Sociocultural Model Research Articles

COMMON VALENCES Combinatorial play, subversion and otherness in the works of Péter Esterházy

This paper examines gender stereotypes and gender subversions and how otherness is represented in three works by Péter Esterházy. The libretto and prose of Daisy is set in the linguistic space of a transvestite bar, and since its essential component is the radically appropriated quotation, it can be said that the author actually constructs tabloid otherness from domesticity. The dynamics of the mask and performative gestures are as important as the disorientation of the texts’ directions of movement. Esterházy’s text (Seventeen Swans), written under the pseudonym Lili Csokonai, is also far more than a play on fictional female authorship: the work is also permeated by discourses of otherness and identity. The archaic use of language also initiates a dialogue with socio-cultural models of acceptance, inclusion and difference. The homosexually charged interjection in a bizarre scene from Esterházy’s last work, The Pancreatic Cancer Diary, becomes a tragicomic image of the radical narcissism of facing death.

An Adapted Sociocultural Model of Body Image Concerns and Disordered Eating Among Midlife Men

An Adapted Sociocultural Model of Body Image Concerns and Disordered Eating Among Midlife Men

Explanatory models of illicit drug use in adolescents: A qualitative study from India.

Illicit drug use is a growing concern in India, with a high treatment gap of 73%. Explanatory models can provide valuable insights into the patient's conception of disease and inform help-seeking, treatment, and recovery. Of the studies that examine adolescent drug misuse in India, none have developed a socio-cultural explanatory model. The aim of our study was to develop an explanatory model to better understand the causal beliefs, social context, and self-perception of illicit drug misuse amongst adolescents in India. We conducted semi-structured interviews with 23 adolescents seeking treatment for drug use disorders and 25 healthcare providers recruited across three sites in India. Thematic analysis was used to analyse data. Most adolescent participants reported using multiple drugs, often in combination with cannabis. Frequent usage was reported i.e., daily at multiple times. Causes of initiation and continued use were peer influence, curiosity and pleasure, psychosocial stressors, family conditions, and systemic risk factors (e.g. socioeconomic instability). Drugs were acquired from various sources, including fellow users and pharmacies. Adolescent participants perceived negative impacts of drug use on physical and mental health, family relationships, and everyday functioning. Our findings on common reasons of drug use initiation, importance of peer relationships in continuation of use, impact of use on various aspects of life and the relationship of illicit drug use with socioeconomic status are consistent with previous research done in India on the subject. Understanding how adolescents and caregivers perceive drug use can help inform patient-clinician rapport, improve treatment compliance and understand intervention effectiveness. Such an explanatory model holds crucial implications for shaping interventions and clinical approaches to address adolescent drug use in India.

Perfectionism and the interpersonal: Considerations from the sociocultural model of the self.

Perfectionism and the interpersonal: Considerations from the sociocultural model of the self.

Placing futures in regimes of im/mobilities

Concepts related to the future are abundant in research on im/mobilities. However, studies rarely explain the forces that impinge on who can imagine what future, and how these futures are funnelled to govern im/mobilities. Using a sociocultural psychological model of the imagination, I propose that regimes of im/mobilities, detailing how some movements are engendered while others are prohibited, also operate through imaginations of the future. I argue that when different technologies make some futures visible while making others invisible, this process represents a mode of governing and differentiating im/mobilities by disciplining people’s imagination. I incorporate existing research on indefinite detention in the British, Danish, and Swedish asylum systems, as well as my own fieldwork in the Faroe Islands. These examples show two opposing ways by which the future is fashioned to impact im/mobilities. I detail how various technologies of the imagination guide people’s imagination differently and serve as a crucial component of regimes of im/mobilities. These shifting forces correspond to the constantly changing nature of the regime of im/mobilities. Furthermore, the varying imaginations also emphasise the need to pay more attention to how people experience and navigate the imaginative arm of regimes of im/mobilities.

The Moderating Effect of Suggestibility on the Relationship between Body Mass Index and Body Dissatisfaction in Women.

Background: Body dissatisfaction (BD) has been consistently linked to adverse consequences on mental health and overall well-being, and is recognized as a significant contributing factor in the initiation and persistence of eating disorders (EDs). Empirical evidence has demonstrated that an elevated body mass index (BMI) and media influence and pressure about a thin ideal heighten the risk of subsequent BD. Moreover, suggestibility, a propensity to accept and act upon messages without critical evaluation, has been shown to be positively associated with greater susceptibility to the influence of sociocultural messages that endorse the thin ideal. This study aimed to assess whether suggestibility moderates the association between BMI and BD in women. Methods: A total of 117 women completed assessments using the Eating Disorder Inventory-3 (EDI-3) BD subscale and the Suggestibility Inventory, which encompasses a general suggestibility index and a subscale that evaluates susceptibility to influence by others. We conducted moderation analyses employing the PROCESS macro, with BMI as the central predictor, BD as the outcome variable, and suggestibility and its subscale as moderators. Results: The findings revealed statistically significant positive moderating interactions for both the general suggestibility index and susceptibility to influence by others. Specifically, women who exhibited high levels of suggestibility and susceptibility to influence by others demonstrated a more pronounced increase in BD as their BMI increased. Conclusions: These outcomes are in line with the sociocultural model of EDs, suggesting that greater susceptibility to external influences amplifies the impact of societal pressures to conform to thin ideals.

The missiological character of deaf Catholic material culture

Too often, deaf Catholics are assumed and expected to be “passive recipients of mercy” rather than active participants in mission. This is far from the role that deaf Catholics have played in the body of Christ. This introduction to deaf Catholic material culture serves to highlight one often overlooked source that demonstrates how deaf Catholics are active participants in the church’s mission—through the creation, curation, and dissemination of objects. First, the essay contextualizes deaf Catholic material culture within the sociocultural model of disability, without which the meaning and value that the objects hold cannot be fully appreciated. Then it explains how these objects create culturally-deaf spaces and the significance these spaces hold for the deaf community. Second, an analysis of various objects in public and personal spaces, which range from liturgical art and liturgical furnishings to everyday items such as pens and mugs in deaf Catholic communities is presented. Characteristics of deaf Catholic material culture and an explanation of how and what theologies of mission are operationalized through these objects in various spaces are discussed. The essay concludes with a typology of deaf Catholic material culture and the missiological opportunities they present. In so doing, the author argues that attention to material culture in deaf Catholicism counters the misconception that deaf Catholics are incapable of mission and challenges ableist theological ideas of deafness which portray deaf Catholic experiences as deficient, spiritually inferior, and dependent on hearing people.

Dementia Care Decisions, Caregiving Situations, and Formal Service Use in Korean Immigrant Families: A Qualitative Application of a Sociocultural Model

Given the significant role of culture and place in dementia caregiving, we conducted a qualitative study with Korean American family caregivers of persons with dementia. Guided by the sociocultural model of dementia caregivers’ service use, we explored the categories of care decisions, caregiving situations, and formal service use within the context of culture and place. Data from in-depth interviews with 16 Korean American dementia caregivers living in the greater Los Angeles area were analyzed using the constant comparison method. Across the three conceptual categories, we derived eight themes: (1) personal motivation; (2) family context; (3) attitude toward formal care; (4) strains; (5) rewards; (6) language and geographic region; (7) knowledge and awareness; and (8) social support and cultural stigma. Our findings demonstrate not only varied experiences in care decisions, caregiving situations, and formal service use but also their interconnectedness. Supporting the influential role of culture and place in dementia caregiving, the findings include positive and negative elements within each domain and provide implications for programs and services to respond to identified needs and barriers.

An In-Depth Examination of the Sociocultural Framework-Informed Practical Model of Scaffolded Feedback in Enhancing Senior High School English Writing Instruction

This study deeply analyzes the application of scaffolded feedback in senior high school English writing instruction under the framework of sociocultural theory. Based on Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) concept and Lantof’s 13-level Regulatory scale, this paper constructs a scaffolded feedback model to improve students’ writing ability through personalized instruction. This paper argues that under the framework of this model, teachers should follow the principles of negotiation, graduation and contingency when providing scaffolded feedback to ensure that students gradually transition from dependence on external adjustment to self-adjustment. In conclusion, the research finds that scaffolded feedback model can effectively promote the development of students’ self-correction ability and stimulate their independent learning and critical thinking. And the research can also provide theoretical basis and practical guidance for English writing teaching in high school.

Statistical positivism, psychoanalysis, and the theory of sociocultural models: A review of three approaches to acculturation

This review examines some of the contentious issues of acculturation psychology: Its acultural status, lack of advances in understanding the mechanisms of acculturation, and limited ability to help immigrants adapt. After introducing the problem of acculturation, the author analyzes quantitative acculturation studies rooted in statistical positivism along with migration and the intercultural psychoanalytic approach. The paper considers the philosophical bases of these studies and reflects on their strengths and weaknesses. Subsequently, the author introduces the theory of sociocultural models (TSCM) and highlights why it is a viable option for acculturation studies. The paradigm of critical realism is emphasized, and its role in understanding acculturation mechanisms is discussed. The advantages and points of improvement of the TSCM are highlighted.

DNA Testing and Identities in Family History Research

In the preceding decades, rapid technological advancements and increasing democratisation of historical records have been coupled with scientific data from DNA testing, which has revolutionised the family history industry. Going beyond the traditional archives and databases, DNA profiles present nuanced confirmations, puzzles, and contradictions generated through this biological lens. Family history researchers seek iterative engagements with their familial pasts and, in the process, amplify their contemporary identities. This specialised group of historians illuminates their families’ travels through the broader historical landscape, constructing micro-narratives using a broad range of investigative modalities. This article reports on the findings of a large international study (n = 1016) that investigated family history researchers’ motivations for undertaking DNA testing, their experiences, and its impact on their perceptions of individual, national, and global identities using Berzonsky’s socio-cultural model of identity construction (2003, 2011) as an analytic frame. Using a survey methodology, it was concluded that DNA testing can expand and disrupt long-held notions of identity and has the power to shift perceptions and understandings of the self while simultaneously providing a new era of opportunity to reconceptualise national and international affiliations. It suggests further investigative avenues to assess the potential of DNA testing, which may promote social cohesion, inclusiveness, and global citizenship.

The effect of peers' theory of mind on children's own theory of mind development: A longitudinal study in middle childhood and early adolescence.

While there is considerable evidence that children's early ability to understand others' mental states, called "theory of mind," is shaped by family experiences, it remains unclear whether children's social interactions at school influence theory of mind (ToM) beyond early childhood. We tested whether the mean level ("quantity") and/or the diversity ("variety") of peers' ToM influenced children's own ToM. We also examined whether peer effects on ToM were independent of possible confounding variables (e.g., verbal ability, social isolation) and comparable across children with different initial levels of ToM and social status. Four hundred fifty-four 8-12-year-old children completed assessments of ToM and peer and friendship nominations at baseline and (for ToM only) 1 year later. The variety (but not the quantity) of peers' ToM predicted the development of children's ToM over and above control variables. The magnitude of the peer effect was comparable across different levels of children's ToM and between children indexed as socially isolated and those who were not. These findings fit with sociocultural models and highlight the importance of the school environment in the development of ToM. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Effects of professional development program on primary science teachers’ ICT use in China: mediation effects of science teachers’ knowledge, beliefs and instructional practice

Faced with international science and technology competition, strengthening information, communication, and technology (ICT) use has become the core goal of science education. Many studies have revealed that teachers’ professional development programs could influence ICT use. However, whether the relationship could be mediated by teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practice remains unclear, especially in the context of China. Based on the Sociocultural Model of Embedded Belief Systems, a hypothesized model from teachers’ professional development to ICT use that meditated by science teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices was constructed. With the Structural Equation Model (SEM) method, 131,134 Chinese primary science teachers were surveyed to detect the interrelationships among the factors in the model. The path analysis revealed that: (1) Science teachers’ professional development has not positively influenced ICT use, while science teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices could significantly influence science teachers’ ICT use; (2) Science teachers’ knowledge, beliefs, and instructional practices not only respectively play a mediating role but also play a chain mediating role in the process of teachers’ professional development influencing ICT use.

A sociocultural model of the relationships between social media use and body image in midlife women

The use of photo-based social media has been associated with body image concerns among young women. Women in midlife are increasingly experiencing appearance pressures, and these pressures might be particularly strong on social media. However, to date, most of the research on social media use has focused on younger women, and this constitutes an important gap. The purpose of this study was therefore to examine a model of the relationships among social media use and body image among women aged 40 and over. A convenience sample of 192 women aged 40–73 years completed an online survey assessing selfie investment, social media appearance pressures, thin-ideal internalization, appearance comparison, weight and shape concerns, facial satisfaction, drive for youthfulness and drive for muscularity. The final sociocultural model was a good fit to the data, and thin-ideal internalization and appearance comparisons mediated the pathways between the social media variables and the body image ones.

A Community-Based Participatory Approach in Applying the Sociocultural Resilience Model in U.S–Mexico Border Communities

Abstract: Background: Behavioral models play a key role in identifying pathways to better health and provide a foundation for health promotion interventions. However, behavioral models based in epidemiological research may be limited in relevance and utility in practice. Objectives: We describe a participatory approach within a community-based participatory research partnership for integrating epidemiological and community perspectives into the application of the sociocultural resilience model (SRM). The SRM posits that cultural processes have a symbiotic relationship with health-promoting social processes, which contribute to the health advantages among Mexicanorigin and other Latinx populations. Methods: Community action board members engaged with academic partners to interpret and apply the SRM to a community-clinical linkages intervention implemented in the context of three U.S.–Mexico border communities. In a two-day workshop, partners engaged in a series of iterative discussions to reach common definitions and measures for SRM constructs. Results: Partners described daily cultural processes as the food they eat, how they communicate, and a collectivist approach to getting things done. For intervention activities, the partners opted for intergenerational storytelling, sharing of food, and artistic forms of expression. Partners included measures of cultural nuances such as border identity and the complexities that often arise from navigating bicultural norms. Conclusions: Collaborative approaches within community-based participatory research partnerships can facilitate the adaptation and measurement of conceptual health behavior models in community practice.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE SEMANTICS OF THE “DACHA TEXT” IN RUSSIAN LITERATURE OF THE 19TH–21ST CENTURIES (FYODOR DOSTOEVSKY, GEORGY CHULKOV, YURY TRIFONOV, YURI MAMLEEV, EUGENE VODOLAZKIN, ETC.)

Fyodor Dostoevsky turned to his dacha in the 1840s as a health-improving kind of “urban topos”, but in the 1860s he rethought its topic in the aspect of public demands of Russia during the era of liberal reforms. A sharp surge of interest in the dacha in the late 1860s, under conditions of estate nobility's loss of the leading position in Russia, was caused by Fyodor Dostoevsky's search for a platform for dialogue between the social groups of Russia within which, a common worldview was developed and the new “best people” were identified. However, along with the rejection of the social class hierarchy inherent in dacha, openness and freedom, the writer also noted negative features - human personality sovereignty restriction (dictate of public opinion, inability to hide from prying eyes) and deterioration (gossip, drunkenness, quarrels, vulgar flirting, etc.). In the 1870s, Fyodor Dostoevsky's interest in dacha as a promising socio-cultural model had been fading, and he would fully share the prevailing attitude towards it as a focus of everyday vulgarity and mediocrity, in the last third of the 19th – the early 20th century, switching to the further development of the “estate topos”. Further, the article traces these antinomies in the image of Fyodor Dostoevsky's dacha in the literature of the Russian Fin de siècle (Georgy Chulkov), in Soviet (Yury Trifonov) and post-Soviet (Aleksey Varlamov, Yuri Mamleev and Eugene Vodolazkin) prose. The conclusion is made about the viability of the “dacha text” in the Russian literature of the 20th century due to its partial convergence with the inspiring topic of the estate.

CULTURAL FACTORS PREDICT POSITIVE CAREGIVING APPRAISAL AMONG DIVERSE DEMENTIA FAMILY CAREGIVERS

Abstract Background and Objectives Positive caregiving appraisal is strongly linked to health among caregivers of persons with Alzheimer’s Disease and Related Dementias (ADRD). Few studies have identified predictors of positive caregiving appraisal, although research suggests that cultural factors may play a role. This study hypothesized that self-identified race and ethnicity, as well as more nuanced cultural factors such as language spoken at home, culture-based values surrounding caregiving, and perceptions of provider cultural competence would predict positive caregiving appraisal. Research Design and Methods A cross-sectional survey was administered to 156 diverse, community dwelling ADRD caregivers. Data were analyzed according to a modified Sociocultural Model of Coping using sequential regression. Results In the final model, self-identified race and ethnicity did not predict positive appraisal. However, culture-based values around caregiving and provider cultural competence contributed significant variance to positive appraisal, after controlling for other factors in the model. Caregiving burden and perceptions that help was available were also linked to positive appraisal. Discussion and Implications: This study is among the first to identify cultural factors that contribute to positive appraisal in a diverse sample of ADRD caregivers, beyond race and ethnicity. Findings reinforce the need to assess and incorporate culture-based values in interventions for ADRD caregivers, as well as the importance of provider cultural competence when working with diverse ADRD family caregivers.

The relationship between childhood maltreatment and social anxiety among Chinese male individuals with drug use disorders: a moderated mediation model of fear of negative evaluation and self-construals

BackgroundSocial anxiety (SA) is prevalent among individuals with drug use disorders, playing a significant role in the etiology and maintenance of drug addiction. The etiological model of SA suggests a link between the development of SA and childhood maltreatment. Childhood maltreatment not only acts as a complex trauma with negative effects on individuals’ selves and other cognitions but also exerts a negative influence through early negative parent–child interactions on individuals’ internal working models, leading to the development of fear of negative evaluation and SA. Furthermore, self-construals, as a personality trait that emerges from the framework of the theory of sociocultural models, may exert a moderating effect on these mechanisms. The present study utilized a moderated mediation model to examine how childhood maltreatment relates to SA in individuals with drug addiction, aiming to provide support for a comprehensive understanding and effective resolution of SA in this group.MethodsA total of 618 Chinese male individuals with drug addiction (M = 34.13, SD = 8.76) participated, and they completed the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire Short Form, the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale, the Self-Consciousness Scale’s Social Anxiety Subscale, and the Self-Construal Scale. SPSS PROCESS Macro was used to analyze the data.ResultCorrelation analysis revealed weak correlations among all variables but strong correlations between the SCS subscales. Mediation analyses revealed that fear of negative evaluation partially mediated the association between childhood maltreatment and SA. Moderated mediation analyses revealed that the link between fear of negative evaluation and SA was moderated by independent self-construal. The association was stronger among those with high independent self-construal than among those with low independent self-construal. An integrative moderated mediation analysis indicated that independent self-construal positively moderated the indirect association between childhood maltreatment and SA via fear of negative evaluation. However, interdependent self-construal did not show a moderated effect.ConclusionFear of negative evaluation plays a partial mediating role in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and SA, while independent self-construal enhances the association between fear of negative evaluation and SA. Decreasing the fear of negative evaluation and intervening in self-construals may attenuate the association between childhood maltreatment and SA among Chinese male individuals with drug addiction.

Giving Another Purpose to Sport: Teaching Social and Emotional Learning Through the Sociocultural Curriculum Model

Sports are well known to provide students the opportunity to practice social and emotional skill sets that they will use in everyday life. However, student participation in high school–sanctioned extracurricular activities has decreased exponentially in the past 10 years. Many teachers, parents and administrators hypothesize that today’s students have social and emotional challenges post-COVID-19. They might struggle with basic social skills, such as cooperation, sportsmanship and empathy. Coincidence? Some researchers even hypothesize that an increased emphasis on academic performance in schools has led to a slight decline in other developmental areas, such as behavior and stress management. Social and emotional learning (SEL) implementation has become a significant priority for many school administrators and staff. The sociocultural curriculum model (SCCM) uses sport as a platform to teach SEL to physical education students. It gives educators practical application of standards-based teaching practices to their current physical education classroom. The current article will give purpose to this curriculum and detail its application in a regular school setting.

Household time allocation in Russia: economic or sociocultural model?

The article is focused on determining the dominant model of household time allocation in Russia based on the analysis of demographic, economic, social, and sociocultural factors. The main method of the study is a statistical analysis of the data from a household survey conducted by the Federal State Statistics Service of the Russian Federation in 2019 titled “Selective observation of the daily time use by the population”. The results of the study indicate an unfinished transition toward gender equality. The economic model of time allocation (the more one participates in the labor market, the less housework one does) is dominant during the work week, while the sociocultural model (gender determines the degree of workload in the household regardless of the level of employment in the labor market) takes precedence on the weekends. This is expressed in the increase in women’s unpaid work on weekends as compensation for missing out on household chores during the working weekdays. In addition, depending on the size of the gender gaps we identified “patriarchal” and “progressive” regions of Russia. Sociocultural characteristics turned out to be significant not only in the “patriarchal” regions but also in most of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation. Sociocultural attitudes weaken the economic model in the allocation of time between partners, especially on weekends. Thus, the economic model dominates on weekdays while the sociocultural one dominates on weekends.