A loss function for alpha factor analysis

Most of the factor solutions can be got by minimizing a corresponding loss function. However, up to now, a loss function for the alpha factor analysis (AFA) has not been known. The present paper establishes such a loss function for the AFA. Some analogies to the maximum likelihood factor analysis are discussed.The author is greatly indebted to Prof. Henry F. Kaiser (University of California, Berkeley) for his kind encouragement. He is also indebted to an anonymous referee ofPsychometrika for having confronted him with the problem in 1977. Financial support by the Wiener Hochschuljubiläumsstiftung is gratefully acknowledged.     

Differentiability of Kruskal's stress at a local minimum

It is shown that Kruskal's multidimensional scaling loss function is differentiable at a local minimum. Or, to put it differently, that in multidimensional scaling solutions using Kruskal's stress distinct points cannot coincide.     

Treatment of overweight children: The relationship between dependent measures and a clinically significant outcome

Behavioral treatments for overweight children have not fared well in achieving or maintaining clinically significant weight losses. The use of more appropriate dependent measures which also take height, sex, and age into consideration is suggested. A multiple-baseline analysis of the behavioral treatment of seven overweight children was conducted. Results support the contention that a more clinically significant outcome emerges when appropriate measures are used.     

Wrapping services in an urban setting

Efforts to reform services for children and their families in Baltimore City have included providing Wraparound services to youth returned or diverted from out-of-state residential treatment. We briefly present the history and evolution of the system reform efforts in Baltimore City that were necessary to support the implementation of a Wraparound model of service delivery. The characteristics of the Wraparound service model is presented along with the referral pathway of the youth into the service system, the components of the service delivery system and an overview of step-down services and linkages utilized to transition the youth. Data are presented that demonstrate the level of community adjustment of a subset of the 121 youth served through the Wraparound model in contrast to the level of community adjustment achieved by nonequivalent comparison groups. We discuss the use of report card type of outcome measures, its user-friendly features, limitations, and the developmental steps needed to refine it further.     

Developing conceptions of racism among young white adults in the context of cultural diversity coursework

Despite substantial research on racial attitudes and racial identity development among young white adults, little is known about the development of their conceptions about racism. The present study assessed a five-step, empirically based contextualist model of the development of conceptions about racism in young white adults, adapted from the research of Perry (1970), Kitchener and Fischer (1990), and others. A total of 55 young white adults participating in cultural diversity coursework responded to questionnaires about the nature and causes of racism and responses were classified according to the five-step model. Results indicated that many first-year white college students think about racism in dualistic terms, comparable to those described by Perry (1970) in some first-year students' epistemological concepts. Over a semester, many students showed transitions to higher steps, conceptually integrating more dimensions of the problem. Such developmental transitions may be highly context-specific. Implications for educational interventions are discussed.     

Attributes of successful approaches to weight loss and control

Most weight loss treatments result in only temporary losses, followed by slow regain. This paper examines those factors that are correlated with the most favorable results in terms of loss and maintenance of loss. Weight loss is positively related to self-monitoring, goal setting, social support, and length of treatment. Maintenance of weight loss is correlated with regular physical activity, self-monitoring, and continued contact with therapists. Regain is associated with inconsistent and restrictive dieting, life stress, negative coping style, and emotional or binge eating patterns. The implications drawn from these findings are (a) normalize eating patterns, (b) emphasize exercise, (c) ensure social support, (d) set realistic goal weights, (e) focus on health rather than appearance, (f) focus on self-esteem, and (g) target binge eating.     

An attentional analysis of children's sensitivity to artistic style in paintings

This study investigated the claim that children are not able to judge artistic style when it conflicts with subject matter cues in paintings, using stimulus and methodological controls not employed previously. 6 and 9 year old children and adults were asked to judge which member of a pair of paintings looked like it was painted by the same painter as the target in a matching to sample task. Style choices were always possible and subject matter matches were either not possible because that dimension was controlled in the stimulus set (control), or possible but in conflict with style choices (experimental). The levels of discriminability of style and subject matter differences were varied. For control conditions, we found that performance was poor for all ages when style differences were low in discriminability and subject matter varied across the three stimuli; otherwise it was high. For experimental conditions, we found that irrelevant variation of subject matter was more detrimental if differences on that dimension were highly discriminable. Even the youngest children could make style matches and could do so even when a subject matter match was also possible, suggesting that they are sensitive to artistic style and can focus on that dimension in the face of irrelevant variation on other dimensions. The results are discussed as they relate to earlier claims that children are not able to judge artistic style and to the implications for training that follow from those claims.     

Control over response number by a targeted percentile schedule: reinforcement loss and the acute effects of d-amphetamine.

Two fixed-consecutive-number-like procedures were used to examine effects of acute d-amphetamine administration on control over response number. In both procedures, rats were required to press the left lever at least once and then press the right lever to complete a trial. The consecutive left-lever presses on each trial comprised a "run." Under the targeted percentile schedule, reinforcement was provided if the current run length was closer to the target length (16) than half of the most recent 24 runs. This differentially reinforced run length while holding reinforcement probability constant at .5. A second group acquired the differentiation under the targeted percentile schedule, but were then shifted to a procedure that yoked reinforcement probability by subject and run length to that obtained under the targeted percentile schedule. The two procedures generated practically identical control run lengths, response rates, reinforcement probabilities, and reinforcement rates. Administration of d-amphetamine disrupted percentile responding to a greater degree than yoked control responding. This disruption decreased reinforcement frequency less in the former than the latter procedure. The similar baseline responding under these two procedures suggests that this difference in sensitivity was due to behavioral adjustments to drug prompted by reduction of reinforcement density in the yoked control but not the percentile schedule. These adjustments attenuate the drug's effects under the former, but not the latter, procedure.     

Parental grief following the death of an infant—a follow-up over one year

The course of parental bereavement during the first year following an infant's death was investigated. Also, the differences in mothers' and fathers' reactions, the differences according to the mothers' occupational role, and the similarities in couples' reactions were studied. From a total sample of 59 families, 13 families answered their questionnaires at all three time points (1, 6 and 13 months), 22 families responded at two time points, and 37 families responded at some point following the loss. Measures relating to anxiety, depression, bodily discomfort, general well being and impact of event were used at the three time points. The results showed that grief, as measured by the different inventories, decreased over time. The decrease was most evident from 6 to 13 months, and most prominent in women. A considerable number of the parents were still actively dealing with the loss all through the first year of bereavement. In most couples the mother reported most distress. Mothers were significantly more depressed than fathers at all time points, and mothers also had significantly higher anxiety and lower general health at 1 and 13 months, and intrusive scores of 1 and 6 months. Women at home evidenced more grief at all three time points than women employed outside the home. A high or low score in one spouse was more strongly correlated with a similar score in the other at 1 and 13 months, than at 6 months. The implications for counselling of parents, with special emphasis on the employment situation of the mother, is emphasized.     

Development of Adolescent Problem Behavior

The developmental model of adolescent antisocial behavior advanced by Patterson and colleagues (e.g., Patterson, Reid, & Dishion, 1992) appears to generalize the development of a diverse set of problem behaviors. Structural equation modeling methods were applied to 18-month longitudinal data from 523 adolescents. The problem behavior construct included substance use, antisocial behavior, academic failure, and risky sexual behavior. Families with high levels of conflict were less likely to have high levels of parent–child involvement. Such family conditions resulted in less adequate parental monitoring of adolescent behavior, making associations with deviant peers more likely. Poor parental monitoring and associations with deviant peers were strong predictors of engagement in problem behavior. These constructs accounted for 46% of the variance in problem behavior. Although association with deviant peers was the most proximal social influence on problem behavior, parental monitoring and family factors (conflict and involvement) were key parenting practices that influenced this developmental process.