IDENTIFICATION AND VALIDATION OF CRITICAL CONVERSATIONAL SOCIAL SKILLS

In this study, we used a four-step social validation process to identify and validate critical skill components that constitute high school students' conversational behavior. The four steps were nominating target behaviors, establishing a normative range of performance, manipulating simulations of behavioral dimensions, and comparing ratings of judges to levels of performance on those behavioral dimensions. Multiple measures, both quantitative and qualitative, suggested that the rate and percentage of time initiating and responding verbally, the percentage of time attending, and the percentage of time not engaging in distracting motor behavior related to favorable ratings by a wide variety of 60 judges. Findings are discussed in relation to the utility of the multistep social validation process and the identification of critical social skill components as targets of interventions.     

Autonomy,constraining options,and organ sales

Although there continues to be a chronic shortage of transplant organs the suggestion that we should try to alleviate it through allowing a current market in them continues to be morally condemned, usually on the grounds that such a market would undermine the autonomy of those who would participate in it as vendors. Against this objection Gerald Dworkin has argued that such markets would enhance the autonomy of the vendors through providing them with more options, thus enabling them to exercise a greater degree of control over their bodies. Paul Hughes and T. L. Zutlevics have recently criticized Dworkin's argument, arguing that the option to sell an organ is unusual in that it is an autonomy–undermining "constraining option" whose presence in a person's choice set is likely to undermine her autonomy rather than enhance it. I argue that although Hughes' and Zutlevics' arguments are both innovative and persuasive they are seriously flawed — and that allowing a market in human organs is more likely to enhance vendor autonomy than diminish it. Thus, given that autonomy is the preeminent value in contemporary medical ethics this provides a strong prima facie case for recognizing the moral legitimacy of such markets.     

Examining the potential exploitation of UNOS policies

The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) waiting list was designed as a just and equitable system through which the limited number of organs is allocated to the millions of Americans in need of a transplant. People have trusted the system because of the belief that everyone on the list has an equal opportunity to receive an organ and also that allocation is blind to matters of financial standing, celebrity or political power. Recent events have revealed that certain practices and policies have the potential to be exploited. The policies addressed in this paper enable those on the list with the proper resources to gain an advantage over other less fortunate members, creating a system that benefits not the individual most in medical need, but the one with the best resources. These policies are not only unethical but threaten the balance and success of the entire UNOS system. This paper proposes one possible solution, which seeks to balance the concepts of justice and utility.     

Breast and Chest Size: Ideals and Stereotypes Through the 1990s

This study investigated differences in ideals and stereotypes associated with breast and chest size through the 1990s. Five cohorts of primarily Caucasian participants between 1990 and 1998 completed the Breast/Chest Rating Scale that consists of figures of men and women of varying upper torso sizes and a series of questions related to ideal size, perceptions of others' ideals, and characteristics associated with different sizes. Although the breast size women perceive as preferred by others has increased, the ideal breast size has remained stable for men and women. Men's ideal breast size was consistently larger than the breast size women prefer, and men also preferred a significantly larger chest size. Despite an increasing cultural emphasis on large chest size, there was a significant decrease in the chest size preferred by women across cohort groups. The chest size men think women prefer, however, has increased. Although there was little evidence of changes in stereotypes associated with chest size, the breast size associated with a variety of positive characteristics was significantly larger in 1998 than in 1992. These results are discussed in relation to body image and social implications.     

Looking at the sunny side of life: age-related change in an event-related potential measure of the negativity bias

Studies of the negativity bias have demonstrated that negative information has a stronger influence than positive information in a wide range of cognitive domains. At odds with this literature is extensive work now documenting emotional and motivational shifts that result in a positivity effect in older adults. It remains unclear, however, whether this age-related positivity effect results from increases in processing of positive information or from decreases in processing of negative information. Also unknown is the specific time course of development from a negative bias to an apparently positive one. The present study was designed to investigate the negativity bias across the life span using an event-related potential measure of responding to emotionally valenced images. The results suggest that neural reactivity to negative images declines linearly with age, but responding to positive images is surprisingly age invariant across most of the adult life span.     

Using a computer simulation of three slot machines to investigate a gambler’s preference among varying densities of near-miss alternatives

The present article describes a software program in Visual Basic .NET designed to simulate three slot machines on a computer screen. This software is described in detail regarding utility, downloading, and usage; and data are presented illustrating the software’s potential for researchers interested in gambling behavior. A simulation of multiple slot machines such as this enables researchers to evaluate players’ preferences across various machines. In the highlighted experiment, 18 recreational slot machine players played the software for extra course credit and a chance at cash prizes. All participants played a version of the simulation in which every 5th response on average was a win, whereas the remaining trials were a loss. However, on those loss trials, a varying distribution of almost wins or near misses (i.e., two winning symbols on the payoff line and the final winning symbol directly above or below the payoff line) were presented in percentages of 15, 30, or 45. While no preferences across the three options could be predicted on the basis of reinforcement history alone, deviations from equal choices across the games were noted and appeared to be the result of the presentations of near-miss losing trials. Implications for a greater understanding of pathological gambling are presented.     

Determinants of Depression Severity and Duration in Canadian Adults: The Moderating Effects of Gender and Social Support

This study examined the effects of 4 subtypes of social support (tangible, affective, positive social interaction, and emotional/informational) and gender on the severity and duration of depressive symptoms within the general adult Canadian population. Data were collected from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS; Statistics Canada, 2002 ). Upon meeting predetermined criteria, 6,316 participants were included in the study. The findings suggest that, overall, positive social interaction was significantly associated with decreases in depression severity; while emotional/informational support was significantly associated with increases in depression severity. Positive social interaction and emotional/informational support appeared to significantly decrease the duration of depression. Interesting gender differences also emerged among the 4 subtypes of social support. Implications of the findings are discussed.     

Racial disparities in mental health service use by adolescents who thought about or attempted suicide

Differences in rates and predictors of mental health service use among 2,226 Black, Hispanic, and White adolescents (aged 12-17) who reported recent suicidal thoughts or an attempt were examined. Black adolescents were 65% (OR = .65, p < .05), and Hispanic adolescents were 55% (OR = .55, p < .001), as likely as White adolescents to report service use, even when controlling for need for care and ability to secure services. Suicide attempt and psychiatric symptoms each interacted with race to increase the odds of service use uniquely for White adolescents. Results indicate that racial disparities characterize adolescents' mental health service use even when suicide risk increases.     

The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support: Analyses of Internal Reliability,Measurement Invariance,and Correlates Across Gender

In this study, we examined estimates of internal consistency reliability, measurement invariance, and differential correlates of the Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS; Zimet, Dahlem, Zimet, & Farley, 1988) in samples of undergraduate men (n = 270) and women (n = 340). The MSPSS is designed to assess 3 sources of perceived social support: family, friends, and significant others. The participants ranged in age from 18 to 24 years (M _age = 19.60, SD = 1.4 years). First, composite scale reliability and coefficient omega methods provided adequate estimates of internal consistency reliability for the original MSPSS total and subscale scores. Second, results of multiple-groups invariance confirmatory factor analysis provided support for configural and metric invariance. Partial measurement invariance was attained for scalar and strict measurement invariance across men and women. Additionally, given the high correlations among the first-order factors, we conducted multiple-groups bifactor item response theory (bifactor-IRT) analysis to evaluate further the performances of the individual MSPSS items across gender. Support for the bifactor model was strong. Third, we conducted a series of simultaneous regression analyses to identify potential correlates of the social support construct for women and men.