Preventing weight gain in adults: A pound of prevention.

Evaluated the feasibility and effectiveness of a program for weight gain prevention (WGP) in normal adults. 219 Ss were randomized to either WGP treatment or no treatment for 12 mo. The treatment group received monthly newsletters relating to weight management, participated in a financial incentive system, and were offered an optional 4-session education course in the 6th mo of the program. Results demonstrate high interest in WGP among Ss who were not objectively overweight. Participation, as measured by return of postcards sent with each newsletter, was approximately 75%. Results after 1 yr show a net weight loss of 1.8 lb in the group receiving the program compared with controls. 82% of participants maintained or lost weight, compared with 56% of controls. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Program adherence and coping strategies as predictors of success in a smoking treatment program.

94 smokers (mean age 39 yrs) in a 6-wk behavioral smoking-cessation program were administered weekly questionnaires on their use of major program recommendations and other quitting strategies throughout treatment. An "affect-regulation" coping inventory was administered at the beginning and end of treatment. Adequate adherence was reported for most recommendations. Although a composite measure of adherence did not predict quitting success, adherence and coping assessments were associated with maintenance of treatment gains. Short-term maintenance was associated with an extensive affect-regulation repertoire and use of stimulus control strategies; long-term maintenance was associated with consistent self-monitoring of smoking during treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personality similarity in twins reared apart and together.

We administered the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (MPQ) to 217 monozygotic and 114 dizygotic reared-together adult twin pairs and 44 monozygotic reared-apart adult twin pairs. A four-parameter biometric model (incorporating genetic, additive versus nonadditive, shared family-environment, and unshared environment components) and five reduced models were fitted through maximum-likelihood techniques to data obtained with the 11 primary MPQ scales and its 3 higher order scales. Solely environmental models did not fit any of the scales. Although the other reduced models, including the simple additive model, did fit many of the scales, only the full model provided a satisfactory fit for all scales. Heritabilities estimated by the full model ranged from .39 to .58. Consistent with previous reports, but contrary to widely held beliefs, the overall contribution of a common family-environment component was small and negligible for all but 2 of the 14 personality measures. Evidence of significant nonadditive genetic effects, possibly emergenic (epistatic) in nature, was obtained for 3 of the measures. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

"Comment on 'Articulation of values'": Response to Cochran (1988).

We respond to Cochran's critique of our 1986 study, which was in part a replication of Cochran's original grid methodology for the study of career values. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Stability of everyday memory in age-associated memory impairment: A longitudinal study.

Everyday memory performance was examined longitudinally in 2 groups of Ss meeting the diagnostic criteria for age-associated memory impairment (AAMI). One group of 157 participants in a drug trial for reversing memory loss in AAMI was tested over multiple sessions. The other group of 75 persons did not participate in a drug trial and thus was tested only twice. Both groups were retested for longitudinal follow-up about 4 yrs after initial session. Follow-up test performance remained fairly stable relative to initial performance in both groups. The drug study group showed large practice effects during the course of the drug studies, but these effects subsided after the drug studies' end. Implications regarding memory decline in the normal elderly and neuropsychological measurement issues are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A low-noise fixed-tuned 300-360-GHz sub-harmonic mixer using planar Schottky diodes

This letter presents the design and fabrication of a low-noise fixed-tuned 300-360-GHz sub-harmonic mixer, featuring an anti-parallel pair of planar Schottky diodes fabricated by the University of Virginia and flip-chipped onto a suspended quartz-based microstrip circuit. The mixer exhibits a double side band (DSB) equivalent noise temperature lower than 900K over 18% of bandwidth (300-360-GHz), with 2 to 4.5mW of local oscillator (LO) power. At room temperature, a minimum DSB mixer noise temperature of 700K and conversion losses of 6.3dB are measured at 330GHz.     

Book review

Published in 1989, 585 pages, $180; Available from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, 345 East 47th St., Publication Sales Department, New York, NY 10017.     

Aging and everyday memory: A cross-cultural study.

Performance on computer-simulated, everyday memory tasks was found to deteriorate with age in 434 Belgian (aged 14–88 yrs) and 434 American Ss matched on gender and age. This age-related memory decline was reasonably consistent across samples. Difficulties in cross-cultural research and the advantages of ecologically valid measurement instruments are discussed. Instruments included a grocery list selective reminding test, the Wechsler Memory Scale, the Benton Visual Retention Test, and the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)