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Understanding the Relationship between Perceived Bonding and Stress in Parents of Young Children: A Study of Intergenerational Transmission of Parenting Behavior
No full textThis study explored the way in which intergenerational transmission of parenting behavior takes place in parents of young children. Specifically, it explored how one\u27s level of perceived parental bonding with their own parents affects their perceived amount of parental stress when they become parents themselves. Participants included 109 mothers and father who had at least one child under the age of 12. Findings were mixed, and indicated that there was a significant interaction between parental care and parental control. Specifically, findings showed that individuals who perceived their parents as both caring and overprotective or controlling, experienced the least amount of parental stress. Additionally, it was found that one\u27s perceived amount of paternal care was significantly related to fewer reported parent child dysfunctional interactions. However, perceived maternal and paternal care and control were not significantly related to currently experienced total stress or parental distress. Clinical implications of these findings are discussed
Achieving Consistent Near-Optimal Pattern Recognition Accuracy Using Particle Swarm Optimization to Pre-Train Artificial Neural Networks
No full textSimilar to mammalian brains, Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are universal approximators, capable of yielding near-optimal solutions to a wide assortment of problems. ANNs are used in many fields including medicine, internet security, engineering, retail, robotics, warfare, intelligence control, and finance. ANNs have a tendency to get trapped at sub-optimal solutions (local optimum) , and therefore trial and error is commonly used to select the network topology and train the network, which is prohibitively time consuming and costly. Recent advances in our understanding of the biological brain, hardware, algorithms, and potential for novel applications renewed interest in ANNs. Evolutionary Artificial Neural Networks (EANN) are among the more successful paradigms explored to improve ANNs’ performance. EANNs employ evolutionary computation techniques such as Genetic Algorithms (GA) or Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) to train ANNs, or to generate ANNs’ topologies. Still, these improvements are not consistent and usually problem-specific. ANN performance depends in part on the number of neurons in hidden layer(s). The more neurons in hidden layer(s) the better the network’s ability to recognize specific samples it had seen during the training phase; however, the network becomes incapable of learning general patterns and recognizing these patterns in novel data. Performance on training data improves with training, while performance on testing data (samples the network had not seen previously) degrades (overfitting). This work rigorously investigated using PSO to pre-train ANNs with varying number of neurons in the hidden layer. It was shown that using PSO algorithm to pre-train ANNs improves classification accuracy for diverse problems, and, most notably, a PSO parameter configuration was developed that consistently yielded near-optimal solutions for pattern recognition problems from different domains. It was also shown how an automated algorithm for efficiently evolving optimal ANN size and topology can be designed to take advantage of the study’s findings. Furthermore, a novel biologically inspired hybrid of a visual ventral stream object recognition model was investigated – Hierarchical Model and X (HMAX), PSO, and feed-forward back-propagation ANN. This or similar biologically plausible models may be useful in vivo studies as well as in vitro simulations and applications
EB Style as a Moderating Variable in identifying Features of Psychosis in an Adolescent Population
No full textThe aim of this study was to contribute to the research on using the Rorschach Inkblot Test to identify adolescents that are at risk for experiencing psychotic symptoms. It was hypothesized that the utility of the Perceptual Thinking Index (PTI) and its components would be affected by Erlebnistypus (EB Style), because this variable is representative of the way an individual is likely to have approached the Rorschach task. It was further hypothesized that the quality of the specific responses associated with one\u27s primary mechanism for problem-solving would be most likely to predict psychotic diagnosis as well as self-report and therapist ratings of psychotic features. Pearson correlations revealed differences between the three EB Style groups in terms of which Rorschach variables were correlated with various indicators of psychotic features. In particular, the PTI composite variable was correlated with whether or not an individual was diagnosed with a psychotic disorder only when individuals had introversive or ambitensive EB styles. On the other hand, the use of a new variable, C-%, was correlated with multiple self-report measures of psychotic features, but only when individuals had an extratensive style. Finally, a significant interaction effect was found between extratensive EB Style and C-% on color cards when predicting scores on the MMPI-A Schizophrenia Scale. Although not entirely consistent with the hypothesized trends, these patterns are of interest, and possible implications are explored in this text. Of importance is the dearth of research available on EB Style, despite the likelihood that one\u27s problem-solving style affects the response process on the Rorschach test itself. Given the patterns observed in the results of this study, further research on the usefulness of this particular variable is necessary
Parenting Stress in the Dyad: Associations Among Parenting Stress, Parent Role Perceptions, Infant Temperament, and Mother-Infant Emotional Availability
No full textThe current study investigated the relationships among parenting stress, quality of mother-infant interactions, infant temperament, and parent role perceptions. The study further examined the moderating role of parenting stress. A sample of 35 mother-infant dyads participated in the current study. Parenting stress was measured using the Parenting Stress Index (Abidin, 1995), infant temperament was assessed using the Infant Behavior Questionnaire, Revised (Gartstein & Rothbart, 2003), and parent role perceptions were measured using the Parent Behavior Importance Questionnaire (PBIQ-R) and the Frequency Questionnaire (PBFQ; Mowder, 2005). Quality of mother-infant interactions was assessed and coded utilizing the Emotional Availability Scales, 4th Edition (EAS; Biringen, 2008). Mother-infant pairs participated in a 20-minute free play session that was videotaped and coded using the EAS. Components of parenting stress were observed to be significantly correlated with EA Sensitivity, EA Non-hostility, and EA Child Responsiveness. Parenting stress was found to be significantly correlated with negative behaviors of infant temperament. Furthermore, overall and component parts of parenting stress demonstrated significant correlations with parent role perceptions. Results found a significant interaction effect between parenting stress and parent role perceptions in predicting EA Sensitivity; however, these findings were contrary to hypotheses. Higher levels of total parenting stress strengthened the observed significant relationship between positive parent role perceptions and EA Sensitivity. Implications of the current study and future areas of research are discussed. Keywords: mother-infant interactions, parenting stress, emotional availability, infant temperament, maternal perception
Republican Realignment: Building a Majority Coalition for Future Electoral Success
Get PDFSince the election of President George H. W. Bush, Republican presidential candidates have had difficulty winning popular elections. Republican candidates lost five of the next six popular elections to their Democratic opponents. This paper investigates why. It outlines the growing demographic shift in electoral politics which is detrimental for future Republican success. The growing dissonance between non-white, non-male voters and the Republican Party hinders the Party’s success when its message does not resonate with a majority of voters.
Utilizing realignment theory as first espoused by political scientist V. O. Key, this paper analyzes nine essential battleground states and the growing demographic shifts within them to show that Republican policies, as enumerated in The Growth and Opportunity Project, do not resonate to a larger audience. Using a 15% increase in Republican votes from the 2012 election as a baseline, this paper provides suggestions for Republican strategists to allocate funds to certain get-out-the-vote campaigns in certain states.
The results of this study confirm the hypothesis set forth. Latino voters are an essential demographic which can help win Florida with a “compassionate conservative” Republican candidate. African-American voters are much more difficult to court for the Republican Party; however, a sound strategy in two adjacent states with low socio-economic upward mobility – North Carolina and Virginia – can motivate African-Americans to the polls to help win those states. Independent voters can help win small swing states with relatively little ethnic diversity. Finally, single female voters will be crucial in states in which conservative governors have had success such as Ohio and North Carolina
Adolescent Depression and Individuation, Parental Representation and Stages of Ego Identity Among Female High School Students
No full textAdolescence is the last and the concluding stage of childhood (Erikson, 1956, p. 66). It is a time of rapid development that occurs globally across an individual. Traditionally thought of as the time of identity formation (Rutter, Graham, Chadwick, & Yule, 1976), the adolescent attempts to separate from her parents and prepare for adulthood. Developmental changes occur cognitively, socially, and psychologically. Adolescence can be described as the adjustment of the child\u27s personality to puberty, or at least an attempt at one, (Bernfeld, 1938, p. 243). The vicissitudes of adolescence create emotional turmoil which may lie at the root of adolescent psychopathology, and as such adolescence is a period of great psychological upheaval and disturbance (Rutter et al., 1976, p. 35). How an adolescent copes with these developmental challenges is determined by many factors, some of which may foster and others which may hinder the adolescent\u27s development (Bernfeld, 1938)
Multidimensional Assessment of Psychologists\u27 Multicultural Counseling Competence
No full textIn 1892, the American Psychological Association (APA) was founded by 26 men of European descent (Street, 1994). During this time, racial and ethnic concerns were viewed as unimportant factors; inadequate minority representation on APA committees, lack of Blacks hired by APA\u27s Central Office, poor representation of Black graduate students in the nation\u27s training pipelines, and questionable theoretical underpinnings on psychology directed toward minority groups (Guthrie, 1998, p. 146) existed throughout APA\u27s early history. Early leaders of APA openly referred to Black people as a \u27primitive race\u27 in a state of immature development (Greene, 1986, p. 48) and negative stereotypes were embraced by prominent early psychologists regarding African- Americans (Greene, 1986; Thomas, 1982)
Brown v. Plata: The Struggle to Harmonize Human Dignity with the Constitution
Get PDFIn Plata, the Supreme Court, in an opinion authored by Justice Anthony Kennedy, held that prisoners alleging conditions of confinement claims retain some degree of human dignity despite their lawful incarceration. Accordingly, federal courts must enforce the constitutional rights of prisoners when they are violated, even if this culminates in the release of some individuals from captivity. This is in stark contrast to previous cases where the federal courts have simply deferred to the judgment of prison administrators. Plata emphatically affirms the judiciary’s role in protecting prisoners’ rights, noting that court inaction in the face of ongoing and persistent constitutional violations cannot remain simply because of prison administrators’ protestations and despite the admittedly radical nature of the remedy being considered.
Part II of this Article briefly discusses the evolution of human dignity as a constitutional value during the course of the twentieth century. This Article will explain the philosophical development of human dignity in general terms and as it was developed by the Supreme Court, with some particular attention given the Court’s Eighth Amendment jurisprudence. Part III will discuss Plata and its underlying facts. Part IV concerns how Plata may influence the use of human dignity as a constitutional value in the years to come, specifically discussing the relationship between Plata and the troublesome 2012 decision: Florence v. Board of Chosen Freeholders. As a result of cases like Plata and Florence, the vitality of human dignity as a constitutional value today remains somewhat in flux. However, this is not to say that it is irrelevant to the Court’s decision-making process. Only as future cases are decided will commentators be able to determine which case holds greater import in the area of Eighth Amendment jurisprudence, and thus evaluate the durability of human dignity as a constitutional concern
Conferring Dignity: The Metamorphosis of the Legal Homosexual
Get PDFThe legal homosexual has undergone a dramatic transformation over the past three decades, culminating in United States v. Windsor, which struck down Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). In 1986, the homosexual was a sexual outlaw beyond the protection of the Constitution. By 2013, the homosexual had become part of a married couple that is “deemed by the State worthy of dignity.” This Article tells the story of this metamorphosis in four phases. In the first, the “Homosexual Sodomite Phase,” the United States Supreme Court famously declared in Bowers v. Hardwick that there was no right to engage in homosexual sodomy. In the second, the “Equal Homosexual Class Phase,” the Court in Romer v. Evans cast the legal homosexual as a member of a “class of citizens” whose exclusion from anti-discrimination protections the Constitution could not tolerate. In the third, the “Free Intimate Bond Phase,” the Court shifted its focus in Lawrence v. Texas to an enduring intimate bond involving private sexual acts protected from government intrusion. In the fourth and current phase, the “Dignified Married Couple Phase,” the Court in United States v. Windsor validated the decision of several states to “confer” upon homosexuals “a dignity and status of immense import.”
The heart of the Article is an analysis of this final phase. Although Windsor is an important civil rights victory, the Court’s opinion ushers in important consequences for the legal homosexual. In the process of dignifying the same-sex couple, the Court erased the terms “homosexual” and “lesbian,” cast marriage as an elevated moral state, and, most importantly, promoted a concept that the Article calls a “weak dignity.” Windsor’s dignity is weak in three ways. First, human dignity was not understood by the Court as inherent in all humans. The Court instead assumed that the State confers dignity upon individuals. Second, Windsor’s concept of dignity is much narrower than theories promoted by contemporary moral and legal philosophers. Third, Windsor adopted a rhetoric of injury and pity that presents all those in same-sex relationships and their children as the wounded and humiliated victims of DOMA. The Article concludes with suggestions on how advocates and courts applying Windsor can employ the concept of equal dignity while moving beyond Windsor’s weaknesses