EMPLOYMENT AND ROLE SATISFACTION

A path analytic model was used to examine the impact of three domains of life satisfaction and three employment-related variables on general well-being in a sample of 1,145 Army wives. The life domains included marital, financial, and role satisfaction. The employment-related variables included: (a) time spent employed (none, part, or full); (b) role fit; and (c) satisfaction with overall career development prospects. The employment-related variables were hypothesized to impact on general well-being both directly and indirectly through their relationship to role satisfaction. Time spent employed and role fit were found to be significantly related to role satisfaction, which in turn, was significantly related to general well-being. One variable–satisfaction with overall career development prospects–had a significant direct impact on general well-being.     

Outpatient groups for chronic psychiatric patients

Long-term support groups have been utilized at the University of Alberta Hospitals since 1977 in order to meet the needs of chronic psychiatric patients who are unwilling or unable to commit to insight-oriented therapy. These groups meet once weekly for one hour and are intended to be drop-in groups, which patients can use regularly or only while in crisis. It is hypothesized that the institution or style of therapy practiced at an institution, rather than the specific therapists, provides a source of stability and support to these patients. Our experience suggests these groups are beneficial and cost-efficient, but research is necesssary to evaluate them to determine components of therapeutic effectiveness.Linda McAuley, M.A., was a staff therapist at the Psychiatric Walk-in Clinic and is currently in private practice.An earlier version of this paper was presented at a meeting of the Canadian Group Psychotherapy Association in Banff, Alberta, October, 1987.     

Sexual harassment in universities during the 1980s

This review examines research studies since 1980 that investigate instructor-student sexual harassment in university settings. Implications are discussed.     

Using AGENDA for qualitative data analysis

Computerized approaches to qualitative analysis have lagged significantly behind comparable developments in quantitative analysis. AGENDA, a PC-based, free-form database package, manipulates text as data, performs the basic tasks of qualitative data analysis, and satisfies the criteria of computerized field research methods. AGENDA's contributions to qualitative research outweigh its limitations.     

Increase in mastery levels using a computer-based tutorial/simulation in experimental psychology

A computer program was written in PCPilot to teach a unit in basic concepts in experimental design. The graphics-based program includes both tutorials and simulations. The students who used the program had significantly higher test scores than those in another class who did not; they reported that they enjoyed learning to use the program.     

THE "FRESHMAN 15"Facts and Fantasies About Weight Gain in College Women

This research tested the hypothesis that the "freshman 15" may be more fantasy than fact. The "freshman 15" refers to the belief that college students, particularly women, gain an average of 15 pounds during their first year of college. Female college students were weighed during their first month at college and again 6 months later. They also completed measures of self-esteem, body image, locus of control, and self-monitoring. Findings indicated that the majority of women remained the same weight during the first 6 months of college. A favorable body image was related to less weight loss among those who lost weight, but none of the other characteristics were related to weight change.     

Assessing violent offending in serious juvenile offenders

The convergent validity of the two most frequently used methods for assessing violent offending in juveniles (i.e., selfreports and arrests) was evaluated. Participants were 87 serious juvenile offenders and their maternal figures, primarily from disadvantaged families. Validation measures tapped established behavioral, family, and peer correlates of delinquency. Results failed to support the ability of either arrests for violent crimes or selfreported violent offenses to index violent criminal behavior accurately. Several methodological features of the study support our hypothesis that the findings were not spurious. Procedural and conceptual implications of the findings are discussed.The Family and Neighborhood Services Project was funded by Grant 2H87MH43557-04 to the South Carolina Department of Mental Health from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors extend their most sincere appreciation to Commissioner Joseph Bevilacqua, Commissioner Richard McLawhorn, Joe James, Dale Chandler, Madeline Blackwell, Kristen Rowden, Pam King, Nancy King, Nancy Yue, and Jerry DeLoye.     

Testing a Model of Mammography Intention1

This paper presents the results of a study testing components of the Triandis model of choice to predict intention to obtain screening mammography in the next 2 years. A questionnaire was developed to measure the theoretical components of this model. Analysis was based on 2,521 women, 50 to 65 years old, who received primary care from 1 of 28 participating primary care group practices. Based on the four theoretical components of intention described in the Triandis model-social influence, affect, consequence, and barriers-a set of structural equation models was explored. The sample was split into two equal subsamples: one sample used for model exploration and one used for model confirmation. Results showed that the original intention model was not supported. Instead, the model that best fit the data, and upheld it in the subsample used for model confirmation, was a model in which habit and intention were strongly related. The strongest predictors of habit were barriers and consequences; the strongest predictors of intention were social influences and barriers.     

A ToolBook computer program to develop course objectives and assessment measures

College courses are generally developed because of current fashion in the field and/or student and faculty interest in some topic without reference to departmental or programmatic goals. Current calls and needs for accountability in higher education demand a more organized approach. A computer program, ToolBook 1.53, which provides information to the instructor about systematic development of courses and assessment of student outcomes, is described. The program supports the construction of outcome-oriented learning objectives and corresponding assessment techniques. Instructors who used this program to learn about how to construct such objectives showed an increase in knowledge and evaluated the program positively. Using the information provided in this program leads to an integrated approach to course design and development in which course objectives are linked to the college mission statement through departmental or program objectives.