No description available.

The present study Investigated the role of the breast and the uterus in the feminine self-concept of black and white South African women. It was hypothesised that the loss of the breast would be more traumatic for the white woman than for the black woman. This rested on the belief that the role of the female breast as an erotic stimulus for the male and an assurance of femininity for the female appears to be more pronounced in Western society than in African societies. In addition, it was suggested that the loss of the uterus would be more traumatic for the black woman than for the white woman as the meaning of the uterus appears to go beyond that of a childbearing organ, in so far as it is linked wo the issue of sexual desirability* Two groups of black women undergoing mastectomy and hysterectomy and two groups of white women undergoing similar operations were assessed pre- and postoperatively. Women completed the Berscheid, Walster and Bohrnstedt Body Image Scale (1972) which elicited data on body image, self-concept and satisfaction with intimate relationships. The observed data were analysed using analyses of convariance. No significant differences between the black and white

Digitized by Kansas Correctional Industries

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Hong Kong, 2006. / Title proper from title frame. Also available in printed format.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Ohio State University, 2006. / Title from first page of PDF file. Includes bibliographical references (p. 67-74).

Of the numerous psychological constructs self-esteem is the most known. It is well documented that having high levels of self-esteem is associated with positive health implications. Self-esteem is theorized as a global and stable construct impacted by both academic and non-academic domains. The physical domain compartmentalized within the non-academic domain, is used to look at self-esteem related to physical self-perceptions. In the physical domain, the Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM) (Sonstroem & Morgan, 1989) was developed to measure changes in self-esteem, physical competence, physical acceptance, and self-efficacy across an exercise intervention. Fox (2000b) suggested that middle-age marks a time where positive changes to self-esteem are possible. For women, middle-age can be accompanied by several challenges including a physical body that moves further from societys ideal (i.e., young, beautiful, and thin). Hatha yoga is an exercise practice that has become popular in North America in recent years, especially with middle-aged adults, and may represent an ideal activity to be used within the EXSEM as it emphasizes both physical competence and acceptance. <p>The purpose of the study was to utilize the EXSEM as a framework to examine self-esteem, physical competence, physical acceptance, and yoga self-efficacy constructs for middle-aged women participating in a 12-week Hatha yoga intervention. An additional exploratory objective of the study was to examine potential changes in mindfulness consisting of observing, describing, acting with awareness, and accepting without judgement for middle-aged women participating in a 12-week Hatha yoga intervention. <p>Participants in the study were 51 women (M age 49.3  6.1; yoga group, n = 21; control group, n = 30) of predominantly White ethnicity (92%). Descriptive information about the sample via a demographics form and an Eastern philosophy familiarity open-ended question, and the following measures, Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ; Godin, & Shephard, 1985), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965), Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP; Fox & Corbin, 1989), Body Esteem Scale (BES; Franzoi, & Shields, 1984), Body Image Visual Analog Scale (BIVAS), Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale (YSES), and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004) were collected at pre-test and post-test (YSES was administered an additional time for the yoga group only). Doubly multivariate analyses using SPSS (version 14.0) examined four statistical models to answer research questions and help negotiate several dependent variables in the research design. Model 1 looked at higher order constructs in the EXSEM (i.e., RSES, physical self-worth subscale of the PSPP, BES, BIVAS, and YSES). Model 2 was identical to model 1 with the exception of including lower order domain items for physical competence (i.e., PSPP subscales of sport competence, physical strength, physical condition, attractive body). Model 3 looked at subscales of YSES (i.e., standing poses, forward bends, back bends, twists, and seated/supine poses), whereas model 4 examined subscales of KIMS only (i.e., observe, describe, act with awareness, accept without judgement). <p>Following the doubly multivariate analysis, PSPP subscales showed significant group by time interactions; follow-up univariate tests, p < .05, showed significance on PSW F(1, 49) = 12.22, conditioning subscale of PSPP F(1, 49) = 10.65, strength subscale on PSPP F(1, 49) = 13.11, BIVAS F(1, 49) = 6.45, YSE total score F(1, 49) = 9.84, and YSE subscales of forward bends F(1, 49) = 17.84, twists F(1, 49) = 8.18, and seated/supine poses F(1, 49) = 6.21, and observation subscale of KIMS F(1, 49) = 12.16, p < .05. In all cases, the yoga group improved more over time than the control group.<p>General support for the use of the EXSEM for middle-aged women participating in Hatha yoga over 12-weeks was noted with changes in yoga self-efficacy for total score, twists, forward bends, and seated/supine poses; physical competence of physical self-worth, body conditioning, and physical strength; and physical acceptance (BIVAS). A major finding was that no overall change in self-esteem was found with a sample whose means for self-esteem were similar to previous research with middle-aged women. Similarly, partial support for mindfulness with changes in observing following the 12-week Hatha yoga intervention was found. Future research should focus on further developing appropriate measurement of physical acceptance; the appropriateness of EXSEM for examining Hatha yoga should be considered; qualitative methods should be used to gain additional insight into the process of Hatha yoga participation for middle-aged women.

People with low self-esteem (LSEs) often have doubts about how much their romantic partners love and value them. These doubts, which undermine their relationships, are difficult to overcome because LSEs tend to downplay the meaning of positive behaviour and resist positive feedback from their partners. In Study 1, I provided evidence for the notion that LSEs’ “insensitivity” to acceptance is a form of motivated self-protection, rather than a pervasive negative bias. In Studies 2-4, I investigated whether LSEs could be induced to take their partners’ kind words to heart by manipulating how abstractly they described a recent compliment. LSEs felt more positively about the compliments, themselves, and their relationships – as positively as HSEs felt – when they were encouraged to describe the meaning and significance of the compliments. The positive effects of this abstract reframing intervention were still evident two weeks later, in both participants’ self-reported thoughts and feelings about their relationships and in partners’ reports of participants’ behaviour towards them. Study 5 demonstrated that the abstract reframing intervention prevented LSEs from taking a relationship threat to heart and lashing out at their partners. Taken together, the present studies show that when prompted to reframe affirmations from their partners, LSEs feel just as secure and satisfied with their romantic relationships and behave as positively towards their partners as HSEs do.

People with low self-esteem (LSEs) often have doubts about how much their romantic partners love and value them. These doubts, which undermine their relationships, are difficult to overcome because LSEs tend to downplay the meaning of positive behaviour and resist positive feedback from their partners. In Study 1, I provided evidence for the notion that LSEs’ “insensitivity” to acceptance is a form of motivated self-protection, rather than a pervasive negative bias. In Studies 2-4, I investigated whether LSEs could be induced to take their partners’ kind words to heart by manipulating how abstractly they described a recent compliment. LSEs felt more positively about the compliments, themselves, and their relationships – as positively as HSEs felt – when they were encouraged to describe the meaning and significance of the compliments. The positive effects of this abstract reframing intervention were still evident two weeks later, in both participants’ self-reported thoughts and feelings about their relationships and in partners’ reports of participants’ behaviour towards them. Study 5 demonstrated that the abstract reframing intervention prevented LSEs from taking a relationship threat to heart and lashing out at their partners. Taken together, the present studies show that when prompted to reframe affirmations from their partners, LSEs feel just as secure and satisfied with their romantic relationships and behave as positively towards their partners as HSEs do.

The partners of people with low self-esteem (LSEs) are just as loving and generous as the partners of people with high self-esteem (HSEs; Campbell, Simpson, Boldry, & Kashy, 2005; Murray et al., 2000). Nonetheless, LSEs persist in underestimating their partners’ regard (e.g., Murray, Holmes, & Griffin, 2000). In this research, I propose a model of attribution inversion, which predicts that LSEs will invert the positive attributions for a partner’s sacrifice that would be predicted by classic theory (Kelley, 1967), because of the risk associated with interpreting a partner’s sacrifice too positively. In Study 1, LSEs worried more than HSEs about their partners’ sacrifices. In Studies 2 and 3, LSEs experienced more anxiety over a large (but not small) sacrifice relative to HSEs, and attributed less caring motives to their partners. Studies 4 and 5 demonstrated my proposed mechanisms: Offering one’s partner an exchange of favors (Study 5)—thereby reducing exchange concerns—or experimentally increasing LSEs’ caring attributions (Study 4) eliminated LSEs’ tendency to be more cautious than HSEs about their partners’ sacrifices, suggesting that exchange concerns and doubts about caring drive LSEs’ typical caution. Finally, Study 6 demonstrated that caution is not unique to LSEs. Under a cognitive load manipulation, HSEs were just as cautious, but were apparently able to override that automatic inclination when given sufficient time and resources. Overall, my research suggests that the discounting of a partner’s sacrifices is one route by which low self-esteem is self-perpetuating even with a loving partner.

Of the numerous psychological constructs self-esteem is the most known. It is well documented that having high levels of self-esteem is associated with positive health implications. Self-esteem is theorized as a global and stable construct impacted by both academic and non-academic domains. The physical domain compartmentalized within the non-academic domain, is used to look at self-esteem related to physical self-perceptions. In the physical domain, the Exercise and Self-Esteem Model (EXSEM) (Sonstroem & Morgan, 1989) was developed to measure changes in self-esteem, physical competence, physical acceptance, and self-efficacy across an exercise intervention. Fox (2000b) suggested that middle-age marks a time where positive changes to self-esteem are possible. For women, middle-age can be accompanied by several challenges including a physical body that moves further from societys ideal (i.e., young, beautiful, and thin). Hatha yoga is an exercise practice that has become popular in North America in recent years, especially with middle-aged adults, and may represent an ideal activity to be used within the EXSEM as it emphasizes both physical competence and acceptance. <p>The purpose of the study was to utilize the EXSEM as a framework to examine self-esteem, physical competence, physical acceptance, and yoga self-efficacy constructs for middle-aged women participating in a 12-week Hatha yoga intervention. An additional exploratory objective of the study was to examine potential changes in mindfulness consisting of observing, describing, acting with awareness, and accepting without judgement for middle-aged women participating in a 12-week Hatha yoga intervention. <p>Participants in the study were 51 women (M age 49.3  6.1; yoga group, n = 21; control group, n = 30) of predominantly White ethnicity (92%). Descriptive information about the sample via a demographics form and an Eastern philosophy familiarity open-ended question, and the following measures, Godin Leisure-Time Exercise Questionnaire (GLTEQ; Godin, & Shephard, 1985), Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES; Rosenberg, 1965), Physical Self-Perception Profile (PSPP; Fox & Corbin, 1989), Body Esteem Scale (BES; Franzoi, & Shields, 1984), Body Image Visual Analog Scale (BIVAS), Yoga Self-Efficacy Scale (YSES), and the Kentucky Inventory of Mindfulness Skills (KIMS; Baer, Smith, & Allen, 2004) were collected at pre-test and post-test (YSES was administered an additional time for the yoga group only). Doubly multivariate analyses using SPSS (version 14.0) examined four statistical models to answer research questions and help negotiate several dependent variables in the research design. Model 1 looked at higher order constructs in the EXSEM (i.e., RSES, physical self-worth subscale of the PSPP, BES, BIVAS, and YSES). Model 2 was identical to model 1 with the exception of including lower order domain items for physical competence (i.e., PSPP subscales of sport competence, physical strength, physical condition, attractive body). Model 3 looked at subscales of YSES (i.e., standing poses, forward bends, back bends, twists, and seated/supine poses), whereas model 4 examined subscales of KIMS only (i.e., observe, describe, act with awareness, accept without judgement). <p>Following the doubly multivariate analysis, PSPP subscales showed significant group by time interactions; follow-up univariate tests, p < .05, showed significance on PSW F(1, 49) = 12.22, conditioning subscale of PSPP F(1, 49) = 10.65, strength subscale on PSPP F(1, 49) = 13.11, BIVAS F(1, 49) = 6.45, YSE total score F(1, 49) = 9.84, and YSE subscales of forward bends F(1, 49) = 17.84, twists F(1, 49) = 8.18, and seated/supine poses F(1, 49) = 6.21, and observation subscale of KIMS F(1, 49) = 12.16, p < .05. In all cases, the yoga group improved more over time than the control group.<p>General support for the use of the EXSEM for middle-aged women participating in Hatha yoga over 12-weeks was noted with changes in yoga self-efficacy for total score, twists, forward bends, and seated/supine poses; physical competence of physical self-worth, body conditioning, and physical strength; and physical acceptance (BIVAS). A major finding was that no overall change in self-esteem was found with a sample whose means for self-esteem were similar to previous research with middle-aged women. Similarly, partial support for mindfulness with changes in observing following the 12-week Hatha yoga intervention was found. Future research should focus on further developing appropriate measurement of physical acceptance; the appropriateness of EXSEM for examining Hatha yoga should be considered; qualitative methods should be used to gain additional insight into the process of Hatha yoga participation for middle-aged women.