NEUROCHEMICAL AND ENDOCRINOLOGICAL STUDIES OF MICE SELECTIVELY BRED FOR AGGRESSIVENESS

L agerspetz , K. Y. H., T irri , R. & L agerspetz , K. M. J. Neurochemical and endocrinological studies of mice selectively bred for aggressiveness. Scand.J. Psychol ., 1968, g, 157–160.—Several neurochemical and endocrinological variables were studied in male albino mice from two strains, selectively bred for aggressiveness and non-aggressiveness. Differences were found in the weight and the serotonin content of the forebrain, in the catecholamine contents of the brain stem and of the adrenal gland as well as in the weight of the testis. The results indicate that mice selectively bred for aggressiveness show physiological signs of higher orthosympathetic activity than the mice selectively bred for non-aggressiveness.     

Career Decision‐Making Intervention With Unemployed Adults: When Good Intentions Are Not Effective

This study adapted existing empirically supported interventions to explore options for serving large numbers of unemployed adults. Participants included 150 unemployed adults (72 experimental group, 78 control group) seeking employment office services to maintain U.S. federal unemployment compensation. A 1‐hour workshop was offered to the 72 experimental group participants. The same career development variables were assessed during data collection for both groups. Results revealed the workshop had no impact on negative career thinking and potentially increased career decision‐making difficulties in the experimental group. Intervention effectiveness issues, implications for future research, and intervention options with unemployed adults are discussed.     

Children's attributions for peer victimization: A social comparison approach

A social comparison framework was used to examine the relations between children's attributions for victimization and adjustment. In Study One, 192 nine-to ten-year-old children were asked why someone may pick on them. Results revealed attributions reflecting five causes of victimization that could be reliably sorted by direction of social comparison: (a) jealous peer (downward), (b) mutual antipathy (horizontal), (c) being different from each other (horizontal), (d) personal behavior (upward) and (e) being uncool (upward). Children's responses were used to create an attribution measure that was administered to 206 eight-to eleven-year-old children. Results were consistent with the social comparison hypothesis such that peer jealousy was uniquely associated with lower levels of loneliness and greater acceptance whereas personal behavior and not being uncool were correlated with greater loneliness and lower perceived acceptance and self-esteem. Findings supported the usefulness of a social comparison framework for understanding associations among attributions and adjustment.     

Variability and Noise in Continuous Force Production

In the present 3 experiments, the authors examined the hypothesis, derived from information theory, that increases in the variability of motor responses result from increases in perceptual-motor noise. Three different groups of participants (Ns = 10, 9, and 10, respectively, in Experiments 1, 2, and 3) produced continuous isometric force under either low, intermediate, or high target force levels. When considered together, the results showed that force variability (SD) increased exponentially as a function of force level. However, an index of information transmission (M/SD), as well as measures of noise in both the time (approximate entropy) and the frequency (power spectrum) domains, changed according to an inverted-U-shaped function over the range of force levels. The findings provide further evidence that increased information transmission is related to increases, and not to decreases, in the noisiness of the structure of force output.     

Intrusive thoughts and avoidance in breast cancer: Individual differences and association with psychological distress

Abstract

Eighty-five women with newly diagnosed breast cancer were classified on the basis of high and low levels of cancer-related intrusive thoughts and avoidance at diagnosis, and their psychological adjustment was studied prospectively at 3 and 6 months post diagnosis. Patients who initially reported high levels of both intrusive thoughts and avoidance and those who reported high levels of intrusive thoughts but low avoidance experienced the highest levels of anxiety and depression symptoms, and continued intrusive thoughts and avoidance. Patients who were high in avoidance but low in intrusive thoughts also experienced adjustment problems, including increased intrusive thoughts, when compared with patients who were low in both types of symptoms. The findings highlight the value of considering subgroup differences in patterns of intrusion and avoidance as predictors of subsequent psychological adjustment to breast cancer.     

Functional Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Children with Anxiety Disorders

This study examined the incidence and correlates of functional gastrointestinal symptoms in children with anxiety disorders. Participants were 6–13 year old children diagnosed with one or more anxiety disorders (n?=?54) and non-clinical control children (n?=?51). Telephone diagnostic interviews were performed with parents to determine the presence and absence of anxiety disorders in children. Parents completed a questionnaire that elicited information about their child’s gastrointestinal symptoms associated with functional gastrointestinal disorders in children, as specified by the paediatric Rome criteria (Caplan et al., Journal of Pediatric Gastroenterology & Nutrition, 41, 296–304, 2005a). Parents and children also completed a symptom severity measure of anxiety. As expected, children with anxiety disorders were significantly more likely to have symptoms of functional gastrointestinal disorders (FGID), compared to children without anxiety disorders. That is, 40.7 % of anxious children had symptoms of a FGID compared to 5.9 % of non-anxious control children. Children with anxiety disorders were significantly more likely to have symptoms of functional constipation, and showed a trend for a higher incidence of irritable bowel syndrome symptoms compared to non-anxious control children. Furthermore, higher anxiety symptom severity was characteristic of anxious children with symptoms of FGID, compared to anxious children without FGID symptoms and non-anxious control children. Also, children with anxiety disorders, regardless of FGID symptoms, were more likely to have a biological family member, particularly a parent or grandparent, with a gastrointestinal problem, compared to non-anxious control children. The high incidence of FGID symptoms in children with anxiety disorders warrants further research on whether gastrointestinal symptoms reduce following psychological treatments for childhood anxiety disorders, such as cognitive behavioural therapy.     

Two-phase driver education models applied in Finland and in Austria – Do we have evidence to support the two phase models?

Finnish and Austrian driver education models were analysed in order to find out existing and new evidence to support obligatory 2nd phase driver education. Earlier findings showed that the safety benefits of the 2nd phase education courses are contradictory. Furthermore, the goal and the content of the 2nd phase education have changed from simple slippery track practices to preventive risk awareness education. In addition, it has been suggested that the timing of the second phase education should not be too far from the 1st phase of the education.The empirical part of this study consisted of two separate questionnaires to the Finnish and the Austrian novice drivers. The candidates that had completed the Austrian 2nd phase education reported less traffic offences and accidents than the not completed participants. The ANCOVA-models indicated that the Finnish participants, who completed early the 2nd phase education, reported having benefited only of the economical driving training but not of the safety related driving competency areas. For the Austrian participants the ANOVA-models did not show any self-assessed safe driving benefits. Implications of the findings to the driving education were discussed.     

Teacher stress: An eight-year follow-up study on teachers' work,stress, and health

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare teacher stress between the years 1983 and 1991. Seventy teachers in comprehensive and upper secondary schools participated in the study. The teachers were studied first during the school year 1983–84 and again eight years later during the autumn term of 1991 by means of repeated questionnaires. During this 8-year period the general working situation among the teachers had remained quite stable: Most of them had remained at the same school teaching the same subjects at the same level. The results showed a drop in the teachers' well-being over the period. In particular, those over 55 years of age showed more emotional stress reactions in 1991 than eight years earlier. Furthermore, they evaluated their social relations with pupils as worse in 1991 compared to 1983. A half both of those with low emotional stress reactions and those high in them in 1983 were stilll in the same categories in 1991. Emotional stress reactions were reflected in simultaneous work ability and psychosomatic health data. Moreover, long-term stress was seen to lead to various psychosomatic complaints, but these were not reflected in self-rated health status. The results suggest that teacher stress is not necessarily a short-lived problem, and ways of preventing or reducing stress (e.g. continuing education, counseling, co-operation) should be employed.     

The Paradigm Challenged A New Analysis of the Origin of Diakonia 1

The classical paradigm saw the apostolic and biblical age as a special moment for the diaconal ministry. The important role of the diaconal ministry continued for just a few centuries and finally withered. According to this study, the traditional outline is not historically true, or at least we need new evidence in order to argue for the biblical origin of a social-caritative diaconal ministry. Following the interpretation of New Testament texts by Luther and Calvin, the 19^th century diaconia movement projected its own life setting into the ancient texts. Thus the return to the biblical ministry of diaconia actually turned out to be a reinterpretation of biblical and early church writings. The ministry of diakonos in the early church was not invented by the modern movement, but it gave a totally new meaning to the ancient Greek concept and also launched a new way to use diakonia-derivative vocabulary.