To determine what factors contribute to possible pregnancy and birth control usage among a sample of college women, a survey questionnaire was distributed to students who requested pregnancy tests at a university health center. Answers from 140 respondents are reported and analyzed and their implications are discussed. (JL)

Protection motivation theory proposes that a perceived threat to health activates cognitive appraisals of the severity of the threatened event, the probability of its occurrence, and the efficacy of a coping response; a recent reformulation of the theory incorporates self-efficacy expectancy as a fourth mediating cognitive process. To test the…

Although research has examined the content of alcohol-outcome expectancies and also the role of alcohol use in aggressive and sexual behaviors, few studies have linked the two lines of inquiry. To examine the efficacy of outcome expectancies for predicting actual behavior, 64 male social drinkers, aged 21 to 25 years, completed questionnaires and,…

To examine the impact of ethical ideology, i.e., situationism (high relativism and idealism), subjectivism (high relativism/low idealism), absolutism (low relativism/high idealism), and exceptionism (low relativism and idealism), as well as the saliency of moral norms, and the situational consequences on moral behavior, 112 male and female college…

Compared smokers' (214) and nonsmokers' (220) explanations for cigarette smoking behavior to determine predictors of cigarette consumption. Results showed addiction and affective smoking were the most important motives predicting consumption. Presented at the meeting of the Southeastern Psychological Association, Washington, DC, 1980. (WAS)

Four studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between communication and predictive accuracy. Subjects, students enrolled in various college speech and communication classes, completed the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values, first in terms of their own values and then in terms of how they believed a specified target would respond.…

Conducted two studies in which subjects (N=345) read descriptions of stereotypic behavior displayed by a seven-year-old boy or girl and predicted adult personality attributes. Results showed that irrespective of sex, the feminine child was predicted to be happier, more mature, less self-centered, and more expressive. (LLL)

It was found that no personal characteristic of law school deans was a predictor of their leader behavior scores; however, several of the law school faculty members' personal characteristics and social distance factors (age, rank, Frequency or Intimacy of Contact) were positive predictors of their Consideration scores. (Author/LB)

Analyzed students' (N=282) responses to questions about personal habits and roommate and residence hall preferences, to explore the influence of habit variables on roommate compatibility. Found that matching roommates on potential causes of conflict had some effect on interaction and compatibility. (ABB)

Explores the utility of Bandura's self-efficacy theory for studying older adults' behavioral competencies in college. Expectations of personal efficacy are viewed as mediating mechanisms for predicting the initiation and persistence of educationally relevant behaviors. Theoretical issues related to the assessment of self-efficacy and performance…

This study examined whether female undergraduate students who share with male undergraduates similar demographics, perceptions, and alcohol use locations, also share similar alcohol usage patterns, negative consequences, and predictors for both. Secondary analysis was conducted using 1992 and 1993 U.S. Department of Education Core Survey data…

Presents two studies of the influence of group size, prior acquaintance, and gender composition on talking and silence in decision making groups (N=157). Results suggested that friends talked more than strangers, and leaders talked more than nonleaders. Group differences were reflected more dramatically in patterns of silence. (JAC)

Studied the relationship of psychosocial factors to alcohol abuse among college students (N=272). The psychosocial profile of the college student alcohol abuser was that of a male underclassman, who tends to consume beer more often and in greater quantities than nonabusers. Alcohol abusers may consume alcohol to handle adjustment problems. (JAC)

Studied predictors of alcohol use and misuse in 1,823 college students who completed the Student Alcohol Information Survey. Results showed students who began drinking younger reported more alcohol-related problems. Students introduced to alcohol with parental consent, who were the majority, experienced significantly fewer problems. (JAC)

Alcoholism research has independently focused on background characteristics and alcohol-related expectations, e.g., social and physical pleasure, reduced tension, and increased assertiveness, as important variables in identifying high risk individuals. To assess the utility of alcohol reinforcement expectations as predictors of drinking patterns,…