TEAM SPORTS ACHIEVEMENT AND SELF-ESTEEM DEVELOPMENT AMONG URBAN ADOLESCENT GIRLS

In this study we investigate the contribution of achievement in team sports to adolescent girls' self-esteem development. Adolescent girls ( N = 247) from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds were surveyed as part of a larger study investigating the development of poor urban youth. Participants responded to items tapping global self-esteem, team sports achievement, and athletic self-evaluations. The results of hierarchical regression analyses indicate that girls' team sports achievement experiences in early adolescence are positively associated with self-esteem in middle adolescence. This relationship is partially mediated by team sports self-evaluations. Applications of these findings to the development of interventions designed to enhance the self-esteem of young women and girls are discussed.     

Language,duration estimation,and causation

Burt (2002) raises several interesting points in his commentary on our paper. However, the most important difference between his and our studies, the design, was not addressed. We argue that our experimental approach makes more realistic assumptions for causal interpretation. The other points that he raises—the relationship between practical and statistical significance, the verbs used by our participants, and definitions of memory—are all discussed. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Menstrual cycle, beta-endorphins, and pain sensitivity in premenstrual dysphoric disorder.

This study examined pain sensitivity and pain modularity mechanisms (e.g., beta-endorphin levels, blood pressure) in women with premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD; n = 27) and healthy controls (n = 27) during the follicular and luteal phases of the menstrual cycle. Physiological measures were taken during rest and ischemic pain testing. In both cycle phases, PMDD women (a) displayed lower resting cortisol and beta-endorphin levels and (b) exhibited shorter pain threshold and tolerance times and greater pain unpleasantness ratings during pain. PMDD women also reported greater pain unpleasantness and intensity and had lower beta-endorphin levels in their luteal phase and tended to display higher blood pressure levels at rest and during pain testing. Results suggest that endogenous opioids may be pathophysiologically relevant to PMDD and that the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis may modulate pain sensitivity in PMDD.     

Radical incarnation and creative ambiguity

This article examines Martin Luther's perception of gender and ministry in relation to what may be coined his radical incarnation theology, the Word incarnate in Jesus Christ, in-fleshed in human beings and in the entire material, created world, and expressed in the verbum vocale through the ministry of the word. The article aims at presenting a thorough theological analysis of seminal texts on Luther's new understanding of the ecclesial office in the dialectics of the priesthood of all believers and the ministry of the word. The article claims that Luther's new perception of ministry opened avenues for women to gain authority as preachers, but that he was pressed – partly by his peers and particularly the papal church - and chose to express his liberal ideas by way of creative ambiguity.     

Does a short self‐compassion intervention for students increase healthy self‐regulation? A randomized control trial

The primary aim of this study was to examine the effects of a two‐week self‐compassion course on healthy self‐regulation (personal growth self‐efficacy and healthy impulse control) and unhealthy self‐regulation (self‐judgment and habitual negative self‐directed thinking) in university students. We also examined the effects on self‐compassion, anxiety and depression. Students (N = 158, 85% women, mean age = 25 years) were randomized to an intervention group and a waiting‐list control group in a multi‐baseline randomized control trial. Healthy self‐control was measured by the Personal Growth Initiative Scale (PGIS) and the Self‐Control Scale; unhealthy self‐control was measured by the Non‐judgement subscale from the Five‐Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (reversed) and the Habit Index of Negative Thinking (HINT). Secondary outcomes were measured by the State‐Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI‐trait), the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), and the Self‐Compassion Scale (SCS). A 2 × 3 repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) showed gains for the intervention‐group in personal growth self‐efficacy and healthy impulse‐control and reductions in self‐judgment and habitual negative self‐directed thinking, as well as increases in self‐compassion and reductions in anxiety and depression. After all participants had completed the course, the groups were combined and repeated measures ANOVAs showed that changes remained at six‐month follow‐up for personal growth self‐efficacy, self‐judgment and habitual negative self‐directed thinking; as well as for self‐compassion, anxiety and depression. Concluding, a short self‐compassion course seems an effective method of increasing self‐compassion and perceived control over one's life for university students, as well as increasing mental health.     

Ratio Bias and Policy Preferences: How Equivalency Framing of Numbers Can Affect Attitudes

Numbers permeate modern political communication. While current scholarship on framing effects has focused on the persuasive effects of words and arguments, this article shows that framing of numbers can also substantially affect policy preferences. Such effects are caused by ratio bias, which is a general tendency to focus on numerators and pay insufficient attention to denominators in ratios. Using a population‐based survey experiment, I demonstrate how differently framed but logically equivalent representations of the exact same numerical value can have large effects on citizens' preferences regarding salient political issues such as education and taxes. Furthermore, the effects of numerical framing are found across most groups of the population, largely regardless of their political predisposition and their general ability to understand and use numerical information. These findings have significant implications for our understanding of framing effects and the role played by numbers in public opinion formation.     

Dominant paradigms in motor behavior research: the motor-action controversy revisited

In 1992, Abernethy and Sparrow published an evaluation of the historical development of the field of motor behavior research as published from 1977 up to 1988 in the Journal of Motor Behavior. The present study extends their evaluation from 1988 through 2005 using content analyses of articles on motor control and learning in this journal. Papers were categorized into the two dominant and contrasting paradigms, the motor systems approach and the action systems approach. Analysis suggests that the field of motor behavior research has changed considerably over the last three decades. The action systems approach is now the leading approach, but the motor systems approach has, however, not perished. In a Kuhnian perspective, the results might be consistent with a more long-lasting crisis, and from the available data it is not possible to predict a future outcome of the dispute between the two approaches.     

Kicking the (barking) dog effect: the moderating role of target attributes on triggered displaced aggression

Sometimes aggression is displaced onto a target who is not totally innocent but emits a mildly irritating behavior called a triggering event. In three experiments, the authors examine stable personal attributes of targets that can impact such triggered displaced aggression (TDA). Lower levels of TDA were directed to targets whose attitudes were similar as compared to dissimilar to those of the actor (Experiment 1) and to targets who were ingroup as compared to out-group members (Experiment 2). Conceptually replicating the findings of Experiments 1 and 2, the manipulated valence of the target (viz., liked, neutral, and disliked) functioned in a similar manner, with positive valence serving a buffering function against a triggering action that followed an initial provocation (Experiment 3). The results from all three experiments are consistent with cognitive neoassociationist theory.