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Because transgender people often suffer from concerns such as increased depression and anxiety, promoting positive and healthy mental well-being within this community is valuable. Two aspects of well-being that may be particularly relevant to the trans community are identity development and self-esteem. We hypothesized that a better overall transition experience (access to medical and psychological care, support from friends and family, etc.) would predict better identity development, individual self-esteem, and collective self-esteem in transgender men. This prediction was supported in a sample of 145 transmen from 15 different countries. Further exploratory analyses reveal that the direct effects of the transition process on identity development and individual self-esteem were significantly mediated by participants' perceived masculinity—but this mediation did not apply to collective self-esteem. We also found that when comparing overall transition experiences in the countries represented in our sample, the process was most positive in transmen from Australia and New Zealand, with experiences in the U.S., Canada, and Europe as less positive. Providing a supportive transition process and validating transmen's masculinity are important factors in paving the way for them to have healthy identity development and self-esteem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Role congruity theory (e.g., Eagly & Diekman, 2005) posits that a group will be positively evaluated when its characteristics are perceived to align with the requirements of the group's typical social roles. Social roles may thus form the basis of norms that prescribe valued behavior for men and women. Three experiments explored the relationship between perceived social roles and the prescriptive content of gender stereotypes by examining perceptions of cross-temporal role change. In the first study, participants evaluated the gender-stereotypic traits of past, present, and future men and women. In the second study, participants evaluated descriptions of consensually perceived trends for men and women. In the third study, participants read experimentally manipulated descriptions of role changes in a novel society and evaluated the traits of future citizens. Perceptions of cross-temporal changes in social roles (whether naturally occurring or experimentally manipulated) were associated with differential valuing of role-congruent characteristics. In general, participants' responses reflected a pattern of anticipated accommodation to shifts in social roles, with greater value projected for characteristics that facilitate role success.

The current research examined perceptions of positive traits in homosexual relationships. Students (n = 216) and professional counselors (n = 96) read one of three variations of a transcript of a couple's counseling session that were identical in all aspects except for the names of the couple members, which implied sexual orientation (either John and Amy, Amy and Jennifer, or John and David). Participants then rated the couple's level of commitment, satisfaction, investment, and closeness. Surprisingly, the student group perceived no differences between the couples, but the counselor group perceived the gay and lesbian couples as having higher levels of the positive relationship traits. Implications regarding counselor bias are discussed. KEYWORDS romantic relationship, commitment, satisfaction, investment, closeness, gay, lesbian, counselors

Although the concept of investments in romantic relationships has featured prominently in close relationships research, there have been no empirical analyses of different types of investments and their possible differential predictive power regarding relationship state or fate. With data from five independent samples, the authors offer and examine investments that differ in terms of their timing (past vs. planned) and materiality (tangible vs. intangible). Cross-sectional and longitudinal tests of hypotheses regarding these investment types provide evidence for the utility of considering specific types of investments in predicting a variety of important relationship factors, including commitment, stability, and the impact of breakup on relationship partners. Intangible investments and planned investments were found to be particularly robust predictors of key relational states and outcomes. Keywords: investments; commitment; relationship stability; close relationships

Researchers have uncovered a disturbing trend in the gay community: Gay men are at an increased risk for disordered eating. Researchers in this area generally support the existence of a sociocultural component to this phenomenon; however, these assertions have not been experimentally tested. We attempted to demonstrate that media representations targeted toward gay men have the potential to affect disordered eating and self-perception. Results showed that contrary to the hypothesis, the experimental group did not show an increase in eating disorder symptomology; in some cases, the opposite occurred. Implications of the importance of identifying with media images are discussed. KEYWORDS. Eating disorders, body dissatisfaction, media influence, male homosexuals

The authors propose specific temporal profiles that reflect certainty versus doubt about where a partner stands with respect to a dating relationship over time. Two multiwave longitudinal studies focused on within-participant changes in perceived partner commitment. Results from multilevel modeling indicate that individuals whose perceptions of partner commitment fluctuate over time were more likely to be in a relationship that eventually ended than were individuals whose perceptions remained relatively steady. For individuals in recently initiated relationships, the association of fluctuation in perceived partner commitment with later breakup was significant regardless of the initial level of perceived partner commitment or the trend, and for all participants, it remained significant when initial level, trend over time, and fluctuation over time of other meaningful variables were controlled. Keywords: uncertainty, commitment, perceptions of partner, relationship stability, longitudinal

This research investigates the phenomenon of "friendly" sexist teases (FSTs), which we define as playful intergroup teases that are based on the negative gender stereotypes that devalue one's gender group. We first employed a diary study to explore the prevalence of FSTs in college students' everyday life and found that this type of teasing tends to occur in social situations and often between close others. In a second study, we experimentally manipulated perceived closeness with the teaser. We predicted that individuals teased by someone with whom they shared a perceived closeness would interpret FSTs as playful fun; therefore, the tease would not have a negative psychological effect. We further predicted that those teased by someone less close would likely focus on the literal content of the sexist tease, resulting in negative consequences to gender self-esteem. Results supported these predictions and provided insight into the phenomenon of FSTs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Where rape exists, there are people who believe in cultural myths about rape causes and victims. Acceptance of these rape myths increases and decreases based on many predictors; the present study investigated how rape myth acceptance varied in different populations on the campus of a small, private, liberal arts university. Although overall rape myth acceptance on campus was relatively low, analyses revealed that female participant sex, knowing a victim, and being able to identify contextual sexual assaults were predictive of lower rape myth acceptance. Additional hypotheses and research questions were tested but showed non-significant results. The findings of this study can be used to advise faculty and staff regarding specific programs aimed at further lowering rape myth acceptance on campus; specific details and suggestions are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

People become witnesses to crimes every day. This study further investigated witness variables such as sex and age, as well as the personality trait conscientiousness, in relation to one's ability to accurately remember a fictional crime scene. An experimental manipulation was also utilized; participants read an article claiming that either men or women were three times better at memory (a self-fulfilling prophecy effect). Then, they watched a short video of a crime and were asked to recall details. As expected, age and memory accuracy were negatively correlated (p < .001) and conscientiousness was positively correlated with memory accuracy (p = .046). There were no significant differences found among participants based on experimental conditions (p = .700), but a main effect of participant sex was marginally significant (p = .065), with women having slightly better memories than men. Studying how individual traits relate to memory accuracy can help determine factors that influence eyewitness scenarios and whether juries should rely on eyewitnesses. Implications, limitations, and future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]