Powerless people don't yell but tell: The effects of social power on direct and indirect expression of anger

Expressing anger can engender desired change, but it can also backfire. In the present research we examined how power shapes the expression of anger. In Study 1, we found that powerless individuals were less inclined to express their anger directly but more inclined to express it indirectly by sharing it with others. Powerless participants’ reluctance to express anger directly was mediated by negative social appraisals. In Study 2, we replicated the effect of power on direct anger expression in a situation in which participants had actual power (or not). Anger was evoked in the laboratory using an ecologically valid procedure, and participants were given an opportunity to express anger. Study 3 showed that powerless participants expected direct anger expression to arouse more anger than fear in the target, whereas the opposite was true for indirect anger expression. Powerful participants always expected to elicit more fear than anger in the target.     

Relational factors and family treatment engagement among low-income,HIV-positive African American mothers

Clinically derived hypotheses regarding treatment engagement of families of low-income, HIV-positive, African American mothers are tested using univariate and multivariate logistic regression models. Predictors are baseline family relational factors (family support, mother's desire for involvement with family, and family hassles) and mother's history of substance dependence. The study examines a subsample of 49 mothers enrolled in a clinical trial testing the efficacy of Structural Ecosystems Therapy (SET). SET is a family-based intervention intended to relieve and prevent psychosocial distress associated with HIV/AIDS. Participants in the subsample were randomly assigned to SET and attended at least two therapy sessions. Findings reveal that family relational factors predicted family treatment engagement (family support, p < .004; mother's desire for involvement with family, p < .008; family hassles, p < .027). Family support predicted family treatment engagement beyond the prediction provided by the other relational factors and the mother's own treatment engagement (p < .016). History of substance dependence was neither associated with family treatment engagement nor family support. Post hoc analyses revealed that family hassles (p < .003) and mother's desire for involvement with family (p < .018) were differentially related to family treatment engagement in low- versus high-support families. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

The use of moral dilemmas for teaching agricultural engineers

Agricultural engineers’ jobs are especially related to sustainability and earth life issues. They usually work with plants or animals, and the aim of their work is often linked to producing food to allow people to improve their quality of life. Taking into account this dual function, the moral requirements of their day-to-day professional practice are arguably greater than those of other professions. Agricultural engineers can develop their ability to live up to this professional responsibility by receiving ethical training during their university studies, not only by taking courses specifically devoted to ethics, but also by having to deal with moral questions that are integrated into their technical courses through a program of Ethics Across the Curriculum (EAC). The authors feel that a suitable pedagogical technique for achieving this goal is the use of moral dilemmas, following Kohlberg’s theory of levels of morality (1981), with the final objective of attaining a post-conventional level. This paper examines the possibilities and limitations of using moral dilemmas as a pedagogical technique for training agricultural engineers. The cases, discussions, and evaluation used in the Agricultural Engineering Department of the Technical University of Valencia (Spain) are also presented. An earlier version of this paper was presented at the 2005 conference, Ethics and Social Responsibility in Engineering and Technology, Linking Workplace Ethics and Education, co-hosted by Gonzaga University and Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, CA, USA, 9–10 June 2005.     

Effects of Modeling the Heterogeneity on Inferences Drawn from Multilevel Designs

This article uses Monte Carlo techniques to examine the effect of heterogeneity of variance in multilevel analyses in terms of relative bias, coverage probability, and root mean square error (RMSE). For all simulated data sets, the parameters were estimated using the restricted maximum-likelihood (REML) method both assuming homogeneity and incorporating heterogeneity into multilevel models. We find that (a) the estimates for the fixed parameters are unbiased, but the associated standard errors are frequently biased when heterogeneity is ignored; by contrast, the standard errors of the fixed effects are almost always accurate when heterogeneity is considered; (b) the estimates for the random parameters are slightly overestimated; (c) both the homogeneous and heterogeneous models produce standard errors of the variance component estimates that are underestimated; however, taking heterogeneity into account, the REML-estimations give correct estimates of the standard errors at the lowest level and lead to less underestimated standard errors at the highest level; and (d) from the RMSE point of view, REML accounting for heterogeneity outperforms REML assuming homogeneity; a considerable improvement has been particularly detected for the fixed parameters. Based on this, we conclude that the solution presented can be uniformly adopted. We illustrate the process using a real dataset.     

Development and validation of the Granada Burnout Questionnaire in Spanish police

The goal of the present study is to develop a questionnaire, with proper psychometric properties and current norms, to evaluate the burnout syndrome in Spain. The operative definition of burnout proposed by Maslach and Jackson is used to define three dimensions (Emotional exhaustion, Depersonalization and Personal accomplishment). A total of 2,403 national Spanish police participated. Evidence of construct validity was checked through cross validation (showing a good fit of the three factors model to the data). Using the MBI, NEO-FII and CECAD evidence of convergent validity and criteria validity were developed (showing that the relations are similar to the ones that appear in other research). The discrimination, mean, standard deviation, and typical error of the average of the items composing the various dimensions were analyzed. Both the Cronbach's alpha coefficient and the conditional standard error of measurement (CSEM) were calculated for each of the dimensions. The results showed good internal consistency (all α values > .85). Finally, the questionnaire was scaled using T scores. The psychometrical properties reported here support the use of this new questionnaire for the burnout evaluation in Spanish police.     

An Application of the Complier Average Causal Effect Analysis to Examine the Effects of a Family Intervention in Reducing Illicit Drug Use among High‐Risk Hispanic Adolescents

The Complier Average Causal Effect (CACE) method has been increasingly used in prevention research to provide more accurate causal intervention effect estimates in the presence of noncompliance. The purpose of this study was to provide an applied demonstration of the CACE analytic approach to evaluate the relative effects of a family‐based prevention intervention, Familias Unidas, in preventing/reducing illicit drug use for those participants who received the intended dosage. This study is a secondary data analysis of a randomized controlled trial designed to evaluate the relative efficacy of Familias Unidas with high‐risk Hispanic youth. A total of 242 high‐risk Hispanic youth aged 12–17 years and their primary caregivers were randomized to either Familias Unidas or Community Practice and assessed at baseline, 6 months and 12 months postbaseline. CACE models were estimated with a finite growth mixture model. Predictors of engagement were included in the CACE model. Findings indicate that, relative to the intent‐to‐treat (ITT) analytic approach, the CACE analytic approach yielded stronger intervention effects among both initially engaged and overall engaged participants. The CACE analytic approach may be particularly helpful for studies involving parent/family‐centered interventions given that participants may not receive the intended dosage. Future studies should consider implementing the CACE analysis in addition to ITT analysis when examining the effects of family‐based prevention programs to determine whether, and the extent to which, the CACE analysis has more power to uncover intervention effects.     

Bi-Simulating in Bi-Intuitionistic Logic

Bi-intuitionistic logic is the result of adding the dual of intuitionistic implication to intuitionistic logic. In this note, we characterize the expressive power of this logic by showing that the first order formulas equivalent to translations of bi-intuitionistic propositional formulas are exactly those preserved under bi-intuitionistic directed bisimulations. The proof technique is originally due to Lindström and, in contrast to the most common proofs of this kind of result, it does not use the machinery of neither saturated models nor elementary chains.     

Do the effects of a family intervention on alcohol and drug use vary by nativity status?

To examine whether the intervention effects of Familias Unidas, compared to community practice, on Hispanic adolescent alcohol and drug use varies by nativity status (i.e., U.S.-born and foreign-born). A total of 213 eighth grade Hispanic adolescents with behavior problems and their primary caregivers were assigned randomly to one of two conditions: Familias Unidas or Community Control. Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6, 18, and 30 months post baseline. Results showed that, the effects of Familias Unidas on alcohol use was moderated by nativity status. Specifically, Familias Unidas was efficacious in preventing/reducing alcohol use for U.S.-born youth, but not foreign-born. No moderating effects were found for drug use. These findings suggest that prevention interventions may be more efficacious in preventing/reducing alcohol use among certain Hispanic adolescent subgroups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).