Examining Intent to Die and Methods for Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury and Suicide Attempts

Nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) is linked to suicidal behavior and future suicide attempts, but the process of NSSI‐to‐suicide attempts remains unclear. Additionally, little is known about how having a history of NSSI may relate to reports of intent to die during a suicide attempt. The current study examined methods of NSSI and suicide attempts, as well as intent to die, in a sample of 1,232 young adults, 54 of whom reported at least one suicide attempt. Cutting and overdose were the predominant methods of NSSI and suicide attempts, respectively, with the two often co‐occurring. Individuals with both NSSI and suicide attempt history were significantly more likely to report an intent to die than those with suicide attempt history only.     

Attachment in preterm infants and their mothers: Neonatal risk status and maternal representations

High‐risk neonatal status, indexed by an intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), and maternal representations of past and present attachment relationships were examined as predictors of infant attachment in a sample of preterm infants. Participants included 50 19‐month‐old infants and their middle‐class, predominantly African American mothers. A maternal‐report questionnaire and a structured interview were used to assess past relationship history with mother and current relationship with infant, respectively. The Strange Situation Paradigm was used to assess attachment security. Multiple logistic regression analyses suggested that maternal representation of the infant—but not ICH or maternal childhood history—significantly predicted infant attachment security. ICH and maternal history of childhood rejection were predictive of disorganized infant attachment. The findings are consistent with previous data that suggest that maternal factors are more important than infant factors in determining infant attachment security. These data also suggest that neurological deficits may contribute to disorganized infant attachment. © 2000 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

The career aspirations and occupational interests of culturally disadvantaged children

The occupational aspirations and interests of a sample of culturally disadvantaged children aged 15½ years and a matched control group were compared. Whilst the disadvantaged boys aspired to jobs of lower social-class status than their control-group peers, the two girls' groups showed very similar aspiration levels, and the disadvantaged group as a whole was oriented towards skilled jobs. The mean occupational interest profiles of the groups did not differ significantly. A higher proportion of the disadvantaged children were reported as being unemployed shortly after leaving school. It is concluded that there was a serious mismatch between the career aspirations of some of the disadvantaged group and their prospects. Ways in which this might be reduced through better school careers guidance and education programmes are briefly considered.     

Category and Attribute Knowledge Deterioration in Alzheimer's Disease

A prevalent theory regarding the deterioration of semantic memory in Alzheimer's disease is that it is a bottom-up process. If this is true, performance on tests of attribute knowledge should decline more rapidly than performance on tests of categorical knowledge as dementia severity increases. In the present study, a convincing pattern of findings to either support or reject the theory failed to emerge. This raised questions regarding the ability to separate attribute and categorical knowledge, and whether one can be tested without influence of the other. Questions also were raised regarding the additional cognitive processes needed to complete tasks of semantic memory.     

The Activity Preference Questionnaire: is the forced choice format necessary?

Summary: While the Activity Preference Questionnaire (APQ) appears to provide unusually pure and subtle measures of anxiety proneness, its forced choice format involves several drawbacks. Data are presented which suggest that a rating format can be used which avoids the disadvantages of the forced choice format but incorporates its advantages.     

INTELLIGENCE AND WORK ADJUSTMENT IN AN NYC POPULATION

It seems to be generally accepted that disadvantaged persons perform poorly on aptitude tests even when they may have the ability to do a job (Zimpel & Panger, 1970; Seiler, 1970). Other evidence suggests that race is also a factor in poor test performance (Anderson & Smith, 1969; Parker, Kunce, & Bolanovich, 1970). This study is an attempt to see how useful a widely used intelligence test may be for predicting work adjustment of disadvantaged youth when race is considered as a factor.