A scale of prejudice against transgender individuals was developed, validated, and contrasted with a homophobia measure in 153 female and 157 male US college undergraduates. For both sexes, transphobia and homophobia were highly correlated with each other and with right-wing authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and hostile sexism, but aggression proneness was predictive of transphobia and homophobia only in men. Benevolent sexism and rape myth acceptance were more predictive of transphobia and homophobia in women than men. With homophobia partialled out, authoritarianism, fundamentalism, and aggression proneness no longer predicted transphobia for men, but authoritarianism, fundamentalism, benevolent sexism, and rape myth acceptance continued to predict transphobia in women. Discussion focused on gender differences in issues that drive prejudice against transgender and homosexual individuals.
Self-regulation mediated the pathway from a permissive parenting style to perceived drinking control, which, in turn, mediated the pathway from self-regulation to alcohol use and problems. Finally, self-regulation mediated the positive pathway from an authoritative mother to perceived control over drinking for women.
Two-hundred thirty-one alcohol-using college students completed a questionnaire on their levels of alcohol use, moderate to severe problems with alcohol use, expectations of the effects of alcohol on their own and others' moods and behaviors, the desirability of these effects, norms of significant others for levels of alcohol use and the subject's desire to comply with these norms, reasons for drinking and not drinking alcohol, and a personality measure. Expectations of alcohol effects, norms of significant others, and reasons for drinking and not drinking alcohol were all significant independent predictors of alcohol use and problems with alcohol use. Expectation x desirability of effects formulations and norms x desire to comply with norms formulations did not improve the predictive power of the expectations and norms scales.
Research has revealed that exercise is effective for reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety. The mechanisms by which these reductions occur, however, have not been widely studied. To examine several potential theories, a prospective, randomized, 7-week exercise intervention was conducted. Untrained participants were randomly assigned to an aerobic exercise group or to a stretching-control group. Participants completed several questionnaires to assess psychological variables, including measures of depression and anxiety, and blood was drawn at pre- and post-test to measure serum serotonin levels. A mixed-design ANOVA revealed that the exercise group had lower levels of depression than the stretching-control group after the intervention. The exercise group also showed a larger percentage decrease in serotonin than the stretching-control group. This reduction in blood serotonin after exercise is similar to the effects of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors. Additionally, percent change in serotonin was found to partially mediate the relationship between exercise and depression.
This research assessed the correlates of homophobia and transphobia in heterosexual and homosexual individuals, based on a theory of different sources of perceived symbolic threat to social status. Compared to 310 heterosexual college students, a sample of 30 gay male and 30 lesbian college students scored lower on homophobia, transphobia, and religious fundamentalism. Mean gender differences were smaller for gay men and lesbians for homophobia, aggressiveness, benevolent sexism, masculinity, and femininity. Fundamentalism, right-wing authoritarianism, and hostile and benevolent sexism were correlated only with homophobia in lesbians, whereas fundamentalism and authoritarianism were correlated only with transphobia in gay men. Correlates of internalized homophobia were different than those found for homophobia and transphobia, which was discussed in terms of gender differences in threats to status based on sexual orientation versus gender identity.
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