Drug awareness in adolescents attending a mental health service: analysis of longitudinal data

One of the procedures used most recently with longitudinal data is linear mixed models. In the context of health research the increasing number of studies that now use these models bears witness to the growing interest in this type of analysis. This paper describes the application of linear mixed models to a longitudinal study of a sample of Spanish adolescents attending a mental health service, the aim being to investigate their knowledge about the consumption of alcohol and other drugs. More specifically, the main objective was to compare the efficacy of a motivational interviewing programme with a standard approach to drug awareness. The models used to analyse the overall indicator of drug awareness were as follows: (a) unconditional linear growth curve model; (b) growth model with subject-associated variables; and (c) individual curve model with predictive variables. The results showed that awareness increased over time and that the variable 'schooling years' explained part of the between-subjects variation. The effect of motivational interviewing was also significant.     

Objective assessment of gender roles: Gender Roles Test (GRT-36)

This study was designed to develop a computerized test to assess gender roles. This test is presented as a decision-making task to mask its purpose. Each item displays a picture representing an activity and a brief sentence that describes it. Participants have to choose the most suitable sex to perform each activity: man or woman. The test (Gender Roles Test, GRT-36) consists of 36 items/activities. The program registers both the choices made and their response times (RTs). Responses are considered as stereotyped when the chosen sex fits stereotyped roles and non-stereotyped when the chosen sex does not fit stereotyped roles. Individual means (RTs) were computed for stereotyped and non-stereotyped responses, differentiating between domestic and work spheres. A "D" score, reflecting the strength of association between activities and sex, was calculated for each sphere and sex. The study incorporated 78 participants (69% women and 31% men) ranging from 19 to 59 years old. The results show that: (a) reading speed does not explain the variability in the RTs; (b) RTs show good internal consistency; (c) RTs are shorter for stereotyped than for neutral stimuli; (d) RTs are shorter for stereotyped than for non-stereotyped responses. Intended goals are supported by obtained results. Scores provided by the task facilitate both group and individual detailed analysis of gender role, differentiating the gender role assigned to men from that assigned to women, at the domestic and work spheres. Obtained data fall within the scope of the genderology and their implications are discussed.     

Moderating effects in consumers' perceptions of price unfairness

This study explores the moderating effects of various consumer features – such as price insensitivity and recency of last purchase – on the relationships among perceived value, inferred vendor profit, and perceived price fairness. A proposed model is developed and an empirical study is then conducted among consumers in four contexts: (i) two tangible goods; and (ii) two intangible services. The proposed model and hypotheses are tested using Partial Least Squares (PLS) software SmartPLS 2.0.M3, which provides a component‐based approach for estimation purposes. The influence of these moderating variables (price insensitivity and recency of the last purchase) depends on the context and the nature of the offering. This is a pioneering study of perceived price fairness in a framework of distributive justice utilizing a variety of contexts, products, and services. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Severe intimate partner violence risk prediction scale-revised

The aim of this study was to describe the psychometric properties of the Severe Intimate Partner Violence Risk Prediction Scale and to revise it in order to ponderate the 20 items according to their discriminant capacity and to solve the missing item problem. The sample for this study consisted of 450 male batterers who were reported to the police station. The victims were classified as high-risk (18.2%), moderate-risk (45.8%) and low-risk (36%), depending on the cutoff scores in the original scale. Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha=.72) and interrater reliability (r=.73) were acceptable. The point biserial correlation coefficient between each item and the corrected total score of the 20-item scale was calculated to determine the most discriminative items, which were associated with the context of intimate partner violence in the last month, with the male batterer's profile and with the victim's vulnerability. A revised scale (EPV-R) with new cutoff scores and indications on how to deal with the missing items were proposed in accordance with these results. This easy-to-use tool appears to be suitable to the requirements of criminal justice professionals and is intended for use in safety planning. Implications of these results for further research are discussed.     

Effect of arousal increase in predictable and random task switching: evidence for the involvement of the anterior attentional network in random but not in predictable task switching

Switch cost does not disappear as more preparation time for the next task is allowed. Tornay and Milán showed that the residual cost is smaller when tasks switch randomly than when they alternate in predictable sequences. They proposed that the difference was due to control mechanisms (anterior attentional network) being activated in the random condition because of its overall difficulty. Besides, it has been shown that increasing arousal levels inhibits the anterior attentional network. Therefore, Tornay and Milán's account predicts that high arousal should result in switch cost for the random condition increasing to the levels of predictable switching. In this work, this prediction was tested by assessing the interaction between increased arousal and switch cost with both predictable and random-task switching. The results may help to solve the ongoing controversy about the causes of switch cost.     

Effects of spatial frequency content on classification of face gender and expression

The role of different spatial frequency bands on face gender and expression categorization was studied in three experiments. Accuracy and reaction time were measured for unfiltered, low-pass (cut-off frequency of 1 cycle/deg) and high-pass (cutoff frequency of 3 cycles/deg) filtered faces. Filtered and unfiltered faces were equated in root-mean-squared contrast. For low-pass filtered faces reaction times were higher than unfiltered and high-pass filtered faces in both categorization tasks. In the expression task, these results were obtained with expressive faces presented in isolation (Experiment 1) and also with neutral-expressive dynamic sequences where each expressive face was preceded by a briefly presented neutral version of the same face (Experiment 2). For high-pass filtered faces different effects were observed on gender and expression categorization. While both speed and accuracy of gender categorization were reduced comparing to unfiltered faces, the efficiency of expression classification remained similar. Finally, we found no differences between expressive and non expressive faces in the effects of spatial frequency filtering on gender categorization (Experiment 3). These results show a common role of information from the high spatial frequency band in the categorization of face gender and expression.     

Income,Motivation, and Satisfaction with Life: An Empirical Analysis

This paper focuses on how different types of motivations can condition satisfaction with life, studying whether individual heterogeneity in motivations affects the relationship between income and life satisfaction and whether the relationship between motivation and satisfaction differs for people in different income-groups. Data used in this study comes from the World Values Survey and the focus is placed on the relationship between income, motivation and satisfaction with life. Once variables such as gender, age, religion, health or education are controlled for, we find that different motivations significantly affect individual wellbeing. Moreover, our results suggest that moving from extrinsic to intrinsic motivation leads individuals to enjoy greater satisfaction with life. This is so independent of the level of income, but the role of intrinsic motivation is particularly significant for people in the low-income class. Life satisfaction also increases, within extrinsic motivation, when moving from importance placed on a good income to focusing on security and, within intrinsic motivation, when moving from emphasis placed on social relatedness to an increased feeling of accomplishment. Overall, our results suggest that different goals and intended outcomes condition individual’s perceptions of wellbeing, with intrinsic motivations being crucial in attaining greater levels of satisfaction with life.     

A new device to present textured stimuli to touch with simultaneous EEG recording

The study of touch has recently grown, due mainly to the extensive use of several types of actuators that stimulate several subsystems of touch. There is a widespread interest in applying these mechanisms to the study of the neurophysiological correlates of tactual perception. In this article, we present a new device (the tactile spinning wheel [TSW]) for delivering textured surfaces to the finger pad. The TSW allows one to control several parameters of the stimulation (angular speed, texture, etc.) and, connected to an EEG recording system, makes it possible to study neural electrophysiological events. The device consists of a rotating platform on which the tactile stimuli are fixed, a system that synchronizes stimuli onset with the EEG system, and an electronic interface that controls the platform. We present the technical details of the TSW, its calibration, and some experimental results we have obtained with this device.     

Necessity and Language: The Gap Is Still Very Real

In my previous paper “Has the later Wittgenstein accounted for necessity?” I argued against the conventionalist account of necessity proposed by Wittgenstein and his followers. Glock has addressed some of my objections in his paper “Necessity and Language: In Defence of Conventionalism”. This brief rejoinder considers Glock's replies to three of those objections. In the course of doing so, I revisit Wittgenstein's explanation of the special status of necessary propositions, the supposedly arbitrary nature of colour‐grammatical propositions, and the relation between rules and modality.     

Psychological contract breach and outcomes: Combining meta-analysis and structural equation models

In this study, meta-analytic procedures were used to examine the relationships between psychological contract perceived breach and certain outcome variables, such as organizational commitment, job satisfaction and organizational citizenship behaviours (OCB). Our review of the literature generated 41 independent samples in which perceived breach was used as a predictor of these personal and organizational outcomes. A medium effect size (ES) for desirable outcomes (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational trust, OCB and performance) was obtained (r=-.35). For undesirable outcomes (neglect in role duties and intention to leave), ES were also medium (r=.31). When comparing attitudinal (job satisfaction, organizational commitment, organizational trust) and behavioural outcomes (OCB, neglect in role duties and performance), a stronger ES was found for attitudinal (r=-.24) than for behavioural outcomes (r=-.11). Potential moderator variables were examined, and it was found that they explained only a percentage of variability of primary studies. Structural equation analysis of the pooled meta-analytical correlation matrix indicated that the relationships of perceived breach with satisfaction, OCB, intention to leave and performance are fully mediated by organizational trust and commitment. Results are discussed in order to suggest theoretical and empirical implications.