Given the increase of political polarization in social networks, particularly during electoral campaigns, this study sought to determine the levels of affective polarization in political communication through the temporal perspective, delegitimizing beliefs, and intergroup emotions. Two studies were carried out: the first in the context of the elections in Andalusia (Spain) and the second during the Colombian presidential campaign. Both studies took the tweets of candidates and Twitter users who commented on them. From linguistic analysis, an index was developed to measure affective polarization in linguistic pieces, such as tweets. It was found that in contexts without political violence, it is common to implement communicative strategies with high indicators of ingroup bias, which implies a lower polarization, but increases with positive emotions and a focus on the future. Whereas, in contexts of political violence, the strategy focused on discrimination of the outgroup and its delegitimization, in which positive emotions decreased polarization, while the focus on the past increased it. It was concluded that affective polarization could be an indicator the disposition to reconciliation processes in contexts of violence, and a map of emotions associated with polarization is provided.

Sexual and gender minority (SGM) people experience higher levels of economic insecurity and poverty compared to non-SGM people. Social safety net programs may reduce this disparity, but the uptake of these programs among SGM adults has rarely been assessed. We conducted a secondary data analysis of the 2018-2020 Well-Being and Basic Needs Survey to compare differences in material hardship and social safety net program utilization between SGM and non-SGM adults in the United States. SGM participants were more likely to report food insecurity, utilities hardship, medical hardship, and multiple material hardships. SGM adults had higher odds compared to non-SGM adults of using SNAP, income- or disability-based insurance, SSI or SSDI, and housing assistance. There were no differences in use of WIC, reduced-price/free school lunch benefits, or charitable food. Future studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of the social safety net programs for reducing material hardship.

Endorsement of the employed student identity can provide social support for employed students or protection from negative intergroup comparisons. However, not much is known about what identity aspects or characteristics comprise the employed student identity and how they become important and central to that identity. Using data from 215 employed university students in the UK, we investigated two research questions (RQ’s) in this mixed-method study. RQ1. What are the identity aspects that participants ascribe to the employed student identity? RQ2. Are identity aspects that distinguish employed from non-employed students, and are considered more suitable for employed versus non-employed students, more central and more important to the employed students’ self-concept? A thematic analysis categorised the identity aspects that participants selected into 14 distinct categories, with the most important categories being hard-working, being organised, having motivation, and discipline. Multilevel analyses of identity aspects within individuals revealed that distinctiveness was negatively associated with the importance and centrality of aspects, whereas suitability for employed students was positively associated with the importance and centrality of aspects. We offer practical value through revealing important identity aspects which inoculate employed students against negative intergroup comparisons, and theoretical value through suggesting future avenues for employed students’ identity construction.

Terrorist attacks, war, violent acts, and their media coverage remind us of our own mortality, which may provoke stress and coping mechanisms. The terror management health model (TMHM) proposes that even subliminal thoughts about existential threats trigger worldview defense and self-esteem-related behaviors. Based on the TMHM, our field experiment (N=228) examines the impact of a terrorist attack on death-thought accessibility, the choice between alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and if the impact on this choice is moderated by the importance of alcohol to one’s self-esteem (i.e., alcohol-based self-esteem), and the consciousness of the terrorist attack. Results show that thoughts about the terrorist attack increased death-thought accessibility. The salience of the terrorist attack had no main effect on beverage choice, but alcohol-based self-esteem predicted choosing an alcoholic beverage. However, in the unconscious thought condition, participants who had low alcohol-based self-esteem and were provoked with death-related thoughts about terrorism were more likely to choose an alcoholic beverage. In the conscious thought condition, participants who had high alcohol-based self-esteem were less likely to choose alcohol. This study suggests that thoughts about terrorism and, therefore, the threat of death, can be provoked in everyday situations and affect substance use behaviors with potentially adverse health consequences.

Prosecutors are the key decision-makers when it comes to plea bargaining (Ball, 2006; Davis, 2001), which is responsible for the resolution of about 90% of criminal cases (Johnson, 2023). We distributed a mixed-method survey to a national sample of 180 prosecutors to ask them their key considerations when they initiate and prosecute a criminal case. Additionally, our survey asked prosecutors to provide any additional information they wanted to share regarding plea bargaining. We then conducted a qualitative content analysis, informed by Schreier (2012), to comprehensively identify the factors the prosecutors discussed. We found several factors that prosecutors take into consideration when starting to evaluate a criminal case: qualities of the criminal defendant (e.g., criminal history), victim input (e.g., victim wishes), and factors specific to the case (e.g., evidence strength). Additionally, when asked if they would like to share anything regarding plea bargaining, some prosecutors stressed the necessity of the plea system, some shared their punishment orientations, and others discussed how they determine punishment on a case-by-case basis. Overall, prosecutors tended to stress criminal history as largely influential in their plea decision-making. This study provides insight into prosecutorial plea bargain decision-making while providing opportunity for future research.

In the wake of the #Metoo movement, liberal feminism has garnered the spotlight on equal rights for women. However, what factors contribute to men and women developing liberal feminist ideologies? This is important to understand as this ideology is predictive of support for political and social policies that are currently under debate in the United States. In this survey study (149 heterosexual men and 233 heterosexual women) we examined attitudinal and ideological variables that underlie liberal feminist ideology. The results of this study indicate that men scored significantly lower on liberal feminist ideology and significantly higher on traditional attitudes toward women, hostile and benevolent sexism, gender-specific justification, rape myths and conservative political affiliation compared to women. Furthermore, traditional attitudes toward women, hostile and benevolent sexism, gender-specific justification, rape myths, political leanings, and gender accounted for almost 70 percent of the variance in liberal feminist ideology. Participant gender did not moderate the regression analyses, suggesting that men and women are influenced similarly in determining what attitudes predict liberal feminist ideologies. Implications for support for public policy are addressed.

This article describes the mental health outcomes of participants in the HudsonUP pilot, a five-year basic income initiative for low to mid-income residents of Hudson, NY. The study employs a mixed-methods approach, including both quantitative surveys and qualitative phenomenological interviews, to better understand participants’ experiences two years into the pilot. Through the lens of the psychological theory of scarcity, findings indicate that the HudsonUP program has improved the overall mental well-being of the participants by reducing the stress and anxiety associated with financial insecurity and helping them to meet their basic needs, pursue further education, and career opportunities. Despite the challenges of the ongoing pandemic and inflation, participants expressed gratitude for the “undercurrent of stability” provided by the program.

In the study of sentencing disparities, class related hypotheses have received considerably less attention than explanations based on offenders’ ethnicity. This is unfortunate since the two mechanisms are likely interrelated, at the very least as a result of their overlap in the population, with ethnic minorities being generally more deprived than the White majority. In this registered report we propose exploring the mediating and moderating effects between offenders’ area deprivation and their ethnic background using a novel administrative dataset capturing all offences processed through the England and Wales Crown Court. Specifically, we seek to test two key hypotheses: i) the reported ethnic disparities in sentencing are mediated and explained away by area deprivation; and ii) ethnic disparities are moderated by area deprivation, with ethnic disparities being narrower in the more deprived areas. Results from this empirical analysis will shed new light on the underlying causes of sentencing disparities, but crucially - if deprivation is shown to play a major role in the generation of ethnic disparities - they will also help inform the adequate policy responses to redress this problem.