Intergenerational occupational transmission: Do offspring walk in the footsteps of mom or dad,or both?

The purpose of this research was to apply the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) in order to investigate intergenerational occupational transmission between parents and their children. A sample of 260 undergraduate students completed a questionnaire measuring TPB variables, and congruence was calculated between the parents' occupations and their offspring's chosen profession. Intention to work in the parents' occupations was predicted by attitude, subjective norm and perceived behavioral control. Congruence between parents' and their children's occupational choice was predicted by intention and perceived behavioral control. The findings provide support to the relational approach in career choice. Implications of the findings for career counselors and young people's career choices are discussed.     

The impact of religious conflict within orthodox Jewish families in Israel

While prior research suggests that religion influences relationships positively, it may also be a source of conflict. This may be particularly relevant in religion-centric cultures and in families with individuating adolescent children. The current research analysed data from 789 orthodox Jewish couples residing throughout Israel and we hypothesised that religious conflict is related to lower family functioning and higher parenting stress, and that it is more frequent among couples with insecure attachment. Results of a structural equation model indicated that religious conflict was significantly associated with outcome variables within various religious subgroups, and that attachment insecurity was related to higher levels of conflict and was fully or partially mediated by religious conflict. This suggests that within the orthodox community, religious conflict is an important correlate, and perhaps cause, of family dysfunction. Future research exploring causality, cross-cultural relevance, comparability to other forms of conflict, and effective treatment appears warranted.     

Model uncertainty and multimodel inference in reliability estimation within a longitudinal framework

Laenen, Alonso, and Molenberghs (2007) and Laenen, Alonso, Molenberghs, and Vangeneugden (2009) proposed a method to assess the reliability of rating scales in a longitudinal context. The methodology is based on hierarchical linear models, and reliability coefficients are derived from the corresponding covariance matrices. However, finding a good parsimonious model to describe complex longitudinal data is a challenging task. Frequently, several models fit the data equally well, raising the problem of model selection uncertainty. When model uncertainty is high one may resort to model averaging, where inferences are based not on one but on an entire set of models. We explored the use of different model building strategies, including model averaging, in reliability estimation. We found that the approach introduced by Laenen et al. (2007, 2009) combined with some of these strategies may yield meaningful results in the presence of high model selection uncertainty and when all models are misspecified, in so far as some of them manage to capture the most salient features of the data. Nonetheless, when all models omit prominent regularities in the data, misleading results may be obtained. The main ideas are further illustrated on a case study in which the reliability of the Hamilton Anxiety Rating Scale is estimated. Importantly, the ambit of model selection uncertainty and model averaging transcends the specific setting studied in the paper and may be of interest in other areas of psychometrics.     

IQ and alcohol consumption : International data

There is evidence at the individual level that alcohol consumption and IQ are positively related: individuals with higher IQ scores tend to consume relatively more alcohol than those with lower IQs. This paper empirically tests whether this relationship holds at the national level. Using national IQ measures and data on per capita alcohol consumption, we test whether higher-IQ countries on average also have higher levels of per capita beer and wine consumption. Based on regression analysis for a sample of 99 countries, the data do not reject the hypothesis that, other factors held constant, higher IQ predicts higher levels of per capita alcohol consumption at the national level.     

Two Second‐Personal Conceptions of the Dignity of Persons

In spite of the burgeoning philosophical literature on human dignity, Stephen Darwall's second‐personal account of the dignity of persons has not received the attention it deserves. This article investigates Darwall's account and argues that it faces a dilemma, for it succumbs either to a problem of antecedence or to the wrong kind of reasons problem. But this need not mean one should reject a second‐personal account. Instead, I argue that an alternative second‐personal conception, one I will call relational, promises to solve the dilemma by avoiding both the problem of antecedence and the wrong kind of reasons problem. More generally, distinguishing these two second‐personal conceptions of the dignity of persons is important to enrich the available philosophical accounts of human dignity.     

Fear of crime and community concerns: Mediating effect of risk and pragmatic fear

This study investigates the relationship between community concerns (i.e., perceived crime, incivilities, and infrastructure) and fear of crime (FOC) while examining the mediating role of risk of victimisation and pragmatic fear. Gender and ethnic differences were also explored. Data were collected using a proportionate multistage random sample of 3,003 participants from a southern Caribbean island in 2015. The following self‐reported measures were used: risk of victimisation and FOC scales, a general (noncrime) fear scale measuring pragmatic fear, and a community concern scale. Data were analysed using path analysis, Sobel tests, and multiple group analysis. Findings revealed that perceived crime and incivilities significantly predicted FOC, whereas infrastructure was insignificant as a direct predictor. Females had higher FOC, and among ethnic groups, Indo‐Trinidadians had the highest FOC than Afro‐Trinidadians and Mixed participants. Risk of victimisation and pragmatic fear had significant mediating effects on community concerns and FOC. Findings are discussed in the context of the social psychology of social disorganisation and previous research.     

The conflicting influences of religiosity on attitude toward torture

This research examines the thesis that religiosity has conflicting influences on Americans' attitudes about the use of torture on terrorism suspects: an organic influence favoring opposition to torture and a discursively driven influence favoring support of torture. In each of two national samples, religiosity had both a direct effect toward opposition to torture and an indirect effect-via conservative political alignment-toward support of torture. Multiple-group analyses revealed that the direct effect toward opposition to torture did not vary across Americans with differing levels of exposure to political discourse, whereas the indirect effect toward support of torture via conservative political alignment was much stronger among Americans highly exposed to political discourse. Among such individuals, the indirect effect was so strong that it completely counteracted the competing direct effect. Discussion focuses on the competing influences that a single nonpolitical psychological characteristic may have on a political preference.     

Procedural differences in the calculation of the prevalence of reading difficulties in Spanish-speaking school children / Diferencias procedimentales en el cálculo de la prevalencia del retraso lector en escolares hispanoparlantes

The prevalence of reading difficulties (RD) reflects controversial data ranging from 3.1–3.2% to 17.5%. Possible explanations are partly based on the incidence of orthography-specific factors influencing the reading process, but also on methodological differences that hinder comparison of the reported results. For this reason, the present study aims to analyse the prevalence of RD in a sample of 1,408 Spanish-speaking school children by comparing different ways of calculating the prevalence rate. The results reflect a prevalence of 2.2?5.3%, consistent with data reported for predominantly transparent orthographies. Some of the procedures used to identify RD are more accurate in early school years than at more advanced moments of schooling. Furthermore, the consideration of students’ sex when calculating the prevalence of RD seems to represent a more sensitive way of identifying students with RD.     

A shift in task routines during the learning of a motor skill: group-averaged data may mask critical phases in the individuals' acquisition of skilled performance

The authors describe a transient phase during training on a movement sequence wherein, after an initial improvement in speed and decrease in variability, individual participants' performance showed a significant increase in variability without change in mean performance speed. Subsequent to this phase, as practice continued, variability again decreased, performance significantly exceeded the gains predicted by extrapolation of the initial learning curve, the type of errors committed changed, and performance became more coherent. The transient phase of increased variability may reflect a mixture of 2 (or more) performance routines before the more effective one is set and mastered, presumably the setting up of a sequence-specific representation. Both group and individual analyses indicated a departure from the single process (e.g., power-law) model of learning. However, although similar phases appeared in the mean group data, there was little correspondence to individual participants' time courses, and the individuals' gains in the second low-variability phase were masked.     

New methods for new questions: obstacles and opportunities

Two forces motivate this special section, "New Methods for New Questions in Developmental Psychology." First are recent developments in social science methodology and the increasing availability of those methods in common software packages. Second, at the same time psychologists' understanding of developmental phenomena has continued to grow. At their best, these developments in theory and methods work in tandem, fueling each other. Newer methods make it possible for scientists to better test their ideas; better ideas lead methodologists to techniques that better reflect, capture, and quantify the underlying processes. The articles in this special section represent a sampling of these new methods and new questions. The authors describe common themes in these articles and identify barriers to future progress, such as the lack of data sharing by and analytical training for developmentalists.