We explore here the potentials of a social constructionist orientation to knowledge for research and clinical practice. Dialogues on social construction emphasize the communal origins of knowledge. They stress the cultural basis of knowledge claims, the significance of language, the value saturation of all knowledge, and the significance of…

Suppressor situations occur when the simultaneous inclusion of two predictors improves one or both validities. A common allegation is that suppressor effects rarely replicate and have little substantive import. We present substantive examples from two established research domains to counter this skepticism. In the first domain, we show how…

Timing of first fatherhood was examined in a sample of 206 at-risk, predominantly White men, followed prospectively for 17 years. An event history analysis was used to test a model wherein antisocial behavior, the contextual and familial factors that may contribute to the development of antisocial behavior, and common correlates of such behavior,…

Children's target experiences (as recipients of prosocial peer acts and victims of peer aggression) were investigated for their concurrent and longitudinal associations with prosocial and aggressive behavior. Forty-four children (initially 22-40 months) were observed in naturalistic interactions with peers during a two-month period for each of…

Much research on sexual deviance on university and college campuses is limited by its narrow focus on group affiliation and leads to much speculation and conjecture. This article suggests that an alternative explanation is more suitable for explaining such an important and complex problem on college campuses. It argues that prior deviance serves…

This exploratory study of 339 students at the University of New Hampshire found that approximately 10% to 15% of students reported receiving repeated e-mail or Instant Messenger (I-M) messages that "threatened, insulted, or harassed," and more than half of the students received unwanted pornography. Approximately 7% of students reported online…

The aim of the present study is to explore the possibility of predicting the presence of a criminal record in the background of a homicide offender on the basis of victim characteristics. Eight victim characteristics, as well as the presence or absence of offender criminal record and offender violent criminal record, were coded for 502 Finnish…

Distress and symptoms of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were investigated among targets of experienced bullying at work, that is, the exposure to persistent or recurrent oppressive, offensive, abusive behaviour where the aggressor may be a superior or a colleague. The participants in the present study were all recruited from two…

To develop more accurate explanatory and predictive models of child and adolescent conduct problems, interest has grown in examining psychopathic traits in youth. The presence or absence of these traits may help to identify unique etiological pathways in the development of antisocial behavior. The current review provides a detailed summary and…

The aim of this study was to examine the impact of callous-unemotional (CU) traits on treatment outcomes and processes in a 10-week behavioral parent-training intervention with young boys referred for conduct problems (N = 56; mean age 6.29 years). CU traits were associated with greater conduct problems at pretreatment and with poor outcomes at…

This article reviews behavioral-genetic research to show how it can help address questions of causation in developmental psychopathology. The article focuses on studies of antisocial behavior, because these have been leading the way in investigating environmental as well as genetic influences on psychopathology. First, the article illustrates how…

This study determines the relationships between shame, anger, and men's perpetration of psychological abuse in dating relationships. The authors' hypothesize the connection between shame proneness and men's use of psychological abuse with a dating partner, with anger's mediating in this relationship. In addition, the authors' hypothesize that…

The paper appraises the phenomenon of campus secret cults in Nigeria. Specifically, the paper sets off by exploring various definitions of secret cults before tracing the history of campus cults in Nigerian higher institutions. The paper identifies various reasons for the emergence of secret cults and discusses the consequences of cult activities…

Recent research suggests that having a mutual antipathy, in comparison to not having an antipathy, is associated with a host of negative outcomes. However, the methods used may not have adequately controlled for rejection and therefore may have provided an incomplete description of the psychosocial correlates of having a mutual antipathy. With a…

In contrast to boys' bullying behavior which is often overt and easily visible, girls' aggression is usually indirect and covert. Less research has been conducted on the types of bullying that girls usually engage in. Using focus groups composed of teenaged girls, Dr. Owens and colleagues examine the nature of teenage girls' indirect aggression.