2015 Association for Women in Psychology Conference

Delay of gratification, the ability to forego an immediate reward in favor of a more rewarding but delayed outcome, has been associated with cognitive, emotional, and behavioral competencies later in life. The ability to delay gratification in an academic setting is a key component of self-regulated learning and has implications for future academic success and achievement (e.g., higher final course grade). It has been suggested that women tend to use more self-regulatory strategies than men, including the ability to delay gratification in an academic setting. However, research on academic delay of gratification (ADOG) is limited, particularly as it relates to other variables of academic functioning (i.e., grade point average [GPA] and academic satisfaction). The present study investigated the association between ADOG and academic functioning in female college students. We hypothesized that there would be significant positive relationships between ADOG, academic satisfaction, and GPA. Furthermore, we hypothesized that ADOG would predict academic satisfaction in female college students after controlling for the effect of covariates. The sample consisted of 99 female college students enrolled at a liberal arts college in Massachusetts. The mean age of participants was 19.0 years (SD=1.4). Bivariate correlations demonstrated a strong positive association between ADOG and academic satisfaction, and between academic satisfaction and GPA. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the contribution of ADOG to female students’ level of satisfaction with their academic career after accounting for covariates. The model was significant, with ADOG positively predicting academic satisfaction (R2= .09, p < .05) after accounting for the effects of academic major and year in college. Our findings suggest that ADOG may play a key role in women’s academic functioning, which may have implications for women’s academic achievement. Future research would benefit from examining ADOG specifically in gender traditional versus nontraditional fields of study.

Fat stigma is a problem in American culture that takes a heavy psychological toll on people of all sizes. This poster presents an attempt to reduce fat stigma among American college students using an intervention method that combined education about fat myths and exposure to/re-humanization of fat individuals.

The United Nations estimates that over 300,000 children (approximately 40% girls) under the age of 18 are involved in political and social conflicts worldwide (Werner, 2012). This figure includes child soldiers who are defined as boys and girls that are kidnapped and/or manipulated into serving roles as combatants, messengers, porters, cooks, or sexual slaves (Shaw, 2003). Although girls maintain various roles in these contentions, representations of child soldiering have almost exclusively been male. Hence the integrated ideological consideration for factors that affect former child soldiers who are girls is limited. Girl child soldiers are targeted in tactics of war, they are more vulnerable to sexual violence and disease than their male counterparts, and they are often forced to carry and bear offspring of their aggressors. Consequently, demobilized female survivors are more likely to suffer from PTSD, depression, and other anxiety disorders (Kohrt et al., 2008). Additionally, they are less likely to be accepted back into their communities due to their disadvantaged status as female, ex-child solider, potential unwed mother and former concubine. These fundamental socio-political and cultural gender norms thus exacerbate the victimization of demobilized girls. This poster presentation will highlight the most marginalized of invisible soldiers. Presenters will review gender differences regarding psychological ramifications and reintegration experiences of child soldiers. Furthermore, the poster presentation will assess the intergenerational effects of girl child soldiering and discuss the implications for counseling psychology. Restoring justice to this population of female survivors begins with acknowledging their existence. Urgency in recognizing the vulnerability and resilience of female child soldiers is a foundational step towards identifying their culturally relevant and policy-related needs. This presentation will fundamentally address the question, "What about girls?" thereby challenging the biased tendency for girls and women to be immensely affected by injustices and the last consulted for restoration.

Based on previous research that identifies stereotype threat and the impostor phenomenon as being primarily experienced by women, I proposed that similar underlying processes (i.e., being a solo woman in a male-dominated work environment) may account for a positive relationship between stereotype threat and impostorism in professional women. I hypothesized that stereotype threat would act as a predictor for the impostor phenomenon within a sample of professional, solo women (Hypothesis 1) and that women who perceive themselves as being highly distinctive in their workplace would have higher impostorism scores than women who do not perceive themselves as being highly distinctive (Hypothesis 2). Data were collected via an online questionnaire from 76 women. The majority of participants identified their race/ethnicity as White (N=44), were 45 years of age or older (N=41), had some college education (N=56), and have experienced being a solo at work (N=52). Participants were randomly assigned to read a vignette about women who either coped well (control condition) or did not cope well (prime condition) with having a solo status in a male-dominated workplace. Participants then completed self-report items that measured levels of impostorism, job satisfaction, gender distinctiveness, and visibility (i.e., solo status). Results provided partial support for Hypothesis 1. Women with relatively low perceptions of their past solo status were likely to report higher levels of impostorism upon being primed with stereotype (compared to women in the control condition). However, women with relatively high perceptions of their past solo status were more likely to earn higher impostorism scores when they were in the control condition than in the prime condition. The results point to the potential need for experts to consider the influence degree of perceived solo status has on women’s interpretation of messages and situations that are potentially threatening to their social identity.

A growing body of literature suggests that child sexual victimization can be detrimental to women’s sexual health and well-being(Lemieux et al., 2008). Previous research has shown that women with a history of child sexual victimization are at higher risk for engaging in risky sexual behavior and may suffer from mental and emotional disorders (Hillis et al., 2001, Gookind et al., 2006). Women who have been sexually victimized may exhibit low sexual assertiveness or experience difficulties in intimate relationships (Livingston et al., 2007). Although studies have examined the impact child sexual victimization has on sexual assertiveness and quality of intimate relationships, few studies have examined the underlying mechanisms of this relationship. Furthermore, limited literature has investigated these factors among adolescent females involved in social service settings, who are an underserved population (Brady & Caraway, 2002). The purpose of this study is to investigate whether child sexual victimization predicts sexual assertiveness and relationship quality. Additionally, the current study seeks to examine whether PTSD and Depression mediate this relationship. Participants will consist of 130 adolescent females between 13-18 years old, from three different types of social service settings (community mental health agencies, juvenile justice programs, and residential agencies). The racial/ethnic composition is 33.6% White, 25.8% Black, 25.8% Hispanic, and 15% other. The predictor and outcome variables will be assessed using the Child Sexual Victimization Scale, Sexual Assertiveness Scale, (Morokoff et al., 1997), and Relationship Quality measure (Borneskog et al., 2012). Mental health symptoms will be measured using the PTSD Screen (Lang & Stein, 2005) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Scale (Melchoir et al., 1993). Hierarchical regression analyses will be conducted in order to determine whether child sexual victimization predicts sexual assertiveness and relationship quality and if mental health symptoms mediate this relationship. Results and implications will be further discussed.

Although societal roles for women and men have changed since the second wave of the women’s movement, gender stereotypes are still commonly portrayed in the media. A likely reason for the persistence of stereotypes is that the basic structure of society remains patriarchal, and heterosexual interdependence motivates people to fulfill stereotyped roles associated with heterosexual success. Further, it has been argued that there is a backlash against women’s accomplishments in the workplace, resulting in increased emphasis on gender stereotypes that support the power imbalance between males and females. It has been argued that the status of girls and women has been lowered further through increased portrayals of females as sexual objects. In the present study we conducted a content analysis of products in popular culture available to children that depict male and female characters including Halloween costumes, dolls and action figures, and Valentine cards (N = 490). We found that female characters were more likely to be depicted with submissiveness characteristics (e.g., decorative clothing), and male characters with dominance characteristics (e.g., functional clothing). An unrealistic body ideal was fairly commonly represented for both female and male characters in that slightly more than half of female characters were noticeably thin, and almost one half of male characters were noticeably muscular. In females the ideal body type was associated with submissiveness characteristics and sexualization, supporting the idea that the sexual objectification of females is associated with low power. In contrast, for male characters a muscular body was associated with some dominance characteristics, but no submissiveness characteristics supporting the idea that the idealized male body is not associated with low power. Thus, the children’s products examined in this study were found to be gender stereotyped to a fairly high degree, with characteristics that represent a power imbalance between the genders.

The positive effects of sport participation are widely accepted. As athletes extend beyond recreational sport and into competitive sport, the effects of sport participation are less known. As athletes advance, the competitiveness and pressure escalate. The collegiate level is particularly conducive to increased athletic stress (Lu, Hsu, Chan, Cheen, & Kao, 2012). Accordingly, college sport participation is known to have juxtaposing effects on athletes (Chen, Snyder, & Magner, 2010). What is known about the direct and post-graduation effects of college varsity sport participation on the student athletes is based on data from male student athletes. There is not comparable literature on college women athletes. In this exploratory study, varsity basketball alumni of Western Washington University’s women’s basketball team provide their perceptions of their college sport experience and its impact on their lives. The study included 25 participants who responded to an emailed request to participate in the online study. The researcher used D’Zurilla, Nezu and Maydeu-Olivares’ Social Problem-Solving Inventory – Revised: Short Form to measure the participants’ social problem-solving tendencies in relation to their college sport experience (2002). Data analysis indicated that number of years as a starting member of the team is positively correlated with both self-confidence and individual skill acquisition. Additionally, participants who primarily played the shooting guard position are distinct from the respondents identifying with other positions. Qualitative data regarding the participants’ open-ended descriptions of their college sport experience, e.g., pros and cons, life skills acquired, will be discussed as well.

More than half (52.9%) of Black American women (BAW) over age twenty are labeled obese, compared with 37% of Black men and only 33% of White women. BAW’s sociocultural experience has been shown to be a critical social determinant of health. A facet of this sociocultural experience is racial microaggressions, which are small actions that communicate hostilities or disregard toward a person as a result of their ethnic identity. While microaggressions are often not overtly racist, they frequently result in higher sensitivity and increased internalizing responses in BAW. This internalization produces race-related stress. However, there has been limited research that directly examines how the internalization of that experience is linked to both maladaptive and health-promoting behaviors among BAW. This study examined how race-related stress is related to maladaptive health behaviors in emerging adult BAW. Specifically, is race-related stress a significant an independent predictor of exercise behavior and emotionally-driven eating habits? One hundred and seventy-nine BAW who identified as current college students or recent graduates (ages 18–25, m = 21) completed an anonymous online survey. A 3-step hierarchical linear regression with an R² = 0.31 found that emotional eating is a function of race-related stress (B=.241, p =.015 ) in addition to body anxiety (B=.27, p =.001 ) and depressive symptomology (B=.27, p =.004 ). Further, race-related stress is the only psychosocial variable related to health-promoting behaviors. Higher reported levels of race-related stress are associated with greater frequencies in swimming (r=.16), yoga (r=.19), and exercise machine use (r=.223). The ongoing experience of racial inequities and the resulting oppressive structures BAW must navigate through can be internalized and related to psychosocial well-being and physical health. The implications of these findings will be discussed with regard to targeted interventions to reduce health disparities.

The goal of this project is to help a group of licensed mental health counselors in our community evaluate their implementation of DBT with two high risk groups: adolescents and young adults. Our two primary research questions are 1) Is open group DBT an effective vehicle for symptom reduction and relationship improvement in high risk adolescents and young adults? and 2) Do participants improve existing relationships and/or develop new positive relationships? Since social support is important in preventing relapse, the additional focus on relationships seems critical to a comprehensive evaluation of open group DBT on adolescent functioning. Additionally, this study evaluates client gains in real world counseling. Participants complete questionnaires at the start of counseling, the last counseling session, and again three months later. Data collection is ongoing, with pre-test data available for xx participants and post-treatment data for xx participants. Descriptive analyses indicate that at post-test, participants reported increased family support, decreased negative family interactions, and overall more total social support. No changes were observed in terms of friend social support or negative interactions. Notably, suicidality seems to decrease after treatment. Treatment was especially effective in reducing suicidal intentions in the immediate future and decreasing suicidal attitudes and risk. These preliminary analyses suggest that open group DBT may be an effective vehicle for reducing suicidality and improving social support, particularly within the family, in teens and young adults. Furthermore, the open group format encourages more self-determination in choosing to attend the group session or not, which may encourage a greater sense of self agency in teen girls.

An overwhelming number of negative images and stereotypical perceptions of Black girls and women plague today’s society, illustrating historical patterns of existing racism and sexism imbedded in the general culture (Evans-Winter & Esposito, 2010; hooks, 1981). In this paper we acknowledge how Black girls are often subsumed into the category of ‘Black’, with an emphasis on the experiences of Black boys and are therefore left with no specific or autonomous recognition. As such, their particular conditions are silenced and ignored. While we aim to compliment the on-going research and movements to improve educational outcomes for boys and men of color, we highlight historical and current social conditions that negatively impact school-age Black girls, such as harsh disciplinary practices and experiences of sexual objectification and violence. As Black female scholars (faculty and students) in education and psychology, we feel both personal passion and responsibility to acknowledge that Black girls suffer both similarly and differently than Black boys and therefore must be given specific voice. We also discuss how White privilege and patriarchal male privilege are part of this obfuscation of the needs of Black girls. Utilizing an intersectional approach, critical race feminism, and Black feminist literature, we shed light on gender and race simultaneously, while seeking to dismantle faulty perceptions that Black girls and women carry inherent strength without substantial sadness. “The Super Girl Dichotomy,” provides a metaphor that illustrates dual social features resulting in experiences of both strength and sadness in identity development, self-understanding, and educational endeavors. Presenting a new conceptual framework relevant to sadness in Black girlhood, we address how dangerous myths linking a non-feminine form of strength with an emasculated illustration of high self-esteem (Buckley & Carter, 2005; Fordham, 1993; 1996) can have a damaging impact on educational experiences, identity development, and sense of self in Black girlhood. In responding directly to a recent call to action for educational equity (Austin, 1995; Evans-Winter & Esposito, 2010; Sharp, 2014), we provide links between historical and current social conditions and offer specific recommendations for future girl empowerment programming and evidence-based intervention development that can aide in liberating Black girls.