Families Created by Egg Donation: Parent–Child Relationship Quality in Infancy

Increasing numbers of children are being born through egg donation and thus do not share a genetic relationship with their mother. Parent–infant relationship quality was examined in 85 egg donation families and a comparison group of 65 in vitro fertilization families (infant M = 11 months). Standardized interview and observational measures were used to assess mother–infant and father–infant relationship quality at the representational and behavioral levels. Few differences were found between family types in parents’ representations of the parent–infant relationship. Differences were found between family types in the observational assessment of mother–infant relationship quality, indicating less optimal interactions in egg donation families. Findings suggest that egg donation families function well in infancy overall, but there may be subtle yet meaningful differences in mother–infant interaction quality.     

Process Re-Design For Enhanced Human Performance

Faced with sophisticated global competition, companies arc busily reinventing themselves. This offers an opportunity for performance technologists t.o re-think the value added component of their contribution to enhanc-ing human performance. In this eval u-ation. the four values of speed, simplicity, stretch, and self-conlidenco assume a central role. Design, as in the past, is key, but design must, be founded on the assumption that all human performance involves a process or combination of processes. Furthermore, processes are subject to variability of one kind or another, variability that is either predictable or random. It is argued that a process orientation, rather than a focus on inputs and outputs, offers performance technologists a more direct way of contributing to the realization of key business goals and more effectively focuses training and development on performance issues. Process re-design is a key strategy in the realization of these two goals.     

Perpetrators and their acts: data from 365 adults molested as children

Intake interviews were analyzed from 365 adults molested as children (AMACs). The AMACs were entering treatment at the Child Sexual Abuse Treatment Program (San Jose, CA). This study presents data on the relationship of the perpetrator to the victim, and whether most molestations include intercourse. The majority of the perpetrators (62%) were either biological fathers or father-surrogates. Ninety-nine percent of the perpetrators were known to the victim; 97% were male. As in past studies, fondling from the waist down was the most common type of molestation, occurring in 92% of the cases. Forty-four percent of cases included intercourse. The present findings are compared with past research and are discussed in the context of common misconceptions associated with child sexual abuse.     

Anthropometric dimensions of male powerlifters of varying body mass

In this study, we examined the anthropometric dimensions of powerlifters across various body mass (competitive bodyweight) categories. Fifty-four male Oceania competitive powerlifters (9 lightweight, 30 middleweight, and 15 heavyweight) were recruited from one international and two national powerlifting competitions held in New Zealand. Powerlifters were assessed for 37 anthropometric dimensions by ISAK (International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry) level II and III accredited anthropometrists. The powerlifters were highly mesomorphic and had large girths and bony breadths, both in absolute units and when expressed as Z(p)-scores compared through the Phantom (Ross & Wilson, 1974). These anthropometric characteristics were more pronounced in heavyweights, who were significantly heavier, had greater muscle and fat mass, were more endo-mesomorphic, and had larger girths and bony breadths than the lighter lifters. Although middleweight and heavyweight lifters typically had longer segment lengths than the lightweights, all three groups had similar Zp-scores for the segment lengths, indicating similar segment length proportions. While population comparisons would be required to identify any connection between specific anthropometric dimensions that confer a competitive advantage to the expression of maximal strength, anthropometric profiling may prove useful for talent identification and for the assessment of training progression in powerlifting.     

Does exercise motivation predict engagement in objectively assessed bouts of moderate-intensity exercise? A self-determination theory perspective

This study examined the utility of motivation as advanced by self-determination theory (Deci & Ryan, 2000) in predicting objectively assessed bouts of moderate intensity exercise behavior. Participants provided data pertaining to their exercise motivation. One week later, participants wore a combined accelerometer and heart rate monitor (Actiheart; Cambridge Neurotechnology Ltd) and 24-hr energy expenditure was estimated for 7 days. After controlling for gender and a combined marker of BMI and waist circumference, results showed autonomous motivation to positively predict moderate-intensity exercise bouts of >or=10 min, or=20 min, and an accumulation needed to meet public health recommendations for moderate intensity activity (i.e., ACSM/AHA guidelines). The present findings add bouts of objectively assessed exercise behavior to the growing body of literature that documents the adaptive consequences of engaging in exercise for autonomous reasons. Implications for practice and future work are discussed.