<p> The sexual assault incidence rate on college campuses has been a growing issue for administrators. Programs and interventions have been done in response to both institutional need and federal policy guidelines. The purpose of this quantitative study was to measure the effectiveness of the Mentors in Violence Prevention (MVP) training for Resident Assistants on their confidence and leadership skill level in sexual violence prevention as student leaders. This study also explored the changes in Resident Assistants&rsquo; perception of the importance of leadership in reducing gender violence, gender perceptions, and perceptions of sexual assaults on their college campus. The study utilized secondary data of 52 Resident Assistants who participated in a MVP training. The data were collected through pre- and post-evaluations of the students who attended a southern Californian university. Paired <i> t</i>-tests were conducted to examine the mean differences of Resident Assistants&rsquo; pre- and post-test survey responses. Independent <i> t</i>-tests were also completed to examine mean differences of Resident Assistants&rsquo; pre and post-test survey responses by sex. Findings suggest that after Resident Assistants participated in the MVP training, they had higher measures in confidence level in preventing gender violence, speaking to others about sexual violence, using leadership in promoting gender and sexual equity, and perceiving sexual violence on campus as a bigger problem. With Resident Assistants being first-responders for residents, they are a unique group of student leaders on a college campus that can receive extensive training to fulfill their responsibilities and roles as advocates in reducing the occurrences of sexual violence and create social change. Further implications can be illustrated in positive outcomes with bystander prevention training for student leaders on a college campus.</p>

<p> Women are still vastly underrepresented in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics, and compared to men, are entering these STEM fields at lower rates and leaving them in higher numbers. The disparity of women in STEM careers damages the diversity of thought essential to innovation and creates an environment encouraging of gender inequality and discrimination. The current study sought to understand the discrimination women perceive in STEM careers, the negative effects these biases may have on job attitudes, and the role coping self-efficacy plays in mitigating these harmful results. Participants were surveyed through MechanicalTurk and responded to questions regarding their experiences of gender discrimination, level of coping self-efficacy, job satisfaction, and intention to quit. Results indicated that greater perceptions of gender discrimination resulted in lower levels of job satisfaction. Coping self-efficacy proved to be a significant moderator of the relationship between gender discrimination and job satisfaction, such that higher levels of coping self-efficacy resulted in greater job satisfaction despite perceptions of discrimination. Training for coping self-efficacy may serve as an effective tool to competently navigate the obstacles to career success that women face in today&rsquo;s workplace.</p>

<p> Surveillance and epidemiological studies over the last number of years show that HIV incidence has remained relatively stable, and even increased in some populations. Ironically, some of the most substantial increases have been seen in the very populations that have been most heavily targeted for HIV prevention interventions. This suggests that current prevention models, which primarily emphasize rational thought process, may be neglecting some important mechanisms that influence or cause high-risk sexual behavior. This study examines how non-rational thought processes may relate to high-risk sexual behavior in the face of social stressors. Grounded in Carver&rsquo;s &amp; Scheier&rsquo;s (1996, 1998) Self-Regulatory Failure Model, which suggests that under certain circumstances, individuals may shift from abstract goals to more immediate sensory oriented goals. I explored a model that includes gay-related discrimination, hate crimes, and social stressors as predictors of high-risk sexual behavior, mediated by negative affect. I also explore whether the putative link between negative affect and high-risk sexual behavior is moderated by sensation seeking and avoidant coping personality styles. Lastly, I conducted exploratory analyses on the role alcohol may play in this model. The study employed a two stage purposive sampling procedure: First, 20 different U.S. media markets were selected at random; and next, individuals were recruited from within those media markets to participate in an online survey about these topics. Because the outcome data were counts of sexual behavior with a large proportion of zero responses, I employed Zero Inflated Poisson regression modeling. This modeling procedure allows one to examine if different variables predict initiation of behavior versus frequency of behavior. The results show partial support for the hypothesized model. Interpersonal stressors and discrimination appear to be consistent predictors of high-risk sexual behavior in this sample; however, the relationship to the outcomes differ for initiation of behavior as opposed to frequency of behavior, and further by type of sexual behavior. Hate crime rates showed little ability to predict high-risk sexual behavior outcomes. There is tentative evidence for distancing forms of coping as moderators of the relationship between negative affect and high-risk sexual behavior. Negative affect did not emerge as a mediator in the primary model examined in this study; although, negative affect was independently related to some sexual behavior outcomes. When alcohol use during sex was added as part of the exploratory analyses, negative affect emerged as a mediator for some high-risk sexual behavior outcomes. Exploratory analyses also revealed relationships between alcohol with sex, discrimination, and social stressors that suggest a strong interplay between all four variables and the sexual behavior outcomes. Hate crimes, however, were still mostly unrelated to high-risk sexual behavior in the exploratory analyses. Overall, these results point to a dynamic, complex, and non-linear set of relationships between interpersonal stressors, affect, sexual behavior, and alcohol use. Larger sample sizes, longitudinal study designs, and more granular measures of affect may help to clarify the causal relationships between these constructs. These results have implications for prevention interventions that emphasize emotional self-regulation at the individual level and address discrimination and stigma at a structural level.</p>

<p> Traditional femininity is a construct that impacts women throughout their development and manifests through inauthenticity in relationships, self-objectification and inauthentic sexuality. Traditional femininity has been associated with greater depression, body shame, dissociation, and negative sexual outcomes. Traits of traditionally defined femininity can impede women&rsquo;s ability to assert their sexual wants and needs and can increase the likelihood of negative health outcomes and negative psychological consequences, all of which impact relationship satisfaction and sexual well-being. To date, the majority of research in this area has focused on adolescent and college aged women. The current study addressed the gap in existing research by focusing on women in their 30s (<i>n</i>=146) and women in their 60s (<i> n</i>=81). The study assessed their level of traditional femininity ideology (TFI) and exploring whether their degree of TFI impacted their sexual well-being. The study took a quantitative approach and 230 participants were recruited through the internet to complete the studies survey. Results indicated that there was no significant difference between the two age cohorts on a measure of inauthenticity in relationships. Participants in their 30s were found to engage in greater self-objectification than the 60s cohort, and the study found that women in their 30s enjoyed sexualized attention to a greater degree than did the women in their 60s. Although the study had hypothesized that there would be a relationship between the participants&rsquo; level of TFI and their sexual well-being, no relationship was found. Implications for future research and application for clinical practice are discussed.</p>

<p>One of the most discriminated groups of people in the United States are African American men who experience daily individual, institutional, and systemic racism. This research study will explore how several factors may influence the impact of the experience of discrimination on African American males who are over the age of 18 years. More specifically, this study will examine how formation of a sense of identity, personal definition of life satisfaction and an individual's adaptability in stressful situations impact the overall sense of well-being among African American males in the United States. There were 5 self-report research measures used in this study. This study?s correlations showed that if African American men experience stress in one area, they would also experience stress in other ways. An individual having a more developed racial identity and a higher sense of coherence will have a higher sense of well-being and overall satisfaction with life. The findings in this study can benefit the African American male community by providing more information to understand how discrimination and internalized oppression adversely impact their overall quality of life.

<p> The overarching goal of psychoanalytic and narrative therapies is to increase agency; however, few tools assess for agency. The Personal Agency Questionnaire (PAQ) was developed for this purpose and was found to be a valid and reliable instrument (Lundquist, 2012). The primary aims of this study were to (a) replicate past findings by performing correlations between the PAQ and scales measuring constructs thought to be part of agency (RSES for self-esteem; GSE for self-efficacy, and IPC for internal locus of control), (b) increase internal consistency and reliability of the PAQ through performing a factor analysis, and (c) establish additional validity by performing regressions to determine how three additional variables were related to agency: gender, perception of being overweight, and antifat attitudes. Females were expected to score lower than males on the PAQ because of the influence of gender norms on agency. Overweight status has shown a negative relation to agency, self-efficacy, and self-esteem; however, the fat- accepting individuals were expected to have greater agency compared to those who have internalized the culture&rsquo;s antifat messages. Participants accessed the online survey through postings on Craig&rsquo;s List and Yahoo discussion groups. Analyses were conducted with 280 participants, a majority of whom were White (65%), female (74%), employed (59%), highly educated (64% had college degree or greater, 33.20% attended some college), and had attended therapy (68%). Factor analysis revealed 4 factors underlying the PAQ (which replaced the previously hypothesized 6 subscales); items of the PAQ were reduced from 42 to 24, increasing reliability among the factors, with &alpha; = .78, &alpha; = .78, &alpha; = .72, &alpha; = .73, and the total reliability from &alpha; = .62 to &alpha; = .90. The new PAQ had stronger correlations than previously with the three scales that established its construct validity. Fat acceptance, age, education and therapy were significantly, positively correlated with agency. When looking at gender alone, or perceptions of being fat alone or in combination with gender, no differences in agency were evident. However when adding the antifat variable to gender and perceptions of being overweight, being female, significantly overweight, with antifat attitudes predicted reduced agency.</p>

<p> Prejudice and discrimination based on gender occurs within the referral and assessment process of students' social, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Gender disproportionality has received little attention in special education research (Sullivan &amp; Bal, 2013), yet researchers have found that males are more likely than females to be identified as having learning disability, cognitive disability, emotional disability, other health impairment, speech-language impairment, and low-incident disability (Coutinho &amp; Oswald, 2005). Gender is often discussed as a risk factor for several mental health disorders and gender differences in the experience and prevalence of disorders are emphasized in the Diagnostic and <i>Statistical Manual, 5^th edition</i> (DSM-5) (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The purpose of this study was to examine student, parent, and teacher ratings on a behavioral rating scale, the <i>Behavioral Assessment System for Children, 2^nd edition</i> (BASC-2), for similarity based on the gender of students. The normative data from the BASC-2 rating scale were examined for similarities through independent <i>t</i>- tests of equivalence. </p><p> Results indicated that the genders were similarly rated on the majority of the subscales on the BASC-2. Correlations and coefficients of determination were weak and did not demonstrate substantive strength between the BASC rating scales subscales and gender. At the large effect size 100% equivalence was found, at the moderate effect size 86% equivalence was found, and at the small effect size 16% equivalence was found.</p>

<p> An essential aspect of discerning how men can become effective partners in reaching gender equity in the U.S., is to understand how men perceive their own masculinity. In consensus with Wanger (2011), I believe that promoting men's' healthy masculinity development is a feminist act and an act of social justice. Within the scope of social science research it is of extreme significance to study men as men as they were often "everybody" and effectually "nobody" (Kimmel &amp; Davis, 2011). This study adds to and highlights importance of research on men and masculinities. Selecting an often privileged and significant subculture of men, this case study surveyed 27 White evangelical college-aged men (WECM) of whom five participated in an in-depth semi-structure phenomenological-based interview at a single faith-based university. Based on the Subjective Masculine Experiences model (Wong et al., 2011) the researcher focused on how these men made "sense of their masculinity by connecting their life experiences [to dimensions] of masculine norms and ideology" (Wong et al., 2011, p. 238). The participants were asked to attribute levels of psychological stress to each dimension. Data gathered clustered into seven salient dimensions for this population: Responsibility, Family, Family- Provider, Faith and Religion, Emotional Toughness, Physical Body and Resistance. Analysis revealed that stress was associated with all of the dimensions, especially with Family-Provider. This paper provides the context for this study, its philosophical framework, and discussions on its limitations and implications for practice and future action.</p><p> <i>Keywords:</i> masculinity; White evangelical, college-aged, men (WECM); phenomenology; critical social constructivism; mindful inquiry </p>

<p> This research explores what happens to some men when, despite the best of intentions and heroic efforts on all sides, a marriage ends in divorce. Using a blend of alchemical hermeneutics and hermeneutic phenomenology, this qualitative study explores the lived experience of 5 heterosexual men who suffered psychologically in divorce. Divorce was examined from Freudian, Jungian, and archetypal perspectives using the depth psychological lenses of alchemy, mythology, and fairy tale. A hybrid method of qualitative analysis was created that incorporated the use of psychodrama to analyze the data. From the results of this study, the journey through divorce for suffering men can be seen as being comprised of 3 stages: a Coming Storm, a Tempest, and an Aftermath. The intrapsychic destruction experienced by many men in divorce was also viewed as an attempt at an undoing of the <i>hieros gamos</i>, or sacred marriage. From the results of this investigation, it is further postulated that such a divorce may be a psychological impossibility. The author&rsquo;s experience as a divorced man informs his observations and conclusions. </p><p>

<p> The use of the Internet to gamble has become increasingly prevalent in recent years. Although researchers have suggested that adult Internet gamblers are at high risk for developing a gambling disorder, few studies, overall, have been conducted on the effects of Internet gambling. Furthermore, conflicting research exists regarding what moderates gambling-related problems. The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if age, gender, and emotions prior to the gambling experience are related predictors of Internet problem gambling severity. A retrospective design was used. The pathways model was used to support the belief that emotions felt before an Internet gambling session are associated with the severity of the gambling problem. Data were obtained from adult Internet gamblers who had Internet gambled in the preceding week. One hundred and fifty participants completed an online survey about the emotions they felt before an Internet-gambling session and self-reported the negative consequences of their gambling. The survey contained demographic questions, questions from the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (to assess emotions felt before participants&rsquo; last Internet gambling session), and questions from the Problem Gambling Severity Index. The results of the multiple linear regression analysis were significant, indicating that, as a group, participants&rsquo; age, gender, and emotions felt prior to the gambling experience predicted their problem gambling severity. This study can assist with prevention, early intervention, and treatment of adult Internet gamblers.</p><p>