AIDS and intimate relationships: Adolescents’ knowledge and attitudes

The knowledge level about HIV/AIDS among American adolescents aged 16 to 19 has been assessed on several occasions, showing that in recent years their knowledge base has improved. The knowledge bases of British adolescents and of adolescents younger than 16 have been largely ignored. In attempting to assess the likely impact on present or future behaviors of increasing adolescents’ knowledge base about AIDS it is important to also know something of adolescents’ attitudes to intimate relationships and to sex within those relationships. Previous studies have not linked these two aspects. In this study two hundred London schoolchildren aged 14 and 15 years completed a questionnaire tapping both their knowledge about HIV infection and its transmission and their attitudes to intimate relationships. Their answers revealed that they had absorbed the simple media messages about AIDS, that it kills and that use of a condom during sex offers protection. However they were less well informed on detailed aspects of prevention, although, worryingly, they believed that they knew all that they needed to about preventive measures. The majority had attitudes to intimate relationships that were compatible with the message of restricting their number of sexual partners; however, a significant minority did not. The latter were more likely to deny the risk associated with promiscuity. It is suggested that school-based AIDS education programs should help individuals to develop new attitudes to intimate relationships that are compatible with risk avoidance.     

Evaluative communications between affectively Ill and well mothers and their children

Earlier research suggests that the natural verbal discourse of mothers with their children can be important in clarifying, verifying, and evaluating the behavior in which a child is engaged, in attributing qualities to the child, and in influencing the child's self-perceptions. We investigated the potential influences of parental affective illness (bipolar affective disorder and unipolar depression in contrast to no history of psychiatric illness) on such labeling behavior in a sample of 61 mothers and their older (school-age) and younger (preschool-age) children. It was hypothesized that the dispositions characterizing affective illness (specifically, negativity and disengagement) would be reflected in the labeling statements of mothers with a diagnosis as they interacted with their children. Based on videotaped interactions during a visit to a home-like laboratory apartment, labeling statements were identified in terms of speaker and person being labeled (addressee) and coded (positive, negative, mixed, or neutral) for judgmental and affective quality of the statement and reaction of the addressee. Data were analyzed (a) by family unit and (b) my mother to child statements. The general pattern of findings indicated, in relative terms, an excess of negativity on the part of family members in the bipolar group and a dearth of negative affect for mothers in the unipolar group. Negativity in the bipolar group appeared to be especially likely when the setting involved mothers and two male children. Additionally, findings are discussed in terms of sex differences in vulnerability to depression.This work was supported by the National Institute of Mental Health, Bethesda, Maryland, and by the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Research Network on Transition from Infancy to Early Childhood. Appreciation is extended to Nancy Lemos and Marcella Maguire for coding the data. National Institute of Mental Health, Building 15K, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda, Maryland 20892.     

Ineffective discipline and conduct problems in males: Association, late adolescent outcomes, and prevention

In the current study, social learning theory and findings on the association of ineffective parental discipline and childhood conduct problems was reviewed In addition, the association of ineffective discipline in childhood to arrests and academic achievement in adolescence was tested. The reviewed studies were multi-agent, multimethod passive longitudinal, prevention, and clinical studies conducted at the Oregon Social Learning Center (OSLC). Measurement of childhood discipline included observational data. Analyses predicting to adolescent outcomes were conducted for the Oregon Youth Study sample of approximately 200 males at risk for delinquency. The finding of an association between ineffective discipline and childhood conduct problems was replicated in three OSLC studies. Ineffective discipline at Grade 4, controlling for Grade 4 antisocial behavior, was found to predict to a more serious juvenile arrest record (two or more arrests) and to failure to enter higher education. Prevention efforts need to be directed toward promoting effective discipline skills, especially in parents of young children. Effective discipline includes such skills as structuring situations, redirecting child behavior, encouragement, and also consistent use of a mild to moderate consequence such as time out or privilege loss.     

An acquisition and analysis system for on-line experiments on the neurophysiology of learning

An integrated hardware and software system is used in studying neural correlates of learning. The hardware system is designed to maximize experimental flexibility, while the software system is designed to maximize computer speed for data acquisition and programmer efficiency for data analysis.     

Some effects of counsellor training

The first two classes of the University of Aston's Diploma in Counselling course (1971/72, N = 5; 1972/73, N = 11) were measured on their ability to respond empathically and on their ability to discriminate the quality of other counsellors' responses at the beginning and the end of an academic year of full-time graduate study. Additionally, the 1972/73 group were administered a counsellor attitude scale. Significant differences were found between pre-and post-test means on all three measures for the 1972/73 group and on the communication of empathy for the 1971/72 group. The findings for the two Aston groups are discussed in relation both to each other and also to comparable American data.     

Novelty as a reinforcer for position learning in children

The stimulus-familiarization-effect (SFE) paradigm, a reaction-time (RT) task based on a response to novelty procedure, was modified to assess response for novelty, i.e., a response-reinforcement sequence. Ninetysix kindergarten children were familiarized on one of two colored lights. Then Ss were confronted with a simple position discrimination task in which they could choose between two response buttons which produced either the previously familiarized light or a new (i.e., novel) light. Results showed that the choice response for the novel stimulus (NS) was facilitated by three variables: number of exposures to and duration per exposure of the familiar stimulus (FS), and degree of change provided by the NS relative to the FS. The parallel between the effective variables of this study and those which produce the SFE was noted, implicating an attention interpretation of the function of novelty as a reinforcer. The potential implications of attention for reinforcement theory and learning in general are discussed.     

Interpersonal distance and impression formation

Impression formation was examined as a function of interpersonal physical distance in an interview. It was predicted that a confederate would be rated less socially active as the distance between him and the subject increased. The hypothesis was supported by a significant negative linear trend in the composite ratings of friendliness, aggressiveness, extraversion, and dominance A variation in this trend, indicating that confederates seated closest to the subject were seen as less socially active, was explained in terms of compensatory behaviors minimizing the effect of close physical proximity     

Rehabilitation Counseling: A Profession or a Trade?

The problem of the shortage of counselors is examined and the various possible solutions considered. A solution that appears to be developing in many state rehabilitation agencies is the employment of college graduates with no preparation in counseling. These employees are designated as counselors, counselor aides, or counselor trainees, and given in-service training. Such persons, it appears, will eventually be considered counselors without any further educational preparation. It is questioned whether they are, in fact, counselors, but if they are able to perform all the functions of those designated as counselors (excluding professional counseling), then counseling is not a profession, but a trade, for which adequate preparation can be obtained through on-the-job training.