Specific Life Events and Chronic Experiences Differentially Associated with Depression and Anxiety in Young Twins

Behavioral genetic analyses indicate that environmental influences associated with depression and anxiety are specific to each symptom type; however, this has not been tested specifically in children. Sixty-one (61) child twin pairs in which at least one twin had a very high anxiety or depression score, and 29 nonanxious, nondepressed pairs were interviewed about life events and chronic stressors in the previous 12 months. Loss events, schoolwork stressors, family relationship problems, and friendship problems were all significantly associated with depression but not anxiety. Threat events were significantly associated with anxiety but not depression. Loss events and schoolwork stressors appeared to act as shared environment influences in that they made twin pairs resemble one another. Threat events, friendship problems, and family relationship problems were individual specific and accounted for differences within the pairs. These results clarify the associations between life events and depressive and anxious symptoms in children and adolescents and reveal specific associations previously unidentified in this age range.     

Genetic and Environmental Influences on Personal and Rhythmic‐Motor‐Activity Tempo in Children: A Twin Study

In this study, we investigated the degree to which genetics and environmental factors influence the tempo and tempo stability of rhythmic motor activity in young children, using a twin study design. A total of 116 twin children, aged 4 years, were asked to strike two small clash cymbals together in a cyclical manner, in three phases. In the first phase, children were asked to maintain a comfortable personal tempo of rhythmic motor activity (spontaneous motor phase). In contrast, in the other phases, children were required to synchronize rhythmic motor activity in response to the timing of a stimulus tone, or a memorized tempo. Large additive genetic, although negligible shared environmental influences, were observed in the spontaneous motor phase. However, environmental factors were estimated in the other two phases, while the additive genetic factor was nearly zero. These results indicate that the extent of genetic and environmental influences on individual differences in rhythmic motor activity can be modulated under different situations.     

A Longitudinal Study of Factors Influencing Occupational Therapy Students' Practice Preference from Pre-Admission Through Job Selection

Abstract

The number of occupational therapists and students choosing to practice in the area of mental health continues to decline. A longitudinal comparative study was conducted using a class of 27 Bachelor's and 20 Master's students, to examine the factors that influence the students' practice area preference at three points from pre-admission to job selection. The major influential factors were similar for both groups. At pre-admission, observation, volunteer work or a job in OT or a related field was reported to be the most influential factor in choosing a practice area preference. At level II fieldwork, positive influences on practice area preference were generally higher for physical disabilities, and negative influences were higher for mental health. At job selection, availability of a job and patient population were the most important influencing factors. Pre-admission experiences, level II fieldwork, and professionally challenging aspects of the practice area preference were the most important retrospective experiences influencing preference for practice area. In order to maintain or increase a presence in mental health the profession may need to expand OT students' pre-admission experiential expectations, professional mental health supports, and job opportunities in mental health.     

TEMPORAL AND CLIMATIC VARIABLES IN NATURALISTIC OBSERVATION1

Home-observation data on 5- to 7-yr-old boys collected over 2 yr were examined for systematic variations in rates of desirable and undesirable behaviors associated with several temporal and climatic variables. Significant effects associated with time of day, day of the week, precipitation, and temperature were found. No significant effects on the naturalistic observation data were found for environmental factors associated with lunar phase. It was noted that the correlational nature of the findings did not obviate the necessity for control of the influence of temporal and climatic variables. Several methodological strategies for such control were discussed.     

Self-ratings of health: The influence of age and smoking status and the role of different explanatory models

Abstract

The influence of five background variables (age-group. sex. work status. smoking status. household income) on four health ratings (current self-rating. estimated age/sex average rating, best possible self-rating. health satisfaction self-rating) was investigated in the context of a local survey with 377 respondents. Main effects of age-group. smoking status and work status on current health self-ratings were obtained as predicted. Age-group was also found to affect age/sex average ratings. health satisfaction and best possible health self-ratings, with smoking status also influencing the last of these. Mediation of the obtained effects was also examined by controlling for three independent self-report measures of health status in the analyses. Two relevant theoretical notions were examined in analysing the data. The health satisfaction findings as a function of age-group proved consistent with Multiple Discrepancies Theory. Strong support was obtained for a social representations approach. particularly through the direct effects (unmediated by the independent health status measures) of age-group on age/sex average health ratings and best possible health self-ratings. This suggests the contribution of a social consensus about age as having a negative influence on health status. Directions for further research are briefly outlined.     

Beyond Heritability: Twin Studies in Behavioral Research

ABSTRACT— The heritability of human behavioral traits is now well established, due in large measure to classical twin studies. We see little need for further studies of the heritability of individual traits in behavioral science, but the twin study is far from having outlived its usefulness. The existence of pervasive familial influences on behavior means that selection bias is always a concern in any study of the causal effects of environmental circumstances. Twin samples continue to provide new opportunities to identify causal effects with appropriate genetic and shared environmental controls. We discuss environmental studies of discordant twin pairs and twin studies of genetic and environmental transactions in this context.     

Familial influences on television viewing and aggression: A sibling study

Familial influences on aggressive behavior and TV viewing were investigated in a survey of adolescent siblings. Same-sex siblings resembled one another in aggression (brothers, r = 0.59; sisters, r = 0.52) and in their exposure to violent TV programs; opposite-sex siblings were dissimilar. Within individuals, the frequency of watching crime and action programs correlated nonsignificantly with aggression. Two other variables, however, were associated with aggression: identification with aggression and aggression consequences. These relationships also held up between families (BF, covariance of sibling' averages) and within families (WF, covariance of sibling' differences). The latter WF relationship indicated that one sibling was typically the more extreme on both aggression and its correlate than a brother or sister. These results were interpreted in light of behavioral genetic data that suggest substantial genetic influences, few common environmental influences, and large within-family environmental influences on personality development.     

Unconscious semantic categorization and mask interactions: An elaborate response to Kunde et al. (2005)

In their original report [Kunde, W., Kiesel, A., & Hoffmann, J. (2003). Conscious control over the content of unconscious cognition. Cognition, 88, 223-242] maintain that “unconscious stimuli [do not] owe their impact […] to automatic semantic categorization” (p.223), and instead propose the action-trigger theory of unconscious priming. In a reply to our paper [Kunde, W., Kiesel, A., & Hoffmann, J. (2005). On the masking and disclosure of unconscious semantic processing. A reply to Van Opstal, Reynvoet, & Verguts (2005). Cognition], the authors adopt a reconcilist position, and propose that both theories may be valid depending on the experimental situation. We discuss the evidence in favor of this position. [Kunde, W., Kiesel, A., & Hoffmann, J. (2005). On the masking and disclosure of unconscious semantic processing. A reply to Van Opstal, Reynvoet, & Verguts (2005). Cognition] also propose an alternative account of our mask-type blocking hypothesis. We report an experiment that distinguishes between our original and their alternative hypothesis.     

Effects of an adult's presence on the social behavior of preschool children

The social behavior of same-sex pairs of nursery school children was observed during two ten-minute play sessions. One half of the pairs played alone during both sessions, and the remaining pairs played in the presence of a passive adult supervisor. Child pairs who played alone were significantly less aggressive and exhibited a moderate but nonsignificant increase in the expression of positive or prosocial behaviors. Unsupervised pairs also tended to verbalize more and engaged in significantly more cooperative play. The absence of adults may encourage children to employ more mature social strategies to achieve a successful relationship with their playmates.     

Genetic and environmental transactions underlying educational attainment

This report used a population-representative longitudinal twin study with two birth cohorts to explore the association between intelligence and education by understanding how genetic and environmental influences on intelligence moderate genetic and environmental influences on school grades and educational attainment. Nonshared environmental influences on grades were strong when IQ was low, but decreased across the range of IQ. Shared environmental influences common to age 24 educational attainment and age 17 IQ were strong when IQ was low, but genetic influences common to IQ and education were strong when IQ was high. These results suggest that the causal mechanisms linking educational variables with intelligence differ for people with different levels of intelligence.     

创业精神的影响因素及其绩效评价

创业精神分为个体创业精神和企业创业精神。个性特质、认知模式、教育培训和创业经验影响个体创业精神,企业战略、组织结构、企业环境和组织支持影响企业创业精神。该文最后讨论了创业精神的绩效评价问题,指出准确的绩效测量是创业研究的关键。     

On the masking and disclosure of unconscious elaborate processing. A reply to Van Opstal, Reynvoet, and Verguts (2005)

We have recently argued that unconscious numerical stimuli might activate responses by a match with prespecified action trigger codes (action trigger account) rather than by semantic prime processing (elaborate processing account). [Van Opstal, F., Reynvoet, B., and Verguts, T. (2005). How to trigger elaborate processing? A comment on Kunde, Kiesel, and Hoffmann (2003). Cognition] replicate one piece of evidence for our inference—an inefficiency of primes not presented in target format (verbal or Arabic). But this was found only with letter masks and not with hash masks. The authors conclude that letter masks block unconscious prime processing, and that elaborate processing can account for unconscious priming effects if all its (sometimes subtle) side conditions are considered. We agree that the type of mask in general is an important factor in priming studies but we note that (i) the authors' mask-blocking hypothesis is not well supported by the data, (ii) clear evidence for semantic prime processing in their study is lacking and, (iii) differences in mask efficiency (rather than mask type) might account for the conflicting results. To corroborate this inference we replicate van Opstal et al.'s results with letter masks but reduced mask efficiency. Altogether their data do not challenge the action-trigger account nor do they strongly support the elaborate processing view.     

Genetic and environmental influences on the Verbal-Perceptual-Image Rotation (VPR) model of the structure of mental abilities in the Minnesota study of twins reared apart

In previous papers [Johnson, W., & Bouchard Jr., T. J. (2005a). Constructive Replication of the Visual-Perceptual-Image Rotation (VPR) Model in Thurstone's (1941) Battery of 60 Tests of Mental Ability. Intelligence, 33, 417–430.] [Johnson, W., & Bouchard Jr., T. J. (2005b). The Structure of Human Intelligence: It's Verbal, perceptual, and image rotation (VPR), not Fluid and Crystallized. Intelligence, 33, 393–416.] we have proposed the Verbal, perceptual, and image rotation (VPR) model of the structure of mental abilities. The VPR model is hierarchical, with a g factor that contributes strongly to broad verbal, perceptual, and image rotation abilities, which in turn contribute to 8 more specialized abilities. The verbal and perceptual abilities, though separable, are highly correlated, as are the perceptual and mental rotation abilities. The verbal and mental rotation abilities are much less correlated. In this study we used the twin sample in the Minnesota Study of Twins Reared Apart to estimate the genetic and environmental influences and the correlations among them at each order of the VPR model. Genetic influences accounted for 67–79% of the variance throughout the model, with the exception of the second-stratum Content Memory factor, which showed 33% genetic influence. These influences could not be attributed to assessed similarity of rearing environment. Genetic correlations closely mirrored the phenotypic correlations. Together, these findings substantiate the theory that the entire structure of mental abilities is strongly influenced by genes.     

Validation of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 among a random sample of Jordanian women

Measuring the impact of westernization on body image is an important element in understanding body dissatisfaction and eating disorders in countries undergoing cultural transitions. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the validity and reliability of the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3, a measure of societal and media impacts on body image, in a non-western population. Factor analyses identified the same four subscales found in the original validation with high Cronbach's alpha coefficients and Guttman split-half coefficients, and low item cross-loadings. Furthermore, mean score comparisons by demographic variables on each subscale indicated that subscale scores were only affected by age. The results suggest that the Sociocultural Attitudes Towards Appearance Questionnaire-3 is a valid and reliable instrument for Jordanian women. The high level of validity and reliability for this population lends support for the possible use of this scale in other non-western populations after appropriate pretesting.     

Effects of parental comments on body dissatisfaction and eating disturbance in young adults: A sociocultural model

This study examined a sociocultural model of the influence of parental comments on body shape and eating concerns among males and females. Questionnaires were completed by 338 undergraduates. Participants reported levels of perceived parental comments, internalization of media ideals, appearance comparison, body dissatisfaction, drive for thinness and bulimia. Results revealed that, regardless of gender, internalization and appearance comparison only partially mediated the relationship between parental comments and the outcome variables. The final model for females explained a larger proportion of the variability in body shape and eating concerns than in males, with positive and negative parental comments directly related to body dissatisfaction and through it to eating outcomes. In males, only negative comments were directly related to body dissatisfaction. These findings highlight the role of parental influences in sociocultural models of the development of body dissatisfaction and eating concerns, and the gender-specific patterns of sociocultural influence.     

加入WTO对我国医药卫生科学研究的影响及对策

中国加入WTO,不仅对我国经济和社会的发展带来机遇和挑战,而且对我们的医药卫生科学研究的发展,产生巨大的影响。这就需要我们采取积极的措施,变压力为动力,加速我国医药卫生科学研究和学科建设的发展。     

How eudaimonic and hedonic motives relate to the well-being of close others

Past research has examined the link of eudaimonic and hedonic motives with personal well-being, but less is known about their link with the well-being of close others. Also, empirical data on the link with the well-being of close others would address an ongoing debate regarding whether eudaimonia is egoistic and possibly detrimental to others. Participants completed self-report measures of their typical degrees of eudaimonic and hedonic motivation. We then asked their friends and relatives to tell us how the participant affected their well-being. When entering eudaimonia and hedonia simultaneously as predictors of close other well-being in multiple regressions, only eudaimonia related positively to the well-being of close others. Thus, eudaimonia had a positive, not negative, impact on other people. Furthermore, while past research shows that both eudaimonic and hedonic motives benefit personal well-being, this study suggests that eudaimonic motivation has more positive influences on close others.     

Peer Contagion in Interventions for Children and Adolescents: Moving Towards an Understanding of the Ecology and Dynamics of Change

The influence of deviant peers on youth behavior is of growing concern, both in naturally occurring peer interactions and in interventions that might inadvertently exacerbate deviant development. The focus of this special issue is on understanding the moderating and mediating variables that account for peer contagion effects in interventions for youth. This set of nine innovative papers moves the field forward on three fronts: (1) Broadening the empirical basis for understanding the conditions under which peer contagion is more or less likely (that is, moderators of effects); (2) Identifying mechanisms that might account for peer contagion effects (mediators); and (3) Forging the methodological rigor that is needed to study peer contagion effects within the context of intervention trials. We propose an ecological framework for disentangling the effects of individuals, group interactions, and program contexts in understanding peer contagion effects. Finally, we suggest methodological enhancements to study peer contagion in intervention trials.     

Matching choices to avoid offending stigmatized group members

People (selectors) sometimes make choices both for themselves and for others (recipients). We propose that selectors worry about offending recipients with their choices when recipients are stigmatized group members and options in a choice set differ along a stigma-relevant dimension. Accordingly, selectors are more likely to make the same choices for themselves and stigmatized group member recipients than non-stigmatized group member recipients. We conducted eight studies to study this hypothesis in different choice contexts (food, music, games, books) and with recipients from different stigmatized groups (the obese, Black-Americans, the elderly, students at lower-status schools). We use three different approaches to show that this effect is driven by people’s desire to avoid offending stigmatized group members with their choices. Thus, although prior research shows that people often want to avoid being associated with dissociative groups, such as stigmatized groups, we demonstrate that people make the same choices for self and stigmatized other to minimize offense.