Women's Descriptions of Drinking in Bars: Reasons and Risks

Fifty-two women bar drinkers participated infocus group discussions about women's reasons fordrinking, victimization experiences, and behaviors thatinfluence risk for victimization, in bars. The majority of the participants were White (67.3%),one-third were Black (30.8%), and one was NativeAmerican. Qualitative data analytic techniques were usedto assess the content of these discussions. Womendescribed distinct reasons for going to bars and providednumerous accounts of aggression they had witnessed orexperienced associated with this setting. Depictions ofphysical violence ranged from having an object thrown at them or being pushed, to accounts ofrape and attempted murder. These women also describedobservable changes in other women's behavior followingalcohol consumption, and how these behaviors increase risk for victimization in bars. The qualitativefindings are discussed in terms of what they tell usabout women bar drinkers and the insight theyprovide fordesigning future studies and interventions that focus on education and prevention.     

The effects of gender,ethnicity, and a close relationship theme on perceptions of persons introducing a condom

A vignette methodology was used to examineperceptions of condom introducers on sixcondom-relevant,multi-item scales (Nice, Exciting, Sexually Attractive,Promiscuous, Good Relationship Partner,Unpersonable/Personable) in a university student sample of 133 MexicanAmericans and 110 Whites. Data were analyzed in a 2(gender of participant) ×2 (gender of condomintroducer) ×3 (low acculturated Mexican American,high acculturated Mexican American, White) ×2(presence/absence of close relationship theme) analysisof variance and covariance. Women rated condomintroducers significantly higher than men on the Nicescale, female condom introducers were rated significantly higherthan male condom introducers on the Nice scale, andcondom introducers who expressed a care andresponsibility theme while introducing a condom wererated significantly higher on the Nice scale than those whoexpressed no theme. The female condom introducer wasrated significantly higher than the male condomintroducer on the Exciting scale. Condom introducers whoexpressed a care and responsibility theme were ratedsignificantly higher than those who expressed no themeon the Good Relationship Partner scale. In a two-wayinteraction between gender of participant and gender of condom introducer, men rated the femalecondom introducer significantly higher than women on thePromiscuous scale. In another two-way interactionbetween gender of condom introducer and ethnicity, low acculturated Mexican Americans rated the femalecondom introducer significantly higher than the malecondom introducer on the Promiscuous scale. Lowacculturated Mexican Americans rated the condomintroducer significantly higher than Whites on theSexually Attractive scale. There were no significantmain or interaction effects of the independent variableson the Unpersonable/Personable scale.     

Smooth pursuit eye movements in normal and dyslexic children

This paper describes a detailed study of horizontal eye movements associated with visual tracking of a smoothly moving target. Essentially all children, even at target velocities as low as 5 degrees/sec., show some saccadic eye movements superimposed on smooth tracking movements. Detailed analysis of pursuit eye-movements from a group of 26 poor readers and 34 normal controls (8 to 13 yr.) showed that about 25% of poor readers have an abnormally raised saccadic component in smooth pursuit. This suggests that studies of eye movements during tracking of smoothly moving targets at low velocity, combined with a quantitative approach to data analysis, may be useful for early detection of a significant proportion of poor-reading children.     

A comparison of children who receive and who do not receive permission to participate in research

In a study examining children's social competence in elementary school settings, the authors had the opportunity to compare children who received parental permission to participate to children who did not receive permission. Results indicated that children who were not involved in the study were more likely to be viewed by teachers as having unsatisfactory relationships with peers than children who were in the study. The present results suggest that investigators begin reporting the number of children who do not participate in a given study and begin examining whether minors who receive parental permission differ on important dimensions from minors who do not receive such permission. Ethical considerations of the present study are discussed.     

A SOCIAL ECOLOGY OF HYPERACTIVE BOYS: MEDICATION EFFECTS IN STRUCTURED CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENTS

Hyperactive boys on methlyphenidate (Ritalin), hyperactive boys on placebo, and comparison boys were observed in quasi-naturalistic classroom settings. Ambient stimulation (quiet versus noisy conditions) and source of regulation (self-paced versus other-paced activities) were varied in a 2 × 2 design. Compared to their peers, hyperactive boys on placebo showed lower rates of task attention and higher rates of gross motor movement, regular and negative verbalization, noise-making, physical contact, social initiation, disruption, and acts that were perceived as energetic, inappropriate, or unexpected. Self-paced activities resulted in increased rates of verbalization, social initiation, and high-energy episodes. High ambient noise levels reduced task attention and increased the rates of many other behaviors including verbalization, physical contact, gross motor movement, and high-energy acts. Medication-by-situation interactions emerged for both classroom dimensions, with hyperactive boys on placebo being readily distinguishable from their peers under some classroom conditions and indistinguishable under other conditions. Moderate relationships were found between teacher ratings and many individual behavior categories. Discussion focused on (a) the merits and limitations of a social ecological research perspective, and (b) the implications of these findings for the design of intervention strategies.     

Stuttering following brain damage

This paper describes the neurological, language, and speech status of seven brain-damaged patients with symptoms of cortical stuttering. We compare data from our seven patients to data presented on other brain-damaged stutterers, review theories of cortical stuttering's etiology, advance alternative hypotheses about mechanisms underlying such dy sfluencies, and compare cortical stuttering to stuttering in childhood.     

Reliability and standardization in the assessment of self-reported headache pain

The efficacy of a treatment intervention for head pain is typically evaluated by self-reported data. Self-monitoring schedules used to collect these data vary extensively across studies. The present article reviews conceptual and methodological problems with these self-report inventories. In addition, the most promising procedure was implemented in a study designed to measure the reliability of self-reported headache pain levels. One-hundred twenty-four college students self-monitored headache pain over an 8-week period. Three objective procedures were used to detect inaccurate recording. Subjects were also asked, in a post-experimental questionnaire, to subjectively rate the degree to which they complied with the experimenters' instructions regarding the self-monitoring procedures. Forty percent of the subjects were found to be noncompliant based on the detection techniques. However, responses to the postexperimental questionnaire indicated this to be a conservative estimation of noncompliance. There was no consistent difference between the postexperimental questionnaire for the subjects detected and those not detected. Results are discussed with relation to the need for researchers to adopt a standard methodology for (1) measuring self-reported headache pain and (2) reporting reliability data.Portions of these data were presented at the meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Chicago, November 1978.