Robert Ho

Differential parenting styles for fathers and mothers

University students (N = 617; 242 male, 375 female) completed a questionnaire designed to tap attitudes toward paternal and maternal parenting. Significant gender-based differences were found for the authoritative and permissive styles of parenting. Mothers, rather than fathers, were perceived to be more likely to use these styles. When considering the extent to which parents differentiated between their sons and daughters, significant differences were found for each of the three parenting styles. Fathers were perceived by male respondents to be more likely to use an authoritarian style. Mothers were perceived to be more likely to use an authoritative style by female respondents, and a permissive style by male respondents. Some of the socialisation implications stemming from these gender-based differences are discussed, particularly with regard to aggressiveness.

The Intention to Give Up Smoking: Disease Versus Social Dimensions

An expanded protection motivation model was used to investigate the intention to give up smoking. Because smoking has both physiological and social-psychological foundations, the model was expanded to include the social dimensions as well as the original disease dimensions as predictors of health behavior. The participants were 96 current smokers (35 male and 61 female) in Australia; 44 were young adults (age < 22 years), and 52 were adults (age > 34 years). Data were analyzed by multiple regression with hierarchical entry, first of disease dimensions, then of social dimensions. For both the young and the adult smokers, the disease dimensions contributed significantly to the results of the regression equations. Addition of the social dimensions yielded a significant F change only for young smokers and increased the amount of variance explained from 23% to 38%.

Euthanasia and Abortion: Personality Correlates for the Decision to Terminate Life

The study addresses three research questions: (a) How well do level of conservatism and religiosity predict attitudes toward passive and active euthanasia? (b) What is the relationship between attitudes toward abortion and attitudes toward euthanasia? (c) How do personality variables relate differentially to these attitudes? Subjects were 168 Australian adults (68 men, 100 women). Initial analysis indicated no sex differences in attitudes toward the studys criterion variables. Descriptive statistics indicated general support for active and passive euthanasia and for abortion, although the majority of the respondents were found to be more accepting of passive than of active euthanasia. Multiple regression analyses indicated that level of conservatism was the most consistent predictor of attitudes toward euthanasia and abortion, whereas religiosity was found significantly to predict attitudes toward abortion only.

An examination of the short form of the Need for Cognition Scale applied in an Australian sample

The 18-item Need for Cognition (NFC) Scale (short version) was administered to two samples of 510 and 697 Australian males and females. Consistent with the findings of other researchers, a principal components analysis and confirmatory factor analysis indicated one dominant factor. The scores for 17 of the items were also shown to have internal consistency. The findings indicate that the short NFC Scale is applicable for use with Australian samples.

The effects of a victim impact statement and gender on juror information processing in a criminal trial: Does the punishment fit the crime?

This study examined the effects of a victim impact statement (VIS) and gender on decision-making. A total of 238 jury-eligible participants from the community were randomly assigned to one of eight versions of a heinous murder trial, based on a real case. Half the participants received a VIS, while the remainder did not. In addition, the design manipulated offender and victim gender. When no VIS was presented, male defendants received harsher sentences than females. The inclusion of the VIS decreased the disparity, resulting in a more severe sentence for the female, while the male offenders sentence was unaffected. The harsher sentence appeared to be the result of an increase in the perceived deviancy (as measured by volition and future dangerousness) of the female offender, due to the VIS. This interpretation was supported by the higher ratings of “anger” against the female defendant when the VIS was included. The sentences rendered by male jurors were predicted by the ratings of “future dangerousness”,...

Migrants and multiculturalism: A survey of attitudes in darwin

Abstract The policy of multiculturalism has been enthusiastically endorsed by the Australian Government. However, the question arises as to whether this enthusiasm is matched by a similar view at the societal level. This study investigates the attitudes of Australian-born residents of Darwin in Northern Australia toward a number of issues relating to migrants and multiculturalism. Specifically, the study focuses on three research questions: (a) What is the extent of support for the provision of ethnically based services/programs for migrants? (b) How are different “types” of migrants perceived in terms of their acceptability? (c) What is the extent of support for the policy of multiculturalism and its underlying dimensions? A total of 655 Australian-born respondents (331 males, 324 females) were surveyed. The results indicate that while there is strong support for those services which are perceived to facilitate the integration of migrants into mainstream Australian society, there is also clear disapprova...

Justice versus vengeance: motives underlying punitive judgements

The present study was designed to address the question of whether justice and vengeance motives can be differentiated and clearly delineated within the judicial process. The study used a multi-stage approach in the development of the Justice-Vengeance Scale. Exploratory factor analysis (102 males, 118 females) and confirmatory factor analysis (123 males, 200 females) yielded a four-factor multi-dimensional measure that differentiates between attitudes toward justice and vengeance, as well as between different dimensions underlying these motives (vengeance-sentence, vengeance-emotion, justice-fairness, justice-legal). The implications and utility of the Justice-Vengeance scale in future research are discussed.

Assessing attitudes toward euthanasia : an analysis of the subcategorical approach to right to die issues

Abstract This study was designed to investigate the way people perceive and respond to the issue of euthanasia. Four models were developed to reflect the subcategorical distinctions of 1. (1) active vs passive euthanasia, 2. (2) voluntary vs involuntary euthanasia, 3. (3) active-voluntary, active-involuntary, passive-voluntary, passive-involuntary and 4. (4) a single-factor euthanasia model. In study 1, exploratory factor analysis identified a two-factor structure representing the voluntary-involuntary subcategorical distinction. This two-factor structure of euthanasia was cross-validated with a different sample in study 2, via confirmatory factor analysis. Model comparisons indicated that the two-factor voluntary vs involuntary euthanasia model offered the best fit to the data relative to the other hypothesised models. These findings suggest that the presence or absence of the wish of the patient to die may be the most important factor influencing attitudes toward life and death issues.

THE IMPACT OF MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENTS ON THE PSYCHOLOGICAL WELL-BEING OF AT-FAULT DRIVERS AND RELATED PASSENGERS

This study assessed the effects of motor vehicle accidents (MVAs) on drivers’ and passengers’ responsibility attribution, and levels of psychological distress and well-being. A total of 321 MVA victims from the state of Queensland, Australia, participated in this study by responding to a questionnaire designed to measure the studys critical variables. Of the sample, 221 were drivers (99 males, 122 females) and 100 were passengers (31 males, 69 females). Of the passengers, 47 percent reported that they were related to the driver, while 53 percent reported that they were not related to the driver. The drivers were categorized by their attribution of responsibility for their accidents, with a resultant 20 percent perceiving themselves to be at fault, and 80 percent perceiving themselves not to be at fault. Results obtained from MANOVAs showed that there was a significant decrease in reported well-being for both passenger- and driver-victims following their accidents. For drivers, the decrease was significantly greater for those who did not accept responsibility for their accidents than those who did. Path analysis showed that blaming others for the accident was associated with higher levels of psychological distress and a lower level of psychological well-being (PWB) for both passengers and drivers. For drivers, accepting responsibility for the accident was associated with lower levels of psychological distress and a higher level of PWB. Implications for the development of coping strategies for MVA victims are discussed.

Influences on loneliness, depression, sexual-risk behaviour and suicidal ideation among Thai transgender youth

This study examined the influence of age, education level and number of sex partners on levels of loneliness, depression, suicidal ideation and sexual-risk behaviour in Thai male-to-female transgender youth. A total of 190 participants filled in the studys questionnaire, designed to tap the primary variables of age, level of education, number of sex partners, loneliness, depression, suicidal ideation and sexual-risk behaviour. Results reveal that level of education has a significant influence on depression and loneliness, the number of sex partners has a significant influence on sexual-risk behaviour and suicidal ideation and age has a significant influence on sexual-risk behaviour and suicidal ideation. Participants with higher levels of education reported more loneliness than participants who did not graduate from high school. In addition, participants who did not graduate from high school reported more depression than participants with some university credit. Furthermore, participants aged 15 to 19 years, compared with those of 20 to 25 years, reported higher level of sexual-risk behaviour and higher levels of suicidal ideation.