Relationship contingency and sexual motivation in women: implications for sexual satisfaction.

Deriving self-worth from romantic relationships (relationship contingency) may have implications for women's sexual motives in relationships. Because relationship contingency enhances motivation to sustain relationships to maintain positive self-worth, relationship contingent women may engage in sex to maintain and enhance their relationships (relational sex motives). Using structural equation modeling on Internet survey data from a convenience sample of 462 women in heterosexual and lesbian relationships, we found that greater relationship contingency predicted greater relational sex motives, which simultaneously predicted both sexual satisfaction and dissatisfaction via two distinct motivational states. Having sex to improve intimacy with one's partner was associated with greater sexual satisfaction and autonomy, while having sex to earn partner's approval was associated with sexual dissatisfaction and inhibition. While some differences exist between lesbian and heterosexual relationships, relationship contingency had sexual costs and benefits, regardless of relationship type.

Developmental sources of implicit attitudes.

Explanations for implicit and explicit attitude dissociation have largely focused on causes of explicit attitudes. By contrast, this article examines developmental experiences as potential sources of implicit (more than explicit) attitudes, using attitudes toward smoking and body weight, which have shown dissociation with self-reports. In Study 1, smokers' implicit and explicit attitudes toward smoking were uniquely predicted by their early and recent experiences with smoking, respectively. In Study 2, participants' childhood and current weight uniquely predicted implicit and explicit body weight attitudes, respectively. Furthermore, being raised primarily by a beloved, heavyweight mother predicted proheavy implicit (but not explicit) attitudes. In Study 3, people's reports of pleasant dreams in childhood (but not currently) predicted their implicit attitudes toward dreams. In concert, results provide support for theorizing that implicit and explicit attitudes may stem from different sources of information and are, therefore, conceptually distinct.

The National Sleep Foundation's Sleep Health Index.

OBJECTIVES: A validated survey instrument to assess general sleep health would be a useful research tool, particularly when objective measures of sleep are not feasible. Thus, the National Sleep Foundation spearheaded the development of the Sleep Health Index (SHI). DESIGN: The development of the SHI began with a task force of experts who identified key sleep domains and questions. An initial draft of the survey was created and questions were refined using cognitive testing and pretesting. The resulting 28-question survey was administered via random-sample telephone interviews to nationally representative samples of adults in 2014 (n=1253) and 2015 (n=1250). These data were combined to create the index. A factor analysis linked 14 questions to 3 discrete domains: sleep quality, sleep duration, and disordered sleep. These were assembled as sub-indices, then combined to form the overall SHI, with scores ranging from 0 to 100 (higher score reflects better sleep health). RESULTS: Americans earned an overall SHI score of 76/100, with sub-index scores of 81/100 in disordered sleep, 79/100 in sleep duration, and 68/100 in sleep quality. In regression analyses, the strongest independent predictors of sleep health were self-reported stress (ß=-0.26) and overall health (ß=0.26), which were also the strongest predictors of sleep quality (ß=-0.32 and ß=0.27 respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The current 12-item SHI is a valid, reliable research tool that robustly measures 3 separate but related elements of sleep health-duration, quality, and disorders-and assesses the sleep health status of adults in the United States.

The gender role motivation model of women's sexually submissive behavior and satisfaction in heterosexual couples.

Previous findings suggest that women are more likely than men to take on the submissive role during sexual activities (e.g., waiting for their partner to initiate and orchestrate sexual activities), often to the detriment of their sexual satisfaction. Extending previous research on gender role motivation, the authors recruited 181 heterosexual couples to examine scripted sexual behavior, motivation for such behavior, and relationship outcomes (sexual satisfaction, perceptions of closeness, and relationship satisfaction) for both women and their partners. Using the actor-partner interdependence model, path analyses revealed that women's submissive behavior had negative links to personal sexual satisfaction and their partner's sexual satisfaction but only when their submission was inconsistent with their sexual preferences. Moreover, the authors show there are negative downstream consequences of diminished sexual satisfaction on perceptions of closeness and overall relationship satisfaction for both partners in the relationship.

Reactions to ethnic deviance: The role of backlash in racial stereotype maintenance.

Backlash effects are social and economic penalties for counterstereotypical behavior (Rudman & Phelan, 2008). Five experiments support a model of the role of backlash in racial stereotype maintenance from the standpoint of perceivers and actors (Rudman & Fairchild, 2004). In Experiment 1, perceivers sabotaged Asians and Whites for succeeding in counterstereotypical domains, thereby preventing their future success. In Experiment 2, a White rapper suffered prejudice and economic discrimination, relative to a Black rapper, and prejudice mediated discrimination. Further, actors threatened by backlash for achievement in cross-racial domains responded to success in ways that bolster ethnic stereotypes. For example, Black men and women who feared backlash for academic skill (Experiment 3), and non-Black (Experiment 4) and non-White (Experiment 5) men who experienced backlash for cross-racial achievement, resorted to defensive strategies that preserve racial stereotypes (e.g., refusing to publicize and pursue counterstereotypical talents). Implications for cultural stereotype maintenance are discussed.