Eating Disorders of White American,Racial and Ethnic Minority American,and International Women

Eating attitudes and behaviors related to anorexia nervosa, bulimia, and obesity of White American, African-American, Native American, and some international women are considered from the point of view of cultural influences such as sex role, the media, socioeconomic class, and acculturation to Western society.     

Multicultural Education and Perceived Multicultural Competency of School Counselors

A national survey of practicing school counselors (N = 755) revealed significant differences between participants’ perceived multicultural competence based on the type of multicultural training received. Participants who took infused multicultural coursework had significantly higher mean scores in multicultural awareness, knowledge, and skills than participants who reported taking a single multicultural course. Una encuesta nacional de consejeros escolares en activo (N = 755) reveló diferencias significativas en la competencia multicultural percibida de los participantes según el tipo de capacitación multicultural recibida. Los participantes que tomaron cursos que incluían contenidos multiculturales obtuvieron puntajes medios significativamente más altos en consciencia, conocimientos y habilidades multiculturales que aquellos participantes que indicaron haber tomado un único curso multicultural.     

A computational model of anterior cingulate function in speeded response tasks: effects of frequency,sequence, and conflict

A growing body of evidence from functional neuroimaging and computational modeling studies indicates that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) detects the presence of response conflict and conveys this information to other brain regions, enabling subsequent adjustments in cognitive control. The present study examined previous empirical findings of increased ACC for low-frequency stimuli across three distinct speeded response tasks (two-alternative forced choice, go/no-go, and oddball). Simulations conducted in a neural network model incorporating sequential priming mechanisms (developed in Cho et al., 2002) confirmed that a computational measure of response conflict was higher on low-frequency trials across all three tasks. In addition, the model captured detailed aspects of behavioral reaction time and accuracy data, predicted the dynamics of ACC activity related to trial sequence effects, and provided evidence for the functional role of conflict information in performance monitoring and optimization. The results indicate that the conflict-monitoring hypothesis, augmented by mechanisms for encoding stimulus history, can explain key phenomena associated with performance in sequential speeded response tasks.     

Can the Edinburgh Risk of Repetition Scale Predict Repetition of Deliberate Self‐poisoning in an Australian Clinical Setting?

This study tested the ability of the Edinburgh Risk of Repetition Scale (ERRS) to identify patients at high risk for repeat deliberate self-poisoning (DSP). Consecutive DSP patients (N= 1,317) over a 3-year period were followed-up for 12 months. A statistically significant relationship between ERRS scores and repetition was observed; however, sensitivity and specificity were low. Logistic regression analysis revealed only "previous parasuicide" contributed significantly to repetition. The ERRS had limited value in identifying patients at high risk of repeat DSP in this clinical population.     

Does a Marriage Ideal Exist? Using Q-Sort Methodology to Compare Young Adults’ and Professional Educators’ Views on Healthy Marriages

This study sought to understand whether young adults and family educators share beliefs about the components of a successful relationship. Young adults viewed successful relationships as having partners who agree on most issues. Educators characterized successful partners as exhibiting positive communication patterns and using relationship maintenance strategies. A third prototype included young adults and educators who described successful relationships in terms of agreement and problem solving behaviors. Implications for researchers and practitioners conclude the article.     

Reciprocal and complementary sibling interactions,relationship quality and socio‐emotional problem solving

Associations between reciprocal and complementary sibling interactions, sibling relationship quality, and children's socio‐emotional problem solving were examined in 40 grade 5–6 children (M age = 11.5 years) from middle class, Caucasian, Canadian families using a multi‐method approach (i.e. interviews, self‐report questionnaires, daily diary checklist, narrative task). Findings demonstrated that reciprocal sibling interactions were positively associated with warmth, mutual esteem, happy daily exchanges, and negatively related to rivalry and dominance, whereas complementary interactions were positively related to upsetting daily exchanges. Further, reciprocal and complementary interactions differed significantly in relation to several relationship qualities, with reciprocal interactions emerging as a significantly stronger correlate of happy exchanges. Only reciprocal interactions were positively correlated with socio‐emotional problem solving. Finally, birth order moderated the negative association of reciprocal interactions with rivalry and dominance and the positive association with socio‐emotional problem solving. In each case, the effect was stronger for younger members of the sibling dyad. Findings are discussed in light of recent theory on the sibling relationship and children's development. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stand Tall to Protect Students: School Counselors Strengthening School Connectedness

In an urban sample of 5,595 students in Grades 7–12, the authors found that (a) personalized counseling services that were responsive to student needs enhanced school connectedness, (b) risk factors (e.g., poverty, mobility rates, limited English proficiency) were associated with lower school connectedness scores, and (c) responsive counseling services acted as a protective factor that reduced some of the negative effects of risk factors on school connectedness, and consequently, student success in academic and nonacademic areas.     

No‐man's Land: Adoption Storied Through the Aotearoa/New Zealand Adoption Act 1955

The Aotearoa/New Zealand Adoption Act 1955 legislated and governed adoption practices from 1955 to 1985. Through an exploration of the historical, cultural and social assumptions underlying the Adoption Act 1955, this article questions how the social power relations complicit with adoption legislation and policy produce and reproduce subject positions for adoptees. In‐depth narrative interviews were conducted with 12 adoptees from throughout Aotearoa/New Zealand. The researchers found the legal constitution of adoptees produces them as legitimate; however, they remain ‘other’ through dominant discourses of heteronormative blood kinship that reiterates their illegitimacy. The legal fiction of their legitimacy as if born to failed to secure them space within normative narratives of kinship and compromised adoptees' ability to take up responsibility as neoliberal citizens. Current New Zealand debate on adoption fails to take account of the experience of adoptees, focusing instead on the rights of married couples, including same‐sex couples, to continue practices of adoption. Our analysis informs the critical importance of listening to how adoptees experience repeated exclusions and enduring loss represented by the metaphor of no‐man's land. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Mixed reasons,missed givings: The costs of blending egoistic and altruistic reasons in donation requests

Do people give more when benefits to others and oneself are emphasized? We propose that mixing egoistic and altruistic reasons reduces the likelihood of giving by increasing individuals' awareness that a persuasion attempt is occurring, which elicits psychological reactance. In Experiment 1, university alumni were less likely to give money to their alma mater when an electronic donation request emphasized both egoistic and altruistic reasons, compared to either reason alone. In Experiment 2, undergraduates reported lower giving intentions when a donation request emphasized an altruistic and an egoistic reason, compared to either altruistic or egoistic reasons alone. In Experiment 3, undergraduates reported lower intentions to give to the Make-A-Wish Foundation when the donation request featured both egoistic and altruistic reasons; this effect was mediated in two stages by increased persuasion awareness and heightened psychological reactance. This research sheds light on when messages that purport to align self-interest and other-interest can backfire.