Background characteristics and women's dual-role attitudes

This study examines the relationship between the attitudes toward the employment of married women held by 583 currently married Los Angeles County women between the ages of 18 and 49 and their personal backgrounds in terms of certain basic demographic characteristics. The findings illustrate that the respondents' attitudes significantly varied as a result of their personal backgrounds (e.g., level of education, ethnicity, marriage duration, income, work status, religion, age, and number of children raised). However, the data do not support the belief of Mason and Bumpass that women's dual-role attitudes are a group phenomenon determined by group norms or collectively held perceptions arising from the women's particular social niches; the demographic characteristics included in the study were able to explain only 27% of the observed variation in dual-role attitudes.     

Is there a Moral Right to Vote?

The question raised in this paper is whether legal rights to vote are also moral rights to vote. The challenge to the justification of a moral right to vote is that it is not clear that the vote is instrumental to the preservation of some critical interest of the voter. Because a single vote has ‘no impact’ on electoral outcomes, the right to vote is unlikely to serve the interests of the individual. The account developed in this paper holds that moral voting rights can be justified once we acknowledge that voting by a sub-set of citizens is among the necessary preconditions for democratic institutions making a significant difference to their collective interests. The justification of a moral right to vote does not, then, apply to each individual citizen but only to a sub-set of them. In order to justify inclusive moral voting rights, the further consideration must be added that individuals have critical interests in public recognition of equal status. An inclusive moral right to vote accordingly depends on both collective interest in the outcomes of democratic institutions and on individual interest in equal recognition.     

Who benefits from emotional expression? An examination of personality differences among gynaecological cancer patients participating in a randomized controlled emotional disclosure intervention trial

The present study examined the role of neuroticism and extraversion in the effects of written emotional disclosure in patients diagnosed with gynaecological cancer. It was hypothesized that high levels of neuroticism would be associated with an increase in distress after emotional disclosure as mediated by heightened negative affect and avoidance post-disclosure. Conversely, we expected high extraversion to be associated with decreased distress as mediated by heightened positive moods and a decrease in avoidance. Eighty-eight participants were randomly assigned to participate in an expressive writing task versus a control writing task. Distress and avoidance were assessed at baseline and 6 months post-writing. Negative and positive mood were assessed immediately following writing. Multiple regression confirmed that neuroticism but not extraversion moderates the effects of emotional disclosure on distress, however no significant mediating relationships were found.     

Comprehension and storage of four serially presented radio news stories by mild aphasic subjects

The present study investigated aphasic subjects' ability to comprehend and store serially presented discourse. Sixteen mild aphasic subjects, eight age-matched normals, and eight younger normals listened to four serially presented radio news stories and a single radio news story. Half of the aphasic subjects performed as well as age-matched normals in a single-news-story comprehension task. However, they demonstrated a drastic deterioration in performance when asked to listen to a series of four news stories. Age-matched normals, and aphasic subjects, to a lesser extent, showed an impairment in the comprehension and storage of the news story heard last in a series of four news stories. These results were discussed in terms of the comprehension and storage resources of working memory.     

Perceived Contraceptive Attributes and Method Choice1

This research investigated the relationship of perceived contraceptive attributes to contraceptive choice. More specifically, the study a) examined what attributes women perceive as important in their choice of a contraceptive method; b) compared women who use the vaginal sponge with women who use oral contraceptives or the diaphragm on perceived importance of attributes; and c) compared sponge users with pill users and diaphragm users on perceived characteristics of three contraceptive methods. Data were collected in telephone interviews from a national sample of 330 current sponge users and 330 women who use other forms of female contraception. Those attributes that were rated highest concerned effectiveness and safety, whereas those that were rated lowest focused on convenience of use and interference with sexual activity. Women differed somewhat by user status on the attributes they believe are important in contraceptive choice, with each group emphasizing those attributes characterizing their own method. Moreover. each user group perceived their own method more favorably than did users of other methods. Perceptions of specific contraceptive methods. particularly the sponge. were more predictive of user status than were general importance ratings.     

Fertility Preferences and Social Exchange Theory1

Interviews with 583 married women aged 18 to 49 revealed that a summary index of motivation for additional children was positively related to preference for a/another child and negatively related to future employment intentions. Desire for children, once formed, had an effect on employment intentions; however, neither employment intentions nor satisfaction with employment affected desire for children. Satisfaction with parenthood and the general rewards of parenthood were positively related to present number of children while motivation for an additional child was negatively related to present number of children. Little evidence was found to indicate that a “rational” social exchange model of fertility choice is more applicable for some sociodemographic groups than for others. In general, however, results provided support for the social exchange model expounded.     

THE SUSCEPTIBILITY OF INTELLECTUAL FUNCTIONS TO A DEPRESSANT DRUG

F rankenhaeuser , M., and B eckman , M. The susceptibility of intellectual functions to a depressant drug. Scand. J. Psychol ., 1961, 2 , 93–99.—The performance of 32 subjects in tests on four intellectual factors (verbal, numerical, inductive and spatial) during the inhalation of nitrous oxide (30 per cent N₂O and 70 per cent O₂) and a control mixture (30 per cent N₂ and 70 per cent O₂) were compared . The drug caused a highly significant deterioration in the performance of all four tests. Both speed and accuracy of performance were impaired. The problem of a possible differential susceptibility to the drug of the various intellectual functions wag attacked by a statistical analysis of the differences between the tests with regard to changes in performance during drug inhalation. No reliable differences in extent of impairment between the four tests could be demonstrated.     

Cultural Beliefs About Social Influence Strategies of Mexican Immigrant Women and Their Heterosexual Partners

The present study examined cultural beliefsregarding the use of influence strategies inheterosexual relationships of 40 Mexican immigrantcouples in stable relationships. Although over 75% ofparticipants had completed seven or more years of education,men were more likely to have completed high school thanwomen. Over half the sample (55%) reported familyincomes of $300 or less per week; 23% reported incomes in excess of $400 a week. During a structuredinterview respondents were asked to indicate their levelof agreement on a 4-point Likert scale with 24statements about influence tactics used by women and men in heterosexual relationships. Culturalconsensus analyses revealed a common cultural modelshared by the sample about which strategies men andwomen use to influence their partners. Results suggest that influence strategies are believed similarfor men and women. Direct and indirect strategies areperceived as used by both partners; bilateral strategiesare believed more likely to be used than unilateral strategies. These findings suggest that Mexicanimmigrant women in stable partnerships endorse normsthat support the use of relatively equivalent power inpartner relationships. The use of positive Mexican cultural norms to promote health protectivebehaviors such as condom use and other less risky sexualbehaviors is discussed.