Toward a developmental-contextual model of the effects of parental spanking on children's aggression

OBJECTIVE: To challenge the application of an unqualified social learning model to the study of spanking, positing instead a developmental-contextual model in which the effects of spanking depend on the meaning children ascribe to spanking. DESIGN: Population-based survey data from 1112 children aged 4 to 11 years in the National Survey of Families and Households. Controlled for several family and child factors including children's baseline aggression. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Schoolyard fights and antisocial scores on the Behavior Problems Index at the 5-year follow-up. RESULTS: Structural equation modeling yielded main effects (P < or = .05, change in chi 2) of children's age and race; spanking predicted fewer fights for children aged 4 to 7 years and for children who are black and more fights for children aged 8 to 11 years and for children who are white. Regression analyses within subgroups yielded no evidence that spanking fostered aggression in children younger than 6 years and supported claims of increased aggression for only 1 subgroup: 8- to 11-year-old white boys in single-mother families (P < or = .05, F test). CONCLUSIONS: For most children, claims that spanking teaches aggression seem unfounded. Other preventive effects and harmful effects of spanking may occur depending on the child and the family context. Further efforts to identify moderators of the effects of spanking on children's adjustment are necessary.     

Oxidative Hydrophenylation of Ethylene Using a Cationic Ru(II) Catalyst: Styrene Production with Ethylene as the Oxidant

The complex [(MeOTTM)Ru(P(OCH₂)₃CEt)(NCMe)Ph][BAr′₄] (MeOTMM=4,4’,4’’-(methoxymethanetriyl)-tris(1-benzyl-1H-1,2,3-triazole), BAr′₄=tetrakis[3,5-bis(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]borate) is used to catalyze the hydrophenylation of ethylene to produce styrene and ethylbenzene. The selectivity of styrene versus ethylbenzene varies as a function of ethylene pressure, and replacing the MeOTTM ligand with tris(1-phenyl-1H-1,2,3-triazol-4-yl)methanol reduces the selectivity toward styrene. For styrene production ethylene serves as the oxidant to produce ethane, as determined by both ¹H NMR spectroscopy and GC-MS. The Ru(III/II) potentials of [(MeOTTM)Ru[P(OCH₂)₃CEt](NCMe)Ph][BAr′₄] (0.86 V) and [(HC(pz⁵)₃)Ru[P(OCH₂)₃CEt](NCMe)Ph][BAr′₄] (0.82 V) (HC(pz⁵)₃=tris(5-methyl-pyrazolyl)methane) are nearly identical. Since catalytic conversion of ethylene and benzene by [(HC(pz⁵)₃)Ru[P(OCH₂)₃CEt](NCMe)Ph][BAr′₄] is known to selectively produce ethylbenzene, the formation of styrene using [(MeOTTM)Ru[P(OCH₂)₃CEt](NCMe)Ph][BAr′₄] is attributed to the substituents on the triazole rings of the MeOTTM ligand.     

Participation in counseling programs: High-risk participants are reluctant to accept HIV-prevention counseling.

HIV-prevention intervention effectiveness depends on understanding whether clients with highest need for HIV-prevention counseling accept it. With this objective, a field study with a high-risk community sample from the southeastern United States (N = 350) investigated whether initial knowledge about HIV, motivation to use condoms, condom-use-relevant behavioral skills, and prior condom use correlate with subsequent acceptance of an HIV-prevention counseling session. Ironically, participants with high (vs. low) motivation to use condoms, high (vs. low) condom-use-relevant behavioral skills, and high (vs. low) prior condom use were more likely to accept the HIV-prevention counseling. Moreover, the influence of motivation to use condoms, condom-use-relevant behavioral skills, and prior condom use on acceptance of the counseling was mediated by expectations that the counseling session would be useful. Methods to reduce barriers to recruitment of clients for counseling programs are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Chemistry in the Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalization: An Energy Frontier Research Center

Abstract  

Selective catalysts that activate small molecules such as hydrocarbons, dioxygen, water, carbon dioxide and dihydrogen are central to new technologies for the use of alternative energy sources. For example, controlled hydrocarbon functionalization can lead to high impact technologies, but such catalysts require a level of molecular control beyond current means. The Center for Catalytic Hydrocarbon Functionalization facilitates collaborations among research groups in catalysis, materials, electrochemistry, bioinorganic chemistry and quantum mechanics to develop, validate and optimize new methods to rearrange the bonds of hydrocarbons, activate and transform water and carbon dioxide, implement enzymatic strategies into synthetic systems and design optimal environments for catalysis.     

Stepchildren's Perceptions of Noncustodial Mothers and Noncustodial Fathers: Differences in Socioemotional Involvement and Associations With Adolescent Adjustment Problems.

Caucasian stepchildren (aged 10-18) in the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development (NEAD) project rated noncustodial (NC) parents' socioemotional involvement. Stepfamilies had been together at least 5 years. Adolescents with NC mothers (n = 56) reported more phone calls, mail, overnight visits, and social support than adolescents with NC fathers (n = 143). The association between perceived social support and adolescent adjustment was compared for NC mothers versus NC fathers by using structural equation modeling; the association was stronger for NC mothers. No effects for sex of child or interactions of sex of child/sex of NC parent were obtained. NC fathers might increase their influence in adolescents' lives by behaving more like NC mothers (more frequent phone calls, overnights, etc.). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Differential impact of fathers' authoritarian parenting on early adolescent adjustment in conservative protestant versus other families.

The purpose of the study was to determine whether well-established associations between authoritarian parenting and adolescent adjustment pertain to conservative Protestant (CP) families. Structural equation modeling was used to test paths from biological fathers' authoritarian parenting to adolescent adjustment in 65 CP versus 170 comparison families in the Nonshared Environment and Adolescent Development Study (NEAD; D. Reiss et al., 1994). The hypothesis that adolescents in CP families would be less harmed by authoritarian parenting than would adolescents in control families was partially supported: Authoritarian parenting directly predicted greater externalizing and internalizing for adolescents in control families but not for adolescents in CP families. In contrast, parents' religious affiliation failed to moderate the negative associations between authoritarian parenting and positive adjustment. Understanding family processes specific to the CP subculture is important for helping these families raise competent children. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)