Self-reported sleep durations of college students: normative data for 1978-79, 1988-89, and 2000-01.

In 2000-2001 academic year the frequency distribution of hours slept per night was not significantly different from distributions of 1978-79 and 1988-89.

The changing sleep habits of university students: an update.

Using data collected from 9,543 university undergraduates, we noted that over three decades, the median hours of sleep reported by these students has decreased by more than one hour.

Striking changes in the sleep satisfaction of university students over the last two decades.

Over two decades, our data document a substantial linear increase in the percentage of university students who self-reported dissatisfaction with their sleep, i.e., 24% in 1978, 53% in 1988, and 71% in 2000.

Stamina in adults: is attachment style a factor?

The study was designed to extend inquiry on adult attachment style to include the variable of personal stamina. The data were derived from an anonymous survey administered to 163 college students (82 women and 81 men) in introductory psychology classes. Attachment style was measured by the Close Relationship Questionnaire, based on a four-category scheme suggested by Bartholomew. Stamina was evaluated with a self-report scale developed by R. A. Hicks. The pattern of statistically significant differences (p < .001) in the relative frequency with which respondents self-identified with descriptions of each of the four attachment styles on the questionnaire diverged somewhat from those reported previously. Respondents who identified themselves as most accurately described by the questionnaire's alternative defined as characterizing secure attachment had significantly higher stamina scores than did those who self-endorsed the fearful or preoccupied alternatives in that categorical measure. No other pairwise comparisons of stamina scores were statistically significant. The results provide preliminary support for the hypothesis that secure attachment is more facilitative of personal stamina than are insecure styles. Methodological limits on inferences and corresponding alternative interpretations, the potential effectiveness of defensive suppression of the attachment system in dismissing-avoidant adults, and directions for research are discussed.

On the epidemiology of violent juvenile crime in America: a total arrest-referenced approach.

The catalyst for this study was a widely publicized U.S. government-sponsored report forecasting alarming increases in violent juvenile crime. Working from data for the entire United States given in annual FBI Uniform Crime Reports, the study presented a descriptive statistical, historical profile of violent juvenile crime in America based on the percentage of all arrests for criminal homicide, forcible rape, robbery, and aggravated assault attributable to juveniles, 1941-1995. Markedly different patterns resulted from focusing on rates and rates of change calculated for 1-, 5-, and 10-yr. periods. Thus, for example, the most recent 5-yr. trend for criminal homicide indicated an average annual increase of 7.81% in the incidence of arrests attributable to juveniles, with a corresponding projected increase of 117% from 1995 to 2010. An average annual rate increase of 5.13% was indicated over the most recent 10-yr. period, leading to a predicted increase of 77% in 2010 as compared to 1995. By sharp contrast, focusing on the 15.3% rate increase which occurred in the most recent single year led to the expectation that juvenile arrests will account for 229% more of this nation's criminal homicide arrests in 2015 than was the case in 1995. In every case, widely discrepant, 15-yr. projection differences such as those noted above, are magnified considerably if we assume validity of U.S. census estimates concerning increases in the size of America's juvenile population over the time period considered. Results of the study are taken to underscore the importance of qualifying archival data-based inferences about violent juvenile crime, in terms of the specific measure(s) used and time-frame context(s) of the unit(s) of analysis.

Political identification and perceptions of homelessness: attributed causality and attitudes on public policy.

The study investigated relationships between political orientation, causal perceptions of poverty, and attitudes toward government programs for the poor. The test sample of 200 women and 200 men were recruited from introductory psychology classes. In support of hypotheses based on previous research and Weiner's attribution-emotion-action theory, when compared with self-identified Democrats, self-identified Republicans (a) were significantly more inclined to attribute homelessness to internal vs external factors and (b) expressed significantly less favorable attitudes toward publically funded programs for the homeless. Sex differences were nonsignificant. Conceptual-empirical and methodological implications are discussed. Limitations on inferences from these data and directions for inquiry into the development of individual difference in political cognitions and public policy attitudes are considered.

Relative frequency of positive and negative affect in déjà connu experiences of impression formation.

College students, 250 women and 250 men, were surveyed concerning their experience in the typical situation in which they encounter someone who reminds them of someone else. 94% of the respondents indicated having positive and favorable feelings about the remembered other, while only 6% of the sample reported negative and unfavorable feelings about the remembered person in such circumstances. Alternative interpretations of the data are considered, with attention focused on implications for the study of interpersonal attitudes in contemporary society.

Exploring the everyday life incidence of déjà connu experiences in impression formation.

This study explored the everyday life incidence and nature of what we refer to as déjà connu experiences, i.e., situations where a newly encountered individual reminds the perceiver of someone else. The data were obtained in a survey of (250 women and 250 men) college students. The universality of déjà connu was indicated by significant differences in selection of the Very Often (9.4%), Often (25.8%), Occasionally (50.6%), Rarely (14.2%), and Never (0%) categories on a forced-choice item concerning frequency of such experiences. An inverted-U hypothesis is suggested as an heuristic model to describe the relationship between familiarity with any given individual and that person's "remembered other" referent value for the perceiver.

Changes in the self-reported consistency of normal habitual sleep duration of college students (1978 and 1992).

Changes in the consistency of self-reported sleep habits within two large samples of 763 and 782 college students were assessed for 1978 and 1992. Noteworthy changes over the 14-yr. period included significant decreases in the percentage of students who claimed stable (> or = 5-year) sleep-duration habits and the percentage reporting satisfaction with their sleep.

The incidence of sleep problems among type A and type B college students: changes over a ten-year period (1982-1992).

Ten years ago we reported that Type A scoring students were twice as likely as their Type B peers to report sleep problems. In an exact 1992 replication of that study, no Type A-B differences in the frequency of self-reported sleep problems were observed; however, the over-all incidence of sleep problems among the 753 college students had increased substantially.

The changing sleep habits of college students.

By collating and inspecting data from previously published studies (N=7,958), we noted that over a 20-year period, the median hours of sleep reported by college students had dropped by one hour.

Birth complications and the distribution of handedness.

In an attempt to clarify the relationship between self-reported birth complications and handedness, the handedness distributions of 181 college students who reported birth complications and 1320 students who reported no complications were compared. The results suggest a clear but modest shift in the birth complications group away from the dextral end of the continuum. However these data did not validate the hypothesis that left-handedness results from birth complications.

Reliability of seasonal variation in births of left-handed women.

Recently Leviton and Kilty reported that the birth dates of left-handed girls in elementary school display a seasonal trend which peaks in November. We report here a failure to replicate this finding for 257 male and 323 female college students. Further, we have considered the likelihood that the original finding was due to sampling error rather than speculating that environmental factors associated with the season of birth are implicated in the etiology of left-handedness, as Leviton and Kilty have stated.

Handedness and sleep duration.

The differences in habitual sleep duration and absolute deviations in habitual sleep duration from the normative mean between 60 left-, 36 mixed- and 125 right-handed college students were tested. It was found that mixed-handers tend to sleep less and as a group show significantly greater deviations in habitual sleep durations than either left- or right-handers. The heuristic value of this relationship for future research was discussed briefly.

Locus of control in short and long sleepers.

As a test of the hypothesis that consistent short sleepers tend to be less reflective and more conformist in their thinking than long sleepers, the I-E scale scores of 15 short and 15 long sleepers were compared. Consistent with this hypothesis, we found that to a significant degree, short sleepers view themselves as more externally regulated than long sleepers.