Effects of girls' hormonal status on depressive and aggressive symptoms over the course of one year

Associations between hormonal and physical status and girls' depressive affect, aggressive affect, and delinquent behavior were studied over the course of one year. Seventy-two White girls, aged 10–14 at initial data collection, were seen twice. Endocrinological status (estradiol, luteinizing hormone [LH], folicle stimulating hormone [FSH], testosterone, and dehydroepiandosterone sulfate [DHEAS] at Time 1, physical development (menarche, secondary sexual characteristics) and maturational timing at Times 1 and 2 were used to predict self- and maternal reports of depressive affect, and self-reports of aggressive affect and delinquent behavior at Time 2. It was posited that initial endocrinological status, as represented by hormonal categories derived by Warren and Brooks-Gunn [(1989) Mood and Behavior at Adolescence: Evidence for Hormonal Factors, Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism, Vol. 69, pp. 77–83] and reflecting estradiol, LH, and FSH levels, would be associated with affective expression and delinquent behavior one year later. DHEAS, however, was not expected to be associated with affective expression a year later as it is thought to be more indicative of adrenal changes that are in part environmentally mediated. Initial affective expression was hypothesized to account for more of the variation than prior hormonal status. Hormonal categories predicted depressive and aggressive affect a year later, while DHEAS, physical status, and maturational timing did not. Initial hormonal categories were associated with subsequent reports of delinquent behavior, although not after physical status or prior reports of delinquency were entered into the regression. Initial reports of affective expression accounted for a far greater proportion of the variance in aggressive affect and delinquent behavior than did hormonal or physical status.Received Ph.D. from Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota. Research interests include the interpaly among developmental processes during the transitions into and out of adolescence.Received Ph.D. from University of Pennsylvania. Research interests include Girl's psychological adaptation to pubertal change, biosocial aspects of female reproductive events, development of biological and socially at risk children and adolescents.Research interests include: Reproductive endocrinology, anorexia nervosa, neuroendocrinology, adolescence.     

Negotiating group decisions

Conclusion The research on negotiations, coalition formation, and group decision making suggests numerous ways to improve the quality of group decisions ranging from selection and training of group members, development of norms to maximize the amount of relevant information considered by the group, and the selection of an approach to integrate that information. In thinking about managing the process, it is useful to consider what may be done at the time a task force or team is formed, what needs to be done prior to decision making, and what may be done to integrate information and preferences to make high quality decisions. Table 5 organizes the ideas discussed in this article by stages.An interesting question is how overtly a group leader or member may act in managing this process. Groups themselves do not seem to engage in much deliberate planning. They often jump into their tasks only to back off and plan when they find themselves hopelessly frustrated, such as in the MIS task force in our example. Most groups do not have the luxury of team-building training—learning techniques to reach high quality group decisions in a simulated environment. So, it is often up to individual group members to direct the group to use processes that will produce high quality decisions. Jeanne M. Brett is the DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr. Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations at the J.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, III, 60208.     

Cognitive and non‐cognitive predictors of success in adult education programs: Evidence from experimental data with low‐income welfare recipients

Using data on approximately 2,000 low‐income welfare recipients in a three‐site random‐assignment intervention conducted in the early 1990s (the NEWWS), we examine the role of cognitive and non‐cognitive factors in moderating experimental impacts of an adult education training program for women who lacked a high school degree or GED at the time of random assignment. Both cognitive and noncognitive skills (in particular, locus of control) moderate treatment impacts. For the sample as a whole, assignment to an education‐focused program had a statistically significant (albeit modest) 8 percentage point impact on the probability of degree receipt. For those with low cognitive skills, virtually all of these program impacts were eliminated. However, non‐cognitive skills play a substantively important role such that women with high cognitive skills but low non‐cognitive skills are only half as likely to earn a degree as their counterparts with high skills of both types. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.     

Antecedents to the Perpetration of Domestic Violence in Curaçao

Previous international studies have found collectivism and low gender empowerment to contribute to higher domestic violence perpetration by males, compared to females. Little is known about gender differences in domestic violence perpetration prevalence in collectivist countries with high gender empowerment, for example Curaçao. Curaçao demonstrates gender similarity in committing domestic violence, resembling Western countries: 25–33 % have committed psychological domestic violence, 11–17 % physical violence, and 1–6 % sexual violence. Antecedents to the perpetration of domestic violence are similar for both sexes as well. Domestic violence victimization, especially in cases of severe physical violence, increases the probability of becoming a perpetrator. Other perpetrator risk factors are a high education (psychological violence) and having children in the household (physical violence).     

Disputants' perspectives on the differences between mediation and arbitration

Conclusion Our study of grievance mediation in the coal industry expands existing knowledge about mediation in three important respects. First, we have shown that mediation can be as successful in resolving disputes when it is involuntary as when it is voluntary. Second, disputants with experience in both mediation and arbitration substantially prefer mediation to arbitration. Third, by combining the second conclusion with the results of other studies that show mediation is preferred over court adjudication, we suggest that mediation is generally preferred to adjudication, regardless of the particular type of adjudication—arbitration or court. Stephen B. Goldberg is Professor of Law at Northwestern University Law School, 357 East Chicago Ave., Chicago, Ill. 60610.Jeanne M. Brett is DeWitt W. Buchanan, Jr. Professor of Dispute Resolution and Organizations at the J. L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, Ill. 60208.This article is based in part upon research reported in Brett and Goldberg, 1983.     

Employee concerns regarding self-managing work teams: A multidimensional justice perspective

The increase in the use of self-managing work teams in organizations has been accompanied by growing employee resistance and concern about what such dramatic changes mean to workers. Using an organizational justice perspective, this chapter identifies and examines employee concerns about the move to self-managing work teams in two Fortune 500 organizations. Employee fairness concerns regarding three types of justice—distributive, procedural, and interactional—are highlighted. Findings suggest that to address employee fairness concerns regarding the move to self-managing work teams, managers should act distributively, procedurally, and interactionally justly.[Self-managing work teams are] the right way and the only way to be productive.—Self-managing work team member in a Fortune 500 company