Peter J. McLeod

Perceptions of control, depressive symptomatology, and self-esteem of women in transition from abusive relationships

The relation between women’s histories of experiencing violence and current psychological health were examined. Locus of control, feelings of personal power, depressive symptomatology, self-esteem, and judgments of control over a contingently responsive computer display were investigated in groups of 21 abused women and 18 comparison women. Within the sample of abused women, relationships between severity of abuse and the psychological variables were also examined. The group of abused women had lower beliefs in self-efficacy, were more depressed, and had lower self-esteem than the comparison women. There were no differences found, however, between the two groups in perceptions of control on the computer task. Severity of physical abuse among the abused women was positively correlated with depression scores. Verbal abuse was found to contribute significantly to many of the between-group differences. Empirical evidence of the positive impact of transition house residence on the abused women’s mental health was also presented. The importance of future research into both the differential effects of verbal and physical abuse on women and the role of the transition house in empowering abused women were discussed.

Maternal, infant, and occupational characteristics that predict postpartum employment patterns☆

Abstract This longitudinal study examined maternal, infant, and occupational characteristics that predicted maternal employment in the postpartum period as a function of plan. Women were assessed at birth, 3, and 6 months postpartum. Comparison groups consisted of 91 women who planned to remain home and did so (home/home), 30 women who planned to remain home and were employed outside the home at 6 months postpartum (home/outside), 56 women who planned to work outside the home and did so (outside/outside), and 10 women who planned to work outside the home and remained home at 6 months (outside/home). Employment-related separation concerns from the Maternal Separation Anxiety Scale were higher in the home/home group than the outside/outside and home/outside groups, and there were no effects of parity, infant sex, or time of measurement on separation anxiety scores. Women in the outside/outside group scored higher on the Autonomy subscale of the Personality Research Form-E than women in the home/outside group. There were no main effects of group on infant temperament as assessed by the Infant Characteristics Questionnaire, but significant interactions showed that ratings of unpredictability by women in the outside/outside group decreased from 3 to 6 months postpartum. Infants were also rated as less dull over time. Stress and coping factors related to maternal employment and parenting may have influenced temperament ratings. Occupational characteristics did not distinguish the groups: Women cited different occupational characteristics that facilitated making their personal decision of whether to work outside the home postpartum.

Maternal Employment Plans and Outcomes after the Birth of an Infant in a Canadian Sample.

The authors describe demographic and occupational features associated with postpartum employment plans reported at childbirth and 6 months later for a sample of Canadian women. More specifically they compared between 5 groups of mothers recruited from the maternity ward of a regional rural hospital based upon prepartum employment status employment plans reported at childbirth and postpartum employment status when the infant was 6 months old. 231 of the 290 women initially asked to participate agreed to be interviewed; a 12% rate of attrition was experienced by the 6-month follow-up interview. Participants were of mean age 27.6 years and 93% were either married to or in common-law relationships with the father. The rates of maternal employment were 74% at birth and 45% at 6 months postpartum. Women employed until birth were more likely to be primiparous than unemployed women. Neither parity socioeconomic status nor part- versus full-time work status however discriminated between womens employment profiles. High proportions of the sample received paid leave. This latter phenomenon was related to full-time employment relatively high socioeconomic status and employment profiles in the postpartum period.

CONTICEPTION: A program to study the effects of contingency parameters on judgments of control

Little is known about the heuristics people use in evaluating the degree to which they control events. The DOS-basedContiception program allows users to independently set the extent to which subjects’ actions are necessary and sufficient (the two components of contingency) to cause a change in an animated display. Up to four subject actions (keypresses) can each cause up to four dimensions of the display to change according to independently set contingencies. The task within which subjects judge their control involves interacting with the display in real time. To facilitate modeling of the possible algorithms used by different groups of subjects or under different conditions, the program provides several calculations of contingency magnitude and algebraic rules upon which the literature suggests subjects might base their control judgments. The program also allows sessions (trial sequences) to be saved and provides raw and summarized data output.

How are base rates used? Interactive and group effects

Koehler is right that base rate information is used, to various degrees, both in laboratory tasks and in everyday life. However, it is not time to turn our backs on laboratory tasks and focus solely on ecologically valid decision making. Tightly controlled experimental data are still needed to understand how base rate information is used, and how this varies among groups.