Do Reentry Women Have Special Needs?

Reentry and nonreentry women were compared on their reasons for being in school, goals associated with education, and campus services used or wanted. Eighty-two California State University, Hayward, undergraduate students volunteered to participate in the questionnaire survey. Reentry women were found to be more self-motivated, with higher educational goals, and higher grade point averages than nonreentry women. Reentry women also made less use of currently available student services. Reasons for this lack of use, and suggestions for future services were explored.     

Anxiety and locus of conflict in delinquents

The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and the Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale (CMAS) were administered to 54 juvenile delinquents (27 males, 27 females). Ratings on locus of conflict were also obtained. The STAIC A-State scale was significantly correlated with internalization but not with externalization or the total maladjustment index. Neither A-Trait nor the anxiety portion of the CMAS was correlated with locus of conflict. All measures of anxiety were significantly correlated with each other. Boys were rated as more internal, external, and maladjusted than girls despite the fact that girls reported more subjectively experienced anxiety.     

Infant clothing: Sex labeling for strangers

Labeling an infant as a boy or girl affects behavior toward the infant. While intimates know a baby's sex label and behave consistently to the baby, strangers cannot unless given a cue. Forty-eight infants and their caretakers were observed in suburban malls to see if clothing normally provides such cues; 90% of the infants were dressed in sex-typed clothes. Girls wore or carried pink (75%), yellow, ruffles, puffed sleeves, and/or dresses. Boys wore blue (79%) and/or red. Observers were able to correctly guess the sex of “labeled” infants only. Surprisingly, simultaneous caretaker interviews revealed that parents do not spontaneously mention sex as a factor in clothing choice, nor do they feel they would be very bothered by strangers' mistaking the infant's sex.     

Book reviews

Kundalni and the Physical World. Mary Scott. Routledge & Kegan Paul, London 1983 Paperback 274 pp £5.95

Seasons of the Spirit. Readings Through the Christian Year, selected and edited by George Every, Richard Harries and Kallisto's Ware, London, S.P.C.K., 1984 £7.50

Are Religious Cults Dangerous?. Carol Coulter Mercier Press Dublin and Cork 1984 ISBN 0–85342–722–4 (H/B) £4.50

The Making of a Moonie. Choice or Brainwashing?. Eileen Barker. Basil Blackwell, Oxford 1984 ISBN 0–631–13246–5 (H/B) £12     

EFFECTS OF ALCOHOL INTOXICATION AND VICTIMIZATION HISTORY ON WOMEN'S SEXUAL ASSAULT RESISTANCE INTENTIONS: THE ROLE OF SECONDARY COGNITIVE APPRAISALS

This study used an experimental paradigm to investigate the role of secondary cognitive appraisals in women's sexual assault resistance and whether these appraisals mediated influences of alcohol and prior victimization. After consuming a beverage (control, placebo, moderate, or high dose), 351 women projected themselves into a simulated interaction with a sexually aggressive man. Four types of secondary appraisals (shock at the man's behavior, concern about his feelings, uncertainty in the situation, conflict about what to do) and three resistance strategies (assertive, polite, passive) were examined. Path modeling revealed that, as expected, intoxication and prior sexual victimization influenced secondary appraisals, which in turn influenced intended resistance. Prior adult sexual assault (ASA) and childhood sexual abuse (CSA) also had direct effects: ASA negatively predicted assertive resistance and CSA positively predicted passivity. Findings suggest that secondary appraisals are key targets for intervention to facilitate effective resistance, thereby reducing the risk of adult sexual victimization.