Life cycle and loss--the spiritual vacuum of heroin addiction

This research studied the function of heroin addiction as a family-learned method of coping with death, separation, and loss across the life cycle. Heroin addicts, psychiatric outpatients, and normal students were given an extensive interview and test battery to determine the incidence of loss of family members and significant others. Because the impact of death is often overcome through religious rituals, this study also investigated the subjects' perception of their families' religious values and orientation to life's meaning and purpose. Results indicate that the incidence of death differs significantly across groups and that addicts have a distinct orientation to death, are more suicidal, and have more premature and bizarre death experiences. During childhood they have more family separations, and they tend to develop a distinct pattern of continuously separating from and returning to their families. They are also less likely to have a clearly defined purpose in life. A subset of parents from each group were also interviewed and tested, and these results support the theory of the intergenerational transmission of behavior.     

Empty nest,cohort, and employment in the well-being of midlife women

Whether the empty-nest experience has positive or negative consequences for women's well-being at midlife may depend on their historical cohort membership and employment status. In this study, it was posited that the empty nest was likely to be a negative experience among the particular cohort of women (Cohort II) who reached adulthood during the period of strong societal emphasis on women's maternal role known as the feminine mystique, would be experienced positively among the earlier cohort (Cohort I) who as young adults were encouraged to enter the labor force during World War II. Analyses of covariance tested the relationships among empty-nest status, cohort membership, and employment status, and three measures of psychological well-being, adjusted for age, education, and marital status. The results of this study show that cohort and employment each have important independent associations with women's well-being at midlife, but that the experience of the empty nest depends on these two factors, especially cohort experiences.The authors wish to thank Joseph Veroff, Elizabeth Douvan, and Richard Kulka for the use of the data from The Study of Modern Living, and Joseph Veroff for comments on an earlier version of this paper.     

PHYSICAL AND PSYCHIATRIC CORRELATES OF GENDER DISCRIMINATION

We tested the model that sexist discrimination, measured by the Schedule of Sexist Events (SSE), would account for additional variance in women's physical and psychiatric symptoms, above and beyond that accounted for by generic stressors. A series of hierarchical regression analyses, predicting symptoms on 10 different symptom outcome measures from generic stress and sexist stress (discrimination) were conducted, with the generic stressors entered on the first step and sexist discrimination on the second. Results revealed that sexist discrimination contributed significantly to the variance in women's symptoms, accounting for additional variance in those symptoms. Furthermore, sexist discrimination accounted for more of the variance than did generic stressors in premenstrual, depressive, obsessive-compulsive, somatic, and total psychiatric and physical symptoms. These findings varied with the age and ethnicity of the women and with the symptom measure used, but nonetheless suggest that sexist discrimination plays a significant role in women's most prevalent symptoms.     

A balance theory explanation of challenges confronting cross-sex friendships

This study was part of an ongoing investigation into four of the potential challenges confronting women and men in cross-sex fiendships (O’Meara, 1989). Unlike previous research, which explored the perspective of only one member of each cross-sex fnendship, this study examined the perspectives of both individuals in cross-sex fienhhips. The levels of actual and perceived agreement and understanding were investigated through utilization of a variation of Heiderian Balance Theory and Laing’s Interpersonal Perception Method. Seventy three pairs of cross-sex fiends completed a survey examining direct perspectives, metaperspectives, and meta-metaperspectives, on the four challenges. Over 92% of the participants were heterosexual, 68% were Caucasian, 10% were Afican American, 10% were Hispanic, 3% were Asian, 4% were Native American, and 5% indicated “other.” Results indicate that cross-sex fiends generally agree that O’Meara’s four challenges present only minimal problems in their individual relationships, and that balance theory provides a viable explanation of how perceived agreement and understanding concerning challenges are arrived at within cross-sex fnendships. Additionally, results illustrating disagreements and misunderstandings within cross-sex friendships highlight the importance of looking at the perspectives of both individuals within a dyad.     

Token economy: patient and staff changes

A token economy program conducted with severely regressed, “backward” state hospital patients is described. An evaluation of the effects of the reinforcement program after one year has revealed substantial gains in patient eating, grooming, and dressing behavior and involvement in activities on and off the ward. In addition, several measures of staff attitudes toward patients evidence meaningful gains in staff expectations about the treatability of patients and the degree of the latters' psychological deficit.     

Assessing pavlov’s impact on the American conditioning enterprise

In this article, the visibility of Pavlov and of Watson in American psychology are compared, and the periods of their respective influence are specified with greater precision than is afforded by merely impressionistic methods. The author also critically examines the possibility that the early history of the American classic-conditioning enterprise involved a succession of two phases: a Watsonian/speculative phase and a Pavlovian/empirical phase. In conclusion, the author assesses the possibility that the publication of Pavlov’sConditioned Reflexes (1927) “stimulated” scholarly work on Pavlovian conditioning, and finds this proposition lacking empirical support.     

Effect of beta-funaltrexamine on retention of passive-avoidance conditioning

Rats received administration of an opiate antagonist immediately following single-trial passive-avoidance training. Retention of passive-avoidance conditioning was assessed 1 week after training. Compared to noninjected and vehicle-injected control groups, post-training naloxone (2.0 mg/kg) administration significantly increased retention. A comparable facilitation of retention was also observed when animals received post-training administration of beta-funaltrexamine (40 mg/kg). These data provide additional support for mu opiate receptor activity in the regulation of memory processes.