Factors Affecting HIV Contraceptive Decision-Making Among Women

We examined contraceptive decision-making among African American, Latina, and European American women ages 18–50 years. Logistic regressions examined relationships between demographic and religious factors, unintended pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), reasons for sex, and contraceptive decision-making. Women who were older, single, African American, used pregnancy prevention, and had histories of STDs and unintended pregnancies made contraceptive decisions alone. Older and African American women were more likely to choose no contraception. Among contraceptive users, African Americans used effective methods of pregnancy, but not disease, prevention. Women with STD histories, and younger, more educated women were more likely to use methods that prevent against both pregnancy and disease. Theoretical implications about contraceptive choices among ethnically diverse women are discussed.     

Decrease of prefrontal-posterior EEG coherence: loose control during social-emotional stimulation

In two experiments we aimed to investigate if individual differences in state-dependent decreases or increases of EEG coherence between prefrontal and posterior cortical regions may be indicative of a mechanism modulating the impact social-emotional information has on an individual. Two independent samples were exposed to an emotional stimulation paradigm in which the participants were invited to get involved and sympathize with the persons they were watching (study 1) or listening to (study 2), and who were expressing sadness or anxiety. The two studies yielded consistent results. Higher scores in trait absorption and in the propensity to ruminate were associated with decreased EEG beta coherence during the stimulation, whereas coherence increased in individuals low in absorption or rumination. Coherence changes did not predict to which degree the participants felt infected by the displayed emotions, but in individuals showing decreased prefrontal-posterior coupling during the stimulation, feelings of sadness and anxiety had a greater tendency to persist. The findings suggest that more loose prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to loosening of control of the prefrontal cortex over incoming social-emotional information and, consequently, to deeper emotional involvement and absorption, whereas increased prefrontal-posterior coupling may be related to strong control, dampening of emotional experience, and not letting oneself become emotionally affected.     

Relation of emotion-related regulation to children's social competence: a longitudinal study

The differential relations of children's emotion-related regulation (i.e., effortful control and impulsivity) to their personality resiliency, adult-rated popularity, and social competence were examined in children who were 4.5-7.9 years old and who were remeasured 2 years later. Parents and teachers reported on all constructs, and children's attentional persistence was observed. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediating role of resiliency on the relations between regulation/control and popularity using two-wave longitudinal data. The results provide some evidence of the mediating role of resiliency in the relations between effortful control and popularity, provide some evidence of bidirectional effects, and also buttress the view that emotional regulation should be differentiated into effortful and reactive forms of control.     

Continuing education in genetics for Adoption workers in Wisconsin

In response to 1982 legislation and 1984 changes in the Wisconsin Adoption Records Laws requiring the collection of a medical-genetic history at the time of termination of parental rights, a continuing education program in genetics was conducted for adoption workers in 1984 and 1985. The education program provided 14 workshops in five locations throughout the state and consisted of a variety of formats and levels of training. In all, 164 participants were trained at least at the introductory level with approximately 40 of these individuals taking part in the advanced levels of training. Evaluations of the training by participants and by a sample of the agency supervisors of trainees ranked the program very highly. A review of genetic history forms completed in post-training sessions verified the expectation that training was beneficial. Trained workers completing the medical-genetic history forms scored somewhat higher than untrained workers and much higher than parents who completed the forms without professional guidance. Medical-genetic history forms completed by birth fathers as part of step-parent adoptions contained little to no useful information about the birth father's genetic background.     

Simple software for impedance cardiography

Simple software techniques for the digital analysis of impedance cardiography data are described. The software digitizes simultaneous impedance and ECG signals, averages these signals over time on a beat-by-beat basis, processes the averaged signals to locate relevant features, and computes heart rate, stroke volume, and cardiac output for the averaged period. The source and executable code, written in Pascal for a PDP-11 with standard peripheral addressing and a VT125 graphics terminal, is available from the authors.     

Trait dissociation and commission errors in memory reports of emotional events

In 2 studies we examined whether trait dissociation is related to spontaneous commission errors (reports of events that did not occur) in free recall of emotional events. We also explored whether the functional locus of the dissociation-commission link is related to repeated retrieval or shallow encoding. In Experiment 1 participants were exposed to a staged incident and were repeatedly asked to add more information to their written accounts of the event. Dissociation levels were related to commission errors, indicating that people who report many dissociative experiences tend to make more commission errors. However, it was not the case that the overall increase in commission errors over successive retrieval attempts was typical for high dissociative participants. In Experiment 2 participants saw a video fragment of a severe car accident. During the video, half the participants performed a dual task, and the other half did not. Participants performing the dual task made more commission errors than controls, but this effect was not more pronounced in those with high trait dissociation scores. These studies show that there is a link between dissociation and spontaneous commission errors in memory reports of emotional events, but the functional locus of this link remains unclear.