Effects of Contact on Children's Attitudes Toward Disability: A Longitudinal Study1

A quasi-experimental study was conducted on temporal effects of intergroup contact on nondisabled (ND) children's attitudes toward disability. Children from a mainstream primary school were involved in an integration program with children from a school for children with severe learning disabilities (SLD). ³ 3 Severe learning disabilities (SLD) is the term currently used in the U.K. to describe people who might formally have been described as having “severe mental handicap” or “severe retardation.” This term is interchangeable with “severe learning disabilities.”
Measures were administered 3 times over a period of 3 months to 26 integrating (experimental) and 24 nonintegrating (control) children. Social orientations in the experimental group became significantly more positive over time, while the control group showed little change. The experimental and control children initially categorized on the basis of gender and disability; subsequently the strategies of the experimental children were more idiosyncratic while the control children still used the same two dimensions.     

An ecological assessment of community-based interventions for prevention and health promotion: Approaches to measuring community coalitions

Presented an ecological assessment of a community coalition to prevent alcohol, tobacco, and other drug abuse, and related risks. Ecological assessment is defined as occurring at multiple social levels and along a continuum of stages of coalition readiness. The assessment is aided by the triangulation, or combining of assessment methods and strategies. Measures used to assess the coalition's formation, implementation of community initiatives, and production of community impacts are described, along with the triangulation strategies used to enhance the assessment findings. We thank our evaluation team members including Erica Adams, Simon Choi, Cindy Crusto, Katie Davino, David delaCruz, Pamela Goodman, Maury Nation, and Diana Seybolt. We also thank the members of the community coalitions for substance abuse prevention and especially the project directors: James Bown, Dian Crain, Johneta Davis, Kelli Kenninson, Paul Pittman, Greg Sparkman, Sheryl Taylor, and Kenneth Wright.     

The effects of guided imagery on the generation of career alternatives

The effects of two 20-min guided imagery sessions on the number of career alternatives generated by 30 undergraduates enrolled in a career-planning course are investigated. Three independent measures of decision-making style (Rational, Dependent, and Intuitive Scales) are used as covariates. Imagery treatment subjects generate a significantly greater number of career alternatives than the discussion control group. There are no differential effects of the treatment due to varying values of the covariates. The scores on the Rational Decision-Making Style Scale are significantly correlated with the number of career alternatives generated. No significant correlations are found between Intuitive or Dependent Style Scales scores and number of alternatives generated. This study supports the hypothesis that imagery techniques may be helpful in counseling because they promote divergent thinking which enhances problem-solving ability. Some aspects of imagery training which appear to be useful include the encouragement of autonomy, control, and active involvement. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are noted.     

Daughters' dilemma: grief resolution in girls whose widowed fathers remarry early

This paper explores how a widower's early remarriage might complicate his bereaved daughter's grief resolution. In some families the emotional and domestic responsibilities of the deceased mother may be shouldered by an elder daughter on behalf of the surviving males in the family. Utilizing some of the propositions in recent 'new models' of grief, we explore the particular problems of 'conversational remembering' among daughters whose fathers remarry soon after their wives' deaths. Major difficulties may arise over conflicting perceptions of the role of the deceased mother within the new family system.     

Alcohol-Involved Rapes: Are They More Violent?

Alcohol's psychological, cognitive, and motor effects contribute to rape. Based on theory and past research, we hypothesized that there would be a curvilinear relationship between the quantity of alcohol consumed by perpetrators and how aggressively they behaved. Moderate levels of intoxication encourage aggressiveness; however, extreme levels severely inhibit cognitive and motor capacity. We also hypothesized that victims' alcohol consumption would have a curvilinear relationship to their resistance. These hypotheses were examined with data from 132 college women who had been the victims of attempted or completed rape. Although there was a curvilinear result for perpetrators, the slope of the curve suggested that aggressiveness was worst when no alcohol or the highest levels of alcohol were consumed. There was a negative linear relationship between victims' alcohol consumption and resistance. Difficulties associated with accurately assessing degree of intoxication from survey data are discussed and suggestions are made for improving alcohol measurement in rape research.     

A multi‐component approach to the treatment of chronic rumination

A multi‐component intervention was used to treat chronic rumination exhibited by an adult female diagnosed with a developmental disability. The intervention consisted of: (a) interruption of precursor behavior, (b) the alternation of 10‐min periods of continued instruction that involved walking and working with (c) 10‐min periods in which instructions were not delivered but a variable time 5‐s schedule of noncontingent attention was programmed, and (d) a 1‐min differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) schedule. During the intervention, rumination decreased by 82% relative to baseline. Next, components of the multi‐component intervention were systematically removed to evaluate their individual contribution. Results suggested that each individual component contributed to the overall treatment effects. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

ALCOHOL AND DATING RISK FACTORS FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT AMONG COLLEGE WOMEN

American societal norms frequently link alcohol, dating, and sexuality. This cross-sectional study examined the role of alcohol and dating risk factors for sexual assault among a representative sample of female students at a large urban university. Over half of the 1,160 women had experienced some form of sexual assault. Ninety-five percent of these assaults were committed by someone the woman knew and almost half of these assaults involved alcohol consumption by either the man, the woman, or both. Discriminant function analyses indicated that dating, sexual, and misperception experiences and alcohol consumption during these experiences predicted assault group status. Furthermore, alcohol consumption during consensual sex and sexual misperceptions were positively related to alcohol consumption during the sexual assault. The predictors of assault group status were similar for African American and Caucasian women. Theoretical implications are discussed and suggestions are made for combining alcohol and sexual assault prevention programming.