Objective: To assess the effects of social media consumption on body dissatisfaction and negative affect using ecological momentary assessment, a method of assessment over time in the participants' naturalistic environment. Participants: Woman college students (N = 30) from a large public university participated in the study in Fall 2015. Methods:…

The purpose of this review is to propose a conceptual framework using objectification theory and intersectionality theory to examine social media's influence on body image and its effect on eating disorder predictors among Latina adolescents. To examine and explore how these effects from social media usage can result in mental health disparities…

Women almost always comprise a minority in engineering programs and a smaller percentage of women pursue engineering than other science and technology majors. The culture of engineering departments and negative stereotypes of women's engineering and mathematical ability have been identified as factors that inhibit women's entry into…

Objective: This study examined female college students' knowledge, attitudes, and breast cancer screening and determined significant predictors of breast self-examination, clinical breast examination, and mammography among this population. Participants: A convenience sample of 1,074 college women from 3 universities participated in the research.…

The current study tested sex-specific pathways to early puberty, sexual debut, and sexual risk taking, as specified by an integrated evolutionary-developmental model of adolescent sexual development and behavior. In a prospective study of 238 adolescents (n = 129 girls and n = 109 boys) followed from approximately 12-18 years of age, we tested for…

The prediction of false rape-related beliefs (rape myth acceptance [RMA]) was examined using the Illinois Rape Myth Acceptance Scale (Payne, Lonsway, & Fitzgerald, 1999) among a nonclinical sample of 258 male and female college students. Predictor variables included measures of attitudes toward women, gender role identity (GRI), sexual trauma…

Previous research has studied gender differences in people's perceptions and behaviors toward information technologies with mixed findings. In addition, the reasons causing these differences have been discussed but rarely empirically tested in the literature. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms through which gender affects the…

The purpose of this study was to test a 2-factor model of affective health in women with rheumatoid arthritis (RA; n = 82) or osteoarthritis (OA; n = 88). Positive and negative social interactions and affect were assessed for 11 consecutive weeks. For each participant, Vulnerability and Resilience factors were created from factor analyses of…

This study sought to provide a more rigorous prospective test of two cognitive vulnerability models of depression with longitudinal data from 496 adolescent girls. Results supported the cognitive vulnerability model in that stressors predicted future increases in depressive symptoms and onset of clinically significant major depression for…

Objective: Although there are extensive data on the relationship between personality and stress reactivity in adults, there is little comparable empirical research with adolescents. This study examines the simultaneous relationships between long term functioning (personality, defenses) and observed stress reactivity (affect) in adolescents.…

This study examines relations between early adolescent girls' well-being, achievement, and emerging identities. Variable-centered results showed that girls' moral and student identities were the strongest predictors of their achievement, whereas their moral, student, physical, and peer identities predicted their well-being. Person-centered results…

Using data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, the authors examine the association between contraceptive use patterns in teens' first sexual relationships and their knowledge of, perceptions of, and motivations for contraception and pregnancy prevention. Results from logistic regression analyses show that knowledge,…

On the basis of theory and previous research, it was hypothesized that predisaster child trait anxiety would predict disaster-related posttraumatic stress symptoms and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms, even after controlling for the number of hurricane exposure events. Results support this hypothesis and further indicate that predisaster…

Two general evolutionary hypotheses were tested on 756 White children (397 girls) studied longitudinally: (1) rearing experiences would predict pubertal timing; and (2) children would prove differentially susceptible to rearing. Analysis of pubertal measurements, including some based on repeated physical assessments, showed that mothering and…

The authors examined the relationship between sociotropy and perceptions of interpersonal relationships and subsequent eating disorder symptoms among young women. In Study 1, 118 women from a liberal arts college in northern Wisconsin completed self-report measures of sociotropy, perceived close social support, and eating disorder symptoms. The…