Extradyadic involvement (EDI) refers to romantic intimacies outside of a primary marital or dating dyad. Despite their youth, a considerable number of young adults have engaged in EDI based on data drawn from U.S. samples (Wiederman & Hurd, 1999). In cases of unmarried dating couples, EDI may harm young adults’ emotional and physical health as well as represent risks for infidelity issues in later marriage (Maddox Shaw, Rhoades, Allen, Stanley, & Markman, 2013). With a purpose of providing suggestions to strengthen young adults’ dating relationships and to evaluate potential risks of EDI, the current study examines 3 predictors of EDI inclination in college romantic relationships including: 1) adult attachment type, 2) relationship satisfaction, and 3) the quality of alternatives. A total number of 100 participants recruited from a local community college completed a demographic questionnaire, the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (Spanier, 1976), and the Experience in Close Relationship Scale-Short form (Wei, Russell, Mallinckrodt, & Vogel, 2007) which measure relationship satisfaction and adult attachment type respectively. To evaluate the role quality of alternatives plays in EDI inclination, participants also answered questions about a vignette designed to help them imagine an EDI situation. A hierarchical regression was used to analyze the data. Consistent with previous findings, adult attachment types of either high anxiety or avoidance were hypothesized to predict higher EDI inclination. Lower relationship satisfaction was expected to predict EDI desires. Moreover, quality of alternatives was hypothesized to show the most significant predictive value of inclination of extradyadic physical intimacy among the three factors.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) has long been misunderstood and stigmatized. Some of the misunderstanding is whether the perceived permanence or severity of the disorder differs between men and women and between the young and elderly. This study seeks to examine the stigmatization associated with BPD diagnosis, asking do people believe that BPD is an untreatable mental illness? There is evidence that the media and mental health community perpetuate stigmas attached to the Borderline diagnosis (Aviram, Brodsky & Stanley, 2006). The goal of this research was to examine people’s attitudes towards BPD patients. College students living in Washington 18-50 years of age were recruited to provide data through an online survey. Participants read one of four vignettes about the life of a patient with BPD; the patient was identified either as a man or woman in his/her 20’s or 60’s. Participants then answered questions regarding their attitudes toward the patient. A 2x2 ANOVA was used to analyze the data. It was hypothesized that there would be main effects for both gender and age with women and older adults rated as less likely to recover and more culpable. It was also hypothesized that there would be an interaction effect in which elderly women are thought to have the poorest likelihood of recovery. Potentially, the results could be used to increase awareness of age and sex stigmatization of BPD patients.

 Self-affirmation, including value affirmation, interventions help people to view identity threats in a larger context, which makes these threats psychologically less significant. It also gives people spaces to focus on other tasks as well as improve their performance on tasks. Some previous studies have demonstrated self-affirmation can help students to enhance their academic performance in both short and long time periods. Building upon the findings of previous studies, this project seeks to expand on self-affirmation interventions in educational settings. We hypothesize that self-affirmation can make individuals more persistent (less likely to give up) on difficult tasks in short time periods. Additionally, we hypothesize that the effect will be strongest for international students, who may be engaging in substantial identity formation in their new educational environment. To test our hypotheses, we will set up an experiment examining the effect of values affirmation on students’ persistence on a math test. Participants, from a local community college, will be randomly assigned into two groups: the experimental group who will complete the self-affirmation intervention writing task, and a control group who will complete a placebo writing task. After participants complete the writing task, they will begin a specially designed math test with seemingly easy but unsolvable questions. All participants will be free to leave (give up) at any time during the test, and their time spent on the test will be recorded. We expect the experimental group (self-affirmation intervention) will persist longer compared to the control group (placebo writing). Within the experiment group, international students are expected to persist even longer compared to the local students.

According to the most universally used scale for measuring psychological distress, the Holms and Rahe Readjustment Scale, becoming a widow holds top rank for the most taxing life-event. Unless specifically defined otherwise, it is generally understood that the term ‘widow’ refers to a heterosexual female. Consequently, few studies highlight the psychological distress of self-identified lesbian widows, and even fewer examine resiliency. Resiliency is the capacity to recover from difficulties, where individuals use their personal skillsets to reengage themselves within their environment. To our knowledge, no current research directly compares features of both lesbian and heterosexual widow resiliency within the same qualitative analysis. We seek to understand key features and possible differences in resiliency between self-identified lesbian and self-identified heterosexual widows. To measure resiliency, ten lesbian and ten heterosexual widows, over 45 years of age, who have been widowed for a minimum of one year will comprise our research sample. We will conduct voluntary, in person, one-on-one, tape-recorded interviews. We will analyze interview data through the constant comparative analysis method. Expected results include emergent themes related to resiliency (i.e., perception of available support systems and/or effectiveness of support systems, if any). By the day of our Symposium presentation, we will have completed our pilot report, which will include at least one interview. Our intention is to learn what types of support best aid resiliency among widows, and whether these support systems are readily accessible to lesbian widows in mainstream heterosexist U.S. society. Participants in this research will give us an understanding of the underlying attitudes and social dynamics that influence resiliency in this context, helping us identify the conceptual framework needed to best aid resiliency among lesbian and heterosexual widowed populations. This study contributes to a broader effort to explore new ways of strengthening psychological wellbeing of the lesbian population.