Individual differences in boys' and girls' timing and tempo of puberty: Modeling development with nonlinear growth models.

Pubertal development is a nonlinear process progressing from prepubescent beginnings through biological, physical, and psychological changes to full sexual maturity. To tether theoretical concepts of puberty with sophisticated longitudinal, analytical models capable of articulating pubertal development more accurately, we used nonlinear mixed-effects models to describe both the timing and tempo of pubertal development in the sample of 364 White boys and 373 White girls measured across 6 years as part of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development. Individual differences in timing and tempo were extracted with models of logistic growth. Differential relations emerged for how boys' and girls' timing and tempo of development were related to physical characteristics (body mass index, height, and weight) and psychological outcomes (internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and risky sexual behavior). Timing and tempo are associated in boys but not girls. Pubertal timing and tempo are particularly important for predicting psychological outcomes in girls but only sparsely related to boys' psychological outcomes. Results highlight the importance of considering the nonlinear nature of puberty and expand the repertoire of possibilities for examining important aspects of how and when pubertal processes contribute to development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

How does personality matter in marriage? An examination of trait anxiety, interpersonal negativity, and marital satisfaction.

Although trait anxiety and its aliases (negative affectivity, neuroticism) have frequently been found to be associated with marital dissatisfaction, few efforts have been made to identify the processes through which trait anxiety exerts its influence. This study reports findings from a 13-year, 4-phase longitudinal study in which trait anxiety, measured when spouses were newlyweds, consistently predicted marital negativity which, in turn, was associated with partner's marital dissatisfaction. Some support was also found for effects of trait anxiety on partner's marital satisfaction, independent of marital negativity, as well as for the idea that trait anxiety is directly related to spouses' own marital satisfaction. Trait anxiety did not distinguish couples who divorced from those who remained married, and it generally did not predict declines in marital satisfaction. The disagreeable impact of trait anxiety on marriage was evident at the outset of marriage and was stable over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Does Class Size in First Grade Relate to Children's Academic and Social Performance or Observed Classroom Processes?

This study evaluated the extent to which first-grade class size predicted child outcomes and observed classroom processes for 651 children (in separate classrooms). Analyses examined observed child-adult ratios and teacher-reported class sizes. Smaller classrooms showed higher quality instructional and emotional support, although children were somewhat less likely to be engaged. Teachers in smaller classes rated typical children in those classes as more socially skilled and as showing less externalizing behavior and reported more closeness toward them. Children in smaller classes performed better on literacy skills. Larger classrooms showed more group activities directed by the teacher, teachers and children interacted more often, and children were more often engaged. Lower class sizes were not of more benefit (or harm) as a function of the child's family income. First-grade class size in the range typical of present-day classrooms in the United States predicts classroom social and instructional processes as well as relative changes in social and literacy outcomes from kindergarten to first grade. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Impulse Noise Performance Bounds for Binary Correlation Receivers

A general performance equation is derived for digital receivers in the presence of impulse noise. Two bounding techniques are employed to simplify the results. First, the Schwarz inequality removes the dependence on both the impulse noise waveforms and the signal-set basis functions. Second, the Chebyshev inequality is applied to the Schwarz results to additionally eliminate the statistical dependence on the probability density function of the noise waveform weighting factor. The bound curves are compared to specific theoretical results where the noise waveforms and probability density functions have been assumed. The tightness of the bound curves is a function of the signal-energy-to-noise-weighting-factor variance ratio and converges for the Schwarz bound as the ratio increases. Considerably looser bounds are obtained by the Chebyshev technique, but rough estimates of system performance can be obtained when the signalenergy-to-signal-energy-to-noise-variance ratio is the only known parameter.     

Stability of Older Adults' Preferences for Life-Sustaining Medical Treatment.

The use of instructional advance directives assumes that preferences for life-sustaining medical treatment remain stable over time and across changes in life condition. A sample of 332 older adults recorded their preferences for 4 life-sustaining treatments in 9 illness scenarios. These preferences were elicited again 1 and 2 years after the original interview. Overall, preferences for life-sustaining treatment were moderately stable over time, but stability varied significantly across judgments. Preferences were most stable for illness scenarios that were most and least serious and for decisions to refuse treatment. Age, gender, education, and prior completion of an advance directive were all related to preference stability, and evidence indicated that declines in physical or psychological functioning resulted in decreased interest in life-sustaining treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Project Genesis: Assessing the Efficacy of Problem-Solving Therapy for Distressed Adult Cancer Patients.

The efficacy of problem-solving therapy (PST) to reduce psychological distress was assessed among a sample of 132 adult cancer patients. A second condition provided PST for both the patient and a significant other. At posttreatment, all participants receiving PST fared significantly better than waiting list control patients. Further, improvements in problem solving were found to correlate significantly with improvements in psychological distress and overall quality of life. No differences in symptom reduction were identified between the 2 treatment protocols. At a 6-month follow-up, however, patients who received PST along with their significant other reported lower levels of psychological distress as compared with members of the PST-alone condition on approximately half of the outcome measures. These effects were further maintained 1-year posttreatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments for nocturnal enuresis.

Provides a quantitative integration of research on the effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments for nocturnal enuresis. With the use of experiments that compared treatments with either no treatment or another form of treatment, this article assesses (1) the overall effectiveness of psychological and pharmacological treatments, (2) the relative effectiveness of specific types of treatments, and (3) moderators of treatment effectiveness including investigator allegiance. Findings from the review confirm that enuretic children benefit substantially from treatment. However, more children improve from psychological than from pharmacological interventions. Moreover, psychological treatments involving a urine alarm are most likely to yield benefits that are maintained once treatment has ended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Values in science: Comment on Haan.

Criticizes N. Haan's (see record 1983-22367-001) argument that psychologists face a serious contradiction in their efforts to conduct scientific investigations of morality because a scientist cannot study morality without taking a moral position, which contradicts the traditional mandate that science be value-neutral. It is suggested that it is not possible to achieve an impartial morality any more than a value-neutral science, and the compulsion to reach a consensus, as suggested by Haan, may actually impede scientific discovery and advance. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)