Life satisfaction and identity structure in late middle-aged men and women.

A total of 32 retirement-age subjects (17 men and 15 women) provided information about their lives by rating each of their identities in terms of a list of self-generated features. They also rank-ordered their currently enacted identities in terms of time spent in each and completed a life-satisfaction questionnaire. The Identities?×?Features matrices were analyzed by algorithms that generated a hierarchical model of identity structure for each subject based on feature ratings. The hierarchical levels of identities were combined with time-spent rankings to obtain an index of personal style, a measure that reflected the unique organization of identities for each subject. Personal style indices were then correlated with life-satisfaction scores. Results confirmed the prediction that life satisfaction in this age group is a function of the amount of time spent in identities that give expression to multiple aspects of the self. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality change in women from college to midlife.

Personality scores of female college seniors studied in 1958 or 1960, again when they were 27 years old, and again when they were 43 show significant mean changes and high stability coefficients on the California Psychological Inventory, Joffe-Naditch coping scales, Adjective Check List, and other measures. Changes in personality were largely consistent with theories of adult development. In these women, a major factor associated with change appears to be an increase in sex role specialization in their late 20s and a decrease in their later years that is accompanied by increases in confidence, dominance, and coping skills. The normative pattern of change was not confined to women on any one particular life path, but was most pronounced in women who actively engaged in some "social clock project." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Predicting math anxiety and course performance in college women and men.

Examined the ability of the construct of mathematics anxiety (MAX) to predict the grades of 112 female and 72 male undergraduates in an introductory algebra course. Ss completed the Global Anxiety Scale, a MAX rating scale, and a measure of achieving tendency. Results show that MAX had little to do with course grades after controlling for mathematical aptitude, as measured by the Scholastic Aptitude Test. In addition, MAX was more strongly related to general anxiety in males than in females. This finding suggests that females seeking treatment for MAX are likely to profit from treatment that focuses specifically on mathematics situations. The higher level of MAX among females could not be explained on the basis of differential course-taking, since males had a similar mathematics background. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Brain activation while forming memories of fearful and neutral faces in women and men.

Event-related functional MRI (fMRI) was used to assess brain activity during encoding of fearful and neutral faces in 12 women and 12 men. In a subsequent memory analysis, the authors separated successful from unsuccessful encoding of both types of faces, based on whether they were remembered or forgotten in a later recognition memory test. Overall, women and men recruited overlapping neural circuitries. Both sexes activated right-sided medial-temporal regions during successful encoding of fearful faces. Successful encoding of neutral faces was associated with left-sided lateral prefrontal and right-sided superior frontal activation in both sexes. In women, relatively greater encoding related activity for neutral faces was seen in the superior parietal and parahippocampal cortices. By contrast, men activated the left and right superior/middle frontal cortex more than women during successful encoding of the same neutral faces. These findings suggest that women and men use similar neural networks to encode facial information, with only subtle sex differences observed for neutral faces. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clinical utility of early memories as a predictor of early therapeutic alliance.

The present study aims to empirically explore the relationship between clinician-rated early memories (EMs) and patient ratings of alliance that were obtained after a therapeutic model of assessment (TMA; Finn & Tonsager, 1997; Fischer, 1994). This study utilizes the Social Cognition and Object Relations Scale (SCORS; Westen, 1995) to obtain information from early memory narratives about an individual's level of object representations. With data gathered from 57 participants, the authors examined whether an individual's EM narratives can provide insight into his or her object representations and how such material relates to the development of an intimate connection with the therapist. Results supported our hypotheses as meaningful correlations were found between certain SCORS variables and patient-rated therapeutic alliance. The clinical utility and research implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood sexual abuse and current suicidality in college women and men

The effects of retinoic acid (RA) on osteoblastic differentiation and activity were studied in fetal rat calvaria cells cultured for up to 24 days. Fetal bovine serum used for the experiments was treated with an anion-exchange resin to remove endogenous RA. The depletion of RA in the treated serum was confirmed by high-performance liquid chromatography and tritiated RA tracing. Under the culture conditions employed, the continuous presence of RA for 14 days at 10(-9) mol/l or higher decreased both alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity on day 12 and the number of bone nodules on day 14 in a dose-dependent manner. Short-term (24 h) exposure to RA at 10(-8) mol/l, which is a physiological concentration, decreased and increased the levels of ALP and osteopontin mRNA on day 6, respectively. Retinoic acid at 10(-8) mol/l also increased the level of osteocalcin mRNA on day 12. However, these effects were not obvious at later stages (days 18 and 24). At a high concentration (10(-6) mol/l), RA increased the level of osteopontin mRNA on day 6 and decreased the levels of ALP and osteocalcin mRNA irrespective of culture period. These results suggest that, at physiological concentrations, RA suppresses the differentiation of osteoprogenitor cells and regulates osteoblastic functions.     

Personality factors in college dropout.

An entire freshman class (N = 2149) at the University of Iowa was administered a personality and an intellectual ability test prior to their 1st academic year. 13 months later groups of 1st-year dropouts (DO) and nondropouts (NDO) were defined. Based upon a value-conformity hypothesis, it was predicted that DOs would be more assertive and less task-oriented. Intellectual ability was controlled as a factor in dropout by matching each DO with an NDO S having an identical ability score. Personality differences were studied at 3 ability levels and for the sexes separately. The results supported the hypothesis for both sexes but only at the high-ability level. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality trait structure as a human universal.

Patterns of covariation among personality traits in English-speaking populations can be summarized by the five-factor model (FFM). To assess the cross-cultural generalizability of the FFM, data from studies using 6 translations of the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (P. T. Costa & R. R. McCrae, 1992) were compared with the American factor structure. German, Portuguese, Hebrew, Chinese, Korean, and Japanese samples (N?=?7,134) showed similar structures after varimax rotation of 5 factors. When targeted rotations were used, the American factor structure was closely reproduced, even at the level of secondary loadings. Because the samples studied represented highly diverse cultures with languages from 5 distinct language families, these data strongly suggest that personality trait structure is universal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Membrane structure and dynamics as viewed by solid-state NMR spectroscopy

The purpose of the present study is the investigation of the structure and dynamics of biological membranes using solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. Two approaches are used in our laboratory. The first involves the measurement of high-resolution 13C and 1H spectra obtained by the magic angle spinning (MAS) technique while the second approach involves the measurement of 31P and 2H powder spectra in static samples. This paper will present some recent results obtained by high-resolution solid-state 1H NMR on the conformation of gramicidin A incorporated in a phosphatidylcholine bilayers. More specifically, we were able to observe changes in the gramicidin spectra as a function of the cosolubilization solvent initially used to prepare the samples. The interaction between lipid bilayers and an anticancer drug derived from chloroethylurea was also investigated using proton NMR spectroscopy. Finally, we have studied the interaction between cardiotoxin, a toxic protein extracted from snake venom, and negatively charged lipid bilayers using 31P solid-state NMR spectroscopy.     

Personality constellations in incarcerated psychopathic men.

Advances in the operationalization of psychopathy have led to an increased understanding of the boundaries, structure, and nomological network of this construct, although significant questions remain. The empirical identification of replicable and theoretically meaningful psychopathy subtypes may help to improve the classification and diagnosis of this condition. We conducted a classification study of 91 incarcerated men who met conventional criteria for high levels of psychopathy using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised. We expanded on the methodology of previous research on psychopathy subtypes by utilizing a comprehensive personality assessment instrument and a prototype matching approach to classification. The analyses revealed a primary (narcissistic) subtype and a secondary (hostile and dysregulated) subtype that were broadly consistent with the previous literature. External validation analyses, statistical controls, and incremental validity analyses provided substantial support for the primary and secondary subtypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Occam's razor slices through the myth that college women overachieve.

Notes that college women have been believed to overachieve relative to college men. For a given ability profile, college women, on the average, achieve higher grades than men. A number of personality and work habit explanations have been invoked to account for this phenomenon. The present investigation sought to control sex differences in major field, through semipartial correlation, to determine whether female overachievement is an artifact of major field choice. The multiple regressions of grade point average on the Verbal and Mathematical sections of the Scholastic Aptitude Test were calculated for over 13,000 male and female students at 4 major universities. Differences in regression intercepts, which imply overachievement, were eliminated or drastically reduced when major field choice was controlled through semipartial correlations. Results indicate that the sex difference in overachievement is probably an artifact of the sex difference in major field choice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Very long-term memories of the first year in college.

College alumnae who had graduated 2, 12, or 22 years earlier completed questionnaires in which they recounted the first four memories to come to mind of their freshman year and provided ratings of each remembered experience. For all three alumnae groups, the temporal distribution of memories peaked in September, the beginning of college. Mean ratings of emotional intensity were high, mean ratings of surprise and life impact were below the moderate level and substantial numbers of memories had never been recounted previously. The proportion of memories that focused on specific episodes rather than on general experiences decreased as the number of years since graduation increased. The incidence of specific memories also declined as a function of memory order: Memories reported first were more likely to be specific than memories reported later. The results suggest that transitional and emotional episodes are especially likely to persist in memory for many years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The relationship of career-related self-efficacy expectations to perceived career options in college women and men.

134 female and 101 male undergraduates were asked to indicate their perceptions of their capabilities to successfully complete the educational requirements and job duties of each of 10 traditionally female and 10 traditionally male occupations. Ss also indicated their degree of interest in and extent of consideration of each occupation. Finally, American College Test Math and English subtest scores were obtained. Results indicate significant and consistent sex differences in self-efficacy with regard to traditional vs nontraditional (for females) occupations: males reported equivalent self-efficacy with regard to the 2 classes of occupations; females reported significantly higher levels of self-efficacy with regard to traditional occupations and significantly lower levels of self-efficacy with regard to nontraditional occupations. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intimacy and identity status in young adults.

Intimacy status in 48 men and 44 women (aged 21–35 yrs) was investigated in relation to ego-identity status in occupation, religion, politics, and sex role. All Ss were college educated, and most were employed in professional or skilled occupations. An intimacy status measure developed by J. L. Orlofsky et al (1973) was modified for use with adults and expanded by the addition of the merger status, describing relationships in which one partner dominated the other. There were no significant sex differences in intimacy or identity status; and as predicted by E. H. Erikson's (1963) theory, intimacy status was generally related to identity status. This relationship was not observed for occupational identity in either sex. It is suggested that Erikson's theory regarding the pattern of identity and intimacy resolutions may be extended from men to women, at least for the type of sample studied in the present investigation. (25 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developing a screening instrument and at-risk profile for nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior in college women and men.

Archival data (N = 1,048 women, 1,136 men) from a mental health survey of college students were used to investigate incidence of nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI), including cutting. Significant levels (defined as 4–5 lifetime incidents) were found in 9.3% of women and 5.3% of men. The Counseling Center Assessment for Psychological Symptoms (a global symptom inventory) and an assessment of trauma had been field tested with this sample. We randomly partitioned half of these data into a holdout sample and used the remainder to develop an NSSI screening inventory that included (a) 5 women’s screening items, including 1 item to assess trauma experienced; (b) 11 men’s screening items; and (c) 12 items common to men and women, including depression, dissociation, anger, unwanted thoughts, nightmares or flashbacks, and having witnessed trauma. Logistic regression and receiver-operating characteristic curve analysis suggested the inventory significantly discriminated NSSI men and women in the holdout sample, p     

The Scholastic Aptitude Test "explains" why college men major in science more often than college women.

Used the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) to predict the major field choices of 20,809 undergraduates at 4 large universities. Major field was coded on a science-nonscience continuum, and it could be predicted almost as accurately as GPA. The SAT Mathematics subtest (SAT-M) received virtually all of the weight in the prediction equation. Semi-partial correlation was performed to determine if the aforementioned prediction was a mere artifact of sex differences. Results suggest that (a) mathematical ability is an important determinant of major field choice, and (b) the male-female difference in major field choice is largely mediated by the sex difference in mathematical ability. A remedy is suggested for female underrepresentation in science fields. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological environments of university departments: Effects on college students' identity status and ego stage development.

Based on the dialectic notion that environments that enhance analytic thought and mind expansion create the condition necessary for positive change, it was hypothesized that academic departments that emphasize scholarship, intellectual awareness, and critical thought would facilitate identity and ego stage development. 294 university students completed the Loevinger Sentence Completion Test of Ego Development, Marcia Ego-Identity Incomplete Sentence Interview, and measures of perceived psychological environments. A 2-wave data panel allowed assessment of concurrent and distal predictors of personality. Results support the notion that identity status but not ego stage functioning is influenced by psychological environmental presses in a university setting. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)