Family predictors of antisocial behavior in adolescence

The goal of the present study was to examine the combined and unique ability of different aspects of family functioning to predict involvement in antisocial behavior in a large nonclinical (community) sample of adolescents. Distinction was made between global (e.g., family socioeconomic status), distal (dispositional characteristics of parents), contextual (family characteristics), and proximal (parent-child interaction) factors that operate within families. Results show that proximal factors were significant predictors of antisocial behavior, independent of their shared variance with other factors. Consistent with the hypothesized mediational model, the effects of distal and contextual factors appear to be mostly indirect: after their association with proximal factors was taken into account, these factors were no longer significantly related to antisocial behavior. The implications of these findings for planning of developmentally appropriate interventions for adolescents and their families are discussed.     

Obtaining funding for new researchers in psychology

A mentor is the key person to assist a student who wishes to become an independent investigator. The federal government provides long-term funding for decades of research by an investigator, and short-term funding for years of transition from student to investigator is available from both governmental and private agencies. Grants designed for men and women and various ethnic groups are valuable resources. Courteous acknowledgment of sponsorship by the grantee facilitates continued grants from the funding source.     

Afterward: Emmanuel Levinas,the multicultural philosopher.

Continental Philosophy Review -     

Size perception by vision and kinesthesia

When two sizes, one perceived by vision and the other by kinesthesia, are apparently equal, the physical relationship between them varies: The sizes may be equal, or the visual size may be larger than the kinesthetic size, or vice versa. In this study, the method of cross-modal matching and the method of magnitude production were used to explore the relationship between apparently equal sizes (5–40 cm) perceived by vision and by kinesthesia. The sizes were linear or circular, and the mode of standard presentation was visual, kinesthetic, or verbal. The size and the direction of the intermodal mismatch varied with the size of the standard. It was also found that an apparent length of movement varied with the direction of movement. In all conditions, the relationship between apparently equal visual and kinesthetic sizes was well approximated by a power function.     

Traumatization of group leaders in their work with displaced persons

Displaced persons are a special, threatened group of people, participants in this war, who were suddenly forced to abandon their homes. The majority of them were, overnight, left without anything they had, some even without their closest family. They all have one thing in common: they have all lost so much. Work with such people is directed toward overcoming their feelings of loss and abandonment and preventing psychical decompensation. Groups of displaced persons temporarily sheltered in the Rijeka region have been observed to be markedly regressed, with increased sensitivity, a low degree of tolerance, great demands on society and strongly expressed projective tendencies. Therapists suffer personal traumatization in working with displaced persons. This paper describes the reactions and feelings of group leaders caused by manifestations of group dynamics in different phases of exile.     

Spirituality and intentions to engage in Covid-19 protective behaviours

Accumulating evidence points to spirituality as a belief system that contributes to low trust in science, with self-identified spiritual individuals reporting high levels of unwarranted scepticism towards science in general and vaccination specifically. We investigated whether self-identified spirituality also predicts intentions to engage with Covid-19 protective measures during the pandemic. In Studies 1–3 (N = 774), we asked participants to report their spirituality and desire to be vaccinated against Covid-19 shortly after the first vaccine rollout. In Studies 2–3, we included measures of scepticism towards and intentions to comply with Covid-19 prevention measures (handwashing, wearing face coverings, distancing). As expected, stronger self-reported spirituality involved lower desire to be vaccinated, controlling for various worldview and demographic variables. Yet, we found no evidence for spirituality to predict scepticism towards other Covid-19 preventative behaviours or intentions to engage with them. Our findings corroborate and extend previous literature on science rejection, demonstrating that spirituality is uniquely involved in vaccine rejection.     

More than words: Rethinking sustainability communications through neuroscientific methods

In the era when the overarching problem of climate change, threatening the entire humanity and all life on earth, demands actions and behavioural change from all of the societal agents, including governments, organizations, companies and individuals, the world fails to achieve unity on the matter of existence of the problem, cause of the problem and on the solution of the problem. Since the scientific consensus on climate change is achieved, this article tries to examine why it is so hard to convey the message of needed behavioural change. The neuromarketing study presented in this article focuses on marketing communications that try to convey the message that would lead to the consumers' mental, emotional and behavioural change. Effectiveness of the branded environmental videos was evaluated utilizing the neuroscience approach. Electroencephalogram and an eye-tracking device were used to register the implicit brain reactions of the study participants viewing the branded videos. For comparison reasons, the branded videos selected for the study use two different approaches for conveying the message. The first approach relies on narrative, words and logic, whilst the second one appeals primarily to emotions. The aim of the study was to answer the question whether the words are enough or is there more to it?     

An examination of indexes for determining the number of clusters in binary data sets

The problem of choosing the correct number of clusters is as old as cluster analysis itself. A number of authors have suggested various indexes to facilitate this crucial decision. One of the most extensive comparative studies of indexes was conducted by Milligan and Cooper (1985). The present piece of work pursues the same goal under different conditions. In contrast to Milligan and Cooper's work, the emphasis here is on high-dimensional empirical binary data. Binary artificial data sets are constructed to reflect features typically encountered in real-world data situations in the field of marketing research. The simulation includes 162 binary data sets that are clustered by two different algorithms and lead to recommendations on the number of clusters for each index under consideration. Index results are evaluated and their performance is compared and analyzed.Author names are listed in alphabetical order.This piece of research was supported by the Austrian Science Foundation (FWF) under grant SFB#010 (Adaptive Information Systems and Modeling in Economics and Management Science).The authors would like to thank the anonymous reviewers and especially the associate editor for their helpful comments and suggestions.     

Self-reported versus measured weight and height by adolescent girls: a Croatian sample

Self-reported and measured weight and height of 234 Croatian girls in Grades 5, 8, and 11 were used to explore the validity of these measures for calculating Body Mass Index. For both weight and height, the correlations between self-reported and measured values were over .93. Overweight girls underreported their weight and overreported their height.     

Does stimulant medication decrease the lower extremity response times of children with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder?

In 2005 Pedersen and Surburg reported that stimulant medications reduced the lower extremity response times of 16 boys with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. However, as boys without ADHD and girls with and without ADHD were not studied, one cannot conclude that reported effects represent a medication effect unique to children with ADHD. An alternative hypothesis is presented: that stimulant medications produce an excitatory effect in the central nervous system by increased occupancy of postsynaptic dopamine receptors to reduce the lower extremity response times of children in general. Well-designed controlled clinical trials are needed to evaluate this hypothesis.