Social Norms Regarding Protected Status and Threat Reactions to the Stigmatized

This research examines whether social norms regarding a stigma's protection from prejudice differentially affect explicit and implicit threat reactions to the stigmatized, and the degree to which such differences can be accounted for by socially desirable responding, internalized egalitarian values, and dual attitudes about stigmatized individuals. Participants ( N = 78) completed a traditional self-report measure to assess explicit reports of threat toward targets from stigmatized social groups and the Implicit Association Test (Greenwald, McGhee, & Schwartz, 1998) to assess implicit reports of threat toward the targets' stigmas. Results indicated that social norms regarding a stigma's protection from prejudice influenced threat reactions on the explicit measure, but not on the implicit measure. Dual attitudes toward the stigmatized best accounted for this pattern.     

RELATIONSHIP VIOLENCE AMONG ADOLESCENT MOTHERS: FREQUENCY, DYADIC NATURE, AND IMPLICATIONS FOR RELATIONSHIP DISSOLUTION AND MENTAL HEALTH

This article examines whether the frequency, dyadic nature, and potential implications of relationship violence differ in parenting ( n = 163) and nulliparous (i.e., never given birth; n = 165) adolescent females from low-income, urban communities. We found the frequency and dyadic nature of violence did not differ between parental status groups. Over half of the adolescents in both groups reported relationship violence in the past year, with female-enacted violence more common than male-enacted violence. However, significant group differences emerged in the relationship between violence and subsequent relationship dissolution and mental health. Higher levels of female-enacted violence predicted relationship dissolution among nulliparous adolescents but predicted increases in depression in parenting adolescents. Findings highlight the need for violence prevention programs tailored specifically to the developmental and contextual needs of adolescent mothers.     

The measurement of optimism and pessimism

Procedures employed in the development and validation of a new Optimism & Pessimism Scale are described, and information about test-retest reliability is reported. Internal consistency analyses and other data suggest that optimism and pessimism are not polar opposites and bring up questions about the intrerelatedness of the cognitive and affective realms. The magnitude of the correlation between pessimism and measures of anxiety suggests a link between this measure and the Negative Affectivity construct, and the potential relationships among optimism, pessimism, the Pollyanna Principle, and Positive and Negative Affect are discussed. Conceptually, it appears that optimism and pessimism may aid in psychological defense by helping to bind anxiety. This report was based on theses submitted separately by the second and third authors to the Division of Graduate Studies and Research of the University of Cincinnati, both in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree. For reprints of the article or copies of the Optimism & Pessimism Scale, please direct requests to William N. Dember, Department of Psychology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221.     

All Parents Are to Blame (Except This One): Global Versus Specific Attitudes Related to Parental Responsibility Laws1

Increasing state legislation and media interest give the appearance of public support for parental responsibility laws; however, some national polls suggest otherwise. Based on disparate global and specific attitudes in other areas of the criminal justice literature, it was hypothesized that relatively weak global support for parental responsibility would be diminished even more if a specific juvenile was described. The current studies confirmed that participants were even less supportive of parental responsibility laws when a specific juvenile and his parents were described than they were when they answered questions about parents in general.     

The indirect McCollough effect: An examination of an associative account

It has been found that viewing, for example, a red-and-black vertical grating alternating with a green homogeneous field produces a color aftereffect—a McCollough effect—on a black-and-white vertical grating (i.e., green). Viewing such colored patterns also produces an aftereffect on a noninduced horizontal grating (i.e., pink)—the indirect McCollough effect. Humphrey, Dodwell, and Emerson (1989) argued that the indirect McCollough effect is caused by opponent properties of the visual system that organize the processing of contour and color along contrasting, probably orthogonal, dimensions. Recently, however, their interpretation of the indirect McCollough effect has been challenged by some findings of Eissenberg, Allan, Siegel, and Petrov (1995). These researchers have proposed that the indirect McCollough effect, like the McCollough effect, can be explained by associative principles. The results reported here question crucial aspects of the hypothesis of Eissenberg et al.     

The prevalence of declarative and indirect yes/no Questions when children testify in criminal cases of child sexual abuse in the United States

The present study assessed how attorneys questioned children in cases of child sexual abuse in the United States tried between 2005 and 2015. Trial testimonies (N = 134) of 5- to 17-year-olds (M = 12 years old) were coded for the linguistic form of attorneys' questions and children's subsequent responses. Three fourths of all questions were closed ended. Both declarative (statement question; e.g., “And he hit you?”; 21% of questions) and indirect yes/no questions (beginning with an indirect speech act; e.g., “Do you remember X?”; 11% of questions) were common, and produced potentially problematic responses, in comparison with forced-choice and yes/no questions. Declarative questions elicited the highest rates of unelaborative responses whereas indirect yes/no questions elicited the highest rate of nonsubstantive responses. The findings highlight the importance for researchers to better assess children's responses to declarative questions and for prosecuting attorneys to cautiously use declarative and indirect yes/no questions when questioning children.     

A Non-factualist defense of the Reflection principle

Are there plausible synchronic constraints on how a subject thinks of herself extended over time? At first glance, Bas van Fraassen’s principle of Reflection seems to prescribe the sort of epistemic authority one’s future self should be taken by one to have over one’s current epistemic states. (The gist of this principle is that I should now believe what I’m convinced I will believe tomorrow.) There has been a general consensus that, as a principle concerning epistemic authority, Reflection does not apply to epistemically non-ideal agents. I agree with this, but argue here that it misses the point of Reflection. Rather than an epistemic principle concerning reasons for belief, Reflection concerns the semantics of belief avowal. I present a non-factual interpretation of Reflection, argue that the principle provides a constraint on the ways in which one can reflectively endorse one’s future epistemic self, and say something about the logic governing such an interpretation.     

Working memory deficits in boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): An examination of orthographic coding and episodic buffer processes

The episodic buffer component of working memory was examined in children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and typically developing peers (TD). Thirty-two children (ADHD = 16, TD = 16) completed three versions of a phonological working memory task that varied with regard to stimulus presentation modality (auditory, visual, or dual auditory and visual), as well as a visuospatial task. Children with ADHD experienced the largest magnitude working memory deficits when phonological stimuli were presented via a unimodal, auditory format. Their performance improved during visual and dual modality conditions but remained significantly below the performance of children in the TD group. In contrast, the TD group did not exhibit performance differences between the auditory- and visual-phonological conditions but recalled significantly more stimuli during the dual-phonological condition. Furthermore, relative to TD children, children with ADHD recalled disproportionately fewer phonological stimuli as set sizes increased, regardless of presentation modality. Finally, an examination of working memory components indicated that the largest magnitude between-group difference was associated with the central executive. Collectively, these findings suggest that ADHD-related working memory deficits reflect a combination of impaired central executive and phonological storage/rehearsal processes, as well as an impaired ability to benefit from bound multimodal information processed by the episodic buffer.     

Perinatal Posttraumatic Stress Disorder: Implications for Occupational Therapy in Early Intervention Practice

The purpose of this article is to present literature regarding perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder and to describe the implications of research findings for occupational therapy screening and treatment in early intervention practice. Changes in legislation regarding early intervention practice and family centered care are presented as a rationale for including maternal mental health screening as a standard practice in the field of early intervention. A case study illustrates symptoms of perinatal posttraumatic stress disorder and the effect on maternal-infant co-occupational engagement. The Model of Human Occupation is used to guide clinical reasoning about potential occupational therapy interventions.     

Bicuspid Aortic Valve: a Review with Recommendations for Genetic Counseling

Bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) is the most common congenital heart defect and falls in the spectrum of left-sided heart defects, also known as left ventricular outflow tract obstructive (LVOTO) defects. BAV is often identified in otherwise healthy, asymptomatic individuals, but it is associated with serious long term health risks including progressive aortic valve disease (stenosis or regurgitation) and thoracic aortic aneurysm and dissection. BAV and other LVOTO defects have high heritability. Although recommendations for cardiac screening of BAV in at-risk relatives exist, there are no standard guidelines for providing genetic counseling to patients and families with BAV. This review describes current knowledge of BAV and associated aortopathy and provides guidance to genetic counselors involved in the care of patients and families with these malformations. The heritability of BAV and recommendations for screening are highlighted. While this review focuses specifically on BAV, the principles are applicable to counseling needs for other LVOTO defects.