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Biomedical subjects

J W Selby

Publications and source records attributed to J W Selby.

16 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1984

Suicidal death: social reactions to bereaved survivors.

The present investigation examined the reactions of persons to specific individuals who have actually experienced suicidal bereavement. Persons who knew another who had experienced bereavement following a suicidal death were interviewed and their responses were compared with those of persons who knew others bereaved as a result of accident and as a result of natural causes. The impact of the cause of death suggests that suicide is perceived as a more difficult type of death with which to cope; interactions wit survivors of suicidal death are seen as somewhat more stressful. The cause of death may have less of an impact on reactions to the bereaved than research has suggested when the focus is on responses of persons who actually know the survivors.

Adaptation, Psychological↗
PubMed1981

Victim emotional response: effects on social reaction to victims of rape.

Two studies examined the impact of variations in a rape victim's emotional reactions on others' perceptions of her. The victim was presented as emotionally expressive or emotionally controlled. In one study written descriptions were used, while in the second, videotape presentations were employed. In both studies, the emotionally expressive victim was rated as more credible. In the videotape presentation, additional differences indicated that the emotionally controlled victim is perceived as having less aversion for the rape and was liked less. Results are discussed in terms of observers' expectations concerning rape victim reactions and the social climate after a rape.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Effects of situational stress and sex on interpersonal distance preference.

The prediction that people prefer greater distance between themselves and others when they anticipate a stressful situation was tested. The sex of the "other" was expected to have an interactive effect on distance preference. Written descriptions of settings in which people anticipated future situations of high and low stress were presented and Ss indicated seating preference. When anticipating more stressful situations, more distance from another person was preferred. Males preferred to sit closer to the opposite sex while females preferred to sit closer to the same sex. These findings are consistent with an interpretation of interpersonal distance as a moderator of stress. The sex of the Ss and of their interaction partners must be considered in studies of interpersonal distance preference.

Choice Behavior↗
PubMed1980

Attributions for delinquent behaviour: impact of consensus and consistency information.

Male and female subjects made judgements concerning the delinquent behaviours of a male stimulus person. A video-taped interview with the youth was presented along with a 'clinic folder' containing information about the consensus and the consistency of his behaviours. An interaction between these information dimensions was predicted. The results revealed three-way interactions (consensusoeconsistencyoesex of observer) on some items, but simple main effects on other items. The results were discussed in terms of the focus of attention created by the various items. When the focus was on the actor, consistency information dominated. A focus on the environment led to reliance on the consensus variations. Directing attention to both causal factors produced the interaction.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1980

Families of incest: a collation of clinical impressions.

The present paper provides a collation of the impressions of clinical workers regarding families in which father-daughter incest has incurred. Responses of the workers indicate that the incestuous relationship is typically not limited to one or two sexual encounters, but the relationship can become a stable part of family life. The sexual interactions appear to parallel sexual practices in non-incestuous relationships. Daughters involved in incest are viewed as submissive, passive, fearful, whereas the fathers are viewed as dominating, impulsive, and using violence or threats to obtain the daughters sexual co-operation. Mothers are viewed as weak and as failing to provide help for their daughters. The picture of the family in which father-daughter incest occurs is one in which unhappy people are unable to establish satisfying human relationships.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1979

Reactions to the family of the suicide.

The present study investigated reactions to the survivors of a family member's suicide. One hundred and twenty seven adults, members of a large urban Protestant church, responded to a newspaper account of a suicide in which the following factors were systematically varied: sex of the suicide, causal locus of the suicide, and whether the cause was prior or immediate to the suicide. The design was a 2 (sex of respondent) x 2 (sex of suicide) x 2 (locus of cause internal or external to the individual) x 2 (temporally remote cause or immediate cause). Results indicated a slight tendency for males to be somewhat more socially accepting of the surviving spouse of a suicide. There was also a significant interaction between sex of respondent x sex of the suicide, such that respondents indicated they would feel less tension in talking with the surviving family of a suicide of the same sex.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Sex differences among clients of an emergency care unit for alcoholism.

Compared male and female clients of an emergency care unit for the treatment of alcohol-related crises on a number of basic characteristics and procedural variables. Female clients were found to be significantly younger and more likely to be employed than males. The two groups did not differ reliably with respect to educational level or marital status. Females were found to be referred to the center by Alcoholics Anonymous and family members more often than were male clients, and male clients were referred more often by police than were female clients. The two groups also differed with respect to disposition at time of discharge, with more females judged as not needing additional treatment and more males viewed as needing additional treatment, but family or patient was not ready at the time.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

Attitudes toward seeking pastoral help in the event of the death of a close friend or relative.

This study examined correlates of seeking help from clergymen in the event of the death of a close friend or relative. Demographic factors and attitudes toward seeking pastoral help in the event of the death of a close friend or relative were examined in 116 subjects. Half the subjects were undergraduates and half were from local congregations. Age, sex, socioeconomic status, religious affiliation, marital status, and intensity of religious belief were related to favorableness of help-seeking attitudes. Findings concerning sex of the subject were consistent with those in more general studies on help seeking. The remainder of the findings were in the opposite direction from comparable studies where the source of help was a mental health professional and the circumstances for seeking help are unspecified.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

Personality characteristics related to cross-situational consistency of interpersonal distance.

Explored the relation of personality dimensions to cross-situational consistency in interpersonal distance. Sixty-five male and 52 female undergraduates were given the Personality Research Form A and the Maudsley Personality Inventory as well as four forms of a measure of interpersonal distance preference which covered 10 different situations. The relationship between the personality dimensions and the consistency of interpersonal distance choice was measured by multiple regression. Neuroticism emerged as having the most reliable relation to consistency, confirming previous data in this area. Multiple Rs ranging from .36 to .53 indicated that consistency may be reliably related to personality dimensions and that conceptualizing consistency as an individual difference or moderating variable may partially explain the difficulty in predicting directly from personality dimensions as the situation varies.

Female↗