Investigating the Effects of Trauma-Related Research on Well-Being

Using an experimental design, we investigated the impact of participation in trauma-related research on well-being in a sample of 219 higher education students. We created five conditions that exposed participants to questions about life events. A sixth condition represented a control condition. Exposure conditions varied according to whether they contained yes/no questions about events that entailed stress, stigma, trauma, or sexual violation. We operationalized well-being by measuring positive and negative affect, state anxiety, and positive reactions to research. Across exposure conditions, participants reported low levels of negative affect and generally positive reactions immediately after participation. The most negative and least positive responses followed exposure conditions that contained questions about stressful events and sexual violation. We discuss implications of our findings for ethics review board practices.     

Webs of empire: locating New Zealand's colonial past

This article reports on the views of non-medical interest groups about sterilization and intellectually disabled people in New Zealand. The rationale for undertaking a study in this sensitive area is presented. Notes about survey distribution method are included and participants’ responses outlined. The study found that a majority of participants agreed that intellectually disabled people should make their own decisions about reproductive capacity. Yet a clear tension between an overall endorsement of individual choice and a majority who also considered that sterilization could be warranted in at least some cases emerged from the data. Reasons for sterilization included: the best interests of intellectually disabled people and carers; concerns about sexual health/well-being; lack of sexual control; and concerns about sexual abuse. The extent of agreement with sterilization as a desirable practice for intellectually disabled boys/men was an unexpected finding. The article concludes with questions posed to promote further discussion.     

Reactions to research participation in vulnerable subgroups

This paper describes the extent to which vulnerable individuals (defined by economic, social, psychological, physical health, and child maltreatment status) react to research participation. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, participants (N=896) completed a lengthy and intrusive in-person interview and provided a small amount of blood through finger pricks. At the end of the interview, participants were asked eight questions about their reactions to the research experience. Vulnerable individuals in general agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction, but were not less willing to continue to participate. In addition, psychologically vulnerable individuals more strongly agreed they would continue to participate, were treated with respect and dignity, and found their participation meaningful. Compared to whites, nonwhites reported stronger agreement about the meaningfulness of the research and the belief that their responses would be kept private. Like others, individuals vulnerable by virtue of their prisoner status or homelessness (past or current) agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction to the interview, but otherwise did not differ in their reactions. These results suggest that researchers and institutional review boards should not be deterred from conducting research on sensitive topics with potentially vulnerable populations.     

Reactions to Research Participation in Vulnerable Subgroups

This paper describes the extent to which vulnerable individuals (defined by economic, social, psychological, physical health, and child maltreatment status) react to research participation. As part of an ongoing longitudinal study, participants (N = 896) completed a lengthy and intrusive in-person interview and provided a small amount of blood through finger pricks. At the end of the interview, participants were asked eight questions about their reactions to the research experience. Vulnerable individuals in general agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction, but were not less willing to continue to participate. In addition, psychologically vulnerable individuals more strongly agreed they would continue to participate, were treated with respect and dignity, and found their participation meaningful. Compared to whites, nonwhites reported stronger agreement about the meaningfulness of the research and the belief that their responses would be kept private. Like others, individuals vulnerable by virtue of their prisoner status or homelessness (past or current) agreed more strongly about having an emotional reaction to the interview, but otherwise did not differ in their reactions. These results suggest that researchers and institutional review boards should not be deterred from conducting research on sensitive topics with potentially vulnerable populations.     

Undergraduate women's reactions to body image and eating disorder research

The purpose of the study was to determine college women's (N = 405) reactions to body image and eating disorder research as well as predictors of negative reactions. Results suggested that the majority of women (94%) did not experience negative reactions and reported benefits to participating. Regression analyses revealed that disordered eating and poorer body esteem were predictive of negative reactions to research participation. Additional analyses were conducted to better understand those participants (N = 26; 6%) who reported negative reactions. Overall, results indicated that body image and eating disorder research is not distressing for the vast majority of participants.     

主观幸福感的经济学分析

对幸福的追求是一个古老而时尚的话题,现代主观幸福感的研究始于20世纪50年代。主观幸福感具有主观性、整体性和相对稳定性的特点。积极情感、消极情感和对生活满意度的体验构成了幸福的主要方面,财富、健康、婚姻家庭、教育等因素都是通过影响被试的情感体验和满意度评价从而影响人们的主观幸福感的。     

Negative Feelings and Help Seeking Among Older Adults With Chronic Conditions

Older adults with chronic conditions are at greater risk of negative affect, though few studies have focused on older adults’ perspectives on how chronic conditions affect their mental well-being. This study involved in-depth interviews that explored how older adults describe their feelings about chronic conditions, the context within which they experience these feelings, and their experiences with help-seeking for negative feelings. Participants reported that older adults experience a range of negative feelings related to their conditions and are only comfortable talking to people who understand their everyday experiences with managing chronic conditions. The findings have implications for health self-management.     

Programme form and service user well-being: Linking theory and evidence

Since the early 1990s, the “activation turn” has become a standard welfare orthodoxy at the heart of international welfare systems. Although policymakers talk confidently about the well-being gains of activation interventions and their employment outcomes, a growing body of research has focused instead on questions around “activation process well-being”—the potential well-being effects of participation in activation programmes themselves. The present article makes three main contributions to the theory, knowledge, and policy practice of this activation well-being literature. First, the paper develops an original conceptual framework that newly connects well-being theory, qualitative variation in programmatic form, and empirically testable well-being expectations for participating service users. Second, the paper uses multivariate statistical analyses to examine six conceptually derived hypotheses around variation in programme forms and implications for participating service users' well-being, drawing on the case study of U.K. activation policy. Noteworthy is the paper's unique distributional insights into well-being effects across different types of service users. Third, the paper offers new policy contributions around the relevance of policy form to service user well-being as well as important pointers to key programme features in this regard.     

Internet Paradox Revisited

Kraut et al. (1998) reported negative effects of using the Internet on social involvement and psychological well-being among new Internet users in 1995–96. We called the effects a "paradox" because participants used the Internet heavily for communication, which generally has positive effects. A 3-year follow-up of 208 of these respondents found that negative effects dissipated. We also report findings from a longitudinal survey in 1998–99 of 406 new computer and television purchasers. This sample generally experienced positive effects of using the Internet on communication, social involvement, and well-being. However, consistent with a "rich get richer" model, using the Internet predicted better outcomes for extraverts and those with more social support but worse outcomes for introverts and those with less support.     

Addressing the vision challenges of residents at a retirement community: collaborative research with a community partner

Staff members at a community retirement village were concerned about the demise of a support group for residents with vision loss, and requested help developing effective services for residents with vision challenges. This study explored past barriers to support group participation, as they were perceived by residents, family members, and employees. The community partner worked collaboratively with the researcher in all phases of the study. Questionnaires were designed to elicit demographic data, diagnosed vision problems, level of adjustment to vision loss, well-being, and motivation for attending institutional programs about vision challenges. Residents responded to standardized vision and depression scales; qualitative questions were posed to all 3 groups concerning motivations for resident participation in program activities. Results indicated that, although many residents had diagnosed vision conditions, they were, in general, coping well with vision loss and did not report depressive symptoms. Participants considered ongoing personal contact and follow-up, a group design that offered the choice of educational presentations and/or process discussions, and individualized assistance with practical challenges to be critical to an effective program. This case study, utilizing a collaborative research process, generated requests for expanded social work services and an increased valuing of the social work role.     

Giving Voice to Research Participants: Should IRBs Hear From Research Participant Representatives?

The current decision-making model for the review of human research contains inadequate mechanisms to ensure that the interests and perspectives of research participants are considered by Institutional Review Boards, whose decisions may profoundly affect the safety and well-being of participants. As a result, this model is far from being optimized to realize Institutional Review Boards' principal mandate and undermines the credibility of the research review process. This article proposes a procedural mechanism that would ameliorate these systemic deficiencies by allowing “research participant representatives” to give voice to participants during the research review process.     

Addressing the Vision Challenges of Residents at a Retirement Community: Collaborative Research with a Community Partner

ABSTRACT

Staff members at a community retirement village were concerned about the demise of a support group for residents with vision loss, and requested help developing effective services for residents with vision challenges. This study explored past barriers to support group participation, as they were perceived by residents, family members, and employees. The community partner worked collaboratively with the researcher in all phases of the study. Questionnaires were designed to elicit demographic data, diagnosed vision problems, level of adjustment to vision loss, well-being, and motivation for attending institutional programs about vision challenges. Residents responded to standardized vision and depression scales; qualitative questions were posed to all 3 groups concerning motivations for resident participation in program activities. Results indicated that, although many residents had diagnosed vision conditions, they were, in general, coping well with vision loss and did not report depressive symptoms. Participants considered ongoing personal contact and follow-up, a group design that offered the choice of educational presentations and/or process discussions, and individualized assistance with practical challenges to be critical to an effective program. This case study, utilizing a collaborative research process, generated requests for expanded social work services and an increased valuing of the social work role.     

The effects of mindfulness on mother–child relationships and maternal well-being during the first COVID-19 lockdown in Israel

Research indicates associations of mindfulness with better relationships and well-being because it promotes decentering and relationship-related capacities. This study examined the effects of mindfulness on mothers' relationships with their children and well-being in a challenging time – the first COVID-19 lockdown. We hypothesized that mothers' relationships and well-being would deteriorate during the lockdown, but a mindfulness-based intervention (MBI) would mitigate this process because of its effect on mothers' mindfulness and decentering. We surveyed 109 mothers caring for their children (mean age 8.61) during the first lockdown in Israel. First, they completed online questionnaires assessing their interpersonal mindfulness, decentering, relationships with their children and well-being (including positive and negative affect and life satisfaction). Then, they were randomly assigned to a group: MBI, relaxing music intervention or no intervention. Participants completed the questionnaires again after 2 weeks of daily interventions. Unexpectedly, mothers in all groups improved their relationships with their children and well-being (their satisfaction with life increased and negative affect decreased) with no significant group differences. Furthermore, the increase in relationship quality was associated with increases in mindfulness and decentering. The findings suggest that crises initially perceived as a threat to mother–child relationships may also present a beneficial opportunity in certain circumstances.     

Giving voice to research participants: should IRBs hear from research participant representatives?

The current decision-making model for the review of human research contains inadequate mechanisms to ensure that the interests and perspectives of research participants are considered by Institutional Review Boards, whose decisions may profoundly affect the safety and well-being of participants. As a result, this model is far from being optimized to realize Institutional Review Boards' principal mandate and undermines the credibility of the research review process. This article proposes a procedural mechanism that would ameliorate these systemic deficiencies by allowing "research participant representatives" to give voice to participants during the research review process.     

Deception in psychology: moral costs and benefits of unsought self-knowledge

Is it ethically permissible to use deception in psychological experiments? We argue that, provided some requirements are satisfied, it is possible to use deceptive methods without producing significant harm to research participants and without any significant violation of their autonomy. We also argue that methodological deception is at least at the moment the only effective means by which one can acquire morally significant information about certain behavioral tendencies. Individuals in general, and research participants in particular, gain self-knowledge which can help them improve their autonomous decision-making. The community gains collective self-knowledge that, once shared, can play a role in shaping education, informing policies and in general creating a more efficient and just society.     

Retrospective accounts of first exposure to minoritized sexual and gender identities

Although there has been considerable research about attitudes towards LGBTQ+ people, there has been little research into how people first come to be aware of minoritized sexual and gender minority (SGM) identities. This study sought to address this gap. A sample of sexual minority (n = 150) and heterosexual (n = 802) young adults (N = 952; M_age = 18.88 years, SD = 1.75; 949 were cisgender, three were transgender), primarily recruited from a large southern university, were asked retrospectively to recount their first exposure to or awareness of SGM identities. Responses between SGM and heterosexual participants were compared through a variety of analytical approaches, including analyzing themes about the source from which participants first recalled encountering these identities, and whether understanding about these identities came through a personal connection to someone with these identities. SGM participants reported encountering minoritized sexual identities a year earlier than did heterosexual participants, with both groups encountering these concepts in middle childhood, on average. SGM participants were more likely than heterosexual participants to report learning about minoritized gender identities from someone with a minoritized gender identity, while heterosexual participants more often reported learning about these identities from media or celebrities. Heterosexual (vs. SGM) participants were also more likely to imply that minoritized gender identities were adopted to be popular, rather than being authentic identities in themselves. Framed by developmental intergroup theory (DIT), we discuss implications of these findings, especially potential interrelationships with the development of prejudiced attitudes about SGM identities.     

Deception in Psychology: Moral Costs and Benefits of Unsought Self-Knowledge

Is it ethically permissible to use deception in psychological experiments? We argue that, provided some requirements are satisfied, it is possible to use deceptive methods without producing significant harm to research participants and without any significant violation of their autonomy. We also argue that methodological deception is at least at the moment the only effective means by which one can acquire morally significant information about certain behavioral tendencies. Individuals in general, and research participants in particular, gain self-knowledge which can help them improve their autonomous decision-making. The community gains collective self-knowledge that, once shared, can play a role in shaping education, informing policies and in general creating a more efficient and just society.     

Food Assistance Programs and Outcomes in the Context of Welfare Reform*

Objective. Food assistance programs play an important role in meeting the basic needs of low‐income households. We consider how the Food Stamp Program (FSP), labor force participation, and food insecurity status affect outcomes of low‐income households under different program designs and economic conditions. Methods. Data from the Survey of Program Dynamics allow estimation of the effects of participation in FSP, labor market participation, and food insecurity on each other. To obtain estimates of behavioral relationships, we apply a simultaneous equation model and make a set of plausible assumptions about identification to implement the instrumental variable estimation. Results. Food insecurity has a positive effect on FSP participation, while labor force participation reduces FSP participation. Furthermore, FSP participation is more responsive to changes in the amount of program benefits than to changes in nonlabor income. Labor force participation has no direct effect on food insecurity; although not statistically significant, the effect of FSP participation on food insecurity is positive. A higher wage rate decreases FSP participation and increases participation in the labor force. Conclusion. The structural approach, which relies on particular identifying assumptions, allows us to explicity examine linkages among food program participation, labor force participation, and well‐being, measured in terms of food insecurity. The results provide evidence that among low‐income households, program parameters affect FSP participation, but no evidence that the food assistance reduces food insecurity.     

When punishment is emotion‐driven: Children's,adolescents', and adults' costly punishment of unfair allocations

When do children, adolescents, and adults decide to punish fairness violations? Two studies with 9‐year‐old children, 13‐year‐old adolescents, and adults investigated whether the link between unfairness and punishment was mediated by negative emotional reactions (measured through galvanic skin responses and emotion ratings). Study 1 (N = 117) examined this question in the context of second‐party punishment, where the punisher is a direct victim of the violation. Study 2 (N = 119) assessed third‐party punishment, where the punisher is an observer, unaffected by the violation. In each study, participants were presented with seven distributions of points, which differed in how fairly the points were allocated between a proposer and receiver, and had to decide whether to punish these distributions. Although the unfairness of the distribution strongly influenced second‐ and third‐party punishment in all age groups, the mediating role of emotional appraisals (i.e., galvanic skin responses vs. emotion ratings) depended on whether or not the punisher was personally affected by the violation and age. Thus, negative emotions primarily motivate costly punishment when the punisher is affected by the violation or when an unaffected third‐party punisher takes the perspective of the victim of a violation, an ability that develops between childhood and adolescence.