VERB™ Summer Scorecard: Findings from a Multi-level Community-based Physical Activity Intervention for Tweens

The benefits of physical activity for adolescents are well established. Multi-level interventions may be especially effective in establishing and sustaining health-enhancing behaviors. This study explored the influences of a multi-level community intervention aimed at increasing physical activity among tweens (youth 9–13). Two Florida school districts far apart served as intervention and comparison sites in a quasi-experimental post-test design. Youth in grades 5 through 8 in the intervention community (n = 1,253) and comparison community (n = 866) completed an anonymous post-intervention survey. An intent-to-treat analysis did not show any statistically significant group differences for the physical activity outcomes examined. However, a subset analysis revealed that students who reported participating in the intervention were more likely to be physically active than youth in the comparison group, as well as youth in the intervention community who reported not participating. Participating in the intervention was significantly related to meeting recommendations for vigorous physical activity (OR = 2.08, P = 0.0259), being physically active on weekends (OR = 1.84, P = 0.0017), and reporting more days of trying a new game or sport (OR = 1.49, P = 0.046) after controlling for grade, gender, race/ethnicity, and SES. These findings support the efficacy of multi-level interventions to create effective health behavior change, especially when linkages among community, media, schools, and the home are present.     

Education and testing strategy for large-scale cystic fibrosis carrier screening

Population-based screening for cystic fibrosis carrier mutations presents a number of challenges for genetic counselors, owing primarily to the inability of current DNA testing technology to identify all possible mutations and the difficulty involved in conveying the concept of residual risk to those patients who test negative. To address these issues, we are conducting a pilot study, as part of a consortium established by the National Center for Human Genome Research, to explore the efficacy, acceptance, and psychosocial impact of various approaches to carrier screening in an ethnically diverse Southern California population. This article reports the patient instructional and screening strategies we developed in the initial phase of the project in order to optimize our chances of answering these questions and delivering this service on a large scale.     

Applications of a computer algebra system for teaching bivariate relationships in statistics courses

Maple, a computer algebra system, is used in undergraduate psychology courses to promote students’ conceptual learning of basic principles associated with bivariate relationships. Maple’s symbolic computation, graphic displays, and animation capabilities are used along with other classroom activities to study concepts related to (1) correlation coefficients, scatterplots, and regression lines, (2) factors that affect the magnitude of sample correlations, (3) inferential tests, and (4) prediction error. For each of the 15 Maple procedures, students select population correlation values and examine the effects of different values on computer-generated graphical representations of scatterplots, regression lines, and sample correlations. The procedures are described and examples of exercises to support their use are provided.     

Tests that discriminate between dyslexic and other learning-disabled boys

Dyslexic and nondyslexic boys within a single community's learning-disabled class were given a set of tests; performance on each of these tests has been reported to be significantly impaired in other dyslexic children compared to learning-disabled and normal groups. Linear discriminant function analysis revealed that error types rather than levels of performance best separated the carefully matched learning-disabled groups. Slow naming and high percentage of “dysphasic” errors characterized dyslexic boys. Visual temporal-spatial matching and “configuration-deficient” perceptual errors characterized the adequate readers who have other learning disabilities.     

How “Regular” Is Sentence Comprehension in Broca's Aphasia? It Depends on How You Select the Patients

Grodzinsky, Piñango, Zurif, and Drai (1999) argue that a statistical analysis of pooled sentence comprehension data from published studies of Broca's aphasic patients supports the dominance of a differential pattern of performance on active and passive voice structures. They argue that these results counter a previous study in which individual patient data from published studies were analyzed. However, Grodzinsky et al. have not carried out a true test of their hypothesis, but have biased the outcome by selecting samples for analysis that support their claims.     

Mothers,daughters, and the socialization of political women

Using biographical data from what we call a focused sample of 36 elite women, the conjugal power structure of their parental families is examined to assess its impact upon the development of political women. The results revealed that the mothers of elite political women scored higher on indices of independence both within the family structure and outside the home than did the mothers of elite nonpolitical women. The fathers of the elite political women tended to show more respect and love for their wives than did the fathers of the elite nonpolitical women. The fathers of elite political women also tended to view their work as interesting and fun rather than as just a job. The elite political women were also less likely to have brothers, particularly older brothers, than the nonpolitical women. This finding suggests that female involvement in politics is not necessarily derived from cross-sex-role preferences. The study suggests that in terms of political socialization, the father's behavior and achievements are not as critical for his daughter as they are for his son. Their importance for the daughter must be filtered through the effect the father and his behavior have on the mother and the sex-role ideology held by the family.