Resilience in the Study of Minority Stress and Health of Sexual

and Gender Minorities

Ilan H. Meyer

University of California, Los Angeles

Research in various populations has shown that, starting early in childhood, individuals often demonstrate
resilience in the face of stress and adversity. Against the experience of minority stress, LGBT people mount
coping responses and most survive and even thrive despite stress. But research on resilience in LGBT
populations has lagged. In this commentary, I address 2 broad issues that I have found wanting of special
exploration in LGBT research on resilience: First, I note that resilience, like coping, is inherently related to
minority stress in that it is an element of the stress model. Understanding resilience as a partner in the stress
to illness causal chain is essential for LGBT health research. Second, I explore individual- versus community-
based resilience in the context of minority stress. Although individual and community resilience should be
seen as part of a continuum of resilience, it is important to recognize the significance of community resilience
in the context of minority stress. In response to the experience of stress, LGBT people mount coping responses
and most survive and even thrive despite stress. Resilience research has shown in various populations that,
starting early in childhood, individuals mount significant, sometimes heroic, coping efforts in the face of stress
and adversity. But research on resilience and, more generally, salutogenic, or health inducing processes in
LGBT populations has lagged (Kwon, 2013). The present issue of Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Gender
Diversity aims to fill this gap in the literature by offering a group of articles on various aspects of resilience in
sexual and gender minority populations. But more than filling a gap, which any one issue can only begin to do,
I hope that this special issue encourages researchers to incorporate resilience into their study of LGBT health.
It is important to note that resilience is not in any way antithetical or an alternative approach to stress theory.
It is, in fact, a very essential part of stress theory. According to stress theory, the impact of stress on health is
determined by the countervailing effects of pathogenic stress processes and salutogenic coping processes.
Similarly, resilience is an essential part of minority stress. Indeed, resilience really has meaning only in the face
of stress, and therefore, it is an essential part of understanding minority stress. To state that is not the same as
stating that research on resilience (or coping, for that matter) has progressed in lockstep with the study of
minority stress processes. It has not, but a growing crop of studies on resilience—with a few published in this
issue—is reversing this trend.

Psychology of Sexual Orientation and Amerggican Psychological Association 2015, Vol. 2, No. 3,
209 –2132329-0382/15/$12.00
Gender Diversity© 2015
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/sgd0000132
 Sex Differences in Sports Interest

and Motivation: An Evolutionary Perspective

Robert O. Deaner Shea M. Balish Michael P. Lombardo

Grand Valley State University Dalhousie University Grand Valley State University

Although girls and women in many societies avidly participate in sports, they have been traditionally underrepresented
compared with boys and men. In this review, we address the apparent sex differences in sports interest and motivation
from an evolutionary perspective. First, we demonstrate that females’ underrepresentation generally reflects lesser
interest, not merely fewer opportunities for engagement. Moreover, there is mounting evidence that male and female
athletes generally differ in their motivation, specifically their competitiveness and risk taking. Second, we examine the
functional explanations for sports. We argue that the courtship display hypothesis applies mainly to females; the
spectator lek hypothesis applies chiefly to males; and that 2 other hypotheses—the allying with coalitions hypothesis
and the development of skills hypothesis—are important for both females and males. Third, we explore the proximate
causes for the sex differences in sports interest and motivation. We show that although there is compelling evidence
that prenatal hormones contribute, the evidence that socialization plays a role remains equivocal.

This review suggests several promising directions for further research. First, the development of skills hypothesis is a
good candidate to explain, in part, the sports interest of both females and males. Although there is much evidence
consistent with this hypothesis, it is all correlational, so experiments are needed to test whether there truly are long-
term benefits that accrue to sports participants. Besides testing the development of skills hypothesis, this research could
yield practical insights regarding the value of sports compared to other extracurricular activities. Second, the evidence
that socialization contributes to sex differences in sports interest is also based exclusively on correlational studies.1
Thus, experiments testing whether socialization-relevant interventions (e.g., sports training programs) have long-term
impacts should be undertaken. These experiments might simultaneously test the development of skills hypothesis. In
addition, the socialization hypothesis can be addressed with cross-societal or cross-temporal comparisons. The
prediction is that in societies where men’s and women’s social roles are more similar, the sex difference in sports
interest will be smaller. As we reviewed, there are cross-societal studies consistent with this prediction, but they are
susceptible to alternative explanations because they did not directly measure sports interest. There have also been
attempts to address this prediction by examining changes over time in the U.S. The results did not support the
socialization hypothesis, but this could also be attributable to limitations in measuring sports interest. More research in
this area is clearly warranted. A third area ripe for research is the courtship display hypothesis, particularly its prediction
that women’s desirability as a mate will increase as a function of sports achievement.

Evolutionary Behavioral Sciences © 2015 American 2330-2925/16/$12.00

Psychological Association 2016, Vol. 10, No. 2, 73–97 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ebs0000049
 Moving While Black: Intergroup Attitudes Influence
Judgments of Speed
Andreana C. Kenrick and Stacey Sinclair Jennifer Richeson
Princeton University Northwestern University
Sarah C. Verosky Janetta Lun
Oberlin College University of Maryland

Four experiments examined whether intergroup attitudes shape the speed with which Blacks
are thought to be moving. When participants rated the speed of Black and White faces that
appeared to be moving toward them, greater intergroup anxiety was associated with judging
Black targets as moving more slowly relative to White targets (Experiments 1a and 1b).
Experiment 2 demonstrated that this effect occurs only for approaching targets. Experiment 3
showed that this slowing bias occurs, at least in part, because of the perceived duration of
time each image was moving. Such a slowing bias is consistent with the time expansion and
perceptual slowing reported by people who experienced threatening events. Every day,
strangers walk toward us on the street, enter our workplaces, or pass us in a store. Reactions
during these fleeting brushes with one another can set the stage for whether we choose to
interact and the tenor of such interactions. There are a great many reasons to believe that for
Whites encountering Blacks, such encounters can feel threatening.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General © Vol. 145,No. 2, 147–154 0096-3445/16/$12.00

2015 American Psychological Association 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000115

 Searching for Explanations: How the Internet Inflates Estimates of
Internal Knowledge

Matthew Fisher, Mariel K. Goddu, and Frank C. Keil

Yale University

As the Internet has become a nearly ubiquitous resource for acquiring knowledge about the world, questions have arisen
about its potential effects on cognition. Here we show that searching the Internet for explanatory knowledge creates an
illusion whereby people mistake access to information for their own personal understanding of the information. Evidence
from 9 experiments shows that searching for information online leads to an increase in self-assessed knowledge as people
mistakenly think they have more knowledge “in the head,” even seeing their own brains as more active as depicted by
functional MRI (fMRI) images. Just as a walking stick or a baseball glove can supplement the functioning of the body, cognitive
tools, computational instruments, and external information sources can supplement the functioning of the mind. The mind
can often increase efficiency and power by utilizing outside sources; for tasks like memory, it can rely on cognitive prostheses,
such as a diary or a photo album. These external archives can become necessary components of an interdependent memory
system. The mind can also become dependent on other minds. When others serve as externalized repositories of information,
trans-active memory systems can emerge. In these systems, information is distributed across a group such that individuals are
responsible for knowing a specified area of expertise.

For instance, one person could be responsible for knowing where to find food while another knows how to prepare it.
Members of the systems must also track where the rest of the knowledge is stored. Thus, these systems consist of two key
elements: internal memory (“What do I know?”) and external memory (“Who knows what?”) (Hollingshead,1998;2001). By
reducing redundancy, trans-active memory systems work to encode, store, and retrieve information more effectively than
could be done by any individual. Trans-active memory systems explain how intimate couples and familiar groups divide
cognitive labor and perform efficiently. These systems can form even with complete strangers, as stereotypes can serve as
“defaults” or proxies for another person’s expertise. Better performing memory systems can emerge through communication
strategies that allocate domains of knowledge to individuals in the network. Increased group coordination leads to better
problem solving than in comparable groups of strangers This communication can take place through explicit negotiation (e.g.,
“you remember the first 3 digits, I will remember the last 4”), but often occurs implicitly. As a relationship develops, members
of the system with higher relative self-disclosed expertise will become responsible for knowledge in that domain. Similarly, an
individual with access to unique information will become responsible for that information (Wegner, 1987). When groups have
not developed these dependencies, decision-making in real-world interactions can be worse than individuals’ decisions.

Journal of Experimental Psychology: General © 2015 No.3,674–6870096-3445/15/$12.00

American Psychological Association 2015, Vol. 144, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000070
 Racial and Sexual Minority Women’s Receipt of Medical Assistance
to Become Pregnant
Bernadette V. Blanchfield and Charlotte J. Patterson

University of Virginia

This study aimed to determine rates at which racial minority (i.e., non-White) and sexual minority
(i.e., lesbian and bisexual-identified) women in the United States receive medical help to become
pregnant. Income and insurance coverage discrepancies were hypothesized to mediate differences in
receipt of medical help as a function of race and sexual orientation. Method: Two studies compared
rates at which adult women ages 21–44 reported receiving medical help to become pregnant as a
function of race and sexual orientation, using data from 2 cycles of the National Survey of Family
Growth (the 2002 wave in Study 1, and the 2006–2010 wave in Study 2). Mediation analyses
controlling for age and education level evaluated whether race and sexual orientation were positively
associated with receipt of medical pregnancy help, as mediated by insurance coverage and income.
Results: Heterosexual White women reported receiving medical fertility assistance at nearly double
the rates of women who identified as non-White, sexual minority, or both. Differences in rates of help
received by White and non-White groups were only partially mediated by insurance coverage and
income in both studies. Insurance and income discrepancies accounted for all differences between
sexual minority and heterosexual women’s receipt of pregnancy help in Study 1; insurance coverage
alone explained differences in Study 2. Conclusions: Researchers often indicate that economic
differences are responsible for health disparities between minority and majority groups, but this may
not be the case for all women pursuing medical fertility assistance.

Health Psychology © 2014 American Psychological Association 2015, Vol. 34,

No. 6, 571–579 0278-6133/15/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/hea0000124

 Cynical Belief About Human Nature and Income: Longitudinal and
Cross-Cultural Analysis
Olga Stavrova and Daniel Ehlebracht

University of Cologne

Based on the existing literature on worldview beliefs, cynical hostility, and Machiavellian cynicism, we suggest

that holding cynical beliefs about human nature can be detrimental for individuals' income. Cynical individuals

are more likely to avoid cooperation and trust or to overinvest in monitoring, control, and other means of

protection from potential exploitation. As a result, they are more likely to forgo valuable opportunities for

cooperation and consequently less likely to reap the benefits of joint efforts and mutual help compared with

their less cynical counterparts. Studies 1 and 2, using nationally representative longitudinal surveys of the

American population, show that individuals who endorsed cynical beliefs about human nature at baseline

earned comparatively lower incomes 9 (Study 1) and 2 (Study 2) years later. In Study 3, applying a multilevel

model of change to a nationally representative panel study of the German population, we show that cynical

beliefs at baseline undermined an income increase in the course of the following 9 years. In Study 4, the

negative effect of cynical beliefs on income proved to be independent of individual differences in the Big Five

personality dimensions. Study 5 provided the first tentative evidence of the hypothesized mechanism

underlying this effect. Using survey data from 41 countries, it revealed that the negative effect of cynical

beliefs on income is alleviated in sociocultural contexts with low levels of prosocial behavior, high homicide

rates and high overall societal cynicism levels. Holding cynical beliefs about others has negative economic

outcomes unless such beliefs hold true.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology © Vol. 110, No. 1, 116–132 0022-3514/16/$12.00

2015 American Psychological Association 2016, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/pspp000005

 Preventing Unemployment and Disability Benefit Receipt Among People

With Mental Illness: Evidence Review and Policy Significance

Bonnie O’Day, Rebecca Kleinman, Benjamin Fischer, Eric Morris, and Crystal Blyler

Mathematica Policy Research, Washington, DC

We identify effective services to assist 3 groups of people with mental illnesses become or remain employed
and prevent dependence on disability cash benefits: (a) individuals, including youth, who are experiencing an
initial episode of psychosis; (b) employed individuals at risk of losing jobs due to mental illness; and (c)
individuals who are or may become long-term clients of mental health services and are likely to apply for
disability benefits. Method: We searched for articles published between 1992 and 2015 using key word
terminology related to employment support services and each subgroup, and prioritized articles by study
design. Results: The individual placement and support model of supported employment is more effective than
traditional vocational programs in helping people with serious mental illnesses who are engaged in treatment
or receiving disability benefits obtain competitive employment. Some early intervention programs effectively
serve people who experience a first episode of mental illness, but more research is needed to demonstrate
long-term outcomes. Less is known about the effectiveness of employment interventions in preventing
unemployment and use of disability benefits among individuals at risk for job loss or long-term mental illness.
Conclusions and Implications for Practice: States can fund employment supports to help prevent the need for
disability benefit receipt by creatively combining federal sources, but the funding picture is imperfect.
Medicaid expansion and other provisions of the Affordable Care Act may fund employment supports and
assist in reducing dependence on disability benefits.

Psychiatric Rehabilitation Journal © 2017 American Psychological Association 2017, Vol. 40,

No. 2, 123–152 1095-158X/17/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/prj0000253

 Anger Intensification With Combat-Related PTSD and
Depression Comorbidity
Oscar I. Gonzalez and Raymond W. Novaco

University of California, Irvine

Mark A. Reger and Gregory A. Gahm

National Center for Telehealth and Technology, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Washington, and Defense Centers of
Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury, Tacoma, Washington

Anger is becoming more widely recognized for its involvement in the psychological adjustment problems of current war
veterans. Recent research with combat veterans has found anger to be related to psychological distress, psychosocial
functioning, and harm risk variables. Using behavioral health data for 2,077 treatmentseeking soldiers who had been
deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, this study examined whether anger disposition was intensified for those who met
screen-threshold criteria for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and major depressive disorder (MDD). Anger was
assessed with a 7-item screening measure previously validated with the study population. The study tested the
hypothesis that anger would be highest when “PTSD & MDD” were conjoined, compared with “PTSD only,” “MDD only,”
and “no PTSD, no MDD.” PTSD and depression were assessed with well-established screening instruments. A self-rated
“wanting to harm others” variable was also incorporated. Age, gender, race, military component, military grade, and
military unit social support served as covariates. Hierarchical multiple regression was used to test the hypothesis, which
was confirmed. Anger was intensified in the PTSD & MDD condition, in which it was significantly higher than in the other
3 conditions. Convergent support was obtained for “wanting to harm others” as an exploratory index. Given the high
prevalence and co-occurrence of PTSD and MDD among veterans, the results have research and clinical practice
relevance for systematic inclusion of anger assessment postdeployment from risk-assessment and screening
standpoints.

Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, Association 2016, Vol. 8, No. 1, 9 –16 1942-
and Policy © 2015 American Psychological 9681/16/$12.00 http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/tra0000042
 Supervenience and Psychiatry: Are Mental Disorders Brain
Disorders?

Charles M. Olbert Gary J. Gala

Fordham University University of North Carolina School of Medicine

Prominent psychiatrists have moved to rebrand psychiatry as clinical neuroscience and rechristen mental
disorders as brain disorders. Recent shifts in research and funding priorities have followed suit, privileging
neuroscience over psychological and behavioral research. With the possible exception of identifying general
paresis with advanced syphilitic brain infection, however, no theorized identities between mental and brain
disorders have been empirically corroborated. Consequently, we regard the thesis that mental disorders are
brain disorders as an ontological hypothesis. Any robust formulation of the hypothesis that mental disorders
are brain disorders logically requires the minimal thesis that mental disorders supervene upon brain disorders.
A mental disorder supervenes upon a brain disorder if there could be no change in the mental disorder
without a change in the brain disorder. In this paper we analyze contemporary diagnostic criteria used to
individuate certain mental disorders to argue that at least some mental disorders fail to supervene upon brain
disorders. Hence, we conclude that at least some mental disorders are not and cannot be (merely) brain
disorders. This conclusion highlights a basic heterogeneity in psychiatry’s subject matter: some mental
disorders constitutively involve psychological experiences or sociocultural relationships to the external
environment that cannot be identified with or reduced to brain states or functioning. We propose that
establishing cases of supervenience failure represents a method for discriminating between more robustly
mental (as opposed to brain) disorders.

Journal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology Vol. 35, No. 4, 203–219 1068-8471/15/$12.00
© 2015 American Psychological Association 2015, http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/teo0000023
 Psychopaths Show Enhanced Amygdala Activation during Fear
Conditioning

Douglas H. Schultz and Nicholas L. Balderston

Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee, Milwaukee, WI, USA

Christine L. Larson and Fred J. Helmstetter

Department of Neurology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA

Arielle R. Baskin-Sommers

Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA

Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterized by emotional deficits and a failure to inhibit

impulsive behavior and is often subdivided into “primary” and “secondary” psychopathic subtypes.
The maladaptive behavior related to primary psychopathy is thought to reflect constitutional
“fearlessness,” while the problematic behavior related to secondary psychopathy is motivated by other
factors. The fearlessness observed in psychopathy has often been interpreted as reflecting a
fundamental deficit in amygdala function, and previous studies have provided support for a low-fear
model of psychopathy. However, many of these studies fail to use appropriate screening procedures,
use liberal inclusion criteria, or have used unconventional approaches to assay amygdala function. We
measured brain activity with BOLD imaging in primary and secondary psychopaths and non-
psychopathic control subjects during Pavlovian fear conditioning. In contrast to the low-fear model, we
observed normal fear expression in primary psychopaths. Psychopaths also displayed greater
differential BOLD activity in the amygdala relative to matched controls. Inverse patterns of activity
were observed in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) for primary versus secondary psychopaths.
Primary psychopaths exhibited a pattern of activity in the dorsal and ventral ACC consistent with
enhanced fear expression, while secondary psychopaths exhibited a pattern of activity in these regions
consistent with fear inhibition. These results contradict the low-fear model of psychopathy and suggest
that the low fear observed for psychopaths in previous studies may be specific to secondary
psychopaths.

Front. Psychol. 7:348. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00348

Research Paper:
Psychology

Submitted by: Paulyn Rose S. Diaz

Submitted to: Ms. Ivana Kyra Maron

Year and Section: BSBA MM 1.1