Racial bias and the MCMI

We studied the scores obtained on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI) by Black and White male psychiatric inpatients to determine the presence or absence of racial bias. In predicting psychopathology for the two races, comparisons of MCMI performance indicated significant differences for all diagnoses except the personality disorders. The subjects were then matched into two groups of 209 patients each, according to DSM-III psychiatric diagnoses. The data were analyzed at the item, scale, and structural levels. At the item level, application of the Mantel-Haenszel Procedure revealed that 45 of the 175 items of the inventory were answered significantly different by the two racial groups. Because this number was higher than what could be expected by chance, the finding suggested possible deficiencies in terms of the culture-fairness of the items used in the test. At the scale level, an analysis of variance (ANOVA) demonstrated that the scores obtained by the Black and White groups were significantly different in 9 of the 20 scales (Histrionic, Narcissistic, Antisocial, Paraphrenia, Hypomania, Dysthymia, Alcohol Abuse, Drug Abuse, and Psychotic Delusion). With the exception of the Dysthymic scale, all of the differences were in the direction of the Blacks obtaining a higher score than the Whites. At the structural level, however, a principal components factor analysis performed on each group resulted in factor structures that looked identical.     

An on-line assessment of causal reasoning during comprehension

Fletcher and Bloom (1988) have argued that as readers read narratives, clause by clause, they repeatedly focus their attention on the last preceding clause that contains antecedents but no consequences in the text. This strategy allows them to discover a causal path linking the text's opening to its final outcome while minimizing the number of times long-term memory must be searched for missing antecedents or consequences. In order to test this hypothesis, we examined the reading times of 25 subjects for each clause of eight simple narrative texts. The results show that: (1) causal links between clauses that co-occur in short-term memory (as predicted by the strategy) increase the time required to read the second clause; (2) potential causal links between clauses that never co-occur in short-term memory (again as predicted by the strategy) have no effect on reading time; and (3) reinstatement searches are initiated at the end of sentences that are causally unrelated to the contents of short-term memory or that contain clauses that satisfy goals no longer in short-term memory. These results support the claim that subjects engage in a form of causal reasoning when they read simple narrative texts.     

The predictive validity of teacher nominations: A five-year followup of at-risk youth

The purpose of this study was to examine the predictive validity of a teacher nomination procedure for identifying at- risk children. Two hundred and twenty-five children were nominated by their teachers as well- adjusted (n= 75), socially withdrawn (n=76), or socially aggressive (n=74) during the fourth grade. Five years later, 198 of these children (88%) were located and their adjustment evaluated. Significant differences among the nominated children were found on a variety of measures, including academic grades, sociometric status, and social behavior. In addition, differences in school dropout and delinquent offenses were noted. Results are discussed in terms of the validity of teacher nomination procedures and their utility in identifying at- risk youth.     

The cognitive moderation of daily stress in early adolescence

Utilized daily diary data to investigate age differences in the moderation of stressful daily events. Data from 243 fifth- to ninth-grade boys and girls, collected over a period of 1 week, were used to examine the moderation effect that expectation and past experience have upon affective response to daily stressors and uplifts. Responses indicate that across a variety of contexts expected daily events are less upsetting than unexpected events for both children and young adolescents. However, among the older students in the sample expectation of chronic negative events appears to exacerbate, rather than alleviate, their upsetting quality. These findings are discussed in terms of the increase in stress associated with early adolescence and the possibility that the chronic stress experienced during this period diminishes the utility of anticipatory coping.     

An examination of the differential relationship of marital discord to parents' discipline strategies for boys and girls

Previous research has tentatively indicated that coercive, ineffective parenting might have a mediating role in the differential impact of marital discord on boys and girls. To further explore this role, we examined the relationship between children's perceptions of marital discord and their evaluations of parental discipline techniques. Ninety-one children aged 8 to 13 years (mean age: 11 years 4 months) were split into high, moderate, and low perceived marital discord on the basis of their responses to the Children's Perceptions Questionnaire (Emery & O'Leary, 1982). The children rated how coercive they believed both mothers and fathers would and should be in three discipline situations. Children with high marital discord indicated that both mothers and fathers would and should use more coercive behavior than did children with low marital discord. The effects of marital discord were stronger for boys than for girls. All children also believed that fathers would and should be more coercive than mothers. Results are discussed in relation to the effects of marital discord on children's social development with regard to sex of the child.Thanks are due to Mike Siegal and Pat Noller for their helpful comments on previous drafts.     

Social psychology, ‘marital rape exemptions’, and privacy

A 50-state statutory search revealed that variations exist in marital rape exemptions throughout the United States. States handle the question of marital rape in one of three ways: (1) by abolishing the exemption for husbands; (2) by qualifying the exemption; or (3) by allowing the exemption. Although marital rape is a topic that has been largely ignored by social psychology, it is an area ripe for psycho-legal analysis. Possible relationships between social psychology, marital rape exemptions, and privacy are discussed against a background of a psychological jurisprudence.