Sharing <Emphasis Type="Italic">GJB2</Emphasis>/<Emphasis Type="Italic">GJB6</Emphasis> Genetic Test Information with Family Members

Although GJB2/GJB6 genetic testing for non-syndromic hearing loss is available, there is no information regarding sharing of test results with family members. A qualitative study was conducted to elucidate if, how, and why parents of a child with hearing loss share GJB2/GJB6 test results with relatives. Parents whose child had testing (n = 7 positive, n = 4 negative, n = 1 inconclusive results) participated in a semi-structured interview and responses were analyzed using qualitative methods. All participants shared the test result with at least one relative, but selective non-disclosure also was observed. Reasons for, and reactions to, sharing were diverse and differed as a function of test result. In comparing the results from this study to published literature, similarities and differences were identified with regards to disclosure of genetic test results for hearing loss versus other conditions. Differences suggest that hearing loss may have unique attributes that influence responses to genetic test information. Further research is needed to replicate these findings.     

The Determinants of a Quality of Life Indicator for Farm Operator Households: Application of Zero-Inflated Count-Data Models

The assessment of the determinants of quality of life in the USA has long been a focus of many researchers. This paper contributes towards that effort by focusing on the quality of life attributes of a segment of the population; namely, farm operator households. To assist in this effort, a quality of life indicator is constructed based on data from the 2004 Agricultural Resource Management Survey along with some auxiliary databases. The determinants of this indicator have been assessed by means of count-data models with special emphasis being given to the role of the preponderance of zeros in the constructed index. Based on the findings, some policy recommendations on how to improve the quality of life in the rural communities are provided.

The impact of socially conveyed norms on the reporting of sexual behavior and attitudes by men and women

This study explored the impact of verbally-conveyed social norms on college students’ reports of sexual behavior and attitudes. Some participants overheard a staged conversation that enforced conservative or permissive social norms. Men and women in the permissive condition were more likely to report extradyadic involvement than those in the conservative condition. Men in the conservative condition reported an older age at first intercourse and fewer lifetime and one-time only sexual partners than did men who did not overhear a conversation. Men’s and women’s reports of sexual attitudes were unaffected by the manipulation. That a transient social norm had an impact on reports of sexual behavior lends support to the notion that some apparent sex differences in sexual behavior are at least partially reporting differences due to the influence of differential social norms. Sexual attitudes were less influenced by the social context, suggesting that attitudinal sex differences may be more robust.     

SEVERITY OF CHILD SEXUAL ABUSE AND REVICTIMIZATION: THE MEDIATING ROLE OF COPING AND TRAUMA SYMPTOMS

Child sexual abuse (CSA) has consistently been associated with the use of avoidant coping; these coping methods have been associated with increased trauma symptoms, which have, in turn, been linked to increased risk for adult sexual revictimization. Given these previous findings, the purpose of the current study was to test a model that conceptualized the relationships among these variables. Specifically, CSA severity was conceptualized as leading to the use of avoidant coping, which was proposed to lead to maintenance of trauma symptoms, which would, in turn, impact severity of revictimization indirectly. This comprehensive model was tested in a cross-sectional study of a large, geographically diverse sample of college women. Participants were 99 female undergraduates classified as having experienced CSA who completed measures of abuse history, coping style, current levels of trauma symptoms, and adult sexual revictimization. Multivariate path analysis indicated that the data fit the hypothesized model for verbally coercive, but not physically aggressive, revictimization. Specifically, increased CSA severity was associated with the use of avoidant coping, which, in turn, predicted greater levels of trauma symptomatology and severity of sexual coercion in adulthood. Although cross-sectional in nature, findings from this study suggest that coping strategies and trauma symptoms may represent modifiable factors that place women at increased risk for verbally coercive sexual revictimization.     

Sparing of sensitivity to biological motion but not of global motion after early visual deprivation

Patients deprived of visual experience during infancy by dense bilateral congenital cataracts later show marked deficits in the perception of global motion (dorsal visual stream) and global form (ventral visual stream). We expected that they would also show marked deficits in sensitivity to biological motion, which is normally processed in the superior temporal sulcus via input from both the dorsal and ventral streams. When tested on the same day for sensitivity to biological motion and to global motion at two speeds (4 and 18° s(-1)), patients, as expected, displayed a large deficit in processing global motion at both speeds. Surprisingly, they performed normally in discriminating biological motion from scrambled displays, tolerating as much noise as their age-matched controls. Networks bypassing damaged portions of the dorsal and the ventral streams must mediate the spared sensitivity to biological motion after early visual deprivation.     

Persisting or Withdrawing? An Insight into the Psychosocial Processes Underlying Sustained Engagement

The study explored the roles of commitment, emotional stress, and interpersonal relationships in sustaining individuals' engagement in collective action. Two collective action cases, differing in duration, issue, and territorial rootedness, were analyzed. The processes underlying sustained engagement were probed in 32 semistructured interviews conducted with antiglobalization activists (N = 13) and opponents to a high‐speed railroad (N = 19). Our findings showed that collective action can be stressful, but that there are proximal and distal factors that can counterbalance the disruption and sustain engagement. The proximal factors are embedded in the circumstances of involvement, and these factors concern interpersonal relationships, organizational mechanisms, and the psychological interface between the individuals and the concrete collective action environment. The distal factors are related partly to the individual and partly to the broader community from which the individual absorbs general values and norms. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Test anxiety inventory: 30 years later

Abstract Research suggests that test anxiety is associated with a number of maladaptive factors. The majority of test anxiety research includes the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) as a primary outcome variable. However, the TAI was normed on college undergraduates in 1980. The academic landscape has altered in a variety of ways in the past 30 years, which may result in out-of-date norms. This study examined changes in TAI scores in college undergraduates (n =437) as well as convergent validity with measures of trait anxiety and academic performance. Results indicated increases in TAI scores for females while holding constant for males. Additionally, females and males displayed positive correlations between the TAI and state-trait anxiety inventory, while only females displayed a significant negative correlation between the TAI and grade point average. Data provide evidence of changes in TAI scores. As a result, researchers should be careful when drawing conclusions based on original TAI norms, especially in the case of female undergraduates.     

Individual, Peer, and Family Factors Influencing Urban African American Adolescents’ Responses to Problem Dating Situations

A clear understanding of factors influencing adolescents’ responses to problem dating situations is needed to guide efforts to promote healthy dating relationships and address issues such as emotional distress, conflict, and violence in dating contexts. This study used qualitative methods guided by a socio-ecological model to identify factors at the individual-level and those within adolescents’ peer and family relationships that influenced their use of specific strategies (active, avoidant, support-seeking, or aggressive) in response to problem dating situations. Interviews were conducted with 38 African American middle and high school students in an urban public school system. Participants identified nine themes that would make it easier for them to engage in their best response strategies to deal with problem dating situations. These included four individual-level factors (e.g., individual characteristics and adolescents’ confidence in their ability to address dating problems), three peer factors (e.g., supportive advice from peers), and two family factors (e.g., support, advice, and messages about dating relationships from family members). Nine themes were identified that would make it harder for adolescents to engage in these responses including three individual-level factors (e.g., difficulty in regulating anger, anxiety, and sadness in dealing with dating problems), four peer factors (e.g., peer instigated conflict among dating partners), and two family factors (e.g., family involvement in adolescents’ dating relationships). The results inform prevention efforts that focus on promoting healthy dating relationships during adolescence.     

The genetic and environmental architecture to the stability of IQ: Results from two independent samples of kinship pairs

Existing research has revealed that IQ remains relatively stable over the life course, though questions remain about how stable IQ is and whether the stability of IQ varies across different developmental periods of the life course. Despite this stability, there are also questions surrounding the factors that might explain the stability of IQ. Against this backdrop, we conduct bivariate genetic models to estimate genetic, shared environmental, and nonshared environmental influences on the stability of IQ. To do so, we analyze kinship pairs drawn from two separate longitudinal samples: The National Collaborative Perinatal Project (CPP) and the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health (Add Health). Across both samples, IQ was found to be relatively stable. Moreover, the genetic analyses revealed that between 66% and 83% of the stability in IQ was due to genetic factors and between 43% and 69% of the change in IQ was due to genetic factors. The remainder of the stability and change in IQ was the result of a combination of shared and nonshared environmental influences. Importantly, some substantive race differences emerged in respect to genetic and environmental influences on the stability of IQ. We conclude with a discussion of the limitations of the study and avenues for future research.