Psychosocial characteristics of adolescents who refuse cancer treatment.

Examined psychosocial variables by comparing 10 13–17 yr old adolescents (and their mothers) who had refused cancer treatment with a group of 10 consenting adolescents who were matched on age and demographic and illness variables. Adolescents completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children and measures of family characteristics, locus of control, religion, hopelessness, impact of event, and satisfaction with physician. Mothers completed the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and measures of coping and religion. Adolescent refusers scored lower on state anxiety and subjective distress but scored higher on trait anxiety, religiosity, and external locus of control. Their mothers also scored higher than did the consenting-group mothers on religiosity and trait anxiety. It is suggested that refusers are prone to anxiety and cope with their present distress by maintaining the belief that their lives are determined by fate or religious convictions. An intervention approach that fosters mastery over the cancer experience is advocated. (8 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Lanczos-based method for structural dynamic reanalysis problems

In this paper, a new solution method for the modified eigenvalue problem with specific application to structural dynamic reanalysis is presented. The method, which is based on the block Lanczos algorithm, is developed for multiple low rank modifications to a system and calculates a few selected eigenpairs. Given the solution to the original system Ax = λx, procedures are developed for the modified standard eigenvalue Problem (A + ΔA)x? = λ x?, where

• 1 ΔA = Σ_jBS_jB^T, where S_j = S ∈ ?^{p × p}, p ? n and B ∈ ?^{n × p} is constant for all the perturbations S_j.
• 2 ΔA = Σ_iΣ_j B_iS_jB_i^T, where B_i ∈ ?^{n × p} may vary with the pertubations S_j.

The procedures are then extended for the reciprocal and generalized eigenvalue problems so that they are directly applicable to the structural dynamic reanalysis problem. Numerical examples are given to demonstrate the applications of the method.     

The Problem of Measurement Model Misspecification in Behavioral and Organizational Research and Some Recommended Solutions.

The purpose of this study was to review the distinction between formative- and reflective-indicator measurement models, articulate a set of criteria for deciding whether measures are formative or reflective, illustrate some commonly researched constructs that have formative indicators, empirically test the effects of measurement model misspecification using a Monte Carlo simulation, and recommend new scale development procedures for latent constructs with formative indicators. Results of the Monte Carlo simulation indicated that measurement model misspecification can inflate unstandardized structural parameter estimates by as much as 400% or deflate them by as much as 80% and lead to Type I or Type II errors of inference, depending on whether the exogenous or the endogenous latent construct is misspecified. Implications of this research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mood-Induced Increases in Alcohol Expectancy Strength in Internally Motivated Drinkers.

This study investigated whether exposure to musical mood induction procedures (MMIP) differentially increases the strength of specific alcohol expectancies for coping motivated (CM) versus enhancement motivated (EM) drinkers. Participants were 86 undergraduates who had elevated scores on either the CM or EM subscale of the Drinking Motives Questionnaire (M. L. Cooper, 1994). Participants were randomly assigned to either a positive or negative mood condition. The Alcohol Craving Questionnaire (E. G. Singleton, S. T. Tiffany, & J. E. Henningfield, 1994) was administered at baseline and after MMIP to assess phasic changes in alcohol expectancy strength. Consistent with hypotheses, only CM drinkers in the negative mood condition reported increased relief expectancies, and only EM drinkers in the positive mood condition reported increased reward expectancies. Theoretical and clinical implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Three-dimensional reconstruction of aqueous channels in human trabecular meshwork using light microscopy and confocal microscopy

Conventional two-dimensional imaging of the trabecular meshwork (TM) provides limited information about the size, shape, and interconnection of the aqueous channels within the meshwork. Understanding the three-dimensional (3-D) relationships of the channels within this tissue may give insight into its normal function and possible changes present in the eye disease glaucoma. The purpose of our study was to compare laser scanning confocal microscopy with standard 1 μm Araldite-embeddedhistologic sections for 3-D analysis of the trabecular meshwork. In addition, the study was done to determine whether computerized 3-D reconstruction could isolate the fluid spaces of the trabecular meshwork and determine the size of interconnections between the fluid spaces. Confocal microscopy appears comparable to 1 μm Araldite-embedded tissue sections and has the advantage of inherent registration of the serial tissue sections. Three-dimensional reconstruction allowed the isolation of the fluid spaces within the trabecular meshwork and revealed the presence of numerous interconnections between larger fluid spaces. The distribution of these interconnections was randomly arranged, with no predilection for specific regions within the trabecular meshwork. This distribution of constrictions and “expansion chambers” may provide a clue to the mechanism by which subtle histologic changes are associated with increased ocular pressure in glaucoma.     

Age effects on social cognition: Faces tell a different story.

The authors administered social cognition tasks to younger and older adults to investigate age-related differences in social and emotional processing. Although slower, older adults were as accurate as younger adults in identifying the emotional valence (i.e., positive, negative, or neutral) of facial expressions. However, the age difference in reaction time was largest for negative faces. Older adults were significantly less accurate at identifying specific facial expressions of fear and sadness. No age differences specific to social function were found on tasks of self-reference, identifying emotional words, or theory of mind. Performance on the social tasks in older adults was independent of performance on general cognitive tasks (e.g., working memory) but was related to personality traits and emotional awareness. Older adults also showed more intercorrelations among the social tasks than did the younger adults. These findings suggest that age differences in social cognition are limited to the processing of facial emotion. Nevertheless, with age there appears to be increasing reliance on a common resource to perform social tasks, but one that is not shared with other cognitive domains. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Rebuttal re: "Confirmatory bias and the persistent influence of discredited data in interpreting the stress-cancer link: Commentary on Michael et al. (2009)".

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 30(4) of Health Psychology (see record 2011-13978-001). The letter was missing the doi. The correct doi is 10.1037/a0022737. The online version of this article has been corrected.] Responds to the comments by J. C. Coyne and C. Johansen (see record 2011-09497-016) on the current author's original article, "Influence of stressors on breast cancer incidence in the Women's Health Initiative" (see record 2009-03297-001). Coyne and Johansen (2011) took issue with the study conducted by the current authors' group (Michael et al., 2009), which analyzed the interaction between stressful life events and social support on breast cancer risk among 83,334 postmenopausal women enrolled in the Women’s Health Initiative (WHI). While the current authors agree with the Coyne and Johansen that too often null results are difficult to publish due to confirmatory bias that privileges results that support an alternative hypothesis, they strongly disagree with the assertion that their group selectively reported findings, inaccurately reported findings, or provided selective and uncritical reference to the existing literature. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distributing prejudice unequally: Do Whites direct their prejudice toward strongly identified minorities?

Across 6 studies, Whites expressed more negative attitudes toward strongly identified racial minorities than toward weakly identified minorities. Whites who personally endorsed worldviews that legitimize the status hierarchy were particularly likely to express negative attitudes toward strongly identified minorities relative to weakly identified minorities, whereas Whites who personally rejected status-legitimizing worldviews displayed the opposite pattern. In addition, Whites' biases against strongly identified minorities dissipated when strongly identified minorities expressed strong endorsement of status-legitimizing worldviews. These studies suggest that Whites do not distribute their prejudicial attitudes equally among all members of minority groups and that some subsets of minorities (the strongly identified) might bear the brunt of racial prejudice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)