Definitions of Multicultural Competence: Frontline Human Service Providers' Perspective

In this qualitative study, the authors explored definitions of multicultural competence given by 99 frontline human service providers. The providers had no formal training in counseling but served in a helping role. Seven thematic definitions emerged: color blindness, client focused, acknowledgment of cultural differences, textbook consistent, resource driven, skills‐based, and self‐integrated. Implications for multicultural competence are discussed. En este estudio cualitativo, los autores exploraron las definiciones de competencia multicultural ofrecidas por 99 proveedores de servicios humanos de primera línea. Los proveedores no tenían una formación oficial en consejería, pero actuaban en roles de ayuda. Surgieron como resultado siete definiciones temáticas: indiferente al color, enfocada hacia el cliente, reconocimiento de diferencias culturales, libro de texto, guiada por los recursos, habilidades y autointegrada. Se discuten las implicaciones para la competencia multicultural.     

Say-do correspondence to improve disruptive behaviors in adults with Down's syndrome

The most acknowledged strategies for the treatment of disruptive behaviours are those that are based on direct contingency management. Other procedures allow the therapist, or educational agent, not to be present in the context in which the behavioural change has to take place: the say-do correspondence training procedures, which have proven effective across behaviours and populations. Nevertheless, there is surprisingly little evidence of the effectiveness of such procedures with populations presenting developmental disabilities. This study describes the implementation of say-do correspondence training to modify 5 disruptive behaviours present in 5 adult subjects diagnosed with Down's syndrome, showing very positive results. The advantages of using say-do correspondence training procedures in developmental disabilities are discussed.     

Psychosocial Perspectives on Pregnancy: Prenatal Maternal Stress and Coping

Pregnancy is a momentous life event experienced by most women that involves biomedical and psychosocial changes that are potentially stressful. High levels of maternal stress in pregnancy contribute to adverse fetal, infant, child, and adult outcomes, including cognitive, emotional, neurodevelopmental, and physical health effects. This article discusses definition, measurement, and effects of stress in pregnancy and describes current research questions such as whether the timing or pattern of prenatal stress accentuates its effects and whether prenatal stress accounts for ethnic disparities in adverse birth outcomes in the United States. We review research on the ways that women cope with prenatal stress and research examining associations of coping with maternal emotional state, health, and birth outcomes. Additionally, we describe important factors that improve women's psychosocial adaptation to pregnancy, their health, and their birth outcomes, specifically trait optimism, social support, and physical activity, and we emphasize interventions that utilize these factors.     

How need for cognition and perceived control are differentially linked to emotional outcomes in the transition to retirement

This study contrasts how need for cognition and perceived control relate to positive and negative affect in 351 adults experiencing the transition to retirement (age range 44–79 years, M = 60). Structural equation modeling was used to identify significant pathways between exogenous variables of conscientiousness, openness, and education to need for cognition, and between neuroticism and health to perceived control. Need for cognition and perceived control emerged as separate and distinct forms of motivation, contributing to positive and negative affect in this model through differing patterns and to different degrees. Mediators between need for cognition and positive affect were frequency of cognitive activity and problem-focus coping. Perceived control had direct effects on positive and negative affect and indirect effects through cognitive activity on positive affect. The model helps to explain some of the psychological mechanisms instrumental in successful adaptation to change in adulthood. The dispositional motivation of need for cognition is described as a character strength with unique predictive value for older adults.     

The influence of emotional awareness and expressiveness on care-giving burden and health complaints in women and men

This study was designed to investigate the role of emotional awareness and expressiveness as influences on the experience of burden and impaired health for women and men maintaining a spouse or relative at home who had been diagnosed as having dementia. One hundred and thirty-one Caucasian care givers, 41 males and 90 females, participated in the study. Multivariate analysis of variance indicated that women scored higher than men on measures of burden, health complaints, and awareness of others' emotions. Regression analysis indicated that self-awareness of emotions interacted with care-giver gender to decrease health complaints for female care givers but increased health complaints for male care givers. Self-awareness of emotions also increased feelings of burden for male care givers in general and for female care givers experiencing low levels of burden. Awareness of others' emotions tended to reduce feelings of burden. Emotional expressiveness did not influence burden or health complaint scores.This research was funded by grants from the Health Research Funds of Quebec, the Quebec Council for Social Research, and the Montreal Alzheimer Society. The authors would like to express their gratitude to Valerie Takeda, Charlene Stamegna, and Helene Fyfe for their work on the project, and to the families, patients, and staff of the various referral agencies for their cooperation with the study.To whom reprint requests should be addressed at Centre for Research in Human Development, Concordia University, 1455 de Maisonneuve Boulevard West, Montreal, Quebec, Canada, H3G 1M8.     

Effects of counselor sex,student sex,and student attractiveness on counselors' judgments

Thirty-two male and thirty-two female high school counselors in a large metropolitan school district were provided with routine student profile data and asked to make predictions about the student's potential for post-high school education and to suggest occupations for the student to explore. All data reviewed by the counselors were identical except for a photograph of the student attached to the profile. Within counselor sex groups, counselors were randomly assigned to one of the following four photograph conditions: (a) attractive female; (b) unattractive female; (c) attractive male; and (d) unattractive male. Male subjects were found to discriminate on the basis of student sex when they suggested occupations for the student to explore. Predictions of post-high school education and the social status of suggested occupations were not found to be related to counselor sex, student sex, or student attractiveness.     

Spelling,reading and adult illiteracy

Summary This is a study of the relationship of spelling to reading in adults. The spelling of six adult literacy students who read well or poorly was analysed to discover whether error patterns resembled those previously reported for children. Three tasks were administered, including dictation and free writting of real words, and dictation of nonsense words. Good readers made many more phonetic errors than poor readers did, indicating that their cognitive processes in spelling are similar to children's. In the nonword task, poor readers were less able than good readers in translating phonemes to graphemes. It is argued that implicit knowledge of the relationships of letters to sounds provides a strategy for dealing with unfamiliar written material and it is in this process that poor readers are impaired.     

Memory for action events in the bottlenosed dolphin

We investigated whether a bottlenosed dolphin’s ability to recall and repeat actions on command would immediately generalize to actions performed with specified objects. The dolphin was tested on her ability to repeat 18 novel behaviors performed with potentially interchangeable objects specified using an artificial gestural language. Such “action events” were correctly repeated at above chance levels, indicating that the dolphin had access to memories of those events. Performance levels were, however, lower than in previous tests. The dolphin appeared to have difficulty recalling which object an action was performed with. Previous research has demonstrated that animals can recall features of their environment and features of their actions independently of one another. The results of this study demonstrate (1) that the dolphin’s concept of repeating extends beyond simply accessing memories of movement patterns, and (2) that dolphins’ memories of past events incorporate representations of both self-performed acts and objects, locations, or gestural instructions. Received:10 October 1998 / Accepted after revision: 22 December 1998     

Successful aging: criteria and predictors

In the Anglo-Saxon scientific literature, successful aging has been consolidated during the last four decades. Nevertheless, several terms have been used as synonymous: healthy, active, productive, optimal, positive aging. Although, all these terms have been described through a broad set of bio-psycho-social factors, usually, research in this field reduces successful aging to daily life functioning and physical health. Also, in spite of the fact that authors consider that determinants might be multi-domain, empirical research usually reduces them to life styles. Logically, the prevalence of this kind of ageing found empirically is not very consistent and research of its determinants or predictors refers to biomedical conditions. In this study, data from 458 participants (170 males and 288 females; mean age: 66.47, range: 55-75) from ELEA ("Longitudinal Study of Active Aging") were examined. The results show (depending on the simple or multidimensional definitions used) a very varied range of proportions of successfully aging older persons as well as a large number of multi-domain predictors of successful ageing, among which are intelligence, personality and motivational psychological characteristics.     

Sexuality in children 9-14 years old

The aim of this study was to analyze sexual behaviors and attitudes of children 9-14 years old in Spain. In this article we present data from 470 children of which 52% are boys and 48% girls. In order to evaluate the sample, Information, Attitudes and Behaviors related to Health Questionnaire (CIACS-II) was used. Results evidence that boys 9 years old already show behaviors that evidence their interest towards sexuality. 8% have sometimes masturbated and 9% have used pornography for becoming excited. 14% of children 11-12 years old have already had sexual relations and 38% state to have sexual fantasies. Girls start to masturbate and to have sexual relations later than boys and show a prevalence of sexual fantasies and use of pornography very lower. It is necessary sexual education programs to be implanted since early ages in schools.