Romantic love versus reproduction opportunities: Disentangling the contributions of different anxiety buffers under conditions of existential threat

Romantic relationships and offspring are discussed as anxiety buffers in terror management processes. We examined the relationship between these possible buffers and tested whether romantic relationships reduce existential threat due to reproduction opportunities or if they represent a distinct anxiety buffer. Contrary to our initial expectations, thinking about a positive romantic relationship without (vs. with) own children increased partner affect (Study 1) and commitment (Study 2) and decreased punishment intentions (Study 2) after mortality salience. These effects were mediated by participants' desire for romantic love. Furthermore, thinking about positive nonparental (vs. parental) romantic relationships lowered death‐thought accessibility (Study 3). Together, these findings suggest that romantic relationships form a distinct anxiety buffer that is only effective when the cultural (romance) instead of the biological (having children) nature of the relationship is highlighted. We discuss the role of anxiety buffer salience for determining whether offspring concerns buffer or increase existential threat.     

Predicting 13-year-olds' drinking using parents' self-reported alcohol use and restrictiveness compared with offspring's perception

This study examined whether offspring's perception of parental frequency of alcohol use and restrictiveness towards offspring's alcohol use could be used as a substitute for parental self-reports. Offspring's perception were compared with parents' self-reported alcohol use and restrictiveness in ability to predict offspring's own alcohol use. Respondents were 924 offspring, 642 fathers and 729 mothers. Correlations between fathers' and mothers' self-reported frequency of drinking alcohol and offspring's reports of parental frequency of drinking alcohol ranged from 0.55 to 0.70. Fathers' and mothers' self-reported alccohl use and restrictiveness explained less than two per cent of the variance in their offspring's alcohol use in regression analyses, while offspring's perception of parental drinking frequency and restrictiveness exaplained about eight per cent of the variance in offspring's alcohol use. These results represent a challenge to studies of young adolescents which interpret offspring's reports of parents' alcohol use as a surrogate measure 'of parents' self-reported alcohol use.     

Weakly aggressive behaviour towards nymphs in the cockroach Schultesia nitor (Blattaria: Zetoborinae)

This paper describes aggressive behaviour in the cockroach Schultesia nitor, a tropical forest species living in bird nests. Young S. nitor nymphs are known to show active dispersal while old nymphs and adults are contrastingly strongly gregarious, a combination of features never observed in other cockroach species. Our laboratory experiments using video recording of confrontations between pairs show that aggressive behaviour towards conspecific nymphs is not exhibited towards nymphs of the species Phoetalia pallida, and thus can be considered species specific in S. nitor. But, it is not kin oriented: the mother and all adults of both sexes in different physiological states exhibit this behaviour as well. Six types of aggressive interactions were discriminated, occurring in age-symmetric pairs of nymphs and adults. Even more frequent aggression was exhibited by adults and last instar nymphs towards younger nymphs of all instars. The frequency of aggressive acts and types of aggressive interactions varied according to sex and size of the two interacting individuals. The possible function and evolution of this behaviour is discussed, with emphasis on the difficulty of interpreting obvious but weak and not kin-biased aggression.     

Prevention of Sexual Assault Through the Resocialization of Women

No abstract available for this article.     

Treatment‐seeking young adults from families with alcohol problems. What have they been through? What state are they in?

Aims: This study surveys the childhood experiences of treatment‐seeking young adult offspring of problem drinkers (AOPDs) and their psychological state at treatment baseline. Methods: Clients (N=502) entering a Danish nationwide treatment facility for young AOPDS completed the survey. Clients completed the Adult Children of Alcoholics Trauma Inventory, The Family Tree Questionnaire, the CORE–OM 34, Major Depression Inventory, and the Work and Social Adjustment Scale at treatment start. Results: A total of 48% of the clients' mothers and 75% of the clients' fathers were problem drinkers. Both parents were problem drinkers in 25% of cases, and 27% had at least one problem drinking stepparent. Mothers had on average drunk during 11.4 years of the clients' childhood (0–18 years). Fathers had on average drunk during 13.4 years; 46% knew or believed that at least one of their parents suffered from a psychiatric illness; 44% reported physical violence; 63% reported psychological abuse; and 38% had not spoken to anyone about their family's problem. A further 20% had only spoken to a parent or sibling. Conclusions/implications: The study highlights the high degree of variation in AOPD clients' childhood experiences and in their levels of distress, corresponding with studies of non clinical samples. The study offers a bleak image of the extent of parental drinking and of other negative factors in these clients' childhood homes, coupled with the finding that clients have often not spoken to others about their parents' drinking. Mentioning parental drinking to a counsellor is thus a potentially highly significant counselling event, demanding counsellor sensitivity and attention.     

Children’s tactics of mate choice manipulation: Exploring sex differences and personality effects

Parents do not always agree with their children’s mating decisions, and so they attempt to manipulate them in accepting mates of their choice and in terminating relationships with undesirable ones. Children engage in counter-manipulation in order to avoid undesirable mates to be imposed on them and to persuade their parents to accept the mates they have chosen. This paper aims to identify the main factors that predict the tactics that children use on their parents. In particular, three hypotheses are tested, namely the use of manipulation tactics is predicted by the personality of children, by the sex of children and by the sex of parents. Evidence from two independent studies finds support for the first two hypotheses, but no support for the third hypothesis. The implications of these findings are further discussed.