Chronic Medical problems,coping resources,and depression: A longitudinal study of rural Tennesseans

This analysis examined chronic medical problems as a risk factor for depressive symptomatology using longitudinal survey data from a sample of rural Tennesseans. Two waves of data (1977 and 1983) were collected on 532 rural Middle-Tennessee residents. An initial investigation found chronic medical problems a powerful predictor of depression. Furthermore, internal and external resources (personal resources and social support) operated as moderating factors between the stress of medical problems and psychiatric impairment. Panel regression analyses indicated that Time 1 depression level as well as medical problems at Time 2 (t2) were significant predictors of depression at t2 in rural areas of the mid-South. Finally, the buffering effects of both social support and personal resources were explored.     

Developmental and reading ability differences in accessing information from semantic memory

A categorical judgment task was utilized to investigate the relationships between word recognition skills and reading achievement at several grade levels. In the first experiment skilled and unskilled readers from Grades 2, 4, and 6 made cognitive decisions about pairs of words using either graphemic, lexical, or semantic information. In Experiment 2 skilled, average, and unskilled readers from Grades 1, 3, and 5 made semantic decisions about word or picture pairs. The speed and accuracy of word encoding, lexical access, and semantic memory access processes varied as a function of reading ability. These results suggest that inefficient word recognition skills can contribute to reading deficiencies as can deficiencies in semantic memory organization.     

The use of restricted environmental stimulation therapy (REST) in the treatment of essential hypertension: Two case studies

The previous paper (Suedfeld et al., 1982, pp. 553–559) reported the use of Restricted Environmental Stimulation Therapy (REST) in treating hypertension. This paper reports the response of two patients to 24 hr of a similar treatment offered as an adjunct to a weight-control program. In both patients blood pressure dropped immediately following the REST session and remained lower for up to 9 months. The initial drop in blood pressure was independent of weight loss. These results are interpreted in terms of a psychobiological model of self-regulation.     

An oscilloscopic point-plotter interface for 8-bit microcomputers

An inexpensive interface capable of driving high-resolution point-plotting systems is described. Specific examples of modifications to the electronic hardware are detailed for the Rockwell Aim 65, but the design is readily adaptable to most commercially available 8-bit microcomputers. Some comparisons are drawn between salient features of raster-scan and of point-plotting display systems.     

Intelligibility and comprehension of time compressed sign language narratives

A method of time compressing visual displays was devised to assess the effects of compression on the comprehension of American sign language (ASL). Two ASL narratives were visually presented to three groups of deaf ASL users. A compression group was presented narratives compressed to 50% of the duration of the normal rates. A no-compression group was presented narratives signed at normal rates. A pause group was presented compressed narratives with blank pauses inserted so that the total time per narrative was equal to that of the no-compression versions. Following each narrative, subjects completed a written comprehension task. Comprehension in both compression and pause groups was significantly lower than in the no-compression group. Pauses did not significantly affect scores relative to compression. An additional group of deaf ASL users was presented an intelligibility task in which signs taken from the narratives were presented in isolation either with or without compression. The total number of signs correctly identified was significantly lower with compression. Decrements in comprehension were best explained as the result of cumulative decrements in sign intelligibility and not as the result of decrements in available processing time.     

Using a classification of occupations to describe age,sex, and time differences in employment patterns

Employment data from the 1960 and 1970 censuses were organized using Holland's occupational classification to examine age, sex, and level differences in employment, and to detect changes over the 10-year period. Data were organized in terms of both kind and level of work. Arranging information about the occupational structure of the workforce in terms of a classification that parallels the way psychologists describe people facilitates some psychological interpretations of employment patterns. For example, realistic work is becoming relatively less common and the sexual composition of the occupational categories may be changing. The results provide structured information about the workforce and its changing nature that can be communicated to people planning their careers, personnel workers and counselors, and to government agencies and planners.     

An analysis of Holland's interest types for women: A comparison of the Strong-Holland and the ACT vocational interest profile scales for women

The purpose of this paper was to examine the basic vocational interest dimensions of women. Two interest inventories designed to measure the six interest dimensions described by Holland (1966) were administered to 126 university freshman women. The correlations between corresponding scales of the two instruments was generally high and application of the spatial configuration analysis resulted in the expected circular ordering found in previous studies. The usefulness of the basic interest dimensions when counseling with women was discussed from a practical and a theoretical point of view.     

The effects of smoking on the speaking fundamental frequency of adult women

The present study sought to investigate the effects of smoking on the speaking fundamental frequency of adult women. The results indicated that, in the reading condition, fundamental frequency for the smokers was significantly lower than fundamental frequency for the nonsmokers. Eighty-seven percent of the smokers examined by an otolaryngologist exhibited some abnormality in appearance of the vocal folds. The results also suggest that menopause may contribute to a lowering of the speaking fundamental frequency of adult women.