Adolescent male reproductive responsibility

A sample of 100 adolescent males enrolled in 2 high schools in suburban New Jersey completed a 30 item questionnaire in 1980 to explore further the attitudes and intended behavior of white, middle-class adolescent males regarding their reproductive responsibility. Data were sought on attitudes toward sex, contraception, pregnancy, and fatherhood. Also questioned were preferences about contraceptive use as well as anticipated behavior in the event of a partner's pregnancy. The study also was designed to obtain information on responses the subjects anticipated from their paretns on preferred pregnancy outcome. All respondents were white. 94%, based on data on the subjects' fathers, were ranked middle class and higher according to Hollingshead's Two Factor Index of Social Position. Ages ranged from 15-19 with a mean age of 16. 88% were living in households with both parents. Only 4% agreed that there was nothing wrong with telling a girl that you love her (even if you do not) so that she will agree to have sexual relations. This contrasts markedly with 61% of Vadies and Hale's lower-class sample of adolescent males who felt that deception was acceptable to obtain sex. 59% of the study group agreed that contraceptive use "shows concern for the girl," but the percentage dropped slightly to 53% regarding attitude toward using "protection whenever possible." The subjects demonstrated a contrast between attitude and intended behavior with 67% indicating an intention to use contraception when participating in sex regularly. 62% thought that for most of their peers would have sex and count on luck. 54% assumed that the "girl will protect herself." Respondents were more often willing either to help the close girlfriend range an abortion (28%), to marry her (21%), or to help her seek an adoption (20%). They were less likely to do the same for a casual girlfriend except in the case of abortion. A double standard was significantly evident on the basis of several preferred types of behavior. Basically, respondents seemed to be twice as likely to do whatever the girlfriend wanted to do when the relationship was a close one rather than casual. 60 subjects thought their parents would agree in their responses to a pregnancy, 21 thought there would be disagreement, and 19 were unsure or gave no response. The data support findings from previous research contending that adolescent male reproductive responsibility is a subject that warrants the concern of parents, educators, and community service professionals.     

Long-Term Effects of Institutional Care and Enhanced Attachment Relationships on Close Adolescent Friendships

This study examined whether early institutional rearing and attachment security influence the quality and quantity of friendships at age 16 in 138 participants, including children abandoned to institutions in Bucharest, Romania, who were randomized to care as usual (n = 45, 26 female), or foster care (n = 47, 25 female), and a never-institutionalized group (n = 46, 18 female). Adolescents in the foster care group with secure attachment to their foster mothers at 42 months were comparable to never-institutionalized adolescents in having more friends and more positive behaviors with their friend during dyadic interactions, compared to the foster care group with insecure attachment and care as usual group. Interventions targeting early child–caregiver attachment relationships may help foster the ability to build positive friendships in adolescence.     

Achievement goals, beliefs about the causes of success and reported emotion in post-16 physical education.

The main aim of this study was to examine whether goal orientations of male and female adolescents involved in an optional post-16 physical education (PE) programme were related in a conceptually consistent manner with their beliefs about the causes of success in PE. We also determined relationships between these achievement goal-belief dimensions and reported enjoyment and boredom within PE classes. Participants (n = 171) in a sixth-form college PE programme completed an inventory assessing their task and ego goal orientations, beliefs about the determinants of success in PE, and emotion in PE activities at college. Separate factor analyses of goal orientations and beliefs for male and female students revealed two goal-belief dimensions. The first dimension showed ego orientation was linked to the view that ability and deceptive tactics lead to success. The second dimension suggested task orientation was associated with the belief that success is the result of hard work and effort. This task goal-belief factor was found to be more strongly correlated with enjoyment in PE among female students than among males. For boys, the task goal-belief factor was correlated significantly and negatively with boredom in PE, but this was not the case for girls. No significant relationships emerged between the ego goal-belief factor and reported emotion in PE among the male and female participants. Facilitating task involvement and beliefs about causes of success that are fundamentally under personal control may, therefore, promote positive affective experiences in sixth-form PE, especially among female students.     

The Educational Relevance of Research in Cognitive Neuroscience

The benefits of incorporating findings from cognitive neuroscience into the field of educational psychology are considered. The first section begins with arguments against the idea that one can ignore the brain when positing a model of student learning or motivation. The second section describes limitations in the methods used to reveal brain-cognition relations. In the third section, properties of the brain and brain development are described. The fourth section summarizes the cognitive neuroscientific research on attention, memory, reading, and math. Finally, areas of future research in cognitive neuroscience are suggested that would help answer important questions about individual and developmental differences in student learning.     

When Changing from Merit Pay to Variable/Bonus Pay: What Do Employees Want?

ABSTRACT This study examines potential responses to a change in an employee reward system from permanent merit pay increases to one‐time bonus payments. Removing long term risks associated with escalating pay is an increasingly common compensation strategy. Often overlooked, however, are employee perceptions of reward fairness under such conditions of change. Receiving lump sum payments in lieu of permanent merit pay increase may de‐motivate employees. There has been little or no research conducted on this topic. In this study, using samples of practicing HR managers and university students, an equity questionnaire gathered data on the perceived equivalence between a permanent merit pay increase and what might be demanded by employees as a single payment in its replacement. An analysis of the data collected indicate an approximate 1:2 ratio is needed, such that a proposed lump‐sum payment of $2400 would be perceived as a fair replacement for a permanent merit pay allocation of $1200 per year. Our research indicates that this 1:2 ratio holds for both high and low job satisfaction levels.     

Infant and preschool reinforcement survey

An empirically developed infant and preschool reinforcement survey was completed by 35 parents and 21 children. Test-retest reliability coefficients were computed on these data after a one-week interval. The development of the survey, as well as its usefulness for school psychologists, is described.