Children's Decisions About Substance Use: An Application and Extension of the Theory of Reasoned Action1

This research examines the applicability of Fishbein and Ajzen's (1975) theory of reasoned action (TRA) to intentions to use cigarettes and alcohol among 5th- and 6th-grade students. It also addresses the question of unidimensionality of outcome beliefs and referent norms. Results suggest that the TRA model describes children's decision making well, although the ability of income and race to add to prediction, net of the effects of attitude and perceived norm, are contrary to the theory's prediction. In addition, we find support for multidimensional components of both attitude and norm for both behaviors.     

Idiopathic orthostatic hypotension]

The disease picture of idiopathic orthostatic hypotonia is described from a clinical and histological point of view with reference to a case treated by the present authors. The independent character of this particular ailment may be considered as resulting from the virtually uncontrollable orthostatic decreases in blood pressure in connection with the progressive disorders especially of the motor system. Also, the etiology is not yet fully understood.     

State work engagement and state affect: Similar yet distinct concepts

State work engagement (SWE), a multidimensional construct of work-related well-being, was originally conceptualized as a trait, but diary studies have revealed substantial within-person fluctuations. Given that SWE is conceptualized as a work-related affective-motivational construct, the question arises as to whether SWE can be differentiated from other affective constructs. Thus, the goal of the present study was to compare SWE and state affect with respect to their degree of within-person variability and to examine their distinct relationships with health and performance variables (i.e., sleep quality and job performance). Fifty-two employees (44% female) participated in the study, which included 3 assessments per day over the course of 2 weeks. Our results revealed that energetic arousal and tense arousal fluctuated more strongly within days than vigor and absorption. Multilevel analyses demonstrated that high sleep quality predicted higher state affect but not higher SWE. In addition, vigor exhibited an inverted U-shaped relation with performance. In sum, SWE as a time-varying construct showed some overlap with state affect but also demonstrated discriminant validity.     

Coping with intractable controversies: The case for problem structuring in policy design and analysis

Intractable controversies and other types of policy disagreements correspond to policy problems with a different structure. The more structured a problem is, the more consensus there is about which values and information are at stake in the process of problem solving. Policymakers like to treat problems in as structured a way as possible. Three policy strategies are described to move away from the unstructured to the more structured problem type. However, policymakers run the risk of oversimplifying an ill-structured problem, which means that elements of the problem situation relevant to other actors are overlooked or denied. Hence, policy controversies may become intractable. The remedy is a fourth strategy, characterised by problem structuring. This strategy requires political participation of actors with different views on the problem, and an argued political problem choice. His main research areas are problem structuring in public policy, knowledge use, environmental risk, technology and democracy. He is currently working on knowledge-based policy strategies for addressing the issue of climate change. His research interest is to develop and apply discursive and/or argumentative approaches to the policy process.     

Book Reviews

The Psychological Record -     

Interpersonal aggression as a function of subject's sex, subject's sex role identification, opponent's sex, and degree of provocation.

Ninety-five undergraduates served as subjects in an experiment where they could administer electric shock to an opponent and receive the same from an opponent. The independent variables were subject's sex, subject's sex role identification (as measured by the Bem Sex Role Inventory), opponent's sex, as well as degree of provocation from the opponent. Aggression was defined as level of shock chosen by the subject for the opponent. The results indicated that masculine subjects facing a male opponent were more aggressive than individuals of other sex role identifications whether or not they were provoked. It was also found that masculine males were more aggressive than other males or anyof the females. Furthermore, opponent's sex influenced the males' aggressiveness but had no effect on the degree of aggression in females. Finally, aggression increased in all subjects following increases in provocation. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for pyschological androgyny.