Predicting Adolescents' Initiation of Intercourse and Contraceptive Use

This paper examines whether variables consistent with problem behavior theory predict grade of onset of first intercourse and adoption of effective contraception. A total sample of 3,419 Wisconsin adolescents in Grades 7, 9, and 11 participated in a survey of health-related behaviors administered 3 times across a 6-year period. The sample is 87% White. Multiple regression methods generated different models for onset of sexual intercourse vs. contraceptive adoption. Consistent with problem behavior theory, sexual onset is predicted by the adolescent's behavioral system, perceived peer substance use/abuse, importance of friends, and extent to which the adolescent felt harried and believed it was okay to break laws. Contraceptive adoption is predicted by family structure, socioeconomic variables, and self-esteem. Age and gender model differences emerged.     

Cultural specificity of support sources,correlates and contexts: Three studies of African-American and Caucasian youth

Levels and correlates of parental support, peer support, partner support, and/or spiritual support among African American and Caucasian youth were examined in three contexts: adolescent pregnancy (Study 1), first year of college (Study 2), and adolescence and young adulthood (ages 15–29; Study 3). Partially consistent with a cultural specificity perspective, in different contexts different support sources were higher in level and/or more strongly related to adjustment for one ethnic group than the other. Among pregnant adolescents, levels of spiritual support were higher for African Americans than Caucasians; additionally, peer support was positively related to well-being only for African Americans whereas partner support was positively related to well-being only for Caucasians. Among college freshmen, family support was more strongly related to institutional and goal commitment for African Americans than Caucasians; conversely, peer support was more strongly related to institutional and goal commitment among Caucasians. Among 15 to 29-year-olds, levels of parental support and spiritual support were higher among African Americans than Caucasians; additionally, spiritual support was positively related to self-esteem for African Americans but not for Caucasians. Implications and limitations of the research are discussed. The third study was supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant RO1 MH40963. We thank Monica Greene, Shea Lyda, Wendy Stevenson, and the many undergraduate students who contributed to the three research projects. We also acknowledge the very thoughtful and helpful comments of the anonymous reviewers and the editor, Edison Trickett.     

An investigation of the validity of the SPSI and SPSI-R in differentiating high-suicidal from depressed,low-suicidal college students

The present study examined the validity of the Social Problem-Solving Inventory (SPSI) and SPSI—Revised in differentiating 65 high-suicidal from 63 depressed, low-suicidal college students. Results from multivariate analyses indicated overall differences in problem-solving between these two groups as measured by the SPSI but not by the SPSI-R. Further examination of these differences revealed the high-suicidal group was different in problem-solving orientation, rather than problem-solving skills, compared to the depressed, low-suicidal group. However, when depression was statistically controlled in hierarchical regression analyses, none of the problem-solving measures predicted group membership. The superiority of the SPSI to the SPSI-R in differentiating these two groups appears to be accounted for by the elimination of 28 items in the revised version, many of which measure orientation to problem-solving. Also explored was the possibility that objective measures of problem-solving provide a better prediction of adjustment than do self-report measures.     

Intuition: A special kind of knowing?

It is argued that while counsellors have adopted the principle tenets of phenomenology—consciousness and meaning—they have built their work on an interpretation of intuition which is contrary to phenomenological rationale and presents it as a form of knowing which is esoteric and mystical. Phenomenologically, intuition differs from no other way in which sense is made of the world. Intuitions should then, in principle, be accessible to conscious understanding so as to allow counsellors to reflect (cognitively?) on their practice. If the process of intuition were really unknowable, then reflective practice in counselling would not be possible.     

Reflections by a nineteenth‐century convert to Islam on Judaism and Christianity in Ottoman Jerusalem

The Khalidi Library in Jerusalem contains a number of valuable works pertaining to Muslim‐Christian relations during the Ottoman period, and in this paper an effort is made to elucidate one such text, a unique anonymous essay entitled Al‐risala al‐sabi^ciyya fi ibtal al‐diyana al‐yahūdiyya. As the title suggests, the essay presents itself as a work of a Jewish convert to Islam; pressed to justify what he has done, he gives seven reasons for his conversion, and then lists two sets of seven similarities and differences between Islam and Judaism that have also served to encourage his conversion.

In this paper it is argued that the essay is actually the work of a Christian convert, probably one who wrote in Jerusalem in the late nineteenth century. Seeking to justify his conversion, but hesitant to reject openly the central doctrines of Christianity, he pretends to be a Jewish convert and argues for the superior position of Islam among the three monotheistic faiths. This tactic, while uncommon, is known from other parts of the Near East, and a convert in Jerusalem would have been in an excellent position to become aware of such writings.

While most of his arguments are familiar from the arsenal deployed in disputations of the past, this author's essay is valuable for its illustration of the hesitation and doubt that must have accompanied most acts of conversion, and for the way in which it draws attention to the fact that Christian—Muslim relations—especially in Jerusalem—have always proceeded within the broader context of relations. among the three great monotheistic religions in general.     

A Comparison of the Validity of Handwriting Analysis With That of the Cattell 16PF

Few British organizations utilize handwriting analysis for personality assessment, but in some European countries handwriting analysis is extremely popular. Research has examined the reliability and validity of both methods of assessment, but few studies have directly compared the two. In this study, the personality of 120 subjects was assessed by the Cattell 16PF and by handwriting analysis. Each subject was presented with five handwriting analysis textual reports and five personality textual reports (one of each being their own) and asked to rank order each set in terms of perceived accuracy. The same ranking process was undertaken by each respondent's social partner. The results demonstrated that handwriting reports were ranked at a chance level by Self and by Other and that personality reports were ranked at a well above chance level by Self and by Other. Self-rankings were more accurate than Other-rankings.     

THE VISUAL SYSTEM'S MEASUREMENT OF INVARIANTS NEED NOT ITSELF BE INVARIANT

Abstract— When two shapes that differ in orientation or size have to be compared or objects have to be recognized from different viewpoints, the response time and error rate art systematically affected by the size of the geometric difference. In this report, we argue that these effects are not necessarily solid evidence for the use of mental transformations and against the use of invariants by the visual system. We report an experiment in which observers were asked to give affine-invariant coordinates of a point located in an affine frame defined by three other points. The angle subtended by the coordinate axes and the ratio of the lengths of their unit vectors systematically affected the measurement errors. This finding demonstrates that the visual system's measurement of invariants need not itself be invariant.     

Privacy and the Human Genome Project

The Human Genome Project has raised many issues regarding the contributions of genetics to a variety of diseases and societal conditions. With genetic testing now easily conducted with lowered costs in nonmedical domains, a variety of privacy issues must be considered. Such testing will result in the loss of significant privacy rights for the individual. Society must now consider such issues as the ownership of genetic data, confidentiality rights to such information, limits placed on genetic screening, and legislation to control genetic testing and its applications. There is often a conflict between individual rights to privacy and the need for societal protection.