Emotional autonomy and adjustment among emerging adults: The moderating role of family relationships

Emerging adults build their personal maturity within the family context; however, few studies focus on the role of emotional autonomy during this stage. The aim of this study was to analyze the relationship between emotional autonomy and adjustment during emerging adulthood, bearing in mind the possible moderating role of parental support in this relationship. Data were collected from 1,502 Spanish undergraduate students (903 women) aged between 18 and 29. Participants completed measures of emotional autonomy (EAS, Steinberg & Silverberg, 1986), family social support (MSPSS; Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet & Farley, 1988), psychological well-being (PWBS; Ryff, Lee, Essex & Schmutte, 1995) and psychological distress (DASS-21; Lovibond & Lovibond, 1995). The results indicate that emotional autonomy correlates negatively with family support and psychological well-being and positively with psychological distress. However, only when young people perceive a family context with low social support is gaining emotional distance from their parents associated with an increase in their psychological well-being. Our findings highlight the crucial role that the family environment plays in well-being during young adulthood, and reveal that the effect of emotional distancing from parents on adjustment depends on the quality of the family climate. Future research should seek to gain greater insight into emotional autonomy during emerging adulthood, taking into account cross-cultural diversity.     

Cleaning versus replacement in power plant air preheaters: a comparison between deterministic and stochastic goal programming models

Power plants lose efficiency when the air preheater elements are not replaced or cleaned as they deteriorate. Replacing is more expensive than cleaning but more secure to preserve power and lifetime. How many baskets should be then replaced and how many cleaned to achieve ‘satisficing’ goals of cost, power and lifetime? We design deterministic/stochastic goal programming approaches to this problem and develop a decision case for usual preheaters. Some discrepancies in results between both approaches appear, the deterministic model advising to replace less baskets than the stochastic, which is plausible due to the risk variable. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Tension and compression of bulk Al-7.5 wt% Mg alloy

The mechanical behaviour of bulk ultrafine-grained Al-7.5 wt% Mg alloy consolidated from cryomilled powders has been investigated. The experimental data show that the alloy exhibits high strength, low strain hardening, serrated flow and relatively high ductility. In addition, the data indicate that the yield strength in tension is essentially equal to that in compression. The yield and flow strengths of the alloy are discussed in terms of strengthening processes that are related to grain size, the Orowan mechanism and solid-solution hardening. The serrations in the stress-strain curve are discussed in terms of dynamic strain ageing and deformation twinning.     

Reliability and validity of the Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (RCMAS) across samples of Mexican,Mexican American,and European American children: a preliminary investigation1 Table of means,standard deviations,and correlations of the RCMAS indicators are available from the first author upon request.

Abstract

The relationship between work and home-based stressors in predicting burnout symptoms was examined amongst 120 drug and alcohol service employees. Staff who reported high levels of burnout on the Maslach Burnout Inventory across all three scales of Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal Accomplishment were compared with a sample of low burnout employees. High burnout was associated with younger age, larger agency size, high levels of total work stressors, work overload, and daily hassles and a lower level of peer cohesion. Regression analyses revealed that male gender, younger age, work overload, role ambiguity and daily hassles were significant predictors of Emotional Exhaustion. Younger age was also a significant predictor of Depersonalization. Marked differences were found in the way in which males and females responded to work and non-work stressors and the interaction between these variables. For women, a significant interaction was found between total work stressors and home-based stressors in the prediction of Emotional Exhaustion and a trend in this direction was evident for Depersonalization. Low levels of home problems appeared to protect women from the adverse impact of work stressors. The burnout levels of women were relatively unaffected by work stressors, unless home stressors were also high. The level of daily hassles had a direct effect upon symptoms of Emotional Exhaustion, but did not interact with work stressors in predicting Emotional Exhaustion for women. Burnout levels of male employees on Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization scales were strongly linked to the level of work stressors and were not predicted by total home stressors nor the interaction between these variables. Symptoms of Emotional Exhaustion in males were predicted by severity of daily hassles, but this variable did not interact with work stressors in predicting Emotional Exhaustion.     

Expressive prosodic patterns in individuals with Alzheimer's disease

This paper describes a useful technique for quantifying the degree of speech deficits in dementia of GDS 4 Alzheimer's type (DAT). Production of prosodic speech in DAT patients and healthy older controls was analysed using variation in fundamental frequency (F0) measures on a reading task. The prosogram computational model was used to analyze the prosodic contours of the speech samples, using melodic styling of F0 based on perceptual principles and prominence detection of spectral and amplitude fluctuations in the speech signal. Results revealed significant differences in most of these prosodic parameters among the DAT group. Normal pitch variation in speech and variations in syllable timing were reduced in the DAT group, these features cause "flat" speech prosody in these patients. These speech parameters may have diagnostic and prognostic value for Alzheimer's disease and therefore could be a useful aid in clinical trials.     

Macrosocial determinants of social integration: Social class and area effect

Theory and research on social support have paid little attention to the existence of important macrosocial variables determining level and content of social relationships. This study examines variations in social integration as a function of social class and residential area characteristics. Results for 234 subjects living in high and low risk neighbourhoods indicated that differences between higher and lower social class groups follow different patterns in different residential areas. Also, same social class position appeared to have different significance as a function of residential area characteristics. The levels of three social integration measures—community integration and satisfaction, community association and participation, and contribution in community organizations—were significantly higher for lower class in low risk neighbourhoods than in high risk ones. However, significant differences were found in only one measure for higher social class groups, with higher levels of community association and participation in high risk neighbourhoods than in low risk ones. The discussion examines a ‘social impoverishment’ hypothesis for high risk environments, and proposes possible protective factors for higher status residents. Relations between formal and informal sources of support, and implications for social intervention strategies are also considered.     

Role of third parties in conflicts among Colombian children and early adolescents

Research on children's peer conflicts has focused almost exclusively on the conflicts' main parties. This study investigated the role played by third parties of those conflicts. During interviews, 56 participants (ages 8.0 to 14.5) living in poor and violent neighborhoods in urban Colombia narrated 128 recent conflicts they had with, or observed among, peers. Third parties were present in 73%, and actively involved in 65%, of the conflicts. Most commonly, peers supported one side, teachers used repressive means to promote settlements, and parents took over their children's conflicts. Virtually all the participants mentioned ways of promoting a settlement, but only a fraction used them in actual conflicts. Mediation was absent among peer or adult third parties. Third parties' emotions were less intense than those of main parties, suggesting that it might be easier for bystanders to use cognitive capacities acquired through educational interventions promoting peaceful relationships. Aggr. Behav. 31:40–55, 2005. © 2005 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Personality variables, psychopathological alterations and personality disorders in alcohol-dependent patients according to Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse

In this paper, an evaluation of Cloninger's typology of alcohol abuse in personality, psychopathology and personality disorders is carried out. The sample consisted of 158 alcoholics in treatment (56 Type I alcohol-dependent patients and 102 Type II alcohol-dependent patients). All subjects were assessed with diverse assessment tools related to personality (Impulsiveness Scale, Sensation Seeking Scale and STAI), psychopathology (SCL-90-R, BDI and Inadaptation Scale) and personality disorders (IPDE). The main findings were that Type II alcohol-dependent patients were more impulsive and sensation-seeking and they displayed more hostility and emotional distress than Type I alcohol-dependent patients. Personality disorders were not so prevalent in the case of Type I alcohol-dependent patients. The most specific personality disorders for Type II alcohol-dependent patients were narcissistic and paranoid. The implications of this study for further research are commented on.