Parenting stress among dual-earner mothers and fathers: Are there gender differences?

Stress in the parenting role has been found to be related to family functioning and parenting behavior. However, most research in this area has been conducted with clinical samples and has not compared parenting stress of mothers and fathers. In this study, 589 married couples with young children (12 to 60 months old) completed the Parenting Stress Index-Short Form (Abidin, 1990) and measures of child-rearing behaviors and attitudes, social support, and child behavior. The validity of Abidin's measure and theoretical model was tested, and results were mixed. Small effects were found for mothers and fathers, and these were moderated by child age and marital happiness. Stress as a normal consequence of parenting is discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reconstitution of CD3 zeta coupling to calcium mobilization via genetic complementation

The integrity of the T cell receptor complex (CD3-TCR) transduction machinery is central to T cell development and to T cell effector function. Molecular dissection of the multimeric CD3-TCR complex revealed that at least two associated polypeptides, CD3 zeta and CD3 epsilon, autonomously couple antigenic recognition event to early and late events of the intracytoplasmic activation cascade. A 18-amino acid motif based on a tandem YXXL stretch, the activation receptor homology sequence 1 (ARH-1) motif, is necessary and sufficient to the transducing properties of both CD3 zeta and CD3 epsilon. Stimulation of chimeric molecules made of ecto- and transmembrane domains of various cell surface proteins and intracytoplasmic domains of CD3 epsilon or CD3 zeta leads to an increase in the intracellular Ca2+ concentration ([Ca2+]i) in Jurkat cells. We describe here that a similar CD25/zeta chimeric molecule was unable to induce a detectable [Ca2+]i rise upon CD25 cross-linking once expressed in the murine thymoma BW-. A Ca2+ influx could, however, be triggered in BW- cells by thapsigargin, i.e. following depletion of Ca2+ stores. Somatic cell hybrids made from BW- and either thymocytes or mature lymph node T cells reconstituted the coupling of CD3 zeta to the Ca2+ signal via an ARH-1 motif-dependent pathway. However, pervanadate-induced Ca2+ mobilization, a phenomenon attributed to tyrosine phosphorylation, was impaired in BW-cells and reconstituted in hybridomas. In contrast to the Ca2+ response, IL-2 production was induced in both BW- and hybrids cells, which questions the functional relevance of [Ca2+]i augmentation in T cell activation. In conclusion, the properties of the BW- thymoma, which define a novel group of CD3 zeta transduction cell mutants, as well as its complementation by somatic cell fusion demonstrate that this cell line represents a useful model to dissect the signaling pathway that couples CD3 zeta to Ca2+ mobilization by genetic reconstitution.     

Positive psychology principles applied to consulting psychology at the individual and group level.

This article describes the application, at the team and individual level, of findings from the positive psychology research. An overview of this research is presented focusing on several areas generally included in the positive psychology domain: flow, appreciative inquiry, the broaden and build theory, and other strategies for increasing the experience of positive emotions and the identification and deployment of strengths. The authors propose that these applications show promise in consulting psychology engagements and may have merit when utilized by practitioners themselves. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Biaxiale Ermüdung reibrührgeschweißter Strukturelemente

Biaxial fatigue of friction stir welded stiffened panels Within the framework of the European WelAir project, cruciform specimens made from stiffening FSW overlap joints were fatigued in the DLR biaxial test rig. To resemble the loading situation of pressurized fuselage structures, proportional loading without any phase shift, but with different load ratios λ between the loading components in both directions was applied.Natural crack initiation and subsequent crack growth were governed by the stiffness gradient caused by introducing the stringer. Cracks initiated and propagated at run‐in and run‐out locations in a direction perpendicular to the weld seam. The shortest fatigue life was observed for uniaxial loading in welding direction (λ = 0). An additional stress component perpendicular to the joint line (λ > 0) resulted in a higher number of cycles to failure. Similar to single stringer panels, increasing the load ratio also increased the number of cycles to failure for FSW clip‐stringer structural members, but additionally gives a different location of the fatal crack.     

Constructing a short form of the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire with adolescents and young adults.

The goal of the present studies was to construct and validate a short form of the 50-item Smoking Consequences Questionnaire (SCQ; T. H. Brandon & T. B. Baker, 1991), a measure of smoking outcome expectancies. In Study 1, a 21-item short form (S-SCQ) was derived from a sample of 107 young adults previously treated for substance abuse. In Study 2, the measure was cross-validated on 125 adolescents in treatment for substance abuse. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good model fit and factorial invariance for the 4 S-SCQ subscales across both samples. Validation analyses on each sample found that subscale scores generally correlated significantly with smoking-related variables. The present studies provide initial evidence for the utility of the S-SCQ when used with young adults and adolescents. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Young children's (Homo sapiens) understanding of knowledge formation in themselves and others.

Three- and 4-yr-old children were tested for comprehension of knowledge formation. In Exp 1, 34 Ss watched as a surprise was hidden under 1 of 4 obscured cups. The experimenter then pointed to the cup. All children searched under the correct cup, but no 3-yr-olds (in contrast to most 4-yr-olds) could explain how they knew where to look. Ss then discriminated between simultaneous pointing by 2 adults, one who had hidden a surprise and one who had left the room before the surprise was hidden. Most 4-yr-olds (but no 3-yr-olds) showed clear discrimination between the adults. In Exp 2, 16 Ss were tested with procedures designed to make the source of their own knowledge more obvious, but this had no effect on performance. It is concluded that studies using very similar procedures with chimpanzees and rhesus macaques were measuring an ability (or inability) to understand how knowledge states form. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Verbal and spatial working memory in school-age children: Developmental differences in susceptibility to interference.

The development of verbal and spatial working memory was investigated with an interference paradigm. Memory spans were obtained from 3 groups (8-, 10-, and 19-yr olds) under 6 different conditions: Two primary memory tasks (1 verbal, 1 spatial) were administered in isolation and in conjunction with 2 versions of a secondary task. The primary tasks required recalling a series of visually presented digits and recalling the locations of Xs in a series of visually presented grids. The secondary tasks required reporting the color of the stimuli as they were presented using either a verbal or a spatial response. Analyses revealed that all age groups showed domain-specific interference (i.e., interference by a secondary task from the same domain as the primary task), but only the 8-yr-olds also showed nonspecific interference (i.e., interference by a secondary task from a domain different than the primary memory task), suggesting that at least some executive functions do not reach adult levels of efficiency until approximately age 10. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)