Psychometric properties of a Spanish version of the Dyadic Adjustment Scale

The Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) is a self-report instrument measuring marital satisfaction, which has been widely used in different cultures. In Spain, there are to date no studies analysing the psychometric properties of the scale in functional and dysfunctional couples, nor performing independent factor analysis of men and women's data. The objective of this study is to determine some psychometric properties of a Spanish DAS version on a sample of 915 participants: 403 who requested couple therapy, and 512 who did not request therapy. Results support the reliability of the instrument for both subsamples. The confirmatory factor analysis showed a four-factor internal structure that corresponds to the one proposed by the author of the original scale. Furthermore, the Spanish DAS has high discriminant power between both subsamples, and presents as a valid and reliable instrument to measure marital quality in Spanish couples who request couple therapy and those who do not request it.     

Location,Location, Location: Applying Spatial Statistics to the Relationship Landscape

The desire to understand relationships is a passion shared by professionals in research, clinical, and educational settings. Questionnaires are frequently used in each of these settings for a multitude of purposes—such as screening, assessment, program evaluation, or establishing therapeutic effectiveness. However, clinical issues arise when a couple's answers on questionnaires do not match clinical judgment or lack clinical utility, while statistical problems arise when data from both partners are put into analyses. This article introduces the use of geospatial statistics to analyze couple data plotted on a two‐dimensional “relational map.” Relationship maps can increase assessment sensitivity, track treatment progress, and remove statistical issues typically associated with couple data. This article briefly introduces core assumptions of spatial models, illustrates the use of spatial models in creating a relational landscape of divorce, offers suggestions for the use of relational maps in a clinical setting, and explores future research ideas.     

Discovery of a Partner Affair and Major Depressive Episode in a Probability Sample of Married or Cohabiting Adults

Prior research has found that humiliating marital events are associated with depression. Building on this research, the current study investigated the association between one specific humiliating marital event—discovering that one's partner had an affair—and past‐year major depressive episode (MDE) in a probability sample of married or cohabiting men and women who were at high risk for depression based on the criterion that they scored below the midpoint on a measure of marital satisfaction (N = 227). Results indicate that (i) women were more likely than men to report discovering their partner had an affair in the prior 12 months; (ii) discovering a partner affair was associated with a higher prevalence of past‐year MDE and a lower level of marital adjustment; and (iii) the association between discovering a partner affair and MDE remained statistically significant when holding constant demographic variables and marital adjustment. These results support continued investigation into the impact that finding out about an affair has on the mental health of the person discovering a partner affair.     

Road signs depicting childrens's book illustrations temporarily reduce speed on urban roads

Speeding on urban roads is a major road safety problem. Police enforcement and speed humps are effective measures to prevent drivers from speeding. However, these measures may also elicit none compliance because of their restrictive nature. Therefore, non-compulsive measures that nudge drivers to adopt low speeds are also required. One such a nudge was evaluated: road signs displaying children’s book illustrations. These signs display illustrations which were created by the late illustrator and writer of books for toddlers, Dick Bruna, and are named ‘Dick Bruna signs’. The idea of the developers of these signs was that they will evoke feelings of caution and care in drivers and this will make them drive slower. To evaluate the effect, two studies were conducted. In the first study participants watched photos from the driver’s perspective. They had to report how fast they expected others would drive and how fast they themselves would drive. Participants reported speeds of others higher than their own speeds but the pattern was the same: speeds on photos with a Dick Bruna sign were approximately 4 km/h lower than on the same photos without a Dick Bruna sign and speeds were not significantly lower when a neutral sign such as an advertisement was visible. In the second study speeds were measured during seven consecutive weeks on five experimental roads and five comparison roads. On the experimental roads, during the week 3–5 a Dick Bruna sign was placed. Controlled for developments in speed on the comparison roads in the same period, mean speed was marginally significant lower, and the V85 speed and the proportion of speed offenders were significantly lower in only the first week after placement of the signs.     

Estimating effectiveness of speed reduction measures for pedestrian crossing treatments using an empirically supported speed choice modeling framework

Pedestrian crossing treatments, such as Pedestrian Hybrid Beacons (PHBs) and Rectangular Rapid-Flashing Beacons (RRFBs), are traffic control devices implemented to help pedestrians safely cross busy or higher-speed roadways at midblock crossings and uncontrolled intersections. This study aims to assess the effectiveness of the PHB and RRFB by analyzing drivers’ speeding behavior under different roadway types with real-life traffic conditions. In order to understand the effect of pedestrian crossing treatments (i.e., PHB and RRFB) have on drivers’ speeding behavior, this paper analyzes four zones (i.e., one upstream zone and three consecutive downstream zones). For the four analysis zones, different indexes were computed which corresponds to the differences in drivers’ speed when encountered with the pedestrian crossing treatments. A grouped random effect hurdle beta regression model is estimated for the indexes, with a fixed effect hurdle beta model used for comparison and validating the importance of considering the grouped random heterogeneity across participants. The proposed analysis framework was validated by the means of an empirical driving simulator study, based on two urban roads in the Central Florida region, North Alafaya Trail (SR-434) and South Orange Blossom Trail (US-441). The results revealed that the proposed modeling framework reflects drivers’ difference in speed for the different pedestrian crossing treatments. The results suggest that with proper understanding of the PHB, the PHB can reduce drivers speed even beyond the location of the PHB. Meanwhile, the RRFB does have some effect in speed reduction beyond the location of the RRFB, however many drivers failed to acknowledge the RRFB. It is suggested that when drivers’ have proper education on the use of the PHB to reduce speed safely and for the installation of RRFB be on roads with two or less lanes and a speed limit less than 40 mph. While the main purpose of the pedestrian crossing treatments is to help pedestrians cross safely, speed reduction can be considered a byproduct as revealed in this study.     

Cars overtaking cyclists on different urban road types – Expectations about passing safety are not aligned with observed passing distances

Cars overtaking cyclists have been identified as a source of crashes and subjective risk. Several studies investigated the passing distance for different road types. There has been less research concerning cyclists’ expectations concerning the passing distance at different road types. Thus, we aim at contrasting cyclists’ expectations about the passing safety for different speed limits and cycling infrastructures with the passing distances observed at corresponding urban road types. For this purpose, we show participants images of a predefined set of survey zones in a web-based survey, and ask them about the expected passing safety of cars overtaking them when imagining riding their bikes at these locations. We measure the observed passing distances at the same survey zones with a bike-mounted sensor. We find that cars meet the German legal minimum passing distance of 1.5 m in towns in only 30% of all observed events. In 30 km/h speed zones, passing distances at roads featuring dedicated cycling infrastructure (e.g. bike lanes, cycling boulevards) are decreased as compared to those featuring no cycling infrastructure. In contrast, people estimate that the passing safety on roads with dedicated cycling infrastructure is safer than without cycling infrastructure. This effect is even more pronounced on living streets. Situations where oncoming cars (e.g. living streets, ‘opposite’ roads) must be passed in close distance are apparently not perceived as particularly dangerous. Cycling tracks in 50 km/h speed zones increase both the observed passing distance and the corresponding expectations about passing safety. Taken together, the qualitative comparison of the two datasets implies that cyclists’ expectations about cars passing them in a more adequate and safe distance in streets with reduced speed limits and dedicated cycling infrastructure are not justified in light of the actually observed passing distances. Possible explanations for the contradicting patterns could be that cyclists prefer situations where space is explicitly dedicated for bikes, that they account for the anticipated car traffic volume, and that they assume oncoming cars as less dangerous to pass.     

The impact of daytime running (LED) lights on motorcycles speed estimation: A driving simulator study

Motorcycles are the most common type of vehicle involved in traffic deaths, especially in underdeveloped and developing countries. In order to prevent traffic accidents involving motorcyclists, one of the measures is to respect the “see and be seen” rule. If a motorcycle is perceived in time or another motorcyclist is spotted in time, there is enough time to react, in order to avoid a traffic accident or reduce the consequences. In many countries, it is for this reason that the use of daytime running lights on motor vehicles and/or motorcycles is legally prescribed. In the Republic of Serbia, a country that belongs among the least developed countries, about a third of those killed in traffic accidents are motorcycle drivers. For these reasons, an experimental study was conducted on a driving simulator to examine the importance of (non) use of daytime running lights on the estimation of motorcycle speed. Three different situations were examined: without daytime running lights, with daytime running lights, and with LED daytime running lights; for test speeds of 30 km/h, 50 km/h, 70 km/h, and 90 km/h. In the experiment, 128 young drivers participated. The results showed that the speed of a motorcycle with LED daytime running lights on is perceived most accurately.     

Naturalistic observation of drivers’ hands, speed and headway

Drivers’ hands position have been shown to vary with traffic speed and complexity of the driving environment, such that drivers are more likely to place two hands on the top half of the steering wheel as the supposed driving difficulty increases (Walton, D. & Thomas, J. A. [2005]. Naturalistic observations of driver hand positions. Transportation Research Part F, 8, 229–238). This research evaluates drivers’ hands positions, examining the reliability of the measure and the relationship between the positions of the driver’s hands, vehicle speed, vehicle headway and driver sex. The findings show that the observed positions of drivers’ hands have good inter-rater reliability and demonstrate both temporal and contextual reliability. The positions of drivers’ hands are related to other measures, such that drivers with lower-ranked positions of hands are more likely to travel at higher speeds and accept shorter headways. Female drivers are found to be 2.87 times more likely than males to place two hands rather than one hand on the top half of the steering wheel.     

How do loss- and restoration-oriented coping change across time? A prospective study on adjustment following spousal bereavement

Background and objectives: According to the Dual Process Model (DPM), shifting between loss-oriented (LO) and restoration-oriented (RO) coping is essential for adjustment following bereavement. Knowledge about how LO and RO coping change over time and how such changes are related to adjustment is missing. With a prospective design this study investigated (1) relations between levels of LO/RO coping and selected outcomes and (2) changes in LO/RO coping across time and their relations to adjustment.

Methods: A sample of 145 spousal bereaved individuals completed questionnaires measuring LO and RO coping, grief symptoms, positive affect, and attachment orientation approximately 2–3 months (baseline) and 7 months (follow-up) post-loss.

Results: High usage of LO coping was associated with poorer outcomes and high usage of RO coping was associated with better outcomes at both baseline and follow-up. Individuals generally shifted towards more RO coping across time and those who exhibited this shift showed lower levels of grief at follow-up compared to individuals who changed towards more LO coping across time.

Conclusions: Individuals showing more RO coping reported better adjustment both early and later in the bereavement process. Changes in coping orientation over time might be useful for understanding complicated grief reactions following loss.     

Influence of speed-related auditory feedback on braking in a 3D-driving simulator

Although discrete auditory stimuli have been found useful for emergency braking, the role of continuous speed-related auditory feedback has not been investigated yet. This point may though be of importance in electric vehicles in which acoustic cues are drastically changed. The present study addressed this question through two experiments. In experiment 1, 12 usual drivers were exposed to naturalistic auditory feedback mimicking those issued from electric cars, while facing dynamic visual scenes in a 3D driving simulator. After being passively travelled up to a sustained constant speed, subjects had to stop their car in front of a traffic light that unexpectedly turned to red. Modifications of the speed-related auditory feedback did not impact braking initiation and regulation. In experiment 2, synthesized auditory feedback based on the Shepard-Risset glissando was provided to a new sample of 15 usual drivers in the same task. Pitch variations of this acoustic stimulus, although not scaled to an absolute speed, were manipulated as a function of visual speed changes. Changing the mapping between pitch variations of the synthesized auditory feedback and visual speed changes induced adjustments on braking which depended on acceleration/deceleration feedback. These findings stressed the importance of the acoustic content and its dynamics for car speed control.