A cross-sectional study of changes in Norwegian adolescents' body image from 1992 to 2002

The present study examines changes in adolescents’ body image over a 10-year period. Both satisfaction with appearance in general, and satisfaction with different aspects of appearance (e.g., face, muscle tone, and weight) are considered. We analyzed data from two general population studies of 13–19-year-old Norwegians, “Young in Norway 1992” (N = 10,460, response rate = 97.0%) and “Young in Norway 2002” (N = 11,371, response rate = 92.3%). These studies used identical sampling procedures, data collection procedures, and measures of body image. The analyses showed a polarization in adolescents’ body image — concurrent with an increase in the proportion of adolescents with a very negative body image, there was an increase in the proportion of adolescents with a very positive body image. The greater proportion of adolescents with a very negative body image could partly be explained statistically by the increased body mass index (BMI) in the same period. Girls had a more problematic body image than boys, both in 1992 and in 2002. Whether the strength of this gender difference changed or not depended on the aspect of appearance considered.     

On Nonequivalence of Several Procedures of Structural Equation Modeling

The normal theory based maximum likelihood procedure is widely used in structural equation modeling. Three alternatives are: the normal theory based generalized least squares, the normal theory based iteratively reweighted least squares, and the asymptotically distribution-free procedure. When data are normally distributed and the model structure is correctly specified, the four procedures are asymptotically equivalent. However, this equivalence is often used when models are not correctly specified. This short paper clarifies conditions under which these procedures are not asymptotically equivalent. Analytical results indicate that, when a model is not correct, two factors contribute to the nonequivalence of the different procedures. One is that the estimated covariance matrices by different procedures are different, the other is that they use different scales to measure the distance between the sample covariance matrix and the estimated covariance matrix. The results are illustrated using real as well as simulated data. Implication of the results to model fit indices is also discussed using the comparative fit index as an example. The work described in this paper was supported by a grant from the Research Grants Council of Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (Project No. CUHK 4170/99M) and by NSF grant DMS04-37167.     

A randomized controlled comparison of guided self-help cognitive behavioral therapy and behavioral weight loss for binge eating disorder

We performed a randomized controlled study to test the relative efficacy of guided self-help (gsh) cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBTgsh) and behavioral weight loss treatment (BWLgsh) treatments for binge eating disorder (BED). To provide an additional partial control for non-specific influences of attention, a third control (CON) treatment condition was included. We tested the treatments using a guided self-help approach given the promising results from initial studies using minimal therapist guidance. Ninety consecutive overweight patients (19 males, 71 females) with BED were randomly assigned (5:5:2 ratio) to one of three treatments: CBTgsh (N=37), BWLgsh (N=38), or CON (N=15). The three 12-week treatment conditions were administered individually following guided self-help protocols. Overall, 70 (78%) completed treatments; CBTgsh (87%) and CON (87%) had significantly higher completion rates than BWLgsh (67%). Intent-to-treat analyses revealed that CBTgsh had significantly higher remission rates (46%) than either BWLgsh (18%) or CON (13%). Weight loss was minimal and differed little across treatments. The findings suggest that CBT, administered via guided self-help, demonstrates efficacy for BED, but not for obesity. The findings support CBT administered via guided self-help as a first step in the treatment of BED and provide evidence for its specific effects.     

音乐欣赏过程中三至十岁儿童的情绪判断与想象发展

研究不同年龄儿童音乐欣赏后的情绪判断及想象,结果表明：儿童对喜悦、悲伤两种艺术情绪判断正确率呈极显著差异,学前儿童情绪判断正确性喜悦大大高于悲伤。进入小学学习后的儿童对悲伤情绪判断正确率迅速提高。儿童想象指数随年龄缓慢增加。情绪正确判断人数与产生想象人数呈显著相关。     

THE EFFECT OF A TOKEN ECONOMY ON DIETARY COMPLIANCE FOR CHILDREN ON HEMODIALYSIS

Adherence to dietary restrictions is a recurring problem for children on hemodialysis. The effect of behavior modification in maintaining dietary control is reported for four patients aged 11 to 18 years. Weight gain, potassium level, and blood urea nitrogen were utilized as criteria measures. A token reinforcement program implemented by the hemodialysis team resulted in significant changes in the dietary pattern of the children. The average weight gain between dialysis sessions for the four subjects during treatment was reduced by 45% and the degree of weight fluctuation was lessened. Potassium levels and BUN were controlled to their appropriate level for subjects who initially exceeded the criterion level. With the withdrawal of weight gain from the contingency system, increase of weight gain between dialysis sessions was noted for all subjects.     

轻工企业组织行为与经济绩效的实证研究

为了探索中国轻工企业组织行为与经济绩效的因果关系和操作模式,我们参考英、荷、日三国有关企业组织行为的态度量表,设计了一套涵盖企业对市场竞争、文化理念和管理情景的“三模块”总量表,在轻工行业抽取八个样本企业,实施现场实验,采集有关企业组织行为的态度指数,然后与其经济绩效进行关联分析．结果表明,轻工企业组织行为的态度指数与其经济绩效总体趋势呈正相关,但个案分析提示两者间关系复杂,不仅有正相关,也有负相关现象;究其规律尚须扩大样本行纵贯式追踪研究．     

Behavioral variability in SHR and WKY rats as a function of rearing environment and reinforcement contingency.

The spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR) may model aspects of human attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). For example, just as responses by children with ADHD tend to be variable, so too SHRs often respond more variably than do Wistar-Kyoto (WKY) control rats. The present study asked whether behavioral variability in the SHR strain is influenced by rearing environment, a question related to hypotheses concerning the etiology of human ADHD. Some rats from each strain were reared in an enriched environment (housed socially), and others were reared in an impoverished environment (housed in isolation). Four groups--enriched SHR, impoverished SHR, enriched WKY, and impoverished WKY--were studied under two reinforcement contingencies, one in which reinforcement was independent of response variability and the other in which reinforcement depended upon high variability. The main finding was that rearing environment did not influence response variability (enriched and impoverished subjects responded similarly throughout). However, rearing environment affected body weight (enriched subjects weighted more than impoverished subjects) and response rate (impoverished subjects generally responded faster than enriched subjects). In addition, SHRs tended to respond variably throughout the experiment, whereas WKYs were more sensitive to the variability contingencies. Thus, behavioral variability was affected by genetic strain and by reinforcement contingency but not by the environment in which the subjects were reared.     

The problem of the additive constant and eigenvalues in metric multidimensional scaling

This paper is concerned with the additive constant problem in metric multidimensional scaling. First the influence of the additive constant on eigenvalues of a scalar product matrix is discussed. The second part of this paper is devoted to the introduction of a new formulation of the additive constant problem. A solution is given for fixed dimensionality, by maximizing a normalized index of fit with a gradient method. An experimental computation has shown that the author's solution is accurate and easy to follow.     

基于Gini指数的认知诊断计算机化自适应选题策略

Gini指数可用来描述分布的不均匀性,已广泛应用于决策树算法,本文开发了基于Gini指数的认知诊断计算机化自适应选题策略,并在饱和模型和缩减模型下与SHE, MPWKL,GDI,PWKL选题策略进行比较。模拟研究表明,基于Gini指数的选题策略与SHE,MPWKL,GDI相比,分类精度相近并提高了题库的利用率;与PWKL相比,提高了分类的精度和选题速度,综合来看,基于Gini指数的选题策略能够兼顾分类精度和题库使用均匀性。