Clustering of drinker prototype characteristics: What characterizes the typical drinker?

Prototypes (social images) have been shown to influence behaviour, which is likely to depend on the type of image. Prototype evaluation is based on (un)desirable characteristics related to that image. By an elicitation procedure we examined which adjectives are attributed to specific drinker prototypes. In total 149 young Dutch adults (18–25 years of age) provided adjectives for five drinker prototypes: abstainer, moderate drinker, heavy drinker, tipsy, and drunk person. Twenty‐three unique adjectives were found. Multilevel latent class cluster analysis revealed six adjective clusters, each with unique and minor overlapping adjectives: ‘negative, excessive drinker,’ ‘moderate, responsible drinker,’ ‘funny tipsy drinker,’ ‘determined abstainer cluster,’ ‘uncontrolled excessive drinker,’ and ‘elated tipsy cluster.’ In addition, four respondent classes were identified. Respondent classes showed differences in their focus on specific adjective clusters. Classes could be labelled ‘focus‐on‐control class,’ ‘focus‐on‐hedonism class,’ ‘contrasting‐extremes‐prototypes class,’ and ‘focus‐on‐elation class.’ Respondent classes differed in gender, educational level and drinking behaviour. The results underscore the importance to differentiate between various prototypes and in prototype adjectives among young adults: subgroup differences in prototype salience and relevance are possibly due to differences in adjective labelling. The results provide insights into explaining differences in drinking behaviour and could potentially be used to target and tailor interventions aimed at lowering alcohol consumption among young adults via prototype alteration.     

Motivational and Emotional Consequences of Self-Engagement: Voting in the 2000 U.S. Presidential Election

The role played by self-engagement in the prediction and consequences of goal-directed behavior was examined. Components of the Triangle Model of Responsibility were measured 4 days prior to the 2000 U.S. presidential election, and reported voting and reactions to the election were measured the day after the election. In support of the model, engagement in voting was highest when the guidelines for voting were perceived as clear, when the individual perceived personal control over voting, when the individual perceived voting as relevant to his or her role as a citizen, and when who won the election was important to the individual. Engagement in voting was strongly related to reports of actually voting in the election, and completely mediated the relationship between the other predictors and reported voting. Engagement was also related to a variety of behavioral activities (e.g., watching the presidential and vice-presidential debates, staying up late to watch the election results) indicative of investment in the election. Finally, being engaged in the act of voting prior to the election was strongly related to being in a heightened state of uncertainty and anxiety as a function of not knowing the outcome of the election. The importance of self-engagement in predicting behavior and emotional consequences to behavior is discussed.     

Predicting parenting stress: children's behavioural problems and parents' coping

This study examined the effects of child characteristics and parent coping practices on parenting stress, based on a sample of parents of 64 boys with behavioural problems and a comparison group with parents of 128 boys. All parents completed questionnaires about stress, length of education, child characteristics, social support, sense of coherence and coping practices, in addition to interviews in their home about daily activities and relations with the child. A hierarchical regression model for predicting parenting stress was tested, and the results showed that having a child with behavioural problems predicted 57% of the variance in parenting stress. Social support and parental resources and strategies added to the prediction of parenting stress after controlling for family demographics and child characteristics. The parents in the clinical group (with boys referred to psychiatric units) were more often single parents with lower education, more often unemployed, less content with social support, and had lower scores on comprehensibility. These parents were significantly more stressed than parents in the comparison group. All these risk factors might be barriers against establishing a protective frame around a child. These parents, with a difficult child‐rearing situation, who perceived less support and had fewer material benefits, seemed to be more vulnerable. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Advancing cognitive behaviour therapy for older adults with comorbid insomnia and depression

Insomnia and depression are two of the most common mental health problems that negatively impact older adults. The burden associated with these highly comorbid conditions requires an innovative approach to treatment. There have been significant advancements in the field of cognitive behaviour therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) over recent years. CBT-I has evolved from targeting homogenous insomnia samples to now showing promising results for comorbid insomnia. CBT-I is not only effective at treating comorbid insomnia, but can also have a positive impact on depression severity. Despite these important clinical developments, limited research has explored whether modifying CBT-I programmes to specifically target comorbid depression could improve outcomes for older populations. This paper reviews recent literature and provides therapeutic recommendations to advance CBT-I for older adults with comorbid insomnia and depression.     

Research Ethics Education in the STEM Disciplines: The Promises and Challenges of a Gaming Approach

While education in ethics and the responsible conduct of research (RCR) is widely acknowledged as an essential component of graduate education, particularly in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math), little consensus exists on how best to accomplish this goal. Recent years have witnessed a turn toward the use of games in this context. Drawing from two NSF-funded grants (one completed and one on-going), this paper takes a critical look at the use of games in ethics and RCR education. It does so by: (a) setting the development of research and engineering ethics games in wider historical and theoretical contexts, which highlights their promise to solve important pedagogical problems; (b) reporting on some initial results from our own efforts to develop a game; and (c) reflecting on the challenges that arise in using games for ethics education. In our discussion of the challenges, we draw out lessons to improve this nascent approach to ethics education in the STEM disciplines.     

Childhood disruptive behaviors and family functioning in clinically referred children: Are girls different from boys?

Baseline assessments of 4 to 8-year-old children, 26 girls and 101 boys, referred to outpatient treatment for disruptive behaviors, were examined, focusing on possible differences between the functioning of boys and girls and their families. Child variables included diagnostic information, measures of disruptive behaviors, social competence, and independent observations of child behaviors. A variety of family variables, such as information regarding parenting practices, parental stress, and depression were included. Teacher reports of disruptive behaviors and social competence at school were included. Teacher ratings of child functioning indicated that boys displayed significantly more externalizing behaviors and they were less socially competent than girls. Parents perceived both girls and boys as highly oppositional and aggressive, and generally speaking, differences were few. Nevertheless, the level of stress was higher in girls' than in boys' families, and mothers of girls reported of higher levels of depressive symptoms. Girls and boys did not differ regarding diagnostic status.     

The efficacy of a Web-based counterargument tutor

In two experiments, we developed and tested an interactive Web-based tutor to help students identify and evaluate counterarguments. In Experiment 1, we determined the extent to which high- and low-argumentationability participants were able to identify counterarguments. We tested the effectiveness of having participants read didactic text regarding counterarguments and highlight claims. Both preparations had some positive effects that were often limited to high-ability participants. The Web-based intervention included interactive exercises on identifying and using counterarguments. Web-based presentation was state driven, using a Java Server Pages page. As participants progressively identified argument elements, the page changed display state and presented feedback by checking what the user clicked against elements that we had coded in XML beforehand. Instructions and feedback strings were indexed by state, so that changing state selected new text to display. In Experiment 2, the tutor was effective in teaching participants to identify counterarguments, recognize responses, and determine whether counterarguments were rebutted, dismissed, or conceded.