INTERVIEWER VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY: AN INDIVIDUAL ANALYSIS APPROACH

Interviewer reliability, validity, and strategy for information integration were studied by analysis of data across interviewers and, also, by within, individual interviewer analysis. Candidates ( N = 412) for selection to a military division of a national defense organization were interviewed by 10 female interviewers and assessed on nine behaviorally anchored dimensions. Candidates ( N = 131) subsequently admitted to officers' training school were evaluated, for the purposes of this study, on 19 dimensions and on an overall evaluation taken at six and twelve week points. Results of analyses of data across interviewers indicated that interviewers functioned in a similar fashion, using few of the dimensions in their decisions whereas analyses of individual interviewers indicated higher reliability and individual differences among interviewers' strategy formation. Analysis across interviewers of the relationship of the interview decision to six and twelve week training performance evaluations indicated no validity for the interview decision. Analysis of individual interview strategies revealed differences among the interviewers only at the six week point. Results are discussed with regard to methodological problems, interview strategy differences, criteria dimensionality, fruitfulness of individual, within interviewer analyses, and purpose of the interview.     

Relationships Between Contraceptive Behavior and Love Attitudes,Sex Attitudes,and Self-Esteem

The current research took into account two previously developed models of effective contraceptive behavior, a model emphasizing interpersonal variables and a model emphasizing intrapersonal variables. The purpose was to identify variables related to contraception that could be addressed during contraceptive counseling and to aid persons in deciding the most effective contraceptive method within the context of an intimate relationship. The research used questionnaire responses from 350 male and female college undergraduates. Results indicated some support for aspects of both models, with modest relationships between contraceptive behavior and attitudes toward both love and sex, and self-esteem. The difficulties of developing a comprehensive model of contraceptive behavior are discussed, as are some practical implications of this research.     

EMPLOYMENT TEST VALIDATION FOR MINORITY AND NONMINORITY PRODUCTION WORKERS

The purposes of the present study were (a) to examine the validity of selected employment tests potentially useful in selecting production workers engaged in the construction of boxboard containers and (b) to evaluate the applicability of the tests to minority and non-minority workers. Using data collected from 100 production workers employed by the same company but located in two different geographical regions, it was found that a short test battery was potentially useful in selecting production employees without necessarily introducing unfair racial bias. Implications of the results for future research studies and test validation efforts involving differential and single-group validity are discussed.     

Perceptions of marital interaction and change during pregnancy: A typological approach

Much of the literature on the transition to parenthood suggests that pregnancy and childbirth arc associated with decreases in marital satisfaction. Recent developments, however, demonstrate that this decrease in couples' satisfaction may be complicated by a number of factors. Among other things, the way couples interact may play a central role in their adjustment to the changes typically associated with pregnancy and childbirth. The purpose of this study was to examine whether couples who espouse varying patterns of interaction also have differing experiences of changes in marital needs and concerns during pregnancy. Couples (N= 190) enrolled in childbirth classes completed a series of questionnaires including Fitzpatrick's Relational Dimensions Instrument and a measure assessing perceived changes in their marital needs and concerns. Results indicated that husbands and wives differed in terms of the amount of nurturance they felt they gave and received, their tendency to worry since pregnancy, and their views concerning their sexual relationship. When changes in needs and concerns were compared across the various couple types, a number of patterns emerged. Wives in Traditional, Separate/Traditional, and Separate/Independent marriages felt they received significantly more nurturance since pregnancy than did wives in Independent marriages. Husbands in Separate/Traditional relationships noted greater increases in worrying than did other husbands. Finally, although couples varied in the frequency of conflict reported, they did not differ with regard to changes in conflict or the influence of such changes on their marriages.     

COMPLAINANT CHARACTERISTICS AND REPORTED BEHAVIORS AND CONSEQUENCES ASSOCIATED WITH FORMAL SEXUAL HARASSMENT CHARGES

Eighty-one formal sexual harassment charges were examined in an attempt to identify the characteristics of individuals who file formal sexual harassment charges and describe the behaviors and employment-related consequences associated with such charges. The sex, age, marital status, educational level, occupation, and salary distributions of complainants differed significantly from the expected distributions based upon labor force statistics. As regards reported behaviors and consequences, the most compelling finding was that over 65% of the charges involved job discharge.