Effects of short-term crowding on aggression in captive groups of pigtail monkeys (macaca nemestrina)

Agonistic behaviors of 14 groups of pigtail monkeys were monitored under 2 spatial conditions, normal living space and half that amount of space. Aggression occurred less frequently in the crowded than in the relatively less crowded condition. The results of this study resemble those of some analogous research on human children, and they suggest that nonhuman primate models of crowding stress and aggression may be especially appropriate.     

Individual, Peer, and Family Factors Influencing Urban African American Adolescents’ Responses to Problem Dating Situations

A clear understanding of factors influencing adolescents’ responses to problem dating situations is needed to guide efforts to promote healthy dating relationships and address issues such as emotional distress, conflict, and violence in dating contexts. This study used qualitative methods guided by a socio-ecological model to identify factors at the individual-level and those within adolescents’ peer and family relationships that influenced their use of specific strategies (active, avoidant, support-seeking, or aggressive) in response to problem dating situations. Interviews were conducted with 38 African American middle and high school students in an urban public school system. Participants identified nine themes that would make it easier for them to engage in their best response strategies to deal with problem dating situations. These included four individual-level factors (e.g., individual characteristics and adolescents’ confidence in their ability to address dating problems), three peer factors (e.g., supportive advice from peers), and two family factors (e.g., support, advice, and messages about dating relationships from family members). Nine themes were identified that would make it harder for adolescents to engage in these responses including three individual-level factors (e.g., difficulty in regulating anger, anxiety, and sadness in dealing with dating problems), four peer factors (e.g., peer instigated conflict among dating partners), and two family factors (e.g., family involvement in adolescents’ dating relationships). The results inform prevention efforts that focus on promoting healthy dating relationships during adolescence.     

A Sullivanian Approach to the Problem of Reading Disability: Theoretical Considerations and Empirical Data

Since reading disabilities resemble operationally hysterical disorders, the applicability of some of Sullivan's (1947, 1956) conceptions about hysteria in the understanding of this symptom was explored. To this end a measure was designed to assess the degree to which children are sensitive and selectively attentive to hypocritical, insincere, and plain “silly” aspects of the world around them and/or their readiness to understand the sincere precepts of their culture. The instrument was essentially a modification and extension of the Verbal Absurdities items and the Proverb items of the Stanford-Binet Test (Terman & Merrill, 1960). If Sullivan's notions were applicable, then youngsters with reading disabilities should do better than their adequately reading control subjects on the Absurdity items; the reverse relationship was expected on the Proverbs items. Twenty children with marked reading retardation and a matched control group of equal size and reading at grade level expectancy served as research populations. All measures calculated rendered results supporting the hypotheses advanced at better than the .05 level of confidence. The implications of these findings for the theoretical understanding of the reading disability symptom from a Sullivanian vantage point are discussed.     

Development of a Medical Humanities and Ethics Certificate Program in Texas

Education in the medical humanities and ethics is an integral part of the formation of future physicians. This article reports on an innovative approach to incorporating the medical humanities and ethics into the four-year curriculum in a Certificate Program spanning all four years of the medical school experience. The faculty of the McGovern Center for Humanities and Ethics at the University of Texas Medical School at Houston conceived and implemented this program to teach medical students a range of scholarly topics in the medical humanities and to engage the full human experience into the process of becoming a physician. This study follows six years of experience, and we report student experiences and learning in their own words.