David J. Pratto

Teenagers, behavioral problems, and preferences for heavy metal and rap music: A case study of a southern middle school

The purpose of this research was to examine the relationship between musical preference, commitment to popular music and behavior problems of teenagers in an optional middle school. This research tested three hypotheses. 1) Musical preference is related to race, 2) Musical preference can predict behavior problems, and, 3) Commitment to popular music, measured in hours, can predict behavior problems. Data were gathered from a survey distributed to 80 students, school records, and participant observation. Results indicated that musical preference can predict race but can not predict identification as a behavior problem. Commitment to particular types of popular music did not predict behavior problems.

Magazine‐distributed questionnaires for exploratory research: Advantages and problems

Although an increasing number of studies based on a magazine‐distributed questionnaire (MDQ) are being done, no formal discussion of the method can be found in the literature. Several problems are posed by MDQ research. Because of the problem of self‐selection bias, findings cannot be generalized and it is therefore essential to recognize and emphasize the exploratory role of the method. This paper is the first formal discussion of the potential efficiency of the magazine‐distributed questionnaire (MDQ) method for exploratory research in the social sciences. Easy access to respondents, low cost, speedy results, and confidentiality are potential advantages. Several aspects of the method for social science research are illustrated using information from a research project on self‐care children.

Social class, familism, interest in children, and childbearing: A preliminary test of a “commitment” model of fertility

Abstract Two recurrent concepts in fertility literature permit prediction of an inverse relationship between social class and fertility. The commitment to familism refers to the degree that couples embrace a family‐centered style of life over a consumerist or careerist style of life. Commitment to individual children refers to the emotional and material involvement of parents in each child they have. Data show that commitment to individual children is negatively related to fertility, that social class is negatively related to commitment to familism, that social class is positively related to commitment to individual children, and that commitment to familism and commitment to individual children account for relationships between class and fertility.

Telephone communication with children as part of the self‐care arrangement: A research note

Children in self‐care (latchkey) arrangements have been portrayed as a population at risk, and this has recently led to research investigations, social policy discussions, and legislative proposals. This study examines selected characteristics of mother, child, and family, and the amount of time children spend in self‐care, for their influences on the use of the telephone to communicate with children in self‐care. The analysis builds on earlier studies that indicate the importance of time, childs age, and mothers employment for understanding the growing phenomenon of self‐care. The results of multiple regression analyses are presented and discussed. As expected, the age of the child is the most important variable in predicting the length of time spent in self‐care. The age of the child and the length of time spent in self‐care are the strongest predictors of telephone communication with children in self‐care arrangements.

Problem Behavior and Psychosocial Development: A Longitudinal Study of Growth.

This study is the 2nd phase of a long-term program of research on problem behavior. The approach to theory testing involves a longitudinal design. The study plots trajectories of change over time in personality social environment and behavior and uses the theory to forecast important transitions--beginning to drink starting to use marijuana and becoming a nonvirgin. The book has 4 main sections: 1) an introductory chapter and a chapter describing problem-behavior theory and research design and method 2) the cross-sectional findings and their bearing on the theory 3) the longitudinal findings and 4) studies of socialization and conclusions. Using adolescents and youths in American society in the late 1960s and early 1970s this research represents a logical continuation of a long term interest in problem behavior and a recognition that what was going on among youth and in the student movement can be viewed from a problem-behavior perspective. This high school study began in the spring of 1969 with grades 7 8 and 9; by the end of the study in 1972 these participants had all made the transition from junior to senior high school of grades 10 11 and 12. Each year each participant completed a 50 page questionnaire inquiring about their drug use sexual behavior alcohol drinking and the problem behavior associated with excessive use of alcohol. Some of the major findings suggest that: 1) the prevalence of problem behaviors is substantial at the college level and while much lower sizable at the high school level; 2) personal controls appear to be most influential in relation to the set of problem behaviors motivational-instigations are next and personal beliefs are least; 3) the adolescent who is less likely to engage in problem behavior is one who values academic achievement and expects to do well academically; 4) within the distal structure the variables that indicate whether a youth is parent-oriented or peer-oriented are the most significant; and 5) the developmental changes most often measured in connection with growth trends are growth of independence decline in traditional ideology related to achievement value and society as a whole assumption of a more relativistic and tolerant morality attenuation of conventional norms and religious beliefs increase in peer influence and increase in problem behavior itself. Overall it would be an important step forward for prevention and control if problem behavior in youth came to be seen as part of the dialectic of growth.

Testing the race-of-institution effect on misreporting electoral behavior: A research note

This research note reports on an attempt to gain a greater understanding of voter misreporting. Is there a race‐of‐institution effect present in mail surveys that contributes to misreporting similar to the race‐of‐interviewer effect present in other survey techniques? To examine this research question a survey was developed. The research consisted of selecting two institutions (universities) within a southern U.S. city, one recognized as a “traditionally Black” institution and one as “traditionally White.” Equal systematic random samples of Black and White registered voters were selected from similar socioeconomic areas. The research provides evidence that voter misreporting may be because of response bias. Indeed, for both Black and White respondents, a race‐of‐institution effect exists. Differences in electoral contexts produce variations in the race‐of‐institution effect and, therefore, variations in misreporting.