Adolescent egocentrism: Exploration into possible contributions of parent-child relations

A family relations model for the study of adolescent egocentrism was tested in an exploratory study of the relationship between parental socialization styles and adolescents' imaginary audience behavior. A sample of adolescent boys (n=58) and girls (n=57) responded to Heilbrun's Parent-Child Interaction Rating Scale and Schaefer's Parent-Behavior Inventory and completed Elkind and Bowen's Imaginary Audience Scale. As hypothesized, rejection-control was associated with increased imaginary audience behavior, while physical affect was negatively related to self-consciousness. Sex differences were noted, with rejection-control being most important in predicting self-consciousness for boys and physical affect being the best predictor of girls' egocentrism behavior. The data provide an alternative model to a cognitive developmental perspective of adolescent egocentrism development.Research was partially supported through the Western Regional Research Project W-144, Development of Social Competency in Children, with funding in part from the Science and Education Administration/Cooperative Research of USDA, and the Utah State University Agricultural Experiment Station.Received his M.A. in psychology from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and Ph.D. in human development from the Pennsylvania State University. Current research interest is personality and social development of children and adolescents.Completed his M.S. Degree in family and human development at Utah State University. Current research interests include the study of interpersonal perception and attraction and human socialization.     

Adolescent life changes and illness: A comparison of three models

This article examines how stressful life-events relate to the occurrence of illness in a nonclinical random sample of adolescents and what processes intervene in this relationship. Three alternative models of the life events and illness relationship are compared. Data support a “direct stress and illness model” as opposed to either a “sick role behavior model” or a “mental health model.” Social support from parents appears to mediate the life events-illness relationship. Undesirable and ambiguous life events have more impact on illness than desirable events do. Results are discussed in terms of adolescence as a unique developmental stage.     

Adolescent egocentrism: The association among imaginary audience behavior,cognitive development,and parental support and rejection

Two theoretical perspectives have been advanced to account for heightened egocentrism during early adolescence. One perspective assumes that formal operational thought is associated with increased self-consciousness. The second perspective proposes that parental support and affection diminish egocentrism, while parental rejection enhances self-conscious reactions by young adolescents. Data analysis using responses from 251 early adolescents (131 males, 120 females) on measures of cognitive development and perceived parental support revealed that (a) formal operations diminished adolescent egocentrism, while (b) perceived parental relations were predictive of self-consciousness. Contrary to posttheoretical assumptions, seventh graders functioning at the level of concrete operations were higher in self-conscious egocentrism than were formal-operations youths. Further, perceived parental support was associated with diminished egocentrism, while perceived parental rejection was predictive of heightened self-consciousness.Her research interests focus on early adolescent development.His research interests focus on personality and social development during adolescence.His research interests focus on clinical and counseling psychology and psychotherapy.     

Die Prognosegüte von Wahlbörsen und Meinungsumfragen zur Bundestagswahl 2005

In the aftermath of an election it has become customary to systematically compare the predictive accuracy of polls and political stock exchanges. However, most of these analyses do not emerge from real predictions. In this research note, we compare the predictive performance of a time-series model to the accuracy of polls and a political stock market in the 2005 german Bundestag (general) election. Our analysis shows that Wahl$treet, the most significant german political stock exchange, was again closest to the actual results leaving commercial polling institutes behind. Due to the exceptionally large errors of most institutes we briefly discuss how such inaccurate forecasts might affect voting behaviour in the light of social choice theory.     

Death during theft from electric utilities

Utilities that supply power are subject to theft of service and theft of hardware used to provide service. Individuals who try to steal from a power utility risk electrocution. We conducted a retrospective study of all individuals examined by the Jefferson County Coroner Medical Examiner Office from January 1981 through December 2001 and found that 8 individuals died trying to steal from a power utility. All decedents were men, with an average age of 33 years. Seven decedents were stealing copper, and 1 was stealing electricity. Only 1 decedent survived long enough to be admitted to a hospital. Five decedents were intoxicated, 3 with ethanol, 1 with cocaine, and 1 with both cocaine and ethanol. Seven decedents sustained electrical burns in keeping with the high voltage to which they were subjected. The unburned decedent died of laceration of the aorta at its origin from the heart, an injury sustained when the decedent fell from the power pole. All 8 decedents attempted their theft during daylight. Items found in the decedent's pockets, the presence of a ladder nearby, or the presence of electrical tools around the body may help to establish the attempted act of theft.     

‘Three Chinas’ and international organizations after 1997

This article analyzes the effects of the transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty to China in 1997 on the participation of Hong Kong and Taiwan in international organizations. It identifies the conditions under which China tolerates co‐existence with Taiwan as members of eleven intergovernmental organizations as of 1996. It concludes with two observations: one, international organizations are not monolithic entities; two, although China has overwhelming influence over Hong Kong's participation in these organizations, it depends also on how the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government is going to manage its relations with China.     

Debt and the Local Economy: Problems in Benchmarking Local Government Debt Affordability

Debt creation imposes an obligation to repay borrowed funds from a wealth base that for most local governments is capitalized in property values. Therefore, the ability to afford debt is tied to the local economy, a factor often overlooked by localities in the analyses of their own position. However, debt levels are also relative, as the many debt affordability studies among governments and by bond rating agencies suggest. We argue here that economic concentration and interjurisdictional coordination fundamentally provide a broader analytical approach to the question a locality asks: can we afford more debt?