Men and women executives and processes related to decision accuracy.

Random samples of 100 female and 100 male executives in federal agencies (all at the GS-15 level) were administered a personnel decision task measure, the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, the Revised Choice Dilemmas Questionnaire, and the Personal Attributes Questionnaire. These measures, in addition to the criterion variable of decision accuracy, represented 11 predictor variables (6 decision task variables, 2 personality variables, and 3 sex role perception variables). There were no significant differences between the male and female executives on any of the decision task variables. Female executives were less prone to risk taking than male executives, and female executives showed a tendency toward androgyny. Stepwise multiple regression produced 3 variables (confidence, dogmatism, and decision latency) that were related to decision accuracy; this was independent of the sex of the executives. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Peer acceptance and school-related variables in an integrated junior high school.

Interracial peer acceptance at the junior high school level was related to 9 predictor variables: grade point average (GPA), IQ, attendance, self-concept of academic ability, sex, race, age, years in the school, and classroom racial composition. 322 7th- and 8th-grade students from predominantly lower-middle-class backgrounds were administered modified Syracuse Scales of Human Relations, measuring academic and social acceptance. Analysis of variance results show that White Ss slightly preferred Whites for the satisfaction of their academic and social needs. However, with stepwise multiple regression analysis, race was not a significant predictor variable for academic or social acceptance by White Ss. GPA and sex were the most prominent predictors of acceptance. Black Ss accepted both Black peers and White peers equally for academic interaction but preferred Blacks for social interaction. Race was a significant predictor variable for academic and social acceptance by Black Ss. However, race was secondary to GPA and/or sex for academic acceptance by Black females and Black males. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relationship of sex guilt and moral reasoning to premarital sex in college women and in couples.

Used the Mosher Forced-Choice Guilt Inventory, the Sex Experience Inventory, and Kohlberg's Moral Dilemmas Questionnaire in Exp I to assess 119 unmarried college women with regard to sex behavior, sex guilt, and moral reasoning. Categories of sexual expression were developed which were useful in predicting behavior. Guilt was a better predictor of sex than morality. Maintaining virginity and losing it were multidetermined. Exp II assessed 76 unmarried college couples on the same variables. Sex guilt and sex experience were associated with moral reasoning for men and for couples. Results suggest that the male partner is more influential than the female in setting standards for the couple. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual infidelity in a national survey of American women: Differences in prevalence and correlates as a function of method of assessment.

The purposes of this study were (a) to estimate the annual prevalence of, and to identify the predictors of, sexual infidelity in a population-based sample of married women (N = 4,884); and (b) to evaluate whether the prevalence and predictors of infidelity varied as a function of whether the assessment of infidelity was based on a face-to-face interview versus a computer-assisted self-interview. Annual prevalence of infidelity was much smaller on the basis of the face-to-face interview (1.08%) than on the computer-assisted self-interview (6.13%). Although many of the predictor variables replicated results from previous studies (e.g., demographic variables, religiosity, sexual experience), findings also indicated that childhood sexual abuse (i.e., forced sex) predicted greater probability of infidelity. Finally, the magnitude of the association with infidelity for 4 of the 9 predictor variables differed between the 2 methods for assessing infidelity. This study's findings underscore the importance of assessing infidelity with methods such as computer-assisted self-interviews that minimize the influence of social desirability and impression management. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Characteristics of Persistent Sexual Offenders: A Meta-Analysis of Recidivism Studies.

A meta-analysis of 82 recidivism studies (1,620 findings from 29,450 sexual offenders) identified deviant sexual preferences and antisocial orientation as the major predictors of sexual recidivism for both adult and adolescent sexual offenders. Antisocial orientation was the major predictor of violent recidivism and general (any) recidivism. The review also identified some dynamic risk factors that have the potential of being useful treatment targets (e.g., sexual preoccupations, general self-regulation problems). Many of the variables commonly addressed in sex offender treatment programs (e.g., psychological distress, denial of sex crime, victim empathy, stated motivation for treatment) had little or no relationship with sexual or violent recidivism. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The HOME Inventory and family demographics.

Examined the relation between the Home Observation for Measurement of Environment (HOME) Inventory and several child-status and family-structure variables, namely, sex, race, SES, the amount of crowding in the home, and birth order. MANCOVAs using HOME subscales as criterion measures and the status and structural variables as predictors were performed on data from 79 intact families gathered when the index child was 12 and 24 mo of age. Only crowding and birth order showed consistent relations with HOME scores when the effects of all other predictor variables were controlled. Of the 6 HOME scales, Organization of the Environment, Provision of Appropriate Play Materials, and Maternal Involvement showed the strongest relation to the status and structural measures. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black–White correlates of job satisfaction.

Multiple regression analysis of a sample made up of 3 independently drawn US national surveys (J. A. Davis, 1972, 1973, 1974) was used to estimate the correlation of 8 variables with job satisfaction among 275 Blacks and 1,748 Whites. Correlations were not large, and results were very similar for both races: With other variables controlled, age was the strongest predictor of job satisfaction, and social class, work autonomy, sex, and education showed no effects. Family income, supervisory position, and occupational prestige correlated with job satisfaction among Whites, but the relationships among Blacks are not significant. (21 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of the coping behavior of mothers of handicapped children.

Examined a large number of psychosocial and demographic variables (from the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress, Locke-Wallace Marital Adjustment Scale, the Psychological Well-Being Index, a social support scale, and a religiosity index) to determine which were the best predictors of the coping behavior of mothers of handicapped children. Ss were 98 mothers of children with a wide variety of handicapping conditions. A stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that marital satisfaction was the best overall predictor, accounting for 79% of the predictive ability. Other significant predictors were the child's residence and sex. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of therapist sex on the outcome of therapy.

Examines studies of the effects of therapist sex on the outcome of therapy. Most studies supported 1 of the following 3 viewpoints: Female therapists are more effective with both sexes of clients; matching therapist and client sex produces the greatest therapeutic benefit; therapist sex is a poor predictor of outcome in therapy. Strengths and weaknesses of these positions and some less commonly held views are discussed. Due to unimpressive statistical findings, conflicting evidence, and poor experimental control in prior research, it is cautiously concluded that a therapist's sex is a poor predictor of outcome in therapy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A multivariate assessment of individual differences in sensation seeking and impulsivity as predictors of amphetamine self-administration and prefrontal dopamine function in rats.

Drug abuse vulnerability has been linked to sensation seeking (behaviors likely to produce rewards) and impulsivity (behaviors occurring without foresight). Since previous preclinical work has been limited primarily to using single tasks as predictor variables, the present study determined if measuring multiple tasks of sensation seeking and impulsivity would be useful in predicting amphetamine self-administration in rats. Multiple tasks were also used as predictor variables of dopamine transporter function in the medial prefrontal and orbitofrontal cortexes, as these neural systems have been implicated in sensation seeking and impulsivity. Rats were tested on six behavioral tasks as predictor variables to evaluate sensation seeking (locomotor activity, novelty place preference, and sucrose reinforcement on a progressive ratio schedule) and impulsivity (delay discounting, cued go/no-go, and passive avoidance), followed by d-amphetamine self-administration (0.0056–0.1 mg/kg infusion) and kinetic analysis of dopamine transporter function as outcome variables. The combination of these predictor variables into a multivariate approach failed to yield any clear relationship among predictor and outcome measures. Using multivariate approaches to understand the relation between individual predictor and outcome variables in preclinical models may be hindered by alterations in behavior due to training and thus, the relation between various individual differences in behavior and drug self-administration may be better assessed using a univariate approach in which a only a single task is used as the predictor variable. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predictors of social acceptance in preschool children.

Attempted to evaluate, through observation and a measure of sociometric acceptance, the relative contribution of a number of child characteristics to the prediction of social acceptance in 164 3–6 yr old preschool children. The following variables were investigated as predictors of sociometric acceptance: positive social interactions, occupied behavior when not interacting, MA, CA, and sex. A stepwise multiple regression analysis indicated that MA was the best predictor of sociometric acceptance and that positive social interactions significantly increased the correlation. Occupied behavior, CA, and sex did not significantly increase the multiple correlation. Results support the efficacy of intervention procedures that focus on helping social isolates to develop the ability to interact positively with their peers. Within the limited preschool age range, mental maturity appears to be more important to social acceptance than CA per se. This may be a factor in the findings of low popularity for mainstreamed handicapped children. (15 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Anxiety and ego strength as predictors of response in schizophrenic patients.

Hypotheses, derived from existing psychological formulations of schizophrenia, that degree of manifest anxiety and ego strength would be positively related to response to treatment were examined in a sample of 50 male and 50 female first admission schizophrenics. Scales (Baron, 1953a; Taylor, 1953) purported to assess these variables did not predict treatment outcome for the combined groups. However, in analyses broken down by sex both predictors were significantly related to outcome criteria, but in consistently opposite directions for men and women. The markedly different results for men and women are interpreted in terms of the sex-role appropriateness of the behavior sampled by the predictor measures. (27 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood and personality correlates of IQ by race and sex of subject.

Administered the WISC, Mood Adjective Check List, Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale, the Janis-Field Personality Questionnaire, and Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale to 416 Black and 416 White junior high and high school students. Results show that mood and personality were significantly related to IQ and that this effect was differentially patterned, depending on Ss' race and sex. Stepwise multiple regression analyses indicated that for all females, externality was the strongest predictor of IQ; for all males, aggression was the strongest or 2nd strongest predictor. Blacks tended to show stronger relationships and higher mean scores on variables that correlated negatively with IQ, and weaker relationships and lower mean scores on variables that correlated positively. A factor analysis indicated that the mood scales could be combined into 3 dimensions: Emotional Upset, Defensive Overconfidence, and Task Interest. The Emotional Upset factor is conceptualized as an index of the degree of internal arousal experienced during examination. (34 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bivariate median splits and spurious statistical significance.

Despite pleas from methodologists, researchers often continue to dichotomize continuous predictor variables. The primary argument against this practice has been that it underestimates the strength of relationships and reduces statistical power. Although this argument is correct for relationships involving a single predictor, a different problem can arise when multiple predictors are involved. Specifically, dichotomizing 2 continuous independent variables can lead to false statistical significance. As a result, the typical justification for using a median split as long as results continue to be statistically significant is invalid, because such results may in fact be spurious. Thus, researchers who dichotomize multiple continuous predictor variables not only may lose power to detect true predictor–criterion relationships in some situations but also may dramatically increase the probability of Type I errors in other situations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interest expression, visual fixation, and heart rate changes in 2- and 8-month-old infants.

Hypothesized that in young infants the facial indicators of interest (as described by the Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System), visual fixation (VF) and heart rate (HR), would respond differentially to stimuli that vary in face relatedness. 70 2-, 4-, 6-, and 8-mo-old infants were presented with a live female face, a female mannequin, and an inanimate object with scrambled facial features; VF, HR, and facial movements assumed to be indicators of interest were measured. Age, sex, and stimuli were independent variables, and VF, HR, and interest indices were dependent variables. There was a significant multivariate main effect for age. There was also a significant multivariate main effect for stimuli and significant univariate main effects of stimuli on fixation time, HR, and facial movement indicators of interest. Findings are generally in support of the hypothesis. Consistent with differential emotions theory, hierarchical regression analysis showed that duration-of-interest expression was a significant predictor of VF of all 3 stimuli. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Individuation, gender role, and dissent: Personality mediators of situational forces.

An experimental analysis of dissenting and conforming behavior in small groups revealed a significant interaction between personality and situational variables. Individual differences in gender role and in willingness to be "individuated" were predictive of subjects' choices to disagree or agree with the opinions of other group members. However, this link between personality and social behavior showed within-subjects variation as a function of two situational factors: group norm and opinion topic. Contrary to traditional expectations, personality was a better predictor of behavior on those trials when peer pressure was strong than when it was weak. Personality variables also differentially predicted responses to masculine opinion topics versus feminine ones. These results contribute to a new understanding of the interaction of person and situation, as well as to the psychological meaning of conformity and dissent. They also bear on the long-standing debate about sex differences in influenceability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Gorham massive osteolysis

The training of health workers in breastfeeding and lactation management is to enable them make correct breastfeeding recommendations to mothers. This study aims to provide answers to two research questions: what components of breastfeeding training are easily achieved with extension health workers, and what health worker variables affect these outcomes. Multivariable analysis of the outcomes of a controlled breastfeeding training programme for community health workers (CHW) in rural communities of Osun State, Nigeria, was performed by logistic regression. The results show that the training was the most powerful predictor of correct CHW recommendations on breastfeeding (OR = 60.25, p-0.0000), and of 'perfect' breastfeeding knowledge (OR = 192.49, p = 0.0000). Younger CHWs (in the age bracket 20 to 29 years) were significantly more likely to make correct recommendations on exclusive breastfeeding (OR = 3.02, p = 0.0304). Other CHW variables such as sex, experience, job status, and marital status did not make consistently significant independent contributions to the outcomes. The results suggest that breastfeeding education can enhance CHW professional recommendations on breastfeeding and should be extended to all categories of health workers.     

Developing Regression Models for Predicting Pan Evaporation from Climatic Data—A Comparison of Multiple Least-Squares, Principal Components, and Partial Least-Squares Approaches

Regression models for predicting daily pan evaporation depths from climatic data were developed using three multivariate approaches: multiple least-squares regression (MLR), principal components regression (PCR), and partial least-squares (PLS) regression. The objective was to compare the prediction accuracies of regression models developed by these three approaches using historical climatic datasets of four Indian sites that are located in distinctly different climatic regimes. In all cases (three approaches applied to four climatic datasets), regression models were developed using a part of the data and subsequently validated with the remaining data. Results indicated that although performances of the regression models varied from one climate to another, more or less similar prediction accuracies were obtained by all three approaches, and it was difficult to identify the best approach based on performance statistics. However, the final forms of the regression models developed by the three approaches differed substantially from one another. In all cases, the models derived using PLS contained the smallest number of predictor variables; between two to three out of a possible maximum of six predictor variables. The MLR approach yielded models with three to six predictor variables, and PCR models included all six predictor variables. This implies that the PLS regression models are the most parsimonious in terms of input data required for estimating epan from climate variables, and yet yield predictions that are almost as accurate as the more data-intensive MLR and PCR models.     

Stress, coping and psychological illness: A cross-cultural study.

This cross-cultural research study aimed to explore the relationship of stress and coping with psychological illness or symptoms among university students in Canada and India. The predictor variables were stress (hassles and life experience), 8 ways of coping (Folkman & Lazarus, 1988), and selected personal-social variables, namely, locus of control, self-esteem, and social support. The criterion variables were 9 psychological symptoms of the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI; Derogatis & Spencer, 1982). The results revealed that the Indian students reported more psychological symptoms compared to the Canadian students. Stepwise multiple-regression analyses also revealed considerable differences between the 2 samples with respect to the contribution of predictor variables in accounting for variance in the BSI scales. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Measuring intelligence with the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test.

Critically evaluates the literature on the Goodenough-Harris Drawing Test (GH) through 1977. Areas reviewed are administration and standardization of the Man and Woman scales, test ceiling, sex differences, the Quality scale, reliability, criterion validity, validity with measures of academic achievement, cultural variables, and use with the learning disabled and the mentally retarded. It was found that although the GH is a reliable measure for children between 5 and 12 yrs old, it is not a valid predictor of criterion measures of intelligence or academic achievement. Socioeconomic status was found to exert a more powerful effect on GH performance than race, geographic location, or size of place of residence. It is recommended that future research focus on the use of the test as a gross screening device for those in the lower ranges of intelligence. (89 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)