			Home About us Contact

Mediational Analyses (mediational + analysis)

Distribution by Scientific Domains

Psychology	60%
Medical Sciences	30%

Selected Abstracts

We are one and I like it: The impact of ingroup entitativity on ingroup identification

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 6 2003
Emanuele Castano
It is argued that the entitativity of the ingroup moderates the level of identification with the ingroup. Specifically, that high levels of entitativity are conducive to strong identification, whereas low levels of entitativity reduce identification with the ingroup. These hypotheses were tested across four studies using the European Union (EU) as the reference group. The four studies manipulated four different factors that, according to Campbell (1958), impact on group entitativity: common fate (Study 1), similarity (Study 2), salience (Study 3), and boundedness (Study 4). Across the four studies, we found evidence for the impact of these factors on the level of identification with the EU among European citizens holding moderate attitudes toward the EU but not (or much less) for citizens holding more extreme attitudes towards the EU. Mediational analyses further confirmed the viability of an entitativity-based interpretation of the impact of the manipulations on the level of identification. The findings are discussed in light of the current debate on the concept of entitativity, the motives for social identification, and the reduction of ingroup bias. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Exchanges of group-based favours: Ingroup bias in the prisoner's dilemma game with minimal groups in Japan and New Zealand

ASIAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY, Issue 3 2008
Toshio Yamagishi
Japanese (N = 48) and New Zealander (N = 55) participants were first assigned to one of two minimal groups, and then played a prisoner's dilemma game twice with an ingroup member and twice with an outgroup member. In one of the two games they played with an ingroup (or outgroup) member, participants and their partner knew one another's group memberships (mutual-knowledge condition). In the unilateral-knowledge condition, only the participants knew the group membership of their partner, but the partner did not know the group membership of the participant. Ingroup bias in cooperation emerged only in the mutual-knowledge condition in both countries; in the unilateral-knowledge condition no ingroup bias emerged. Mediational analyses found that, in accord with predictions, cooperation in the mutual-knowledge condition is mediated by expectation of the partner's cooperation. Ingroup bias in the mutual-knowledge condition emerged only among those who identified with the ingroup. Results provide support for a group heuristics account of ingroup favouritism in the minimal group. According to this account, participants who face minimal groups activate an ecologically adaptive heuristic of unilaterally cooperating with members of the same group, expecting indirect repayment from others in the same group. [source]

Duration and Developmental Timing of Poverty and Children's Cognitive and Social Development From Birth Through Third Grade

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2005
Human Development Early Child Care Research Network, National Institute of Child Health
Relations of duration and developmental timing of poverty to children's development from birth to age 9 were examined by comparing children from families who were never poor, poor only during the child's infancy (0,3 years of age), poor only after infancy (4,9 years of age), and chronically poor. Chronically poor families provided lower quality childrearing environments, and children in these families showed lower cognitive performance and more behavior problems than did other children. Any experience of poverty was associated with less favorable family situations and child outcomes than never being poor. Being poor later tended to be more detrimental than early poverty. Mediational analyses indicated that poverty was linked to child outcomes in part through less positive parenting. [source]

Adult attachment, intimacy and psychological distress in a clinical and community sample

CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY AND PSYCHOTHERAPY (AN INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF THEORY & PRACTICE), Issue 6 2005
Suzanne B. Pielage
Attachment theory predicts that early experiences with caregivers affect the quality of individuals' later (romantic) relationships and, consequently, their mental health. The present study examined the role of intimacy in the current romantic relationship as a possible mediator of the relationship between adult attachment and psychological distress in a clinical and community sample. Results indicated that attachment security was positively, whereas attachment insecurity was negatively, related to intimacy in the current romantic relationship. Furthermore, security of attachment was negatively related to loneliness and depression and positively to satisfaction with life. The reverse held for attachment insecurity. Mediational analyses revealed that intimacy in the current relationship only partially mediated the relationship between attachment and psychological distress. Although near perfect mediation was found for fearful attachment in the clinical sample and for preoccupied attachment in the community sample, the findings with regard to the other attachment styles were less clear-cut. Apart from the hypothesized indirect effect of attachment on psychological distress through intimacy, a direct effect of attachment on psychological distress remains. The implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.,Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]

Mechanisms of behavior change in alcoholics anonymous: does Alcoholics Anonymous lead to better alcohol use outcomes by reducing depression symptoms?

ADDICTION, Issue 4 2010
John F. Kelly
ABSTRACT Rationale Indices of negative affect, such as depression, have been implicated in stress-induced pathways to alcohol relapse. Empirically supported continuing care resources, such as Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), emphasize reducing negative affect to reduce relapse risk, but little research has been conducted to examine putative affective mechanisms of AA's effects. Methods Using lagged, controlled, hierarchical linear modeling and mediational analyses this study investigated whether AA participation mobilized changes in depression symptoms and whether such changes explained subsequent reductions in alcohol use. Alcohol-dependent adults (n = 1706), receiving treatment as part of a clinical trial, were assessed at intake, 3, 6, 9, 12 and 15 months. Results Findings revealed elevated levels of depression compared to the general population, which decreased during treatment and then remained stable over follow-up. Greater AA attendance was associated with better subsequent alcohol use outcomes and decreased depression. Greater depression was associated with heavier and more frequent drinking. Lagged mediation analyses revealed that the effects of AA on alcohol use was mediated partially by reductions in depression symptoms. However, this salutary effect on depression itself appeared to be explained by AA's proximal effect on reducing concurrent drinking. Conclusions AA attendance was associated both concurrently and predictively with improved alcohol outcomes. Although AA attendance was associated additionally with subsequent improvements in depression, it did not predict such improvements over and above concurrent alcohol use. AA appears to lead both to improvements in alcohol use and psychological and emotional wellbeing which, in turn, may reinforce further abstinence and recovery-related change. [source]

PROGRAMS FOR PROMOTING PARENTING OF RESIDENTIAL PARENTS: Moving From Efficacy to Effectiveness

FAMILY COURT REVIEW, Issue 1 2005
Sharlene A. Wolchik
This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents for improving children's postdivorce adjustment. First, we review parental risk and protective factors for children from divorced families, including parenting quality, parental mental health problems, interparental conflict, and contact with the nonresidential parent. Following a discussion of brief informational interventions, we describe the findings of evaluations of three multisession, skill-building interventions for divorced parents. Impressive evidence is presented that parenting is a modifiable protective factor and that improving parenting leads to improvements in children's postdivorce adjustment. We then discuss, in greater detail, the New Beginnings Program, which we highlight because it has shown repeated, immediate effects on children's mental health outcomes as well as long-term effects on a wide array of other meaningful outcomes, such as diagnosis of mental disorder in the past year, externalizing problems, alcohol and drug use, and academic performance. Also, mediational analyses have shown that program-induced changes in parenting accounted for changes in mental health outcomes. The remainder of the article describes a research and action agenda that is needed to successfully implement the New Beginnings Program in domestic relations courts. [source]

Associations Among GABRG1, Level of Response to Alcohol, and Drinking Behaviors

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 8 2009
Lara A. Ray
Background:, Recent studies of the genetics of alcoholism have focused on a cluster of genes encoding for ,-aminobutyric acid (GABAA) receptor subunits, which is thought to play a role in the expression of addiction phenotypes. This study examined allelic associations between 2 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the GABRG1 gene (rs1391166 and rs1497571) and alcohol phenotypes, namely level of response to alcohol, alcohol use patterns, and alcohol-related problems. Method:, Participants were non-treatment-seeking seeking hazardous drinkers (n = 124) who provided DNA samples, participated in a face-to-face interview for level of response to alcohol, and completed a series of drinking and individual differences measures. Results:, Analyses revealed that a SNP of the GABRG1 gene (rs1497571) was associated with level of response to alcohol and drinking patterns in this subclinical sample. Follow-up mediational analyses were also conducted to examine putative mechanisms underlying these associations. Discussion:, These findings replicate and extend recent research suggesting that genetic variation at the GABRG1 locus may underlie the expression of alcohol phenotypes, including level of response to alcohol. [source]

Re-Examining Whether and Why Acculturation Relates to Drinking Outcomes in a Rigorous, National Survey of Latinos

ALCOHOLISM, Issue 12 2005
Sarah E. Zemore
Abstract: Background: Fundamental limitations have hampered conclusions surrounding acculturation's effects among Latinos. This research re-examines associations between acculturation and alcohol use, addressing the most troubling of these limitations. The research also explores mediators of the association, and the dimensional structure of acculturation. Methods: Linear regressions and scale analyses were used to analyze data from Latino adults in the U.S. (825 women, 761 men) sampled in the 1995 National Alcohol Survey. Analyses used a standard, reliable acculturation scale and well-validated drinking measures; systematically accounted for demographic covariates; and analyzed men and women separately. Results: As expected, higher acculturation was positively associated with a higher probability of drinking (vs. abstinence) among women, and higher average volumes and more frequent drunkenness among female drinkers. Acculturation was unrelated to alcohol use among men. Also as expected, mediational analyses of average volume supported expectations that gender-specific drinking norms would mediate acculturation's effects (though norms did not explain acculturation's associations with either drinking status or frequency of drunkenness). Analyses investigating depressive symptoms showed no support for the acculturation-stress model. Factor analyses of the acculturation scale supported the hypothesized distinctions between linguistic acculturation, attitudinal acculturation, and the social environment of acculturation. Further, items implying more intimate exposure to Anglo culture (i.e., language use) were most strongly related to drinking outcomes among women, supporting the normative interpretation of acculturation's effects on drinking. Conclusions: Results underline acculturation's influence on alcohol consumption among Latina women, and highlight the role of drinking norms in mediating this association. Results also suggest a multidimensional view of acculturation. The article recommends further research on drinking norms and other potential mediators of acculturation's effects among Latina women. [source]

The Environment of Poverty: Multiple Stressor Exposure, Psychophysiological Stress, and Socioemotional Adjustment

CHILD DEVELOPMENT, Issue 4 2002
Gary W. Evans
The one in five children growing up in poverty in America have elevated risk for socioemotional difficulties. One contributing factor to their elevated risk may be exposure to multiple physical and psychosocial stressors. This study demonstrated that 8, to 10,year,old, low,income, rural children (N= 287) confront a wider array of multiple physical (substandard housing, noise, crowding) and psychosocial (family turmoil, early childhood separation, community violence) stressors than do their middle,income counterparts. Prior research on self,reported distress among inner,city minority children is replicated and extended among low,income, rural White children with evidence of higher levels of self, and parent,reported psychological distress, greater difficulties in self,regulatory behavior (delayed gratification), and elevated psychophysiological stress (resting blood pressure, overnight neuroendocrine hormones). Preliminary mediational analyses with cross,sectional data suggest that cumulative stressor exposure may partially account for the well,documented, elevated risk of socioemotional difficulties accompanying poverty. [source]

Self-esteem and self-certainty: a mediational analysis

EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF PERSONALITY, Issue 2 2004
Amber L. Story
Self-esteem has been found to be related to the certainty with which specific self-conceptions are held. This study tested a number of competing accounts for this relationship, using a more rigorous idiographic approach. Specifically, it was thought that the relationship between self-esteem and self-certainty might be mediated by self-concept clarity, the positivity of specific self-conceptions, and impression management concerns. However, none of these fully mediated the relationship between self-esteem and self-certainty. Participants with higher self-esteem were more certain of their central self-conceptions than were those with lower self-esteem. This was true even though participants were allowed to generate their most relevant and central self-conceptions themselves. Discussion focuses on the role of social information in the possibly direct relationship between self-esteem and self-certainty. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source]