Differences in distress among adult children of alcoholics.

Investigated within-group differences in psychological distress, social support, and hardiness among adult children of alcoholics (ACAs). Members of ACA support groups (21 men, 58 women) were compared to ACA college students (27 men, 40 women) not involved in such support groups. Support group members reported higher levels of psychological distress, lower levels of hardiness, and less satisfaction with perceived social support than did the college student ACAs. Support group members also reported more negative feelings, attitudes, and behaviors with regard to parental alcoholism than did the college students. For both groups, hardiness and social support were negatively correlated with psychological distress. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences in MMPI scores of Black and White compulsive heroin users.

Investigated the question of racial bias in the MMPI by comparing responses of 252 Black and 120 White compulsive heroin users on both (a) empirically derived validity and clinical scales and (b) intuitively constructed content scales. Ss were male veterans admitted to a drug treatment program at a VA Hospital. In both univariate and multivariate ANOVAs and covariance of individual scales and overall profiles, Black users differed significantly from White users; the direction of differences was opposite to that reported for Blacks in previous studies of normal and psychiatric samples. Blacks scored significantly lower on 6 clinical scales (i.e., Infrequency, Depression, Psychopathic Deviate, Psychasthenia, Schizophrenia, and Social Introversion) when profile validity and the covariates age, intelligence, and socioeconomic status were both controlled and uncontrolled. On content scales, Whites displayed greater personality disturbance in Social Maladjustment and Family Problems, whereas Blacks obtained higher scores on Feminine Interests and Phobias. Results show that methodologically the question of a Black bias in the MMPI awaits additional information about the interaction of ethnicity with clinical samples; substantively, the results refute the assumption of personality trait communality among compulsive heroin users and suggest that ethnicity is an influential S background characteristic by which subgroups of heroin users might be identified. (28 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of marital interaction among Black and White newlyweds.

Perceptions of marital interactions were gathered from a representative sample of urban newlywed couples (199 Black and 174 White). A factor analysis of the reports found 6 factors common to husbands and wives: Disclosing Communication, Affective Affirmation, Negative Sexual Interaction, Traditional Role Regulation, Destructive Conflict, and Constructive Conflict. Avoiding Conflict was specific to men and Positive Coorientation was specific to women. Wives reported fewer constructive and destructive conflict behaviors. Compared with Whites, Blacks reported more disclosure, more positive sexual interactions, and fewer topics of disagreement. They also more often reported leaving the scene of conflict and talking with others more easily than with the spouse. As hypothesized, perceptions that marital interactions affirm one's sense of identity strongly predicted marital well-being. Although regression analyses predicting marital happiness yielded few interactions with race or gender, those that are significant, coupled with race and gender differences in perceiving interaction, suggest taking a contextual orientation to the meaning of marital interaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Associations of blood pressure with self-report measures of anger and hostility among Black and White men and women.

135 Black and White male and female normotensives and unmedicated mild to moderate hypertensives (aged 25–44 yrs) completed 4 reliable self-report scales. Ss also took part in 3 laboratory tasks that elicited cardiovascular reactivity. Ambulatory blood pressure (BP) readings at home and at work were also obtained from most Ss. Black and White Ss differed in their self-reports of anger/hostility and in their cardiovascular reactivity to behavioral tasks. In contrast, the relationships between self-reports of anger/hostility and cardiovascular activity at rest, during laboratory tasks, and at work varied as a function of race–sex combinations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Black and White Children's Awareness of De Facto Race and Sex Differences.

A picture rating study showed that black and white third-, fourth, and fifth-grade children (N = 60) were aware of de facto race and sex differences in American society. The most androgynous attitudes toward female behaviors were shown by girls and third-grade blacks. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic influence on family environment: The role of personality.

The relation between genetic influence on personality (extraversion and neuroticism) and genetic influence on family environment measures was examined. More than 400 pairs of twins were assessed at the average age of 59 yrs. Trivariate quantitative genetic model-fitting analyses indicated that genetic influence on a Relationship dimension and a Personal Growth dimension of the environmental measure was shared with genetic effects on personality. However, the majority of genetic variance was unique to these measures. The genetic influence on a System Maintenance dimension was largely independent of genetic variance on personality. Taken together, these results suggest that more remains to be explained in the puzzle of genetic influence on environmental measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

GSR conditioning and personality factors in alcoholics and normals.

Alcoholic and nonalcoholic introversive and extroversive Ss were placed in a GSR conditioning situation. Significant differences in conditionability were not found between alcoholics and the nonalcoholic group with regard to the intro-extroversion dimension. The results were seen as confirming aspects of Eysenck's (1957) theory of personality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality patterns among Black, White, and Hispanic combat veterans.

Little is known about racial and ethnic differences in personality pathology in combat veterans. This investigation explored the relationship between race, ethnicity, and personality disorders (PDs) in a sample of 96 combat veterans. Ethnoracial group status was based on self-identification, and the groups were mutually exclusive. PDs were assessed with the MCMI-III, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) was assessed with the Clinician Administered PTSD scale, and combat exposure was assessed with the Combat Exposure Scale. The findings suggest that Hispanic veterans were more likely to have cluster A PDs compared to non-Hispanic veterans, even after controlling for demographics, level of combat exposure, and current PTSD. Implications of the results for the research and treatment of culturally diverse individuals with PDs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Substance use and sexual risk taking among Black adolescents and White adolescents.

Analyses of data from a random sample of 1,259 sexually active adolescents revealed that substance use was associated with increased sexual risk taking on 2 occasions of intercourse (1st intercourse ever and 1st intercourse with most recent partner), even after controlling for demographic, experiential, and dispositional confounders. Within-persons analyses yielded similar results, indicating that adolescents who used substances, on 1 of the 2 occasions, reported higher levels of risk taking on the occasion when substances were used than on the no-substance-use occasion. However, substance use was both more common and more strongly linked to risk taking among White than Black adolescents, suggesting that White adolescents are at greater risk of negative consequences related to substance use proximal to intercourse. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Motivational pathways to alcohol use and abuse among Black and White adolescents.

Using data from a biracial community sample of adolescents, the present study examined trajectories of alcohol use and abuse over a 15-year period, from adolescence into young adulthood, as well as the extent to which these trajectories were differentially predicted by coping and enhancement motives for alcohol use among the 2 groups. Coping and enhancement motivations (M. L. Cooper, 1994) refer to the strategic use of alcohol to regulate negative and positive emotions, respectively. Results showed that Black and White youth follow distinct alcohol trajectories from adolescence into young adulthood and that these trajectories are differentially rooted in the regulation of negative and positive emotions. Among Black drinkers, coping motives assessed in adolescence more strongly forecast differences in alcohol involvement into their early 30s, whereas enhancement motives more strongly forecast differences among White drinkers. Results of the present study suggest that different models may be needed to account for drinking behavior among Blacks and Whites and that different approaches may prove maximally effective in reducing heavy or problem drinking among the 2 groups. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Risk factors for dropping out of treatment among White and Black families.

In this study, the authors examined factors that predicted dropping out of treatment among White and Black children (N?=?279, ages 3–13) and among families attending outpatient treatment for externalizing problems. Multiple factors that increase the burden of participating in treatment are disproportionately distributed among minority families. Consequently, the authors predicted the rate of premature termination would be greater for Black than for White families and that the profile of factors that predicted leaving treatment early would differ. The results indicated that Black families were at greater risk and that several group-specific as well as common factors can be identified that increase risk. Predictors of dropping out can be used for early identification of families at risk and for developing strategies to better engage families in treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Interrelationships among measures of field dependence, ability, and personality traits.

This study was devised to test the validity of findings of previous research with regard to the personality correlates of performance on Witkin's (1954) measures of field dependence (FD). The results (with a sample of college Ss) suggest that the Embedded Figure Test (EFT) and the Rod-and-Frame Test (RFT) do not necessarily measure the same cognitive or personality factors. Previous findings were not, to a considerable extent, duplicated; some personality correlates were not found to be related to either EFT or RFT. FD people were characterized by a tendency to react with affective disruption and intellectual deficit to an external situation that lacks clear structure. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4HA27E. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Validation of depression and anxiety measures in White and Black youths: Multitrait–multimethod analyses.

The authors obtained yearly self-report, peer nomination, and teacher rating assessments of depression symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and social acceptance on 2 cohorts of African American (ns?=?139 and 184) and Caucasian school children (ns?=?328 and 339), yielding a total of 6 waves of data between 3rd and 8th grade. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed that the measures manifested significant convergent and discriminant validity in both groups. Multigroup analyses further demonstrated that the measures were equally valid across ethnic groups. Peer nomination measures of depression and anxiety symptoms were biased, however, leading to the underestimation of psychopathology in African American children and adolescents. Allowing for this bias, the authors discovered that African American children evinced more signs of depression and anxiety in Grades 3, 4, and 5 than did Caucasian children. Such differences were not significant in Grades 6, 7, and 8. No ethnic group differences emerged on the social acceptance dimension. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differences among sexist, nonsexist, and feminist family therapies.

Certain characteristics of family therapy have been identified as potentially problematic for the integration of feminism. The question is addressed of how to integrate the 2 schools of thought without violating the theoretical tenets of either. In so doing, it constructs conceptual frameworks for distinguishing among sexist, nonsexist, and feminist forms of family therapy. Nonsexist approaches are deemed necessary but insufficient. Feminist approaches, however, are valued not only for their awareness of the more subtle biases of alternate forms but also, ironically, for their more adequate and accurate application of the theoretical tenets of family therapy itself. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nature and nurture: Genetic contributions to measures of the family environment.

Research suggests that measures of the family environment show genetic effects when treated as phenotypes in behavioral genetic analyses. This issue was explored as part of the Nonshared Environment in Adolescent Development project using diverse questionnaire measures of parent–child and sibling interactions. The sample consisted of 707 pairs of siblings (aged 10–18 yrs) in a novel design (identical and fraternal twins and full siblings in nondivorced families, and full, half, and unrelated siblings in stepfamilies). Model-fitting analyses yielded evidence for significant genetic effects for 15 of 18 composite measures. On average, more than a quarter of the variance of these environmental measures can be accounted for by genetic differences among children. These results underline the need to investigate the reactive and active organism–environment transactional processes by which genotypes become phenotypes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Residential segregation and disparities in health-related quality of life among Black and White cancer survivors.

Objective: Studies of health-related quality of life (HRQOL) among Black and White cancer survivors have been based on small convenience samples and yielded inconsistent results. We examined Black–White disparities in survivors' HRQOL with a population-based sample, and tested the hypothesis that area-level segregation accounts for those disparities. Design: A sample of survivors of 10 types of cancer was drawn from 11 U.S. state cancer registries and surveyed 12–15 months after diagnosis. The current sample consisted of 5195 survivors (415 Black, 4780 White) who resided in 584 counties. Main Outcome Measures: SF-36 General Health subscale scores were used as the measure of HRQOL. Results: Bivariate results revealed that Black survivors had significantly poorer HRQOL than did White survivors. Multilevel regression including individual-level (gender, age, marital status, education, cancer type, stage at diagnosis, cancer progression, comorbidities, race/ethnicity) and area-level (county segregation and poverty) variables found that HRQOL was poorer among survivors who resided in high-Black-segregated counties, whereas race/ethnicity was no longer significant. Conclusion: These findings indicate that Black–White disparities in HRQOL among cancer survivors might be a function, not of race/ethnicity, but of area-level variables associated with race/ethnicity. The strong role of segregation highlights the need for interventions to target Black-segregated areas. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The environment of personality.

Discusses the implications of the sociocultural environment for the study of personality. Two issues are considered. The first concerns the effects of the sociocultural environment on experimental findings obtained at the situational level. The trait–situation controversy is used as an example of a basic personality datum that is markedly affected by sociocultural environmental variables. The data yielded by studies of the interaction between sex and aggression provide another instance of a research issue that has been investigated without adequate consideration of the environmental context. A second issue involves the effects of the sociocultural environment on theoretical models and modes of interpretation of experimental findings. The degree of emphasis given to biological social antecedents of aggression provides one example of a theoretical interpretation and research strategy that is particularly vulnerable to variations in the sociocultural environment. More profoundly, social forces in the environment may affect the theoretical importance ascribed to internal psychological states and personality processes. Empirical investigation of the role of the sociocultural environment in shaping personality organization and in affecting psychological research and theory may help reduce the effects of these cultural "blinders." (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Car-driving consistency and measures of personality.

Three groups of Ss—10 skilled police driving instructors, 10 skilled car club drivers, and 6 drivers of lesser skill—were studied to determine the relationship of driving consistency to neuroticism and to introversion-extroversion. The driving consistency measures (based on vehicle acceleration and deceleration) were found to be negatively related to the two personality measures for the skilled police drivers and the lesser-skilled drivers, but not for the skilled car club drivers. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)