Definitions of physical abuse: A preliminary inquiry into children's perceptions

Research and policy-makers have frequently called for operational definitions of child abuse, however neither group has considered including children's perceptions of what constitutes abuse. The purpose of this study was to expand the discussion on definitions of child abuse by examining children's perceptions of physical abuse. This was done by collecting data to begin to document abused children's ratings of the seriousness of various abusive acts and to begin to examine gender and age differences in children's perceptions. The data revealed significant differences in children's perceptions of the seriousness of specific acts of abuse and a significant interaction between age and type of abuse. Although young children generally produced lower seriousness ratings than older children, their ratings were significantly lower on only a few types of abuse. When children's ratings were compared to similar ratings reported in earlier studies of adolescents, community members, and mental health professionals, the children in this study rated the abusive acts as less serious than the adolescents or community members, but very similar to the professionals who work in the area of child abuse and neglect. Although this must be considered a preliminary investigation, the potential implications for various legal and social contexts are discussed.     

A multiple-observations model for response latency and the latencies of correct and incorrect responses in recognition memory

A model for response latency in recognition memory is described which is a strength model incorporating the notion of multiple observations and with the additional assumptions that the variance of the strength distributions increase with set size and that the observer attempts to keep his error rate at a constant level over set size. It is shown that the model can, without recourse to particular parameter values, predict a near linear RT set-size function and, since it is a (TSD) model in its decision aspects, can account for errors and hence error latencies in the recognition task. After the model is described, two experiments are performed which test the prediction that correct mean latency is generally shorter than incorrect mean latency. The prediction is confirmed and this feature is discussed in general, the model being compared with that of Juola, Fischler, Wood, and Atkinson (1971) in this respect. Some possible modifications to the latter model are also considered.     

Modeling Nontraditional Career Choices: Effects of Gender and School Location on Response to a Brief Videotape

Effects of an 18-minute videotape promoting nontraditional career choices of 986 eighth-grade and 11th-grade girls and boys from rural and urban schools were examined. Models were women and men in occupations traditionally held by the opposite sex. Posttreatment realistic, investigative, and social interests of the treatment group who viewed the videotape were compared with a control group that received a minimal intervention. There was not a main effect for the brief videotape treatment. Boys in the treatment group expressed significantly higher social interests at posttest than did control group boys. Findings indicate that brief interventions promoting nontraditional careers have limited impact.     

Decreasing Neuroleptic Doses in Older Adults with Schizophrenia

This prospective study of 27 older adults, residing in long-term care facilities, examined the effects of reducing neuroleptic medications to the point of controlling symptoms and reducing side effects. Schizophrenia is a challenging health care condition that leads to delusions, hallucinations, disorganized speech, and a host of other symptoms. Unfortunately, medications control many of the symptoms but cause unwanted side effects unless monitored closely and regulated to each person's needs. This study addresses six research questions related to the reduction of neuroleptic medications. Study findings related to neuroleptic medication dose reduction were encouraging. Additionally, the findings strongly suggest that health care providers working with older adults with the diagnosis of schizophrenia would benefit from planned educational programs about behavior, observations, and medications.     

Predicting eating disorder group membership: an examination and extension of the sociocultural model

The purpose of this research was to examine and extend portions of the sociocultural model of bulimia nervosa (Stice, E. (1994). Review of the evidence for a sociocultural model of bulimia nervosa and an exploration of the mechanisms of action. Clinical Psychology Review, 14, 633-661; Stice, E., & Agras, W. S. (1998). Predicting onset and cessation of bulimic behaviors during adolescence: A longitudinal grouping analysis. Behavior Therapy, 29, 257-276). Participants were women who reported engaging in binge eating at baseline and the 1-year follow-up (n = 26), women who began binge eating between these 2 points (n = 25), and women who did not report binge eating during the course of the study (n = 199). Results of the first discriminant function analysis provided support for the sociocultural model. However, the results of subsequent analyses suggest that additional variables, including stress, escape-avoidance coping, and interoceptive awareness, emerged as important. Implications of these findings for our understanding of the development and maintenance of binge eating are discussed.     

Measures of effect size for chi-squared and likelihood-ratio goodness-of-fit tests

A fundamental shift in editorial policy for psychological journals was initiated when the fourth edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association (1994) placed emphasis on reporting measures of effect size. This paper presents measures of effect size for the chi-squared and the likelihood-ratio goodness-of-fit statistic tests.     

Sociocultural pressures,thin-ideal internalization,self-objectification,and body dissatisfaction: Could feminist beliefs be a moderating factor?

Theory and research suggest that sociocultural pressures, thin-ideal internalization, and self-objectification are associated with body dissatisfaction, while feminist beliefs may serve a protective function. This research examined thin-ideal internalization and self-objectification as mediators and feminist beliefs as a moderator in the relationship between sociocultural pressures to meet the thin-ideal and body dissatisfaction. Female undergraduate volunteers (N = 195) completed self-report measures assessing sociocultural influences, feminist beliefs, thin-ideal internalization, self-objectification, and body dissatisfaction. Multisample structural equation modeling showed that feminist beliefs moderate the relationship between media awareness and thin-ideal internalization, but not the relationship between social influence and thin-ideal internalization. Research and clinical implications of these findings are discussed.