latino/a and Asian American students who reported higher levels of ethnic centrality. For African Americans, higher levels of ethnic affirmation predicted better mental health, but this association did not vary as a function of ethnic centrality.

The Association of Well-Being with Health Risk Behaviors in College-Attending Young Adults.

The present study investigated the associations of well-being with engagement in illicit drug use, sexual risk taking, and impaired driving in a sample of 9,515 students from 30 U.S. colleges and universities. Participants completed measures of subjective well-being, psychological well-being, and eudaimonic well-being, and indicated how many times in the past 30 days that they had engaged in several illicit drug use, sexual risk, and impaired driving behaviors. Findings indicated that well-being was negatively associated with incidence of illicit drug use and some sexual risk behaviors, but not with incidence of drunk/drugged driving or riding with an impaired driver. Well-being was negatively related to frequency of casual sex, sex while drunk/high, drunk/drugged driving, and riding with an impaired driver. Associations of well-being were strongest for more dangerous types of drug use and sexual behavior and for riding with an impaired driver. Results are discussed in terms of implications for research and intervention development.

Home away from home: factors associated with current functioning in children living in a residential treatment setting.

OBJECTIVE: While recent research has focused on the impact of abuse and other interpersonal traumas in childhood, little attention has been given to the experiences of children who have been removed from their homes. In addition to trauma, these children are likely to have had a number of experiences that may impact their current functioning. The purpose of this study was to provide descriptive information pertaining to the unique characteristics of children in residential treatment centers, and to examine preliminary factors believed to be associated with current functioning. METHODS: Participants included 41 children, aged 7-12, recruited from two treatment centers in the rural Midwest. Children were administered the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (TSCC) and participated in a brief interview. Each child's primary caregiver at the facility completed the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). RESULTS: Results of the descriptive analyses painted a picture of chaotic childhood marked by significant stress and trauma. Gender, child's satisfaction with current discharge plan, and multiple traumatic experiences were found to be associated with variations in symptomatology. CONCLUSIONS: Findings may assist service providers and caregivers in understanding the unique experiences of this population.