Using Past Performance, Proxy Efficacy, and Academic Self-Efficacy to Predict College Performance

This study examined the ability of prior academic performance, proxy efficacy, and academic self-efficacy to predict college academic performance. Participants ( N  = 202) completed a modified version of the Teacher Collective Efficacy scale ( Goddard, 2001 ), the Academic Self-Efficacy scale ( Elias & Loomis, 2000 ), and a demographic questionnaire. Prior performance was predictive of both academic self-efficacy beliefs and college performance. Hierarchical regression analysis indicates that academic self-efficacy beliefs explain a significant amount of unique variance beyond past performance in predicting college performance. Proxy efficacy did serve as a predictor of student academic self-efficacy, but did not serve as a predictor of college performance. Implications for instructors, as well as for future research, are discussed.     

Characteristics of a French African Caribbean Epidemiological Psychiatric Sample with a History of Suicide Attempt

Research on vulnerability factors among ethnic groups, independent of primary psychiatric diagnosis, may help to identify groups at risk of suicidal behavior. French African Caribbean general psychiatric patients (N = 362) were recruited consecutively and independently of the primary psychiatric diagnosis. Demographic and clinical characteristics and lifetime history of suicide attempts were recorded. Sixty‐five patients (18%) had a history of at least one suicide attempt. Presence of professional qualifications, children, poor social contacts, treatment with benzodiazepine at inclusion, and poor treatment compliance were all associated with a lifetime history of suicide attempts.     

Do Geographic Regions with Higher Suicide Rates also have Higher Rates of Nonfatal Intentional Self‐Harm?

Fatal and nonfatal intentional self‐harm events in eight U.S. states were compared using emergency department, hospital, and vital statistics data. Nonfatal event rates increased by an estimated 24.20% over 6 years. Case fatality ratios varied widely, but two northeastern states' total event rates (fatal plus nonfatal) were very high (New Hampshire 206.5/100,000 person years; Massachusetts 166.7/100,000). Geographic context did not uniformly impact the likelihood of self‐harm across event types. The state‐level public health burden posed by such acts cannot, therefore, be accurately estimated from either mortality or morbidity data alone.     

The Beliefs in the Inheritance of Risk Factors for Suicide Scale (BIRFSS): Cross‐Cultural Validation in Estonia,Malaysia, Romania,the United Kingdom,and the United States

The genetics of suicide is increasingly recognized and relevant for mental health literacy, but actual beliefs may lag behind current knowledge. We examined such beliefs in student samples (total N = 686) from Estonia, Malaysia, Romania, the United Kingdom, and the United States with the Beliefs in the Inheritance of Risk Factors for Suicide Scale. Cultural effects were small, those of key demographics nil. Several facets of construct validity were demonstrated. Marked differences in perceived plausibility of evidence about the genetics of suicide according to research design, observed in all samples, may be of general interest for investigating lay theories of abnormal behavior and communicating behavioral and psychiatric genetic research findings.     

Divergence between community psychologists in academic and nonacademic settings: A closer look at the implications

The ecological principle of interdependence has been a guiding theme in our research and conceptualization. For the development of community psychology, academic and applied interest and networks must be integrated in ways which value the views and resources of both groups. This is the focus of Kelly's (1984) remarks. The dynamic interplay of ideas, data, and practices is likely to facilitate the collaboration between researchers and setting inhabitants which Trickett (1984) describes as the distinctive quality of community psychology. Common pathways of information exchange, joint responsibility for training future members of the field, and mutually enhancing role relationships are needed. Current channels of communication provide little ease of access or incentives for participation by psychologists in nonacademic settings. It thus becomes the reponsibility of all concerned community psychologists to use their organizational skills to redress this harmful imbalance (Kelly, 1984). For this to occur, however, we must take the initial steps of frankly recognizing differences in our folkways and organizational constraints, while also emphasizing our common values and assets. The largest threat to the field is external constraints from university and clinical service settings on the work that represents community psychology (Elias et al., 1984). If we are dividedor uninformed in the face of these environmental presses, we will never create the adaptive niche that community psychology needs to survive.     

A longitudinal study of the performance of hypertensive and normotensive subjects on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale

Performance on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale was followed over two 5- to 6-year intervals for essential hypertensive Ss (EH; n = 22) free from medical complications and for normotensive Ss (N; n = 20). EH were treated with adrenergic beta-blocking drugs, diuretics, or both. Mean age was 46 years (SD = 12.6 years), initially (Time 1). Results were unaltered by adjustment for initial age. N improved modestly on the Verbal scale, from Time 1 to Time 2 only. EH neither improved nor declined on the Verbal scale. Scores remained unchanged for both EH and N Ss for the Performance scale. Overall, and at Times 2 and 3, Verbal scores were lower for the EH group. It was concluded that neither decline nor improvement in cognitive function over time are necessary outcomes of modest, carefully treated, uncomplicated hypertension in the middle years.     

A new method of monitoring motor activity in baboons

Movement activity of a normal baboon and of a baboon with induced Parkinsonism by unilateral administration of 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP) was recorded by the Walter Reed Activity Monitor (or actigraph). Mean activity in the lesioned baboon was 41% less than that of the nonlesioned baboon measured over a 14-day period. In addition, the daily maximum activity value was significantly less in the MPTP-treated baboon. Moreover, resting and sleeping periods were 30% greater in the lesioned animal. The akinesia and resting and sleeping periods were displayed by the lesioned baboon throughout the day, whereas the control baboon showed them only at night. The data representing summarized movement activity are in accordance with observations of bradykinesia, hypokinesia, and akinesia of the MPTP-treated baboon. The actigraph was well tolerated by the animal because its small size and weight made it largely unobtrusive. We suggest that the actigraph is an appropriate device for measuring motor activity in nonhuman primates.     

Researchers discover what they already knew about validity: The case of the family-of-Origin Scale

This article is concerned with two recnet studies of the Family-of-Origin Scale (FOS), Gavin and Wamboldt (1992) and Ryan, Kawash, Fine, and Powel (1994). The external validity analyses conducted for the FOS in these studies assumed the scale to be a unidemsional measure. The present discussion centers on methodological decisions and interpretive strategies that may have prevented a more complete understanding of the scale's dimensional structure and theoretical meaning. It is concluded that a unidimensional view of the FOS is an oversimplification that is inconsistent with the available data. A case is made for a more comprehensive and technically adequate evaluation of the FOS. Specific suggestions are offered.