Nancy J. Bell

Family Relationships and Social Competence during Late Adolescence.

Data from a large sample of late adolescents was used to examine associations between family relationships (reported closeness to parents and siblings) and perceived social competence. Significant positive relationships were found between family bonds and the social competence measures, which included social self-esteem, instrumentality, expressiveness, shyness, and degree of satisfaction/ease in same- and opposite-sex peer relationships. There was no evidence of differential effects of sibling versus parent relationships upon adolescent social competence.

Attachment, adolescent competencies, and substance use: developmental considerations in the study of risk behaviors

Social-control-based deviance theories highlight parental bonding as a protective factor for problem behaviors in that bonds are viewed as reflecting the adolescents adoption of conventional societal attitudes and values. Developmental theory and research suggest an alternative conceptualization of the linkages between family bonding and adolescent risk behaviors. This conceptualization requires concurrent examination of a range of adolescent competencies as well as consideration of parent and peer contexts. Support is found for several hypotheses derived from a developmental approach proposing: (a) positive associations between adolescent-parent attachment and adolescent competencies–autonomy, peer relationship competency, and coping; (b) coherence in the pattern of negative associations between attachment/competencies and substance use problems; and (c) a disjunctive pattern of associations with substance use reflected by positive associations with peer competencies but not with parental attachment.

GENDER, GENDER IDEOLOGY, AND ANIMAL RIGHTS ADVOCACY

Research on womens preponderance among animal rights advocates explains it exclusively as a product of womens socialization, emphasizing a relational orientation of care and nurturing that extends to animals. The authors propose a more structural explanation: Womens experiences with structural oppression make them more disposed to egalitarian ideology, which creates concern for animal rights. Using data from a 1993 national sample, the authors find that an egalitarian gender ideology is a key difference in womens and mens routes to animal rights advocacy: It differentiates those more likely to endorse animal rights among women but not among men. Neither this ideology nor other variables in the analysis, however, account for womens greater overall support of animal rights in the combined sample. Reasons for this latter finding are explored.

Religiosity, Sensation Seeking, and Alcohol/Drug Use in Denominational and Gender Contexts:

Well documented though they may be, the linkages between religiosity and risk behaviors such as substance use are not well understood. Arousal theory contends that these linkages are due to selective factors in religious participation rather than to religious influences: those most likely to engage in risk behaviors—sensation seekers—are less likely to have church affiliations. Issues addressed in this research were: (a) the importance of sensation seeking, and the interaction of sensation seeking and religiosity, in explaining the relationships between religiosity and the use of both legal and illegal substances; and (b) the variations in these relationships as a function of denominational and gender contexts. Employing a sample of 526 college student respondents, we found no support for arousal theory predictions nor for moderating effects of denominational and gender contexts. Religiosity, sensation seeking, denominational affiliation, and gender were relatively independent predictors of substance use, with their importance varying dependent upon type of substance and specific indicator of use (amount versus grade of first use).

Individual Differences in Attachment-Autonomy Configurations: Linkages with Substance Use and Youth Competencies.

Variations in attachment-autonomy configurations are explored as these relate to substance use and several adolescent competencies. Questionnaires completed by 470 university students included measures of parental attachment, autonomy (both emotional autonomy and self-reliance), substance use, problems associated with substance use, social competencies, and coping. Analyses of subgroups representing four attachment-autonomy patterns, derived from cluster analysis, showed higher competency levels and fewer problems related to substance use for the group combining strong attachment and self-reliance coupled with low levels of emotional autonomy. A subgroup characterized by low father but moderate mother attachment security differed in a number of ways from a subgroup reporting low attachment to both parents. Findings support the utility of a typological approach in investigations of adolescent attachment and autonomy.

It Has Made College Possible for Me: Feedback on the Impact of a University-Based Center for Students in Recovery

Objective: The authors aimed to gain information on (1) the challenges for recovering students on a university campus and (2) the most helpful components of a collegiate recovery program. Participants: The 15 students in the study were all in recovery from substance abuse. They entered the university and also entered the campus recovery program either in fall 2002 or fall 2003. Methods: Semistructured interviews were conducted with students multiple times during their first academic year. Results: Participants identified several challenges on the university campus. Many believed they would have dropped out of school or relapsed without the support of the recovery program, and they described aspects of the program that were particularly important to them. Conclusions: Support from a campus recovery program is essential for many recovering students. There are a variety of recovery program components that can foster the sense of community that was so important to the students in this study.

Self-monitoring and the propensity for risk

Apart from earlier research on sexual behavior, little is known about associations between self‐monitoring and engagement in risk behaviors. Our research verified that one component of self‐monitoring, public performing, is related to a range of risk behaviors. We then tested whether the greater engagement of high compared to low self‐monitoring individuals in risk behaviors could be attributed to: (a) greater discrepancies between perceptions of risk and reported risk behaviors for the high‐scoring group; or (b) higher levels of sensation seeking among high versus low self‐monitoring individuals. Data from a sample of 452 college students supported the second of these two explanations. Implications for self‐monitoring theory and measurement, as well as for adolescent and young adult risk behaviors, are discussed. Copyright

Gender and Sexual Risk

Two hypotheses are evaluated in thisinvestigation of gender differences in the attitudinaland behavioral correlates of sexual risk. The“difference in magnitude” hypothesispredicts that the same factors are implicated for women and men butdifferences occur in the strength of correlates.Alternatively, women may engage in sexual risk fordifferent reasons than do men, leading to a“difference in pattern” hypothesis. We compared these possibilitieswith a sample of 576 primarily White, middle-class,never-married college students, most of whom werebetween 17 and 25 years of age. Analyses of loveattitudes, risk perception, sensation seeking, and riskbehaviors in other domains in relation to sexual riskbehavior showed some gender similarities as well asdifferences. Findings were more consistent with the difference in pattern hypothesis than with thedifference in magnitude hypothesis.

The ontogeny of ultrasounds in two strains of rattus norvegicus

The developmental course of ultrasonic signaling by neonatal rat pups (Rattus norvegicus) was monitored under varying degrees of hypothermic stress. Signal rate, peak frequency, duration, and complexity of signals were analyzed separately for two different laboratory stocks. Sprague-Dawley and Wistar/Furth. Additionally, preliminary data were obtained on maternal retrieval latencies during the 1st 4 days post-partum and compared with the emission rate of neonatal ultrasounds. On the basis of these and other data, there is evidence that mothers play an important role in mediating many early experience effects. The data suggests that rate of neonatal ultrasounds may provide an index of some aspects of rat of maturity; that there may be different periods of maximum sensitivity to external stimulation in various stocks of laboratory animals; and that differential maternal responsiveness in different stocks of laboratory animals may correlate with differences in neonatal ultrasonic calling. Implications for comparative, genetic, and developmental studies are discussed.

Narratives of development, experiences of risk : Adult women's perspectives on relationships and safer sex

Mid-life women are increasingly at risk for HIV/AIDS, yet relatively few studies have targeted this age group. In this study, we explored views of relationships and safer sex practices among eight well-educated, single, heterosexual adult women through in-depth interviews and supplemental questionnaires. The women viewed themselves as competent, responsible, and mature in terms of their relationship and sexual choices. However, their actual sexual practices, and reasons given for these practices, were similar to those of adolescents and of inner-city women living in high-risk environments. Findings are significant in highlighting the power and importance of relationship factors, especially trust, as these relate to safer sex practices and prevention initiatives.