LeRoy Walters and Julie Gage Palmer,The Ethics of Human Gene Therapy

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics -     

The Role of Adult Attachment Style in Forgiveness Following an Interpersonal Offense

The role of attachment style in relation to forgiveness was investigated in 2 betrayal interviews. Blood pressure and heart rate were assessed, along with attachment style, forgiveness, empathy, and emotional expressiveness. Securely attached individuals were more forgiving of the specific offense, had higher levels of trait forgiveness, and expressed more positive emotion. Securely attached adults had lower interview systolic blood pressure and exhibited greater blood pressure recovery. Attachment style may be an independent antecedent of forgiveness.     

DRESSING TO IMPRESS: BELIEFS AND ATTITUDES REGARDING WORKPLACE ATTIRE

The purpose of this study was to examine individual differences in beliefs and attitudes regarding workplace attire including: the value placed on clothing, the impact of attire on workplace outcomes (e.g., promotions, raises), the effort and planning involved in dressing appropriately for work, how their clothing made them feel, and whether they used their attire to manage the impression of others in the workplace. Results from a sample of MBA students indicate that those who valued workplace attire used it to manage the impressions of others and believed that it positively impacts the way they feel about themselves and their workplace outcomes. Dressing to impress appeared to have particular utility for high self-monitors and those in management/executive positions. Women were found to be more interested in clothing and experienced more “appearance labor” when compared to men. Suggestions for future research are proposed.The authors wish to thank the University of Southern Indiana for its sponsorship of this research through a 2004 Faculty Research and Creative Work Award grant.     

Young Children's Reactions to Mothers’ Disclosure of Maternal HIV+ Serostatus

Little is known about the impact of maternal disclosure of HIV-positive serostatus on young children. The objective of this study was to explore this topic, utilizing in-depth qualitative interviews. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 47 mothers who had disclosed to their young, well child, and with the children. The most prevalent child response was anxiety, primarily focused on the mother's health and fear of her death. A number of children also worried about other people finding out, and seemed aware of the stigma surrounding HIV. For most children anxiety decreased over time, although for a small number it sustained and became maladaptive. The majority of children appeared to adjust well to maternal disclosure. Mothers who are planning to disclose their serostatus to their young children should be encouraged to plan for appropriate psychosocial follow-up following the disclosure, with special focus on the stigma associated with HIV.     

Extinction of drug cue reactivity in methamphetamine-dependent individuals

Conditioned responses to drug-related environmental cues (such as craving) play a critical role in relapse to drug use. Animal models demonstrate that repeated exposure to drug-associated cues in the absence of drug administration leads to the extinction of conditioned responses, but the few existing clinical trials focused on extinction of conditioned responses to drug-related cues in drug-dependent individuals show equivocal results. The current study examined drug-related cue reactivity and response extinction in a laboratory setting in methamphetamine-dependent individuals. Methamphetamine cue-elicited craving was extinguished during two sessions of repeated (3) within-session exposures to multi-modal (picture, video, and in-vivo) cues, with no evidence of spontaneous recovery between sessions. A trend was noted for a greater attenuation of response in participants with longer (4-7 day) inter-session intervals. These results indicate that extinction of drug cue conditioned responding occurs in methamphetamine-dependent individuals, offering promise for the development of extinction- based treatment strategies.     

Attachment, Friendship, and Psychosocial Functioning in Early Adolescence

Fifth-graders' (N = 162; 93 girls) relationships with parents and friends were examined with respect to their main and interactive effects on psychosocial functioning. Participants reported on parental support, the quality of their best friendships, self-worth, and perceptions of social competence. Peers reported on aggression, shyness and withdrawal, and rejection and victimization. Mothers reported on psychological adjustment. Perceived parental support and friendship quality predicted higher global self-worth and social competence and less internalizing problems. Perceived parental support predicted fewer externalizing problems, and paternal (not maternal) support predicted lower rejection and victimization. Friendship quality predicted lower rejection and victimization for only girls. Having a supportive mother protected boys from the effects of low-quality friendships on their perceived social competence. High friendship quality buffered the effects of low maternal support on girls' internalizing difficulties.     

Reinforced Behavioral Variability in Humans

The Psychological Record - This study aimed to assess the role of reinforced behavioral variability in the learning of a 6-digit target sequence (211212) with 3 groups of human participants (n =...