Rural adolescent aggression and parental emotional support

Preliminary research findings suggest important distinctions between rural and urban adolescent aggression risk and protective factors. Despite these potentially important differences, most of the existing research on adolescent aggression has utilized urban samples. The current study examines the direct association between parental emotional support and rural adolescent aggression, and whether adolescent psychopathology and substance abuse mediate this association. Multi-method measurement (self-report, parent report, and behavioral observations) were employed in measuring aggression and emotional support variables with rural, nonadjudicated adolescents (N=62) and their mothers or stepmothers. Results indicated that parental emotional support has an indirect influence on adolescent aggression. Adolescent substance abuse was completely mediated by adolescent grade-point average, indicating no significant direct impact on aggression. Adolescent psychopathology significantly mediated the relationship between parental emotional support and adolescent aggression. Particular items contributed substantially to this mediating association, making certain characteristics, rather than a specific diagnosis, relevant to psychopathology's mediating impact. These characteristics include cognitive perception of others as critical or hostile, emotional anxiousness in social situations, and behavioral persistence in social interactions despite these perceptions.     

Both Random and Guided

This paper argues, first, that biological evolution can be both random and divinely guided at the same time. Next it discusses the idea that the claim that evolution is unguided is not part of the science of evolution, and defends it against a number of objections.     

Estimating confidence intervals for eigenvalues in exploratory factor analysis

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) has become a common procedure in educational and psychological research. In the course of performing an EFA, researchers often base the decision of how many factors to retain on the eigenvalues for the factors. However, many researchers do not realize that eigenvalues, like all sample statistics, are subject to sampling error, which means that confidence intervals (CIs) can be estimated for each eigenvalue. In the present article, we demonstrate two methods of estimating CIs for eigenvalues: one based on the mathematical properties of the central limit theorem, and the other based on bootstrapping. References to appropriate SAS and SPSS syntax are included. Supplemental materials for this article may be downloaded from http://brm.psychonomic-journals.org/content/supplemental.     

The Dynamic Interaction of Personal Norms and Environment‐Friendly Buying Behavior: A Panel Study1

A deeper understanding of the attitude–norm–behavior relationship in the environmental field can be obtained by analyzing the dynamic interaction over time between relevant attitudinal variables and specific behaviors of interest. This article is based on a panel survey with a random sample of about 1,500 Danes interviewed up to 3 times in 1998 to 2000, regarding their purchase of organic food products. The panel analysis reveals that the stronger are consumers' personal norms about buying organic food products and the less they perceive organic products as expensive, the greater the likelihood that they change their purchase patterns in favor of organic products. Furthermore, one can observe significant cross‐lagged paths from past behavior to belief and norm variables.