Sources of Parental Knowledge as Moderators of the Relation Between Parental Psychological Control and Relational and Physical/Verbal Aggression

Previous research demonstrates that aspects of parenting interact to influence child adjustment. We aimed to extend this research by examining parenting strategies associated with behavioral control, specifically sources of parental knowledge regarding child behavior (child disclosure, parental solicitation, parental control), as moderators of the relation between psychological control and relational and physical/verbal aggression. Our sample included 89 children (56% male), ages 9–12. Consistent with prior research on child adjustment, low child disclosure was the only source of parental knowledge associated with both relational and physical/verbal aggression. Moreover, parental solicitation moderated the association between psychological control and relational, but not physical, aggression. That is, at high levels of parental solicitation, psychological control and relational aggression were positively related, whereas at low levels of parental solicitation, psychological control and relational aggression were unrelated. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

Death Anxiety and Symbolic Immortality in Relatives at Risk for Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy Type I (FAP I,ATTR V30M)

This study is an investigation of the impact of familial amyloid polyneuropathy type I (FAP I, ATTR V30M) on death anxiety and symbolic immortality. Templer and Drolet’s scales were administered to 524 individuals: (1) 84 relatives at risk, (2) 92 relatives not at risk for FAP I; and (3) a control group (n = 348) with no known hereditary disease in their families. At-risk relatives had, on average, a higher score for death anxiety and a lower score for symbolic immortality, than either those not-at-risk or controls. There were no significant differences in scores on either measure for those not-at-risk versus controls. Being at risk increases death anxiety and threatens the sense of symbolic immortality and psychosocial wellbeing. This may be true for other serious hereditary disorders as well. Genetic counsellors should become familiar with these concepts, feel comfortable initiating discussions about death with their patients, and be able to identify and reinforce their patients’ and family members’ sense of symbolic immortality.     

Effect of video self‐monitoring on procedural integrity

A video self‐monitoring treatment package was used to evaluate the procedural integrity of staff implementing behavioral guidelines for one child with autism. Staff members with low procedural integrity scores were asked to participate. The treatment package incorporated an implementation video which reviewed the relevant behavioral guidelines and a procedural integrity monitoring system. Each participant was taught to score a pre‐training video, which highlighted components of implementing behavioral guidelines, with a procedural integrity tool denoting correct implementation of the procedures. The participant then scored their own baseline video using a similar tool constructed to highlight the target student's behavior plan. Participant scores were compared to experimenter scores and verbal feedback was given by the experimenter if the scores varied. Results showed increased procedural integrity implementing the behavior guidelines from baseline to 100% implementation for two out of three participants. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of a fully automated system for delivering odors in an MRI environment

We describe the development and evaluation of a computer-controlled system for delivering odors in a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) environment. The system allows a timely presentation of different odors in synchrony with MRI sequences and participant’s inspiration phase. The rise/fall time of odor deliverance has been optimized to generate prompt and strong stimulations. Equipped with a user-friendly programming interface, the system can be used reliably in a wide range of experimental paradigms. We have paid particular attention to developing a portable system that is relatively easy, rapid, and inexpensive to replicate. The equipment has been tested in a 3-Tesla MRI in a boxcar paradigm, in which stimulation conditions alternated with rest periods (no stimulation). The experiment demonstrated the good functioning of the device and its efficiency in producing the expected activation in the olfactory cortex; it also revealed some methodological and technical aspects to be improved.     

Spanish adaptation of the Adolescents' perceived collective family efficacy scale

The aim of current article was the adaptation and validation of the Adolescents' Perceived Collective Family Efficacy Scale (EFCP/A) in the Spanish context. The sample includes 486 adolescents. Psychometric properties of the EFCP/A were examined with exploratory factor analysis, item analysis and reliability. Construct validity was examined by means of correlations with parental relationships (PBI). The correlations with drug use (tobacco, alcohol, cannabis) and coping strategies were also examined. Results supported the unidimensionality and reliability of the EFCP/A scale in the Spanish context. As hypothesised, adolescents' beliefs in collective family efficacy are highly correlated with the quality of their paternal and maternal relationships. Further, the adolescents who are convinced that their family is efficacious display more productive coping strategies and less drug use.     

Exploring Individual‐Level Factors Related to Employee Energy‐Conservation Behaviors at Work1

The higher costs of energy have increased organizations' interest in searching for ways to reduce energy use. Typically, organizations have utilized structural or operational changes to decrease their energy use. Another approach involves the energy‐conservation behaviors of an organization's employees. Drawing on value‐belief‐norm theory ( Stern, 2000b ), we examined the individual‐level factors related to energy‐conservation behaviors at work among employees of a large state university. Using path analysis, we found that environmental personal norms predicted self‐reported energy‐conservation behaviors, as well as behavioral intentions. Environmental personal norms also mediated the relationship of environmental worldviews with self‐reported energy‐conservation behaviors, as well as behavioral intentions. Implications for theory and organizational energy‐conservation interventions are discussed.     

Pathways to suicidal behaviors in childhood

Path analyses were applied to test a model that includes internalizing and externalizing behavior problems as predictors of suicidal behaviors in children. Parents of an inpatient sample of boys (N=87; M age=9.81 years) rated the frequency of suicidal ideation and completed standardized measures of behavior problems. Blind raters rated the severity of the children's suicidal behaviors. Results revealed a significant direct effect for suicidal ideation on suicide attempt and for depressive symptoms on suicidal ideation. There was also a significant indirect path from impulsivity to suicidal ideation through aggressive and depressive symptoms. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Acute stress or systemic insulin injection increases flunitrazepam sensitive-GABAA receptor density in synaptosomes of chick forebrain: Modulation by systemic epinephrine

Interactions between acute stress and systemic insulin and epinephrine on GABAA receptor density in the forebrain were studied. Here, 10 day-old chicks were intraperitoneally injected with insulin, epinephrine or vehicle and then immediately stressed by partial water immersion for 15 min and killed by decapitation. Non-stressed controls were similarly injected, then returned to their rearing boxes for 15 min and then killed. Forebrains were dissected and GABAA receptor density was measured ex vivo in synaptosomes by 3[H]-flunitrazepam binding assay. In non-stressed chicks, insulin at 1.25, 2.50 and 5.00 IU/kg of body weight (non-hypoglycemic doses) increased Bmax by 33, 53 and 44% compared to saline, respectively. A similar increase of 41% was observed in receptor density after stress. However, the insulin effect was not additive to the stress-induced increase suggesting that both effects occur through similar mechanisms. In contrast, epinephrine, at 0.25 and 0.5 mg/kg did not induce any changes in Bmax in non-stressed chicks. Nevertheless, after stress these doses increased the receptor density by about 13 and 27%, respectively. Similarly, the same epinephrine doses co-administered with insulin (2.50 IU/kg), increased the receptor density by about 20% compared to insulin alone. These results suggest that systemic epinephrine, perhaps by evoking central norepinephrine release, modulates the increase in forebrain GABAA receptor binding induced by both insulin and stress.     

A practical method for analyzing factorial designs with heteroscedastic data

The Type I error rates and powers of three recent tests for analyzing nonorthogonal factorial designs under departures from the assumptions of homogeneity and normality were evaluated using Monte Carlo simulation. Specifically, this work compared the performance of the modified Brown-Forsythe procedure, the generalization of Box's method proposed by Brunner, Dette, and Munk, and the mixed-model procedure adjusted by the Kenward-Roger solution available in the SAS statistical package. With regard to robustness, the three approaches adequately controlled Type I error when the data were generated from symmetric distributions; however, this study's results indicate that, when the data were extracted from asymmetric distributions, the modified Brown-Forsythe approach controlled the Type I error slightly better than the other procedures. With regard to sensitivity, the higher power rates were obtained when the analyses were done with the MIXED procedure of the SAS program. Furthermore, results also identified that, when the data were generated from symmetric distributions, little power was sacrificed by using the generalization of Box's method in place of the modified Brown-Forsythe procedure.     

Violent computer games and their effects on state hostility and physiological arousal

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the impact of violent computer games on state hostility, state anxiety and arousal. Participants were undergraduate students, aged from 18 to 25 years. Before the experimental sessions, participants filled in self‐report measures concerning their video game habits and were also pre‐tested for aggressiveness and trait anxiety. Physiological responses (heart rate and skin conductance) were measured during the experiment. After playing, information about state hostility and state anxiety was collected. The results showed that participants who played the violent game reported significantly higher state hostility, and support the assumption that an aggressive personality moderates the effect of playing a violent game on state hostility. Aggr. Behav. 32:146–158. 2006 © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.