Patient preferences for psychological counsellors: Evidence of a similarity effect

This study sought to examine the individual difference variables that affect potential patient preferences for hypothetical psychological counsellors. A representative British sample of 257 adults indicated their preferences for eight psychological counsellors differentiated by sex, age, and training location. A five-way mixed analysis of variance (participant sex and age as within variables, and counsellor sex, age, ethnicity as between variables) indicated a significant main effect for only counsellors’ ethnicity. There were also sex and age interactions showing evidence of a matching hypothesis: participants preferred counsellors of their own sex and age. The implications of these findings are considered.     

The impact of weight, sex, and race/ethnicity on body dissatisfaction among urban children

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relative contributions of weight status, race/ethnicity, sex, and age on body dissatisfaction in a large group of diverse children. Participants were 4th–6th graders (N = 1212) in ten inner-city schools who participated in an obesity prevention study previously published. Children completed the body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), and weight status was assessed by measured weights and heights. Multiple regression analyses were conducted. Relative weight status was the strongest predictor of body dissatisfaction, followed by race/ethnicity, and sex. Body dissatisfaction was greatest in obese, Asian, and female children. Overall, results indicated that children's body dissatisfaction varies based on relative weight status, as well as race/ethnicity and sex among urban children. Results highlight the strong need for additional research so that more definitive conclusions may be drawn regarding the development of body image among diverse groups of children.     

The role of group identification in the well-being of Spaniards with gypsy ethnicity

ABSTRACT

Objective: To describe the role of sex, age, educational level and psychosocial group-identification factors in well-being and satisfaction with life. Method: 229 Spanish Gypsies completed a survey of demographic data, psychological well-being, life satisfaction, ethnic identity and the individual’s inclusion of self within the ingroup. Results: (a) only level of studies is related to satisfaction with life; (b) participants with higher scores in ethnic identity reported more well-being and more life satisfaction; and (c) assessment of ethnic belonging affects more areas of well-being than does perception of closeness to the ingroup. Conclusion: objective conditions of deprivation are not related to well-being as reported by the participants; it is important to study how Spanish Gypsies value and perceive their ethnicity in order to predict their well-being and satisfaction with life.     

The Effect of Early Music Training on Child Cognitive Development

The relationship between participation in a structured music curriculum and cognitive development was studied with 71 4- through 6-year olds. Children were pre- and posttested with six subtests of the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale, fourth edition (SB) and the Young Child Music Skills Assessment (MSA). Approximately one half of the sample participated in a 30-week, 75-minute weekly, parent-involved music curriculum. Statistical analysis showed significant gains for participants receiving music instruction on the MSA and on the SB Bead Memory subtest. Four-order partial correlations analysis found musical treatment influence on Bead Memory scores when the participants were controlled for sex, ethnicity, parental education, and economic class. Treatment also produced higher scores on other SB measurements for select populations. This study suggests a significant correspondence between early music instruction and spatial–temporal reasoning abilities.     

Attitude toward Christianity,sexual orientation,and parental religiosity in a sample of Italian adolescents

Literature suggests that several demographic variables are linked with religiosity in adolescence, such as gender, age and parental religiosity. The sample consisted of 910 young people (53% female) between 14 and 19 years of age, attending secular secondary schools in Rome, Italy. They self-identified as heterosexual adolescents (91.6%), and lesbian/gay (LG) adolescents (8.4%). High scores of positive attitudes toward God, Jesus, the Bible, prayer and church were associated with female gender, higher father’s religiosity, and higher mother’s religiosity, but not with age of the participants. As expected, heterosexual orientation was associated with a more positive attitude toward Christianity, controlling for sex, age, and parental religiosity.     

Lack of age differences in the Beck Depression Inventory-II scores of clinically depressed adolescent outpatients

To assess whether the mean Beck Depression Inventory-II scores of adolescents who were diagnosed with unipolar depressive disorders differed with respect to age, the inventory was administered to 144 (60%) female and 96 (40%) male outpatients between 13 and 17 yr. who were diagnosed with depressive disorders. The internal consistency of the scores was high (coefficient alpha=.89). A factorial analysis of variance was used to test for the main effects of age, sex, ethnicity, type of depressive disorder, comorbidity, and the two-way interactions of age with the other main effects. The mean scores were not differentiated by age or by the interactions of age with the other effects. The lack of age differences in this 5-year range on the mean scores of clinically depressed adolescents was discussed with respect to previous findings that have reported such differences in adolescents and adults.     

Differences in Ego Identity Among College Students Across Age,Ethnicity, and Gender

In this study I explored differences in scores on identity status associated with age, ethnicity, and gender. To assess identity status, 434 college students were administered the Revised Version of the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (Bennion & Adams, 1986). Results indicated that, in general, those who were younger in age or Asian exhibited higher Foreclosure and Identity Diffusion scores. In overall identity scores, there was no difference between men and women. However, for the interpersonal component, men scored higher in levels of Identity Diffusion and Foreclosure. A Gender × Age interaction indicated that women scored higher than men in Identity Achievement at every age range except that of 24 to 26 years, where the women in this group scored lowest in Identity Achievement. This study supports much of the research that has found differences in identity status associated with age, ethnicity, and gender, but some additional unexpected results indicate possible paths for future research.     

Aggressive Experiences and Aggressiveness: Relationship to Ethnicity,Gender, and Age1

This study assessed the relationship of experiences as a target and an instigator of aggression to ethnicity, gender, age, and scores on the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire in a sample of 363 university students. Anglos reported experiencing more aggression in their lifetime than Hispanics as both target and aggressor, but there were no interactions between ethnicity and gender. Males had experienced more aggression than females both over a lifetime and in the last month; they also scored significantly higher on scales of physical and verbal aggression. Respondent age was negatively correlated with experiences of aggression in the last month and with aggression questionnaire scale scores. The results are consistent with a social learning account of aggression as influenced by both individual experiences and culture.     

The Femininity Ideology Scale: Factor Structure, Reliability, Convergent and Discriminant Validity, and Social Contextual Variation

This study reports on the psychometric properties of the Femininity Ideology Scale (FIS) from the responses of 407 undergraduate participants in the USA. Factor analysis supported the five factor structure. Cronbach alpha coefficients of the factors and total scale were adequate. Support for discriminant validity was found after examining the relationship between the FIS and the Bem Sex Role Inventory, which measures feminine traits. Support for convergent validity was found after examining, first, with the entire sample, the relationships between the FIS and the Male Role Norm Inventory, and second, with the female sample, the relationships between the FIS and the Feminist Identity Development Scale. We also found that FIS scores vary in relationship to the social contextual variables of race/ethnicity and sex.     

A cognitive approach to dogmatism: An investigation into the relationship of verbal working memory and dogmatism

This study investigated the relationship of working memory to open and closed belief systems. Two hundred college students completed a working memory span test to measure verbal working memory, and Rokeach’s Dogmatism Scale (1956). Regression analysis was undertaken to determine the contribution of verbal working memory to dogmatism. A negative correlation was found between dogmatism scores and working memory scores (p = .002) confirming the hypothesis that those participants who display a larger working memory capacity would show lower levels of dogmatic beliefs than participants displaying a smaller working memory capacity. Error analysis was employed to determine the significance of inhibition processes; indicating that capacity limits in verbal working memory, and not processing deficits, were primarily responsible for poor working memory scores. Dogmatism was not found to be related to gender, age, ethnicity, religious affiliation, academic major, or level of education.     

Response Inhibition and ADHD Traits: Correlates and Heritability in a Community Sample

Endophenotypes or intermediate phenotypes are of great interest in neuropsychiatric genetics because of their potential for facilitating gene discovery. We evaluated response inhibition, latency and variability measures derived from the stop task as endophenotypes of ADHD by testing whether they were related to ADHD traits in the general population, heritable and shared genetic risk with ADHD traits. Participants were 16,099 children and adolescents, ages 6 to 18 years who visited a local science center. We measured ADHD traits using the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-symptoms and Normal-Behavior (SWAN) rating scale and performance on the stop signal task (SST)—response inhibition (SSRT), response latency (GoRT), and response variability (GoRTSD). Regression analysis was used to assess the relationship of cognitive measures and ADHD traits while controlling for family, age, sex, ethnicity, socioeconomic status and treatment status. Heritability of ADHD and cognitive traits was estimated using SOLAR in 7,483 siblings from 3,507 families that included multiple siblings. Bivariate relationships between pairs of variables were examined. Individuals with greater ADHD trait scores had worse response inhibition, slower response latency, and greater variability. Younger participants and girls had inferior performance although the gender effects were minimal and evident in youngest participants. Inhibition, latency, variability, total ADHD traits, inattention and hyperactivity-impulsivity scores were significantly heritable. ADHD traits and inhibition, but not latency or variability were coheritable. In the largest study in the general population, we found support for the validity of response inhibition as an endophenotype of ADHD.     

Avoidance ratings and fears of Chinese adults by age, ethnic group, sex, and residency

Few studies among the Chinese population concerning avoidance out of fear have been reported. Existing studies are limited to school and collegiate samples while overlooking ethnic minorities, of which China has more than 50. In this study, a general population sample in China indicated the level at which they would avoid certain situations. The data were analyzed relative to age, ethnicity, sex, and the amount of time living in urban or rural areas. Three samples (urban Han, n=144; rural Han, n=144; Urban Hui, n=72) were selected using stratified quota sampling. Respondents identified that they avoided social situations the most and agoraphobic situations the least. Overall, women expressed significantly greater fear. This sex difference was less marked in the urban sample where the Chinese tradition of male dominance has been diluted due to urbanization and modernization. There were few age-related differences, although some fears among the elderly were explained by age-related vulnerabilities and folklore. The Hui minority group had significantly lower overall scores than the Han group; this was attributed to the role of their Islamic beliefs.     

A paper-and-pencil measure of prefrontal subcortical dysfunction

In a large sample of 722 community residents, scores on the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale were significantly associated with age, sex, and education, indicating that scores were higher for men, younger participants, and less educated participants.     

Are apparent sex differences in mean IQ scores created in part by sample restriction and increased male variance?

This study investigated the possibility that apparent sex differences in IQ are at least partly created by the degree of sample restriction from the baseline population. We used a nationally representative sample, the 1970 British Cohort Study. Sample sizes varied from 6518 to 11,389 between data-collection sweeps. Principal components analysis of scores obtained on four cognitive tests administered at age 10 was used to obtain estimates that we name ‘IQ’. These age-10 scores were then used to estimate the sex differences at age 10, and also among participants in the two later waves, at age 26 and 30. At age 10, there was a small but significant advantage for boys (Cohen’s d = 0.081). Boys had greater variability in these IQ scores. We then investigated how this very small male advantage at 10 changed with sample restriction. We used the same IQs obtained at age 10, but considered only those subjects who returned for data-collection sweeps at ages 26 and 30 years. Subjects returning at age 26 and 30 were more likely to be females and to have higher age-10 IQ scores. Attrition at age 30 was 28% and the male advantage in IQ scores increased by 15%. Attrition at age 26 was 43% and the male advantage in IQ scores increased by 48%. The findings underline the importance of monitoring attrition in longitudinal studies, as well as emphasising the need for representative samples in studying sex differences in intelligence. A proportion of the apparent male advantage in general cognitive ability that has been reported by some researchers might be attributable to the combination of greater male variance in general cognitive ability and sample restriction, though this remains to be tested in a sample with an appropriate mental test battery.     

Mate Selection,Meaning of Marriage and Positive Cognitive Constructs on Younger and Older Married Individuals

The purpose of this research was to examine the role of mate selection, meaning of marriage, meaning of life, quality of life, hope and perceived social support in being married, based on age, gender, ethnicity and educational status. The sample consisted of 632 Iranian individuals who were young or older married individuals. The participants were selected through a purposive sampling method. A demographic questionnaire and six inventories were used. Resulting data demonstrated that individuals who were young had a significantly greater overall scores than individuals who were older married in the areas of mate selection criteria, meaning of marriage, meaning of life, quality of life, hope and social support. Findings did not indicate an influence of gender on these constructs. Significant effects were found with regards to ethnicity and educational level in the meaning of marriage and hope respectively.     

Adolescent girls' sex role development: Relationship with sports participation,self-esteem,and age at menarche

This study investigated the development of sex role orientation among adolescent girls, and explored its relationship with sports participation, self-esteem, and age at menarche. The instruments were administered to 134 girls yearly from Grades 6 to 10 (ages 11 to 15). The results obtained with the Bem Sex Role Inventory showed group mean increases in the masculine and feminine scale scores, and considerable shifting in sex role categorizations over the five years. However, individual differences were quite consistent during the five-year study, suggesting some degree of stability in sex role orientation during adolescence. Sports participants and girls with high self-esteem had greater masculine sex role orientations throughout adolescence, with no differences in feminine orientations. It was concluded that the relationship of sex role orientation with sports participation and self-esteem was not an interactive one, but was reflective of individual differences. These individual differences begin in late childhood, with the variables developing concurrently. Age at menarche did not affect sex role orientation.     

Effects of experimentally induced peer-group rejection and out-group ethnicity on children's anxiety,self-esteem,and in-group and out-group attitudes

A minimal group study examined the effect of peer-group rejection on children's state anxiety and self-esteem, as well as their attitudes towards the rejecting group and an out-group that had the same or different ethnicity to the participants. Anglo-Australian children (n = 104) 7 and 9 years of age were randomly assigned to an Anglo-Australian team for an intergroup drawing competition. The competitor team had children with the same (i.e., Anglo-Australian) or different (i.e., Pacific Islander) ethnicity as their own team. The children then role-played that they had been accepted or rejected by their team members. Children's subsequent ratings indicated that peer-group rejection caused a decrease in self-esteem and an increase in anxiety, dislike for the rejecting in-group, but greater liking for the out-group, regardless of its ethnicity. Results also indicated that, regardless of peer status, children expressed greater liking for the in-group when there was a different versus same ethnicity out-group, and greater liking for the same versus different ethnicity out-group. The implications of the findings for peer-group rejection research are discussed.     

Normative data for the selective reminding test: a random digit dialing sample

Healthy control participants (46 women, M age=44.3 yr., SD=7.6; 29 men) were recruited to undergo a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and serve as a comparison group in a study of cognitive functioning in patients with Lyme isease. Participants were selected using Mitofsky-Waksberg random digit dialing. The Buschke 12-word, six-trial Selective Reminding Test was administered as part of the neuropsychological battery and normative data are presented stratified by age and sex. Performance on alternate forms of this measure were examined. Mean education, intelligence quotient, and Wide Range Achievement Test-3 Reading scores are reported.     

Personality Factors,Family Structure,and Sex of Drawn Figure on the Draw-A-Person Test

One hundred seventy-four youthful psychiatric inpatients were given the Draw-A-Person Test (DAP) as part of an assessment battery. Sex of person drawn was compared to subject's sex, Achenbach aggression and delinquency scores, and scores on Children's Inventory of Anger and Nowicki-Strickland Locus of Control Scale. The sex of the person drawn was also compared to family composition, specifically whether or not the child came from an intact family with both a male and female parent or role model. Results support drawing of a same-sexed individual as normative, regardless of age or sex. Adolescent girls and young boys were the only groups that differed significantly from this norm. Personality measures and family composition were not significantly related to the tendency to draw same versus opposite sex.     

Organizational communication,performance, and job satisfaction as a function of ethnicity and sex

Regression analysis was used to examine simultaneously the effects of supervisors' and subordinates' ethnicity and sex on organizational communication, supervisory-rated performance, and job satisfaction. The study indicates that female subordinates differentially perceive organizational communication. It also identifies interactions between the sex of the supervisor and subordinate on communication and between the ethnicity of the superior and subordinate on supervisory-rated performance. There were limited impacts of sex and ethnicity on job satisfaction.