Distress and coping with hot flushes at work: Implications for counsellors in occupational settings

This study explored whether mid-life women regard hot flushes at work as a substantial stressor. A sample of 29 working women reporting hot flushes for at least 12 months rated the degree to which each of ten work situations influenced flush distress or discomfort. Ratings were compared with qualitative accounts of coping with flushes at work. Results showed that women differed markedly in the work situations that they regarded as most problematic, but flush distress was commonly magnified during formal meetings, in hot enclosed spaces and in the presence of male colleagues. A substantial minority viewed colleagues as conveying negative attitudes towards menopausal problems, which jeopardised general confidence at work as well as creating specific difficulties during frush episodes. Flush distress was higher among those reporting embarrassment and dificulties disclosing menopausal status to others. Respondents made suggestions for ways in which the working environment could be improved to assist women in managing hot flushes. Coping with flushes was largely seen as an individual rather than organisational responsibility. Other stigmatising health problems may present similar subjective problems at work, and this needs further study. Some implications for counsellors working in organisational settings are explored.     

Seeking Information about Different Ethnic Groups: The Role of Motivation and Confirmation1

Two factors were investigated in terms of their effects on information seeking about ethnic groups: degree to which the information confirmed one's stereotype, and motivation for seeking information. Forty-two English Canadians (Ss) were given the opportunity to seek up to 45 items of information about 18 individuals, 3 from each of six ethnic groups. The three members of each group either confirmed, partially disconfirmed, or totally disconfirmed the group stereotype. Results indicated that more information was sought about the confirming member of each group by the Ss instructed to seek information that interested them. Ss instructed to describe or evaluate ethnic group members sought information equally from all members. These results are discussed in terms of expectancy theory, and in relation to other findings on ethnic perception and ethnic interpersonal attraction.     

First in,first out: Word learning age and spoken word frequency as predictors of word familiarity and word naming latency

This study is concerned with recent claims that subjective measures of word frequency are more suitable than are standard word frequency counts as indices of actual frequency of word encounter. A multiple regression study is reported, which shows that the major predictor of familiarity ratings is word learning age. Objective measures of spoken and written word frequency made independent contributions to the variance. It is concluded that rated familiarity is not an appropriate substitute for objective frequency measures. A multiple regression study of word naming latency is reported, and shows that rated word learning age is a better predictor of word naming latency than are spoken word frequency, written word frequency, rated familiarity, and other variables. Possible theoretical explanations for age-of-acquisition effects are discussed and it is concluded that early-learned words have a more complete representation in a phonological output lexicon. This conclusion is related to relevant developmental literature.     

Phonation in stuttering: A review of current research

Current research including studies which implicate the phonatory mechanism in stuttering as well as physiological studies offering direct evidence of abnormal laryngeal activity in stuttering are reviewed. It is concluded that while present research does not support claims for laryngeal causation of stuttering, the evidence is strong that abnormal laryngeal behaviors are an important aspect of the disrupted peripheral speech physiology that characterizes stuttering. Since this is true, it follows that abnormal laryngeal behavior deserves consideration in the diagnosis and management of stuttering.     

Sex differences in nonverbal behavior

A variety of nonverbal behaviors was coded from videotapes of 88 dyadic conversations. The 44 male and 44 female subjects were paired so that each participated in one conversation with a stranger of the same sex and one conversation with a stranger of the opposite sex. It was found that sex of subject, but not sex of partner, had a significant effect on many of the nonverbal behaviors displayed during the conversations. Subjects' scores on the behavioral measures were correlated with their scores on several personality measures and on a post-conversation questionnaire. Sex differences in these correlations were used to generate hypotheses linking specific behavioral differences between the sexes to more general differences between the masculine and feminine interpersonal styles.This study was supported in part by NSF grant GS-3033, awarded to Starkey Duncan, University of Chicago; by NSF grant GS-3127, awarded to Donald Fiske, University of Chicago; by a grant awarded to Starkey Duncan and Donald Fiske by the Social Science Divisional Research Committee of the University of Chicago; and by a University of Chicago Humanities Fellowship awarded to the author. The author is grateful to Starkey Duncan and Donald Fiske for the extensive assistance they provided with this study. The author also wishes to express her appreciation to Jeanine Carlson, George Niederehe, Bruno Repp, Thomas Shanks, and Cathy Stepanek, who assisted in coding the videotaped data and in the statistical analysis. This article is based on the author's doctoral dissertation (Beekman, 1973), which may be consulted for further details.Previous drafts of this article have been circulated under the author's former name, Susan J. Beekman.     

Visual orientation by motion-produced blur patterns: Detection of divergence

Blur patterns are physiological “streaks” of photochemical and neural activity that occur whenever an observer and his visual environment are in relative motion. When retinal velocities are high, the impression of visual “flow” gives way to one of a field of “blur lines” whose patterns are rich with information about the motions and the optical textures that produced them. Simulated blur patterns were produced and thresholds measured for the detection of divergence at nine retinal loci. Sensitivity was somewhat greater in the central retina. Thresh-olds remained the same despite variations in pattern velocity, number of elements, and the presence or absence of an internal velocity gradient. Observers were able to orient above-threshold patterns, but consistently underestimated the amount of slant.     

The correlates of dyadic synchrony in high-risk, low-income toddler boys

Synchrony has been broadly conceptualized as the quality of the parent-child dyadic relationship. Parenting, factors that compromise caregiving quality, and child characteristics have all been theoretically linked to synchrony, but little research has been conducted to validate such associations. The present study examined correlates of synchrony including parenting, maternal psychological resources and child attributes, among a sample of 120 mother-son dyads who were participating in a treatment study for children identified as being at risk for developing early conduct problems. There families participated in an at-home assessment, which included a series of mother-son interactions. Synchrony was associated with aspects of parenting and child attributes, including maternal nurturance, and child emotional negativity and language skills. The findings are discussed in terms of parent and child contributions to the development of synchrony.     

Reported childhood onset of self-mutilation among borderline patients

The purpose of this study was to determine the percentage of borderline patients who first engaged in self-mutilation as children and to compare the parameters of their self-harm to those of borderline patients who first harmed themselves at an older age. Two hundred and ninety inpatients meeting both Revised Diagnostic Interview for Borderlines (DIB-R; Zanarini, Gunderson, Frankenburg, & Chauncey, 1989) and Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed. ref.) (DSM-III-R; APA, 1987) criteria for borderline personality disorder were interviewed about their history of self-mutilation. Of the 91% with a history of self mutilation, 32.8% reported first harming themselves as children (12 years of age or younger), 30.2% as adolescents (13-17 years of age), and 37% as adults (18 or older). Using logistic regression analyses and controlling for baseline age, it was found that those with a childhood onset reported more episodes of self-harm, a longer duration of self-harm, and a greater number of methods of self-harm than either those with an adolescent or adult onset to their self-mutilation. The results of this study suggest that a sizable minority of borderline patients first engage in self-harm as children and that the course of their self-mutilation may be particularly malignant.