A survey of 1,482 high school students in spring and fall 1986 resulted in confirmation of the Problem Behavior Theory as a predictor of drinking and driving among adolescents. Environmental, behavioral, and demographic factors account for 50 percent of the variance in drinking and driving. (SK)

It is argued that intelligent behavior cannot be understood without reference to inhibitory processes. A review of research findings suggests that resistance to interference and the capacity for inhibition are important sources of individual differences, associated with the operation of the frontal lobes of the brain. (SLD)

The methodology of many studies that have identified specific genetic loci for disorders associated with mental retardation is criticized as failing to demonstrate an association between the behavior phenotype and the genetic marker. A more appropriate methodology using a multitrait-multimethod approach is suggested. (Author/JDD)

A taxonomy of decision behavior styles (independence/dependence, active/passive, insightful/not) tested with 372 career counseling clients was supported by similar structure analysis and confirmatory factor analysis. Counselors were more likely to be satisfied with decisions of clients they perceived to be insightful. (SK)

Surveyed 364 members of the Society for Personality Assessment to determine how they use computer-based test interpretation software (CBTI) in their work, and their perspectives on the ethics of using CBTI. Psychologists commonly use CBTI for test scoring, but not to formulate a case or as an alternative to a written report. (SLD)

A survey of 4,700 students aged 11-16 in 25 British schools found that, in any year, 75% are bullied; 7% either perpetuate or suffer severe and repeated bullying. Four behavior patterns were found: bullies, bully-victims, victims, and nonparticipants. Teacher intervention and antibullying policies are ineffective without staff training and…

Developed an instrument to measure empowering leader behavior (study 1, n=1,309) and studied the relationship of the instrument to several theoretically relevant variables (study 2, n=84). Confirmatory factor analyses support a six-dimension model of empowering leader behavior. Psychological empowerment mediated the relationship between six…

College-age females (N=58) provided information about their risk-taking behaviors. Participants engaged in a variety of risky behaviors. Analysis showed that participants' justifications were largely goal-oriented or reflected a preoccupation with personal needs. These results are contrary to the widely held belief that adolescents' risk-taking is…

Reviews the scientific literature related to suicidal behavior among Latino youth. Discusses the conceptualizations of culture, and how culture may influence behavior and psychopathology, in particular, suicidal behavior. Reviews the literature that discusses rates of suicidal behavior, risk, and protective factors associated with this behavior…

Considers that participants in previous deception detection experiments may not have had access to the types of information people most often use to detect real-life lies. Suggests that people most often rely on information from third parties and physical evidence when detecting lies, and that the detection of a lie is a process that takes days,…

Objective: To examine the transmission behavior among youth living with HIV (YLH), pre- and post-HAART. Methods: Two cohorts were recruited: (1) 349 YLH during 1994 to 1996 and (2) 175 YLH during 1999 to 2000, after the wide availability of HAART. Differences in sexual and substance-use risk acts and quality of life were examined. Results:…

Literature assessing knowledge of and attitudes toward social issues has demonstrated that mental health professionals and lay persons often differ greatly. To add to the normative information in the field of psychological abuse and to determine whether the differences previously found between mental health professionals and lay persons extend to…

The past two decades have seen an explosion in research in the fields of violence and trauma and behavior genetics. These two fields came into direct conflict when Lisabeth Fisher DiLalla and Irving I. Gottesman outlined a fundamental conceptual limitation of trauma and violence research: that rather than being causal, the well-documented…

Twenty-two- and 27-month-old children were tested for their understanding of pretending as a specific intentional action form. Pairs of superficially similar behaviors--pretending to perform an action and trying to perform that action--were demonstrated to children. The 27-month-olds, and to some degree the 22-month-olds, showed in their responses…

In contrast to the many published accounts of the disfluent repetition of sounds at the beginnings of words, cases where it is predominantly the final parts of words that are repeated have been reported relatively rarely. With few exceptions, those studies that have been published have described either pre-school children or neurologically…