Adaptive behavior inventory for children: The need for local norms

This study investigates the need for local and/or separate racial-ethnic group norms on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children (ABIC). A random sample of 420 children from the Corpus Christi (Texas) Independent School District, was stratified according to gender, age, racial-ethnic group (Black, Mexican-American, and Anglo), and low or middle socioeconomic status. The parent of each child was interviewed with the ABIC. Results indicated a need for local norms for only the low SES Mexican-Americans.     

Coping with employment and family stress: Employment arrangement and gender differences

Increasing numbers of families in the United States are supported by two incomes. Families must cope with the changes this lifestyle brings. This study explored how women and men in various employment arrangements experienced and coped with stress. Data from 82 couples, analyzed separately by gender, suggest that women report significantly more stressors than men, whereas employment arrangement did not have an effect. All couples, however, seem to benefit by reframing their problems to make them more manageable. Perceptual changes families may make to cope with stresses imposed by external factors such as inflexible work hours and lack of adequate child care over which they have less control are discussed.This research was supported by grants from the Graduate Research Board and the Division of Human and Community Resources, University of Maryland, College Park.Acknowledgment is extended to the University of Maryland Computer Center and to Ms. Dell Karig, Ms. Kathleen Cohan, and Ms. Lisa Zelazny for their assistance on this project.     

Reflections on deliberative coherence

This paper treats two problem cases in decision theory, the Newcomb problem and Reed Richter's Button III. Although I argue that, contrary to Richter, the latter case does not constitute a genuine counterexample to a standard general proposition of (causal) decision theory, I agree with and undertake to amplify his solution to the decision problem in Button III. I then apply the conclusions and distinctions in the foregoing treatment of Button III to the Newcomb problem and argue that a familiar version of the dominance argument for taking both boxes runs afoul of plausible general constraints on rational agency. The underlying theme of the paper is that basic considerations of epistemic coherence play an important role in dealing with problem cases in decision theory.     

Regulatory fit as input for stop rules

Three experiments show that the motivational effects of regulatory fit (consistency between regulatory state and strategic means) are context dependent. With no explicit decision rule about when to stop (Experiment 1) or an explicit enjoyment stop rule (Experiments 2 and 3), participants exerted more effort on tasks when experiencing regulatory fit than when experiencing regulatory nonfit. With an explicit sufficiency stop rule (Experiments 2 and 3), participants exerted less effort when experiencing regulatory fit than when experiencing regulatory nonfit. The interactive effect of regulatory fit and stop rules can be explained by misattribution of rightness feelings from regulatory fit; the effect was eliminated by drawing participants' attention to an earlier event as a source of rightness feelings (Experiments 1 and 3).     

Mapping the developmental constraints on working memory span performance

This study investigated the constraints underlying developmental improvements in complex working memory span performance among 120 children of between 6 and 10 years of age. Independent measures of processing efficiency, storage capacity, rehearsal speed, and basic speed of processing were assessed to determine their contribution to age-related variance in complex span. Results showed that developmental improvements in complex span were driven by 2 age-related but separable factors: 1 associated with general speed of processing and 1 associated with storage ability. In addition, there was an age-related contribution shared between working memory, processing speed, and storage ability that was important for higher level cognition. These results pose a challenge for models of complex span performance that emphasize the importance of processing speed alone.     

Labels and the Self: Identity Labels as Scaffold

This paper considers how labels may be used: “Neurodiverse,” “genderfluid,” “sex-positive,” “ADHD,” and “highly-sensitive” are just some of the labels that may be offered by patients in introducing themselves. Such labels can be thought of as shortcuts, a way to define identity and sum up a feeling state, attitude, or behaviour. While they may sometimes be “given” in the sense of a diagnosis, they are also “found” and self-adopted. Using scaffolding as a metaphor for allowing growth or development to take place (or compensate for its absence), the phenomenon of self-labelling is presented as fulfilling different functions, namely: Label as mirrored reflection; Label as creative defence; Label as something with which to play; Label as container for that which cannot yet be known; Label as calling something into being; and Label as collective dream image. The article starts with three brief composite clinical sketches, and goes on to explore some of the ways that labels may be used with reference to the presented clinical material.     

Participant protection with the use of records: ethical issues and recommendations

This article explores the ethical concerns and protections that may be required when individually identifiable data originally collected solely for clinical or administrative purposes are used in research or evaluation. It asks the following broad question with respect to the interim policy developed by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) to protect the rights and welfare of participants in its programs: For those programs and projects not classified as research, are the protections and system for review adequate? Background information on SAMHSA's interim policy is provided, along with issues and questions related to the use of clinical and administrative records in research and evaluation. The article concludes with recommendations for modifying the existing participant protection guidelines, based on the preceding discussion of issues and questions.     

The Role of Alcohol and Gender in Choices and Judgments About Hypothetical Sexual Encounters1

The goal of this study was to explore the process by which sexual situations that involve alcohol are negotiated. A scenario depicting a drinking situation involving potential sexual activity was constructed and converted into a text-based interactive computer game, in which alcohol consumption of the subject and partner roles was varied. The program included a number of points at which the subject's response determined the subsequent course of action. At these choice points, questions were asked about perceptions of sexual interest and nervousness. The results showed strong gender differences in subjects' choices, judgments, and feelings throughout the hypothetical encounter, with men much more likely to choose responses leading to sexual activity and to express more attraction and sexual desire throughout. Alcohol interacted with gender such that among women, those in drinking scenarios were more likely than those in nondrinking scenarios to choose to have sex at the end of the scenario; this effect was not seen in male subjects.