"If the college adjusted the prices…": comparing food secure and insecure college students during the COVID-19 pandemic

Objective: We examined how students' food insecurity related to their demographic information, academic experiences, use of food programs, and reflections on food during the COVID-19 pandemic. Participants: 246 NYC undergraduates during the first 9 months of the pandemic. Methods: Students reported on food insecurity (eg, USDA's 10-item AFSSM), household income, impact of food insecurity on academics, GPA, and use of food programs. They wrote two food narratives. Results: 135 (54.88%) participants reported high food security; 51 (20.73%) reported low or very low food security. Compared to high food security students, low and very low-security students were more likely to identify as Black and first-generation immigrants, reported lower household income, more frequently used food programs, had a lower GPA, reported more academic difficulties, and wrote more often about financial and programmatic difficulties related to food. Conclusions: Food-insecure students need greater financial, academic, and programmatic support during public health crises.

Associations between subjective social status and psychological well-being among college students

Background: Higher subjective social status (SSS) is associated with better mental health among youth; however, few studies have examined youth's perceptions of past (childhood) or future (adulthood) SSS. Methods: Utilizing latent profile analysis, we examined unique profiles of past, present, and future SSS among 401 college students in the United States and tested associations between these profiles and psychological well-being (ie, depressive symptoms, negative affect, positive affect, and flourishing), controlling for family socioeconomic status (SES). Results: Results revealed four profiles: Low SSS (8%), Upward SSS (18%), Moderate SSS (43%), and High SSS (31%). Youth in the High SSS profile had the best psychological well-being, and those in the Low SSS profile had the worst. While the Upward SSS profile was associated with depressive symptoms and negative affect, it was protective in terms of positive affect. Discussion: Findings highlight unique effects of upward SSS mobility.Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/07448481.2021.1954010.

An intersectional examination of the impact of COVID-stress and discrimination on college students' resilience and mental health

Objective: To investigate the impact of COVID-stress and discrimination on mental health among a group of diverse college students using an intersectional framework. Participants: One thousand six hundred seventy-one undergraduate students (Mage = 20.42, SD = 2.74) were recruited from nine college campuses. Methods: Participants completed an online questionnaire assessing mental health symptoms, COVID-stress, and in-school discrimination. Hierarchical regressions and multi-group SEM path analysis were conducted to examine differences across intersectional identities. Results: Female-identifying students reported higher COVID-stress, anxiety and depressive symptoms, and lower resilience compared to males. COVID-stress and discrimination were highest among certain minoritized student groups. Using an intersectional framework, more COVID-stress and discrimination were associated with increased anxiety for almost all women of color. Unexpectedly, COVID-stress predicted anxiety symptoms for almost all male intersectional groups. Conclusions: Findings reaffirm the intersectional framework and highlight significant disparities in how students experience COVID-stress, discrimination, and mental health outcomes along dimensions of gender and race/ethnicity.

Shared and nonshared agency for occupational goals with mothers, fathers, VIPs, and romantic partners during young adulthood

This study applied a framework of shared and nonshared agency to investigate how social partners can help and hinder young adults’ career development. We also considered the extent to which motivational control could be promoted or burdened when young people seek help and encouragement from others in their careers. Based on the importance of shared agency in life goal pursuit, it was hypothesized that shared agency (i.e., perceived support and collaboration) with mothers, fathers, important adults, and romantic partners would have direct and positive associations with young adults’ career satisfaction and exploration and positive indirect associations on career development via motivational control. We further hypothesized that nonshared agency (i.e., directing and uninvolvement) would have direct and negative effects on career satisfaction and exploration and negative indirect effects on career development via motivational strategies. Results indicated that relationships can facilitate career development but differently depending upon relationship type. We found that support and directing from mothers and VIPs had positive associations with outcomes via individual motivational control whereas a total effect of collaboration with fathers and romantic partners were associated with outcomes without an indirect effect via motivational control. These findings are discussed within the context of previous socialization research and theory.

Self-Actualization and the Integration of Psychedelic Experience: The Mediating Role of Perceived Benefits to Narrative Self-Functioning

There is a growing need in the field of psychedelic science for a unifying perspective of overall well-being to join seemingly disparate findings across clinical and non-clinical populations, and account for the unique role of post-psychedelic integration for promoting benefits. According to the eudaimonic perspective of well-being, the stories we create about who we are (self-insight) and who we can become (personal development) are key aspects of narrative self-functioning that either constrain or facilitate well-being. The present paper draws upon this perspective to investigate the relationship between extent of post-psychedelic integration and optimal well-being ( self-actualization), with perceived benefits to narrative self-functioning ( self-insight and personal development) as a mediator. The data for testing this model was collected from roughly 750 participants recruited from websites and social media forums. Because the sample contained clinical and non-clinical individuals, the model was able to be tested with mental health condition as a moderator. Results indicated that perceived benefits to narrative self-functioning is one pathway through which integration of psychedelic experience may promote optimal well-being for both clinical and non-clinical populations. Exploratory analyses indicated that integration techniques that are more self-referential in nature are the ones that indirectly relate to optimal well-being via perceived benefits. The results of the present study should be interpreted as a preliminary model for future longitudinal research to test, as our cross-sectional methods preclude any causal inferences to be made from these mediation analyses.

Causal Beliefs for Socioeconomic Status Attainment Scale: Development and Validation

That individuals attain socioeconomic status (SES) through their own effort and ability, which is a staple pillar of the meritocratic ethos and has been a popular topic of inquiry within social psychology. However, this focus on merit overshadowed other important causal factors that contribute to one's SES, such as opportunity and chance. This study presents psychometrically validated scales measuring one's causal beliefs of SES attainment for themselves (agency beliefs) and others (society beliefs). Utilizing a nationally representative sample, participants completed 68 items of causal agency and society beliefs for low and high SES attainment. Through factor analyses, item response theory, and careful item reduction, three subscales and six dimensions measuring (1) merit (effort and ability), (2) opportunity (social connections and privilege), and (3) chance (luck and fate) are introduced for each belief system. Correlation analyses reveal general support for construct validity. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Developmental goals during the transition to young adulthood

Adolescents navigate the transition into young adulthood through their pursuit of developmental goals. While societal expectations and institutions provide normed paths to adulthood by shaping decisions on goal identification, individuals take various routes to attain adult-status through different goal prioritization. Using longitudinal data from a U.S. sample of 1,088 adolescents (55.6% female; 25.3% Whites, 19.8% Asians, 30.4% Latinx, 12.6% Multiracial), we identified young adults’ major developmental goal and subgoal trajectories during the transition from adolescence to young adulthood. Participants nominated goals within a 5-year period starting from the final year of secondary school, and responses were categorized into major developmental goals. Results showed moderate goal stability over time. Although career and education goals were initially prioritized, they were less frequently nominated over time while relational and financial goals became more frequent. However, rank-order stability was retained. Findings also showed that individual differences in education and employment status, motivational factors, gender, and ethnicity predicted goal identification in young adulthood. Collectively, findings reveal both general trends and interindividual differences in goals that highlight the interplay between society and individual agency, ultimately leading to different paths taken during the transition to adulthood.

Prosociality across adulthood: A developmental and motivational perspective

Why do people contribute to the well-being of others? What promotes or hinders their contribution? Framed by expectancy-value theory and the motivational theory of life span development, we use data from the Midlife in the United States National longitudinal study (MIDUS I, II, and III) to examine how individuals' perceived contributions to the well-being of others develop across adulthood, in the related but distinct forms of overall prosociality (more other-focused) and generativity (more self-focused). Our findings show that prosociality and generativity display similar, yet distinct trajectories, peaking in midlife a decade apart from each other, when expectancy and value for prosocial behavior are highest. Moreover, expectancy as reflected in perceived control and control strivings, and value as indicated by agreeableness, predict individuals' prosociality and generativity. Trajectories of prosocial contributions further differ according to individual differences in perceived control, control striving, education, income, and number of children, whereas trajectories of generativity only differ across levels of perceived control and income. By applying motivational and life span developmental perspectives, our study offers insight into how prosociality and generativity develop throughout adulthood. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).

Friends, family, and romantic partners: Three critical relationships in older women's lives

How are different social relationships jointly and uniquely associated with older women's health and well-being, and what is the directionality of these associations? We address these questions using longitudinal data from the Midlife in the United States study. We find that relationship quality with romantic partners, family, and friends is positively linked with better health and well-being concurrently and longitudinally. Cross-lagged analyses indicate that romantic relationships are more predictive of than predicted by health and well-being, family relationships are more predicted by than predictive of health and well-being, and friendships are both predicted by and predictive of health and well-being.

Risk of cognitive declines with retirement: Who declines and why?

Retiring is associated with increased risk of cognitive decline (e.g., Bonsang, Adam, & Perelman, 2012; Wickrama, O'Neal, Kwag, & Lee, 2013). However, little is known about the moderating role of motivational and demographic factors that are implicated in adaptive development and the retirement transition process. We used data from the Midlife in the United States Study (n = 732, Mage = 57, SD = 5.76, 50% female) to examine whether the association between retirement and cognitive decline depended on a key motivation factor (goal disengagement) in propensity score matched samples of older retirees and employees. We explored whether these effects were further moderated by gender. Results showed that those who retired (vs. remained employed) experienced steeper 9-year declines in episodic memory (b = -.41, p = .001) only if they were high in goal disengagement and female. Findings are consistent with theories of lifespan development and cognitive aging and provide initial evidence that retirement may be associated with increased cognitive declines for only certain individuals prone to disengage from highly challenging activities and goal pursuits. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).

What are Replicable Aspects of the Broader Autism Phenotype among College Students?

Are people with heightened autistic traits less likely to help other people? Recent research suggests that heightened autistic traits are associated with reduced self-reported prosocial behavior among college students. However, the growing literature examining sub-clinical traits associated with autism, or the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP), among college students has invested insufficient attention in replication of findings, potential interrelationships between constructs, or the degree to which social desirability bias may contribute to findings. To identify replicable aspects of the BAP, we administered a battery of measures to 391 undergraduate students. Replicating prior work, findings suggested that self-reported difficulties understanding the self and others (but not less feeling for others) and sensory atypicalities are core aspects of the BAP. Reduced social desirability bias was also associated with the BAP. Prior associations between reduced prosocial tendencies and the BAP were not replicated. Findings highlight the importance of assessing multiple potential aspects of the BAP, particularly reduced susceptibility to the social desirability bias, when using self-report measures.

Engagement with six major life domains during the transition to retirement: Stability and change for better or worse

Active engagement with multiple life domains (cross-domain engagement) is associated with adaptation throughout the adult life span. However, less is known about the role of cross-domain engagement during significant life course transitions that can challenge motivational resources, such as the shift to retirement. Based on the motivational theory of life span development (Heckhausen, Wrosch, & Schulz, 2010, 2019), the present study used 9-year data from the national Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS; n = 1,301, M age = 57, SD = 6.96, 56% female) to identify profiles of cross-domain engagement and to assess stability and change in these profiles during the transition to retirement. We also examined whether stability and change in the engagement profiles had implications for psychological adjustment. Results of latent profile analyses showed that three profiles of cross-domain engagement emerged both before and after retirement (high engagement, low work engagement, moderate engagement). Latent transition analyses indicated that most participants remained in their preretirement profiles at postretirement, with the majority classified in a profile defined by stable high engagement with multiple life domains. Results of ANCOVAs showed this stable high engagement profile was associated with the most adaptive 9-year changes in cross-domain perceived control, cross-domain situation quality, and cross-dimension eudaimonic well-being. Findings advance the literature by showing that cross-domain profiles of engagement can be identified and that stability and change in these profiles have consequences for longitudinal psychological adjustment in retirement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Optimized Engagement Across Life Domains in Adult Development: Balancing Diversity and Interdomain Consequences

Adaptive lifespan development involves individuals' simultaneous coordination of motivational engagement across multiple domains of life. The present study tests this proposition using data from the Midlife in the United States National Longitudinal Study of Health and Well-Being (MIDUS I and II). Results from multilevel model analyses indicate that participants' engagement with, perceived control over, and reported quality in the domains of work, health, and family relationships follow general trajectories across adulthood that reflect age-graded and socially structured opportunities. Participants' engagement with each domain of life was associated with more positive reports of life quality and perceived control within these domains. These positive engagement benefits were least prominent in strongly age-graded domains (i.e., health), and most pronounced in less age-graded domains (i.e., work and family relationships). Results further indicate that individuals adaptively managed their engagement across these central domains of adulthood, in that cross-domain associations were positive or at least non-detrimental. While cross-domain engagement benefits were present across all four domains, they were most prominent in naturally facilitative pairings (e.g., relationships with one's spouse/partner and children). Overall, the results provide support for the proposition of the motivational theory of life-span development that adaptive lifespan development involves individual's active, simultaneous, and synchronous engagement with central domains of life.

For better or worse

Individuals’ motivational self-regulatory system is challenged as they cross the transition from school to work. Using data from a longitudinal study of participants approaching and crossing university graduation ( n = 140), we examine the ways in which individuals’ motivational strategies reflect and direct their career-related opportunity field. Our findings indicate that participants’ beliefs about how socioeconomic status (SES) is attained in society and how they themselves believe their own SES will be attained, are related with the degree to which they engage with or disengage from their career goals. These SES-related beliefs can be broadly organized into two patterns: the first emphasizing personal control over attaining career goals and the second emphasizing non-action-contingent control. Regarding the former, participants who viewed career goal attainment as being determined by merit (e.g., effort and ability) were more likely to engage with their career goals, and in so doing reported more rapid progress toward attaining their career goals. Conversely, participants who believed that career attainment is due to factors outside of their direct control (e.g., privilege and luck), were more likely to disengage from their career goals, and in so doing devalued the importance of attaining their career goals.

Transpulmonary speed of sound input into the supraclavicular space

The transpulmonary speed of sound input at the mouth has been shown to vary with lung volume. To avoid the disadvantages that exist in certain clinical situations in inputting sound at the mouth, we input sound in the supraclavicular space of 21 healthy volunteers to determine whether similar information on the relationship of sound speed to lung volume could be obtained. We measured the transit time at multiple microphones placed over the chest wall using a 16-channel lung sound analyzer (Stethographics). There was a tight distribution of transit times in this population of subjects. At functional residual capacity, it was 9 +/- 1 (SD) ms at the apical sites and 13 +/- 1 ms at the lung bases. The sound speed at total lung capacity was 24 +/- 2 m/s and was 22 +/- 2 m/s at residual volume (P < 0.001). In all subjects, the speed of sound was faster at higher lung volume. This improved method of studying the mechanism of sound transmission in the lung may help in the development of noninvasive tools for diagnosis and monitoring of lung diseases.

Sound transmission in the lung as a function of lung volume

We were interested in how the transmission of sound through the lung was affected by varying air content in intact humans as a method of monitoring tissue properties noninvasively. To study this, we developed a method of measuring transthoracic sound transit time accurately. We introduced a "coded" sound at the mouth and measured the transit time at multiple microphones placed over the chest wall by using a 16-channel lung sound analyzer (Stethographics). We used a microphone placed over the neck near the trachea as our reference and utilized cross-correlation analysis to calculate the transit times. The use of the coded sound, composed of a mix of frequencies from 130 to 150 Hz, greatly reduced the ambiguity of the cross-correlation function. The measured transit time varied from 1 ms at the central locations to 5 ms at the lung bases. Our results also indicated that transit time at all locations decreased with increasing lung volume. We found that these results can be described in terms of a model in which sound transmission through the lung is treated as a combination of free-space propagation through the trachea and a propagation through a two-phase system in the parenchyma.

A Q-band pulse EPR/ENDOR spectrometer and the implementation of advanced one- and two-dimensional pulse EPR methodology

A versatile high-power pulse Q-band EPR spectrometer operating at 34.5--35.5 GHz and in a temperature range of 4--300 K is described. The spectrometer allows one to perform one- and two-dimensional multifrequency pulse EPR and pulse ENDOR experiments, as well as continuous wave experiments. It is equipped with two microwave sources and four microwave channels to generate pulse sequences with different amplitudes, phases, and carrier frequencies. A microwave pulse power of up to 100 W is available. Two channels form radiofrequency pulses with adjustable phases for ENDOR experiments. The spectrometer performance is demonstrated by single crystal pulse ENDOR experiments on a copper complex. A HYSCORE experiment demonstrates that the advantages of high-field EPR and correlation spectroscopy can be combined and exploited at Q-band. Furthermore, we illustrate how this combination can be used in cases where the HYSCORE experiment is no longer effective at 35 GHz because of the shallow modulation depth. Even in cases where the echo modulation is virtually absent in the HYSCORE experiment at Q-band, matched microwave pulses allow one to get HYSCORE spectra with a signal-to-noise ratio as good as at X-band. Finally, it is shown that the high microwave power, the short pulses, and the broad resonator bandwidth make the spectrometer well suited to Fourier transform EPR experiments.

Serum luteinizing hormone, follicle-stimulating hormone, and testosterone responses to gonadotropin-releasing factor in males with varicoceles

Five infertile males, ages 25 to 35, with oligospermia and varicocele had following gonadotropin-releasing hormone (LRF) infusion a rise of serum follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone levels which was not different from that of normal fertile males. The response of these hormones to LRF infusion was unaltered by spermatic vein ligation, but a significant elevation of the sperm count occurred. Thus, improvement in sperm count following spermatic vein ligation is not mediated via changes in peripheral gonadotropin or testosterone concentrations.

Systemic endotheliomatosis: a case report

A 48-year-old Caucasian man was found to have a rare neoplastic process of vascular endothelial origin. The clinical presentation was that of plum-colored cutaneous plaques of the lower extremities. The histopathology, natural history, and treatment of this case are discussed and compared with previously reported cases. It is suggested that this disease entity represents a malignant state with systemic involvement and a poor prognosis.