Reactivity to Stress: When Does a History of Medical Adversity Foster Resilience Versus Vulnerability?

Young adults with (or without) a history of medical or physical disorders (MPDs) were exposed to repeated laboratory stress. The effects of MPD status on habituation (as measured by changing levels of cortisol) were found to be moderated by the extent to which respondents reported “attachment feelings” in their relationships (as measured by the Social Provisions Scale). Students in the MPD group who reported attachment feelings showed (a) cortisol increases during their first exposure to a laboratory stressor; and (b) cortisol decreases during a second exposure to the same stressor 1 week later. No equivalent benefit was found for students who lacked this medical history. Findings suggest the extent to which medical adversity—under the right interpersonal circumstances—promotes resilience.     

Relationship Between Job Characteristics and Attitudes: A Study of Temporary Employees

We examine the relationship between job characteristics and employee attitudes in the context of temporary employees who are assigned to work at the client organizations but are formally employed by a temporary agency. Based on the rationale provided by social exchange and social identity theories, we hypothesized that job characteristics would be related to job satisfaction, organizational commitment, and turnover intention in regard to both the client organization and the temporary agency. Results based on data collected from a large temporary agency supported all hypothesized relationships in regard to the client organization, and most hypothesized relationships in regard to the temporary agency. We discuss implications of these findings for research and the practice of managing temporary employee attitudes.     

Colon cancer information as a source of exercise motivation for relatives of patients with colon cancer

Using a Protection Motivation Theory (PMT) framework, this study examined whether factual colon cancer information is a meaningful source of exercise motivation for relatives of patients with colon cancer. One hundred sixty-six inactive relatives were randomly assigned to one of two treatment conditions: PMT group (intervention); and non-PMT group (attention control). At baseline (T1) participants completed demographic information, a questionnaire designed to assess their beliefs toward exercise and colon cancer as well as their exercise intentions. At T2 (one week following T1) participants watched one of two DVD videos that were created for the study. The intervention DVD contained exercise and colon cancer information that was yoked within the four major components of PMT: perceived vulnerability (PV); perceived severity (PS); response efficacy (RE); and self-efficacy (SE), while the attention control DVD contained general diet and cancer information. Immediately following watching the DVD, participants completed the same measures as in T1. Participants assigned to the PMT intervention group showed significant improvement in PV, RE, SE and exercise intentions, whereas participants assigned to the attention control group showed significant improvement only in RE. RE, SE, and PS made significant and unique contributions to prediction of exercise intention. Overall, the results of the present study demonstrate that a single exposure media intervention grounded in a PMT framework can change individuals' exercise and colon cancer beliefs, as well as change their exercise intentions. Implications of these findings and direction for future research are discussed.     

Religious Dissenters, J.S. Mill, and the Importance of Starting Points for Apologetics

Book reviewed:
Mill on God: The Pervasiveness and Elusiveness of Mill's Religious Thought , Alan P.F. Sell, Ashgate Studies in the History of Philosophical Theology, Ashgate 2004 (0-7546-1666-5), pp. viii + 202, Pb £15.99
Philosophy, Dissent and Nonconformity 1689–1920 , Alan P.F. Sell, James Clarke & Co 2004 (0-227-67977-6), pp. 296, Hb £50     

Ethnicity, Acculturation, and Religiosity as Predictors of Female College Students' Role Expectations

The present study was designed to examine ethnicity, acculturation, and religiosity as predictors of European American and Korean American evangelical female college students' role expectations. Fifty-seven European American and 37 Korean American single women, who ranged in age from 17 to 24 years, completed a demographic questionnaire, a role expectation measure, three religiosity measures, and an acculturation measure. The results indicated a significant negative correlation between fundamentalism and role-sharing expectations for European American women and a significant positive correlation between level of acculturation and role-sharing expectations for Korean American women. The results suggest that fundamentalism is a stronger predictor of role expectations than religious commitment in European American women and that acculturation is a more accurate predictor of role expectations than generation in the United States among Korean American women.     

Neurobehavioral sequelae of child sexual abuse.

This study examined intellectual and memory functioning in a sample of sexually abused children compared to demographically and age-matched controls. The severity of abuse and other pertinent factors were also examined in relation to cognitive performance. Elevated levels of psychopathology were present in the abused children, as well as diminished performance on tasks influenced by attention/concentration. However, after controlling for differences in IQ and socioeconomic status (SES), significant differences in memory function were not found. Results are discussed in the context of stress effects on cognition and the potential resiliency of cognitive function in children undergoing treatment for sexual abuse.     

Differential Daily Writing Conditions and Performance on Major Multiple-Choice Exams

Students (N=153) in three equivalent sections of an undergraduate human development course compared pairs of related concepts via either written or oral discussion at the beginning of most class sessions. A writing-for-random-credit section achieved significantly higher ratings on the writing activities than did a writing-for-no-credit section. The writing-for-random-credit section also obtained significantly higher correlations between the writing ratings and scores on multiple-choice exam items related to the conceptual pairs (r=.74) and on total exam scores (r=.78) than did the writing-for-no-credit section (rs=.45 and .43, respectively). Finally, the writing-for-random-credit condition produced significantly higher scores on exam items related to the conceptual pairs than did the oral-discussion-only condition. Plus, effect-size comparisons showed weak to medium differences between exam scores under the writing-for-random-credit and the writing-for-no-credit condition.