Although certainly not alone, the field of police and criminal psychology seems to be an area that is highly susceptible to myths and misinformation. Whether it is the notion that police have higher suicide and divorce rates or that crime rates greatly increase during a full moon, there are many commonly held beliefs that are not supported by scientific evidence. This article discusses research conducted by the author and his students over the past several years to investigate the accuracy of some common beliefs in police and criminal psychology. Four principles are proposed that, if considered, might reduce the level of misinformation in police and criminal psychology. These principles include using primary sources, comparing apples with apples, avoiding the oversimplification of what is being studied, and understanding that in general, human judgment is not a good predictor of behavior. more...

Work, health, diversity, and social justice: Expanding and extending the discussion.  Borges, Nicole J.; McNally, Christopher J.; Maguire, Colleen P.; Werth, James L. Jr.; Britton, Paula J.; Counseling Psychologist, Vol 36(1), Jan 2008. pp. 127-131. [Comment/Reply] Abstract:

Reply by the current authors to the comments made by Blustein, Catraio, Coutinho, and Murphy (see record 2008-00642-005), Chwalisz (see record 2008-00642-006), Conyers (see record 2008-00642-007), and Elliott and Johnson (see record 2008-00642-008) on the original articles (see records 2008-00642-002 through -004). Several of the reaction articles noted that although we highlighted HIV disease, the number of people who have or will have one or more chronic health conditions is staggering. The need for counseling psychologists to be able to integrate health-related issues into research and practice will only increase. Therefore, it behooves our profession to ensure that we are professionally competent to assist people. This, of course, does not mean that everyone must do extensive training or add multiple courses to an overburdened schedule. The authors of the reactions emphasized the need to continue in the counseling psychology tradition by considering context and its implications when providing services to those with health conditions who are currently working or are trying to enter or reenter the world of work. We very much appreciated the reaction authors' overall positive comments regarding the research that we conducted and described. We agree entirely with those reaction authors who emphasized that although helping individuals and small groups is important, truly making a difference in the work lives of persons with chronic health conditions and disabilities requires involvement in the development and successful enactment of public policy. more...

Personality, faking, and convergent validity: A warning concerning warning statements.  Robson, Sean M.; Jones, Andrew; Abraham, Joseph; Human Performance, Vol 21(1), 2008. pp. 89-106. [Journal Article] Abstract:

Personality measures continue to be criticized for their susceptibility to faking and socially desirable responding. The present study examined the effects of warning applicants against faking on convergent validity of self-observer ratings. Four hundred sixty-four participants completed personality inventories in either a warned or unwarned condition. Results indicated that warning statements resulted in lower mean scores for some personality dimensions but did not improve convergent validity for any of these dimensions. Implications of these findings are discussed in relation to employment selection and future research. more...

Built environment and psychosocial factors associated with trail proximity and use.  Abildso, Christiaan G.; Zizzi, Sam; Abildso, Laurie C.; Steele, Jenessa C.; Gordon, Paul M.; American Journal of Health Behavior, Vol 31(4), Jul-Aug 2007. pp. 374-383. [Journal Article] Abstract:

Objectives: To explore the relationships among neighborhood built environment characteristics, psychosocial factors, perceived and objective proximity assessments, and use of a community rail-trail. Method: Telephone survey data of adults (n = 788) in Morgantown, WV, were classified into one of 4 distance-perception categories based on actual (using geographic information systems technology) and perceived proximity of a community rail-trail. Results: Differences in psychosocial barriers to physical activity (P = .037) and perceived neighborhood walkability (P < .001) were associated with perceived proximity to and use of a community trail. Conclusion: Specific attention should be given to address neighborhood and psychosocial barriers when constructing and promoting community trails. more...

Childhood sexual abuse, attachment, and trauma symptoms in college females: The moderating role of attachment.  Aspelmeier, Jeffery E.; Elliott, Ann N.; Smith, Christopher H.; Child Abuse & Neglect, Vol 31(5), May 2007. pp. 549-566. [Journal Article] Abstract:

Objective: The present study tests a model linking attachment, childhood sexual abuse (CSA), and adult psychological functioning. It expands on previous work by assessing the degree to which attachment security moderates the relationship between a history of child sexual abuse and trauma-related symptoms in college females. Method: Self-reports of attachment, childhood sexual abuse, and adult psychological functioning were obtained from 324 female undergraduate students attending a Southeastern U.S. university. Separate analyses were conducted examining the potential moderating role for close-adult, parent-child, and peer attachment styles. Results: In this sample, 37.7% of participants reported sexually abusive experiences prior to age 16. History of child sexual abuse was consistently associated with higher levels of trauma-related symptoms and lower levels of attachment security in close-adult, parent-child, and peer relations. Additionally, attachment security was consistently associated with trauma-related symptoms. Close-adult, parent-child, and peer attachment differentially moderated trauma-related symptoms. Specifically, in peer relationships, the strength of the relationships between attachment measures and trauma symptoms were greater for CSA survivors than for non-abused participants. The opposite pattern of results was found for attachment in parental and close-adult relationships. Conclusion: Results suggest that attachment security in peer and parent relationships protects against the negative effects of CSA, while only weak, marginally significant protective effects were observed for close-adult relationships. Only modest support was found for the conceptualization of attachment as a moderator of the relationship between CSA and trauma-related symptoms. However, the results suggest that attachment security at least partially protects against negative CSA outcomes. more...