Social consequences of personality disorders: probability and timing of marriage and probability of marital disruption

The associations between DSM-IV personality disorders and probability of marriage, early marriage, and marital disruption were evaluated among people that participated in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions, which is a nationally representative face-to-face survey of 43,093 respondents, 18 years and older. Participants completed a structured interview for the diagnosis of seven personality disorders, and provided information about the occurrence and timing of marriage and marital disruption. Results suggest that personality disorders were associated with decreased probability of marriage, increased probability of early marriage, and increased probability of marital disruption. These findings suggest that personality disorders have substantial consequences for the probability and timing of marriage and probability of marital disruption.     

The Contribution of Maternal ADHD Symptomatology,Maternal DAT1, and Home Atmosphere to Child ADHD Symptomatology at 7 Years of Age

Children of mothers with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have an increased genetic and environmental risk for ADHD. The unique and interactive contributions of a maternal dopamine receptor gene (DAT1), maternal ADHD symptoms (hyperactive- impulsive, inattentive), and home atmosphere to the prediction of ADHD symptoms (hyperactive- impulsive, inattentive) in 7- year-old boys (N = 96) were examined using data from a longitudinal study of familial risk for ADHD. During the first 6 months of the study, mothers and their spouses completed a questionnaire about the mother’s ADHD symptoms. Home atmosphere questionnaire data were collected 4 years later. At the 7-year assessment, mothers reported on their child’s ADHD symptoms. Negative home atmosphere was significantly associated with child hyperactive-impulsive and inattentive symptoms. Maternal inattentive symptoms were significantly correlated with both child symptom dimensions. Regression models, with child genotype and maternal education controlled, showed main effects for maternal inattentive symptoms, maternal DAT1 10/10 genotype, and home atmosphere in the prediction of child inattentive symptoms. Only home atmosphere predicted child hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. There was a significant home atmosphere x maternal hyperactive-impulsive symptoms interaction in the prediction of child hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. Boys with higher levels of symptoms came from homes characterized by higher levels of negative atmosphere and had mothers with higher levels of hyperactive-impulsive symptoms. There was also a trend (p = 0.075) for a maternal DAT1 x home atmosphere interaction. Boys with higher levels of inattentive symptoms came from homes with higher levels of negative atmosphere and had mothers with the homozygous 10/10 genotype. The maternal heterozygous 9/10 genotype did not predict child symptoms.     

Shared and distinct cue utilization for metacognitive judgements during reasoning and memorisation

Metacognitive research is dominated by meta-memory studies; meta-reasoning research is nascent. Accessibility – the number of associations for a stimulus – is a reliable heuristic cue for Feeling of Knowing when answering knowledge questions. We used a similar cue, subjective accessibility, for exposing commonalities and differences between meta-reasoning and meta-memory. In Experiment 1, participants faced solvable Compound Remote Associate problems mixed with unsolvable random word triads. We collected initial Judgement of Solvability (iJOS), final JOS (fJOS) and confidence. Experiment 2 focused on confidence, controlling for potential interactions among judgements. In Experiment 3, the participants memorised the same triads and rated Ease of Learning and Judgement of Learning. sAccessibility was associated with all judgements. Notably, it reliably predicted memory judgements and confidence in the provided solutions. However, it was unreliable for judging solvability (iJOS and fJOS). The findings highlight the importance of studying meta-reasoning for exposing the biasing factors in reasoning processes and for getting a broad perspective on metacognitive processes.     

Body-image,quality of life and psychological distress: a comparison between kidney transplant patients and a matching healthy sample

The purpose of the current study was to assess the uniqueness of the condition of kidney transplant recipients in comparison to a sample of matching healthy peers in relation to body-image dissatisfaction and identification, quality of life and psychological distress. Participants were 45 kidney transplant recipients who were under follow-up care at a Transplant Unit of a major Medical Center, and a sample of 45 matching healthy peers. Measures were taken using self-report questionnaires [Body-Image Ideals Questionnaire (BIIQ), Body Identification Questionnaire (BIQ), Brief Symptoms Inventory (BSI), and the SF-12]. The major findings were the following: (i) kidney transplant recipients reported lower levels of quality of life and higher levels of PsD when compared to their healthy peers; (ii) no difference in body-image dissatisfaction was found between the two studied groups; (iii) significant correlations between body-image dissatisfaction quality of life and PsD were found only in the kidney transplant recipients. The kidney transplantation condition has a moderating effect in the association between body-image dissatisfaction PsD but not in the association between body-image dissatisfaction and quality of life; (iv) kidney transplant recipients experienced higher levels of body identification than did their healthy peers. Taken together, these findings highlight the unique condition of kidney transplant recipients, as well as the function that body-image plays within the self.     

Making Merit Work at the Entrance to the Engineering Workforce: Examining Women’s Experiences and Variations by Race/Ethnicity

Sex Roles - This study utilizes interviews from 22 young female engineers from diverse racial/ethnic backgrounds as they first entered the White and male-dominated engineering labor force with the...     

Pathological Conflict Avoidance in Anorexia Nervosa: Family Perspectives

Conflict avoidance is a common pattern in families of patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), but little systematic controlled research has been conducted to elucidate the formal mechanics of such interaction. Forty family triads with daughters suffering from AN were compared to 40 matched control (CON) triads, on five measures of conflictual family situations. Results revealed that the AN group had significantly more difficulty in choosing the topic of discussion, adhering to the topic, developing and exploring the chosen topic, and reaching a solution—all within a family setting. Findings empirically support previous clinical and research evidence on the pathological avoidance of conflict in families with a member who has AN. Therapeutic implications are discussed.     

Launching themes in Israeli fathers and mothers

This study focused on launching processes as reflected in the reactions of Israeli parents to the drafting of their eldest son. A questionnaire tapping parents' reactions was constructed and administered to 237 couples. Factor analysis delineated eight substantive factors: Emotional Investment, Parent-Child Strains, Fostering Son's Maturity, Parental Disengagement, Parent's Transitional Phase, Dissatisfaction with Army, Son's Unpreparedness, and Strengthening Family Relations. The factors depicted modes of coping with launching and transitional midlife processes. The construct validity of the factor scales was examined in a multivariate regression analysis with 12 predictor variables related to sociodemographics, attitudes, personal concerns, and satisfactions. Mothers differed from fathers in some factor scale means as well as in the pattern in which the predictor variables related to the factor scale scores. The results are interpreted in terms of ambivalent launching reactions involving distress on the one hand and a sense of growth on the other. While adaptation to this transition in the family takes place within a specific cultural context, its implications for universal launching features are also discussed.     

Reasons-responsiveness,control and the negligence puzzle

A longstanding puzzle about moral responsibility for negligence arises from three plausible yet jointly inconsistent theses: (i) an agent can, in certain circumstances, be morally responsible for some outcome O, even if her behavior with respect to O is negligent (i.e., even if she never adverted to the possibility that the behavior might result in O), (ii) an agent can be morally responsible for O only if she has some control over O, (iii) if an agent acts negligently with respect to O, then she has no control over O. This paper is in two parts. First, I argue that reasons-responsiveness models of moral responsibility can be applied naturally to negligence scenarios; indeed, agents are intuitively responsible for the outcomes of their negligent behavior just when they meet the conditions for responsibility given by the best reason-responsiveness theories. Second, if the reasons-responsiveness conditions are applicable to negligence scenarios then one of two things follows: either agents can have direct control over outcomes they never adverted to, or reasons-responsiveness is not a condition of control but of something else connected to moral responsibility. Each possibility would be important in its own right—and each can solve the negligence puzzle.