The Effect of Minority Stress Processes on Smoking for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer Individuals: A Systematic Review.

Purpose: Lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ) individuals are more likely to smoke than non-LGBTQ individuals. Smoking has been posited as a coping mechanism for LGBTQ individuals facing minority stress. However, the exact relationship between minority stress and smoking behaviors among LGBTQ individuals is unclear. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review was to examine how minority stress processes are associated with smoking behaviors for LGBTQ individuals. Methods: Searches of the PubMed and PsycINFO databases were conducted for smoking-, LGBTQ-, and minority stress-related terms. No date, geographic, or language limits were used. For inclusion, the study must have (1) been written in English, (2) had an LGBTQ group as the study population or a component of the study population, (3) assessed the cigarette smoking status of patients, and (4) assessed at least one minority stress-related process (internalized stigma, perceived stigma, or prejudice events). Results: The final review included 44 articles. Aside from two outlier studies, all of the reviewed studies exhibited that increased levels of minority stress processes (internalized queerphobia, perceived stigma, and prejudice events) were associated with increased probability of cigarette use in LGBTQ individuals. Increased minority stress was also associated with greater psychological distress/mental health decline. Conclusion: The findings of this review suggest that minority stress processes represent a contributing factor to smoking health disparities in LGBTQ populations. These results highlight the need for smoking cessation and prevention programs to address minority stress and improve smoking disparities in these populations.

Weight Bias Among Certified Nurse-Midwives and Certified Midwives: Findings From a National Sample.

INTRODUCTION: Weight bias toward individuals with higher body weights permeates health care settings in the United States and has been associated with poor weight-related communication and quality of care as well as adverse health outcomes. However, there has been limited quantitative investigation into weight bias among perinatal care providers. Certified nurse-midwives (CNMs)/certified midwives (CMs) attend approximately 11% of all births in the United States. The aims of this study were to measure the direction and extent of weight bias among CNMs/CMs and compare their levels of weight bias to the US public and other health professionals. METHODS: Through direct postcard distribution, social media accounts, professional networks, and email listservs, American Midwifery Certification Board (AMCB)-certified midwives were solicited to complete an online survey of their implicit weight bias using the Implicit Association Test and their explicit weight bias using the Antifat Attitudes Questionnaire, Fat Phobia Scale, and Preference for Thin People measure. RESULTS: A total of 2257 midwives participated in the survey, yielding a completion rate of 17.7%. Participants were mostly White and female, with a median age of 46 years and 11 years since AMCB certification. More than 70% of midwives have some level of implicit weight bias, although to a lesser extent compared with previously published findings among the US public (P < .01) and other health professionals (P < .01). In a subsample comparison of female midwives to female physicians, implicit weight bias levels were similar (P > .05). Midwives also express explicit weight bias, but at lower levels than the US public and other health professionals (P < .05). DISCUSSION: This study provides the first quantitative research documenting weight bias among a national US sample of perinatal care providers. Findings can inform educational efforts to mitigate weight bias in the perinatal care setting and decrease harm.

Exploring the healthcare access challenges faced by visually impaired young women in Nepal: Navigating sexual harassment and stigma within healthcare settings.

Introduction: Despite global progress in gender equality, still not every woman has access to safe and the highest quality health care. Visually impaired young adult women represent one of the most vulnerable groups with a poorer ability to access necessary healthcare services. This study aims to explore and comprehend the experiences of visually impaired young adult women in accessing healthcare services in Nepal. Methods: A descriptive phenomenological study was conducted among 16 visually impaired women aged 20 to 35 years who had utilized healthcare services within the past 12 months. Face-to-face, in-depth interviews were conducted for data collection, and thematic analysis was conducted for data analysis. Results: Our study revealed a range of challenges faced by visually impaired young women that impeded their healthcare-seeking. These challenges included sexual harassment by male healthcare providers, disability-related stigma, financial difficulties, limited autonomy in decision-making, and a lack of disability-friendly healthcare facilities and services. Particularly, experiencing sexual harassment from male healthcare providers, coupled with underlying disability-related stigma, profoundly influenced the avoidance of healthcare. To navigate these challenges, some women sought support by having family members or friends accompany them or by requesting to be seen by a female healthcare provider. Nevertheless, financial dependence on families and women lacking employment and income led to a feeling of burden on the family, contributing to a reluctance among women to seek expensive healthcare. Social organization-based, collaborative efforts and peer support networks played a significant role in breaking down barriers and improving overall healthcare experiences. Conclusions: While integrating disability-friendly healthcare services and infrastructure is essential, fostering attitudinal and behavioral change-particularly among male healthcare providers-is more important to ensure safety for young women in healthcare settings. The implementation of anti-sexual harassment policies is imperative to ensure a safe and respectful environment. Community mobilizing and peer group-based programs can be tested for increasing visually impaired women's utilization of relevant healthcare services.

Investigating How High Perceived Economic Inequality Exacerbates Intergroup Competition, Zero-Sum Beliefs, and Perceived Intergroup Prejudice.

Rising economic inequality is associated with more prejudice. Little empirical data, however, investigate how inequality affects individuals' psychological processing and, in turn, exacerbates perceptions of prejudice in people's geographic area. We hypothesized that higher perceived economic inequality triggers beliefs that unequal economies are zero-sum and leads to beliefs that people are in competition for limited resources, which may ultimately exacerbate perceived prejudice. Through nine experiments (Studies 1-5 in the manuscript and three additional studies in the Supplement), we provide evidence that higher perceived inequality increases perceived prejudice against a wide range of outgroups. Furthermore, zero-sum beliefs and perceived competition serially mediate this relationship (Studies 2 and 3). In Study 4, we investigate nuance in this hypothesized model by testing whether higher perceived economic inequality exacerbates perceived racial/ethnic prejudice among a large, diverse sample and find a similar pattern of results. Finally (Study 5), we demonstrate that assuaging competition beliefs mitigates perceived prejudice.

Motivation Science Can Improve Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Trainings.

Recent reviews of efforts to reduce prejudice and increase diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace have converged on the conclusion that prejudice is resistant to change and that merely raising awareness of the problem is not enough. There is growing recognition that DEI efforts may fall short because they do not effectively motivate attitudinal and behavioral change, especially the type of change that translates to reducing disparities. Lasting change requires sustained effort and commitment, yet insights from motivation science about how to inspire this are missing from the scientific and practitioner literatures on DEI trainings. Herein, we leverage evidence from two complementary approaches to motivating change and reducing defensiveness: self-determination theory, a metatheory of human motivation, and motivational interviewing, a clinical approach for behavior change, to tackle the question of how to improve DEI efforts. We distill these insights for researchers, teachers, practitioners, and leaders wanting to apply motivational principles to their own DEI work. We highlight challenges of using this approach and recommend training takes place alongside larger structural and organizational changes. We conclude that motivation is a necessary (but insufficient) ingredient for effective DEI efforts that can energize personal commitment to DEI.

A Challenge to Orthodoxy in Psychology: Thomas Sowell and Social Justice.

Psychologists address social-justice problems in their research and applied work, and their scholarly efforts have been influenced by assumptions, constructs, and hypotheses from the political left. Recently, some psychologists have called for increased intellectual and political diversity in psychology, particularly as such diversity may lead to improved problem-solving. As an attempt to increase intellectual diversity in psychology, we review here the scholarship of Thomas Sowell. His work represents a rich source of hypotheses for psychologists' future research. We focus on his views on the importance of freedom; the extent to which reforms can reduce freedom; the importance of free markets to human flourishing; the role of free markets in producing costs for discrimination; the way spontaneously ordered systems can contain knowledge that can be overlooked in reforms; and the importance of culture and cultural capital. We will also discuss Sowell's more thoroughgoing economic analyses of problems and solutions and his analyses of contingencies operating on politicians and reformers, as well as his views on conflicts in fundamental visions about human nature and the pivotal role of improvements in minority education.

Exploring mental well-being, the emotional impact of visual impairment and experiences of prejudice and discrimination among adults from minority ethnic communities in the UK.

Background: Visual impairment (V.I.) has been associated with a negative impact on mental health outcomes, including a process of grief among those who lose their sight. Older adults with V.I. who had experienced discrimination have been found to be at increased risk of depression, loneliness, poorer life satisfaction and poorer quality of life. Adults from minority ethnic communities (MEC) may be at increased risk of V.I. and yet, research on the experiences of MEC adults with V.I. remains limited. This article forms part of a series which explores issues and status among MEC adults living with V.I. in the UK. Methods: A secondary analysis of V.I. Lives survey data was performed to explore mental well-being assessed by the short Warwick-Edinburgh Mental Well-being scale (SWEMWBS), the emotional impact of V.I., and prejudice and discrimination among a matched control sample of 77 MEC and 77 adults from white communities (WC). Participants were matched by age, gender, UK region and urban/rural setting. Subgroup analyses were also conducted for the two largest MEC subgroups, Asian (n = 46) and black participants (n = 22). Results: There were few statistically significant differences between the groups. MEC participants were significantly more likely than WC participants to rate emotional support to come to terms with their V.I. as important and to feel optimistic about their V.I. but they were significantly less likely to agree that they were receiving the level of emotional support they needed to get on with their life. Within the MEC group, participants from Asian communities had significantly poorer mental well-being, and they were also significantly more likely to agree that the general public were often prejudiced against people with V.I. and less likely to feel optimistic about their V.I. than black participants. Conclusion: Although there were few statistically significant differences, participants from Asian communities were more likely to report poor mental and emotional well-being, and experiences of discrimination, than black and white participants. In contrast, participants from black communities fared the same as, or in some cases better than, white participants. Future research will need to confirm these findings and explore reasons for these.

Favoring Inequalities and Mind-Reading: Social Dominance Orientation Relates to Poor Mentalizing.

Although studies have so far investigated social dominance orientation (SDO) in relation to its association with prejudice and discrimination toward outgroups, it is not known whether SDO's link with poor intergroup relations might be underlined by specific socio-cognitive factors such as reduced mind-reading motivation (MRM) and poor mind-reading performance. The present study tested whether endorsement of SDO is associated with decreased MRM and mind-reading accuracy toward both ingroup and outgroup targets. We randomly assigned one hundred and 20 Turkish university students (Mage = 22.02) into two target groups for mind-reading, Turkish ingroup (N = 60) and Syrian outgroup (N = 60), and asked them to infer minds of either ingroup or outgroup members depending on their target group. Participants also reported their level of MRM and SDO through questionnaires. When the target was a Turkish ingroup member, SDO negatively and directly predicted mind-reading, when the target was an outgroup member, however, higher SDO indirectly predicted lower mind-reading through reduced MRM. These results pointed that favoring intergroup hierarchies relates to poor understanding of others' mental states although the mechanism of the relation changes depending on the group membership of the target.

Ethnic Discrimination, Sexual Orientation Discrimination, and DSM-5 Alcohol Use Disorder Among U.S. Latino or Hispanic Adults.

We aimed to assess the probability of past-year DSM-5 alcohol use disorder (AUD) and past-year moderate-to-severe DSM-5 AUD as a function of past-year ethnic discrimination among U.S. Latino/Hispanic adults and as a function of past-year discrimination types among Latino/Hispanic sexual minorities (SM). We used data from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiological Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions-III (n = 36,309 U.S. adults aged ≥18 years). Our sample consisted of 6,954 Latino/Hispanic adults. Multivariable logistic regression analyses estimated the association of past-year ethnic discrimination with past-year AUD and past-year moderate-to-severe AUD among the overall Latino/Hispanic population. We tested the association between discrimination types (i.e. none, ethnic or sexual orientation discrimination, both) with AUD and moderate-to-severe AUD among Latino/Hispanic SM adults. Among Latino/Hispanic adults, 13.4% met criteria for past-year AUD and 6.4% met criteria for past-year moderate-to-severe AUD. Ethnic discrimination was significantly associated with AUD (AOR = 1.09, 95% CI = 1.07-1.12) and moderate-to-severe AUD (AOR = 1.10, 95% CI = 1.06-1.13). Latino/Hispanic SMs who experienced both ethnic and sexual orientation discrimination were more likely to meet criteria for AUD (AOR = 3.44, 95% CI = 1.97-6.03) and moderate-to-severe AUD (AOR = 2.69, 95% CI = 1.25-5.82) compared to those who did not experience discrimination. Discrimination is a risk factor for AUD and moderate-to-severe AUD among Latino/Hispanic overall and SM populations.

Does Mindfulness Improve Intergroup Bias, Internalized Bias, and Anti-Bias Outcomes?: A Meta-Analysis of the Evidence and Agenda for Future Research.

Whereas mindfulness has been shown to enhance personal well-being, studies suggest it may also benefit intergroup dynamics. Using an integrative conceptual model, this meta-analysis examined associations between mindfulness and (a) different manifestations of bias (implicit/explicit attitudes, affect, behavior) directed toward (b) different bias targets (outgroup or ingroup, e.g., internalized bias), by (c) intergroup orientation (toward bias or anti-bias). Of 70 samples, 42 (N = 3,229) assessed mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) and 30 (N = 6,002) were correlational studies. Results showed a medium-sized negative effect of MBIs on bias outcomes, g = -0.56, 95% confidence interval [-0.72, -0.40]; I(2;3)2: 0.39; 0.48, and a small-to-medium negative effect between mindfulness and bias for correlational studies, r = -0.17 [-0.27, -0.03]; I(2;3)2: 0.11; 0.83. Effects were comparable for intergroup bias and internalized bias. We conclude by identifying gaps in the evidence base to guide future research.

Implicit and explicit racial prejudice among medical professionals: updated estimates from a population-based study.

Background: Prior research provides evidence of implicit and explicit anti-Black prejudice among US physicians. However, we know little about whether racialized prejudice varies among physicians and non-physician healthcare workers relative to the general population. Methods: Using ordinary least squares models and data from Harvard's Project Implicit (2007-2019), we assessed the associations between self-reported occupational status (physician, non-physician healthcare worker) and implicit (N = 1,500,268) and explicit prejudice (N = 1,429,677) toward Black, Arab-Muslim, Asian, and Native American populations, net of demographic characteristics. We used STATA 17 for all statistical analyses. Findings: Physicians and non-physician healthcare workers exhibited more implicit and explicit anti-Black and anti-Arab-Muslim prejudice than the general population. After controlling for demographics, these differences became non-significant for physicians but remained for non-physician healthcare workers (ß = 0.027 and 0.030, p < 0.01). Demographic controls largely explained anti-Asian prejudice among both groups, and physicians and non-physician healthcare workers exhibited comparatively lower (ß = -0.124, p < 0.01) and similar levels of anti-Native implicit prejudice, respectively. Finally, white non-physician healthcare workers exhibited the highest levels of anti-Black prejudice. Interpretation: Demographic characteristics explained racialized prejudice among physicians, but not fully among non-physician healthcare workers. More research is needed to understand the causes and consequences of elevated levels of prejudice among non-physician healthcare workers. By acknowledging implicit and explicit prejudice as important reflections of systemic racism, this study highlights the need to understand the role of healthcare providers and systems in generating health disparities. Funding: UW-Madison Centennial Scholars Program, Society of Family Planning Research Fund, UW Center for Demography and Ecology, the County Health Rankings and Roadmaps Program and the National Institutes of Health (NIH).

Influence of Economic Scarcity on Race Perception.

Racial socioeconomic gaps are widened in periods of economic recession. Besides social and institutional factors, black people also struggle with many psychological factors. The literature reports racial-biased complex behaviors and high-level processes that are influenced by economic scarcity. A previous study found a bias at the perceptual level: an experimental manipulation of scarcity (a subliminal priming paradigm) lowered the black-white race categorization threshold. Here we present a conceptual replication in a higher ecological setup. In our main analysis we compared the categorization threshold of participants that received the Brazilian government's emergency economic aid in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic (n = 136) and participants that did not receive the economic aid (n = 135) in an online psychophysical task that presented faces in a black-white race continuum. Additionally, we analyzed the economic impact of COVID-19 on household income, and in cases of family unemployment. Our results do not support the claim that perception of race is influenced by economic scarcity. Interestingly, we found that when people differ greatly in terms of racial prejudice, they encode visual information related to race differently. People with higher scores on a prejudice scale needed more phenotypic traits of the black race to categorize a face as black. We discuss the results in terms of differences in method and sample.

Weight Discrimination and Health Risk Behavior in Racial, Ethnic, and Sexual Minority Adults.

BACKGROUND: People with obesity face significant discrimination due to their weight. Exposure to such discrimination is associated with poor health outcomes. Little is known about pathways that explain that association, and even less is known about those pathways in racial, ethnic, and sexual minorities. Health risk behaviors may serve as one such pathway. PURPOSE: We examined associations between weight discrimination and health risk behaviors and assessed whether associations are moderated by gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. METHODS: Quota sampling was used to oversample Black (36%), Latino (36%), and sexual minority (29%) adults (n = 2,632) who completed an online survey. Using regression analysis, health risk behaviors (maladaptive eating behaviors, physical inactivity, sitting, smoking, alcohol use, and sleep disturbance) were predicted from previous experience with weight discrimination while controlling for demographic characteristics, BMI, and depressive symptoms. Additional analyses tested for interactions between weight discrimination and key demographic variables (i.e., gender, race, ethnicity, and sexual minority status). RESULTS: Weight discrimination was associated with greater emotional eating, binge eating, unhealthy weight control behaviors, cigarette smoking, problematic alcohol use, and sleep disturbance. Gender moderated the association between weight discrimination and binge eating, alcohol use, and physical activity, with stronger effects observed in men than women. Exploratory analyses provided limited evidence for differential effects of weight discrimination across specific combinations of intersecting identities. CONCLUSIONS: Weight discrimination was associated with engagement in unhealthy behaviors and relationships were largely similar across diverse demographic groups. Health risk behaviors may represent a key pathway through which weight discrimination harms health.

People with high body weight remain one of the most stigmatized groups in the USA and face significant discrimination due to their weight. Experiencing weight discrimination is associated with poor health, yet little is known about the underlying pathways that explain this association and even less is known about those pathways in socially marginalized groups. We investigated unhealthy behavior as a possible a pathway by assessing associations between weight discrimination and several health risk behaviors and identifying whether those associations vary by gender, race, ethnicity, or sexual orientation. A diverse sample of 2,632 U.S. adults completed an online survey. Previous experience with weight discrimination was found to be associated with greater emotional eating, binge eating, unhealthy weight control behaviors, cigarette smoking, problematic alcohol use, and poor sleep. The association between weight discrimination and binge eating, alcohol use, and physical activity was stronger in men than in women, yet exploratory analyses provided limited evidence for differential effects of weight discrimination across specific combinations of intersecting identities. Weight discrimination was associated with engagement in unhealthy behaviors and associations were largely similar across participants from diverse demographic groups. Health risk behaviors may represent a key pathway through which weight discrimination harms health.

Do Beliefs That Older Adults Are Inflexible Serve as a Barrier to Racial Equality?

Past research has demonstrated that older adults are stereotyped as less malleable than young adults. Moreover, beliefs that people are less malleable are associated with lower confrontations of prejudice, as perpetrators are seen as less capable of changing their (prejudiced) behavior. The present research sought to integrate these lines of research to demonstrate that endorsement of ageist beliefs that older adults are less malleable will lead to a lower confrontation of anti-Black prejudice espoused by older adults. Across four experimental studies (N = 1,573), people were less likely to confront anti-Black prejudice espoused by an 82-year-old compared with a 62-, 42-, or 20-year-old, due, in part, to beliefs that older adults are less malleable. Further exploration demonstrated that malleability beliefs about older adults were held across young, middle-aged, and older adult samples. These findings demonstrate how stereotypes about older adults can impede racial equality.

The Impact of Implicit-Bias-Oriented Diversity Training on Police Officers' Beliefs, Motivations, and Actions.

U.S. police departments have attempted to address racial inequities in policing with diversity training. However, little research has evaluated whether these trainings are effective at changing officers' beliefs, motivations, and actions. To examine their efficacy, we tested a day-long implicit-bias-oriented diversity training designed to increase U.S. police officers' knowledge of biases, concerns about bias, and use of evidence-based strategies to mitigate bias (total N = 3,764). The training was immediately effective at increasing knowledge about bias, concerns about bias, and intentions to address bias, relative to baseline. However, the effects were fleeting. Although the training was linked to higher knowledge for at least 1 month, it was ineffective at durably increasing concerns or strategy use. These findings suggest that diversity trainings as they are currently practiced are unlikely to change police behavior. We conclude with theorizing about what organizations and training programs could do for greater impact.

Muslim American physicians' experiences with, and views on, religious discrimination and accommodation in academic medicine.

OBJECTIVE: To assess Muslim physician experiences with religious discrimination and identify strategies for better accommodating Muslim identity in health care. DATA SOURCES AND STUDY SETTING: Interviews were conducted with Muslim physicians from three US-based Muslim clinician organizations between June and August 2021. STUDY DESIGN: In-depth, semi-structured qualitative interviews used a phenomenological approach to describe experiences of religious discrimination and accommodation. A team-based framework approach to coding was used to inductively generate themes from interview data. DATA COLLECTION/EXTRACTION METHODS: Physicians from the Islamic Medical Association of North America, American Muslim Health Professionals, and the US Muslim Physicians group were invited to participate using closed organizational listservs. Inclusion criteria sought English-speaking, self-identifying Muslims with current or past affiliation with a university hospital in the United States. Potential participants were segmented into groups based on responses to questions about perceived religious discrimination and accommodation. Purposive sampling was used to iteratively approach participants within these groups in order to capture a diverse respondent pool. Interviews stopped after thematic saturation was reached. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Eighteen physicians (11 women and 7 men; mean age: 41.5 [standard deviation = 12.91] years) were interviewed. Nearly all (n = 16) held Islam to be important in their lives. Three overarching themes, with several subthemes, emerged. Participants (1) struggled to maintain religious practices and observances due to unaccommodating organizational structures; (2) experienced religious discrimination, which, in turn, impacted their professional trajectories and, at times, their personal well-being; and (3) believed that institutions could implement specific educational and policy interventions to advance the religious accommodation of Muslims in health care. CONCLUSIONS: Muslim physicians frequently encounter religious discrimination, yet there are concrete ways in which health care workplaces can better accommodate their religious needs and combat discrimination. To improve workforce diversity, equity, and inclusion, educational forums and policies that support the religious practices of physicians need to be established.

Perceived Discrimination in School: a Longitudinal Look at the Impact on Expectations and Health.

The purpose of the study was to look at levels of perceived discrimination in school among students of different races and to assess whether there are significant short- or long-term effects as they develop. This study analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which is a multi-stage nationally representative study of individuals who were in 7th-12th grade during the 1994-1995 school year. Responses on teacher discrimination items showed that Black students reported the highest levels of perceived teacher discrimination. Educational expectations were lowest for Hispanic students. At wave three, participants who identified their race/ethnicity as Hispanic or other reported the worst overall health, whereas at wave four, White participants had significantly better overall health than the other three groups. Teacher discrimination was found to be a significant predictor for educational expectations, income expectations, and overall health eight and 15 years later. When stratified by race, higher teacher discrimination predicted lower educational expectations and poorer overall health eight years later for Black, Hispanic, and White students.

The EThIC Model of Virtue-Based Allyship Development: A New Approach to Equity and Inclusion in Organizations.

As organizations take on grand challenges in gender equality, anti-racism, LGBTQ+ protections and workplace inclusion, many well-intentioned individuals from dominant groups (e.g., cisgender men, Caucasian, heterosexual) are stepping forward as allies toward underrepresented or marginalized group members (e.g., cisgender women, People of Color, LGBTQ+ identified employees). Past research and guidance assume an inevitable need for external motivation, reflected in the 'business case' for diversity and in top-down policies to drive equity and inclusion efforts. This qualitative study explored internal motivations in the form of morally motivated virtues of 25 peer-nominated exemplary allies serving in leadership positions. In-depth life/career story interviews were used to identify the virtues that supported their allyship journeys. Findings demonstrated that they tapped into several virtues that served distinct functions in a 4-stage allyship development process: Stage 1-Energizing psychological investment (compassion, fairness); Stage 2-Thinking through allyship-relevant complexities (intellectual humility, perspective-taking, wisdom); Stage 3-Initiating action (prudence, moral courage, honesty); Stage 4-Committing to allyship (perseverance, patience). We call this the 'EThIC model of virtue-based allyship development.' This study has implications for theory and research on a virtue-based approach to diversity, equity and inclusion.

The role of values in coping with health and economic threats of COVID-19.

The current research examined the role of values in guiding people's responses to COVID-19. Results from an international study involving 115 countries (N = 61,490) suggest that health and economic threats of COVID-19 evoke different values, with implications for controlling and coping with the pandemic. Specifically, health threats predicted prioritization of communal values related to caring for others and belonging, whereas economic threats predicted prioritization of agentic values focused on competition and achievement. Concurrently and over time, prioritizing communal values over agentic values was associated with enactment of prevention behaviors that reduce virus transmission, motivations to help others suffering from the pandemic, and positive attitudes toward outgroup members. These results, which were generally consistent across individual and national levels of analysis, suggest that COVID-19 threats may indirectly shape important responses to the pandemic through their influence on people's prioritization of communion and agency. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Self-esteem trajectories over three decades predict opposition to social equality in midlife.

Although life trajectories are frequently theorized to explain people's attitudes toward different social groups, few studies have been able to directly assess their importance with suitable data. Addressing this gap and focusing on the development of general and domain-specific self-esteem, we report results from a population-based sample of Norwegians (N = 2,215) followed over 28 years and five time points from adolescence to midlife. Growth curve models demonstrated that irrespective of self-esteem domain, low levels of self-esteem in adolescence as well as a depressed self-esteem development over the next three decades were related to more overall opposition to social equality as well as more opposition to gender equality and immigration in midlife. The results held when controlling for participants' baseline political orientations and other key covariates in adolescence. Our findings indicate that low self-esteem and a lack of positive self-esteem development can be detrimental to harmonious intergroup relations in ever-diversifying societies. We discuss how future psychological interventions aimed at enhancing self-esteem may promote support for a more inclusive society.