The influences of family relationship variables on motivations for adolescent sexual risk-taking were investigated. Previous research has linked these variables to adolescent sexual behavior, however, the nature of these links has not been specifically examined. Family variables were operationalized as child attachment to mother, parental support of each other, parental conflict strategies, and parental monitoring. Emotional motivations were operationalized as attachment and affiliation needs. The sample consisted of 40 single females ages 18 to22 recruited from a local pregnancy care center. Predictions that parent-child relationship and parental influence would predict emotional motivations for sexual risk-taking were not supported. The variable most highly related to sexual risk-taking, though not included in the model tested, was father's destructive conflict strategies. Theoretical and methodological issues are discussed.

Children's response to a resistance-to-temptation (RTT) task was investigated under three punishment threat conditions: negative consequence, removing an anticipated reward, and no explicit punishment. Ninety first and second graders participated in the RTT task and seventy-three parents completed the Behavior Assessment System for Children and the Psychopathy Screening Device. As only 4% of children transgressed, results are unclear. Hypotheses tested using approximations of transgression showed no differences in RTT. Children with temperaments characterized by hyperactivity, impulsivity, attention problems, and conduct problems (HIA-CP) had the highest levels of psychopathic traits compared to all others. In addition, spanked children were rated as having significantly more behavioral problems than non-spanked children. Limitations of the current study and suggestions for future research are discussed.

This study examined the relationship between executive and psychosocial functioning in 45 children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years who had been treated for a brain tumor. Executive functioning deficits can profoundly impact an adult's ability to function successfully in life. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the potential impact of executive functioning deficits on the day-to-day functioning in a pediatric population. The domains of executive functioning assessed included cognitive flexibility, conceptual thinking, sustained attention, and response inhibition. Psychosocial functioning was assessed using both parent and child report. Several significant relationships were found for adolescents ages 15 and older, with effect sizes ranging from medium to large. In particular, cognitive flexibility and conceptual thinking were significantly related to parent report of depression and adaptive functioning. Fewer significant relationships with smaller effect sizes were found for younger children. The results may reflect the developmental emergence of executive functioning abilities and late effects of executive functioning deficits upon psychosocial functioning. The correlational design of this study precludes definitive statements regarding the temporal nature of the relationship. Additional research, including longitudinal research and replicatory studies, will be needed to further investigate the developmental consequences of executive functioning impairment.

This project investigated the spiritual well-being (SWB) of psychotherapists in training and their physiological reactions to religious questions posed by a mock client. Electrodermal activity served as an index of physiological arousal interpreted as anxiety. Thirteen psychotherapists in training at the University of North Texas were recruited. They participated in a simulated intake session with a mock client who asked the psychotherapist neutral questions, personal-other questions (POQs), and personal-religious questions (PRQs). It was discovered that the level of SWB did not affect subjects' anxiety responses to PRQs. There also was no difference in subjects' anxiety responses for POQs between high and low SWB therapists. However, psychotherapists did experience some anxiety associated with questions related to their counseling experience and expertise.

To explore the influence that variations in projective stimuli might have on the respondent's ability to identify with pictorial representations of hands derived from the Hand Test (Wagner, 1961, 1983), 61 young adults (M age = 23) and 60 older adults (M age = 73) were presented with four alternate versions of hand stimuli (young male, young female, old male, and old female) in addition to the original Hand Test. Results indicated main effects for age and gender of respondent, which were primarily consistent with previous Hand Test research. Main effects for gender and age of hand stimuli (p < .05) were also found. Significant interaction effects were revealed for age of respondent by age of hand stimuli and for age of respondent by gender of hand stimuli (p < .05). These interactions resulted in the elicitation of a variety of responses to a differentiated manner than a standard set of Hand Test stimuli. A gender of respondent by gender of hand stimuli interaction effect was also found (p &lt; .05), suggesting that gender alterations of the card may also be beneficial for increasing respondent identification for some individuals. Overall, the results of variations in Hand Test stimuli, as they …