Deconversion is a biographical change in which one goes from claiming adherence to a religion to departing from it. A meaning system model can help us understand the processes through which deconversion occurs. Drawing on that framework, we explored how perceiving hypocrisy in one's religious setting influences adolescent deconversion. Irrational…

A model that describes conditions influencing the display of gender-related behavior is presented as a supplement to existent models of sex differences. The model emphasizes the degree to which gender-related behavior is variable, proximally caused, and context dependent. (Author/LMO)

In a random national sample of Latter-Day Saints (Mormons), religious commitment had the strongest direct effect on religious behavior, while belief (orthodoxy), personal community relationships, and religious socialization produced indirect effects. Education and female gender were positively related to religious behavior. Contains 58 references…

Describes unique differences between usage segments in beliefs, perceptions, and anticipated situational influences regarding the salient dimensions underlying motivations to use marijuana. (Author)

Proposes and tests a model of the relationship between beliefs and behavioral intentions based on a mathematical probability theory. (MH)

This paper describes and reports research on a model of the determination of behavioral intention by belief structures, derived from a theory proposed by Don Dulany in 1968. The new model construes "belief structures," and defines message variables, in ways suggestive for communication research. Findings reported support several…

Achievement-related beliefs and behaviors of parents of 41 economically disadvantaged African American youth and the relations among parental factors and children's academic self-concept and achievement were studied. Significant and positive relations between parental belief and behavior measures are discussed in light of models of family…

Tested the application of a revised version on Hirschi's (1969) social bond model on the drug use patterns of 2,626 high school students. The revised model, which accounted for more of the use variance than the original model, reveals that the best direct predictors are belief and attachment. (BJV)

To develop and test a theoretical model, based on the Theory of Reasoned Action (Fishbein and Ajzen, 1975), for understanding and predicting the decision to stay in or drop out of school, to identify the specific beliefs that are the basis of that decision, and to evaluate the use of moderator variables (sex, race) to individualize the model,…

A range of factors, including early experience, parent-child interaction patterns, biological factors, and life events, have been associated with the development of depression among adolescents. Relations between early experience, attachment insecurity, and later depression may be mediated by failures to develop adaptive social skills, the…