Jean Bégin

Conflict, social support, and relationship quality: an observational study of heterosexual, gay male, and lesbian couples' communication.

Data from 42 heterosexual, 46 gay male, and 33 lesbian couples were used to assess the contribution of conflict and support discussions to relationship quality. Couples completed questionnaires, and videotaped discussions were coded for levels of negative and positive behaviors. Correlations showed that behaviors were associated with relationship quality in the expected directions. Hierarchical linear modeling analyses assessed the unique contributions of individual and dyadic behaviors to the variability of relationship quality. The findings indicated that, beyond the contribution of individual negative behaviors in the conflict task, the variables of dyadic positive behaviors in the conflict task, individual positive behaviors in the support task, and perceived help accounted for unexplained variance in relationship quality. There were no differences between types of couples on levels of behaviors or on their contributions to relationship quality.

Predicting selected wood properties of jack pine following commercial thinning

This paper examined the impact of commercial thinning on selected wood properties of jack pine (Pinus banksiana Lamb.). Wood properties evaluated include wood density (ring density, earlywood ring density, and latewood ring density), percentage of latewood in the ring, and wood bending properties. Nonlinear, mixed-effect models have been developed using data from three commercially thinned sites in eastern Canada. Ring density followed the same pattern as percentage of latewood, in which cambial age, relative height, and ring width were found to have important effects. Earlywood and latewood ring densities changed within the juvenile wood zone until a plateau was reached. Ring width affected earlywood and latewood ring densities mainly in narrow rings. Wood bending stiffness (measured by modulus of elasticity) and strength (measured by modulus of rupture) increased with cambial age and wood density; whereas, wood strength was also affected by ring width. Commercial thinning did not influence the developed...

Predictors of Attitudes toward Gifted Education: A Review of the Literature and a Blueprint for Future Research.

Over thirty studies have been published concerning the predictors of peoples attitudes toward the education of the gifted. About 50 variables have been examined as potential sources of these individual differences. The analysis of the results of past studies forces us to conclude that not a single variable consistently emerges as a substantial explanatory factor. To explain this lack of significant results, four major problem areas are identified pertaining to the methodology of these studies: (a) the diversity of the attitude questionnaires used; (b) the size, diversity, and nonrepresentativeness of the samples used; (c) the small number of predictors introduced, as well as the diversity in their operationalization; (d) inadequacies in statistical procedures. Concrete methodological proposals are given to maximize the chances of obtaining significant and generalizable results in future studies on the subject.

A variance-covariance structure to take into account repeated measurements and heteroscedasticity in growth modeling

This study proposes a within-subject variance-covariance (VC) structure to take into account repeated measurements and heteroscedasticity in a context of growth modeling. The VC structure integrates a variance function and a continuous autoregressive covariance structure. It was tested on a nonlinear growth model parameterized with data from permanent sample plots. Using a stand-level approach, basal area growth was independently modeled for red spruce (Picea rubens Sarg.) and balsam fir [Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.] in mixed stands. For both species, the implementation of the VC structure significantly improved the maximum likelihood of the model. In both cases, it efficiently accounted for heteroscedasticity and autocorrelation, since the normalized residuals no longer exhibited departures from the assumptions of independent error terms with homogeneous variances. Moreover, compared with traditional nonlinear least squares (NLS) models, models parameterized with this VC structure may generate more accurate predictions when prior information is available. This case study demonstrates that the implementation of a VC structure may provide parameter estimates that are consistent with asymptotically unbiased variances in a context of nonlinear growth modeling using a stand-level approach. Since the variances are no longer biased, the hypothesis tests performed on the estimates are valid when the number of observations is large.

Brain Lesions and IQ: Recovery Versus Decline Depends on Age of Onset

A growing literature suggests that early lesions are associated with poorer IQ outcome. Those studies covered a restricted age range in pediatric populations only and did not control for important moderator variables. The present investigation studied IQ change in brain-lesioned children and adults (age 0 to 84 years). Altogether, 725 cases with a documented unilateral focal lesion were gathered from hospital charts and from published cases in the literature, including 240 with repeated IQ testing. Multiple regression analyses isolated the contribution of age at lesion onset to IQ change. Important mediator variables included were lesion side, site, volume, etiology, and so on. An early lesion was significantly associated with poorer postlesion IQ in time and with decline of IQ in time. Later onset lesions were associated with better postlesion IQ and recovery in time. The so-called Kennard principle is refuted, with regard to IQ.

Predictors of Intellectual Function After a Unilateral Cortical Lesion: Study of 635 Patients From Infancy to Adulthood

This study investigated potential predictors of intellectual outcome in 417 children and 218 adults who had sustained a unilateral cortical lesion. Of these, 295 cases were collected from the scientific literature and 340 from medical records at seven hospitals in Canada. Different sets of predictors emerged for the Wechsler Verbal and Performance IQ values, accounting for differing variances (ie, 12.4% and 20.1%, respectively). The volume of the lesion was the factor that explained the most variance (ie, 4.95% and 11.7%, respectively). Age at lesion onset was significantly and positively correlated with verbal intelligence scores. This variable, considered independently or in interaction with other predictors, did not account for a large portion of the variance explained in intelligence. This refutes the commonly held notion that early onset of the insults results in a better prognosis. (J Child Neurol 2004; 19:935-943).

Healthcare utilization following cognitive-behavioral treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia.

The aim of this study was to examine the overall changes in healthcare services utilization after providing an empirically supported cognitive‐behavioral treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia. Data on healthcare utilization were collected for a total of 84 adults meeting DSM‐IV criteria. Participants were completers of a cognitive‐behavioral treatment for panic disorder with agoraphobia. Data on utilization of healthcare services and medication were obtained from semi‐structured interviews from baseline to 1‐year after treatment. Results of the Friedman non‐parametric analysis reveal a significant decrease in overall and mental health‐related costs following treatment. This study shows a significant reduction in healthcare costs following cognitive behavior therapy for panic disorder with agoraphobia. More studies are needed to examine the potential long‐term cost‐offset effect of empirically supported treatments for panic disorder.

Male couples' dyadic adjustment and the use of safer sex within and outside of primary relationships.

Eighty-two cohabiting men (41 male couples) provided data on their sexual behavior patterns with their primary partner and with other partners. A multifactorial index of risk behaviors was used to measure exposure to HIV, and the association between relationship adjustment in primary relationships and the use of safer sex practices was assessed. Relationship adjustment was higher among individual men using safer sex practices inside and outside of their primary relationships than among men using riskier sex practices. In addition, partners who practiced safer sex had lower relationship satisfaction when their primary partner practiced risky sex as opposed to safer sex. The findings are discussed with reference to the processes likely to account for the association between relationship quality and health outcomes.

Probabilités de pertes des tiges individuelles, cinq ans après des coupes avec protection des petites tiges marchandes, dans des forêts résineuses du Québec

La coupe avec protection des petites tiges marchandes est un type de coupe partielle qui consiste generalement a recolter toutes les tiges d’un diametre a hauteur de poitrine (dhp) superieur a 15,0 cm, tout en conservant les tiges de plus petites dimensions. Le succes du traitement, applique a des forets resineuses mures dominees par le sapin baumier (Abies balsamea (L.) Mill.) ou l’epinette noire (Picea mariana (Mill.) Britton, Sterns & Poggenb.), repose en partie sur la capacite des tiges protegees a survivre. Un modele logistique mixte a ete calibre a partir de 27 blocs experimentaux etablis au Quebec. Ce modele identifie les variables qui conditionnent les probabilites de pertes des tiges individuelles protegees de 5,1 cm et plus de dhp, par mortalite sur pied ou par chablis, 5 ans apres des coupes avec protection des petites tiges marchandes. Les resultats indiquent que les probabilites de pertes apres traitement sont largement tributaires des caracteristiques du peuplement avant coupe (surface terri...

How Well Do Peers Agree among Themselves When Nominating the Gifted or Talented

To validate a set of peer nomination forms, 40 different prototypical descriptions were written to represent four aptitude domains (intellectual, creative, socio-affective, physical) and four talent fields (academic, technical, artistic, interpersonal). They were distributed among six experimental forms, which were paired and administered in counterbalanced oreder at a 3-week interval to a sample of 2350 pupils about equally divided between both sexes and three grades (4, 5, 6), and to the teachers of their 88 groups. Indices of reliability —interpeer agreement— were computed for each prototype in every group. A majority of the prototypes maintained acceptable interpeer agreement levels; important variations were observed associated with a small age effect, a significant group effect, and a very large prototype effect, confirming that interpeer agreement depends first and foremost on the specific aptitude or talent assessed. Consensus among peers was best for intellectual and physical aptitudes, and academic and artistic talents; it was worst for socio-affective aptitudes and interpersonal talents.