Longitudinal methods have become an improved and essential means of measuring intra-individual change over time. Yet one of the greatest and most hazardous drawbacks studying participants over multiple sessions can be the loss of participants over time. This study attempts to illuminate the problem of attrition in longitudinal research by estimating the mean effect sizes for participant loss across 57 studies published in 13 prestigious journals which regularly use older participants. Results estimate overall attrition to be around 34% of the original sample. The subsequent break down of attrition into its subtypes yield mean effect sizes for attrition due to Refusal (8%), Loss of contact (10%), Illness (6%), and Death (14%) in studies sampling from adults 50 years or older. Analyses were then conducted via meta-analytic one-way ANOVA and weighted regression to identify possible moderators of overall attrition and their four subtypes.

The transtheoretical model has a substantial history of measuring the change process. Hemphill and Howell validated the Stages of Change Scale (SOCS) on adolescent offenders. The current study expands their research by developing an additional component of the TTM, the Decisional Balance Scale for Adolescent Offenders (DBS-AO). This measure assesses movement through the stages of change and provides insight into mechanisms through which adolescent offenders attempt to change their criminal behaviors. Two hundred thirty-nine adolescent offenders at the Gainesville State School completed the SOCS, DBS-AO, Paulhus Deception Scales (PDS), and the Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD). The study found the DBS-AO is psychometrically sound, demonstrates excellent reliability and has an underlying three-factor solution: Cons, Pros-Self, and Pros-Others. Offenders in the early stages of change scored significantly higher on the Cons scale. Offenders actively changing their behavior scored significantly higher on the Pro-Self and Pros-Other scales.

The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) is funding and supporting a longitudinal study of Early Child Care. Beginning in 1991, data was collected from ten sites across the United States and included 1,364 families with a newborn child. This study used the NICHD Early Child Care data set to investigate characteristics of teachers that provide childcare in a daycare-like setting or childcare centers. Specifically, the relationship between early childhood teacher endorsement of developmentally appropriate belief systems and teacher education in early childhood were examined to determine their potential influence on the teachers' developmentally appropriate classroom practices, global rating of classroom quality, and child cognitive abilities. These relationships were examined at two time periods- at child age 36 months and child age 54 months. The results indicated that many of these relationships were significant. Interestingly, many of the significant findings were present only at child age 54 months.

The current study attempted to show the relationship of paternal sensitivity and maternal sensitivity and their possible influences on child cognitive and behavioral development. This study used data collected as part of the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) Study of Early Child Care, which is a longitudinal, multi-site study. Correlation and regression analyses were computed to examine relationships between the variables at child age 6 and 36 months. Results indicated paternal sensitivity was a significant positive predictor of child cognitive abilities and a negative predictor of both fathers' reports of children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Maternal sensitivity was a significant negative predictor of mothers' reports of children's externalizing behaviors. Interpretations of these results and directions for future research are discussed.

Facilitators are encouraged to get all meeting attendees to participate in the meeting. There is the assumption made that, if they do participate, then this participation will increase the group's general satisfaction of the meeting. Also, knowing the factors that can increase the probability of a successful meeting has been a focus of previous research, yet attendee participation has not been studied. The current research study empirically examines participation's effect on meeting evaluations. This study is a field experiment conducted in a team-based organization, where successful meetings are critical. Data was collected on the amount of participation of team members in their weekly team meeting and their evaluations of the meeting. After running correlations and a principal components analysis, this study found a relationship between participation and meeting evaluations. A scale of meeting success was also created.

Previous researchers have shown that the collaborative, self-directing, and deferring styles of religious coping result in different outcomes of depression under different levels of perceived stress. Neuroticism has also been shown to affect coping effectiveness overall or choice of coping method. However, little work has been done to investigate the association between neuroticism and the choice or effectiveness of religious coping styles in particular, or on the association of neuroticism and perceived stress. The present study addressed research questions by examining relations among neuroticism, perceived stress, objective life events, religious and non-religious coping styles, effectiveness of coping styles, and depression. Hierarchical multiple regression and correlational techniques found that religious coping styles predict depression, religious and non-religious coping correspond, and neuroticism predicts perceived stress beyond situational stressors. Neuroticism did not predict use of religious coping styles, but remaining personality factors were successful in predicting coping. Implications, limitations, and future directions are discussed.

The present study examined the perceptions of teams and managers on team potency levels as a function of stage of team development. Drawing from the power and influence literature, potency was established as a means by which to assess team's internal dynamics. Stage of team development was separated into four categories including pseudo, potential, real and high performance teams. Archival data included 45 teams and managers gathered from the manufacturing and service industries. Results indicated a significant linear relationship between team perceptions of team potency and stage of team development. Additionally, potency perceptions of teams significantly differentiated between the four stages of team development. Manager perceptions of team potency produced non-significant results. Possible explanations of the results as well as implications for practice and future research are provided.

This study investigated the relationship of the Personnel Decisions International Employment Inventory scales to criminal behavior by using 796 offenders with criminal records in the Texas Department of Corrections and a random sample of 893 non-offender job applicants. The hypothesis that offenders would score lower in integrity scores than non-offenders only gained mixed support, but consistent evidence showed that there were no mean differences between property offenders and other offenders. The implications of the results for future study were discussed.

An exploratory study was conducted to augment the current literature on religiosity and spirituality by identifying and systematically measuring the salient variables and underlying constructs regarding spirituality and religion in African American families and their children between the ages of 7 to 12. The study examined psychosocial correlates, such as self-esteem and ethnic identity, and their impact on religiosity and spirituality. This study sought to validate the Age-Universal I/E Scale for use with African American children occurred with this study and pilot the African American Children's Ethnic Identity Scale (ACHEIDS). Through qualitative and quantitative research this study found multiple correlations associated with religion, spirituality, age, gender, aspects of self-esteem, and ethnic identity. Regression analyses were also conducted to identify predictive variables associated with the I/E.

Dementia is a devastating disorder that commonly affects people over the age of 65. Alzheimer's disease and vascular dementia are the most common forms of dementias. A number of studies have implicated cardiovascular risks as important factors in the development of dementia. These risks include high-risk behaviors such as smoking and risks related at least partially to health behaviors such as diet and exercise. This study examines a group of cardiovascular risk factors, as defined by the Framingham study, to ascertain if they are predictors of dementia. A retrospective chart review of 481consecutive patients seen in a geriatric medicine clinic produced a sample of 177 individuals diagnosed with dementia and 304 individuals without a dementia diagnosis. Relative risk ratio (RRR) results indicate that a history of hypertension (RRR= 1.80, p = .009) and a history of hypercholesterolemia (RRR = 1.85, p = .016) are significant predictors of Alzheimer's disease. A history of tobacco use (RRR = 2.18, p = .01) is a significant predictor of vascular dementia. Stepwise regression analyses indicate that hypercholesterolemia is an independent predictor of dementia (b = -.113, p = .009) and hypercholesterolemia (b = -.104, p = .018) and hypertension (b = -.094, p = …

Psychologists and other mental health professionals working in correctional institutions bear the considerable responsibility for identifying, diagnosing, and treating mentally disordered inmates. The importance of these responsibilities has been recognized in recent years because of the burgeoning population of inmates in general and the higher numbers of inmates with mental illness in particular. Research has demonstrated that the screens currently used in correctional settings to identify mentally disordered and suicidal inmates are either unvalidated or generally ineffective. This study investigates the validity of different mental health screens in a jail population. Inmates from the Grayson County Jail were administered three screens: the Referral Decision Scale (RDS), Personality Assessment Screener (PAS), and the Mental Disability/Suicide Intake Screen (MDSIS). Criterion measures were the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (SADS) for Axis I disorders and the Suicide Probability Scale (SPS) for suicidal ideation. Results indicate that each screen most effectively assessed one clinical domain: the RDS for psychosis, the MDSIS for suicidality, and the PAS for depression. Gender differences were observed in screen items most effective for classifying inmates by suicide risk level.