Assessment of mood states: Biases in single-administration assessments

Rasmussen, Jeffrey, Willingham, and Glover (1994) demonstrated that single-administration values derived from the Profile of Mood States (POMS) were biased estimates oftypical mood state. Like the previous study, the present study investigated whether single-administration POMS scores would be similar to average POMS scores derived from multiple administrations. In addition, in this investigation, single-administration instructions directed respondents to estimatetypical mood over a period of time that coincided with the time and duration of the multiple administrations. Subjects rated mood states during two single-administration settings, one before and one just after a multiple administration period. For both single-administration assessments, subjects rated mood relative to “How you have felt for the past 3 days, including today?” During the multiple-administration assessment, subjects rated mood six times a day for 3 days as prompted by preprogrammed wrist monitors. Results were consistent with earlier findings by identifying the bias in single-administration assessments. Initial single-administration values were significantly higher than both the averaged multiple-administration values and the second single-administration scores. These results support the contention that single-administration values from the POMS may provide biased estimates oftypical mood states.     

Coming Attractions: Parental Mediation Responses to Transgender and Cisgender Film Trailer Content Targeting Adolescents

Adolescents increasingly rely on media for socialization and identity development, and marketing plays a prominent role in this dynamic. Film trailers are one form of advertising that children actively seek out and attend to in their exploration of media. However, little attention has been paid to these advertisements’ gendered narratives and parents’ responses to them. The present study examines parents’ mediation responses to film trailers that promote themes of gender development and are aimed at adolescents. Respondents viewed a trailer that featured either a cisgender or transgender coming-of-age story and responded to cognitive, emotional, and attitudinal survey measures. Results identified both parent and child factors that influence parents’ mediation intentions and support for censorship. Practical implications in parenting, gender development, and marketing are further discussed.     

How Valuable Could a Person Be?*

We investigate the value of persons. Our primary goal is to chart a path from equal and extreme value to infinite value. We advance two arguments. Each argument offers a reason to think that equal and extreme value are best accounted for if we are infinitely valuable. We then raise some difficult but fruitful questions about the possible grounds or sources of our infinite value, if we indeed have such value.     

Authorship Policies at U.S. Doctoral Universities: A Review and Recommendations for Future Policies

Science and Engineering Ethics - Intellectual contribution in the form of authorship is a fundamental component of the academic career. While research has addressed questionable and harmful...     

Caregivers Dependent upon Drivers with Dementia

This paper reports findings of a preliminary study of caregivers dependent upon drivers with dementia. Fifteen caregivers who perceived themselves as dependent upon their partner for transportation and 15 who perceived themselves as independent were surveyed. Dependent caregivers were significantly more likely to rely on the cognitively impaired driver for routine daily activities such as shopping, medical appointments, and visiting family and friends. Only 20% of the dependent caregivers believed that the driver with dementia should decrease or discontinue driving. Dependent caregivers were less likely than independent caregivers to take an active approach in encouraging driving cessation. Compared to the independent caregivers, the dependent caregivers believed that if the patient with dementia could no longer drive, it would significantly affect their quality of life. The authors discuss the issues and problems uniquely associated with the dependent caregiver.     

Identifying young people's guidance needs through telephone counseling.

This study examined the needs that young people in Guadalajara, in the state of Jalisco, Mexico, expressed in phone calls to a research unit of the Mexican Social Security Institute. Three hundred forty-five calls, from individuals 11 to 24 years old who phoned from June 1995 to November 1998, were analyzed. Two hundred ninety-four of the callers were female and 51 were male. Greater percentages of females than males called to ask about sexuality and family problems. Males more than females asked about reproductive health (particularly pregnancy) and mental health. There were significant differences by gender and age, differences that were not detected in health service statistics. The findings have implications for decision makers and health and education service providers. They point to the need for programs that will reinforce young people's good health practices and help them avoid risky behaviors.     

Increasing husbands' involvement in domestic labor: Issues for therapists

As a result of the dramatic increase in women's participation in the work force, more relationship therapists are seeing couples who are dissatisfied with how domestic labor is divided in their homes. Although, this issue may seem therapeutically straightforward, there are many aspects which make its renegotiation surprisingly problematic and complex. This article is an effort to delineate some of these issues such as engaging men in therapy, exploring emotional issues connected with housework, and the mechanism of gatekeeping. Also included is a therapeutic framework for addressing client concerns about domestic responsibilities.