Substance use/abuse as a predictor to illegal and violent behavior: A review of the relevant literature

The preponderance of the research evidence supports the conclusion that abuse of certain types of illicit drugs, separately from the abuse of alcohol, predisposes to subsequent violent behavior. The relationship of cocaine/crack to violent crime has been established more clearly for users of crack in inner city areas than it has for those who are users of other forms of cocaine in the general population.In regard to any race/ethnic or socioeconomic factors in the relationships between substance use/abuse and violent behavior, most clearly established is that a higher proportion of young Black males, compared to other race/ethnic groups, are actively involved in dealing cocaine/crack in some inner city poverty areas.As for gender differences, the research evidence indicates that alcohol abuse as a predictor to and a precipitant of violent behavior, is more clearly established for males than for females. Drug abuse, as distinct from alcohol abuse, has been found to predict subsequent violent behavior, for females as well as for males. “Co-morbidity,” the combination of substance use with and psychopathology, appears more likely to predict for females to later violent behavior. Psychopathology and mental health problems are less likely to predict occurrence of either violent or criminal behavior in the future than are either alcohol abuse or drug abuse.     

Stereoscopic acuity for photometrically matched background wavelengths at scotopic and photopic levels

Two Ss made equidistance settings in a two-rod apparatus using white and four chromatic (red, yellow, Feen, and blue) backgrounds, photometrically matched at each of eight or nine teat levels within a total retinal-illuminance range of 4 log units. The binocular depth setting were analyzed in terms of the angular magnitude of both the Yariable error, η_AD, and the constant error, η_ΔR When η_AD is plotted as a function of retinal illuminance, the curves for each of the four chromatic IIIId white backlfound coditions show that at low retinal illuminances, η_AD, is initially large, and with increasing background illumination, η_AD progressively decreases to approach a final low asymptotic value. As predicted by the duplicity theory of vision, each experimental curve shows a dircontinulty at about ?1.0 lot td (corresponding to a background luminance value of about 0.0069 fL with the 2.5-mm artificial pupil used) reflecting the transition from rod to cone functioning. The curves representing the different wavelengths essentially overlap throughout the total illumination range, indicating that, for both rod and cone vision, wavelength has no differential effect on the variability of depth settings. The data for η_ΔR are less regular than those for η_AD and the rod-cone discontinuities appear less pronounced. The data are analyzed in terms of the relative contribution of the rod and cone mechanisms to performance level.     

Low-variance stimulus-response latencies: Deterministic internal delays?

When special procedures are used to minimize S-R latency variance, all responses fall within a distribution which has a standard deviation near 10 msec. This minimum SD is the same whether the mean latency is at the simple RT limit or as much as 400 msec longer than that limit. Over this range, the latency distribution is everywhere the same, symmetrical and highly-peaked and not typical of RT. Above a mean latency of 550 msec, variance increases as the mean increases in the way that would be expected if SD/M were constant for the delay in excess of 550. By way of interpretation, it is proposed that there are internal time delays which can be inserted into the S-R chain. These delays can be adjusted to any value between 0 and about 400 msec, but once set, they can be deterministic. Other considerations are discussed which suggest that the deterministic time delays are in the afferent part of the S-R chain.     

Memory scanning by children: Meaningfulness and mediation

Two experiments were performed for the purpose of isolating factors that influence speed of memory scanning by children. The first experiment revealed an interaction involving age and type of stimulus. Young children required relatively greater time to process ambiguous stimuli. The second experiment, involving a pretraining phase designed to induce mediation, showed that preschool children scan representations more rapidly when given instructions to apply a mediator.     

Androgyny as type and androgyny as behavior: Implications for gender schema in males and females

Blending represents the integration of masculine and feminine behaviors within a discrete social situation. This process represents an alternative view of androgyny, commonly conceived in terms of extensive masculine and feminine repertories allowing flexibility in sex role display from situation to situation. The present study was concerned with the simple relations between each of these two androgyny constructs and gender schema (the perception, processing, and recall of information in terms of conventional sex role stereotypes) as well as higher order relations that consider their interactions. No gender-schema effects of any kind were evident for males. Men were equally sensitive to sex role stereotypes whether they were or were not androgynous types, whether they reported more or less androgynous behavior, or whether they combined the two forms of androgyny or not. Androgynous types of women were the least concerned about traditional sex role distinctions between men and women, just as feminine women displayed the strongest gender-schema effects. However, the lack of concern for sex role stereotypes was restricted to androgynous types of women who did not blend their feminine and masculine attributes into androgynous behavior.     

Information seeking of high- and low-anxiety subjects after receiving positive and negative self-relevant feedback

The present paper reports an experiment in which subjects received fictitious intelligence test feedback that was either negatively or positively discrepant with their self-evaluation. They were then given an opportunity to choose among several articles containing information that either derogated intelligence tests (test-disparaging information) or argued for their validity (test-supporting information). The main finding of this study consists of an interaction between the personality factor anxiety and the feedback variable: High-anxiety subjects prefer test-disparaging information significantly more in the negative feedback condition than in the positive feedback condition, whereas low-anxiety subjects show no difference in preference for test-related information as a function of the feedback condition. These results are in line with past theoretical reasoning and experimental findings showing that high-anxiety subjects feel more threatened by negative self-relevant feedback than do low-anxiety subjects.     

Dimensions of problem behavior in deaf children

The Behavior Problem Checklist was completed by the teachers of 192 deaf students who attended a special day school for the deaf. Three separate factor analyses were performed. Four factors that correspond to the dimensions found in earlier research and previously labeled conduct disorder, personality problems, immaturity inadequacy, and socialized delinquency were found. An additional factor labeled passive inferiority was also extracted.We wish to acknowledge the cooperation of Mr. Richard Dirst and his excellent faculty at the Atlanta Area School for the Deaf.