Developmental Timing of Onsets of Disruptive Behaviors and Later Delinquency of Inner-City Youth

A longitudinal sample of 306 males were followed with annual interviews over 4 years to evaluate the role of the timing of onset of different types of disruptive behaviors in predicting later arrest rates. In particular, we applied the Developmental Pathways model to explain progressions from less serious to more serious behaviors and progression along three types of disruptive pathways defined as Overt, Covert, and Authority Conflict behaviors. Results indicated that the sequences and the prognostic properties hypothesized for the model were supported. Most youth showed a progression from behaviors expected to occur earlier to those expected to come later according to the model. In addition, these results showed that onset timing of most types of behavior as well as rapidity of reaching more serious behavior related to arrest rate. This cross-validation extends the model to a high risk inner-city population and to Latino youth. One notable exception to the general trend found was that violence did not always follow earlier involvement in less serious offenses and did not seem to show the same onset timing relation to risk for arrests. Social-ecological differences in the precipitants of violence in the inner-city compared to other developmental settings, as well as the possibility that multiple forms of violence have differing underlying causes, may explain this exception. The model's generality suggests it has utility for guiding and discriminating risk better than simply noting the frequency, seriousness, or onset timing of delinquency.     

Interpreting Surrogate Consent using Counterfactuals

Philosophers such as Dan Brock believe that surrogates who make health care decisions on behalf of previously competent patients, in the absence of an advance directive, should make these decisions based upon a substituted judgment principle. Brock favours substituted judgment over a best interests standard. However, Edward Wierenga claims that the substituted judgment principle ought to be abandoned in favour of a best interests standard, because of an inherent problem with the substituted judgment principle. Wierenga's version of the substituted judgment principle and his counterexample to the principle's successful interpretation of valid surrogate consent is presented. A new version of what is meant by the substituted judgment principle is advanced. The new version is not beset with the problems Wierenga initially ascribed to the substituted judgment principle.     

Optimism, perceived risk of breast cancer, and cancer worry among a community-based sample of women.

Optimism is frequently inversely associated with distress; however, less is known about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Optimism can be defined as having a generalized positive expectancy about the future. The authors hypothesized that a specific expectancy might mediate the relationship between optimism and distress. That model was tested using perceived risk of breast cancer as a specific measure of expectancy and cancer worry as a measure of distress in a community-based sample of 1,366 women. It was hypothesized that optimism would be inversely associated with cancer worry and that perceived risk of breast cancer would mediate the relationship between optimism and cancer worry. Multiple regression analyses revealed that perceived risk partially mediated the relationship between optimism and cancer worry.     

The Effect of Conflict Goals on Avoidance Strategies: What Does Not Communicating Communicate?

Avoidance is proposed to be a goal‐directed behavior rather than a behavior that reflects passivity or inaction. To evaluate this proposition, a typology of conflict goals and a typology of conflict avoidance strategies are created, and the relationship between nonavoidance strategies and the elements of these 2 typologies are evaluated within a structural equation model (N = 352). Findings show that, except for pretending and withdrawal, conflict goals successfully predict avoidance strategies, thereby affirming their strategic importance. The article concludes by addressing areas for future research, including modifications and refinement of the typologies and proposing other strategies and goals that may be theoretically significant.