Exploring Violence Exposure, Stress, Protective Factors and Behavioral Problems Among Inner-City Youth

This study examined relationships between violence exposure, other stressors, family support, and self-concept on self-reported behavioral problems among 320 urban adolescents (aged 11–18) referred for mental health treatment. Overall, participants reported high levels of violence exposure, with a median of six past encounters with violence as a witness, victim, or through the experiences of associates. All forms of violence exposure (witnessing, being a victim, knowing of victims) were correlated with internalizing and externalizing behavioral problems for males and females. Total violence exposure predicted behavioral problems among participants, even after controlling for the effects of other risk, demographic and protective factors. Family support and self-concept moderated the influence of life stress and cumulative risk on problem behavior outcomes, but these protective variables did not significantly moderate violence exposure.     

The comorbidity of migraine

This review addresses the methodologic issues relevant to the study of comorbidity and provides a broad overview of the medical and psychiatric conditions associated with migraine. Since the body of literature examining the comorbidity of migraine is enormous, the scope of this review will largely focus on community and case-control studies. Among the selected comorbid medical conditions, including disorders of the cardiovascular, respiratory, neurologic, gastrointestinal and immunologic systems, stroke, asthma, and allergies appear to be most strongly associated with migraine. Among the psychiatric illnesses, mood and anxiety disorders have been shown to be most strongly associated with migraine in the general population. Further research is indicated and necessary to elucidate the precise mechanism of migraine comorbidity.     

Students' perspectives on their high school experience

This study explored students' levels of belonging and engagement in high school by obtaining their perspectives on the instruction, teachers, friends, and activities in their school. We interviewed 33 students from seven comprehensive high schools in Richmond, Virginia. Students indicated that they were more engaged when the instructional program included authentic learning experiences, teachers who provided challenging activities and showed interest in student learning, and a school day that supported interpersonal relationships with peers and adults. It was concluded that, to promote belonging and engagement, school personnel should attend to the quality of student learning and relationships.     

Correlates of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales in a forensic assessment setting

Empirical correlates of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 (MMPI-2) Personality Psychopathology Five (PSY-5) scales in a forensic assessment setting were identified. Archival extratest data, including demographics, psychosocial history, criminal behavior history, and current mental status and psychodiagnosis, were extracted from the case files of 593 men and women referred to a forensic assessment clinic for criminal court-ordered evaluations. Zero-order and multiple correlations were calculated between the MMPI-2 PSY-5 scales and relevant criterion variables. Findings indicated that the PSY-5 scales' empirical correlates in a forensic setting are similar to and consistent with those found in general mental health settings. Linear combinations of MMPI-2 PSY-5 Scale scores accounted for moderate proportions of variance in the collateral indicators.     

I copy you as I believe you know about our culture: Combining imitation and selective trust literatures

Empirical findings and theorizations of both imitation and selective trust offer different views on and interpretations of children's social learning mechanisms. The imitation literature provides ample documentation of children's behavioural patterns in the acquisition of socially appropriate norms and practices. The selective trust literature provides insights into children's cognitive processes of choosing credible informants and what information to learn in future interactions. In this paper, we place together findings from both fields and note that they share analogically similar theoretical underpinnings and offer explanations that are complementary to each other. We contend that children's imitative tendency may be due to their selection of in-group members as cultural experts, who serve as reliable sources of conventional information. Moving forward, we note the importance of evaluating individual differences and cultural factors to provide a more holistic understanding of universality and variation in children's social learning mechanisms.     

Ontological Parity and/or Ordinality?

The principles of ontological parity and ordinality have distinct functions in Buchler's ontology. Ontological parity could be independently subscribed to, whereas ordinality signals the positive conception of the nature of reality as irreducibly complex or indefinitely related, which Buchler's metaphysical system seeks to articulate. Both principles inform Buchler's system, but each has a distinctive function. They are not, I suggest, necessarily at odds with one another, as some critics claim. I do identify several difficulties that follow from (1) the level of generality claimed by Buchler and (2) the claim of irreducible complexity or indefinite relatedness.     

A Mind of Her Own: Effects of Need for Closure and Gender on Reactions to Nonconformity

Research on opinion deviance suggests thatconformity and agreement with the established majorityis generally valued in groups. The present studyexamines how motivations for cognitive closure mayinfluence reactions to conforming and deviating membersbased on accessible gender role expectations. Caucasianmales and females participated in a group discussionwith confederates who either conformed or deviated from the majority opinion. Results showed thatgroup members motivated to reach cognitive closurenegatively evaluated female opinion deviants relative toconformists. However, contrary to previous research findings, they did not derogate male deviants.Motivation to avoid closure led to different evaluativepatterns by male and female evaluators. In addition toimportantly modifying results obtained by Kruglanski and Webster (1991) regarding closure motivationand conformity versus deviance, the current results arealso informative regarding gender role expectations andintra-group interactions. Limitations and implications of these results are alsodiscussed.     

Accepting and exempting the unexpected: 30-month-olds'' generalization of event knowledge

In 2 experiments, we used elicited imitation to test the effects of the amount and type of change to a previously experienced event on 2.5-year-olds' generalization of event knowledge. In Experiment 1, children were shown and then enacted event sequences. At two subsequent visits the props used to enact some of the sequences were completely or partially replaced by functionally equivalent props. Children used the new props to enact the events, thereby demonstrating spontaneous generalization. Nevertheless, as in previous research (Bauer & Fivush, 1992), there were decrements in performance associated with the prop-change manipulation. In Experiment 2, we examined in more detail the determinants of disruption to generalization. Results indicated that an interaction of the location and amount of change within pairs of actions joined by enabling relations (i.e., change to both members of a pair of actions occurring early in the event sequence) negatively affected generalization. Across locations, there was a greater negative effect on generalization when change was made to an antecedent rather than a consequent member of an enabling pair. We suggest that influences on the accommodation of change within events can be understood by considering the organizational role played by the elements subject to change.