“Family Matters”: A Conceptual Framework for Genetic Testing in Children

Genetic testing in minor children presents a complex ethical and social problem. Current guidelines state that genetic testing of children is recommended only under circumstances where a clear medical or psychosocial benefit to the child can be demonstrated. Because of the difficulty in determining a psychosocial benefit, the discussion about genetic testing of minors ultimately tends to focus on who has the right to make the decision and whose right to autonomy is jeopardized, the parent's or the child's, when there is no identified medical benefit. Historically, a western bioethics paradigm, Principlism, has been used to guide genetic counseling sessions and genetic-testing guidelines for minors. This bioethics paradigm is guided by the principles: respect for autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, and justice. Genetic testing in children, when viewed through a traditional bioethics filter is limited by its focus on the individual because children are not only individuals, they are also integral parts of a larger social context, that of their family. Because this bioethics paradigm places a strong emphasis on individual autonomy, the family's beliefs and values and the parents' concern for their children may be overshadowed by the medical community's attempt to preserve the child's "right" to an autonomous decision about genetic testing. The purpose of this paper is to present a theoretical and ethics-based conceptual framework that may be useful in the development of genetic counseling interventions.     

The endowment-institutional affinity effect

The endowment effect occurs when ownership of a good leads consumers to value the good more than its market value. Students who were given College of Business Administration insignia mugs to keep valued them significantly more than students who were given the same mugs to examine and return (nonendowment condition). The endowment effect also occurred for plain white mugs. Students who were given plain white mugs to keep valued them more than students who were given the same mugs to examine and return. Ownership of insignia mugs not only resulted in the endowment effect but also resulted in an institutional affinity effect: Students provided higher satisfaction ratings with the College of Business Administration than did students endowed with plain white mugs and students in nonendowed conditions. This study demonstrates the impact of the endowment effect on institutional affinity for insignia goods. However, the tandem endowment-affinity effect occurs at the attitude formation stage, not when an attitude has already been formed.     

A diffusion model analysis of the effects of aging in the lexical-decision task

The effects of aging on response time (RT) are examined in 2 lexical-decision experiments with young and older subjects (age 60-75). The results show that the older subjects were slower than the young subjects, but more accurate. R. Ratcliff s (1978) diffusion model provided a good account of RTs, their distributions, and response accuracy. The fits show an 80-100-ms slowing of the nondecision components of RT for older subjects relative to young subjects and more conservative decision criterion settings for older subjects than for young subjects. The rates of accumulation of evidence were not significantly different for older compared with young subjects (less than 2% and 5% higher for older subjects relative to young subjects in the 2 experiments).     

Associations in the course of personality disorders and Axis I disorders over time

In this study, the authors examined time-varying associations between schizotypal (STPD), borderline (BPD), avoidant (AVPD), or obsessive-compulsive (OCPD) personality disorders and co-occurring Axis I disorders in 544 adult participants from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The authors tested predictions of specific longitudinal associations derived from a model of crosscutting psychobiological dimensions (L. J. Siever & K. L. Davis, 1991) with participants with the relevant Axis I disorders. The authors assessed participants at baseline and at 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up evaluations. BPD showed significant longitudinal associations with major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. AVPD was significantly associated with anxiety disorders (specifically social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder). Two of the four personality disorders under examination (STPD and OCPD) showed little or no association with Axis I disorders.     

Normative data for the selective reminding test: a random digit dialing sample

Healthy control participants (46 women, M age=44.3 yr., SD=7.6; 29 men) were recruited to undergo a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and serve as a comparison group in a study of cognitive functioning in patients with Lyme isease. Participants were selected using Mitofsky-Waksberg random digit dialing. The Buschke 12-word, six-trial Selective Reminding Test was administered as part of the neuropsychological battery and normative data are presented stratified by age and sex. Performance on alternate forms of this measure were examined. Mean education, intelligence quotient, and Wide Range Achievement Test-3 Reading scores are reported.     

Integrating biological and social processes in relation to early-onset persistent aggression in boys and girls

This study examined the relationship between biological and social risk factors and aggressive behavior patterns in an Australian high-risk sample of 370 adolescents. Perinatal, temperamental, familial, sociodemographic, and behavioral data were collected during interviews completed during pregnancy. immediately postpartum, and when the children were 6 months old and 5, 14, and 15 years old. Youths were given tests of verbal and neuropsychological functioning at the age 5 and age 15 follow-ups. Youths were divided into early-onset persistent aggression, adolescent-onset aggression, and nonaggressive behavior groups. Results revealed that the interaction of biological and social risk factors was significantly related to early-onset persistent aggression. Gender and developmental phase of measurement moderated the relationship between biosocial risks and the outcomes of early-onset persistent aggression and adolescent-onset aggression.     

Arguments for adjuncts

It is commonly assumed across the language sciences that some semantic participant information is lexically encoded in the representation of verbs and some is not. In this paper, we propose that semantic obligatoriness and verb class specificity are criteria which influence whether semantic information is lexically encoded. We present a comprehensive survey of the English verbal lexicon, a sentence continuation study, and an on-line sentence processing study which confirm that both factors play a role in the lexical encoding of participant information.     

A field study of frame-of-reference effects on personality test validity

As part of a test validation study at a major U.S.-based airline, the authors tested the effects of providing an "at work" frame-of-reference on the validity of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory among a sample of customer service supervisors (N = 206). Frame-of-reference moderated the validity of the Extraversion and Openness to Experience subscales after controlling for cognitive ability. In addition, the frame-of-reference personality test showed incremental validity over cognitive ability (deltaR2 = .16), but the standard personality test did not (deltaR2 = .05). The authors' discussion focuses on implications for personality theory and research and on implications for increasing the validity of personality tests in organizational settings.     

A test of the ABC model underlying rational emotive behavior therapy

The ABC model underlying Ellis's Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy predicts that people who think more irrationally should respond to daily stressors or hassles differently than do people who think less irrationally. This study tested this aspect of the ABC model. 192 college students were administered the Survey of Personal Beliefs and the Hassles Scale to measure irrational thinking and daily hassles, respectively. Students who scored higher on overall irrational thinking reported a significantly higher frequency of hassles than did those who scored lower on overall irrational thinking, while students who scored higher on awfulizing and low frustration tolerance reported a significantly greater intensity of hassles than did those who scored lower on awfulizing and low frustration tolerance. This indicates support for the ABC model, especially Ellis's construct of irrational beliefs central to this model.