Psychology of Women Quarterly

Internal and external factors are examined as mediational processes and/or coping strategies that link four aspects of women's rape experiences to the initial and lasting effects on their post-rape adjustment, attitude toward sex and intimacy, and lifestyle changes to prevent future assaults. Data are from a multiethnic community sample of 55 women who had been victims of rape or attempted rape. A measured or observed variable simultaneous path analysis model was used to test the relationships among the traumatic circumstances, mediators, and outcome variables. More self-blame, high involvement of police or other agencies, a greater number of repeated rapes per incident, and severity of abuse predicted women's negative initial and lasting attitudes toward sex and intimacy. The implications of these findings are discussed as they relate to barriers in disclosing attempted and completed incidents of rape.

The effects of 157 university students' gender, attitudes toward women (Spence, Helmreich, & Stapp, 1973), and just-world beliefs (Lerner, 1980) on their perceptions and attributions regarding the perpetrator and victim of an instance of wife abuse were examined. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed two patterns of results, each differentially associated with participants' gender. Consistent with Heider's (1958) balance theory, males blamed and derogated the wife/victim more as their attitudes toward women became less favorable. Among females, in contrast, those with positive attitudes toward women blamed, but did not derogate, the wife/victim more as their just-world beliefs became stronger. The latter finding is interpreted in view of research which suggests that women may blame a victim of violence toward women in an effort to gain perceived control over the possibility of their own potential victimization. The implications of these findings for understanding and changing people's perceptions of the victims of wife abuse are discussed.

The present research investigated the question of how therapists' attitudes toward sexual assault victims predict their inferences about and treatment of clients. In addition, this study asked the following questions: (a) What percentage of female psychotherapy clients have been victims of sexual assault? (b) What treatment approaches are therapists using with victims and what attitudes toward victims do these therapists hold? (c) On the average, which demographic groups of therapists hold the most positive views of victims and are the most knowledgeable about working with victims? The results of the study indicated that therapists who held negative attitudes toward victims were more likely to endorse victim-blaming themes and therapeutic treatments which blame victims for sexual assault. Of therapists' current female clients, 18.5% (n = 257) had been sexually assaulted at some point in their lives. On the average, therapists were knowledgeable about working with victims and showed positive attitudes toward victims.

The absence of women from published histories of psychology is addressed from a perspective that makes sense of women's place in the history of psychology, including their participation, their exclusion, and their invisibility. This approach is based on principles of social constructionism and on a contextual approach to history that seeks to understand women's place in psychology as a product of socially constructed notions of gender, psychology, and history. The article suggests that an awareness of the context created by these constructions explains women's role in psychology to date and holds promise for their meaningful inclusion in the future.

High school political activists (40 female, 46 male) completed extensive questionnaires. Differences between participants with moderate/conservative, liberal, and left perspectives were analyzed as were gender differences on the Bem Sex Role Inventory and other politically associated behaviors. Males and females described themselves as masculine; females also described themselves as feminine. Conservative males described themselves as most masculine and least feminine. No gender differences were found on extent of political activity. But, females were more likely to be active in feminist organizations and causes, to label themselves as feminists, and to describe their mothers as feminists, and were less likely to have a group of friends they hang out with compared to males. Females were more doubtful than males about mixing marriage, children, employment, and politics in the future. Females more often presented future family life as a source of limitation on their political futures compared to males.

This study examined correlates of maternal acceptance of preschool children in a sample of Mexican-American migrant farmworker mothers, including problems in life conditions (education, employment, relatives, friends, partner/spouse, children, health, housing, and finances) and social support (task, emotional, source, satisfaction, accessibility). One hundred Mexican-American mothers of preschoolers who participated in the Texas Migrant Council's Headstart Program were interviewed with regard to demographic information, social support, and problems in life conditions. The results supported the hypothesis that total social support accounts for more variation in maternal acceptance/rejection than problems in life conditions alone. Social support accounted for 75% of the variance in maternal acceptance/rejection of preschool children, and accessibility to support predicted the largest proportion of the variance. The results suggest that it is important to identify Mexican-American migrant farmworker mothers isolated from social support, since such isolation, in combination with problems in life conditions, places their children at higher risk for maternal rejection.

The aim of this article is to describe the derivation and use of an index representing mothers' attachment to the workforce. This index is based on the proportion of time (equivalent full-time) the mother had worked since the birth of her first child and can be used as both a continuous and categorical variable. The sample comprised 166 Sydney-area families, each of which had at least one preschool-aged child. Relationships were examined with the mother's current work status and with various demographic characteristics of the women, with the aim of providing some validation for the index. More years of education and smaller family size distinguished between women with high versus low work attachment. In addition, women with high work attachment married at a significantly later age than those with moderate or low work attachment. The usefulness and limitations of the new index are discussed.

The current study seeks to understand the nature of stress among African–American women and to develop a preliminary stress measure for this population. The African–American Women's Stress Scale (AWSS) was derived by eliciting stressors from 47 African–American women. AWSS stressors reflect economic, role and relationship, work-related, and ethnic issues, and nearly half are ongoing situations rather than change events. The ability of the AWSS to relate to depression was examined in a second, nonoverlapping sample (n = 68). Correlational analysis indicated correlations of .58–.70 between depression scores and scores on the AWSS. Findings provide support for the utility of the AWSS and underscore the inadequacy of stress models that are based on change or undesirable change.

The death of Barbara Strudler Wallston on January 3, 1987, brought to a sudden end the rich and diverse life of a complex personality, who combined scholarship, leadership, and advocacy with a zest for living. A highly productive scholar, inspiring teacher, and feminist leader who loved dancing and music, Barbara Wallston translated her compassion for disadvantaged individuals and commitment to social justice into direct and constructive action. In her too brief 15-year career, she generated more than 70 publications and 94 professional presentations spanning such areas as health, gender, sex roles, sexuality, and social issues. Her extraordinary leadership and scholarly achievements led to her election to Fellow in recognition of “outstanding and sustained national contributions” in five APA divisions. In 1986 she was awarded Division 35's Carolyn Wood Sherif Memorial Lectureship for contributions that continue to enrich and inform the lives of her colleagues, students, and friends, and that have earned her recognition as a pioneer in contemporary feminist psychology.