As more people connect to the Internet, researchers are beginning to examine the effects of Internet use on users' psychological health. Due in part to a study released by Kraut and colleagues in 1998, which concluded that Internet use is positively correlated with depression, loneliness, and stress, public opinion about the Internet has been decidedly negative. In contrast, the present study was designed to test the hypothesis that Internet usage can affect users beneficially. Participants engaged in five chat sessions with an anonymous partner. At three different intervals they were administered scales measuring depression, loneliness, self-esteem, and social support. Changes in their scores were tracked over time. Internet use was found to decrease loneliness and depression significantly, while perceived social support and self-esteem increased significantly.
Schooling, critical to the transition to adulthood, is particularly problematic for urban and minority youths. To explore predictors of school persistence the authors propose a socially contextualized model of the self. Strategies to attain achievement-related possible selves were differentially predicted for White and Black university students (Study 1, n = 105). For Whites, individualism, the Protestant work ethic, and "balance" in possible selves predicted generation of more achievement-related strategies. For Blacks, collectivism, ethnic identity, and low endorsement of individualism tended to predict strategy generation. In middle school, performance was predicted by "gendered African American identity schema," particularly for females (Study 2, n = 146), and the effects of social context appeared gendered (Study 3, n = 55). Balance in achievement-related possible selves predicted school achievement, especially for African American males (Study 4, n = 55).
Exposure to traumatic events is common, particularly among economically disadvantaged, urban African Americans. There is, however, scant data on the psychological consequences of exposure to traumatic events in this group. We assessed experience with traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among 1,306 randomly selected, African American residents of Detroit. Lifetime prevalence of exposure to at least one traumatic event was 87.2% (assault = 51.0%). African Americans from Detroit have a relatively high burden of PTSD; 17.1% of those who experienced a traumatic event met criteria for lifetime PTSD. Assaultive violence is pervasive and is more likely to be associated with subsequent PTSD than other types of events. Further efforts to prevent violence and increase access to mental health treatment could reduce the mental health burden in economically disadvantaged urban areas.Studies frequently demonstrate a large burden of exposure to traumatic events among African Americans, particularly in poor urban areas (Alim, Charney, & Mellman, 2006). Findings from the National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS) show that urban African Americans are more likely than Whites and suburban or rural African Americans to be victims of violent crime such as assault (Federal Bureau of Investigation [FBI], 2008). Additionally, a study of the Detroit metropolitan area reported that non-Whites (who were predominantly African American) had significantly higher odds of experiencing assaultive violence than Whites, controlling for other sociodemographic factors (Breslau, et al., 1998). (Alim, Graves, et al., 2006). We aimed to fill this gap in the literature by examining lifetime exposure to traumatic events and burden of PTSD in an urban African American population, using data from a population-based sample of Detroit residents. We anticipated that the lifetime prevalence of PTSD would be relatively high given that Detroit has one of the highest rates of violent crime of all large U.S. cities (FBI, 2009) and has been for many years experiencing severe economic decline. HHS Public Access Method Participants and MeasuresThis study focused on the 1,306 adult (aged 18 years or older) African American participants of the Detroit Neighborhood Health Study (86.9% of the total study population), a telephone survey that was conducted from September 2008-May 2009. Participants were drawn from a probability sample of households within the city limits of Detroit, and one adult from each household was randomly selected. The overall response rate among eligible persons was 53.0%.We asked participants about lifetime experience with traumatic events using a list of 20 traumatic events, which can be divided into four groups based on type: assaultive violence, other injury or shocking experience, learning about trauma to a loved one, and sudden unexpected death of a loved one (Breslau, et al., 1998). We used the PTSD Checklist (PCL-C), a 17-item self-report measure of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-I...
Many believe that males and females use and regard computer technology differently. Males are generally assumed to be more comfortable with, more adaptable to, and less anxious with computer technology. The same biases are now being applied specifically to Internet technology. Based on research showing that men prefer to use the Internet for information gathering and entertainment, while women prefer to use the Internet for interpersonal communication, this study examined the effects of Internet use when both males and females engaged in the same activity. Participants engaged in synchronous, dyadic chat sessions, and changes in repeated measures of loneliness, depression, self-esteem, and perceived social support were tracked over time. Although previous studies have concluded not only that males and females differ in their computer cognitions and attitudes, but also that they differ in the types of applications they pursue online, no gender differences were found in the present study. 517
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.
hi@scite.ai
10624 S. Eastern Ave., Ste. A-614
Henderson, NV 89052, USA
Copyright © 2024 scite LLC. All rights reserved.
Made with 💙 for researchers
Part of the Research Solutions Family.