Infant temperament and performance on the Bayley Scales of Infant Development at 4, 8, and 12 months of age

Infants were assessed with the Rothbart Infant Behavior Questionnaire (an objective measure of infant temperament based on maternal reports) and the complete Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) at 4, 8, and 12 months of age. Activity level was related to BSID performance at each age with babies who obtained higher scores rated as more active. Activity level was also related to the infants' behavior during the test administration at 8 and 12 months. A negative relation was found between smiling and laughter and the mental development index at 8 and 12 months. These data suggest that aspects of infant temperament as assessed by maternal report share a small amount of variance with BSID performance and the amount of shared variance increases with age.     

Differential predictability of females and males

This study examined the existence of sex differences in validity coefficients from a variety of different types of tests. It was found that female validities significantly exceeded male validities by .04 correlational units. When the validities were broken down by predictor categories, no significant differences were observed between males and females on either personality or high school background measures; and female validities exceeded male validities on tests of abstract reasoning, clerical abilities, information, mathematical abilities, verbal abilities, and composite scores from multiple tests. Implications of these findings are discussed.Use of the Michigan State University computing facilities was made possible through support, in part, from the National Science Foundation.     

Gender: A critical factor in a couples group

Couples group therapy should be considered as a primary treatment for marital couples whose dysfunctional interaction is rigidified and chronic. A gender-linked perspective for treatment is developed which expands a psychodynamic approach underscoring power as one of the central issues in marital conflict. Clinical vignettes from couples groups illustrate this model. A gender orientation facilitates the psychodynamic group process, decreases unrealistic expectations of the spouse, and encourages greater acceptance of male/female and individual differences. In this setting, individuals are able to develop new and more functional modes of interaction with their spouses, which generate an increased sense of empowerment.Excerpts from this paper were presented at the American Family Therapy Association meeting in Montreal, 1988.The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of Henry Grunebaum, M.D., and Fred Sander, M.D.     

Effects of event rate and display time on sustained attention in hyperactive,normal, and control children

Two experiments were conducted to determine whether hyperactive boys have a unique deficit in sustained attention. Groups with DSM-III diagnoses of attention deficit disorder (ADDH), conduct disorder (CD), ADDH+CD, and learning disorder were compared with normal controls on the Continuous Performance Task. In Experiment 1, stimulus presentation rate (stimulus onset asynchrony, SOA) and display time were varied to manipulate attentional demand, and speed and accuracy of performance were measured. The ADDH group was uniquely affected, with less accurate performance at the fastest and slowest SOA. To distinguish the effects of time on task and SOA, the duration of each SOA condition was held constant in Experiment 2. The poorer performance of the ADDH group at the fastest SOA was no longer evident. This finding indicates that the deficit of sustained attention in boys who have ADDH is associated with a greater susceptibility to refractory effects, which is influenced by practice.This research was supported by the Ontario Mental Health and Ruth Schwartz Foundations through a graduate fellowship awarded to P. Chee and a research grant to R. Schachar, G. Logan, and R. Wachsmuth. Dr. Schachar was also supported by the Canadian Psychiatric Research Foundation. This article is based, in part, on a doctoral dissertation submitted by the first author to the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education. The authors thank Dr. John Lovering and the staff of the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology, The Hospital for Sick Children, for their cooperation in the conduct of this study. This paper was prepared with the assistance of the Medical Publications Department, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto.     

RAISING FEMINISTS

This article considers the reasons for raising feminist children, how this concept might be operationalized, and what the correlates of such gender-flexible patterns might be. The data pertinent to gender-role acquisition and gender flexibility are drawn from an ongoing longitudinal study of over 200 children and their families that originated when the children were 6 months of age and continues until they enter school at age 6. Results suggest that despite the overdetermined and inevitable learning of gender stereotypes, variation exists in the degree to which even young children subscribe to the stereotypes. These variations seem to relate to some realms of parental behavior.     

QUALITIES MIDLIFE WOMEN DESIRE IN THEIR SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS AND THEIR CHANGING SEXUAL RESPONSE

The present study focused on the association between the particular sexual qualities midlife women desired in themselves and their husbands and the changes in sexual response they were experiencing. In a U.S. sample of 280 women participating in the ongoing Midlife Women's Health Survey, 40% reported a change in their sexual response, more often as decrements than increases, although desiring more nongenital touching was frequently noted. Respondents wanted more change in their own than in their partners' sexual qualities. In addition, the desire to change sexual qualities in oneself and in one's husband was significantly related to many changes in sexual responsivity. These findings are discussed in the context of a woman-defined sexuality at midlife.     

Depression and heart rate variability in cardiac rehabilitation patients: exploring the roles of physical activity and fitness

Cardiac patients with depression have shown altered autonomic nervous system functioning, expressed as reduced heart rate variability. This may be associated with poorer physical fitness and less physical activity among depressed patients. These relationships were explored among patients enrolled in outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. 22 depressed and 22 nondepressed patients, matched for sex and age, were assessed at enrollment. The Beck Depression Inventory and structured interviews were used to measure depression. Patients completed ambulatory monitoring of ECG (i.e., Holter) and physical activity, as well as a treadmill stress test. Depression was associated with several measures of heart rate variability. Activity and fitness were lower among the depressed patients. Although exploratory, accounting for activity and fitness attenuated the relationship between depression and heart rate variability. This suggests that altered fitness and activity may help explain altered autonomic tone that characterizes patients with cardiovascular diseases who are psychologically depressed.