The Role of Ethnic Prejudice in the Modulation of Cradling Lateralization

Journal of Nonverbal Behavior - The left-cradling bias is the tendency to cradle an infant on the left side, regardless of the individuals’ handedness, culture or ethnicity. Many studies...     

Orgasmic latency and subjective ratings of erotic stimuli in male and female subjects

There are few ways in which comparable measures of sexual arousal may be obtained from males and females. Because latency to orgasm is an objective measure that is equivalent for both sexes, it may be a useful dependent variable for the investigation of response patterns and differences in men and women. To explore this possibility 24 men and 18 women participated in experimental sessions during which they masturbated to orgasm while viewing sexually explicit films and then rated the film for its arousal value. Male orgasmic latency was not significantly different across rating categories, whereas female research participants showed a significant quadratic trend in which films perceived as being average in arousal quality resulted in the longest latencies. Possible reasons for this sex difference are discussed, and it is suggested that using latency to orgasm as the dependent variable may be a valuable technique in researching sex differences in response to psychosexual stimulation.     

Introduction: the need to address older women's mental health issues

Women are the primary consumers of mental health services. Ironically, research addressing their unique needs lags behind that of men's issues. The aging process introduces an important variable that accentuates the relative lack of information and specific treatment guidelines for older women who are confronted by mental health problems. This volume offers a comprehensive overview for the health professional who is seeking a greater depth of understanding with respect to the study of mental health problems in general, and how these issues pertain specifically to women and the aging process. A second goal of this project is to provide the practicing therapist and counselor with a research update and a broad clinical perspective offered by seasoned clinicians. Using current psychiatric diagnosis as a framework, the contributions address the range of mental health problems, including dementia and cognitive impairment, schizophrenia, alcohol abuse, mood and anxiety disorders, traumatic and dissociative conditions, sexual and eating disorders, and personality disorders. It is hoped that this book will inform, inspire and encourage students and health professionals in their work with middle aged and older women who are facing mental health challenges.