Evaluating Risk Communication about Fish Consumption Advisories: Efficacy of a Brochure versus a Classroom Lesson in Spanish and English

Presentation format can influence the way target audiences understand risk-related information. Brochures or fish fact sheets are the methods traditionally used by state agencies to inform the public about fish consumption advisories and the risks from consuming fish. This study examines the efficacy of presenting information about the risks from consuming contaminated fish and shellfish in two different formats: a brochure and classroom presentation. The two instruments were developed and tested in Spanish and English, reflecting the local ethnic composition in the Newark Bay Complex. The instruments were tested on women of child-bearing age at the Women, Infants, and Children Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey. Detailed diagrams were used in both presentations, including contaminated fish species, fish preparation methods, and food chain bioaccumulation and transmission to the fetus. There were few language-related differences in the efficacy of the classroom lesson, and the main ideas were understood by both groups. Where there were significant differences in understanding about the risks from consuming fish or crabs from the contaminated waters of Newark Bay, in all cases the women exposed to the classroom lesson had a better understanding than those who read the brochure. Ninety-six percent of the women who heard the lesson understood that it was unsafe to eat fish from the port, compared to 72% of those reading the brochure. Both formats succeeded in imparting information to most women about the area under advisories, the fish species under advisories, and transmission of toxins to the fetus. Information on fish preparation was recalled less clearly, partly because women were asked to relate methods to reduce the risk from consuming fish from 11 presented, and most recalled only two or three of the list. The advantages and disadvantages of conducting short classes to women of child-bearing age are discussed.     

Working Memory Spans as Predictors of Spoken Word Recognition and Receptive Vocabulary in Children with Cochlear Implants

The present study investigated whether individual differences in working memory could account for a significant proportion of the variance in the open-set word recognition and receptive vocabulary skills of prelingually deafened, pediatric cochlear implant recipients, after the contribution of known predictors was taken into account. The contributions of four measures of working memory were examined separately for children using oral communication (OC) (n = 32) and Total Communication (TC) (n = 29). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Third Edition (WISC) digit-spans, requiring immediate recall of auditory-only lists in both forwards and backwards directions were, collected. Two versions of a novel "memory span game" were also administered: One required memory for sequences of colored lights; the other assessed memory for colored lights presented in conjunction with auditory color-names. A contribution from working memory was observed only for the span tasks that incorporated an auditory processing component. These results suggest a relationship between working memory and the examined outcome measures that is specific to the auditory modality, partially linked to communication mode, and not related to individual differences in a general-purpose component of working memory.     

The role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and responses to relationship stress

Two studies examined the role of mindfulness in romantic relationship satisfaction and in responses to relationship stress. Using a longitudinal design, Study 1 found that higher trait mindfulness predicted higher relationship satisfaction and greater capacities to respond constructively to relationship stress. Study 2 replicated and extended these findings. Mindfulness was again shown to relate to relationship satisfaction; then, using a conflict discussion paradigm, trait mindfulness was found to predict lower emotional stress responses and positive pre- and postconflict change in perception of the relationship. State mindfulness was related to better communication quality during the discussion. Both studies indicated that mindfulness may play an influential role in romantic relationship well-being. Discussion highlights future research directions for this new area of inquiry.     

Children of Homosexuals More Apt to Become Homosexual and Experience Parental Molestation: Surveys Over Three Decades

In 1996 (Cameron &; Cameron), we reported that adult children of homosexuals more frequently reported homosexual desires and sex with their parent(s). Schumm (2015 Schumm, W. R. (2015). Sarantakos’s research on same-sex parenting in Australia and New Zealand: Importance, substance, and corroboration with research from the United States. Comprehensive Psychology, 4(16), 1–29. doi:10.2466/17.cp.4.16[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) stated he would focus on “the multifaceted research of Sarantakos (1996 Cameron, P., &; Cameron, K. (1996). Homosexual parents. Adolescence, 31(124), 757–776.[PubMed] , [Google Scholar]) and any research that has corroborated his findings,” but neglected to include ours, though published contemporaneously with Sarantakos.     

Evaluating Public Charity Websites

In this study, we explore nonprofit website development by applying two different types of website assessment tools to US charity websites. One instrument is theoretically based in nonprofit tendencies; the other is a commercial automated service. The results of these evaluation tools are further analyzed to determine whether the instruments are sufficiently independent for evaluation of nonprofit websites. The results illuminate differences in the assessment tools, finding them to be complementary. Each method offers different insights into website development deficiencies and avenues for improvement.     

The neighborhood context of racial and ethnic disparities in arrest

This study assesses the role of social context in explaining racial and ethnic disparities in arrest, with afocus on how distinct neighborhood contexts in which different racial and ethnic groups reside explain variations in criminal outcomes. To do so, I utilize a multilevel, longitudinal research design, combining individual-level data with contextual data from the Project on Human Development in Chicago Neighborhoods (PHDCN). Findings reveal that black youths face multiple layers of disadvantage relative to other racial and ethnic groups, and these layers work to create differences in arrest. At the family level, results show that disadvantages in the form of unstable family structures explain much of the disparities in arrest across race and ethnicity. At the neighborhood level, black youths tend to reside in areas with both significantly higher levels of concentrated poverty than other youths as well as lower levels of collective efficacy than white youths. Variations in neighborhood tolerance of deviance across groups explain little of the arrest disparities, yet tolerance of deviance does influence the frequency with which a crime ultimately ends in an arrest. Even after accounting for relevant demographic, family, and neighborhood-level predictors, substantial residual arrest differences remain between black youths and youths of other racial and ethnic groups.     

Exploring Children's Perceptions of their Local Environment in Relation to Time Spent Outside

This study aims to understand how children perceive their environment, exploring the affordances children perceive to influence their physical activity (PA) behaviour when outside. Participants included boys and girls aged 10–12 years (n = 15) living in Scotland. Children's visual and verbal representations of their perceived environment were analysed to assess environmental determinants of PA. The findings suggested that physical affordances that offer a sense of risk were important to children's play spaces. Social affordances influenced where the children went in their environment and the features they utilised as part of play behaviour; strangers were considered threatening depending on whether the activity was recognised.     

Educational and employment outcomes of adults formerly placed in foster care: Results from the Northwest Foster Care Alumni Study

This study evaluated the intermediate and long-term effects of family foster care on adult functioning using a sample of 659 young adults from two public and one private child welfare agencies, case record reviews, structured interviews, and a survey response rate of 76%. Foster care alumni completed high school at a rate comparable to the general population, but a disproportionately high number of them completed high school via a GED. Alumni completion rates for postsecondary education were low. Consequently, many alumni were in fragile economic situations: one-third of the alumni had household incomes at or below the poverty level, one-third had no health insurance, and more than one in five experienced homelessness after leaving foster care. Two foster care experience areas were estimated to significantly reduce the number of undesirable outcomes in the Education outcome domain: positive placement history (e.g., high placement stability, few failed reunifications), and having broad independent living preparation (as exemplified by having concrete resources upon leaving care). For the Employment and Finances outcome domain, receiving broad independent living preparation (as exemplified by having concrete resources upon leaving care) was estimated to significantly reduce the number of undesirable outcomes.