Problem Behavior and Heart Rate Reactivity in Adopted Adolescents: Longitudinal and Concurrent Relations

The present longitudinal study examined resting heart rate and heart rate variability and reactivity to a stressful gambling task in adopted adolescents with aggressive, delinquent, or internalizing behavior problems and adopted adolescents without behavior problems (total N=151). Early‐onset delinquent adolescents showed heart rate hyporeactivity to the stress‐eliciting gambling task compared to late‐onset delinquent adolescents and adolescents without behavior problems. Heart rate, heart rate variability, and reactivity to stress were not related to environmental factors such as early‐childhood parental sensitivity, parental socioeconomic status, or adoptee's health status at arrival. We conclude that the distinction between delinquency and aggression and between childhood‐onset and adolescence‐onset delinquency is important for the study of stress reactivity in adolescents.     

Moving and union dissolution

This paper examines the effect of migration and residential mobility on union dissolution among married and cohabiting couples. Moving is a stressful life event, and a large, multidisciplinary literature has shown that family migration often benefits one partner (usually the man) more than the other Even so, no study to date has examined the possible impact of within-nation geographical mobility on union dissolution. We base our longitudinal analysis on retrospective event-history data from Austria. Our results show that couples who move frequently have a significantly higher risk of union dissolution, and we suggest a variety of mechanisms that may explain this.     

INFLUENCE OF THERAPIST SKILLS ON CLIENT PERCEPTIONS OF MARRIAGE AND FAMILY THERAPY OUTCOME: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUPERVISION

Clients seen in two marriage and family therapy training clinics were surveyed regarding treatment outcome. They rated their therapist's skill level on several therapist variables including "experience,""confident,""concerned," how well the treatment used seemed to "fit" their view of the problem and if the therapist seemed to "know how to deal" with their concerns. The variable of "fit" of treatment accounted for 35% of the variance in the client's perception of treatment outcome. "Concerned,""fit," and "knew how to deal" accounted for 36% of the variance in overall rating of the therapist. Suggestions for using these results in supervision of beginning therapists are given.     

Social representations of diversity: multi/intercultural education in a South African urban school 1

The story of School X started in South Africa in 1875. At that time, the school was built for white children only. More than hundred years later, the 1994 elections demarcated the end of the apartheid era and the school enrolled black Xhosa‐speaking children for the first time. As a result, in 2004, 90% of the students were black Xhosa‐speaking. The theoretical perspectives of our study are based on notions of multicultural and intercultural education, and of diversity. Our study is embedded in a socio‐constructivist inquiry paradigm. Using questionnaires and interviews, we aimed to understand the social representations regarding diversity of a principal, a teacher, seven students and four parents in a K‐7 open school. We examined diversity of values, cultures, religions, languages, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, etc. regarding a multi/intercultural perspective in education. We attempted to discern what the participants’ understandings of diversity were, how they identified diversity, and why they justified their practices and actions with respect to diversity.

The song can only be beautiful if we all play the same tune. (Esmé Goosen, Multimedia, 2004)

This is the title of a painting that is part of an exhibition in Nelson Mandela Metropolitan Museum of Art, Port Elizabeth, South Africa     

The effects of fatal vision goggles on drinking and driving intentions in college students

The present study was designed to examine the effectiveness of Fatal Vision Goggles in reducing intentions to drink and drive. Participants performed a field sobriety task and drove in a traffic simulator while wearing the goggles. A regression analysis was performed in order to predict changes in intentions to drink and drive, using typical drinking patterns, perceived likelihood of getting into a collision when drinking and driving, self efficacy, and driving independence as predictor variables. Results showed that drinking and driving intentions were reduced following the use of Fatal Vision Goggles among those that typically drink more during outings, among those that believe the likelihood of collisions when drinking and driving are greater, and among those less likely to drive to achieve independence and autonomy. These results indicate that Fatal Vision Goggles can be an effective tool in altering drinking and driving attitudes among drivers with specific attitudinal and personal characteristics.     

Predictors of retention in an alcohol, tobacco, and other drug prevention study

This article explored retention patterns, as well as factors that predicted these patterns, in the evaluation of a relationship-based substance abuse prevention intervention study that targeted inner-city African American youth. A total of 851 contacts were made to retain 82% (n = 104) of the baseline sample (N = 127) in the evaluation. Results from multinomial regression analyses indicated that participants who were retained in the evaluation were more likely to perceive alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use as less risky and were more likely to report higher levels of family supervision than were evaluation attrits. Those who were easy to retain reported lower family conflict and fewer family relocations during the past year than those who were difficult to retain. Implications of these findings for developing retention strategies, as well as future research, are discussed.     

Prüfungshonorare in Deutschland – Determinanten und Implikationen

The audit fees available since 2005 as a consequence of the Bilanzrechtsreformgesetz (commercial code reform act) show an extremely high supplier concentration on the German audit market of publicly listed companies. This justifies the assumption of audit fees above perfect market equilibrium prices. However, the complete collection and multivariate regression analysis of all relevant audit fee and client data document a 24 % decrease in audit fees in 2005 and an average 15 % decrease in the two subsequent years due to auditor changes. This can be interpreted as an indicator for price competition. In addition, the audit fee data shows that the audit fee decreases are only partially compensated by subsequent increases. As a consequence, there is no evidence for lowballing at present. Further time series are necessary to show if the current trend is sustainable.