Are Psychological and Ecological Well-being Compatible? The Role of Values,Mindfulness, and Lifestyle

Happiness and ecological well-being are often portrayed as conflictual pursuits, but they may actually be complementary. In samples of adolescents (Study 1) and adults (Study 2), we tested this proposition and examined the role of three factors in promoting both subjective well-being (SWB) and ecologically responsible behavior (ERB). In both studies, individuals higher in SWB reported more ERB. An intrinsic value orientation (Studies 1 and 2) and dispositional mindfulness (Study 2) related to higher SWB and ERB, while a lifestyle of voluntary simplicity (Study 2) related to higher ERB. Further analyses showed that the compatibility of SWB and ERB was explained by intrinsic values and mindfulness. These findings offer clues to a sustainable way of life that enhances both personal and collective well-being.     

Deterrence and Knowledge of Statutory Penalties*

This study examines deterrence theory in light of three questions. First, is there an inverse relation between crime rates and maximum statutory penalties? Second, is there an inverse relation between crime rates and maximum penalties as perceived by potential offenders? Third, what is the accuracy of those perceptions? Classical versions of deterrence theory seemingly assume that the perceptions of potential offenders are substantially accurate, but the present findings (based on a survey of adult Tucson residents) show only a positive correlation (not absolute agreement) between statutory and perceived maximums. Yet there is a substantial inverse relation among types of crimes between statutory maximums (actual or perceived) and crime rates. However, that relation becomes problematic when public disapproval of criminality is controlled because of the collinearity between that aspect of social condemnation and the statutory maximums.     

Hug drug or thug drug? Ecstasy use and aggressive behavior

While clinical studies have established a link between aggression and ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymeth-amphetamine [MDMA]), no research has attempted to explore how this link manifests itself in behavioral outcomes. In this research we examine the effects of ecstasy on aggressive and violent behavior in a sample of active users. Data were collected from 260 ecstasy users in Atlanta, Georgia. Data analysis included ordered logit regression to examine the likelihood of engaging in aggressive behavior, controlling for key predictors of aggression independent of ecstasy use. Our results indicate that those with a higher prevalence of lifetime ecstasy use exhibit higher levels of aggressive and violent behavior. However, the effect of lifetime ecstasy use differs by levels of low self-control as a measure of propensity for aggression. Those who exhibit low self-control are more affected by ecstasy use than those who do not in terms of aggression. Our findings add an important dimension to our current knowledge about the relationship between aggression and ecstasy.     

Effects of Phonotactic Probabilities on the Processing of Spoken Words and Nonwords by Adults with Cochlear Implants Who Were Postlingually Deafened

Probabilistic phonotactics refers to the frequency with which segments and sequences of segments occur in syllables and words. Knowledge of phonotactics has been shown to be an important source of information in recognizing spoken words in listeners with normal hearing. Two online tasks (an auditory same-different task and an auditory lexical decision task) were used to examine the use of phonotactic information by adults who were postlingually deafened who have received cochlear implants. The results of the experiments showed that cochlear implant patients with better word recognition abilities (as measured by the Northwestern University Auditory Test No. 6 (NU-6) produced patterns of results that were similar to the pattern of results obtained from listeners with normal hearing in Vitevitch and Luce (1999). This finding suggests that cochlear implant patients with better word recognition abilities use lexical and sublexical representations to process spoken words, much like listeners with normal hearing. In contrast, cochlear implant patients with poor word recognition abilities could not differentiate between stimuli varying in phonotactic probability and lexicality, suggesting that less distinct representations are used by these patients to process spoken words. The implications of these results for outcome assessments and clinical interventions are discussed.     

Understanding the Role of Individual Innovativeness in the Acceptance of IT‐Based Innovations: Comparative Analyses of Models and Measures*

As new technological innovations are rapidly introduced and changed, identifying an individual characteristic that has a persistent effect on the acceptance decisions across multiple technologies is of substantial value for the successful implementation of information systems. Augmenting prior work on individual innovativeness within the context of information technology, we developed a new measure of adopter category innovativeness (ACI) and compared its effectiveness with the existing measure of personal innovativeness in IT (PIIT). Further, we examined two alternative models in which the role of individual innovativeness was theorized differently—either as a moderator of the effects the perceived innovation characteristics of usefulness, ease of use, and compatibility have on future use intention (moderator model) or as a direct determinant of the innovation characteristics (direct determinant model). To ensure the generalizability of the study findings, two field studies (N= 634) were conducted, each of which examined the two models (moderator and direct determinant) and measured individual innovativeness using the two measures (ACI and PIIT). Study 1 surveyed the online buying practices of 412 individuals, and Study 2 surveyed personal digital assistant adoption of 222 healthcare professionals. Across the markedly different adoption contexts, the study results consistently show that individual innovativeness is a direct determinant of the innovation characteristics, and the two measures share many commonalities. The new measure offers some additional utilities not found in the PIIT measure by allowing individuals to be directly classified and mapped into adopter categories. Implications are drawn for future research and practice.     

Mother Tongue,Host Country Earnings,and Return Migration: Evidence from Cross‐National Administrative Records

Using a unique database constructed through the merging of administrative records from Sweden and Finland, we provide the first detailed examination of differential return migration risks by people's mother tongue within a given nationality. We analyze whether the divergence in return migration risk between Swedish‐speaking and Finnish‐speaking Finns in Sweden relates to host country earnings, considering that the former group are in parity with native Swedes. Host country earnings and other background variables are found to explain only a modest part of the difference in return migration risk. Variation in the return migration risk of labor migrants is consequently not solely a result of earnings differentials.     

Sex Partner Type,Drug Use and Condom Use Self-Efficacy Among African Americans from Disadvantaged Neighborhoods: Are Associations with Consistent Condom Use Moderated by Gender?

Gender inequalities in sexual behavior are explored from the perspective of the theory of gender and power. This study focused on the effect of sex partner type (steady versus casual), drug use, and condom use self-efficacy regarding consistent condom use (CCU) among a community-based sample of adults. The sample included 1,357 African American men and women (M age 37.0, SD 13.1 years; 44% women, 66% men) from 61 disadvantaged census block groups in Atlanta, GA as part of a study of individual and neighborhood characteristics and HIV risk-taking. Having a steady partner decreased the odds of CCU, while higher condom use self-efficacy increased the odds of CCU. Among non-drug users, having a drug-using partner was associated with decreased odds of condom use for women only. Women with drug-using partners, especially a steady partner, were least likely to report CCU. Therefore, interventions intended to empower CCU among women need to expand beyond acknowledging the reduced control that women who use drugs demonstrate to also consider those who have drug-using sexual partners.     

Network sampling of social divisions in a rural Inuit community

This paper describes results from a network survey of Nain – a predominantly Inuit community of ~1200 people located on the northern coast of Labrador. As part of a larger social network research project, we used peer-referral sampling to recruit 330 residents for interviews about food sharing, housing, public health and community traditions. The peer-referral chains were analysed statistically to determine the presence and absence of social divisions in the community. The results of these analyses show that ethnic identification, relocation status and household income were the most significant social divisions in the community, while gender, education level and employment status show little or no effect on patterns of between-group interconnection. We argue that statistical patterns in the presence (and absence) of intergroup links offer novel ways to examine the interrelationship between recent economic development and the historical disruptions caused by Inuit community relocations in the 1950s.