A comprehensive and systematic approach to parent education

Abstract

This paper emphasizes the importance of parent education, particularly in our current rapidly changing society. The history of parent education is briefly reviewed and a new program called STEP, Systematic Training for Effective Parenting is discussed in detail.     

Exposure to moral relativism compromises moral behavior

Across two studies we investigated the relationship between moral relativism versus absolutism and moral behavior. In Experiment 1, we found that participants who read a relativist argument for tolerating female genital mutilation were more likely to cheat to win an incentivized raffle than participants who read an absolutist argument against female genital mutilation, or those in a control condition. In Experiment 2, participants who read a definition of morality phrased in absolutist terms expressed less willingness to engage in petty theft than those who read a definition of morality phrased in relativist terms, or those in a control condition. Experiment 2 also provided evidence that effects were not due to absolutist arguments signaling that fewer behaviors are morally permissible, nor to relativist arguments defending more disagreeable moral positions. Rather, the content of the philosophical positions themselves—the fact that relativism describes morality as subjective and culturally-historically contingent, whereas absolutism describes morality as objective and universal—makes individuals more likely to engage in immoral behaviors when exposed to moral relativism compared to moral absolutism.     

On Berliner's Thinking in Jazz: The Infinite Are of Improvisation

In order to characterize divergent thinking, the author performed self-organization feature mapping on the multidimensional data of Williams's (1980) Creative Thinking Tests. The resultant population map of cluster was obtained. Principal-components analysis was also applied to determine the most significant features characterizing divergent thinking. Using the two most significant features to define a 2-dimensional space, the author ascertained characterizations of each cluster over the population map. The results obtained compared favorably with the topological structure of the population map. A secondary differentiation was found in the divergent thinking test. The topological structure for divergent thinking should prove useful for characterization of creative thinking.     

Cross-sectional and longitudinal confirmatory factor models for the german test anxiety inventory: A construct validation

Construct validity of the German Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI-G) was tested in two respects. Firstly, the purported four-dimensional structure of the TAI-G (comprising subscales Emotionality, Worry, Interference, and Lack of Confidence) as well as relations of the test anxiety dimensions to self-efficacy were tested. Secondly, the trait conception of the TAI-G was tested within the framework of Latent State-Trait theory. The TAI-G was given to a student sample (N=302) on three occasions with a time interval of 2 weeks along with a study-specific self-efficacy scale on occasion 1. Dimensionality assumptions as well as relations with self-efficacy were tested using cross-sectional second-order confirmatory factor analysis. The trait conception was tested separately for TAI-G subscales by specifying longitudinal confirmatory factor models (Latent State-Trait models) and by calculating variance proportions of manifest variables (Latent State-Trait coefficients) referring to different sources of systematic variance (person, situation, and method) based on parameter estimates of the models. Results were supportive of both the purported four-dimensional structure and hypothesized relationships to self-efficacy (i.e., acceptable model fit) as well as of the trait conception of test anxiety (i.e., acceptable model fit and high proportion of variance due to person component). Implications for further validation studies were discussed.     

Combat exposure,psychological symptoms,and marital satisfaction in National Guard soldiers who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2005 to 2006

Abstract

In current military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, US National Guard (NG) troops are serving longer deployments than ever before. Little is known, however, about how such deployments affect this population of individuals, relative to active component (AC) troops. This study investigated the extent of combat exposure, severity of post-deployment psychological symptoms, and general interpersonal functioning, as well as the interrelationships of these variables, in 50 NG soldiers who served a 12-month deployment in Iraq from 2005 to 2006. The results indicate that combat exposure and post-deployment post-traumatic stress symptoms in this sample are greater than those in NG veterans of past military operations, and similar to those of full-time soldiers in current operations. Furthermore, the patterns of interrelationships between combat exposure, psychological symptoms, and interpersonal variables were similar to those detected in prior research on AC troops. These results suggest that NG veterans of current military operations may require similar services as active duty veterans. Given that NG troops are less integrated into the military structure, specific outreach efforts may be needed to help NG veterans to receive such services.     

Body Image Satisfaction and Involvement in Risky Sexual Behaviors Among University Students

This study examined the impact of body image satisfaction on university students’ (N = 465) involvement in risky sexual behaviors. A valid and reliable survey instrument was designed and administered to students in their classrooms at a Midwestern university. Of 465 participants, 53.8 % reported having low levels of body image satisfaction and 78.9 % indicated they had engaged in sexual intercourse during their lifetime. Of the sexually active students, 80 % have had sexual intercourse without the use of a condom, 76 % have had sexual intercourse while intoxicated, and 21 % have had sexual intercourse following illegal drug use. Students who had high body image satisfaction were significantly more likely to have ever engaged in sexual intercourse. These results should be considered when developing and implementing sexual education efforts for university students. Future studies should seek to identify specific strategies to increase body image satisfaction and decrease risky sexual behaviors among this high-risk population.     

Expressed Emotion,Appraisal and Coping by Patients with Recent-onset Schizophrenia: A Pilot Investigation

This pilot study sought to follow up on indications that patients from households with high levels of expressed emotion (EE) differ from those from households with low levels of EE in ways not assessed in typical symptom rating profiles. We examined how patients appraised and coped with a prominent societal stressor. Soon after the start of the Gulf War, 22 patients with recent-onset schizophrenia living in Los Angeles appraised the stressor and completed a coping questionnaire. Results indicated that patients from high-EE homes were likely to use emotion-based confrontational methods to cope with the crisis, while patients from low-EE environments were likely to use avoidance and denial. Patients from high-EE homes thus coped with this non-familial, societal stressor in a way similar to the way in which they have been observed to cope with family conflict: they more readily expressed their anger and frustration than patients from low-EE homes. These pilot data suggest that increased attention should be directed toward those patient behaviours that may be associated with either an increase or decrease in negative affective behaviour from relatives. It may also be fruitful to consider more broadly the adaptive and maladaptive features of the preferred coping strategies of patients from high-EE and low-EE environments.     

Upright and left out: Posture moderates the effects of social exclusion on mood and threats to basic needs

Adopting a powerful posture leads individuals to feel more confident and dominant. Social exclusion can strongly impact individuals' mood and basic social needs. The current research combines these bodies of research, investigating the effects of dominant and submissive poses on responses to social exclusion and inclusion. In two experiments, participants held a slouching or upright pose and were either socially included or excluded using the Cyberball social exclusion manipulation. Social exclusion only affected participants' mood when individuals took a powerful posture: Excluded participants in powerful postures had more negative mood after exclusion than included power‐posing participants, but effects of exclusion and inclusion did not differ among submissive‐posing participants (Experiments 1 and 2). Similarly, it was also found that social exclusion affected basic needs only when participants' adopted powerful poses (Experiment 2). Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.