ON THE CONSEQUENCES OF TELEVISION-RELATED PARENT-CHILD INTERACTION

This is a theoretical examination of certain ways in which a child's development may be affected by parent-child interactions in which the content of television programming appears as an explicit referent, i. e., as the topic of a verbal exchange, as the premise for a game, and so forth. The discussion deals with four areas of development, viz.: (1) the child's interpretational skills with regard to the television medium; (2) the child's repertory of cognitive categories regarding the real world; (3) the child's behavioral repertory, including both verbal and nonverbal items; and (4) the child's social relationships. The paper concludes with a discussion of certain methodological issues involved in the empirical examination of these matters.     

Controlled Substance‐related Beliefs and Use: Relationships to Undergraduates' Creative Personality Traits

The relationship between creativity and various mind‐altering substances — especially alcohol — has been a popular topic among creativity researchers and the public at large. Yet experimental studies have found little evidence that alcohol use has a causal influence on creativity, with most studies of creative production showing negative or neutral effects. However, the impact of high levels of creativity on future alcohol use (i.e., the reciprocal relationship) has been rarely studied. The present study examined the relationship between creative personality characteristics, use of alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, and alcohol‐related beliefs among 431 undergraduates. Results of correlational and t‐test analyses suggest that creative personality is not significantly correlated with use of these three controlled substances, and that the relationships between personality scores and self‐reported beliefs about alcohol are generally weak, with notable exceptions. The paper concludes with specific recommendations regarding research on the relationship between creativity and the use of controlled‐substances.     

Family rituals in married couples: Links with attachment,relationship quality,and closeness

This study examined the association between self‐reports of family rituals and relationship attachment, relationship quality, and closeness in 150 married couples in Portugal. Using structural equation modeling to examine both within‐individual and across‐partner effects, the results were generally as predicted. First, lower levels of avoidant attachment were related to greater family investment in rituals. Second, greater family investment in rituals was associated with more positive relationship quality and closeness. Third, family investment in rituals partially mediated the link between avoidance and relationship quality and closeness. Fourth, the mediational models were significant for women but not for men. These results highlight the importance of links among family interactions, couple interactions, and individual differences.