MMPI--2 Code-Type Congruence of Injured Workers

In this study, the authors examined the stability of Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory--2 (J. N. Butcher, W. G. Dahlstrom, J. R. Graham, A. Tellegen, & B. Kaemmer, 1989) code types in a sample of 94 injured workers with a mean test-retest interval of 21.3 months (SD = 14.1). Congruence rates for undefined code types were 34% for high-point codes, 22% for 2-point codes, and 22% for 3-point codes. The data provide tentative evidence suggesting that defined code types are more stable than undefined code types. Cohen's kappa, a statistic that controls for chance agreement, was calculated for each clinical scale for both 2-point and 3-point code types. Only 2 of the 20 kappa coefficients were not significant at the p = .05 level.     

Relational Spirituality and Dealing With Transgressions: Development of the Relational Engagement of the Sacred for a Transgression (REST) Scale

In the study of spirituality and forgiveness, researchers have begun to look at how dynamic spiritual experiences influence forgiveness. In three studies, we develop the Relational Engagement of the Sacred for a Transgression (REST) Scale, which assesses the extent to which victims actively engage a relationship with the Sacred to deal with a specific transgression. In Study 1, exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the factor structure of the REST. In Study 2, the factor structure was replicated using confirmatory factory analysis. The REST was correlated with religious commitment and negatively related to avoidant attachment to God. In Study 3, evidence supporting the scale's construct validity was adduced. REST scores were correlated with other appraisals of relational spirituality. Structural equation modeling was used to compare theoretical models. REST scores were related to dedication to the Sacred and viewing the transgression as a desecration. In addition, REST scores were positively related to empathy, which was positively related to forgiveness. Furthermore, REST scores predicted forgiveness above and beyond other appraisals of relational spirituality.     

Tarski ‐ a dilemma

Tarski's correspondence theory of truth (which he spells out in his semantic conception of truth) is open to two interpretations. This ambiguity in the theory has led philosophers to find support in it for metaphysical reali sm. In fact, Tarski's theory turns out to support a form of ontological relativism. In different passages Tarski himself gives support to each of these interpretations. The first interpretation leads to ontological relativism, while the second sacrifices the connection between language and the world. I clarify the dilemma that I see in having to choose between these two interpretations, explain how these interpretations have their source in different problems which occupied Tarski, and consider a possible solution to the dilemma. Finally, finding good reasons to claim that Tarski's theory is indeed a correspondence theory of truth, I argue in favour of the first interpretation with its relativistic implications.     

Toddlers' Social Behaviors in Dyads and Groups

Although toddlers are clearly capable of interacting with peers, the amount and type of interactions among toddlers is controversial. Objectives of the present study were (a) to determine the effect of dyad versus group settings on the amount and type of social behaviors with peers, (b) to determine preference for interacting with peers versus adults, and (c) to determine differences in the types of behaviors directed to peers and adults. Sixteen children (with a mean age of 27 months) were observed in both a group setting and a dyad setting; their mothers were present in both settings. The children were from three different toddler classes, each meeting once a week. Specific social behaviors were coded, as well as the person to whom the behavior was directed (i.e., peer or adult). Setting affected toddlers' behaviors with adults but not behaviors with peers. Regardless of setting, toddlers preferred interacting with adults. The types of behaviors directed to peers and adults differed. Direct interactions with peers were rare, but interest and awareness of peers was shown by moderately high levels of proximity and parallel play. The use of different criteria to define social play appears to account for differences across studies in the amount of peer interaction.     

Evidence of Incomplete Motor Programming in Parkinson's Disease

One of the essential questions regarding movement deficits in Parkinson's disease (PD) is whether they stem from impaired selecting and switching among movements, impaired use of predictive information to prepare movement, or impaired execution of movement. PD subjects (n = 9) and age-matched control subjects (n = 8) performed a cued, sequential-response RT task. The cue provided either no information, accurate information, or inaccurate information about the upcoming response. PD subjects used predictive information to prepare and to switch among movement sequences normally, but second and third key press latencies were prolonged in comparison with the first key press latency. In Experiments 2 and 3, the effects of choice set and sequence length on key press latencies were examined. These results provide evidence that PD subjects initiate movement before the entire response sequence is prepared. PD does not impair motor programming or execution processes themselves but impairs the smooth coordination of those processes.     

Specifying General Strain Theory: An Ethnically Relevant Approach

The current study incorporated principles from the acculturation literature to specify an ethnically relevant general strain theory (GST). This study argues that the acculturation process exposes Hispanics to unique types of strain (e.g., prejudice and discrimination) that may increase the likelihood of delinquency. Further varying levels of Hispanic concentration can moderate the effect of acculturative strain on delinquency, whereby the effect of ethnic-specific strains may be more pronounced where ethnic concentration is low. Responses from self-administered questionnaires of 1,729 Hispanic adolescents were analyzed to test various hypotheses regarding the effects of traditional and acculturation-related strains on violent delinquency. The findings indicated that GST is generalizable to Hispanic adolescents. The analyses also found support for the prediction that, conditional on the level of Hispanic concentration, ethnic-specific strain measures increased the likelihood of violent delinquency among Hispanic adolescents. This study provided a foundation for future empirical analyses of criminological theories among Hispanic populations.     

Instituting heteronormative belief in the law: the case of California's Proposition 22

This paper is based on ethnography of the ‘worship time’ at ‘Breakfree’ Church, a Pentecostal congregation in suburban Perth. I begin by exploring the ritualistic ways in which music is used to catalyse an ecstatic experience. Making use of the metaphor of ‘break free’, borrowed from a popular worship song, I demonstrate that music is used in deliberate ways to assist people in leaving behind the profane and encountering the sacred. Drawing on the thought of theologian Friedrich Schleiermacher and philosopher Paul Ricoeur, I explore the ways music facilitates and symbolises this experience. I demonstrate that for church members, the ecstatic divine-human encounter is the centre of their church worship and the antidote to difficult experiences such as grief or illness.     

Generation Units and the Student Protest Movement in the United States: An Intra- and Intergenerational Analysis

The American student protest movement provides exceptional opportunities to observe how formative political experiences can affect intragenerational cleavages over the adult life span and how they may reflect on intergenerational continuities. Long-term national panel data from the high school class of 1965 and data from their parents and offspring are used here to exploit these opportunities. The results show that a sharp rift in political participation and attitudes emerged between protesters and non-protesters during the protest era, a rift that persists into mid-life and one that testifies to the conceptual utility of generation units. Continuities across the three lineage generations are demonstrated by the moderate similarities in the ideological and participative orientations that are associated with the protest status of the student generation.     

Putting the pieces together: Maternal depression,maternal behavior,and toddler helplessness

This study assessed relations between maternal depression, maternal behavior, and helplessness in toddlers. Helplessness was assessed behaviorally in 25‐ and 32‐month‐old toddlers while the toddlers were engaged with an impossible task. Maternal behavior (warmth, negativity, control, intrusiveness) was assessed during a mother–child teaching task when toddlers were 18 and 25 months of age. Mothers who reported more depressive symptoms on the BDI had 32‐month‐old toddlers who displayed more affect‐related helplessness. No direct relations were found between maternal diagnosis of depression and helplessness in toddlers. Few differences emerged in the behavior of depressed and nondepressed mothers while interacting with their toddlers, and few relations were found between maternal behavior alone and toddlers' helplessness. However, results suggest that maternal behavior moderates the relation between maternal depression (diagnosis, recency, and symptoms) and helplessness. ©2003 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.