Developmental changes in sexual prejudice from early to late adolescence: the effects of gender, race, and ideology on different patterns of change

This study documented significant changes in prejudice toward gay and lesbian individuals among adolescents from the ages of 12 to 18 years. Moreover, in line with developmental theories of prejudice, there was substantial variability in these patterns, partially predicted by the gender and ideological beliefs (reflected by social dominance orientation [SDO]) of individuals. Boys reported higher prejudice at age 12 than girls. SDO also accounted for initial differences in levels of prejudice. Further, although prejudice toward gay men did decrease among girls over time, it did not decrease among boys. Prejudice toward lesbians decreased at similar rates for boys and girls. These different trajectories are explained within the context of gender socialization processes during adolescence. In addition, fluctuations in adolescents' own SDO corresponded with fluctuations in their level of prejudice, over and above those tied to age-related changes. This association was even stronger among those with overall higher SDO tendencies than others. However, SDO, when treated as a stable invariant factor, did not predict different patterns of progressive age-related change in prejudice. These results extend the research on sexual prejudice by examining it within a broader and more dynamic developmental framework, in greater alignment with developmental theories of prejudice.     

Differential parenting and children's behavioral problems: curvilinear associations and mother-father combined effects

In this study the associations between mothers' and fathers' differential parenting and children's oppositional and emotional problems were examined. A curvilinear relationship between differential parenting and children's outcomes was hypothesized, as well as the combined effect of mothers' and fathers' parenting. Data came from a community sample of 599 two-parent families with multiple children per family and were analyzed using a cross-classified multilevel model. Results showed that both family average parenting and differential parenting explained unique variance in children's outcomes. The curvilinear hypothesis was supported for oppositional behavior but not for emotional problems. The effects of mother and father positivity were found to be additive for both family average parenting and differential parenting, but for negativity there was evidence for multiplicative effects.     

Physical Health Functioning Among United Methodist Clergy

United Methodist clergy have been found to have higher than average self-reported rates of obesity, diabetes, asthma, arthritis, and high blood pressure. However, health diagnoses differ from physical health functioning, which indicates how much health problems interfere with activities of daily living. Ninety-five percent (n = 1726) of all actively serving United Methodist clergy in North Carolina completed the SF-12, a measure of physical health functioning that has US norms based on self-administered survey data. Sixty-two percent (n = 1074) of our sample completed the SF-12 by self-administered formats. We used mean difference tests among self-administered clergy surveys to compare the clergy SF-12 Physical Composite Scores to US-normed scores. Clergy reported significantly better physical health composite scores than their gender- and age-matched peers, despite above average disease burden in the same sample. Although health interventions tailored to clergy that address chronic disease are urgently needed, it may be difficult to elicit participation given pastors’ optimistic view of their physical health functioning.     

A Prospective Study of Religiousness and Psychological Distress Among Female Survivors of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita

This prospective study examined the pathways by which religious involvement affected the post-disaster psychological functioning of women who survived Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. The participants were 386 low-income, predominantly Black, single mothers. The women were enrolled in the study before the hurricane, providing a rare opportunity to document changes in mental health from before to after the storm, and to assess the protective role of religious involvement over time. Results of structural equation modeling indicated that, controlling for level of exposure to the hurricanes, pre-disaster physical health, age, and number of children, pre-disaster religiousness predicted higher levels of post-disaster (1) social resources and (2) optimism and sense of purpose. The latter, but not the former, was associated with better post-disaster psychological outcome. Mediation analysis confirmed the mediating role of optimism and sense of purpose.     

When a new group identity does harm on the spot: Stereotype threat in newly created groups

The detrimental consequences of negative stereotypes on performance have been demonstrated in a variety of social groups with various stereotypes. The present studies investigate the minimal conditions for stereotype threat using newly created groups. Results of three experiments (total N = 184) demonstrate that in the negative stereotype condition, the more participants identified with their novel group, the stronger was their decrease in performance. In the control condition, identification was either not related to performance, or it had by trend a positive effect. The theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed with regard to stereotype threat and social identity theory. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A randomized control trial of integrated care for families managing infant colic

This article presents a randomized clinical trial examining the effectiveness of a unique model of integrated care for the treatment of infant colic. Families seeking help for infant colic were randomized to either the family‐centered treatment (TX; n = 31) or standard pediatric care (SC; n = 31). All parents completed 3 days of Infant Behavior Diaries (Barr et al., 1998) and the Colic Symptom Checklist (Lester, 1997 ), Beck Depression Inventory (Beck & Steer, 1984 ), and Parenting Stress Index 3rd ed.‐SF (Abidin, 1995 ). TX families were seen three times by a pediatrician and a mental health clinician within 1, 2, and 6 weeks of baseline data. TX families received individualized treatment plans addressing problem areas of sleep, feeding, routine, and family mental health. SC families were seen only by their own healthcare provider. All families were visited at home by a research assistant to retrieve data at 2, 6, and 10 weeks after baseline. Family‐based treatment accelerated the rate of reduction of infant crying faster than did standard pediatric care. Infants in the TX group had more hours of sleep at 2 weeks posttreatment and spent less time feeding at 2, 6, and 10 weeks posttreatment than did SC infants. Results indicate that individualized family‐based treatment reduces infant colic more rapidly than does standard pediatric care.     

Shoulder muscles recruitment during a power backward giant swing on high bar: a wavelet-EMG-analysis

This study aimed at determining the upper limb muscles coordination during a power backward giant swing (PBGS) and the recruitment pattern of motor units (MU) of co-activated muscles. The wavelet transformation (WT) was applied to the surface electromyographic (EMG) signal of eight shoulder muscles. Total gymnast's body energy and wavelet synergies extracted from the WT-EMG by using a non-negative matrix factorization were analyzed as a function of the body position angle of the gymnast. A cross-correlation analysis of the EMG patterns allowed determining two main groups of co-activated muscles. Two wavelet synergies representing the main spectral features (82% of the variance accounted for) discriminated the recruitment of MU. Although no task-group of MU was found among the muscles, it appeared that a higher proportion of fast MU was recruited within the muscles of the first group during the upper part of the PBGS. The last increase of total body energy before bar release was induced by the recruitment of the muscles of the second group but did not necessitate the recruitment of a higher proportion of fast MU. Such muscle coordination agreed with previous simulations of elements on high bar as well as the findings related to the recruitment of MU.     

Development of disruptive behaviors in young children: A prospective population‐based cohort study

We know relatively little about the development of disruptive behaviors (DBs), and gender differences therein. The objective of this study was to describe the continuity and discontinuity in the degree to which young children in the general population are reported to exhibit specific DBs over time. Data came from the Québec Longitudinal Study of Child Development. First, the results show that relatively few children exhibit DBs on a frequent basis at 41 months of age. Second, the results show that a majority of children who exhibit a particular DB on a frequent basis at 41 months of age did not do so 1 year earlier. In addition, a majority of children who exhibited a particular DB on a frequent basis at 29 months of age no longer do so 1 year later. Third, gender differences in DBs (boys > girls) are either emerging or at least increasing in magnitude between 29 and 41 months of age. Consistent with the canalization of the behavioral development principle, children who exhibited DBs on a frequent basis at 29 months of age are less likely to stop doing so in the following year if they had exhibited the same behaviors at 17 months of age.     

Assessing the effect of lexical variables in backward recall

In a recent study, Bireta et al. (2010) suggested that when participants are required to recall lists of items in the reverse order, more attention is devoted to the recall of order at the expense of item information, leading to the abolition of item-based phenomena (the item and order trade-off hypothesis). In order to test the item and order trade-off hypothesis, we manipulated 4 lexical factors that are well known to influence item retention. The effects of word frequency, of lexicality, of semantic similarity, and of imageability were tested in forward and backward recall. All 4 phenomena were maintained in backward recall, which contradicts the item and order trade-off hypothesis. Instead, we suggest that backward recall might rely on semantic retrieval strategies.