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ABSTRACT: Meaning-making, like much of coping research, has been conceptualized and assessed as an individual-centered phenomenon. On the premise that most traumas affect families as a whole, we assessed the extent to which meanings following a traumatic loss were congruent within families. Qualitative and quantitative data from family members coping with the loss of a family member in a mine explosion indicated moderate family congruence in meanings and global well-being. Furthermore, greater family similarity in meaning was associated with less depressive affect in individuals (pseudo R(2) = .063), but was not associated with individual differences in well-being. The research highlights the important role that families play in coping with trauma.
Journal of Traumatic Stress 04/2012; 25(2):142-9. · 2.72 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Self-forgiveness is generally understood to be a mechanism that restores and improves the self. In the current study, we examine the possible deleterious consequences of forgiving the self among gamblers-specifically in regard to gamblers' readiness to change their problematic behavior. At a large Canadian university, 110 young adult gamblers' level of gambling pathology was assessed, along with their readiness to change and self-forgiveness for their gambling. Participants were 33 females and 75 males (2 unspecified) with a mean age of 20.33. Results revealed that level of pathology (at risk vs. problem gamblers) significantly predicted increased readiness to change. Self-forgiveness mediated this relationship, such that level of gambling pathology increased readiness to change to the extent that participants were relatively unforgiving of their gambling. Implications for seeking professional assistance as well as treatment and recovery are discussed.
Journal of Gambling Behavior 09/2011; 28(3):337-50. · 1.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Contrary to conventional wisdom and extant empirical work, forgiving the self may have deleterious consequences, especially if self-forgiveness is granted for chronic unhealthy behaviours such as smoking. Among 181 smokers, it was predicted and found that increased self-forgiveness for smoking was associated with a decreased likelihood of advancing through the stages of behavioural change towards action. Moreover, forgiving the self, mediated the relationship between movements from the pre-contemplation to contemplation stage of change and perceived smoking cons as well as experiential processes. An expanded understanding of the benefits and costs of self-forgiveness is discussed.
British Journal of Social Psychology 03/2011; 50(Pt 2):354-64. · 1.76 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Across two studies we assessed the clinical utility of the Canadian Problem Gambling Index (CPGI). In Study 1, the scored items on the CPGI significantly correlated with those of the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS), yet their shared variance was low. Importantly, clinician evaluation of the client's level of pathology was more strongly associated with that revealed by the CPGI than the SOGS. In terms of utility, clinicians found the non-scored items on the CPGI more useful in treatment than those included with the SOGS. In Study 2, the effectiveness of the CPGI profiler (CPGI-P) software, which graphically depicts problematic gambling-relevant attitudes and behaviours, was assessed. Although clients had difficulties using the CPGI-P interface, they overwhelmingly indicated that the output prompted action to address their gambling. The clinicians were less enthusiastic as they felt the output did not help clients truly understand their gambling problems. Such sentiments were reiterated by the clinicians at a 6 months follow-up. The use of the SOGS and possible adoption of the CPGI (as well as the CPGI-P) in a clinical setting are discussed.
Journal of Gambling Behavior 10/2010; 27(3):467-85. · 1.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Potential loss of group distinctiveness can represent a threat to the existence of a group. Across three studies (Ns = 42, 60, 94), a mediated-moderation model was tested in which the interactive effects of group identification and potential ingroup distinctiveness loss predicts the desire to engage in ingroup protective action to the extent that collective angst (i.e., concern for the ingroup's future vitality) is aroused. It was hypothesized that the threat of potential distinctiveness loss would result in collective angst and subsequent support for protective action among high, but not necessarily low, identified group members. Results provided support for this model within the context of French Canadian distinctiveness from English Canada (Experiment 1, where the outcome measure was the desire for a sovereign Quebec) and Canadian distinctiveness from the United States (Experiments 2 and 3, where the outcome was support for action to protect Canadian sovereignty and rejection of a North American Union respectively). When and why collective angst facilitates ingroup protective action is discussed. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
European Journal of Social Psychology 09/2010; 41(3):289 - 300. · 1.47 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Collective angst reflects concern about the ingroup's future vitality. In four studies, the authors examined the impact of ingroup extinction threat on the experience of collective angst. In Study 1, collective angst was elicited in response to a physical or symbolic ingroup extinction threat compared to a no-threat control group. In Study 2, the extent to which French Canadians expressed collective angst because of the perceived extinction threat posed by English Canada predicted desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. In Studies 3 and 4, the impact of a historical extinction threat was assessed. The extent to which Jewish people expressed thinking about (Study 3) or were reminded of the Holocaust (Study 4) resulted in an increased desire to engage in ingroup strengthening behaviors. Collective angst acted as a mediator of these effects. Implications of extinction threat for both intragroup and intergroup behavior are discussed.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 07/2010; 36(7):898-910. · 2.22 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Attrition can introduce a systematic bias that can negatively affect validity (Cook and Campbell, Quasi-experimentation: design and analysis issues for field settings. Rand McNally, Chicago, 1979). Current longitudinal research in gambling, however, has generally overlooked the reasons for attrition. The current research examined the relationship between pathological gambling symptomatology, stage of change and attrition. Three hundred and seventy-nine participants were contacted 12 months after initially participating in a study on gambling for a follow-up session. Logistic regression revealed those in the contemplation and preparation stages of change reported higher levels of pathological gambling symptomatology and were more likely to drop out of the study compared to those in the precontemplation stage. As predicted, gambling symptomatology mediated the relationship between stages of change and attrition. The implication for longitudinal research on gambling as well as extant findings that have used this methodological approach is discussed.
Journal of Gambling Behavior 03/2010; 27(1):155-69. · 1.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Reports an error in "The Gambling Craving Scale: Psychometric validation and behavioral outcomes" by Matthew M. Young and Michael J. A. Wohl (Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 2009[Sep], Vol 23[3], 512-522). Some data in Table 4 was inadvertently omitted. The complete Table 4 is presented in the erratum. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-14441-012.) Although craving is an important feature of problem gambling, there is a paucity of research investigating craving to gamble. A major stumbling block for craving research in gambling has been the lack of a methodologically sound, multidimensional measure of gambling-related craving. This article reports the development of the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS). In Study 1 (N = 220), a factor analysis revealed the emergence of a 9-item scale with 3 factors: Anticipation, Desire, and Relief. An important finding was that the GACS predicted problem gambling severity, depression, and positive and negative affect. In Study 2 (N = 145), the factor structure of the GACS was confirmed using a community sample of gamblers. In Study 3 (N = 46), GACS scores significantly predicted persistence at play on a virtual slot machine in the face of continued loss. Specifically, the more participants craved to gamble, the longer they engaged in play. The implications of craving for the development and maintenance of problem gambling severity are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2009 APA, all rights reserved).
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 12/2009; 23(4):563. · 2.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Although craving is an important feature of problem gambling, there is a paucity of research investigating craving to gamble. A major stumbling block for craving research in gambling has been the lack of a methodologically sound, multidimensional measure of gambling-related craving. This article reports the development of the Gambling Craving Scale (GACS). In Study 1 (N = 220), a factor analysis revealed the emergence of a 9-item scale with 3 factors: Anticipation, Desire, and Relief. An important finding was that the GACS predicted problem gambling severity, depression, and positive and negative affect. In Study 2 (N = 145), the factor structure of the GACS was confirmed using a community sample of gamblers. In Study 3 (N = 46), GACS scores significantly predicted persistence at play on a virtual slot machine in the face of continued loss. Specifically, the more participants craved to gamble, the longer they engaged in play. The implications of craving for the development and maintenance of problem gambling severity are discussed.
Psychology of Addictive Behaviors 09/2009; 23(3):512-22. · 2.09 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: We assessed whether self-perceptions of dispositional personal luck are more pronounced among young gamblers who experience trouble with types of games that contain elements of skill relative to gamblers who have trouble with games characterized by pure chance. We also examined the convergence of subjective belief in personal luck and ecology of the game on attitudes toward seeking treatment. Our methodology consisted of a survey involving a sample of untreated young adults who scored one or more on the DSM-IV gambling screen. Results showed young people whose most problematic game contained a skill component (e.g., poker) were more likely to perceive themselves as being characterologically lucky. They also had more negative attitudes toward treatment seeking than their youthful counterparts whose most problematic game was one of pure chance (e.g., slot machines). These results suggest the subjective belief that one is a lucky person may play a role in maintaining problematic patterns of gambling. At the same time, this type of an unrealistic self-concept may also undermine the motivation to reduce imprudent wagering or abstain altogether. We concluded that excessive delay in seeking professional treatment services may be related to the combined influence of person and environmental factors. Specifically, the gap between needing help and obtaining help might be widened by: (a) unrealistic self-perceptions involving belief in personal luck and (b) involvement with wagering games that emphasize elements of skill.
07/2009; 13(5):445-459.
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ABSTRACT: We examine the consequences of threat to the ingroup for emotional reactions to ingroup harm doing. It was hypothesized that reminders of a past threat to the ingroup would induce collective angst, and this emotional reaction would increase forgiveness of the ingroup for its harmful actions toward another group. In Experiment 1, Americans read an article about the war in Iraq that implied Americans would soon experience another attack or one where such implied future threat to the ingroup was absent. When the ingroup's future was threatened, forgiveness for the harm Americans have committed in Iraq was increased, to the extent that collective angst was induced. In Experiment 2, Americans experienced more collective angst and were more willing to forgive their ingroup for their group's present harm doing in Iraq following reminders of either the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, or the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor compared to when the victimization reminder was irrelevant to the ingroup. We discuss why ingroup threat encourages ingroup forgiveness for current harm doing.
Political Psychology 03/2009; 30(2):193 - 217. · 1.71 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The influence of gambling outcomes on the efficacy of a short gambling episode to prime motivation to continue gambling was determined in two experiments in which desire to gamble was evaluated while participants played a slot machine located in a virtual reality casino. In experiment 1, 38 high-risk [>3 Problem Gambling Severity Index (PGSI)] [Ferris and Wynne (The Canadian problem gambling index: final report, 2001)] and 36 non-problem gamblers (0 PGSI) either won or lost a modest amount. Among high-risk gamblers, winning resulted in a greater increase in the desire to continue gambling than did losing. In experiment 2, 39 high-risk, 33 low-risk (0 < PGSI < 3), and 31 non-problem gamblers experienced either a single large win or a series of small wins (equivalent monetary gain). Participants were permitted to continue playing as long as they wanted (all subsequent spins being losses) thus permitting evaluation of persistence (resistance to extinction). Throughout, desire to gamble was assessed using a single item measure. High-risk gamblers who experienced a large win reported significantly greater desire to gamble upon voluntary cessation than those who experienced a series of small wins. It seems that the priming effects of a short gambling episode are contingent on the pattern of outcomes experienced by the gambler. The data were related to motivational factors associated with gambling, gambling persistence, and chasing losses.
Journal of Gambling Behavior 10/2008; 24(3):275-93. · 1.28 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The authors examined the consequences of remembering historical victimization for emotional reactions to a current adversary. In Experiment 1, Jewish Canadians who were reminded of the Holocaust accepted less collective guilt for their group's harmful actions toward the Palestinians than those not reminded of their ingroup's past victimization. The extent to which the conflict was perceived to be due to Palestinian terrorism mediated this effect. Experiment 2 illustrated that reminding Jewish people, but not non-Jewish people, of the Holocaust decreased collective guilt for current harm doing compared with when the reminder concerned genocide committed against another group (i.e., Cambodians). In Experiments 3 and 4, Americans experienced less collective guilt for their group's harm doing in Iraq following reminders of either the attacks on September 11th, 2001 or the 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor compared with a historical victimization reminder that was irrelevant to the ingroup. The authors discuss why remembering the ingroup's past affects responses to outgroups in the present.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 06/2008; 94(6):988-1006. · 5.08 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The dominant model of posttraumatic growth (PTG) suggests that growth is precipitated by significant challenges to one's identity or to core assumptions that give one's life meaning, and develops as one goes through meaning-making or schema reconstruction processes. Other perspectives suggest, however, that such growth occurs by other means. We use a numerically aided phenomenological approach to elucidate common profiles of growth in a sample of 52 adults who lost a loved one in a traumatic mine explosion 8 years earlier. Of the three clusters extracted, 1 captured the essence of the PTG model, including threat to sense of self, meaning-making, and personal growth; 1 featured an inability to find meaning and an absence of growth; and 1 featured minimal meaning threat with modest growth. Those most likely to report PTG interpreted the experience as threat to self, with growth coming from development of new self-understanding. The data suggest that a better understanding of the processes of PTG may be realized by taking a more refined approach to the assessment of loss and growth, and by drawing distinctions between personal growth and benefits.
Death Studies 10/2007; 31(8):693-712. · 0.92 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: Prior research has assessed the temporal unfolding of forgiveness and found that forgiveness becomes more likely as time distances the victim from the transgression. These findings lend credence to the axiom "time heals all wounds." This research examines the effect of time perception on forgiveness of others by experimentally manipulating temporal distance. In Experiment 1, respondents reported greater willingness to forgive the transgressor when more time had elapsed since the transgression. Experiments 2 and 3 determined the influence of subjective temporal distance on willingness to forgive. Participants who perceived a hypothetical (Experiment 2) or real (Experimental 3) transgression to be farther away in time were more willing to forgive the target than were participants who perceived the event to be temporally closer. Results suggest that temporal appraisals of an event are central to the forgiveness process.
Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 08/2007; 33(7):1023-35. · 2.22 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: In the present study, we examined whether having a gambling disorder is related to: (a) the personality trait of perceived personal luck and (b) subjective enjoyment associated with placing bets. We also examined whether the presence or absence of disordered gambling and wagering enjoyment are related to probability of treatment entry. In 2001, we surveyed 82 young adults at the University of Windsor who gambled, but were not in treatment. They completed measures assessing symptoms of pathological gambling (American Psychiatric Association [APA], 1994), dispositional luck (Steenbergh, Meyers, May, and Whelan, 2002), enjoyment of gambling (Ben-Tovim, Esterman, Tolchard, and Battersby, 2001), and attitudes toward treatment (adapted from Fisher and Turner, 1970). Results showed elevated perceptions of personal luck, enjoyment of gambling, and more negative attitudes toward seeking treatment among those who exhibited sub-clinical levels of disordered gambling (n = 41) compared to recreational gamblers (n = 41). Other results showed that, after controlling for the effects of personal luck, the strength of the positive relationship between level of disordered gambling and subjective pleasure of wagering was diminished. Removing the effects of personal luck also weakened the positive association between having a gambling problem and having a negative attitude toward seeking treatment. In light of these results, we suggest cognitive interventions that seek to prevent and treat problematic wagering in early stage gamblers might be efficacious to the extent to which they can modify these young people's belief that they are charmed by high levels of dispositional luck.
Substance Use & Misuse 02/2007; 42(1):43-63. · 1.10 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The topic of forgiveness has received increased attention in the psychological literature; however, definitional and operational clarity remains a stumbling block. We propose that the study of first-person experiential accounts can enrich ongoing definitional and psychometric efforts. We systematically examined such accounts of forgiveness, identifying recurrent themes and then clustering these accounts according to similarities in theme profiles. People reported forgiveness through interpersonal confrontation with their transgressor (Cluster I), intra-personal evaluation of human fallibility and moral commitments (Cluster II), and attempts to resume a positive relationship without presuming that the transgression could be ignored or forgotten (Cluster III). The findings of the present research help to integrate recent studies of forgiveness, and the implications of a tripartite model of forgiveness are considered.
British Journal of Social Psychology 10/2006; 45(Pt 3):547-61. · 1.76 Impact Factor
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ABSTRACT: The authors examined how categorization influences victimized group members' responses to contemporary members of a historical perpetrator group. Specifically, the authors tested whether increasing category inclusiveness--from the intergroup level to the maximally inclusive human level--leads to greater forgiveness of a historical perpetrator group and decreased collective guilt assignment for its harmdoing. Among Jewish North Americans (Experiments 1, 2, and 4) and Native Canadians (Experiment 3) human-level categorization resulted in more positive responses toward Germans and White Canadians, respectively, by decreasing the uniqueness of their past harmful actions toward the in-group. Increasing the inclusiveness of categorization led to greater forgiveness and lessened expectations that former out-group members should experience collective guilt compared with when categorization was at the intergroup level. Discussion focuses on obstacles that are likely to be encountered on the road to reconciliation between groups that have a history of conflictual relations.
Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 03/2005; 88(2):288-303. · 5.08 Impact Factor
