Adolescent Impulsivity: Findings From a Community Sample

Impulsivity is central to several psychopathological states in adolescence. However, there is little consensus concerning the definition of impulsivity and its core dimensions. In response to this lack of consensus, Whiteside and Lynam (2001, Pers. Individ. Differ. 30, 669–689) have developed the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale, which is able to distinguish 4 dimensions of impulsivity in adults: Urgency, lack of Premeditation, lack of Perseverance, and Sensation seeking. The question arises of whether these 4 dimensions also exist in adolescents and also of whether gender differences can be observed. A sample of teenagers (314 girls and 314 boys) completed a French version of the scale (Van der Linden et al., Eur. J. Psychol. Assess., 2005). Based on exploratory and confirmatory analyses, the 4-factor model is replicated in girls, boys, and the whole sample. Concerning gender differences, girls have a higher score for Urgency and boys a higher score for Sensation seeking. Overall, this study suggests that the UPPS is a promising tool for studying impulsivity in adolescence. Assistant, Child and Adolescent Psychology Unit, University of Geneva, Switzerland, PhD in preparation: Impulsivity, cognitive biases, cognitive deficits, and antisocial behavior in adolescence. Received PhD in 1988 from the University of Liège, Belgium. Major research topics are cognitive biases and cognitive deficits in psychopathology, impulsivity and executive functions, memory deficits in amnesia and Alzheimer's disease, and cognitive rehabilitation in schizophrenia and Alzheimer's disease.     

Reactions to Perceived Fairness: The Impact of Mortality Salience and Self-Esteem on Ratings of Negative Affect

In correspondence with terror management theory, the findings of two experiments show that reminders of death lead to stronger effects of perceived fairness on ratings of negative affect. Furthermore, in line with the theory's self-esteem mechanism, results of Experiment 1 suggest that state self-esteem may mediate this relationship between mortality salience and fairness. In further correspondence with the self-esteem mechanism, findings of Experiment 2 reveal that introducing an activity (after reminders of death and before the fairness manipulation) with which people can reaffirm positive conceptions of themselves leads people to react less strongly to variations in fairness than not introducing such a self-affirmation activity. These findings suggest that people react especially strongly to perceived fairness when they are in need for a boost in their self-esteem. Implications for the psychology of fairness are discussed.     

Explaining Ethnic Autonomy Regimes in Latin America

Through a systematic examination of nine cases, the author identifies factors that enabled indigenous movements in five Latin American countries to secure formal recognition of politico-territorial autonomy regimes. All nine cases occurred within the framework of a larger regime bargain—either (1) peace talks intended to end armed struggle when the regime faced a serious challenge to maintain political order or territorial control, or (2) a severe crisis of legitimacy and governability that forced political elites to renegotiate fundamental regime structures via the process of constitutional reform. In the five successful cases, changes in the political opportunity structure occurred that favored indigenous autonomy claimants. These changes were the opening of access to decision-making spheres and the emergence of an influential ally. Donna Lee Van Cott is assistant professor of political science at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. She is author ofThe Friendly Liquidation of the Past: The Politics of Diversity in Latin America and editor ofIndigenous Peoples and Democracy in Latin America.     

Social and emotional detachment in Dutch children

Characteristics associated with psychopathy were, along with the symptoms of aggressive and antisocial behaviour, rated by parents in a community sample of 2535 four-to-eighteen-year-old Dutch children in 2003. An analysis of principal components suggested two dimensions of psychopathic characteristics. The first dimension comprised egocentric characteristics and the second unemotional characteristics. Regression analyses further showed that antisocial behaviour could be predicted by egocentric characteristics, while aggressive behaviour could be predicted by the interaction of egocentric and unemotional characteristics. To avoid unnecessary stigmatisation of youngsters, it is proposed to label the egocentric dimension as the 'social detachment' factor and the unemotional dimension as the 'emotional detachment' factor.     

Capacity builders for governance: community-driven reconstruction in the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo

Community-driven reconstruction (CDR) has become a new paradigm in post-conflict development. It combines infrastructure restoration with introducing good governance at the local level. Recent evaluations show that governance objectives are not easily met and significant change cannot be demonstrated. This paper adds to this argument on the basis of ethnographic research on a CDR programme in eastern DRC. It seeks to find explanations for the lack of demonstrable governance impact in the content and implementation of training. It identifies room for improvement by better adjusting capacity building to locally prevailing accountability mechanisms and by coordinating capacity building with other development programmes.     

The relationship of punishment- and victim-based moral orientation to prosocial, externalizing, and norm trespassing behaviour in delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents: a validation study of the Moral Orientation Measure

This study examined the reliability and validity of the Moral Orientation Measure (MOM), which was administered to 75 juvenile delinquents and 579 non-delinquent adolescents from lower socio-economic and educational backgrounds. Confirmatory factor analysis of a two-factor model, with punishment- and victim-based moral orientation as factors, showed an adequate fit to the data, indicating construct validity of the MOM. Moderate associations between moral orientation and sociomoral reasoning, as well as empathy, were also considered indicative of construct validity. Additional evidence for construct validity was found in only small associations between moral orientation and social desirability and verbal intelligence. Stronger victim-based orientation proved to be associated with less norm trespassing behaviour in non-delinquent adolescents and more prosocial behaviour in juvenile delinquents, which was considered indicative of concurrent validity. The results of this study strengthen the case for the MOM as a reliable and valid instrument to assess moral development in adolescents at risk of behavioural maladjustment, showing that moral orientation is differently associated with morally relevant behaviour in delinquent and non-delinquent adolescents.

How Do Adolescents Manage Information in the Relationship with Their Parents? A Latent Class Analysis of Disclosure,Keeping Secrets,and Lying

Journal of Youth and Adolescence - The use of disclosure and concealment strategies by adolescents in the relationship with their parents may have important implications for their adjustment. Few...     

We Need to Compare,but How? Measurement Equivalence in Comparative Public Administration

In addition to public administrations and public managers, there is increasing interest in studying citizens’ interactions with and views toward government from a comparative perspective in order to put theories to the test using cross‐national surveys. However, this will only succeed if we adequately deal with the diverse ways in which respondents in different countries and regions perceive and respond to survey measures. This article examines the concept of cross‐national measurement equivalence in public administration research and explores methods for establishing equivalence. Two methodologies are examined that test and correct for measurement nonequivalence: multiple‐group confirmatory factor analysis and multilevel mixture item response theory. These techniques are used to test and establish the cross‐national measurement equivalence of two popular measurement constructs: citizen satisfaction with public services and trust in public institutions. Results show that appropriately dealing with nonequivalence accounts for different forms of biases that otherwise would be undetected. The article contributes to the methodological advancement in studying public administration beyond domestic borders.     

The gender gap in populist radical-right voting: examining the demand side in Western and Eastern Europe

ABSTRACT

In most countries, men are more likely to vote for parties of the populist radical right (PRR) than women. The authors argue here that there are two mechanisms that might potentially explain this gender gap: mediation (women's attitudes and characteristics differ from men's in ways that explain the PRR vote) and moderation (women vote for different reasons than men). They apply these two mechanisms to general theories of support for PRR parties—the socio-structural model, the discontent model, and the policy vote model—and test these on a large sample of voters in seventeen Western and Eastern European countries. The study shows that the gender gap is produced by a combination of moderation and mediation. Socio-structural differences between men and women exist, but the extent to which they explain the gender gap is limited, and primarily restricted to post-Communist countries. Furthermore, women generally do not differ from men in their level of nativism, authoritarianism or discontent with democracy. Among women, however, these attitudes are less strongly related to a radical-right vote. This suggests that men consider the issues of the radical right to be more salient, but also that these parties deter women for reasons other than the content of their political programme. While the existing research has focused almost exclusively on mediation, we show that moderation and mediation contribute almost equally to the gender gap.