Adolescent coital activity and the attendant risk of pregnancy is a problem with far-reaching implications. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of family variables on adolescent sexual behavior and contraceptive practices. More specifically, the research question was: Could a set of parent-adolescent interpersonal variables be…

Using questionnaires administered to 566 unmarried students at the University of South Carolina, a comparison was made between reported premarital sexual behavior and projected extramarital sexual behavior. Individuals who were premaritally sexually active were found more likely to project that they would be extramaritally sexually involved.…

The Hand Test was administered to 107 maximum-security prison inmates. The Acting Out Score (AOS) was computed, and one year later, actual acting out for the same inmates was recorded. Determined that the Hand Test AOS is useful in identifying inmates who have potential for acting out. (Author)

Explored relationships between recidivism while on parole and 19 predictor variables reflective of offender or offense characteristics among 105 young adult male felons 22 months after parole. Significant bivariate relationships were found between the criterion and marital status, religious group membership, nature of the offense, and number of…

Clinical judgement involves a search for internal consistency which can be validated by predicting responses within a protocol, or internally. Internal predictive validity assumes that one source of consistency is the individual--an assumption that was tested in a prediction task using the sentence completion test (SCT). Artificial protocols…

This study investigates the application of predictor variables identified by nine previous studies and by staff members of a family court and its psychiatric clinic to clinical predictions of dangerousness. The records of 122 juveniles were studied. No significant relationships were found. (Author)

The effects of physical attractiveness, warmth, and sex of an adult model on imitation behavior of adult males and females were investigated. Subjects were randomly paired with confederates of low or high facial attractiveness who interacted with the subject in a cold-unfriendly or warm-friendly manner. The imitation task involved the confederate…

In a longitudinal study of precursors of drug usage, data collected in 1968 on health variables was related to substance usage patterns obtained in 1975-76. Some 657 young Puerto Ricans were interviewed for this study, drawn from a pool of about 5,000 questionnaired in 1968. The major findings were that the health factors associated with drug…

Studies the convergence between current drug use and the use of drugs in the future by adolescents. The overall pattern suggests sources other than previous drug experience must be considered in attempting to explain intentions for future use. (Author)

A social psychology of problem behavior was employed in a longitudinal study of high school youth to predict time of onset of marijuana use. Nineteen personality, perceived environment, and behavioral variables among nonusers of marijuana were shown to account for a significant amount of the variance in time of onset of use. (Author)

Vroom's expectancy theory model to predict older worker's choices between employment or retirement hypothesized that a person's preference would be a function of differences between instrumentality of employment and retirement for attainment of outcomes, multiplied by the valence of each outcome, summed over outcomes. Results supported the…

Predicting occurrences of violent behavior in the population of emotionally disturbed criminal offenders was investigated by identifying a pattern of characteristics that significantly discriminates between violent and nonviolent offenders. Subjects were 149 current and former male patients in the Forensics Division of St. Elizabeths Hospital in…