A follow-up of a media-based,worksite smoking cessation program

Described an examination of data collected 2 years following the onset of a media-based, worksite smoking cessation intervention. Thirty-eight companies in Chicago were randomly assigned to one of two experimental conditions. In the inital 3-week phase, all participants in both conditions received self-help manuals and were instructed to watch a 20-day televised series designed to accompany the manual. In addition, participants in the group (G) condition received six sessions emphasizing quitting techniques and social support. In the second phase, which continued for 12 months, employees in G participated in monthly peer-led support groups and received incentives, while participants in the nongroup (NG) condition received no further treatment. Twenty-four months after pretest, 30% of employees in G were abstinent compared to only 19.5% in NG. This study is one of the few experimentally controlled worksite smoking cessation interventions to demonstrate significant program differences 2 years following the initial intervention. Our thanks to Lori Klett and Libby Yeager-Turner for their help in data collection. Work on the project was supported in part by National Institute on Drug Abuse grant DA-04406-01 and a grant from the Chicago Lung Association to the second author.     

THE IMPACT OF FUNCTIONAL ANALYSIS METHODOLOGY ON OUTPATIENT CLINIC SERVICES

The impact of the article by Iwata, Dorsey, Slifer, Bauman, and Richman (1982) on research in severe behavior disorders has been impressive. Equally impressive, however, but not as fully recognized, has been the impact of this methodology on the routine professional activities of those who employ functional analysis methods in their daily work. As one example of this impact, we describe the evolution of assessment procedures based on “brief functional analysis” methodology in our outpatient clinics. Less apparent have been the collateral effects that occur from using these procedures. Interactions with clients and colleagues have changed in ways that result in increased positive reinforcement. In this article, we briefly discuss the positive impact functional analysis has had on one specific work behavior—outpatient clinic assessment—and describe some of the generalized effects we have experienced in related aspects of our daily professional activities.     

Situation and Personality Correlates of Psychological Well-Being: Social Activity and Personal Control

Two studies that examined the correlates of peoples′ reports of their own psychological well-being are reported (Ryff, 1989). In Study 1, extraverts reported better psychological adjustment than introverts, especially when they completed the questionnaires with no one else present. Need for social approval and the sex of the participant were unrelated to self-reports of well-being. Satisfaction with social activities, especially activities involving friends and parents, predicted psychological well-being but the frequency of social activity did not. Completing questionnaires in the presence of friends led to better self-assessments of well-being than completing them in the presence of strangers. In Study 2, internal locus of control, high desire for control, and being female, as well as perceived control over the testing situation, were found to predict reports of better psychological adjustment. It is suggested that future research on self-assessments of psychological well-being focus on: (a) the interaction effects of personality and situational variables; (b) the difference between seeking social interaction and seeking social approval: (c) the distinction between platonic and romantic relationships, and; (d) changes in the correlates of psychological well-being throughout the life-cycle.     

The impact of illness on the family and the family's impact on illness

This paper discusses the influence that familial relationships can have on illness and the way in which illness can impact on the functioning of the family system. Developmental phases of illness, the family life cycle and chronic illness are all examined in relation to the family and it's functioning. The way in which health behaviours are adopted within families, and behavioural and genetic predispositions to illness are also discussed.     

Gender differences in memory for the appearance of others

Five studies investigated gender differences in the accurate recall of the appearance of others. The greater interpersonal orientation and interpersonal sensitivity of women were predicted to give women an advantage over men in appearance accuracy. Under both directed- and incidental-learning conditions, women more accurately recalled information concerning the appearance of their social targets than did men, participants' memory for the appearance of female targets was more accurate than it was for male targets, and neither gender was found to be a relative advantage in recalling the appearance of same-gender targets. The motivational and knowledge-based factors that might underlie a gender difference in appearance accuracy are discussed.     

Group Peer Disagreement

A popular view in mainstream social epistemology maintains that, in the face of a revealed peer disagreement over p, neither party should remain just as confident vis‐a‐vis p as she initially was. This ‘conciliatory’ insight has been defended with regard to individual epistemic peers. However, to the extent that (non‐summativist) groups are candidates for group knowledge and beliefs, we should expect groups (no less than individuals) to be in the market for disagreements. The aim here will be to carve out and explore an extension of the conciliatory insight from individual peer disagreement to group peer disagreement; in doing so, I'll raise and address three key problems that face any plausible defence of such a constraint.     

Trajectories of Social Withdrawal from Middle Childhood to Early Adolescence

Heterogeneity and individual differences in the developmental course of social withdrawal were examined longitudinally in a community sample (N = 392). General Growth Mixture Modeling (GGMM) was used to identify distinct pathways of social withdrawal, differentiate valid subgroup trajectories, and examine factors that predicted change in trajectories within subgroups. Assessments of individual (social withdrawal), interactive (prosocial behavior), relationship (friendship involvement, stability and quality, best friend’s withdrawal and exclusion/victimization) and group- (exclusion/victimization) level characteristics were used to define growth trajectories from the final year of elementary school, across the transition to middle school, and then to the final year of middle school (fifth-to-eighth grades). Three distinct trajectory classes were identified: low stable, increasing, and decreasing. Peer exclusion, prosocial behavior, and mutual friendship involvement differentiated class membership. Friendlessness, friendship instability, and exclusion were significant predictors of social withdrawal for the increasing class, whereas lower levels of peer exclusion predicted a decrease in social withdrawal for the decreasing class.     

Exercising abilities

Synthese - According to one prominent view of exercising abilities (e.g., Millar in Acta Anal 24(4):223–236, 2009), a subject, S, counts as exercising an ability to $$ phi $$ if and only if...     

Risk perceptions, worry, and attitudes about genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility

This study assessed the unique associations of risk perceptions and worry with attitudes about genetic testing for breast cancer susceptibility. Women (general practitioner clinic attenders, university students, and first-degree relatives of breast cancer survivors; N?=?303) read information about genetic testing and completed measures assessing perceived cancer risk, cancer worry, and genetic testing attitudes and beliefs. Worry was associated with greater interest in genetic testing, stronger beliefs that testing has detrimental emotional consequences, and positive beliefs about benefits of testing and risk-reducing surgeries. Perceived risk was unrelated to interest and associated with more skeptical beliefs about emotional consequences and benefits of testing and risk-reducing surgeries. At low worry levels, testing interest increased with more positive beliefs about testing benefits; at high worry levels, interest was high regardless of benefits beliefs. The findings support Leventhal's Common-Sense Model of self-regulation delineating interactive influences of risk-related cognitions and emotions on information processing and behavior.     

The relationship of drive for muscularity to sociocultural factors, self-esteem, physical attributes gender role, and social comparison in middle school boys

This study examines the relationship of three sociocultural factors—media influence, peer teasing, and parent teasing/comments and three potential moderator variables—self-esteem, social comparison, and endorsement of male strength and athleticism—to drive for muscularity in middle school boys. There were 287 seventh and eighth grade boys who completed a questionnaire measuring these variables as well as body mass index (BMI) and pubertal status. Results indicated that media influence and male physical attributes endorsement were particularly important correlates of drive for muscularity. These findings have implications for programs designed to prevent body dissatisfaction among adolescent boys.