Work social supports, role stressors, and work-family conflict: The moderating effect of age

The current study examined whether important distinctions are masked if participant age is ignored when modeling relationships among constructs associated with the work-family interface. An initial omnibus model of social support, work role stressors, and work-family conflict was tested. Multiple groups analyses were then conducted to investigate possible age differences in the patterns of relationships among these constructs for three age groups (28 and under, 29-45, and 46 and older). Several constructs in the model, including role stressors, social support, and work-family conflict, demonstrated mean level differences across the three age groups. Of greater significance, the relationships of some sources of social support and work-family conflict with other constructs in the model differed as a function of age group. Results suggest that conclusions drawn from the omnibus model take on a slightly different and more complicated meaning in the multiple groups analysis. These results have implications for how future research on the work-family interface should be conducted.     

Facilitating children's accurate responses: conversational rules and interview style

This study examined the effectiveness of teaching young children a set of social conversational rules as a method of reducing errors in children's memory reports. Forty children (aged 3 to 6 years) interacted with a confederate ‘teaching assistant.’ Three conversational rules were examined as possible means of decreasing inaccuracies. For comparison purposes, three placebo rules were also developed. To test the limitations of teaching young children a set of conversational rules, three interview styles (neutral, repetitive, accusatory) were used. Results indicated that children who received all three target rules provided a smaller proportion of incorrect responses than did children who received fewer target rules or than children in a placebo control group, regardless of interview style. Theoretical and applied issues are discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of COMT genotype on behavioral symptomatology in the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome.

The 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (DiGeorge/velocardiofacial syndrome) is associated with elevated rates of psychosis, and is also characterized by severe attentional difficulties and executive dysfunction. Behavioral manifestations of this syndrome could result from haploinsufficiency of the catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) gene, located within the 22q11 region. The goal of the present study was to examine COMT genotype in relation to behavioral symptomatology in this syndrome. Val158/108Met was genotyped in 38 patients (16 Met/-, 22 Val/-) with confirmed 22q11.2 deletions who had received the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) as part of a comprehensive evaluation. Results indicated that the Val genotype was associated with significantly greater internalizing and externalizing behavioral symptomatology in children with 22q11.2 deletions. Val allele status was associated with a greater-than-four-fold increase in risk for clinically significant behavior problems in children with this syndrome. These data are consistent with previous findings of increased psychopathology associated with the Val genotype in normal individuals and suggest that a functional genetic polymorphism in the 22q11 region may influence behavior in individuals with COMT haploinsufficiency.     

Error correction in discrimination training for children with autism

Three procedures for correcting errors made during discrimination training were examined: error statement (saying ‘no’), modeling the correct response, and No Feedback. Six children with autism (age 3–7 years) were taught to match words to pictures with each of the three procedures, and the number of trials to mastery was compared across conditions. Results varied across participants. Two participants performed as well with no feedback as they did with an error correction procedure; two acquired skills slightly more quickly with an error correction procedure than with no feedback, but showed no difference between error correction procedures; one did best with error statement; and one did best with modeling. Results indicate that the choice of error correction procedure can have a large effect on rate of skill acquisition but that the optimal procedure may vary across individuals. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mental health of the bisexual Veteran

Despite evidence showing that bisexual individuals may be at greater risk for mental health issues than lesbian and gay individuals, they are often combined into a single group, with lesbian and gay individuals the actual focus of the research. This study aims to address this gap in the literature among US Veterans. Using data collected from a multicity purposive sample (N = 4,493), logistic regression was used to analyze whether the following groups differ in current posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression: (a) bisexual (n = 101) vs. heterosexual Veterans (n = 4,271); (b) bisexual vs. lesbian/gay Veterans (n = 121); (c) lesbian/gay vs. heterosexual Veterans; and (d) combined group of lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB; n = 222) vs. heterosexual Veterans. Controlling for significant covariates, bisexual Veterans had 2.5 times the risk of severe depression (95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.34–4.67; p = 0.004) and 2.3 times the odds of PTSD (95% CI = 1.40–3.77; p = 0.001) relative to heterosexual Veterans. Bisexual Veterans had 3 times the risk of severe depression (95% CI = 1.22–7.44; p = 0.017) and 1.9 times the risk of PTSD (95% CI = 1.02–3.70; p = 0.045) compared to lesbian/gay Veterans. Lesbian/gay Veterans had no significant difference in risk for depression compared to heterosexual Veterans. However, the combined group of LGB Veterans had 1.6 times the odds of PTSD (95% CI = 1.12–2.15; p = 0.008) compared to heterosexual Veterans. These findings suggest that past research showing mental health disparities between LGB and heterosexual individuals may be driven by the inclusion of bisexual individuals. Research should assess bisexual individuals as a distinct group, and future studies should explore factors leading to depression and PTSD among bisexual Veterans.     

Religion in Domestic Violence Prevention PSAs: The Role of Religiosity in Motivating Christian Bystanders to Intervene

Domestic violence is an ongoing health issue around the world, propelling individuals and organizations to seek out new and innovative ways to mitigate its widespread reach. Focusing on the potential of religion to positively impact messaging, the current study examines how Christian symbolism might be used to encourage intervention behavior using public service announcements (PSAs). Using a between‐subjects design of Christian Americans as the respondent pool, a religious symbol versus a control ad was utilized. Levels of religiosity were also measured and factors impacting the construct assessed. Findings revealed religiosity, the importance of religion in one's life, was the underlying motivator for highly religious people to act rather than a religious cue. Within religiosity, the perceived strength of faith to one's identity held greater value than church attendance and frequency of prayer. Theoretical implications are discussed as well as insights for people working in public service messaging.     

Positive mood, attribution, and the illusion of familiarity

We investigated the positivity-cues-familiarity effect and the hypothesis that it is caused by a misattribution of positivity to a sense of familiarity. Participants were put in a positive or neutral mood state, and then either did or did not complete a mood-manipulation check question. Participants then rendered old/new judgments of stimuli to which they allegedly had been subliminally exposed. When participants did not complete the mood-manipulation check question, and thus the source of their affect was unclear, they showed the positivity-cues-familiarity effect: those in a positive mood identified more of the stimuli as old than did those in a neutral mood. However, those who had completed the mood-manipulation check question, and for whom the source of their affect was obvious, did not show the positivity-cues-familiarity effect. These findings support the notion that a misattribution process is responsible for the positivity-cues-familiarity effect.     

A comparison of stimulus preference assessment methods in adults with schizophrenia

Three methods of assessing preference for stimuli were compared in four adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. During phase 1, a survey method, a verbal stimulus choice method, and a pictorial stimulus choice method of assessing preference for four categories of stimuli were administered. During phase 2, a coupon system was used to determine which categories of stimuli actually functioned as reinforcers for each participant. Comparisons between the three preference assessment methods were then conducted based on the results of the reinforcer assessment. Results showed that, overall, there were few differences in total accuracy among the preference assessment procedures. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A comparison of verbal and tangible stimulus preference assessment methods in adults with schizophrenia

Verbal stimulus preference assessments were compared with tangible stimulus preference assessments for four adults with a diagnosis of schizophrenia. In the verbal assessment, participants were asked, ‘Do you want X or Y?’, the items were not present, and the participant chose an item verbally. In the tangible assessment, pairs of items were placed in front of the participant and s/he was asked to choose by approaching the stimuli. The two assessment methods yielded identical highest preference items for three of the four participants and identical lowest preference items for all participants. In addition, the verbal assessment method took less time to complete than the tangible assessment method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.