Browsing by Author "Benjamin, Laurel"

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    #AloneTogether during COVID-19: Psychosocial, Behavioral and Cognitive Factors Mediate the Link between Relational Mobility and Distress
    (2021) Benjamin, Laurel; Wang, Shu-wen
    The COVID-19 pandemic has considerably impacted many people's lives, precipitating an emerging psychological crisis. As an era in which many of the world's people had engaged in some degree of self-isolation, this study sought to examine cultural differences inindividuals' feelings of loneliness and psychological distress between August and September of 2020 as a function of their society's Relational Mobility (i.e., the degree to which a society provides individuals with opportunities to voluntarily form and terminate relationships as desired). In the current study, 302 adults from the United States, Mexico, and Japan completed an online survey on their experiences with psychological distress and loneliness during COVID-19, which included measures of cultural values, coping strategies, social expectations, and social technology use. Additionally, participants completed measures on the degree of connectedness and separation they felt during COVID-19, using two psychometrically valid scales that were newly developed from qualitative pilot data. Results revealed that Relational Mobility negatively predicted both psychological distress and loneliness. Multiple mediator path analyses revealed that four factors—Unmet Romantic Expectations, Approach Coping, Connection Appraisal, and Social Technology Use—explained these negative links. When further examining different forms of social technology use, exploratory analyses revealed that while social media and gaming positively predicted feelings of psychological distress and loneliness, videoconferencing, a more naturalistic form of social technology use, negatively predicted distress and loneliness. Our findings offer insight into the mechanisms underlying cultural differences in pandemic-related distress and hold the potential toinform clinical interventions and policy for future global crises.
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    La arpillera chilena como matriz de memoria y testimonio subalterno, 1973-2020
    (2021) Benjamin, Laurel; Castillo Sandoval, Roberto
    This thesis examines the evolution of the Chilean arpillera, a colorful form of artistic expression that uses appliqué, embroidery, and patchwork to depict stories of the dictatorship and scenes of everyday life, made by arpilleristas, groups of working class women, during and after the dictatorship in Chile. I propose that the arpillera itself is a testimonial framework that provides subaltern women with the opportunity to express themselves, free from the constraints imposed by existing theorists and government censorship. I also posit that the arpillera comprises a matriz de memoria (translation: a matrix/womb of memory), since it is a memory site that is constantly generative as well as a bearer of life, much like the arpilleristas who, too, are consistently tasked with preserving life andmemory. The arpillera provides a uniquely feminine space that celebrates the female gaze through its inclusion of subjectivity, emotionality, and multiplicity, which are qualities that have been overlooked by existing male-dominated frameworks. Through a personal interview with arpillerista Belgica Castro, my own lived experience in Chile during the historic "estallido social", and a close reading of four arpilleras, I analyze the development of the arpillera as it has adapted across different decades and historical contexts, from the beginning of Pinochet's Chile until the end.