Racial Identity Matters: The Relationship between Racial Discrimination and Psychological Functioning in African American Adolescents

This study examines the interrelationships among racial discrimination, racial identity, and psychological functioning in a sample of 314 African American adolescents. Racial discrimination was associated with lower levels of psychological functioning as measured by perceived stress, depressive symptomatology, and psychological well‐being. Although individuals who believe that other groups hold more negative attitudes toward African Americans (low public regard) were at greater risk for experiencing racial discrimination, low public regard beliefs also buffered the impact of racial discrimination on psychological functioning. More positive attitudes about African Americans were also associated with more positive psychological functioning. The results further illustrate the utility of a multidimensional framework for understanding the role of racial identity in the relationship between racial discrimination and psychological outcomes among African American adolescents.     

Analysing pharmacokinetic drug interaction or comparability studies with missing values in crossover design

In a pharmacokinetic drug interaction study using a three‐period, three‐treatment (drug A, drug B, and drugs A and B concomitantly) crossover design, pharmacokinetic parameters for either drug are only measured in two of the three periods. Similar missing data problems can arise for a four‐period, four‐treatment crossover pharmacokinetic comparability study. This paper investigates whether the usual ANOVA model for the crossover design can be applied under this pattern of missing data. It is shown that the model can still be used, contrary to a belief that a new one is needed. The effect of this type of missing data pattern on the statistical properties of treatment, period and carryover effect estimates was derived and illustrated by means of simulations and an example. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sex differences in observers' reactions to a nurse's use of touch

We tested the notion that male and female observers would have different reactions to the use of touch by a nurse towards a patient in a hospital situation. If males are socialized to favor autonomy and independence and females to favor nurturance and caring, it was assumed that male subjects would rate a nurse as less supportive and competent if a nurse touched a patient. The results (based on reactions to photographs manipulating the level of physical contact that occurred between a nurse and a patient) were generally consistent with these predictions. While the subjects' sex moderated reactions to the nurse-initiated touch, there was an overall pattern for observers to react more favorably to the nurse who used touch compared to no touch in interacting with a patient. The results suggest that nurses and health professionals who use touch in interacting with patients may be judged in part by the attitudes of males and females about the use of touch.     

Assessing the treatment effect in a randomized controlled trial with extensive non‐adherence: the EVOLVE trial

Intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analysis is widely used to establish efficacy in randomized clinical trials. However, in a long‐term outcomes study where non‐adherence to study drug is substantial, the on‐treatment effect of the study drug may be underestimated using the ITT analysis. The analyses presented herein are from the EVOLVE trial, a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled, event‐driven cardiovascular outcomes study conducted to assess whether a treatment regimen including cinacalcet compared with placebo in addition to other conventional therapies reduces the risk of mortality and major cardiovascular events in patients receiving hemodialysis with secondary hyperparathyroidism. Pre‐specified sensitivity analyses were performed to assess the impact of non‐adherence on the estimated effect of cinacalcet. These analyses included lag‐censoring, inverse probability of censoring weights (IPCW), rank preserving structural failure time model (RPSFTM) and iterative parameter estimation (IPE). The relative hazard (cinacalcet versus placebo) of mortality and major cardiovascular events was 0.93 (95% confidence interval 0.85, 1.02) using the ITT analysis; 0.85 (0.76, 0.95) using lag‐censoring analysis; 0.81 (0.70, 0.92) using IPCW; 0.85 (0.66, 1.04) using RPSFTM and 0.85 (0.75, 0.96) using IPE. These analyses, while not providing definitive evidence, suggest that the intervention may have an effect while subjects are receiving treatment. The ITT method remains the established method to evaluate efficacy of a new treatment; however, additional analyses should be considered to assess the on‐treatment effect when substantial non‐adherence to study drug is expected or observed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Participant Supervision: Supervisor and Supervisee Experiences of Cotherapy

Participant supervision is a unique application of live supervision in which a supervisor and supervisee see clients conjointly. Although minimally discussed in the family therapy literature, it has notable advantages, chief among them being a shared clinical experience that increases attunement to supervisee skill and development, the modeling of skillful intervention, and a higher degree of collegiality. However, it is not without its challenges, including supervisee vulnerability and anxiety, diffusion of responsibility, and limited time for case discussion. This article highlights the experience of one supervisor and three doctoral‐level supervisees engaging in participant supervision over the course of a 2‐year period. Using illustrative examples, we discuss our experience of the advantages and challenges of participant supervision, and provide recommendations for establishing a collaborative relational context within which supervisory benefits can be maximized.     

Viewing Adolescents' Career Futures Through the Lenses of Socioeconomic Status and Social Class

This study examined socioeconomic status (SES) and perceived social class as predictors of educational and occupational aspirations and expectations in a sample of 100 high school students from 2 midwestern high schools. SES was measured using caregivers' occupation and education, and subjective social status was assessed using the MacArthur Scale of Subjective Social Status–Youth Version (Goodman et al., 2001 SES and perceived social class made independent contributions to educational aspirations, whereas SES made an independent contribution to occupational aspirations and expectations. The authors discuss the importance of SES and social class in career development theory and research and provide practical implications based on the present findings. Overall, this study highlights the importance of measuring SES and social class as distinct constructs and the need for future work to identify the unique impacts of these variables.