Stereotypes versus behavioral judgments of sex differences in young children

Parents and child care workers were asked to rate 30 preschool child behaviors according to the cultural stereotypes concerning sex-typed behavior and actual behavioral differences between boys and girls. Both agreed on cultural stereotypes, with males rating more behaviors stereotyped than females. The behavioral ratings and cultural stereotypes of parents showed more agreement than those of child care workers. Parents overestimated sex differences in behavior, while child care workers underestimated them.This study was supported by a grant from the Office of Scientific and Scholarly Research, Graduate School, University of Oregon.     

Experiential pre-group preparation and screening

This article describes an experiential approach to pre-group preparation and screening. The technique is described in some detail, as is the underlying rationale. The authors believe that such an approach to pre-group preparation and screening expands upon the more familiar cognitive approaches and allows both therapist and patient a trial run of group psychotherapy.     

Pre-group preparation model for long-term group psychotherapy in a private practice setting

In this paper the authors describe a method of pre-group preparation which has the function of establishing and maintaining a working alliance between the client and the therapist, reducing unproductive anxiety, generating hope for future productive therapeutic work, as well as providing the therapist with a screening technique for assessing the type of group composition that would be most beneficial for the client.We are grateful to our colleague, the late Walter Gruen, whose comments on this paper contributed to the final product.     

EVALUATING STRATEGIES TO IMPROVE CAREPROVIDER PERFORMANCE ON HEALTH AND DEVELOPMENTAL TASKS IN AN INFANT CARE FACILITY

Responding to administrative staff and parental concerns, using modified reversal and withdrawal designs, two experiments evaluated a staff-managed feedback system to improve the hygiene and developmental skills of children in an infant/toddler center. Experiment 1 examined feedback designed to increase staff performance in checking and changing diapers, and recording those changes. A chart plus supervisory feedback produced increases in and maintenance of staff performance. Experiment 2 compared an existing staff management system with a “playchart” plus feedback in increasing careprovider-infant stimulation. The data (with follow-up on a new staff) supported the use of the new feedback system. Questionnaire data further supported the utility of the playchart system.     

Development of a pleasure in parenting scale

Two major components of parenting have been identified: warmth and control. There has been a great deal of work on the measurement of control, but there are not many measures of parental warmth. As part of an attempt to develop better measures of warmth, we developed a scale measuring parents' pleasure in carrying out routine caretaking acts with their children. This measure was then related to other measures of positive support such as observation, observer ratings and questionnaires. As there is evidence in the literature that quality of the environment interacts with parenting, we related the measure to measures of stress, observer ratings of quality of the home, marital interaction and parental mood. Finally, we examined the relation of child variables (attachment classification, temperament rating and observed behaviours) to the parents' ratings of pleasure in the child.     

Bilingual computerized speech-recognition screening for clinical depression: Evaluating a cellular telephone prototype

This exploratory field study evaluated a bilingual computerized speech-recognition cellular telephone prototype of the Center for Epidemiological Studies—Depression scale (CES-D). Thirty Spanish and 22 English speakers completed both computer-telephone and face-to-face CES-D methods and an oral depression checklist in counterbalanced order. Both language groups reported high positive ratings for the computer-telephone method, with the English sample preferring the computer-telephone over the face-to-face method. In both samples, the computer-telephone method yielded high internal consistency estimates, strong alternate form reliabilities, and similar high correlations to the depression checklist. Both groups reported significantly elevated scores with the computer-telephone method, but total score variances for both methods did not differ. Computer-telephone limitations included occasional misrecognitions and template training constraints.     

The Social Phobia and Social Interaction Anxiety Scales: Evaluation of Psychometric Properties

The present investigations examined the factor structure and psychometric properties of two new self-report measures of social phobia, the Social Interaction Anxiety Scale (SIAS) and the Social Phobia Scale (SPS). A confirmatory factor analysis in Study I provided support for the fit of a two-factor model of the SIAS and SPS. Internal consistency estimates were high for the original two scales with a sample of 200 undergraduates. Also, using an item parceling procedure, the obtained internal consistency reliability indices for each parcel were acceptable. Results of the CFA in Study II provided support for the factorial stability of the model identified in Study I. Furthermore, multisample analyses showed invariant patterns for factor loadings and factor correlations across 138 men and 272 women. Gender differences were not observed in the mean SIAS and SPS scale and item scores. Both scales correlated negatively and significantly with measures of social desirability. Concurrent validity was established for the scales. The SPS was less specific than the SIAS to symptoms of social phobia.     

The Relationships of Primary Appraisals of Infertility and Other Gynecological Stressors to Coping

Women experiencing infertility, pregnancy, medical gynecological problems, or annual checkups were assessed for primary appraisal of their stressor and types of coping strategies used. Diagnostic category approximated the subjective appraisal of stressor for pregnant (challenge) and checkup (no stress) groups. Most participants in the medical gynecological problems group appraised their stress as a threat, but a few participants chose other appraisal categories. Infertility was associated with two categories of appraisal—loss and challenge. Participants appraising their stressor as a loss made greater use of the coping strategies of Action, Wishful Thinking, and Fatalism than did women appraising their stressor as a challenge, a threat, or not stressful. Women appraising infertility as challenge were less distressed than women in any other group. The bimodal perception of infertility has implications for treating women who seek psychological help.     

The Effects of a State-Wide Media Campaign on Mammography Screening1

A media campaign was constructed to promote mammography screening in North Dakota. The media included radio and newspaper advertisements that emphasized personal vulnerability to breast cancer. Persons in northern North Dakota were exposed to the ads; persons in southern North Dakota were not. Surveys conducted after the campaign showed that intervention women were aware of the ads. A state-wide longitudinal survey (N= 383) also suggested that the campaign may have influenced women who had been screened previously to have a repeat screening. However, the ads may have adversely affected those women who had never been screened. We discuss comparisons between media attempts and other strategies that can potentially influence health behavior in rural areas.