Measurement of Sense of Community Within the Sphere of City1

Based on a deductive process, several objective items were developed to measure people's sense of community with their city of residence. An item analysis produced a 17-item scale, which was then evaluated for homogeneity and external validity in three studies using telephone interviews on random samples in Alabama and South Carolina. Of seven hypotheses that were tested, six received support. Results described the scale as internally reliable and unidimensional, and the scale differentiated between people who differed in terms of demographics, home ownership, and civic contributions. Contrary to prediction, the scale did not relate to how long people had lived in their city. Explanations for this were offered and then conclusions were drawn about the potential usefulness of the scale.     

Individual differences in anterior brain asymmetry and fundamental dimensions of emotion.

This research assessed whether individual differences in anterior brain asymmetry are linked to differences in basic dimensions of emotion. In each of 2 experimental sessions, separated by 3 weeks, resting electroencephalogram (EEG) activity was recorded from female adults during 8 60-s baselines. Mean alpha power asymmetry across both sessions was extracted in mid-frontal and anterior temporal sites. Across both regions, groups demonstrating stable and extreme relative left anterior activation reported increased generalized positive affect (PA) and decreased generalized negative affect (NA) compared with groups demonstrating stable and extreme relative right anterior activation. Additional correlational analyses revealed robust relations between anterior asymmetry and PA and NA, particularly among subjects who demonstrated stable patterns of EEG activation over time. Anterior asymmetry was unrelated to individual differences in generalized reactivity.     

Interpreting children's reports of concern about parental drinking: Indicators of risk status?

Examined several self-report items traditionally used to identify children of alcoholics for their utility in identifying mental health risk status. The meaning of children's responses to these items was also examined. Collectively, these items reflected children's concern about their parents' drinking. Across multiple studies, children who reported concern about parental drinking reported higher levels of psychological and behavioral problems. This pattern existed whether or not children had a problem-drinking parent. Discriminant analyses with data from child and mother reports showed that children who reported concern were from homes with greater stress, lower income, and less supportive mother-child relationships.     

Vincent Van Gogh, son of the manse: A portrait in self-psychology

Born into a dynasty of Dutch art dealers as well as the family of a Dutch Calvinist pastor, Vincent Van Gogh's turbulent and conflicted personality is the focus of a psychological interpretation beginning and ending with selections taken from the literary letters of the artist himself. The psychodynamic SelfPsychology of Heinz Kohut provides the theoretical framework for considering the tragic and redeeming aspects of this nineteenth century artistic genius and master Pre-Expressionist who painted the world as he experienced it. The reader may wish to accompany the story with a favorite collection of Van Gogh's drawings and paintings as a way of obtaining a deeper appreciation for the person known among art critics and school children alike as not only unforgettably strange and utterly fascinating, but wonderfully profound.Presbyterian minister and writer, dedicates this essay to the memory of Charles N. Davidson, M.D., 1912–1995, beloved father, faithful husband and abiding friend, a physician's physician. For an illustrated presentation about Van Gogh, given by the author in person for the benefit of counseling centers and other audiences.     

Humor As a Stress Moderator in the Prediction of Blood Pressure Obtained during Five Stressful Tasks

In five consecutive stressful tasks we examined the role of humor as a potential stress moderator using systolic and diastolic blood pressure as an indication of cardiovascular reactivity. In all five tasks, the Coping Humor Scale interacted with sex in the prediction of blood pressure. The same pattern was found in response to each of the five tasks: Females who were higher in coping humor exhibited lower systolic blood pressure than females scoring lower on coping humor, while the reverse characterized males; males who scored high on the coping humor scale exhibited higher systolic blood pressure than males scoring low on that scale. Similar though less robust results were found when the Situational Humor Response Questionnaire was used as the measure of humor. In the Cold Pressor Task, which involves pain and endurance, interactions were found between humor, sex, and trials indicating a stress-moderator effect. The absence of interactions indicating stress moderation in most of the analyses with the other four stress tasks suggests that humor may play more of a role in moderating the impact of uncontrollable and passively experienced stressors. Tasks requiring more active, problem-solving behavior may be less amenable to the beneficial effects of humor. The findings do not clearly resolve the questions about the role of humor in effecting responses to stress. However, they do suggest that the subjects' sex may be an important consideration when evaluating the impact of humor as a stress moderator.     

The Duchenne smile: emotional expression and brain physiology. II

Facial expression, EEG, and self-report of subjective emotional experience were recorded while subjects individually watched both pleasant and unpleasant films. Smiling in which the muscle that orbits the eye is active in addition to the muscle that pulls the lip corners up (the Duchenne smile) was compared with other smiling in which the muscle orbiting the eye was not active. As predicted, the Duchenne smile was related to enjoyment in terms of occurring more often during the pleasant than the unpleasant films, in measures of cerebral asymmetry, and in relation to subjective reports of positive emotions, and other smiling was not.     

Battered women in the criminal justice system: An analysis of gender stereotypes

Battered women charged with killing their abusers present a dilemma to the criminal justice system. Myths and stereo-types about women and battered women play a prominent role in the courtroom presentation of both defense and prosecution cases. While the prosecution may attempt to discredit the defendant for not living up to the standard of a ‘good woman’, the defense counters with an equally distorted portrayal of the defendant as ultra-feminine: the passive, helpless victim. Ten court cases of battered women charged with the death of their partners form the basis for a gender analysis of the social construction of the trial setting. This analysis includes the structure of the trial, the language of the trial interchange, the participants in the process, and the role the defendant played in her own defense.