Sex of child preferences among college students

In both 1985 and 1988, college student preferences for the sex of an only child were examined using social surveys. For both years, it was found that male students strongly prefer a male child, but that female students moderately prefer a female child. Gender of respondent accounted for most of the sex preference difference. The sex role attitude of agreement with having the wife retain her own name was the only other variable significantly related to sex preference. It is argued that differing male-female role expectations for women as wives and mothers partly explained the gender differences in sex preference for a child.     

THE IMPACT OF ROLE STRESSORS AND PERSONAL RESOURCES ON THE STRESS EXPERIENCE OF PROFESSIONAL WOMEN

This study explored the contributions of role stressors and personal resources in predicting strain symptoms experienced by 117 professional women employed full-time in academia. Results of multiple regression analyses revealed that, while role stressors alone accounted for only a moderate amount of the variance in reported strain symptoms, 51 % of the variance was explained when both stressors and personal resources were combined. Womend, who experienced higher levels of personal control and social support as well as a greater number of roles occupied reported lower levels of strain symptoms. These results support the use of a transactional model of stress in future multiple role research.     

Suicidal behavior in Italy: data, trends and guidelines for a suicide intervention/prevention policy.

Even though in Italy, as in the majority of Mediterranean countries, the increase in suicide rates is not among the highest in Europe, between 1969 and 1989 it showed a sharp upswing (+43% among males and +31% among females). In terms of geographical differences, the regions with the highest suicide rate are the northern ones (up to twice the national average). The age groups with the highest suicide risk are those over 74 years (in 1989 the rate among males over 65 was the highest of all: 31.3 per 100,000). The differences in the between-sexes distribution show that among females over 65 years old the suicide rate rose by 70% between 1974 and 1989, versus 77% for males of the same age. The preliminary epidemiological results of one of two Italian centers are presented. These centers are collaborating with the WHO/EURO Multicenter Study on Parasuicide; parasuicide rates are higher for females than for males (55.9 per 100,000, as against 38.1 for males), while the age group at highest risk is seen to be young women (15-24 years), with a specific rate of 115.6.     

Moderating Effects of Sociocultural Variables on Acculturation Attitudes of Hispanics and Asian Americans

Literature on acculturation is reviewed, and the effects of acculturation on the mental health of Hispanics and Asian Americans are discussed. In this study we attempted to understand acculturation processes at the group level (Hispanics versus Asian Americans) and at the individual level (within-group heterogeneity). The Majority-Minority Relations Survey measured acculturation attitudes of two American ethnic minority groups, Hispanics and Asian Americans, in a Midwestern university. Data were obtained from 282 participants for a 54% return rate. Instrument analysis included assessment of generalizability (using Pearson correlation coefficient procedures), LISREL confirmatory factor analysis, and tests of internal consistency reliabilities (using coefficient alpha). Significant effects for ethnicity, Asian culture subgroups, and for the sociocultural variables of generational status, voluntary immigration versus political asylum, and religion were indicated by parametric and nonparametric tests. Therefore, although differences between the Hispanics and the Asian Americans were indicated, within-group differences for both minority groups were also influenced by select sociocultural variables. Se revisa la literatura sobre aculturacion, y se discuten los efectos de aculturación en la salud mental de Hispanos y Asiático-Americanos. Este estudio intenta comprender el proceso de aculturación a nivel de grupo (Hispanos versus Asiático-Americanos) a nivel individual (dentro de la heterogeneidad del grupo). La Encuesta de Relaciones Mayoría-Minoría midió las actidudes aculturales de dos grupos de minorías étnicas americanas, Hispanos y Asiático-Americanos, en una universidad del Medio-oeste. Se obtuvieron los datos de 282 sujetos para un cifra de vuelta del 54 por cien. El instrumento de análisis incluó una estimación de generalización (usando los procedimientos del Coeficiente de Correlación de Pearson), el factor confirmador de análisis LISREL, y las pruebas de fiabilidad interna (usando el coeficiente alfa). Las pruebas parametricas y no-paramétricas indicaron efectos significativos para etnicidad, subgrupos culturales asiáticos, y los variables socioculturales de estado generacional, emigración voluntaria vs. asilo político, y religión. Entonces, aunque se indicaron diferencias entre Hispanos y Asiático-Americanos, las diferencias entre grupos para ambos grupos minoritarios fueron influenciadas también por variables socioculturales escogidas.     

On the primacy of the brain

It is well established that emotion is a product of complex interactions among the biological subsystems of the organism. The human nervous system must play a fundamental role in organizing and controlling the manifestation of these interactions. Since emotional disturbance is one of the major phenomena underlying maladaptive behavior, a solid understanding of its nature and mechanisms is essential for enhancing therapeutic practices. Although an increasing number of scholars now advocate the notion of the dependence of emotion on antecedent cognitive processes (e.g., Lazarus, 1982, 1984), and the relevance of both central and peripheral processes of the nervous system to emotional behavior (e.g., Panksepp, 1988; Pribram, 1984), Zajonc (1984) views emotion as independent of cognitive processes. This paper provides a critical evaluation of the basis of Zajonc’s (1984) argument from a neurobiological and psychotherapeutic point of view.     

The ethical foundations of behavior therapy

In this article, I am concerned with the ethical foundations of behavior therapy, that is, with the normative ethics and the meta-ethics underlying behavior therapy. In particular, I am concerned with questions concerning the very possibilty of providing an ethical justification for things done in the context of therapy. Because behavior therapists must be able to provide an ethical justification for various actions (if the need arises), certain meta-ethical views widely accepted by behavior therapists must be abandoned; in particular, one must give up ethical subjectivism, ethical skepticism, and ethical relativism. An additional task is to show how it is possible to provide a nonsubjective, nonskeptical, and nonrelativistic moral justification for an ethical statement. Although this is a monumental task, I provide a rough sketch of such a model, one that is congenial to the value judgments underlying behavior therapy.