The influence of a history of romance on judgments and responses to a complaint of sexual harassment

Results indicated that a female complainant was seen as less innocent and an accused male less guilty when they had previously been romantically involved. As a consequence, decision makers felt it was more appropriate to be lenient in responding to the accused. Also, as demonstrated in previous research, male and female decision makers differed in their judgments and responses to a complaint of sexual harassment. These results have implications for organizational policies concerning workplace romance and for training people to deal with complaints of sexual harassment.Partial support for this study was provided by a Saint Mary's Senate research grant. The authors thank an anonymous reviewer for the helpful comments on an earlier version of the paper.     

Ethical issues in genetic counseling: A comparison of M.S. counselor and medical geneticist perspectives

New technologies available in the field of medical genetics have increased the importance of responsible ethical decision-making among genetic counselors. A 1985 national survey of M.D. and Ph.D. genetic counselors assessed ethical attitudes using case scenarios designed to simulate dilemmas faced in genetic counseling (Wertz and Fletcher, 1988b). The current study focuses on attitudes of M.S. genetic counselors using similar scenarios, allowing for effective comparisons. M.S. counselors were more willing than M.D. and Ph.D. counselors to maintain patient confidentiality when screening for Huntington's Disease and occupational diseases, and a greater number would agree to counsel patients pursuing prenatal testing for sex selection. A majority of M.S. counselors would disclose an XY karyotype to a phenotypically female patient. M.S. counselors reasoned that respect for patient autonomy and patient confidentiality justified their decisions in many cases. The importance of these principles is discussed and questioned.     

HIGH SCHOOL DRIVER EDUCATION USING PEER TUTORS,DIRECT INSTRUCTION,AND PRECISION TEACHING

The authors investigated the combined effects of direct instruction and precision teaching by peer tutors in a high school driver education curriculum. Learners (N = 4) included students with intellectual and learning disabilities and students without disabilities. Peer tutoring was associated with immediate increases in correct responding and a simultaneous and rapid deceleration of errors. Three learners passed the written tests in the driver education classroom, obtained driver's licenses, and produced similar or better driving records than students who did not require assistance. This program is being continued and expanded by school personnel without assistance from the authors.     

Determinants of pain experience: Perceived competence, trait anxiety, trait depression and moderator effects

The study examined determining and moderator variables of chronic pain experience. The data indicated strong influences of perceived competence as well as trait anxiety and trait depression. Furthermore some moderator effects could be detected, which were able to explain some extreme states of pain in addition to the effect of the determining variables: subjects with low perceived competence and high trait anxiety suffered significantly more from their pain than subjects with high perceived competence or low trait anxiety. The consequences for further research as well as for pain therapy are discussed.     

Analysis of information processing stages using event-related potentials.

The event-related potential (ERP) was recorded to identify the time epochs during which different independent variables have their effects on stages in a memory search task. Stimulus intensity, memory set size and response type were varied. For the most part, the order and timing of effects (evaluated by Principal Components Analysis of within-subjects ERP differences) were consistent with the presumed underlying stages, except for early effects of response type prior to memory set effects (suggesting precategorical target recognition). The usefulness of this type of analysis for the investigation of information processing stages is discussed.     

Gender and Sexual Risk

Two hypotheses are evaluated in thisinvestigation of gender differences in the attitudinaland behavioral correlates of sexual risk. Thedifference in magnitude hypothesispredicts that the same factors are implicated for women and men butdifferences occur in the strength of correlates.Alternatively, women may engage in sexual risk fordifferent reasons than do men, leading to adifference in pattern hypothesis. We compared these possibilitieswith a sample of 576 primarily White, middle-class,never-married college students, most of whom werebetween 17 and 25 years of age. Analyses of loveattitudes, risk perception, sensation seeking, and riskbehaviors in other domains in relation to sexual riskbehavior showed some gender similarities as well asdifferences. Findings were more consistent with the difference in pattern hypothesis than with thedifference in magnitude hypothesis.     

Life satisfaction and competence of Bosnian refugees in Norway

In this study the relative influence of age, gender, locus of control, preferred acculturation strategy, perceived majority members' attitude, and social support on life satisfaction and competence of Bosnian refugees was examined. Hundred and six Bosnians living temporarily in Norway completed a questionnaire. The results showed that persons with a higher internal locus of control had a higher life satisfaction and higher feelings of competence. The acculturation option assimilation was related to the highest life satisfaction, while the integration option was related to the highest feelings of competence. The more positive reactions the respondents received from Norwegians, the higher their life satisfaction and the higher their feelings of competence. Older refugees reported the highest feelings of competence.     

Assessment of the school readiness section of the early detection inventory: Preschool prediction across situational factors

The efficiency of (a) a school readiness test, (b) mental age, and (c) specific sensory and perceptual skills was tested as predictors of word recognition at the end of the first school year. Five hundred and eigth children in four schools with three significantly different socioeconomic backgrounds were tested in kindergarten. Two schools were in the same middle-class area: one was a traditional classroom school, the other was open space in structure. When the variables were examined by means of stepwise regression analysis and partial correlations, the school readiness test appeared as the most efficient predictor in each of the four schools, as well as in the total group. Mental age and auditory skills ranked either second or third in importance depending on the school situation.     

The multiculturalism debate in Canadian newspapers: The harbinger of a political storm?

A contentious debate in Canadian newspapers preceded the enactment of the country’s Multiculturalism Act. This article traces the varying cultural perspectives of journalists writing in five Canadian newspapers from 1980 to 1988. Whereas this period is generally viewed as being one of growth for official multiculturalism in Canada, the press criticism against it seems to have been a harbinger of the political opposition to the policy that attained prominence in the early 1990s. Consequently, the bureaucratic structures established to support the multiculturalism policy were reduced significantly. However, the legislation remains intact.     

Spirituality and Health Outcomes in the Elderly

The purpose of this mail survey was to examine the relationship of attitudinal and behavioral measures of spirituality to physical and mental health outcomes in a sample of elderly community residents. Frequency of prayer, importance of faith, and reliance on religion for their coping were compared for their association with eight categories of physical and mental health. All three measures, prayer, faith and religious coping, correlated strongly with positive mental health, but not with the other seven physical health categories. Multiple regression analyses indicated importance of one's faith had the strongest association with positive mental health, even after controlling for the effect of other significant variables, age and education. The behavioral measure of prayer was a component of importance of faith to mental health, with no independent impact. This study highlights attitudes rather than practices, as the stronger spiritual variables related to mental health in the elderly.