Anger of women incest survivors

Adult women survivors of incest (n = 68) were compared to other women (n = 93) with respect to several questionnaire measures of manifest anger. The vast majority of the research participants were white, middle class, heterosexual, and Michigan residents. Incest survivors were angrier than other women, both in general and at their parents. Anger toward mother and anger toward father were comparable. Few incest survivors blamed either parent for the incest, except in those speciflc cases where the parent was a perpetrator. Not surprisingly, incest survivors were particularly angry at parent perpetrators when they were held responsible for the abuse. Incest occurred in families where other traumas were present, and the extent of these other traumas was also associated with increased anger at parents. Women who identified with feminism and who had participated in therapy were angrier at their parents than were other women. Therapy implications of these results were discussed.This paper is based on a doctoral dissertation submitted to the University of Michigan by the first author, under the supervision of the second author. The help and encouragement of committee members Margaret Buttenheim, Kathleen Faller, and Sheryl Olson are gratefully acknowledged. Howard Gottlieb, Judith Ballou, Donna Silbert, and Robert Daniels also contributed substantially to this research.Financial support was provided by the Society for the Psychological Study of Social Issues, the Horace D. Rackham School of Graduate Studies, and the Department of Psychology at the University of Michigan.     

The Superwoman ideal and other risk factors for eating disturbances in adolescent girls

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between disordered eating, the Superwoman ideal, competitiveness, and achievement motivation. The EAT-26, Personality Research Form (Achievement scale), and Self-Roles Inventory were administered to 69 10–12th-grade girls (69.6% White, 11.6% Hispanic, 5.8% Black, 5.8% Asian, 7.2% no information on ethnicity). EAT-26 scores were not significantly associated with attending an academically competitive high school, having a high achievement motivation, or considering a number of roles as important to one's sense of self (adherence to the Superwoman ideal). EAT-26 scores were significantly higher among the girls attending the average high school. It is important to conduct further investigations of the Superwoman ideal since it has been posited as a risk factor for eating disorders, but has been the focus of only a few empirical studies.     

Employment status and the attitudes and behavior of higher status women volunteers, 1975 and 1992: A case study

This study examines the relationships between employment status and women's attitudes toward and participation in a higher status voluntary service organization. Data were gathered in 1975 and 1992 from a sample of chapters of the International Association of Women (a pseudonym). The 1992 sample included three percent who reported a racial or ethnic identification other than white. Drawing on several theoretical perspectives, we expected to find differences in the attitudes and level of participation of employed versus non-employed members that would have important effects on organizational functioning. However, few differences in the attitudes of members employed full time, part time, and not in the labor force were found in either 1975 or 1992. There were, however, differences in behavior. Employed members reported spending much less time on organizational activities and were less likely to assume leadership roles, but these differences diminished between 1975 and 1992 as employed women became numerically dominant in the organization, suggesting that the growing presence of employed women in IAW led to the development of informal norms and new policies about the amount of time members should devote to the organization and a corresponding loss in the total number of volunteer hours devoted to it.     

Retest stability of DSM-III-R diagnoses among adolescents using the diagnostic interview schedule for children (DISC-2.1C)

Retest stability of DSM-III-R diagnoses was assessed using the DISC-2.1C with a sample of Anglo, African, and Hispanic American adolescent patients 12 to 17 years of age. Based on the kappa statistic, retest stability was fair for any disorder ( =.50), for any anxiety disorder ( =.44), for any affective disorder ( =.53), for any disruptive behavior disorder ( =.58), and for substance use disorders ( =.46). Although there was a trend for reliability to be somewhat higher for African Americans ( =.58) than for Anglos ( =.42) or Hispanics ( =.49), these differences were not statistically significant. In general, 15- to 17-year-olds had somewhat better reliability ( =.58) than did 12- to 14-year-olds ( =.44). Males had somewhat higher reliability ( =.63) than females ( =.43). These findings are congruent with those reported recently using the DISC-R (Schwab-Stone et al., 1993) and suggest that the DISC appears to be at least as reliable as other available child diagnostic instruments. In view of the fair-to-moderate levels of reliability of these instruments in general, future research should focus on the joint effects of instrument, subject, interviewer, and nomenclature on operating characteristics of diagnostic interview schedules, focusing in particular on factors affecting accurate recall and reporting of symptoms and episodes. This research was supported in part by grants MH44214 and MH44773 from the National Institute of Mental Health, and by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health. The authors wish to acknowledge the participation and collaboration of A. J. Pumariega, J. W. Swanson, and C. E. Holzer III and staff of the Center for Cross-Cultural Research, directed by F. M. Treviño.     

Gifted Achievers and Underachievers: A Comparison of Patterns Found in School Files

Underachievement in gifted students has perplexed educators and parents for decades. Researchers are continually looking for information about the nature and patterns of gifted underachievers that will enlighten those concerned. Counselors are particularly involved, because they often are asked to provide illumination and interventions. This study demonstrates how information in the cumulative school file, accessible to the school counselor, is a rich resource for understanding the patterns of achievement and underachievement among students identified as gifted and for use in planning interventions for students at risk for underachievement. Participants were gifted students (N = 153) who were determined to be either achievers or under-achievers, based on their grade point average at graduation. High and moderate achievers and moderate and extreme underachievers were compared on information found in the school file, such as attendance, tardiness, course selection, and onset and duration of underachievement. Results indicate that there are differences between achievers and underachievers on a number of variables found in the school files. Profiles of these groups are presented with suggestions for actions by counselors.     

Correction of errors in scientific research

Four ways to reduce scientific errors are by tests of equipment and programs, examination of results, peer review, and replication. This article describes various types of errors that may occur and procedures available for the prevention and correction of both unintentional and intentional errors in experiments that use computer programs to generate the stimuli, record the responses, or analyze the data. We describe a case study of a particular experiment that produced a result that has been found to be erroneous. The case study provides additional evidence of the essential importance of replication for the identification and elimination of scientific error.     

Reduction of the elevator illusion from continued hypergravity exposure and visual error-corrective feedback

Ten subjects served as their own controls in two conditions of continuous, centrifugally produced hypergravity (+2 Gz) and a 1-G control condition. Before and after exposure, open-loop measures were obtained of (1) motor control, (2) visual localization, and (3) hand-eye coordination. During exposure in the visual feedback/hypergravity condition, subjects received terminal visual error-corrective feedback from their target pointing, and in the no-visual feedback/hypergravity condition they pointed open loop. As expected, the motor control measures for both experimental conditions revealed very short lived underreaching (the muscle-loading effect) at the outset of hypergravity and an equally transient negative aftereffect on returning to 1 G. The substantial (approximately 17°) initial elevator illusion experienced in both hypergravity conditions declined over the course of the exposure period, whether or not visual feedback was provided. This effect was tentatively attributed to habituation of the otoliths. Visual feedback produced a smaller additional decrement and a postexposure negative aftereffect, possible evidence for visual recalibration. Surprisingly, the target-pointing error made during hypergravity in the no-visual-feedback condition was substantially less than that predicted by subjects’ elevator illusion. This finding calls into question the neural outflow model as a complete explanation of this illusion.