Do assortative preferences contribute to assortative mating for adiposity?

Assortative mating for adiposity, whereby levels of adiposity in romantic partners tend to be positively correlated, has implications for population health due to the combined effects of partners' levels of adiposity on fertility and/or offspring health. Although assortative preferences for cues of adiposity, whereby leaner people are inherently more attracted to leaner individuals, have been proposed as a factor in assortative mating for adiposity, there have been no direct tests of this issue. Because of this, and because of recent work suggesting that facial cues of adiposity convey information about others' health that may be particularly important for mate preferences, we tested the contribution of assortative preferences for facial cues of adiposity to assortative mating for adiposity (assessed from body mass index, BMI) in a sample of romantic couples. Romantic partners' BMIs were positively correlated and this correlation was not due to the effects of age or relationship duration. However, although men and women with leaner partners showed stronger preferences for cues of low levels of adiposity, controlling for these preferences did not weaken the correlation between partners' BMIs. Indeed, own BMI and preferences were uncorrelated. These results suggest that assortative preferences for facial cues of adiposity contribute little (if at all) to assortative mating for adiposity.     

Vicarious traumatization and secondary traumatic stress: A research synthesis∗

Vicarious traumatization (VT) refers to harmful changes that occur in professionals’ views of themselves, others, and the world, as a result of exposure to the graphic and/or traumatic material of their clients. Secondary traumatic stress (STS) refers to a set of psychological symptoms that mimic post-traumatic stress disorder, but is acquired through exposure to persons suffering the effects of trauma. Numerous studies have sought to identify correlates of both VT and STS, yet there still exists a lack of conceptual clarity in the literature about VT, STS, and the related constructs of burnout and compassion fatigue. This has made it difficult to use the literature to inform practice and training. This study clarifies the definitions of VT and STS and uses levels of evidence analysis to synthesize the research findings to date. Originally planned as a meta-analysis, the study was re-designed as methodological issues in the literature became apparent that would call into question the validity of a meta-analysis. The current method of analysis documents the degree of evidence for the most commonly researched factors that have been researched as possible contributors to the development of both VT and STS, synthesizing the findings of published research and dissertations written in the English language from 1994–2003. Findings indicate that persuasive evidence exists for personal trauma history, reasonable evidence for perceived coping style, and some evidence for supervision experiences, as important predictors of VT. Persuasive evidence for amount of exposure to trauma material and reasonable evidence for personal trauma history are indicated as important in the development of STS. Limitations of the current study and directions for further research are discussed.     

Further development of measures of early math performance for preschoolers

The purpose of this study was to examine the progress monitoring and screening accuracy for a set of curriculum-based measures (CBM) of early mathematics skills. Measures included counting objects, selecting numbers, naming numbers, counting, and visual discrimination. Measures were designed to be administered with preschoolers in a short period of time using a developmentally appropriate format, and to constitute minimal disruption to the classroom routine. Previous research indicated that each of these measures produced scores with acceptable consistency across alternate forms on consecutive days. Scores yielded on the experimental probes correlated moderately, in most cases, with two commonly used standardized measures (i.e., the Brigance Screens and TEMA-2). Performance on the probes also correlated with teacher rankings and ratings of child performance. In the present study, data were collected in two phases. In the first phase, a cohort of children were administered the early math measures in spring of preschool and were followed into winter of kindergarten where they were administered kindergarten CBM probes to examine the degree to which performance in preschool (as measured by the early math probes) could predict performance on similar tasks in kindergarten. Second, risk criteria were examined and compared to identification by the Brigance Screens. These analyses provided data about the potential accuracy of the probes for screening. In the second phase, sensitivity of the probes to performance differences was examined by comparing mean performance on the probes of preschoolers and kindergartners. The lowest-performing children were provided with seven intervention sessions to examine the degree to which probes could detect growth resulting from intervention. Directions for future research and implications for practice are discussed.     

The L/M-opponent channel provides a distinct and time-dependent contribution towards visual recognition

The visual pathway has been successfully modelled as containing separate channels consisting of one achromatically opponent mechanism and two chromatically opponent mechanisms. However, little is known about how time affects the processing of chromatic information. Here, parametrically defined objects were generated. Reduced-colour objects were interleaved with full-colour objects and measures of recognition performance (d') were compared by the continuous serial recognition paradigm. Measures were taken at multiple delay intervals (1, 4, 7, and 10 s). When chromatic variations were removed, recognition performance was impaired, but at the 1 s and 10 s intervals only. When luminance variations were removed, no impairment resulted. When only L/M-opponent modulations were removed, a deficit in performance was produced only at the 1 s and 10 s intervals, similar to the removal of chromatic variation. When only S-opponent modulations were removed, no impairment was observed. The results suggest that the L/M-opponent pathway provides a specialised contribution to visual recognition, but that its effect is modulated by time. A three-stage process model is proposed to explain the data.     

Efficacy of the Health Belief Model for Predicting Intention to Pursue Genetic Testing for Colorectal Cancer

This study examined the Health Belief Model’s efficacy to predict intention to undergo genetic testing for the Colorectal Carcinoma (CRC) gene within a rural/frontier setting. Survey data were collected on 558 Southwest Montanan residents. Regression analysis revealed that perceived benefits, including affordability and satisfying curiosity, were the strongest indicators of intention to undergo genetic testing for CRC. Select consumer barriers and cues to action variables were also found to be significant predictors. Collectively the model explained approximately 36% of the variance. These preliminary findings have implications for genetic counselors, health practitioners and health care providers concerned with genetic counseling and addressing the public health issue of CRC.