Gender Typicality, Pressure to Conform to Gender Norms, and Anti-Fat and Appearance Stereotypes in Girls.

This mixed-methods study investigated the relation among gender identity (i.e., self-perceived gender similarity to girls and boys; self-perceived parental and peer pressure to conform to gender norms) and stereotyping about weight (i.e., anti-fat stereotypes), weight change, and appearance in 83 girls ages 6-9 (Mage = 7.60 years, SD = .85; 65% White, 16% Mixed/Other, 11% Black, 8% Latina) in the U.S. Stereotypes about weight change were assessed with open-ended responses (i.e., qualitatively), and the rest of the constructs were assessed with closed-ended responses (i.e., quantitatively). There was a positive association between pressure from parents to conform to gender norms and appearance stereotypes, and between pressure from peers and negative stereotypes about the fat and thin figures. Girls who were more gender typical, or more similar to girls, were more likely to endorse appearance stereotypes. There was no significant relation among stereotypes about weight change and gender identity. Many girls deemed the fat figure as unattractive, physically restrained, unhealthy, and likely to be bullied and believed that the fat figure should change back to look like a thinner figure. Most girls were aware that exercising, eating healthy, and dietary restriction can lead to weight loss and that food consumption and lack of exercise can lead to weight gain. Findings suggest that certain aspects of weight (anti-fat) and appearance stereotypes are closely linked to gender identity in girls, whereas other aspects of weight stereotypes (e.g., stereotypes about weight change) are so pervasive that they are common in most girls, regardless of their gender identity.

Educators' views of eating disorder prevention programs.

Further understanding of educators' views of eating disorder prevention can further engage them in this effort. No previous studies of educators have used acceptability methodology or compared eating disorder prevention to other prevention efforts. Educators (n = 135) rated the acceptability of five sample programs and provided their opinions about eating disorder and other prevention programs. The results indicated primarily psychoeducational and general well-being programs were most acceptable. Educators-specified trained professionals should implement programs during school hours to male and female junior high students. Although eating disorder prevention was perceived as important, it was not rated as vital as other programs, such as substance abuse prevention.

Educational aspiration-expectation discrepancies: relation to socioeconomic and academic risk-related factors.

This study examines whether disconnection between educational aspirations and expectations is associated with socioeconomic status, academic performance, academic risk-related behaviors and related psychosocial factors in an ethnically and economically diverse sample of early adolescents from a public middle school (N = 761). Results suggest that students who aspire to achieve more than they expect to achieve also are likely to have more economically disadvantaged backgrounds and poorer academic performance. These students also show a variety of academic and social risks. Specifically, students whose aspirations exceeded their expectations reported lower levels of school bonding, higher levels of test/performance anxiety, and elevated behavioral/emotional difficulties. Results are discussed in terms of social-cognitive theory as well as applications for promoting student social and academic success.

The role of weight stigmatization in cumulative risk for binge eating.

Previous research supports a positive association between weight stigmatization experiences and binge eating. However, the extent to which weight stigmatization accounts for binge eating in the context of other risk factors requires further investigation. Using a cumulative risk model, we examine previously studied risk factors (environmental stress, psychological functioning, negative coping, body dissatisfaction) as well as weight stigmatization as predictors of binge eating bariatric patients and undergraduate students. Results show a unique contribution of weight stigmatization. Analyses by sample indicated that this was only the case for the undergraduate student sample. Results support weight stigmatization as a meaningful predictor of binge eating and highlight the need for further work investigating how these experiences work to promote eating pathology.

Normative feedback and intentions to help friends with bulimic symptoms.

OBJECTIVE: The current study examined accuracy in estimating campus norms for eating disorder (ED) pathology and the impact of normative feedback on intentions to help friends. Participants: The sample included 130 undergraduate women. Method: Participants estimated prevalence of ED pathology and were randomly assigned to normative feedback or a control condition. Vignettes were presented describing bulimic and sleep disorder symptoms. After presentation of each vignette, participants reported sympathy for and intentions to help friends with similar symptoms. Results: Nine ED pathology estimates were significantly higher than comparison values documented in a larger survey of women attending their university in the previous year. Those who received normative feedback reported lower intentions to help and lower sympathy for a student with bulimic symptoms compared to sleep disorder symptoms. Conclusion: Results raise the possibility that normative feedback could reduce support for friends with bulimic symptoms.

The Evolutionary Arms Race between Virus and NK Cells: Diversity Enables Population-Level Virus Control.

Viruses and natural killer (NK) cells have a long co-evolutionary history, evidenced by patterns of specific NK gene frequencies in those susceptible or resistant to infections. The killer immunoglobulin-like receptors (KIR) and their human leukocyte antigen (HLA) ligands together form the most polymorphic receptor-ligand partnership in the human genome and govern the process of NK cell education. The KIR and HLA genes segregate independently, thus creating an array of reactive potentials within and between the NK cell repertoires of individuals. In this review, we discuss the interplay between NK cell education and adaptation with virus infection, with a special focus on three viruses for which the NK cell response is often studied: human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human cytomegalovirus (HCMV). Through this lens, we highlight the complex co-evolution of viruses and NK cells, and their impact on viral control.

Relationships between personality variables and bizarreness effects in free recall.

Relationships between 6 personality variables and each of 3 different measures of recall for bizarre and common sentences were examined. The personality variables investigated included measures of sensation seeking, novelty experiencing, desire for novelty, arousal-seeking tendency, social potency, and conservatism. Recall was measured in terms of sentences accessed, target words recovered per accessed sentence, and misplaced target words. The results indicated the typical pattern of bizarreness effects on recall and significant relationships between personality variables and these effects. Arousal seeking and conservatism were positively related to a bizarreness advantage in sentences accessed. Additionally, high social potency was related to the recovery of more details from common than bizarre sentences, and high desire for novelty was related to a greater bizarre misplacement effect. The results are discussed in terms of orienting and defensive responses to bizarreness.

An attentional bias for thin bodies and its relation to body dissatisfaction.

Research suggests that humans have an attentional bias for the rapid detection of emotionally valenced stimuli, and that such a bias might be shaped by clinical psychological states. The current research extends this work to examine the relation between body dissatisfaction and an attentional bias for thin/idealized body shapes. Across two experiments, undergraduates completed a gender-consistent body dissatisfaction measure, and a dot-probe paradigm to measure attentional biases for thin versus heavy bodies. Results indicated that men (n=21) and women (n=18) show an attentional bias for bodies that correspond to their own gender (Experiment 1), and that high body dissatisfaction among men (n=69) and women (n=89) predicts an attentional bias for thin same-gender bodies after controlling for body mass index (BMI) (Experiment 2). This research provides a new direction for studying the attentional and cognitive underpinnings of the relation between body dissatisfaction and eating disorders.