Risky Behavior in Affluent Youth: Examining the Co-occurrence and Consequences of Multiple Problem Behaviors

Children of affluent parents are often excluded in psychological research as they are considered to be at “low risk”; however, research is beginning to suggest that this previously under-studied population may be at risk for developing multiple problem behaviors, including substance use and externalizing problems. The current study aimed to extend the application of Problem Behavior Theory (PBT) to a sample of affluent adolescents by examining the extent to which these behaviors co-occurred and were associated with negative outcomes. Data were collected from 1,147 high school students living in an affluent community via anonymous questionnaires regarding their engagement in various problem behaviors. PBT was supported in this sample, and youth who engaged in multiple problem behaviors reported experiencing more negative outcomes than youth who did not engage in these behaviors. The findings of this study support the generalizability of PBT and also highlight the importance of continuing to study affluent youth in addition to traditionally high-risk populations.     

Psychological Contracts and Counterproductive Work Behaviors: Employee Responses to Transactional and Relational Breach

Purpose  

This study extends the research on counterproductive work behavior (CWB) by examining the psychological contract breaches that trigger employee CWB. Specifically, we explored the relationship between transactional and relational contract breach and five forms of CWB (abuse, production deviance, sabotage, theft, and withdrawal). Further, we considered the role of situational and individual factors that mitigate CWB engagement and examined the moderating effects of organizational policies meant to deter CWB and personality (conscientiousness, agreeableness, and emotional stability).     

Agreeableness as a predictor of aggression in adolescence

This multi‐method research linked the Big Five personality dimensions to aggression in early adolescence. Agreeableness was the personality dimension of focus because this dimension is associated with motives to maintain positive interpersonal relations. In two studies, middle school children were assessed on the Big Five domains of personality. Study 1 showed that agreeableness was associated with both indirect and direct aggression. In addition, the link between agreeableness and aggression was strongest for direct strategies. Study 2 examined the hypotheses that agreeableness predicts social cognitions associated with aggression, peer reports of direct aggression, and teacher reports of adjustment. Agreeableness predicted peer reports of aggression and social cognitions associated with aggression. In addition, aggression mediated the link between agreeableness and adjustment. Results suggest that of the Big Five dimensions, Agreeableness is most closely associated with processes and outcomes related to aggression in adolescents. Aggr. Behav. 30:43–61, 2004. © 2004 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Open courseware and shared knowledge in higher education

Most college and university campuses in the United States and much of the developed world today maintain one, two, or several learning management systems (LMSs), which are courseware products that provide students and faculty with Web-based tools to manage course-related applications. Since the mid-1990s, two predominant models of Web courseware management systems have emerged: commercial and noncommercial. Some of the commercial products available today were created in academia as noncommercial but have since become commercially encumbered. Other products remain noncommercial but are struggling to survive in a world of fierce commercial competition. This article argues for an ethics of pedagogy in higher education that would be based on the guiding assumptions of the non-proprietary, peer-to-peer, open-source software movement.     

Is continence enough?

The ideal of virtue demands not only right choice and right behavior but also right desire in the emotions. Homosexual desire, then, even if it does not result in overt homosexual behavior, is contrary to virtue, and the completion of virtue demands right desire. If a homosexual has no plan to marry, then right desire implies only the removal of homosexual desire and not the revival of heterosexual desire at which reorientation therapy aims. On the other hands, if a homosexual is married or plans to marry, then right desire includes heterosexual desire for one's spouse. If homosexual desire is viewed as an emotional disorder, and not merely as a moral defect, then it may require reorientation therapy to bring about heterosexual desire. The pursuit of virtue, then, may recommend reorientation therapy, but even this recommendation is fairly limited, since reorientation therapy may be burdensome and may not be that effective. In conclusion, married homosexuals or homosexuals planning to marry may have a limited moral obligation to pursue reorientation therapy.     

Will Improving My Marriage Improve My Sleep?

An essential component to overall health and well-being is sleep. Likewise, being happily married is associated with better physical, mental, and emotional health. In the present study, we examined links between marital satisfaction (MS) and aspects of sleep quality (SQ) among married individuals (N = 88) aged 39 to 64 years. Data were collected at baseline and 6-month follow-up. Regression analyses showed that MS at baseline was positively associated with overall SQ and sleep disturbance frequency at baseline and was negatively associated with minutes to fall asleep at follow-up. Results suggested that participants with greater MS at baseline reported better overall SQ at baseline and falling asleep faster at follow-up. However, results varied when controlling for other relevant covariates (e.g., age, depression, pain). Additionally, a negative change in MS between baseline and follow-up was a positive predictor of sleep disturbance frequency at follow-up, suggesting that participants whose MS decreased over time were more likely to report more frequent sleep disturbances 6 months later. Findings indicate that MS is linked with various aspects of SQ in married, middle-aged adults. Clinical implications, limitations of the current study, and areas for future research are discussed.     

An ‘Oedipus pattern’ in the Old Testament?

The Oedipus myth and a scapegoat pattern have been central issues in both Walter Burkert's and René Girard's writings about ancient Greek religion. This article proposes the existence of a comparable pattern in the Old Testament legend about the Ark (1-2 Samuel). Together with other Old Testament narratives (David, Moses) and other ancient Near Eastern legends and rituals, these instances form a transformational network, which shows some fundamental positions in a trans-cultural scapegoat-pattern of actantial positions: king, hero, villain and scapegoat.