The specific action of different personality risk factors on cancer of the breast, cervix, corpus uteri and other types of cancer: A prospective investigation

We report the results of a prospective study of a random sample of 1353 elderly but healthy men and women who were followed up for a period of 10 yr, when mortality and cause of death were ascertained. Overall results have been reported elsewhere for mortality from cancer, coronary heart disease and other causes; here we are concerned with the personality factors predicting breast cancer, cervical cancer, cancer of the corpus uteri specifically, as well as other types of cancer in women. Ten specific hypotheses were tested, using specially constructed questionnaires for the purpose, and for most of these statistically significant support was obtained. The results justify belief that specific types of cancer may be related to specific stress/personality factors.     

Codependency: An interpersonal phenomenon

An alternative perspective to the clinical model of codependency is that codependency is contextual and reflects inequality within a relationship. This study examined whether the evaluation of codependent behavior depends on the context of the relationship, i.e., the reciprocity of the person’s partner, and the gender of the stimulus person (SP). College students (N=302, 46% non-Caucasian) read one of six scenarios in which the codependent SP’s behavior was held constant but the reciprocity of the partner and the gender of the SP were varied. The stimulus person and her/his relationship were rated significantly more healthy in the reciprocal condition than in the nonreciprocal or control conditions, but a better partner in the nonreciprocal condition. Codependent female SPs were judged less healthy but better partners than codependent male SPs. Judgments of codependent behavior and persons are contextual in nature, may reflect inequality within relationships, and to some extent, depend upon the gender of the codependent person.     

The Balance of Power in Romantic Heterosexual Couples Over Time from “His” and “Her” Perspectives

In this investigation, the balance of power between men and women in romantic relationships was examined with a sample of 101 heterosexual couples, some of whom were surveyed up to jive times over a four-year period. A majority of the participants (who were primarily Caucasian and middle class) reported some imbalance in power in their relationship (53% of the men and 52% of the women on a global measure of power; 67% of the men and 65% of the women on a measure of decision making). The longitudinal data indicated that perceptions of power were quite stable over time. When power imbalances in relationships occurred, the male partner was more likely than the female to be seen as the power holder, although these differences were statistically significant only for men (full sample). In support of W. Waller's principle of least interest [(1937) The Family: A Dynamic Interpretation, New York: Gordon], being the less emotionally involved partner in the relationship was associated with greater power. We further found that men were more likely than women to perceive themselves as the less emotionally invested partner. Perceptions of power balance were generally unrelated to either relationship satisfaction or to the likelihood that the couple broke up over time. In one exception, men who perceived their relationship to be equal in power (but not decision making) reported the highest level of satisfaction. We conclude that the balance of power still often favors men in these romantic couples (especially in decision making), although couples do not always agree on their perceptions, with male partners tending to see more male dominance than females.     

Genes and human behavior: the emerging paradigm

The physical properties of human beings and other organisms as well as their social behavioral traits are manifestations of both genetic inheritance and environment. Recent behavioral research has indicated that certain characteristics or behaviors—such as schizophrenia, divorce, and homosexuality—are highly heritable and are not governed exclusively by social environment. A balanced view of human behavior includes the effects of social learning as well as of genetically determined behavior. A new paradigm promotes enhanced understanding and acceptance of human diversity, be it cultural, racial, or sexual, and has the potential to unite scientists and theologians by creating common grounds of understanding.     

Some correlates of health locus of control among multicultural individuals

The relationship of locus of control to depression, anxiety, hostility, and physical health was assessed in a sample of multicultural college students (N = 162). Powerful Others Health Locus of Control was correlated with depression, anxiety, hostility, and recent physical symptoms while Chance Health Locus of Control (CHLC) was correlated with all of the above as well as chronic physical symptoms and major health problems. When controlling for a variety of health risk factors (viz., age, sex, body mass, exercise, smoking, salt, alcohol, and caffeine), only CHLC remained significant in the physical health models. Results support the cognitive model of mental health which emphasize the importance of adaptive beliefs. Specifically, they suggest that issues about control are related to negative affect and indicate that the often-cited relationship of an external locus of control to depression and anxiety also holds for hostility. The findings do not, however, support the view that anxiety and depression are associated with different types of external locus of control but rather suggest a unified set of locus of control beliefs underlying the three types of negative affect. In addition, evidence is provided for the external validity of the Multidimensional Health Locus of Control (MHLC) Scales with respect to mental health. Further, the results indicate that belief about one’s health may play a significant role in one’s physical health and that the health behavior model of the relationship between locus of control and physical health is insufficient to explain the relationship. As the Chance and Powerful Others MHLC scales were not related to health habits in this sample but were related to mental health (viz., depression, anxiety, and hostility), locus of control beliefs may be related to physical health via their relationship with mental health.     

Sexuality education and young people's sexual behavior: a review of studies

Sexuality education for children and young adults is one of the most heavily debated issues facing policy-makers, national AIDS program planners, and educators, provoking arguments over how explicit education materials should be, how much of it there should be, how often it should be given, and at what age instruction should commence. In this context, the World Health Organization's Global Program on AIDS' Office of Intervention Development and Support commissioned a comprehensive literature review to assess the effects of HIV/AIDS and sexuality education upon young people's sexual behavior. 52 reports culled from a search of 12 literature databases were reviewed. The main purpose of the review is to inform policy-makers, program planners, and educators about the impact of HIV and/or sexuality education upon the sexual behavior of youth as described in the published literature. Of 47 studies which evaluated interventions, 25 reported that HIV/AIDS and sexuality education neither increased nor decreased sexual activity and attendant rates of pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs). 17 reported that HIV and/or sexuality education delayed the onset of sexual activity, reduced the number of sex partners, or reduced unplanned pregnancy and STD rates Only 3 studies found increases in sexual behavior associated with sexuality education. Inadequacies in study design, analytic techniques, outcome indicators, and the reporting of statistics are discussed.     

The U.S. Supreme Court Decision in Jaffee v. Redmond: Implications for Counselors

In 1996, the U.S. Supreme Court held that communications between licensed psychotherapists and their patients are privileged under the Federal Rules of Evidence. The nature of privileged communication, the history of this Supreme Court decision, and implications of the decision for counselors are discussed.     

Referenzsemantik in der Partnermodellierung

How can we explain that an assertion on something perceived can be understood in the same manner by somebody who cannot perceive that scene? This problem bases the interest in computational linguistics in how listener modeling could possibly be harmonized with reference semantics. Mental images substituting real perception appear as a way out. The architecture of the listener model has to be adapted to the creation and use of such pictorial data structures. Furthermore, the relation between the latter and a verbal (i. e., propositional) representation must be understood. The resulting architecture of a listener model with reference semantics can be employed to solve communicational problems from three general classes in a better way, as is demonstrated by an example implementation.