Models of cognition and affect in perceptions of well-being

How do people arrive at assessments of their own life quality? A series of models was developed to provide an interpretation of the way the factors of cognition and affect operate along with evaluations of specific life concerns (domains) in the perception of well-being. Following previous research, cognition was defined operationally as a factor which accounts for the covariance among a set of assessments of life-as-a-whole after affect, as measured by Bradburn's scales, is partialled out and after allowance is made for the presence of correlated measurement errors. It was found that loadings on the cognitive factor, and hence the interpretation of this factor, changed little despite quite large changes in the models. Moreover, in all major comparisons, models that contained the cognitive factor fitted the data better than models that did not. Models that included affect as the only variable intervening between the domains and the life-as-a-whole factor led to results that were intuitively difficult to accept. In the preferred model both affect and cognition were positioned as intervening variables. In this model it was found that the domain evaluations had no direct impact on life-as-a-whole assessments — the contribution of the domains was indirect by way of their association with cognition and affect. It was hypothesised that associated with each domain was a domain-specific element of affect and a domain-specific element of cognition. The linear additive relation found by previous researchers between domain evaluations and life-as-a-whole assessments would then be explainable as a statistical result arising from the summing of the domain-specific elements of affect and cognition.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/43703/1/11205_2004_Article_BF00292640.pd

Application of Structure Equation Modeling for Inferring a Serial Transcriptional Regulation in Yeast

Revealing the gene regulatory systems among DNA and proteins in living cells is one of the central aims of systems biology. In this study, I used Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) in combination with stepwise factor analysis to infer the protein-DNA interactions for gene expression control from only gene expression profiles, in the absence of protein information. I applied my approach to infer the causalities within the well-studied serial transcriptional regulation composed of GAL-related genes in yeast. This allowed me to reveal the hierarchy of serial transcriptional regulation, including previously unclear protein-DNA interactions. The validity of the constructed model was demonstrated by comparing the results with previous reports describing the regulation of the transcription factors. Furthermore, the model revealed combinatory regulation by Gal4p and Gal80p. In this study, the target genes were divided into three types: those regulated by one factor and those controlled by a combination of two factors

Validation of Self-Report Measures Using Ratings By Others

A set of ratings by others was obtained in conjunction with a collection of self-report data on subjective quality of life. Respondents and two or three "relevant others" nominated by them rated the respondents' satisfaction with aspects of their life. The correlations between respondent-respondent, respondent-other, and other-other ratings provide estimates of the convergent and discriminant validity of the self-ratings and ratings by others. The results of these analyses provide evidence for the external validity of self-ratings in the quality of life area. More importantly, they illustrate the possibility of using ratings by other as a validation criterion for self-ratings in general. The validity of ratings by others who vary in their relationship with their respondents is also explored, and suggestions for further uses of ratings by others are providedPeer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/69039/2/10.1177_004912417600400305.pd

Teacher Ratings of Children's Behavior Problems and Functional Impairment Across Gender and Ethnicity:Construct Equivalence of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire

The present study examined construct equivalence of the teacher Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and compared mean scores in an ethnically diverse sample of children living in the Netherlands. Elementary schoolteachers completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire for 2,185 children aged 6 to 10 years of the four largest ethnic groups in the Netherlands, namely native Dutch (n = 684) and Moroccan (n = 702), Turkish (n = 434), and Surinamese (n = 365) immigrant children. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis suggested the factor structure of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire to be invariant across children's ethnicity and gender. Additionally, the factor structure appeared to be similar for Dutch and Surinamese teachers. However, mean scores on emotional problems, hyperactivity, conduct problems, prosocial behavior, and impairment varied significantly according to ethnicity and gender. Mean scores on peer problems differed significantly for boys and girls, but not across ethnicity. Whether mean differences reflect a method bias or actual differences in classroom behaviors is discussed and needs further research

Quality of mother-child interaction, differences in sexual attitudes, and inter-generational disagreement on sexuality.

The current paper examines the frequency of inter-generational disagreement reported by mothers and adolescents as a function of the quality of their interaction, and the match between their sexual attitudes. We expected that the quality of family interaction would act as a "family asset" that would enable members of families to manage and control the tensions caused by differences in (sexual) attitudes. Data on 319 British adolescent-mother pairs were analysed using structural equation modelling, revealing good support for these expectations: differences in sexual attitudes were more strongly linked to inter-family disagreement in low quality of mother-child interaction families than in high quality of motherchild interaction families. Implications of the study are discussed. © 1997 OPA (Overseas Publishers Association)

Social Support and Health: A Theoretical Formulation Derived from King's Conceptual Framework

This article describes the development and initial empirical testing of a theoretical formulation of social support, family, health, and child health derived from Imogene King's conceptual framework for nursing. A correlational design was used to test the formulation with 103 families who have children with diabetes mellitus. Three hypotheses were sup ported : parents' social support had a direct and positive effect on family health, parents' social support and child's social support were positively related, and illness factors had a direct and negative effect on child health. Both the supported and unsupported hypotheses are discussed in terms of the present substantive knowledge base and evidence of validity for King's framework. Direction for further theory development and research are identified.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/68995/2/10.1177_089431848900200309.pd

The impact of breastfeeding patterns on regional differences in infant mortality in Germany, 1910

This paper examines the impact of breastfeeding practices on the large regional differences in infant mortality in Germany around 1910. Breastfeeding is strongly negatively associated with infant mortality and remains so after controlling for public health measures and for demographic, economic, and social factors that also affect infant mortality. But it contributes much less to regional differences in infant mortality than do access to medical care, percentage illegitimate and marital fertility. Breastfeeding is less important than these other factors because it affects fewer causes of death and has a smaller impact on cause-specific infant mortality rates. L'auteur étudie l'impact des pratiques d'allaitement sur les grandes différences régionales de mortalité infantile observées en Allemagne aux alentours de 1910. Il existe une association fortement négative entre l'allaitement et la mortalité infantile, même quand on contrôle les facteurs démographiques, économiques, sociaux et de politique sanitaire, qui, eux aussi, affectent la mortalité infantile. Mais les différences régionales de mortalité infantile s'expliquent nettement moins par l'allaitement que par l'accessibilité des soins médicaux, le taux d'illégitimité des naissances et la fécondité légitime. L'allaitement est un facteur de moindre importance que ceux-ci parce qu'il n'a d'impact que sur un petit nombre de causes de décès, et un faible impact sur les taux de mortalité infantile par cause.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/42730/1/10680_2005_Article_BF01796777.pd