Effects of nicotine fading and relapse prevention on smoking cessation.

In a pilot study, a combined nicotine-fading/relapse-prevention program for 24 smokers (mean age 38.6 yrs) achieved a 46% abstinence rate at 6-mo follow-up. The combined program was then compared to conditions in which 46 smokers (mean age 34.8 yrs) received nicotine fading or relapse prevention only or combination treatment. There was no difference among groups in abstinence or rate at any follow-up point, and overall abstinence levels were only 15% and 9% at 6-mo and 1-yr follow-ups, respectively. Groups receiving nicotine fading tended to retain lower estimated nicotine intake levels. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Promoting form at the expense of content.

Contends that although E. E. Lawler's (see record 1982-31497-001) injunctions about operationalizing the quality of work life (QWL) are invaluable, they raise questions about what is being sold and to whom. One such question relates to the incentive of making money available to help joint union–management QWL committees operate. It is argued that incentives that reinforce bureaucracy are not QWL incentives, and disincentives to mergers of formal bureaucratic channels with grass-roots participation mechanism may not really be disincentives to QWL. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Consequences of fathers' participation in family work: Parents' role strain and well-being.

Examined the relation of fathers' participation in child care and home chores to parents' role strain and well-being in an interview study of 160 Caucasian middle-class fathers (mean age 41.11 yrs) and mothers (mean age 39.38 yrs) of kindergarten and 4th-grade children. In half of the families, mothers were employed. Four forms of paternal participation were examined. Role-strain items referred to immediate and specific problems such as time and energy constraints and role conflicts. Well-being measures assessed self-esteem, life satisfaction, and quality of experience in the parental and marital roles. Regression analyses indicated that when the level of fathers' participation was controlled maternal employment did not condition the relation between participation and the outcome variables. Findings varied for the different forms of participation. For fathers, higher levels of participation were associated with feeling more involved and competent as a parent and with being more critical of wives' patterns and parenting. For mothers, those whose husbands were more participant praised their husbands' parenting, but they were lower in life satisfaction and were more self-critical about their balance of work and family responsibilities. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Socialization in a mixed-age experimental program.

Examined social participation in an experimental program in which 8 preschoolers (mean age 4.1 yrs), 9 kindergartners (mean age 5 yrs), and 6 schoolchildren (mean age 7.2 yrs) were enrolled for 2 mo. The rates at which each S dispensed and received positive and negative social behaviors from peers in each of the 3 age groups were recorded during 10 5-min open instruction periods. Data reveal that in the mixed-age setting, preschoolers showed a preference for kindergartners over preschoolers or schoolchildren, whereas the kindergartners and schoolchildren showed a preference for their own age-mates over non-age-mates. Findings indicate that age rather than sex was the major factor influencing playmate selection, in contrast to findings by J. Goldman (66:11245). It is suggested that age is a major factor influencing playmate selection among children who are more heterogeneous in terms of age, whereas sex may be a major factor influencing choice of playmates among children who are more homogeneous in age. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuropsychological parameters of carotid endarterectomy: A two-year prospective analysis.

To investigate the long-term effects of carotid endarterectomy (CE), 3 groups were studied: (a) 36 patients (mean age 61.1 yrs) receiving CE, (b) 17 patients (mean age 57.9 yrs) with carotid artery disease receiving medical management, and (c) general surgical controls (mean age 55.3 yrs). The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Wechsler Memory Scale, and the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery were administered prior to surgery and at 6 mo and 2 yrs after surgery. Two-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) revealed a significant main effect for trials on a majority of the neuropsychological measures, including the Average Impairment Rating. However, on baseline and on both follow-up evaluations, the CE Ss did not differ significantly from the carotid disease patients who received medical management. Findings fail to support the usefulness of CE in improving mentation or the quality of life in carotid disease patients. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interaction of sex role self-concept with relationship quality and relationship beliefs in married, heterosexual cohabiting, gay, and lesbian couples.

Examined the relationship between sex-role self-concept (masculine, feminine, undifferentiated, and androgynous) and relationship quality and dysfunctional relationship beliefs among 44 married (mean age 29.68 yrs), 35 heterosexual cohabiting (mean age 28.68 yrs), 50 homosexual (mean age 31.28 yrs), and 56 lesbian (mean age 31.18 yrs) couples. Ss completed questionnaires on demographic and background information, the Bem Sex-Role Inventory, a relationship beliefs inventory, and relationship quality assessments. Individual partner analyses revealed that relationship quality and relationship beliefs differed by Ss' sex-role self-concept. Androgynous and feminine Ss reported higher relationship quality than masculine and undifferentiated Ss; androgynous Ss had fewer "disagreement is destructive" beliefs than feminine Ss; and androgynous Ss had fewer "partner cannot change" beliefs than undifferentiated Ss. Couple analyses showed a relation between partners' sex-role self-concept only for the heterosexual cohabiting couples. For these couples, masculine men tended to pair with feminine or undifferentiated women, and androgynous partners tended to pair together. Relative to other couples, those in which one or both partners were androgynous or feminine reported the highest relationship quality; couples in which one or both partners were undifferentiated or masculine reported the lowest. These effects did not vary by type of couple. It is concluded that sex-role self-concept is a robust factor in appraisals of relationship quality. (19 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Quality of work life activities: A research agenda.

Reviews knowledge about quality of work life (QWL) as a guide to the assessment and development of this field of professional activities. Work structuring, humanization of work, and sociotechnical systems are used interchangeably with QWL. Topics considered include evaluation methodology, planned diffusion of QWL activities, and collective bargaining and QWL activities. (18 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Depressed and nondepressed inpatients' cognitions of hypothetical events, experimental tasks, and stressful life events.

40 depressed (mean age 40 yrs) and 30 nondepressed (mean age 38 yrs 3 mo) inpatients' attributions and other cognitions were assessed for 3 types of situations: stressful life events (the Beck Depression Inventory), hypothetical events (Attributional Styles Questionnaire), and experimental (noise-escape) tasks. Depressed Ss manifested a greater depressive attributional style in response to stressful life events but did not differ from nondepressed Ss in their attributions of hypothetical events or experimental tasks. Correlations assessing cross-situational consistency of attributions were largely nonsignificant. Corrections for attenuation and analyses of trained evaluators' ratings of Ss' attributions did not substantially alter the pattern of results. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethnic, socioeconomic, and home language influences upon early performance on measures of abilities.

Administered the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities to 84 Chicano and 87 non-Hispanic White Ss (aged 2 yrs 6 mo) to examine the levels and profiles of performance in 5 ability areas (verbal, reasoning, quantitative, memory, and motor). Data on family and language characteristics were obtained by individually administered interviews of mothers (Chicano mothers' mean age 28.4 yrs, non-Hispanic mothers' mean age 30.7 yrs) in their own homes. Results show ethnic group differences in (1) the absolute levels of performance and (2) the shapes of the profiles formed by the configuration of performance across the various ability areas. Chicanos' average performance was poorer on measures of verbal and quantitative ability and short-term memory. Analyses showed that these differences can be explained on the basis of the relatively low SES level and language minority status that characterized a disproportionately large number of Chicano families. Tests of regression parallelism in MANOVA are appended. (50 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mother role satisfaction, mother–child interaction, and child temperament: A process model.

Using data from the New York Longitudinal Study (begun by A. Thomas and S. Chess in 1956 and continuing through to the present), the present authors tested the hypothesis that the relation between maternal role satisfaction and child adjustment is mediated by the quality of the mother–child relationship. Data were obtained on 51 children from unemployed mother families and 38 children from employed mother families. Beginning in the 1st mo of the child's life, the parents were interviewed periodically (approximately every 3 mo) for the 1st 2 yrs, and every 6 mo until after 5 yrs of age, after which they were interviewed in adolescence and young adulthood. Using the child's temperamental difficulty as an index of adjustment, results of several path analyses indicate that mothers who were dissatisfied with their roles showed more rejection of the child, and, in turn, had more difficult children. Findings illustrate the use of a process model in explaining the relation between maternal role satisfaction and child development. (36 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Two-way influence processes between parents and child—when, where and how?

Used data from an author-conducted study (1980) with 46 sets of twins (29 dizygotic and 17 monozygotic pairs) and of 44 male singletons (aged 25–35 mo) to study bidirectional influences between parents and children. Observations were made over 2 evenings in Ss' homes, and discrete acts by parents and children were coded. Results show that, in immediate interactions, parents' influence outweighed the child's in the area of compliance, but the reverse held for attachment. In the medium- and long-term, parents' influence predominated throughout, though mothers consciously accommodated their treatment to each child's individuality. The twins of the original study were followed-up at age 9 yrs. The relationships of compliance and reasoning at 9 yrs were similar to those at 2 yrs: Warmth and rewards tended to foster compliance and conscience over time. The transactional model of reciprocal interaction is discussed. (French abstract) (39 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Medical, neuropsychological, and quality-of-life correlates of cerebrovascular disease.

Investigated the effects of stroke-related medical risk factors, the relationship of neuropsychological impairment to self-assessed quality of life, and the sensitivity of neurobehavioral data to duration of symptoms of cerebral ischemia for 46 candidates (mean age 61.9 yrs) for cerebral revascularization surgery. Ss' longest symptomatic episodes were classified as transient ischemic attacks, reversible ischemic neurological deficits, or strokes. IQ, sickness impact percent, medical index, and average impairment rating were also calculated for each S. Ss completed a measure of quality of life. Results suggest at least a modest amount of relevance of neurobehavioral impairment to everyday functioning in this population. The global rating of impairment appeared to be related to an index of medical risk factors, to duration of ischemic episodes, and to age and education. However, regression analyses suggested that symptom duration and stroke-related medical factors were more strongly related to the quality-of-life measure than was the neurobehavioral summary score. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Features that distinguish the smooth-pursuit eye-tracking performance of schizophrenic, affective-disorder, and normal individuals.

Examined the eye-tracking records of 25 schizophrenic (mean age 37.6 yrs), 25 unipolar (mean age 37.9 yrs), 24 bipolar (mean age 36 yrs), and 46 medical control (mean age 35 yrs) patients. All the psychiatric patients were in symptom remission. All three psychiatric groups produced more oscillations than controls, and spiky tracking was correlated with poor performance as indexed by the production of large saccades. Schizophrenics did, however, produce smaller saccades and tracked with more phase lag than did each of the other groups. Results suggest that the smooth-pursuit system of schizophrenics is functionally different from that of normal people. Use of the phase lag as a potential marker of schizophrenia is discussed. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Neuroticism and extraversion in Turner's Syndrome.

Administered the Maudsley Personality Inventory to 5 groups of female Ss: (a) 13 Turner Syndrome Ss (mean age 19 yrs 2 mo) with karyotype 45X, (b) 18 Turner Syndrome (TS) Ss (mean age 26 yrs 11 mo) with other types of sex chromosomal abnormalities, (c) 16 sisters of Ss (mean age 24 yrs 2 mo), (d) 9 Ss with growth retardation and primary amenorrhea (mean age 22 yrs 4 mo), and (e) 19 nurses (mean age 22 yrs 8 mo). The results are compared to English and American normative values. The total group of TS Ss obtained a low Neuroticism (N) score compared to the control groups. When the total group was divided on the basis of their karyotypes, the low N score could be referred solely to Ss with karyotype 45X, who scored significantly lower than any other group tested so far with the MPI. TS Ss with chromosomal abnormalities other than 45X scored within normal limits. No variables other than karyotype 45X were related to an extremely low N score. It is concluded that exceptional emotional stability, as reflected in a very low N score on the MPI, is concomitant with the total absence of one sex chromosome, which is probably due to a developmental abnormality of the CNS. (7 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Visual filtering and focusing among persons with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and no psychiatry history.

Assessed filtering and the ability to narrow attentive focusing among 30 persons with schizophrenia (mean age 44 yrs), 14 persons with major depression (MDD; mean age 46 yrs), and 20 normal persons (mean age 46 yrs). Conditions varied with the presence of distracters and their proximity to a target, and the presence of a window cue used to facilitate filtering. Among both the persons with schizophrenia and those with no psychiatric history, RTs were longest with distracters located closest to targets, and performance was not related to the presence of the window. The performance of persons with MDD was adversely affected with distracters located closest to targets, and facilitated with the presence of the window. These findings are consistent with relatively intact filtering and focusing in schizophrenia, and a filtering deficiency in MDD. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Improving quality of work life.

In his article on ameliorating the quality of work life (QWL), E. E. Lawler (see record 1982-31497-001) observed that a major obstacle to the voluntary adoptions of such programs by employers is the priority given to economic performance and that it would be more strategic to promote programs that both improve the QWL and productivity. This article extends that theme further by noting that it would be even more strategic to promote such programs principally on the basis of their demonstrable impact on productivity, with their QWL effects as secondary by-products. (5 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of self-efficacy on dropout from obesity treatment.

Investigated the link between low weight-control self-efficacy and dropout rate in 414 participants (mean age 38 yrs) in a behavioral program. Ss had an average weight of 185 lb and were an average of 51 lb overweight. Ss were administered a telephone questionnaire during the 1st 12 wks of their participation. Results show that the 101 dropouts were significantly more likely than stayers to report low self-efficacy at the beginning of their memberships. Dropouts were also significantly less likely to feel successful in weight control and behavior change, even though their rates of weight loss did not differ significantly from those of the stayers. (2 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychological reevaluation of handicapped children: A survey of practitioners and policymakers.

To assess the practice and perceived importance of school psychological reevaluations of handicapped children, questionnaires were sent to 100 school psychologists (mean age 38 yrs), 53 state consultants for school psychological services (mean age 42 yrs), and 16 state directors of special education (mean age 43 yrs). Findings indicate that reevaluation practices were nearly identical to initial evaluation practices although there was a reduction in total activity during the reevaluation. Changes in either diagnosis or placement of a reevaluated student were rare, yet the reevaluation process was perceived as very important. Two alternative processes to the current reevaluation procedure are presented that involved rereferring students as needed, and increased participation in the annual review of the individual educational program. Data are also presented concerning the frequency with which different measures were used with learning disabled, emotionally disturbed, and mentally handicapped children. (4 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A pilot investigation of a behavioral weight control program with mentally retarded adolescents and adults: Effects on weight, fitness, and knowledge of nutritional and behavioral principles.

Examined the long- and short-term effects of a behavioral weight control program for 10 mentally retarded Ss (mean age 22.7 yrs, mean IQ 52.5) that incorporated teaching about diet, emphasizing exercise, using positive reinforcement, providing periodic weighings, involving parents and group home leaders, and teaching skills to encourage continuing or maintaining weight loss after the end of the program. Weight loss, changes in knowledge of behavioral and nutritional principles, and measures of aerobic fitness and body size were assessed using a nutrition and self-management test. Results indicate significant changes on all measures but arm girth for all Ss at the end of the program, but weight losses were no longer significant at 1-yr follow-up. Ss who were withdrawn from the program by their group home managers showed significant weight gains over the year. Ss' IQ scores were significantly correlated with posttest and follow-up weight losses, and those residing with parents rather than in group homes tended to remain in the program and to lose weight. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)