Gay Identification and Psychological Health in HIV-Positive and HIV-Negative Gay Men1

This paper reports a study of HIV-positive and HIV-negative gay men focusing on comparisons between the HIV-positive and HIV-negative on gay identification, the interrelationships among gay identification variables, and the psychological correlates of gay identification. We hypothesized that better psychological health would be related to gay self-acceptance, participating in gay organizations and groups, socializing with other gay men, and parental disclosure and acceptance of being gay. The sample was composed of 169 gay men, including 98 asymptomatic HIV-positive and 71 HIV-negative men. The findings are largely consistent with our hypotheses. A strong and consistent relationship of the gay identification measures with psychological variables was observed, explaining up to one fifth of the variance in current level of mood and self-esteem. Among the HIV-positive subjects, participating in gay organizations and groups and having parents who accepted their sexual orientation were important correlates of psychological adaptation. Despite this, 36% of subjects had parents who disapproved of their sexual orientation, and 69% of HIV-positive subjects were not in any gay organizations or groups. Among the HIV-negative subjects, gay self-acceptance and disclosing their sexual orientation to parents were associated with better psychological adjustment. These results suggest that the psychological health and outlook of gay men may be influenced by gay self-acceptance, participation in gay groups, and parental disclosure and acceptance of their children's sexual orientation.     

Spectral indices of cardiovascular adaptations to short-term simulated microgravity exposure

We investigated the effects of exposure to microgravity on the baseline autonomic balance in cardiovascular regulation using spectral analysis of cardiovascular variables measured during supine rest. Heart rate, arterial pressure, radial flow, thoracic fluid impedance and central venous pressure were recorded from nine volunteers before and after simulated microgravity, produced by 20 hours of 6° head down bedrest plus furosemide. Spectral powers increased after simulated microgravity in the low frequency region (centered at about 0.03 Hz) in arterial pressure, heart rate and radial flow, and decreased in the respiratory frequency region (centered at about 0.25 Hz) in heart rate. Reduced heart rate power in the respiratory frequency region indicates reduced parasympathetic influence on the heart. A concurrent increase in the low frequency power in arterial pressure, heart rate, and radial flow indicates increased sympathetic influence. These results suggest that the baseline autonomic balance in cardiovascular regulation is shifted towards increased sympathetic and decreased parasympathetic influence after exposure to short-term simulated microgravity.     

Dogfighting: Symbolic Expression and Validation of Masculinity

This study examines the issue of masculinity indogfighting. Dogfighting is an illegal gaming sportcentered in the Southern United States. The data for thisstudy were obtained via ethnographic fieldwork over a period of two years. Interviews wereconducted with 31 dogmen, approximately 90% of whom werewhite males. In addition the authors attended 14dogfights and numerous pre-fight meetings. We argue that specific elements of this sport representsymbolic attempts at attaining and maintaining honor andstatus, which, in the (predominantly white, male,working-class) dogfighting subculture, are equated with masculine identity. We further argue thatpursuit of symbolic masculinity through dogfighting ismore important to working-class men, who possess feweralternative avenues for achieving status than do middle-class or professional men. Theimplications of this research for the larger culture ofmasculinity in the United States are alsoexplored.     

Understanding Respite Care Use by Families of Children Receiving Short-Term, In-Home Psychiatric Emergency Services

Respite care is widely believed to be an important support service for families raising a child with a disability. We report the findings of a respite care utilization study conducted within the context of a larger research and demonstration project examining three models of intensive, in-home services for children experiencing psychiatric crises. Respite care, both in-home and out-of-home, was a support service available to families in two of the three study conditions. Overall, 34% of 146 eligible families used in-home and or out-of-home respite care. Utilization was lower than the estimates developed prior to implementation, prompting an inquiry at the end of the first project year designed to maximize use and to gather more information on caregiver and service provider attitudes toward respite care. The inquiry included caregiver and provider focus groups, surveys, and enhanced data collection and analysis. Caregiver interviews indicated that many families did not fully understand what it meant to receive respite care or even that it was available to them. A comparative analysis of respite care users and non-users revealed that respite care users were more likely to have younger children, children who had a greater number of assessed functional impairments, and fewer social supports. Respite care users also reported greater difficulty managing their children's difficult behaviors.     

Characteristics of Adult Caretakers of Children and Youth Served by an Urban Child Welfare Agency

The child welfare system of the early 1990s was marked by the proliferation of home-based services. Research on the effectiveness of various home-based interventions indicates results have been equivocal. The need to make explicit the specific characteristics of the adults and children targeted for home-based services, particularly families from diverse cultural backgrounds, has been identified as a critically needed contribution to the literature. In this study, the characteristics and service utilization experiences of adults and families served in an urban, home-based, child welfare program was examined. The results are discussed in relation to findings on the characteristics and experiences of adults and families served in other settings. Implications for future research and service delivery are discussed.     

Impact of intuitive theories on feature recruitment throughout the continuum of expertise

Expertise in object domains involves both the perceptual learning of the differentiating and higher order features that are indicative of concepts and the elaboration of intuitive theories. Triad-similarity judgments, feature-salience ratings, and verbal protocols were used to investigate the effects of theories on the recruitment of features across different categorization contexts, as well as the degree to which expert categorization skills transferred to less familiar domains. Whereas novices considered features that indicated overall similarity to be more perceptually salient than were modified parts that indicated taxonomic relations, experts found them equally salient. Experts’ theories were instrumental in directing feature recruitment in contexts involving identification, image generation, and similarity decisions. Experts’ theories also supported the transfer of categorization skills to related, less familiar domains. The relation of mutual dependence between perceptual learning and theory development throughout the continuum of expertise is considered.     

MRI Asymmetries of Broca''s Area: The Pars Triangularis and Pars Opercularis

Broca's area, which includes the pars triangularis (PTR) and pars opercularis (POP), is a neuroanatomic region important in speech-language production. Previous data demonstrated that PTR asymmetries are highly correlated with language dominance determined by selective hemispheric anesthesia or Wada testing, suggesting that asymmetries of the PTR may, in part, predict language dominance. The POP, however, has not been measured on volumetric magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), and therefore, it is unclear whether morphological asymmetries of the POP exist, and whether these asymmetries differ in right- and left-handers. The purpose of this study was to determine if measurable asymmetries of the POP exist on MRI, and whether the direction of the asymmetries differ in right- and left-handers. The PTR and POP were measured on volumetric MRI scans of 16 right-handers and 16 left-handers matched for age and gender. There was a significant leftward asymmetry of the PTR in right- and left-handers, although the asymmetry was reduced in the left-handers. In contrast, there was a leftward asymmetry of the POP in right-handers, and a rightward asymmetry in the left-handers. Handedness, derived from a handedness inventory, was positively correlated with POP asymmetry.     

The source of belief bias effects in syllogistic reasoning.

In studies of the belief bias effect in syllogistic reasoning, an interaction between logical validity and the believability of the conclusion has been found; in essence, logic has a larger effect on unbelievable than on believable conclusions. Two main explanations have been proposed for this finding. The selective scrutiny account claims that people focus on the conclusion and only engage in logical processing if this is found to be unbelievable; while the misinterpreted necessity account claims that subjects misunderstand what is meant by logical necessity and respond on the basis of believability when indeterminate syllogisms are presented. Experiments 1 and 2 compared the predictions of these two theories by examining whether the interaction would disappear if only determinate syllogisms were used. It did, thus providing strong support for the misinterpreted necessity explanation. However, the results are also consistent with a version of the mental models theory, and so Experiment 3 was carried out to compare these two explanations. The mental models theory received strong support, as it did also in the follow-up Experiments 4 and 5. It is concluded that people try to construct a mental model of the premises but, if there is a believable conclusion consistent with the first model they produce, then they fail to construct alternative models.     

Hemispheric asymmetry and recategorized WISC-R patterns in learning-disabled and nondisabled children.

The relationship between hemispheric processing and recategorized WISC-R patterns (spatial strengths and depressed Acquired Knowledge scores) in 14 learning-disabled and 14 nondisabled boys was examined. A genetic-prenatal hormonal basis appears most plausible.