An exploration of adolescent emotional intelligence in relation to demographic characteristics

Emotional intelligence (EI) was measured in 200 youth ages 16-19. EI scores were compared to demographic characteristics of the individuals (age, sex, household income, parents' level of education, and location of residence). Findings indicate that EI levels were positively related to females, parents' education, and household income. The study did not show significant relationships between adolescent EI and location of residence or age. EI scores were significantly different between females and males, with females reporting higher EI levels. A one-way ANOVA showed no significant differences between EI scores and age, location of residence, and household income. Significant differences were found based upon EI scores for parents' education; as they increased, so did EI levels. In a linear regression model, with demograpics as the independent variables and EI as the dependent variable, father's education and sex were both predictors. The results will guide future studies to determine the factors behind adolescent El formation and development.     

The role of early maladaptive schemas in predicting exposure and response prevention outcome for obsessive-compulsive disorder

This is the first study that explores whether early maladaptive schemas are related to treatment outcome for patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). The sample consisted of 88 outpatients with a diagnosis of OCD who completed exposure and response prevention treatment. The Yale-Brown Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (Y-BOCS), the Beck Depression Inventory and Young Schema Questionnaire – Short Form were administered before and after treatment. Regression analyses using post-treatment Y-BOCS as the dependent variable indicated that higher scores on the abandonment schema at pre-treatment were related to poor outcome and explained 7% of the variance in symptoms at post-treatment. Higher scores on the self-sacrifice schema at pre-treatment were related to good outcome and explained 6% of the variance in obsessive-compulsive symptoms at post-treatment. During treatment, only changes in the failure schema were significantly related to good outcome and explained 18% of the variance in symptoms at post-treatment.     

The Mehrabian Achieving Tendency Scale (MATS): Reliability, validity and relationship to demographic characteristics

The Mehrabian Achieving Tendency Scale (MATS) assesses individual motivational characteristics that are associated with achievement (Mehrabian, 1993; 1994-1995). A survey of 130 males and 218 females was conducted to examine psychometric properties of the MATS in a sample of Australians between 18 and 75 years of age. MATS scores attained high reliabilities and were similar to American samples. MATS scores were positively and significantly correlated with the Schwartz Value Survey (1992) achievement values but were not correlated with benevolence values. The MATS had a single factor structure but marked differences in item loading patterns when compared with Mehrabian and Blum (1996). Education and occupation were significantly associated with variations in MATS but gender and age were not.     

The Mehrabian Achieving Tendency Scale (MATS): Reliability, validity and relationship to demographic characteristics

The Mehrabian Achieving Tendency Scale (MATS) assesses individual motivational characteristics that are associated with achievement (Mehrabian, 1993; 1994-1995). A survey of 130 males and 218 females was conducted to examine psychometric properties of the MATS in a sample of Australians between 18 and 75 years of age. MATS scores attained high reliabilities and were similar to American samples. MATS scores were positively and significantly correlated with the Schwartz Value Survey (1992) achievement values but were not correlated with benevolence values. The MATS had a single factor structure but marked differences in item loading patterns when compared with Mehrabian and Blum (1996). Education and occupation were significantly associated with variations in MATS but gender and age were not.     

人口统计学特征对公共服务动机有什么影响?来自元分析的证据

采用元分析方法探讨人口统计学特征与公共服务动机之间的关系。经筛选, 共纳入138篇492个独立样本(N = 1078442)。结果发现, 性别、年龄、教育程度、组织任期、工作任期、职位等级和收入与公共服务动机之间均呈显著的正相关关系, 且与公共服务动机不同维度之间的关系均存在差异, 婚姻状况与公共服务动机间不存在显著的相关关系。此外, 公共服务动机测量工具、测量时间点和文化背景对部分人口统计学特征与公共服务动机之间的关系有调节作用。研究结果为人口统计学特征如何影响公共服务动机提供了较为精确的估计, 对于发展公共服务动机理论, 激励员工工作积极性, 提高公共部门服务水平都有重要意义。     

The relations among cry characteristics, demographic variables, and developmental test scores in infants prenatally exposed to methadone

This study examined the relations among developmental test scores, infants' demographic characteristics, and cry features. Cry features were strongly related to developmental test scores at all ages, suggesting that use of the infants' cry characteristics can help to identify those infants at greatest risk for later developmental problems.     

The importance of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in predicting adolescent substance use

The current study assessed the relative importance of conduct problems and depressive symptoms, measured at two ages (11 and 15), for predicting substance use at age 15 in an unselected birth cohort of New Zealand adolescents. Among males, when the relative predictive utility of both conduct problems and depressive symptoms was assessed, only pre-adolescent depressive symptoms were found to predict multiple drug use 4 years later. No predictive relation was found between early symptomatology and later substance use among females. The strongest association between predictors and substance use emerged between age 15 multiple drug use and concurrent conduct problems for both males and females. Finally, both conduct problems and depressive symptoms at age 15 were also found to be associated with concurrent self-medication among females.This work was supported by USPHS grants MH-43746 and MH-45070 from the Antisocial and Violent Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health to Terrie Moffitt. Bill Henry was funded by a Fulbright Travel Award. The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the Medical Research Council and Health Research Council of New Zealand. Appreciation is expressed to the interviewers who collected the data, and to the young New Zealanders who were members of the sample.     

Portrayals of women in prime-time network television: Some demographic characteristics

This paper examines demographic variables to create a partial picture of current portrayals of women on network television. All prime-time programs for all networks served as the information base. The findings were that few changes had been made in the portrayals of women from the 1970s to the 1980s in terms of observable demographic characteristics.     

The relationship between the experience of stuttering and demographic characteristics of adults who stutter

PurposeThis study aims to examine the association between adults’ experience of stuttering and their age, gender and marital status, as well as to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Hebrew version of the OASES-A.MethodsThe Hebrew version of the OASES-A was administered to 91 adults-who-stutter. The validity of the translated version was evaluated using a subset of 43 participants, who also completed three additional instruments: (a) a Perceived Stuttering Severity (PSS) self-rating scale, (b) the Situation Avoidance Behavior Checklist (SABC), (c) the Students Life Satisfaction scale (SLSS). Finally, the correlations between the participants’ OASES-A scores and their age, gender and marital status were calculated.ResultsA negative correlation was found between the participants’ OASES-A impact scores and their age (p < 0.01). In addition, married participants exhibited lower OASES-A impact scores compared with unmarried participants (p < 0.05). On the other hand, the speakers’ gender was not associated with OASES-A impact scores.Resultsrevealed high internal consistency of the Hebrew OASES-A, and moderate to strong correlations with the additional examined instruments. Finally, results of the Hebrew version of the questionnaire were comparable with those obtained in other languages.ConclusionOur results indicated that, within our cohort, age and marital status are significantly associated with the personal experience of stuttering, whereas gender is not. In addition, the Hebrew version of the OASES-A is valid and comparable with equivalent versions in other languages. This facilitates the application of the OASES-A in future clinical and research settings.     

The relationships of career salience,attitudes toward women,and demographic and family characteristics to marital adjustment in dual-career couples

Facilitation of women's increasing involvement and satisfaction in career pursuits necessitates understanding of ways in which multiple roles may be managed and integrated by both women and men. Accordingly, the present study was designed to investigate predictors of levels of marital adjustment in dual-career couples. Both husbands and wives in 42 dual-career couples completed Greenhaus' Career Salience scale, the Attitudes toward Women scale, the Dyadic Adjustment scale, and a demographic information questionnaire. Results indicated, first, that the dual-career couples studied reported relatively high levels of marital adjustment, relatively profeminist attitudes toward women, and moderate levels of career salience; family interests were ranked as more important than were career interests. Second, higher levels of marital adjustment in both husbands and wives were found in couples in which the wife was more highly educated and which had relatively high combined incomes. In addition, greater marital adjustment in husbands was related to higher levels of career salience among wives. Contrary to expectation, husbands' attitudes toward women's roles were unrelated to their levels of marital adjustment. Implications for further research on dual-career couples and for the successful integration of career and family roles are discussed.     

Sex differences in jealousy in response to infidelity: Evaluation of demographic moderators in a national random sample

Studies examining sex differences in jealousy have often relied on student samples and were restricted to the evaluation of a selected few moderators. In this study, a nationally representative survey of American households was presented with either an actual or a hypothetical infidelity scenario (which appeared as either a forced choice or as continuous measures). Significant sex differences only emerged for forced choice measures and not for continuous measures. Importantly, this effect appeared most strongly in participants reporting reactions to an actual infidelity. We also explored a number of potential moderators of this effect. These moderators were more influential for the hypothetical than for the actual infidelity scenario. Exploratory analysis of additional demographic variables was conducted.     

Rethinking the use of personal history information: The value of theory-based biodata for predicting turnover

This article argues the case for the use of theoretically-grounded biodata information as valid predictors of employee behavior and outlines a procedure for the use of biodata variables with relatively small samples. The usefulness of this approach was demonstrated in a study assessing the ability of theory-based biodata items to predict the turnover of bank tellers. The results of this study demonstrate the predictive power and the practical value of using carefully chosen biodata information. In particular, tenure in prior job, relevance of prior job experience, and education level were found to significantly predict teller turnover.     

Twenty-five years of JEAB: A survey of selected demographic characteristics related to publication trends

Some demographic characteristics related to authorship of research reports in the Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior (JEAB) were analyzed as to affiliation and location (U.S. or foreign) of authors. In addition, the incidence of publications by the members of the editorial board was tallied. The number of different affiliations of JEAB authors has decreased steadily over the past several years with substantially fewer papers deriving from independent laboratories and medical schools. While the number of papers by foreign authors has generally increased over the years there is a recent reduction in their number. These data paint a mixed picture of the "health" status of the experimental analysis of behavior as reflected in its major publication outlet.     

The role of Christian commitment in predicting drug use amongst church affiliated young people

This research set out to establish which of four statements reflecting Christian commitment ('usually go to church on Sunday', 'have given my life to Jesus', 'read the Bible every week' and 'pray most days') were the most important predictors of never having smoked, drunk alcohol or tried drugs amongst a group of church affiliated young people. A self-report questionnaire was completed by 7661 participants aged 12-30. Agreement with the Christian commitment statements was generally associated with a lesser likelihood of having smoked, drunk alcohol or tried drugs, though different factors were found to be important in predicting lifetime substance use in the two age groups surveyed (12-16 years and age 17-30). Church attendance was the only factor which predicted each behaviour for the younger age group (12-16 years), but for older participants (age 17-30), statements suggesting a greater level of commitment were most important ('have given my life to Jesus', 'read the Bible every week'). The findings suggest that for church affiliated young people it is initially the socialization of religion that acts as a prohibitor against substance use, though, as age increases, a greater internalization of Christian commitment becomes more important.     

Public attitudes toward sex offenders and their relationship to personality traits and demographic characteristics

The present study examined public attitudes toward the sentencing, treatment, management, and perceived dangerousness of sex offenders. Seventy‐eight university undergraduates completed a 25‐item attitude toward sex offenders survey developed for the present study, along with a five‐factor measure of personality (NEO Personality Inventory – Revised), a demographic questionnaire, and the Paulhus Deception Scale, to control for social desirability. While participants most frequently endorsed the belief that sentences were not sufficiently severe, they tended to espouse treatment and risk management alternatives to longer sentences and eschewed exceptionally severe punishments (e.g., surgical castration). Participants estimated high rates of sexual recidivism (59%), although they also estimated significantly lower recidivism rates for treated offenders. Results of a principle components analysis suggested that participant attitudes comprised two broad domains: systems attitudes (e.g., law enforcement, corrections, justice) and rehabilitative attitudes. Although few demographic differences emerged in participant attitudes, ‘openness to experience’ and ‘agreeableness’ each significantly predicted more rehabilitative attitudes, while contrary to expectations, ‘extraversion’ was significantly associated with more negative systems‐related attitudes. The results provide support that personality traits may be linked to important social attitudes, including those toward sex offenders. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Individual characteristics and response to Contingency Management treatment for cocaine addiction

Voucher-based contingency management (CM) research has demonstrated efficacy for treating cocaine addiction, but few studies have examined associations between individual baseline characteristics and response to CM treatments. The aim of this study, involving 50 cocaine outpatients receiving CM for cocaine addiction, was to assess the impact of baseline characteristics on abstinence outcomes after six months of treatment. Patients who were abstinent after six months of treatment accounted for 58% of the sample. Patients with higher scores on the Alcohol area of the EuropASI and patients that were non-abstinent during the first month of treatment were less likely to achieve abstinence. These outcome predictors have implications both for treatment research and for clinical practice. Patients who do not respond early to treatment may need a more intensive intervention, and concomitant problematic alcohol use should be detected and treated. The remaining baseline variables examined were not statistically significant predictors of abstinence. This finding is important for the generalizability of CM across the range of individual characteristics of treatment-seeking cocaine abusers.