Parental criticism and young adolescent self-disclosure: A cross-cultural study

Criticism by mothers and fathers, as well as young adolescents' perceptions of parental criticism and their self-disclosure to parents, was assessed for a sample of 80 families. Of these, 40 were resident in Australia (20 Anglo-Australian and 20 Greek-Australian) and 40 were resident in Greece (20 professional and 20 working-class). There were no differences between the groups in amount of criticism by parents nor in adolescents' perceptions of criticism. Greek- and Anglo-Australian adolescents disclosed significantly less to parents than did the Greek adolescents. For Greek-Australian adolescents there was an inverse relationship between self-disclosure on a number of topics and perceived levels of parental criticism. The results were interpreted in terms of cultural differences between the groups and adaptive behaviors of the Greek-Australian adolescents.This research was supported by a University of Melbourne grant to the first author.Received Ph.D. from University of Melbourne. Research interests include the social context of adolescent development.Received Ph.D. from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. Research interest is in cognitive development through the life span.Received Ph.D. from Aristotelian University of Thessaloniki. Research interest is in cognitive development through the life span.     

Allele distribution of 15 STR loci used for human identity purposes in the Greek Cypriot population of the island of Cyprus

Allele frequencies for 15 STRs (D3S1358, vWA, FGA, D8S1179, D21S11, D18S51, D5S818, D13S317, D7S820, THO1, Penta E, D16S539, CSF1PO, Penta D and TPOX) in the PowerPlex-16 System (Promega Corporation) were derived from a sample of 1475 unrelated Greek Cypriot individuals from the island of Cyprus.     

Sexual dimorphism of the hip joint in Greeks

The objective of the present study was to report our measurements of hip bones within the Greek population and review the possible implications of these differences in their health as well as in social life. For this purpose the remains of 100 male and 100 female pelvic and femoral bones were studied. The distance from the pubic tubercle to the anterior rim of the acetabulum, the acetabulum diameter between its rims, their ratio, the depth of the acetabulum, the diameter of the femoral head and the ratio between the femoral head and the diameter of the acetabulum were measured. It was found that in males, in comparison to the females, the distance from the pubic tubercle to the anterior rim of the acetabulum was smaller while the acetabulum diameter and its depth, the diameter of the femoral head and the ratio between femoral head and the acetabulum diameter were larger. The above differences reached strong statistical significance. Of the two ratios used only the first one reached statistical significance. Using this ratio alone offered the best discrimination rate of up to 99% and should be the preferred choice when available.     

Variants of Callous-Unemotional Conduct Problems in a Community Sample of Adolescents

Callous-unemotional traits are believed to be a childhood precursor to psychopathy, and among youth with conduct problems they designate those showing a particularly severe, stable, and aggressive pattern of antisocial behavior. Youth with callous-unemotional traits are a heterogeneous population and, analogous to adults with psychopathy, research suggests that lower anxious primary and high-anxious secondary variants exist. Using a community sample of 2,306 Greek-Cypriot adolescents (M age = 16 years; 49.7 % female), the first aim of the study was to examine whether variants of callous-unemotional traits could be identified using latent profile analysis of scores on measures of callous-unemotional traits, conduct problems, and anxiety. Additional aims of the study were to compare the identified clusters on external measures theorized to distinguish them (i.e., self-esteem, narcissism, impulsivity, sensation seeking and proactive/reactive aggression) and social factors relevant to adolescent development. Results indicated that, in addition to low risk (i.e., low scores on callous-unemotional traits, conduct problems, and anxiety) and anxious (i.e., high scores on anxiety, low scores on callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems) subgroups, two groups of youth scoring high on callous-unemotional traits and conduct problems were identified. High-anxious secondary callous-unemotional variants were distinguished by lower self-esteem in combination with greater narcissism, aggression, and markedly higher conduct problems, whereas lower anxious primary variants showed higher self-esteem. Secondary callous-unemotional variants also reported greater susceptibility to peer pressure and popularity striving than primary variants. Both variants exhibited poorer outcomes relative to low risk and anxious youth, although anxious youth reported lower self-esteem and higher impulsivity and reactive aggression scores in comparison with low risk youth. Findings integrate two lines of inquiry focused on subtyping children and adults with psychopathic traits and antisocial behaviors. They also support the utility of subtyping callous-unemotional traits based on conduct problems and anxiety levels and provide information on common and distinct risk factors associated with primary and secondary callous-unemotional variants in a community sample of adolescent boys and girls.