The areas of change questionnaire: A cross-cultural comparison of israeli and american distressed and nondistressed couples

Abstract

This study examines Israeli couples' presenting complaints about their relationship, their perceptions of one another's complaints and perceptual accuracy between actual and perceived complaints, using the Areas of Change Questionnaire (ACQ). Samples were obtained of both distressed and nondistressed couples. Each sample met stringent criteria for categorization as distressed and nondistressed. Normative data for both samples are examined and areas of similarities and differences are discussed. The instrument is found to discriminate distressed and nondistressed Israeli couples. Results are compared with a previous study of American distressed and nondistressed couples. The American finding that women desire more change in marriage is not replicated in the Israeli sample, nor the American finding that distress and stage in the life cycle are related. However, there is an indication in both samples that men, compared to women, perceive more requests for change. Men in both cultures also feel more change is asked of them than they themselves ask in return.     

Coalition Preference as a Function of Expected Values in a Tetradic Weighted-Majority Game

Eighty male subjects participated in a tetradic weighted-majority game in which a coalition was required to control the division of the payoff. The amount of the payoff and/of the probability of receiving the payoff were varied. The data strongly supported the hypothesis that subjects would prefer the coalition with the largest expected value (size of payoff x probability of success = expected value) rather than the coalition with the largest payoff or the coalition with the highest probability of success. However, contrary to expectations, the 'division of rewards was found to be a function of the relative assigned resources of the coalition members, despite the lack of a logical connection between the assigned resources and the rules governing obtaining the payoff.     

On Rational Beliefs in Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy: A Theoretical Perspective

In this paper, a number of theoretical issues concerning rational beliefs in REBT will be discussed. In particular, a distinction will be made between rational beliefs which appear rational but are only partially rational (called here, partially formed rational beliefs) and rational beliefs that are fully rational (called here, fully formed rational beliefs). Making this distinction has a number of benefits. For example, it helps explain how people transform their partially formed rational beliefs into irrational beliefs and it provides authors of counseling and psychotherapy textbooks with clear, accurate information to pass on to their readership (Dryden 2012). A number of other issues concerning rational beliefs will also be discussed.     

Smoking,self-regulation and moral positioning: A focus group study with British smokers from a disadvantaged community

Smoking in many Western societies has become a both moral aand health issue in recent years, but little is known about how smokers position themselves and regulate their behaviour in this context. In this article, we report the findings from a study investigating how smokers from an economically disadvantaged community in the East Midlands (UK) respond to concerns about the health impact of smoking on others. We conducted ten focus group (FG) discussions with mixed groups (by smoking status and gender; N?=?58 participants) covering a range of topics, including smoking norms, self-regulation, and smoking in diverse contexts. We transcribed all FG discussions before analysing the data using techniques from discourse anlysis. Smokers in general positioned themselves as socially responsible smokers and morally upstanding citizens. This position was bolstered in two main ways: ‘everyday accommodation’, whereby everyday efforts to accommodate the needs of non-smokers were referenced, and ‘taking a stand’, whereby proactive interventions to prevent smoking in (young) others were cited. We suggest that smoking cessation campaigns could usefully be informed by this ethic of care for others.     

Young women’s construction of their post-cancer fertility

Younger women diagnosed with cancer often face compromised fertility as a result of their treatment. However, previous research has adopted a biomedical model of fertility and utilised hypothetico-deductive research methods which have not allowed for full exploration of women’s subjectivity. This study explored younger women’s construction of their fertility post-cancer, and their discussions of fertility with healthcare professionals, from a social constructionist epistemology. Semi-structured one-to-one interviews were conducted with eight women aged 18–26, across a variety of cancer types. Foucaultian Discourse Analysis identified three subject positions associated with fertility concerns: ‘Inadequate woman: Accepting the motherhood mandate’; ‘Adequate woman: Resisting the motherhood mandate’; and ‘Survival of the fittest: Woman as genetically defective’. Implications of these subject positions included feelings of inadequacy, fear and devastation; feeling undesirable to romantic partners; and concern about passing on cancer-positive genes. In describing healthcare professional interactions, women adopted positions of ‘Satisfied patient’; ‘Passive recipient patient’; or ‘Resisting the passive patient position’. Accounts of inadequate information provision were associated with anger and frustration, whereas feeling adequately informed was associated with satisfaction at making decisions about fertility preservation. These results suggest that fertility is of importance to young women cancer survivors, and that compromised fertility can negatively impact subjectivity.     

Perceived stress and everyday memory complaints among older adult women

Abstract

Memory complaints among older adults are often influenced by depression and anxiety, but the association of stress to memory complaints has received little attention. We examined the associations of perceived stress, life events, and activity level to everyday memory complaints among healthy older women, while controlling for the influence of depression and anxiety. Participants (N=54) completed self-report questionnaires on memory complaints, perceived stress, recent life events, activity level, depression, and anxiety. Partial correlation analyses indicated that higher levels of perceived stress were associated with higher levels of memory complaints when controlling for the influence of depression and anxiety, but that life events and activity level were not related to memory complaints. This study highlights that perceived stress, like depression and anxiety, is a psychological factor that influences the appraisal of cognitive ability; however, larger and more heterogeneous samples will be needed to better understand the multifactorial nature of memory complaints in older adulthood.     

Prologue: Introduction and Overview to Special Volume

Abstract

The editors provide an overview of the obstacles that prevent us from ending child abuse in the United States and briefly summarize the various articles in this volume that address these obstacles from multiple points of view.     

Engineering Ethics: Looking Back, Looking Forward

The eight pieces constituting this Meeting Report are summaries of presentations made during a panel session at the 2011 Association for Practical and Professional Ethics (APPE) annual meeting held between March 3rd and 6th in Cincinnati. Lisa Newton organized the session and served as chair. The panel of eight consisted both of pioneers in the field and more recent arrivals. It covered a range of topics from how the field has developed to where it should be going, from identification of issues needing further study to problems of training the next generation of engineers and engineering-ethics scholars.     

Demonstrating the Effects of Presentation Rate on Aging Memory Using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT)

Previous research has repeatedly found that the elderly demonstrate significant declines in direct measures of memory. This study examined verbal learning and memory in the young and old participants using the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT). We hypothesized that slowing down the presentation rate of a list of words, therefore giving the participants more time to rehearse while learning new information, would decrease the normal differences found between the young and old adults on memory recall. However, at a faster presentation rate, the usual differences would be found. Participants took the CVLT, and correct recall responses were measured as a function of age and presentation rate. It was found, as expected, that at the faster presentation rate, the young did significantly better than the old on recall, but at the slower presentation rate, the differences between age groups diminished. It was concluded that by giving the elderly more time to rehearse information, age-related differences in memory recall could be greatly diminished.     

Tomboyism,Sexual Orientation,and Adult Gender Roles Among Israeli Women

The purpose of this study was to examine self-reported connections between sexual orientation (SO) and tomboyism in an Israeli sample. This study also focused on the connection between tomboyism and adult gender roles, and between gender roles and SO. A sample of 127 participants was solicited from lesbian organizations and from workplaces. Participants' SO was self-defined twice, using a forced choice and a Kinsey-type scale. Results revealed a connection between tomboyism and lesbianism. The overall level of tomboyism was lower then reported elsewhere. A relationship between tomboyism and gender roles emerged only for adolescence, and SO was only marginal related to gender roles. The definitions of tomboyism, cultural effects, Israeli society, adolescence gender roles, and bisexualism are discussed.