RESUMO

Interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory posits that people require parental acceptance in childhood to develop healthy psychological adjustment. People's beliefs about and their relationship with deity also influences their psychological adjustment. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how both perceived parental acceptance and a relationship with deity are related to psychological adjustment for emerging adults in Guatemala and the United States. Participants (N = 189) from Guatemala and the United States completed measures of perceived parental acceptance-rejection, images of God, attachment to God, and psychological adjustment. Results indicate that perceived paternal acceptance-rejection was only a significant predictor of psychological adjustment in U.S. participants, and not in Guatemalan participants. In both samples, images of God did not predict psychological adjustment. However, an anxious attachment with God predicted psychological maladjustment for both groups. The findings suggest that two important factors to be considered by researchers, educators, and mental health professionals are adults' perceptions of their father's level of acceptance-rejection and the amount of anxiety they experience in their relationship with God.

Assuntos

RESUMO

It is important to identify stereotypes about indigenous people because those stereotypes influence prejudice and discrimination, both obstacles to social justice and universal human rights. The purpose of the current study was to document the stereotypes, as held by Guatemalan adolescents, of indigenous Maya people (e.g., Maya) and nonindigenous Ladinos in Guatemala (the 2 main ethnic groups in Guatemala). Guatemalan adolescents (N = 465; 38.3% female; Mage = 14.51 years; SDage = 1.81 years) provided drawings and written characteristics about indigenous Maya and nonindigenous Ladino people, which were then coded for patterns in the data. These patterns included negative stereotypes, such as the Maya being lazy and Ladina women being weak; and positive stereotypes, such as the Maya being caring and warm and Ladino men being successful. There were also interactions between the participants' own gender and ethnicity and how they depicted the target they were assigned. For example, male participants were unlikely to depict male targets of either ethnicity engaging in homemaking activities. Finally, there was evidence of in-group bias based both on gender and ethnicity. These findings suggest that perhaps because indigenous groups around the world share some common negative stereotypes, an understanding of these stereotypes will aid in decreasing prejudice and discrimination against indigenous people, could reduce intergroup conflict, and increase access to basic human rights. (PsycINFO Database Record

Assuntos

RESUMO

Guatemala tiene una baja proporción de psicólogos para la población general (6.89 por cada 100,000 personas), lo que hace imperativo que los tratamientos terapéuticos sean exitosos, eficaces y eficientes. El presente estudio exploró la eficacia de Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) en la reducción de los niveles de síntomas de trauma psicológico. Siete participantes con síntomas moderados a graves fueron sometidos a tres sesiones de terapia EMDR. La frecuencia y la intensidad de los síntomas que manifestaron los participantes redujeron significativamente después de la terapia. Los síntomas no disminuyen (o aumentaron) en un grupo control que no recibió terapia EMDR. Estos resultados sugieren que el método EMDR puede servir a corto plazo como un tipo de tratamiento exitoso que los terapeutas pueden utilizar con pacientes que manifiestan síntomas de trauma psicológico.

Guatemala has a relatively low ratio of psychologists to the general population (6.89 psychologists per 100,000 people), which makes it imperative that the therapeutic treatments utilized by psychologists are successful, effective and efficient. The current study explored the effectiveness and efficiency of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) therapy on lowering the levels of symptoms of psychological trauma among Guatemalan participants. Seven participants with moderate to grave symptoms underwent three sessions of EMDR therapy with a therapist trained and certified in EMDR techniques. The frequency and intensity of symptoms experienced by the participants decreased significantly after the therapy. Over the same time period, symptoms of trauma did not decrease (or increase) in a control group who did not receive EMDR therapy. These results suggest that EMDR could serve as a short-term, successful type of treatment for therapists to employ with clients who manifest symptoms of psychological trauma.