Audrey L. Baumeister

Association Between Overt and Relational Aggression and Psychosocial Adjustment in Undergraduate College Students.

This study examined the relations between overt and relational aggression, social anxiety, loneliness, depressive symptoms, and alcohol and drug use in a sample of 287 undergraduate college students. Consistent with prior work, men reported engaging in more overt aggression than women. Contrary to our predictions, men also reported engaging in more relational aggression than women. Results also indicated that overt and relational aggression were positively associated with social anxiety, loneliness, depressive symptoms, alcohol use, and drug use for the overall sample. Hierarchical regression analyses showed positive relations between overt aggression and alcohol use for men and no relations between relational aggression and any psychosocial adjustment index. For women, overt aggression uniquely predicted social anxiety, loneliness, and depressive symptoms, whereas relational aggression uniquely predicted social anxiety, loneliness, depression, and alcohol and drug problems. Implications of these findings are discussed in terms of the role of peer aggression in students’ psychosocial adjustment.

The Duke Religion Index: A Psychometric Investigation

This study evaluated the psychometric properties of the Duke Religion Index (DRI) in two separate samples (n1=628, n2=243) of college students enrolled in randomly selected courses. An exploratory factor analysis of the DRI in the first sample supported a one-factor structure. A subsequent confirmatory factor analysis in the second sample confirmed this model. The internal consistency was excellent in both samples. A significant, positive correlation was found between the DRI and a measure of religious beliefs, supporting the convergent validity of the DRI. These findings provide further support for the reliability and construct validity of the DRI.

Peer Victimization and Psychosocial Adjustment in Children with Type 1 Diabetes

This study investigated the frequency and psychosocial correlates of peer victimization in a sample of youths with diabetes. The Social Experience Questionnaire, Children’s Depression Inventory, Social Anxiety Scale for Children—Revised, and Asher Loneliness Scale were administered to 32 children diagnosed with type 1 diabetes and 32 control children without a medical diagnosis who were matched for age and gender. Results indicated that children with diabetes reported higher rates of relational victimization and lower levels of prosocial peer support than youths without diabetes. In addition, relational victimization was positively associated with depression, social anxiety, and loneliness for diabetic children. Implications of these findings for clinicians working with this population are discussed.

Parental Stress and Maladjustment in Children with Short Stature

This study examined the psychometric properties of a measure of chronic disease-related parental stress, the Pediatric Inventory for Parents (PIP), in a sample of 22 children with short stature. Additionally, we investigated relations among disease-related parental stress, parental state anxiety, and children’s behavioral and psychological maladjustment. Results demonstrated acceptable internal consistency and convergent validity for the PIP. Significant and positive relations of medium to large effect sizes between parenting stress and internalizing and externalizing maladjustment were found. Recommendations for use of the PIP in clinical settings and future research directions are discussed.

Correlations of Religious Beliefs with Loneliness for an Undergraduate Sample

The Santa Clara Strength of Religion Scale–Short Form and the UCLA Loneliness Scale were administered to 519 undergraduate college students. Scores on Religious Faith were significantly and negatively related to Loneliness in men but not women. These results differ from previous research findings that Religious Faith was unrelated to Loneliness, negatively related to Loneliness across the sexes, and negatively related to Loneliness for women, but not men. Such a discrepancy between the results of these studies suggests that other variables or measures may influence correlations between scores for Religious Faith and Loneliness.

PSYCHOSOCIAL ADJUSTMENT OF TWO BOYS WITH GYNECOMASTIA

I would like to bring notice the significant error concerning digoxin dosage that occurs in the above book on page 205 Table 7-4: ‘Oral Digoxin Dosage for Congestive Heart Failure’. The total daily dose and maintenance dose have been written in milligrams (mg) not micrograms ( μ g). I would urge all those who have access to this handbook to change the table. The publishers of this book have notified those that they can identify through sales records. I would concur with Dr Weintraub’s recent review of the book in this journal 1 that there are some outdated management strategies such as the routine use of digoxin for heart failure and ‘digoxin is no longer preferred therapy for chronic management of supraventricular arrhythmias.’ The history of use of digoxin for management of congenital heart defects in infancy and childhood has been characterized by too many fatal overdoses already.

Psychological adjustment of children with short stature: a comparison of clinic-referred children with short stature and type 1 diabetes mellitus.

This study compared the psychological adjustment between children with short stature and youth with type 1 diabetes mellitus (DM1). The Child Behavior Checklist, Childrens Depression Inventory, Social Anxiety Scale for Children--Revised, and Asher Loneliness Scale were administered to 58 children (26 with short stature and 32 with DM1) and a parent during a regularly scheduled clinical appointment for endocrinology care. Results show that the parents of children with short stature rated their children as having more social, thought, and attention problems, and exhibiting greater delinquent behavior, as compared to parental ratings of children with DM1. No diagnostic group differences in child or parent-rated internalizing symptoms were found. Implications of these findings for personnel working with children with short stature are discussed.