Examining a structural model of the relationships among alcohol use,marijuana/hashish use,their effects,and emotional and psychological problems over time in a cohort of high‐risk youths

Using data collected in a longitudinal study of detained juveniles, we test a model of the relationships among alcohol and marijuana or hashish use, reported adverse effects of the use of these substances, and emotional and psychological problems. Significant interrelationships were found among these factors over time. Degree of involvement in alcohol and marijuana or hashish use (measured either by self‐reports or both self‐reports and urine test results) was significantly related at Time 1 with the number of reported averse effects of the use of each specific substance; a similar relationship was found at Time 2 for marijuana or hashish use. In addition, emotional and psychological problems were significantly associated with reported adverse effects of the use of alcohol or marijuana or hashish at each time period. The results further indicate that youths who become more involved in the use of alcohol or marijuana or hashish over time report more adverse effects of their use of each of these substances. These findings highlight a network of interconnected experiences that add insight into the youths’ functioning over time. At the same time, the youths’ Time 2 emotional and psychological problems, reported effects of their alcohol use, and reported effects of their marijuana or hashish use are weakly predicted by the variables in the model; these findings suggest considerable change in these experiences over time. Theoretical and policy implications of these findings are discussed.     

Repercussions of Mortgage Foreclosure: Loss of Place Attachment,Adult Roles,and Trust

Clients coping with mortgage foreclosure suffer from multiple losses, including the loss of placement attachment, neighborhood, and trust in organizations. These losses can result in depression, anxiety, suicidal ideation, and complicated grief. Counselors can enhance treatment by integrating organizational role and attachment theory.     

Italian-American Immigrants and Religious Conversions

In spite of significant efforts by American Protestants in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century to convert the huge influx of Italian immigrants, their results were disappointing for a variety of theological, psychological and sociological reasons. This confluence of immigration, religious conversion and mission has received scant attention, even though it offers an object lesson for contemporary immigration and conversion studies.     

Perceived motion is influenced by random dynamic information

Distortions of the local spatial-frequency power spectrum caused by motion blur may be used by the visual system to improve motion analysis (e.g., Barlow and Olshausen, 2004 Journal of Vision 4415-426). We tested this hypothesis by measuring the error of perceived motion direction of moving patterns in the presence of random noncoherent motion manipulated to create different spatial power spectra. The results showed that error increased when the background power spectrum was similar to the motion power spectrum; however, when the background power spectrum had an anisotropy consistent with motion blur, the error was reduced. Shifting the power spectrum away from the motion power spectrum reduced the error.     

Problematic dyadic interaction among toddlers and their polydrug‐cocaine‐using mothers

Dyadic interactions between 84 at‐risk toddlers and their nondrug‐, polydrug‐non‐cocaine‐, or polydrug‐cocaine‐using mothers were examined during unstructured play. Coded videotaped behaviors revealed two maternal constructs (interactive competence, maladaptive engagement) and three toddler constructs (responsiveness, active positive initiation, play). Cocaine‐using mothers displayed more maladaptive engagement than did prenatal nondrug users; however, poorer interactive competence further distinguished them from polydrug‐but‐noncocaine users. Toddlers of cocaine‐using mothers displayed less responsiveness and positive initiation than non‐drug‐group peers; however, these behaviors did not reliably differ from polydrug‐non‐cocaine counterparts. Play interest remained relatively similar across groups. Results suggest that difficulties in social interaction appear to continue among cocaine‐using mothers during dyadic exchanges with their offspring in the second year; however, toddler deficits do not appear to be greater than those experienced by polydrug‐non‐cocaine counterparts.     

New Generation,Great Expectations: A Field Study of the Millennial Generation

Purpose  

This study investigated the career expectations and priorities of members of the “millennial” generation (born in or after 1980) and explored differences among this cohort related to demographic factors (i.e., gender, race, and year of study) and academic performance.     

What do dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) understand about hidden objects?

Object permanence, the ability to mentally represent and reason about objects that have disappeared from view, is a fundamental cognitive skill that has been extensively studied in human infants and terrestrial animals, but not in marine animals. A series of four experiments examined this ability in bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus). After being trained on a “find the object” game, dolphins were tested on visible and invisible displacement tasks, and transpositions. In Experiments 1 and 2, dolphins succeeded at visible displacements, but not at invisible displacements or transpositions. Experiment 3 showed that they were able to pass an invisible displacement task in which a person’s hand rather than a container was used as the displacement device. However, follow-up controls suggested they did so by learning local rules rather than via a true representation of the movement of hidden objects. Experiment 4 demonstrated that the dolphins did not rely on such local rules to pass visible displacement tasks. Thus, like many terrestrial animals, dolphins are able to succeed on visible displacement tasks, but seem unable to succeed on tasks requiring the tracking of hidden objects.     

Preventing Violence Against Women: Engaging the Fathers of Today and Tomorrow

Although fathers play a key role in helping their children develop ideas about gender relations and close relationships, they have been largely overlooked as a resource to help prevent violence against women. This paper explores some of the reasons why fathers have not been successfully engaged in violence prevention. Engaging fathers to promote wider definitions of masculinity for themselves and their children is presented as a major mechanism by which fathers could help prevent violence against women. The information-motivation-behavior model of change, developed for preventing high-risk sexual behavior, is applied to the area to provide structure for understanding previous and current attempts to engage fathers. Examples of innovative programs are used to highlight the application of this model.     

Utility of the Multidimensional Health Profile—Psychosocial Functioning Scales (MHP-P) for Assessing Psychosocial Adjustment in Gastric Bypass Surgery Patients

This study examined the utility of the Multidimensional Health Profile—Psychosocial Functioning (MHP-P) for the preoperative assessment of gastric bypass surgery (GBS) applicants. The MHP-P, a 58-item screening inventory that assesses 4 psychosocial areas relevant to health (mental health, life stress, social resources, and coping skills), was administered to 449 morbidly obese patients who were being considered for GBS. Data were compared with the results of a much more lengthy assessment procedure involving a 273-item comprehensive biographical and medical history interview, the MMPI-2, the Basic Personality Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The 17 measures of the MHP-P showed highly significant correlations with other measures considered to be of relevance in GBS outcome, confirming the utility of the MHP-P as a cost-effective procedure for use in this clinical medical setting.