Jamila Bookwala

Predictors of Dating Violence: A Multivariate Analysis

A multivariate approach was used to determine the pattern of predictors associated with engaging in dating violence. Predictors were selected whose relationship to dating violence has been established by earlier research: attitudes toward violence, sex-role attitudes, romantic jealousy, general levels of interpersonal aggression, verbal aggression, and verbal and physical aggression received from one’s partner. Participants included 305 introductory psychology student volunteers (227 females and 78 males) who completed a set of scales related to dating relationships. Expecting different patterns of predictors to emerge for men and women, we performed separate multiple regression analyses for each. Of the set of predictors employed, receipt of physical violence from one’s partner emerged as the largest predictor of expressed violence for both men and women. In addition, higher scores on attitudes toward violence and verbal aggression, and less traditional sex-role attitudes emerged as significant predictors of expressed violence formen. For women, less accepting attitudes toward violence, more traditional sex-role attitudes, feelings of romantic jealousy, higher general levels of interpersonal aggression, and verbal aggression were predictive of expressed violence. The implications of our findings for future research are discussed.

Pessimism, age, and cancer mortality.

Cancer patients (N = 238) receiving palliative radiation treatment were followed for 8 months; 70 patients had died by the 8-month follow-up. Controlling for site of cancer and level of symptomatology at baseline, the authors studied the independent effects on mortality of pessimism, optimism, and depression. The findings show that the endorsement of a pessimistic life orientation is an important risk factor for mortality, but only among younger patients (ages 30-59). Attempts to replicate this finding with conceptually related constructs such as depression or optimism did not yield significant associations for either younger or older patients, suggesting that negative expectations about the future may contribute to mortality in unique ways. The authors conclude that attempts to link psychosocial factors to mortality should focus on specific psychological constructs instead of diffuse, global measures that cover many psychological phenomena and that the role of psychological processes in mortality may vary dramatically depending on age.

The Role of Marital Quality in Physical Health During the Mature Years

Objective: This study examined the role of marital quality in the physical health of mature adults. Method: Participants were from the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States aged 50+ years who were in their first marriage. Five dimensions of marital quality and four indicators of physical health were used. Results: Regression analyses indicated that marital quality indices accounted fora significant amount of explained variance in physical health. Most notably, higher levels of negative spousal behaviors uniquely contributed to physical health, predicting more physical symptoms, chronic health problems, and physical disability, and poorer perceived health. Discussion: The occurrence of negative spousal behaviors was consistently associated with poorer physical health. The negativity effect observed regarding the costs and benefits of social support in general also applies to the context of marriage in that negative spousal behaviors outweigh positive spousal behaviors in contributing to mature adults’ physical health.

Adult Attachment Styles and Aggressive Behavior within Dating Relationships

Recent developments in the application of attachment theory to the study of adult relationships are used to explain the occurrence of aggression in dating relationships. We compared individuals who reported being engaged in reciprocally aggressive dating relationships with individuals who reported being in non-aggressive relationships on measures of attachment patterns and interpersonal problems. To examine the robustness of the attachment-aggression relationship, we also statistically controlled for the effects of interpersonal problems. Using a sample of 85 undergraduate students, we found that, after controlling for relationship satisfaction and length of relationship, those involved in reciprocally aggressive relationships scored higher on the preoccupied and fearful-avoidant attachment styles and reported experiencing more interpersonal problems than did individuals involved in non-aggressive dating relationships. When we controlled for interpersonal problems, however, only the relationship between preoccupied attachment and aggression was observed. Although sex differences were found for attachment style scores and interpersonal problems, no significant sex x type of relationship (non-aggressive vs reciprocally aggressive) effects were observed. The results are discussed in the context of recent findings on attachment, conflict and aggression and recommendations for future research are offered.

Predictors of perceived health status in elderly men and women. The Cardiovascular Health Study.

Baseline data on the perceived health status of participants (N = 5,201) in the Cardiovascular Health Study of the Elderly (CHS) are reported. The authors examined the predictive utility of health-related factors representing eight different domains, assessed gender differences in the prediction of perceived health, and tested a hypothesis regarding the role of known clinical conditions versus subclinical disease in predicting perceived health. Multivariate analyses showed that the majority of the explained variance in self-assessed health is accounted for by variables that fall into four general categories. Although gender differences were small, the analysis showed that the relative importance of several predictor variables did vary by gender.

Effects of Pain on Functioning and Well-Being in Older Adults With Osteoarthritis of the Knee.

The effects of pain on functioning and well-being were examined in 367 older adults with osteoarthritis (OA) of the knee. The relationship of OA-related pain to depressive symptoms and perceived health was hypothesized to be direct as well as mediated by physical and social functioning. Results showed that OA-related pain was related to poorer physical and social functioning, had a direct effect on depressive symptoms, and direct and indirect effects on perceived health. Lower social functioning was related to more depressive symptoms, and both lower social and physical functioning predicted worse perceived health. Thus, distinguishing between physical and social functioning when examining the costs of OA-related pain is useful. Moreover, existing pain-psychological well-being models can be generalized to perceived health.

GENDER DIFFERENCES IN OLDER ADULTS' PREFERENCES FOR LIFE-SUSTAINING MEDICAL TREATMENTS AND END-OF-LIFE VALUES

In the present study, we examined gender differences in preferences for life sustaining treatments in response to various health state scenarios and the endorsement of end-of-life values in 99 older adults. Men preferred life-sustaining treatments more than women overall, for specific treatments (i.e., CPR, surgery, and artificial feeding), and in response to specific health scenarios (i.e., current health, Alzheimers disease, coma with a slight chance of recovery). In terms of values, women indicated a greater desire for a dignified death than men.In the present study, we examined gender differences in preferences for life sustaining treatments in response to various health state scenarios and the endorsement of end-of-life values in 99 older adults. Men preferred life-sustaining treatments more than women overall, for specific treatments (i.e., CPR, surgery, and artificial feeding), and in response to specific health scenarios (i.e., current health, Alzheimers disease, coma with a slight chance of recovery). In terms of values, women indicated a greater desire for a dignified death than men.

Body Objectification, Social Pressure, and Disordered Eating Behavior in College Women: The Role of Sorority Membership

Social pressure to conform to the thin ideal is believed to play a decisive role in the development of eating disorders. In this field study at a college with only sophomore rush, 99 sorority women, 80 nonsorority women past their first year, and 86 first-year women completed three subscales of the Eating Disorders Inventory-2 (Garner, 1991), the Objectified Body Consciousness Scale (McKinley & Hyde, 1996), and a measure of peer social pressure. It was hypothesized that women belonging to sororities as well as those who intended to join would score higher than nonsorority and first-year women with no intention to join on these measures of disordered eating, body objectification, and social pressure. It also was predicted that the amount of time spent living in a sorority house as well as degree of social pressure would correlate positively with higher scores on body objectification and disordered eating. Results supported nearly all hypotheses, suggesting both that sororities attract at-risk women and that living in a sorority house is associated with increased likelihood of disordered eating.

Concurrent and Long-Term Predictors of Older Adults’ Use of Community-Based Long-Term Care Services The Caregiver Health Effects Study

Objective: This study examined concurrent and long-term associations between caregiver-related characteristics and the use of community long-term care services in a sample of 186 older adults caring for a disabled spouse. Method: We used two waves of data from the Caregiver Health Effects Study, an ancillary study of the Cardiovascular Health Study. Caregiver-related need variables as predictors of service use were of primary interest and included caregiving demands, caregiver mental and physical health, and mastery. Their contribution to service use was examined after controlling for known predictors of service use. Results: At Time 1, more caregiver depressive symptoms predicted greater service use; at Time 2, more caregiver activity restriction and depressive symptoms predicted greater formal service use; increases in caregiver activity restriction and depressive symptomatology over time predicted increases in service use. Discussion: Caregiver-related need variables play a significant role in defining utilization patterns of community-based long-term care services among older adults.

The Impact of Parent Care on Marital Quality and Well-Being in Adult Daughters and Sons

This study prospectively examined the long-term impact of providing parent care using data from a probability-based U.S. sample of adult daughters and sons who had varying parent care experiences over time (N = 716). Parent care x Gender x Time mixed multivariate analyses of covariance using marital quality and well-being indicators as outcomes showed that, on average, experienced caregivers reported less marital happiness, more marital role inequity, and greater hostility than recent adult child caregivers. Significant three-way interactions indicated that experienced and recent caregiving daughters, respectively, showed an increase over time in depressive symptomatology and long-term depression, whereas their male counterparts showed a decline over the same period. Findings are discussed in terms of gender differences in the relative applicability of the wear-and-tear versus adaptation models of caregiving outcomes.