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.