Advancing theory-driven research in the psychological science of adult development and aging.

Theory is critical for a developmental science that explains age-related change and stability in psychological phenomena-and their variation across generational and sociocultural contexts. This special issue presents four contributions that advance theoretical approaches to the psychological science of adult development and aging. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Experiences of individuals receiving "Not Parent Expected" results through direct-to-consumer genetic testing.

As direct-to-consumer genetic testing (DTC-GT) grows in popularity, the unanticipated "Not Parent Expected" (NPE) result has become more prevalent. An NPE result is the discovery that one parent, often the father, is not a biological parent. This study explores the impact of making an NPE discovery through DTC-GT.

Children's Pathways into Commercial Sexual Exploitation in the United States: A Systematic Review.

This study examined current evidence on children's pathways into commercial sexual exploitation (CSE) in the United States to determine if characteristics, vulnerabilities, and social contexts were distinguishable by age, gender, race/ethnicity, and location. Using Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Review and Meta-Analyses guidelines, peer-reviewed studies and grey literature were included if they were focused on CSE pathways prior to age 18, available in English, U.S.

Exploring Reentry Concerns of Incarcerated Individuals with Severe Mental Illness.

Little is known about the factors and circumstances that relate to how incarcerated individuals with serious mental illness (SMI) view their own needs upon reentry and their ability to meet them. In this study, 101 imprisoned adults with SMI rated their level of concern over meeting their basic needs and obtaining services following incarceration. Greater reentry concern was predicted by anticipated barriers to psychological care and increased psychological distress.

Pervasive Stagnation: Flat and Rising Cardiovascular Disease Mortality Post-2010 Across US States and Counties.

Since 2010, the U.S. has experienced adverse trends in cardiovascular disease (CVD) mortality, which dramatically slowed long-standing life expectancy improvements.

Hearing laughter: a prescription for anxiety relief.

Anxiety can have adverse effects on cognition such as impairing test performance or restricting working memory. One way of reducing anxiety is through humor, and the present research investigated if the perception of laughter, which is often seen as a reaction to humor, could impact self-reported anxiety. Participants completed the STAI battery containing subscales for both state and trait anxiety before and after one of three manipulations: a laughter sounds rating task, a neutral sounds rating task, or a working memory span task.

Working Through It: Lifetime Experiences of Employment Discrimination Among Older Black Americans and Implications for Labor Force Participation, Job Dissatisfaction, and Mental Health in Older Adulthood.

Objectives: To examine lifetime experiences of employment discrimination and their association with Black older adults' employment status and well-being.

Methods: We use data from the Health and Retirement Study's leave-behind questionnaire to characterize lifetime experiences of being unfairly fired, not hired, or not promoted among Black older adults ( = 2331) and test associations with labor force status at age 62, job satisfaction among those working, and depressive symptoms.

Results: Employment discrimination was commonly reported by Black older adults, especially among men and those with college educations.

Do pictures' emotional valence and arousal affect younger and older adults' narratives?

Emotional content, specifically negative valence, can differentially influence speech production in younger and older adults' autobiographical narratives, which have been interpreted as reflecting age differences in emotion regulation. However, age differences in emotional reactivity are another possible explanation, as younger and older adults frequently differ in their affective responses to negative and positive pictures. The present experiment investigated whether a picture's valence (pleasantness) and arousal (intensity) influenced older adults' production of narratives about those pictures.

Age-related differences in the evaluation of highly arousing language.

Emotional properties of words can profoundly affect their processing, depending on both the valence (pleasantness) and the degree of arousal (excitation) that the word elicits. Words that are strongly emotionally arousing (such as taboo words) can interfere with subsequent language processing (White & Abrams, 2021). However, little is known about whether or how aging affects the processing of highly arousing language.

Adult age differences in language, communication, and learning from text.

This is an introduction to the special issue "Adult Age Differences in Language, Communication, and Learning from Text." These articles illustrate the great variety of language use through the adult lifespan, tell us a little more-and invite further inquiry. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Psychosocial Stressors and Postpartum Depressive Symptoms Are Linked to Postpartum Contraceptive Use.

Postpartum contraception plays a critical role in reducing the occurrence of rapid subsequent pregnancy, offering individuals reproductive choice, and promoting overall reproductive planning and well-being. In this study, we investigated the relationship between psychosocial stress during pregnancy, postpartum depressive symptoms (PDS), and postpartum contraceptive use. We analyzed data from the Pregnancy Risk Assessment Monitoring System (2012-2019), which included comprehensive information about maternal experiences, views, and needs before, during, and after pregnancy from four states and a large city, with a total sample size of  = 36,356.

Relating Tabooness to Humor and Arousal Ratings in American English: What the F*** Is so Funny?

Emotion can have a profound effect on language processing, and taboo words have been increasingly used in research as highly emotional, negatively valenced stimuli. However, because taboo words as a lexical category are socially constructed and semantically idiosyncratic, they may also have complex emotional characteristics. This complexity may not be fully considered by researchers using taboo words as research stimuli.

Ethical challenges in the use of digital technologies in psychological science: Introduction to the special issue.

Digital technologies are pervasive in every aspect of our daily lives. The proliferation of such technologies has also influenced the conduct of biomedical, behavioral, and social research. The articles in this special issue provide illustrative examples of the range of applications of digital technologies in psychological science research across a variety of populations.

Health and Care Needs of Young Adults Exiting Jail.

Reentry is a difficult juncture for young adults (ages 18-24 years), who simultaneously face challenges of emerging adulthood. Although their health-related needs may be substantial, little is reported on young adults' reentry health care and social service needs. Furthermore, empirical measurements of factors affecting their engagement in reentry services after jail are lacking.

A Minimum Age for California's Juvenile Legal System: Lessons on Collaborative Research to Drive Legislative Change.

The Problem: Most U.S. states lack a minimum age of juvenile legal jurisdiction, which leaves young children vulnerable to a harsh, punitive system that causes lifelong adverse health and social outcomes.

Credible messenger mentoring to promote the health of youth involved in the juvenile legal system: A narrative review.

This narrative review examines the literature on credible messenger mentoring (CMM) as an intervention to promote the health and well-being of youth involved in the juvenile legal system. In the CMM model, individuals with shared life experiences (e.g.

The "double jeopardy" of midlife and old age mortality trends in the United States.

Since 2010, US life expectancy growth has stagnated. Much research on US mortality has focused on working-age adults given adverse trends in drug overdose deaths, other external causes of death, and cardiometabolic deaths in midlife. We show that the adverse mortality trend at retirement ages (65+ y) has in fact been more consequential to the US life expectancy stagnation since 2010, as well as excess deaths and years of life lost in 2019, than adverse mortality trends at working ages.

Community pharmacists and improving contraception access: Relationships between contraceptive counseling and dispensing contraceptives.

Background: Experiences of contraceptive counseling and obtaining contraceptives vary for women of childbearing age based on education level, race, ethnicity, and health insurance. Community pharmacists are an important resource for improving access to contraceptive care in states with over-the-counter access to and pharmacist prescribing of contraceptives.

Objectives: We first aimed to determine how patient education level, race, ethnicity, insurance, and patient-provider race concordance influenced the likelihood of receiving contraceptive counseling.

Quantifying the Contribution of Work Characteristics to Educational Disparities in Health-Induced Work Limitations.

Objectives: To quantify how poor health and inhospitable working conditions each contribute to educational disparities in work disability in midlife and old age.

Methods: We used the Health and Retirement Study (2006-2016) to examine educational disparities in reporting "any impairment or health problem that limits the kind or amount of paid work" in ages 51-80.

Results: We found disparities to be profound and persistent over time.

Relationships Between Chronic Illness, Body Mass Index, and Patient-Provider Communication.

Little is known about how higher-weight patients experience patient-provider communication, particularly among those with chronic illness. This study uses quantitative analytical methods and nationally representative data to determine how patient-provider communication is affected when patients have one or more chronic illnesses, as well as if patient BMI has a moderating effect on this association. Pearson correlation and multivariate logistic regression were both used to determine the significance of these associations.

Scientist Spotlights in Secondary Schools: Student Shifts in Multiple Measures Related to Science Identity after Receiving Written Assignments.

Based on theoretical frameworks of scientist stereotypes, possible selves, and science identity, written assignments were developed to teach science content through biographies and research of counter-stereotypical scientists-Scientist Spotlights (www.scientistspotlights.org).