Couples’ Sexual Communication and Dimensions of Sexual Function: A Meta-Analysis

Research and clinical data have shown that couples with sexual problems report a lack of sexual communication. However, no published meta-analyses have evaluated the relationship between sexual communication and sexual function. This meta-analysis examines the correlation between couples’ sexual communication and dimension of sexual function across 48 studies. Sexual communication was positively associated with sexual desire (r = .16), sexual arousal (r = .21), lubrication (r = .17), orgasm (r = .23), erectile function (r = .19), less pain (r = .12), and overall sexual function (r = .35). The effect sizes for sexual desire (r = .21; r = .12) and orgasm (r = .26; r = .16) were higher for women than for men. For overall sexual function, studies with married participants (r = .47) had a larger effect size than studies with participants with multiple relationship types (r = .31) or than studies with dating participants (r = .11). Effect sizes were larger for studies conducted outside of the United States (r = .39) compared to studies conducted in the United States (r = .12). We discuss the importance of addressing the relationship between sexual communication and sexual function, as well as future directions for research in this area.     

Spanish validation of the Servant Leadership Short Scale for young adults and adolescents / Validación de la Escala de Liderazgo de Servicio Versión Abreviada en español para jóvenes adultos y adolescentes

The aim of the current study was to validate a shortened Spanish version of the Servant Leadership Profile (SLP). In Study 1, a number of experts evaluated and reduced the original scale to 14 items and named the revised version the Servant Leadership Short Scale (SLSS). An exploratory factor analysis conducted with a sample of 1,001 students revealed two possible structure solutions, a one-factor solution and a two-correlated factor solution. Study 2 used a different sample of 456 students to examine the explored structures using confirmatory factor analysis. A one-factor solution was proposed (χ²/df = 3.4, CFI = .91, TLI = .90, RMSEA = .07, SRMR = .06). Finally, in Study 3, servant leadership was used as a predictor of self-efficacy (b = .685, p < .001) and demonstrated good predictive validity. This model explained 41.55% of the variance on self-efficacy. Reliability analyses of the three studies showed that this 14-item Spanish version had high internal consistency. Together, the results of the three studies support the application of the SLSS in future research.     

Spanish version of the Dispositional Empathy with Nature scale / Versión española de la escala de Empatía Disposicional hacia la Naturaleza

The Dispositional Empathy with Nature scale (DEN) — dispositional tendency to understand and share the emotional experience of the natural world — offers a methodological tool for the study of the affective component of environmental concern. In this paper, the factor structure of the Spanish version of the DEN scale is tested (N = 394). The originally proposed one-factor structure is found using exploratory factor analysis — FACTOR program — with Unweighted Least Squares procedure and optimal implementation of parallel analysis (GFI = .99), along with high internal consistency (α = .93). The Spanish DEN scale shows moderate correlations between environmental concern measures (r = .36 – .44, p < .01) and low-to-moderate correlations with dispositional empathy with humans (r = .30 – .42, p < .05), indicating the distinctiveness of the scale. The Spanish version of the DEN scale is an adequate and reliable instrument for the measurement of empathic tendencies towards nature. Some recommendations regarding its future use are made.     

Research With Adolescent Victims of Child Sexual Abuse: Evaluation of Emotional Impact on Participants

The aim of this study was to evaluate the emotional impact on adolescent victims of sexual abuse from participating in a study addressing the consequences of their abuse. A total of 114 adolescents between 12 and 17 years old participated (54 sexually abused adolescents and 60 nonabused students). Both groups responded to a battery of scales to determine their coping strategies and some psychological consequences linked to stressful experiences and two questions about the emotional impact of participating in the study. Sexually abused adolescents reported fewer unpleasant emotions after participating than did nonvictim students (mean difference = .45, t[109] = ?2.934; p < .01). Adolescents who had more symptoms reported more discomfort (r_S scores between .35 and .49; p < .01). These results suggest that when ethical guidelines are followed, it is possible to survey adolescent victims of sexual abuse on aspects related to their experience without causing them significant distress.     

Development of an assessment tool to evaluate the risk potential of different gambling types

Based on different characteristics of gambling types, this study aimed to develop an assessment tool to evaluate the risk potential of available and planned gambling types in German-speaking countries. In the first module, 26 experts were interviewed over the course of a Delphi study, and an analysis of those results led to the selection of relevant characteristics and scaling values. Building on the first module, the second module consisted of standardized data collection of nonproblem, problem and pathological gamblers (characteristics: n = 363; scales: n = 356), which served as an empirical validation. Ten characteristics were identified with different weights and differentiated scaling values to evaluate the risk potential, and a psychometric validation indicated that the assessment tool was reliable (α = 0.91; r _ik  = 0.50; r _it  = 0.33–0.80). The correlation measures from data of epidemiological studies (R ² = 0.84) and a treatment survey (p < 0.001) demonstrated that the assessment tool was valid. This assessment tool, which was verified by psychometric validation, can serve the legislation and jurisdiction, the gaming industry and consumers as a future basis for risk evaluation of gambling types.     

Testing the reactance vs. the reciprocity of politeness explanations for the effectiveness of the “but you are free” compliance-gaining technique

Two studies were conducted to assess whether reactance or politeness offers a better explanation of the effectiveness of the “but you are free” (BYAF) technique of gaining compliance. The first was conducted with an online survey in the US (N = 131) and found that the BYAF was associated with lower perceived freedom threat than a control or polite request. The second was a field study and collected data in France (N = 372), Norway (N = 360), and the US (N = 108) to test a 3 (direct request, polite request, or BYAF) × 2 (requester benefits or 3rd party group benefits) design. The BYAF was associated with higher compliance than the other two messages.     

Adolescents’ sensitivity in social interactions: an evaluation procedure using film clips / La sensibilidad a las interacciones sociales en adolescentes: un procedimiento de evaluación con escenas cinematográficas

This article presents a procedure designed to evaluate adolescents’ sensitivity in social interactions, an essential component of emotional intelligence, by viewing film clips. The instrument was tested on a sample of 1,536 students in the first and second cycles of secondary education. The construct validity of the measure and its relationship with other variables, by applying factor techniques, discriminant analysis and multiple regression, was evaluated. Regarding the dimensionality, the confirmatory factor analysis showed good fit of the sensitivity scores to a one-dimensional model, χ²(35) = 45.75, p = .11, RMSEA = .02, CFI = .94 and TLI = .92. The discriminant analysis allowed the classification of subjects’ responses into sensitive, ingenuous and over-interpretative responses according to their cognitive maturity (χ²(6) = 91.19, p < .001) and sex (χ²(2) = 11.23, p = .004). The multiple regression analysis showed that sensitivity is related to sex, self-expression in social situations, acceptance by the father and interpersonal intelligence (multiple validity = .46).     

Measuring warmth and competence at inter-group,interpersonal and individual levels / Medición de la cordialidad y la competencia en los niveles intergrupal,interindividual e individual

Abstract

Warmth and competence are universal dimensions of social perception that articulate the perception of other individuals and social groups. However, there are no scales that have systematically been used in psychosocial research. The purpose of this study is to construct two scales, one on warmth and another on competence, which could be used at the inter-group, interpersonal and individual levels. To accomplish this, we performed two studies. In Study I (N = 578 students and N = 540 general population), we tested the scales at the intergroup level (immigrant groups and Spaniards), the interpersonal level (people close to the participants) and the individual level (the participants themselves). In Study 2 (N = 184 students), the two scales were tested at an interpersonal level by evaluating 16 public figures. The results of both studies show that both the warmth scale (kind, pleasant, friendly, warm) and the competence scale (competent, effective, skilled, intelligent) achieved a high degree of reliability when reflecting the perception of groups, individuals and oneself.     

The identifiable victim effect: a meta-analytic review

The identifiable victim effect (IVE) refers to individuals’ tendency to offer greater help to specific, identifiable victims than to anonymous, statistical victims. A random-effects meta-analysis was conducted to determine the overall weighted effect of IVE. Overall, 41 studies were included. Results indicated an overall significant yet modest IVE (r = .05). In addition, findings showed that IVE appears reliable mainly when there is a single identified or a single unidentified victim, and/or when study characteristics include elements of the following: a photographed child suffering from poverty, bearing little responsibility for the need, and/or associated with monetary requests. The implications of the findings and directions for future research are discussed.     

“They Just Whisper in Their Hearts That He's Doing a Bad Thing”: A Qualitative Study of Tanzanian Perceptions of Cross-Generational Sex

HIV prevalence among young Tanzanian women is twice that of men, and risk doubles if a partner is ten or more years older. Cross-generational sex (CGS) is typified by transactions, economic asymmetries, power differentials, and inconsistent condom use. By investigating perceptions of CGS in families, schools, and communities, this study explored the role each plays in addressing or condoning CGS and where interventions are needed. Qualitative data were collected in Tanzania's Iringa and Pwani regions after a campaign to reduce CGS. Community leaders suggested key informants and provided household lists used to randomly select participants. Individual interviews were conducted with 20 women (M age = 20.7, SD = 3.1, range = 15 to 26) and 20 men (M age = 37.1, SD = 7.3, range = 30 to 56), focus groups with 15 women (M age = 20.4, SD = 2.9, range = 17 to 25) and 26 men (M age = 39.2, SD = 7.9, range = 30 to 55), and key informant focus groups with 10 women (M age = 47.6, SD = 10, range = 37 to 70) and 16 men (M age = 55.5, SD = 9.5, range = 37 to 67). CGS was viewed as detrimental to girls' education and a financial loss to parents, but barriers, including reluctance to approach parents and older men, prevented community action. Interventions may involve community leaders transcending restrictions on confronting older men and promoting communication between teachers, communities, parents, and young women regarding CGS.     

Measuring Marital Satisfaction: A Comparison of the Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale and the Satisfaction with Married Life Scale

Marital satisfaction has been psychometrically measured using many different instruments not soundly based on theory. The Revised Dyadic Adjustment Scale (RDAS), consisting of 14 items, is commonly accepted by researchers and practitioners to measure marital satisfaction but was not specifically designed to measure marital satisfaction. The Satisfaction with Married Life Scale (SWML), consisting of five items, is a short scale specifically targeted toward measuring marital satisfaction. An online sample collected from 1,187 couples throughout the United States was used to compare these instruments' correlation (r = .782), factor structures, reliability (SWML, α = .958; RDAS, α = .943), theoretical foundation, and validity. These instruments are on parity with each other when measuring marital satisfaction; however, each instrument yields implications for practitioners and researchers desiring to measure marital satisfaction.     

Family-of-origin and service-member resilience

ABSTRACT

Military research on family resilience has not examined the contribution of family-of-origin to resilience of service-members. In this study, researchers investigated the extent to which predeployed service-members’ perception of resilience was related to characteristics of family-of-origin. The sample consisted of 344 U.S. Army soldiers within 6 months of deployment to Afghanistan, contacted through their units and invited to participate. Soldiers completed a survey of perceived resilience, family-of-origin and immediate family variables, and social support. Data were also collected on age, income, ethnicity, number of deployments, and relationship status. Regression analyses were conducted to explain variation in service-member resilience scores. Sample demographics were compared with the active duty soldier population and correlations among the key family-of-origin and social support variables were reported. Family-of-origin satisfaction was moderately related to service-member resilience for the full sample (β = .176, p = .001) and married sample (β = .260, p = .000). It was weakly related in the unmarried sample (β = .147, p = .226). Family social support explained the most variation in resilience across all samples. Study limitations and guidelines and resources for social work practice, education, and research to strengthen family-of-origin and service-member resilience are provided.     

Influential factors in the choice of public transportation or cars as the mode of transportation in habitual commutes / Factores que influyen en la elección del transporte público o el automóvil como modo de transporte en los desplazamientos habituales

The goal of this study is to analyse the differences in attitudes towards habitual modes of transportation among users of public and private transportation. The explanatory capacity of attitudes when determining the mode choice, along with the structural and sociodemographic factors, are also verified. The study was performed in three Spanish cities with 742 participants. The results revealed that cars are better rated than public modes of transportation in the attributes associated with immediate advantages (i.e., speed and availability) and convenience. Subways are highly rated in both immediate and deferred advantages (environment, safety, cost and health). Buses are the mode rated the lowest of the three. Using logistic regression, it was verified that the variance explained by a model that includes attitudes (R² = .639) is higher than the variance explained by a model based solely on variables related to infrastructures (R² = .489). The discussion of these results includes proposals aimed at decreasing car use.     

President Trump vs. CEOs: a comparison of presidential and corporate agenda building

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to compare the agenda-building influence of President Trump and CEOs in communicating about a number of political and social issues. Through a content analysis of the president’s (N = 63) and business leaders’ (N = 234) information subsidies and news coverage (N = 270), evidence was found repeatedly supporting the president’s first, second, and third levels of agenda-building influence on news media content. In comparison, CEOs’ agenda-building influence was found at the first and third levels, and this influence was not consistent across issues. Furthermore, an argument was made in light of the study’s findings that direct communication by business leaders generally had a more significant impact on the media agenda than indirect messages from other organizational actors such as their companies or corporate spokespeople.     

A meta-analysis of the pique technique of compliance

A random-effects meta-analysis was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of the pique technique of compliance-gaining. Results indicated an overall significant effect of the pique technique on increased compliance rate across 17 comparisons (r = .27). Moderator analyses showed the technique worked significantly better than controls in gaining compliance when a smaller amount was requested, when the reason for the request was included, and when the technique was used in France. In addition, the pique technique was more successful than control requests in terms of the total amount of money or time given by participants and the percentage of participants inquiring about the requests. Theoretical and practical implications for the success of pique technique are discussed for future research.     

Validation of the Postpartum Social Support Questionnaire in low-income,African American women

ABSTRACT

This study applied a previously developed Postpartum Social Support Questionnaire to low-income, African American women. The 33-question survey was administered to 95 African American women between 4- and 8-weeks postpartum. The survey was readministered 2 weeks later. All women were of low socioeconomic status based on their qualification for public insurance. The questionnaire addresses subscales of partner, parent, in-law, and other friend/relative support. Responses were used to evaluate internal reliability of each subscale, test–retest correlation, and factor loading. Results were compared between women with and without a positive postpartum depression screen. Cronbach's alpha coefficients for each subscale ranged from .90 to .96. Test-retest correlation coefficients ranged from .72 to .87. Exploratory factor analysis with orthogonal varimax rotation was consistent with previously studied samples. Those women with positive postpartum depression screens had significantly lower social support scores (M = 122, SD = 36) than women with negative postpartum depression screens (M = 149, SD = 38), t(79) = ?2.62, p = .01. The Postpartum Social Support Questionnaire is a useful assessment in low-income, African American mothers.     

Revealing the elusive effects of vividness: a meta-analysis of empirical evidences assessing the effect of vividness on persuasion

Despites decades of research, past studies focusing on the effects of vividness on persuasion found mixed and contradictory results. In order to solve this conflicting issue, a meta-analysis was conducted on empirical studies assessing the impact of vivid (vs. pallid) communications on attitude and/or behavioral intention. Overall, 27 articles (k = 43; N = 7575) were included. Our results showed that vividness yielded significant small-to-medium effect on both attitude (d₊ = .31) and behavioral intention (d₊ = .39). Furthermore, meta-regression analyses indicated that memory recall, cognitive elaboration, and topic valence moderated these effects, whereas vividness/argument congruency was not significantly related to the variations of effects sizes. Finally, theoretical implications of theses finding will be discussed.     

Adaptation of the short version of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-12) into Spanish / Adaptación al español de la versión reducida del Cuestionario de Capital Psicológico (PCQ-12)

Psychological capital (PsyCap) has been a topic of increasing interest in the last decade. However, there is a lack of validated instruments in Spanish to map PsyCap and its consequences for individuals’ well-being. Consequently, the goal of this study is to adapt the 12-item short version of the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-12) to the Spanish context by analysing its internal consistency and reliability, factor solution and external validity. Results indicated that the PCQ-12 exhibited good Cronbach’s alpha (.87) and omega coefficient (.93) values in a sample from a vehicle inspection company (n = 798). As expected, results also revealed that a second-order factor structure provided the best fit. Moreover, PsyCap is associated with increased job engagement (β = .579; R²_adjusted = .333), decreased job burnout (β = ?.409; R²_adjusted = .166), and lower psychological distress (β = ?.349; R²_adjusted = .121) (all p < .01), which provided additional support for using the PCQ-12 in the Spanish context. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

A Comprehensive Review and a Meta-Analysis of the Effectiveness of Internet-Based Psychotherapeutic Interventions

ABSTRACT

Internet-based psychotherapeutic interventions have been used for more than a decade, but no comprehensive review and no extensive meta-analysis of their effectiveness have been conducted. We have collected all of the empirical articles published up to March 2006 (n = 64) that examine the effectiveness of online therapy of different forms and performed a meta-analysis of all the studies reported in them (n = 92). These studies involved a total of 9,764 clients who were treated through various Internet-based psychological interventions for a variety of problems, whose effectiveness was assessed by different types of measures. The overall mean weighted effect size was found to be 0.53 (medium effect), which is quite similar to the average effect size of traditional, face-to-face therapy. Next, we examined interacting effects of various possible relevant moderators of the effects of online therapy, including type of therapy (self-help web-based therapy versus online communication-based etherapy), type of outcome measure, time of measurement of outcome (post-therapy or follow-up), type of problem treated, therapeutic approach, and communication modality, among others. A comparison between face-to-face and Internet intervention as reported on in 14 of the studies revealed no differences in effectiveness. The findings of this meta-analysis, and review of additional Internet therapy studies not included in the meta-analysis, provide strong support for the adoption of online psychological interventions as a legitimate therapeutic activity and suggest several insights in regard to its application. Limitations of the findings and recommendations concerning Internet-based therapy and future research are discussed.