City Behavior and Precautionary Measures

In a between-subjects design, a Precautionary Measures Scale was developed to assess the extent to which 121 participants would endorse 19 precautionary behaviors if visiting a small town, a small city, or a metropolis. Results indicated high internal consistency for the scale, and a significant main effect for location. The effect for gender approached significance. Participants in the metropolis condition had significantly higher scores than did those in the small-town condition, and women tended to have significantly higher precautionary scale scores than did men. Further, participants classified as feminine on the Bem (1981) Sex-Role Inventory tended to have significantly higher scores across locations that did those classified as masculine.     

THE MEASUREMENT AND FURTHER CONCEPTUALIZATION OF TEACHER COMMUNICATION CONCERN

This study reported the development of a set of scales to measure the self, task, and impact dimensions of teacher communication concern. Three stages of instrument development were described: item construction, testing of the hypothesized factor structure, and reliability and validity information. The result was a 15-item instrument with three subscales. In an effort to refine the conceptualization of teacher communication concern, a secondary purpose of the study was to examine the relationship of teacher communication concern to two variables: anxiety about teaching and attitude toward teaching as a career. Results were that teacher communication concern was not related to anxiety about teaching, but was positively related to attitude about teaching.     

BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU WISH FOR! THE SURRENDER OF GENDER

Close examination of Freud's Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality (1905a) reveals an ambiguity in Freud's language as he simultaneously tries to escape 19th‐century psychiatric paradigms concerning sexuality and perversion while also retaining a normative approach to adult sexuality that created new categories of pathology. The result is an ambivalent legacy that has both hampered and helped contemporary clinicians as they deal with a diverse array of presentations of gender and sexual orientation in today's world.     

Is there an optimal factor structure of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale in patients with first‐episode psychosis?

The Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS) is the most widely used scale to assess a variety of symptoms in patients with schizophrenia and other psychoses. The factor structure of the PANSS has been examined with confirmatory factor analyses in several studies, but not in a well‐defined first‐episode psychosis sample. The aim of this paper is to examine the statistical fit of five different PANSS models in a first‐episode, non‐affective psychosis sample. Confirmatory factor analyses were performed on PANSS data (n = 588). A main criterion for best fit was defined as the Expected Cross Validation Index (ECVI). No tested model revealed an optimally satisfactory model fit index. The Wallwork/Fortgang five‐factor model demonstrated the most optimal psychometric properties. The corresponding subscales of all evaluated five‐factor models were strongly intercorrelated. The Wallwork/Fortgang five‐factor model was found to be statistically and clinically ideal among patients with first‐episode psychosis. Therefore, we recommend this model in forthcoming studies among patients with first‐episode psychosis. However, to prevent the loss of clinically valuable information on an item level, we do not recommend removing any items from the original form. Our study also implies that the specific choice of model will not have a substantial effect on outcome results in studies on the course and outcome in first‐episode psychosis.     

Do Parents Know Best? Examining the Relationship Between Parenting Profiles,Prevention Efforts,and Peak Drinking in College Students1

The study examined parent profiles among high school athletes transitioning to college and their association with high‐risk drinking in a multi‐site, randomized trial. Students (n = 587) were randomized to a control or combined parent‐based and brief motivational intervention condition and completed measures at baseline and at 5‐ and 10‐month follow‐ups. Four parent profiles (authoritative, authoritarian, permissive, indifferent) were observed among participants. Findings indicated control participants with authoritarian parenting were at the greatest risk for heavy drinking. Alternately, students exposed to permissive or authoritarian parenting reported lower peak drinking when administered the combined intervention, compared to controls. Findings suggest the combined intervention was efficacious in reducing peak alcohol consumption among high‐risk students based on athlete status and parenting profiles.     

The Moderator Roles of Coping Style and Identity Disclosure in the Relationship Between Perceived Sexual Stigma and Psychological Distress

The current study examined whether the association between perceived sexual stigma and psychological distress is influenced by individuals' level of identity disclosure and their typical coping strategies. Regression analyses were conducted with data from a survey of 79 gay men and lesbians. Results revealed a 3‐way interaction between participants' perceived level of stigma, the extent of their identity disclosure, and their utilization of avoidant coping strategies in predicting their endorsement of depressive symptoms. Findings also revealed an interaction between participants' perceived level of stigma, the extent of their identity disclosure, and their utilization of problem‐solving coping strategies in predicting their endorsement of depressive symptoms. The implications are discussed with regard to various models of minority stress.