Toward a Model Informed Consent Process for BRCA1 Testing: A Qualitative Assessment of Women's Attitudes

As an initial part of a project to develop a model informed consent process for BRCA1 testing, we conducted a series of focus groups. At the groups, women initially expressed great interest in testing, but their interest diminished after learning more. If offered testing, women would most want to learn about test accuracy, practical details of testing, and management options if the result was positive. Perceived benefits of testing included gaining information leading to risk reduction, relief of uncertainty, more responsible parenting, and assisting in research. Perceived risks included the discomfort and cost of the testing process itself, and anxiety after a positive result. The risk of possible insurance discrimination was rarely mentioned spontaneously. Many women would want their providers to make recommendations, rather than be nondirective about testing. We observed that women vary greatly in their informational and counseling needs, and suggest that the informed consent process should be individualized, taking into account a woman's perception and her preferences for how testing decisions should be made.     

Postdrinking Sexual Inferences: Evidence for Linear Rather Than Curvilinear Dosage Effects1

Observers infer more sexual availability and willingness from a drinking dater. We hypothesized that, as dosage rises, these sexual inferences follow a linear pattern. College participants rated a woman (Study 1) and man (Study 2) exhibiting a sober, moderate, or high level of intoxication while with a light-drinking companion. Alcohol was perceived as having linear effects on sexual availability; and, except for male participants in Study 2, alcohol was perceived as having linear effects on willingness. Thus, with rising intoxication and diminished capacity for arousal, drinkers are perceived as more available and willing. Findings are discussed relative to expectancy models of sexuality. Reasons for desynchrony between alcohol's actual supression of sexual arousal and its perceived enhancement of willingness are presented.     

Assessing children's social skills: Validation of the Behavioral Assertiveness Test for Children (BAT-C)

The present study assessed the relationship between specific child responses on the Behavioral Assertiveness Test for Children (BAT-C) and sociometric indices obtained from peers. Fourth and fifth graders completed peer nominations of their best friends and the children they most admired, peer ratings of likeability, and the BAT-C. Sociometric status was determined by classifying each child as either high or low on peer nominations and peer ratings. Examination of the effects of sociometric status as moderated by race and sex revealed several significant differences in BAT-C responses. Children who were more highly liked or were often named as best friends were significantly less compliant. Differential responding on several additional verbal categories was observed as a function of the interaction between sociometric status and race and/or sex. These findings not only demonstrate the validity of several response categories observed on the BAT-C, but also suggest that in social skills training, different component responses may be targeted across child populations.The authors wish to express their appreciation to Jean Birbilis, Candace Conley, Tony Genoff, Marieta Knopf, and Donna Wadley for their assistance in data collection and analysis.     

The assessment of adolescent self-esteem: A comparison of methods1

The present series of studies explores the relationship between two conceptions of self-esteem: the self as experienced by the individual and the self as presented to others. Traditional measures of self-esteem are employed, and two new methods of assessing self-esteem in adolescents are introduced: an observational measure of self-esteem behavior (presented self) and a repeated self-report measure (experienced self). The presented self (observed behavior and peer ratings) and the experienced self (Rosenberg, Lerner, and a new method, paging devices) measures were consistent within themselves in assessing self-esteem. The presented self and the experienced self were not, however, significantly related to each other. We propose a moderator variable (“defensiveness”) to explain these discrepancies, and suggest that the observation of adolescent behavior provides a more accurate assessment of self-esteem than self-report measures.     

Spirituality,Religion, and CACREP Curriculum Standards

Survey data of the general population, counselors, and counselor educators indicate that spiritual and religious issues are therapeutically relevant, ethically appropriate, and potentially significant topics for counseling and counselor education in secular settings. In this article, the authors propose that a balanced, thoughtful inclusion of these topics in Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP) core curriculum areas is a reasonable and sound approach to preparing counselors to work ethically and effectively with these issues in secular counseling settings. Methods and examples for achieving this inclusion are presented for each of the CACREP core curriculum areas.     

Carrot-Eaters and Creature-Believers: The Effects of Lexicalization on Children's Inferences About SocialCategories

This article examines how language affects children's inferences about novel social categories. We hypothesized that lexicalization (using a noun label to refer to someone who possesses a certain property) would influence children's inferences about other people. Specifically, we hypothesized that when a property is lexicalized, it is thought to be more stable over time and over contexts. One hundred fifteen children (5- and 7-year-olds) learned about a characteristic of a hypothetical person (e.g., "Rose eats a lot of carrots"). Half the children were told a noun label for each character (e.g., "She is a carrot-eater"), whereas half heard a verbal predicate (e.g., "She eats carrots whenever she can"). The children judged characteristics as significantly more stable over time and over contexts when the characteristics were referred to by a noun than when they were referred to by a verbal predicate. Lexicalization (in the form of a noun) provides important information to children regarding the stability of personal characteristics.     

Effects of Age on the Generalization and Incubation of Memory in the F344 Rat

Freezing (immobility) in the presence of aversive stimuli is a species-specific behavior that is used as an operational measure of fear. Conditioning of this response to discrete sensory stimuli and environmental context cues has been used as a tool to study the neuropsychology of memory dynamics and their development over the lifespan. Three age groups of F344 rats (3, 9, and 27 month) received tone–foot shock pairing (or tone only) in a distinctive chamber on two consecutive days. Separate subgroups of rats from each age group were then tested, at retention intervals of 1, 20, 40, or 60 days, for context-mediated fear in the environment in which they were trained, for generalization of the fear response to a novel chamber, and for fear of the tone. Beginning at day 20, the 27-month-old rats exhibited less freezing behavior than did younger rats when tested in the conditioning context. This age difference was a result of freezing behavior becoming progressively stronger with time in the two younger age groups, a phenomenon that has been referred to as memory incubation. Incubation of the contextual fear response was not detected in the old rats. In a novel context, all age groups exhibited significantly more freezing than did control animals. There was also pronounced incubation of this generalized freezing response, and the extent of incubation declined significantly with age. In the novel context, the freezing response to the tone was robust in all age groups and increased over time, in constant proportion to the degree of freezing elicited by the novel context itself, prior to tone onset. The fact that old animals are known to be relatively selectively impaired in forms of memory that depend on a functional hippocampus suggests a possible explanation for the reduced incubation effects seen in old rats; however, whether the increased expression of fear over time is mediated by a hippocampal-dependent memory consolidation process or whether it reflects a generalized increase in the gain of the circuitry mediating the fear response itself, remains to be determined.     

The use of publicly-posted performance feedback in an inpatient psychiatric treatment setting

This study examined the effects of publicly-posted performance feedback on the in-hospital behavior of patients residing on a self-management unit at a large, state operated, psychiatric treatment facility. When contrasted to a baseline phase in which staff received weekly information regarding patients' performance, scores in six of the eight assessment areas improved when this information was provided directly to patients. The authors' conclude that performance feedback may be a useful adjunct to inpatient treatment programs because it clarifies programmatic expectations, helps focus attention on developing strategies or interventions to meet those expectations, and encourages active treatment participation from patients and staff.     

Elements of secrecy: Implications for children's testimony

This article reviews studies dealing with children's secrets—i.e., their concealment of information regarding events they have witnessed or been involved in. Potentially important implications for children's testimony are considered.