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Biomedical subjects

P C Heaven

Publications and source records attributed to P C Heaven.

15 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2001

Neuroticism and conscientiousness as predictors of emotional, external, and restrained eating behaviors.

OBJECTIVE: We investigated the extent to which different forms of eating behavior as assessed by the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire are related to facets of the Big Five personality domains. METHOD: Respondents were 167 psychology students (126 females and 41 males) who volunteered for the study. RESULTS: Body mass index (BMI) and gender had significant main effects on eating behaviors. These results were moderated by a significant BMI x Gender interaction on emotional eating. Eating behaviors were significantly related to the personality facets associated with Neuroticism and Conscientiousness. DISCUSSION: The results are discussed with reference to previous research on eating behaviors and the nature of Neuroticism and Conscientiousness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Psychosocial correlates of adolescent drug-taking behavior.

This research was designed to test the extent to which personality, environmental factors, and conventional behaviours predict drug-taking among a sample of Australian high school students. Respondents (n = 199; 101 females and 98 males) indicated the extent of their alcohol, tobacco and marijuana use. Correlational analyses showed broad support for the view that personality and environmental factors as well as conventional behaviours are related to drug use. Regression analyses showed that the significant predictors of drug use vary according to the drug in question. In particular, the predictors of mood-enhancing drugs (alcohol and marijuana) appear distinctive from the predictors of tobacco use. The results are discussed in the context of previous research in this area.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1996

Personality and self-reported delinquency: a longitudinal analysis.

This study assessed the personality factors associated with self-reported delinquency. Respondents were 282 14-year-olds who were traced for follow-up 2 years later. The follow-up success rate was more than 80%. In line with previous work which has adopted a trait personality perspective to understanding antisocial and delinquent behaviours, it was predicted that psychoticism, extroversion, and low self-esteem as measured at Time 1 would be significant predictors of self-reported delinquency at Time 2. However, the results of structural equation modelling suggested that the three personality variables explained just over 16% of the variance of delinquency at Time 1, but only 6.61% of the variance of delinquency at Time 2. Alone, psychoticism explained 15.3% of the variance of delinquency at Time 1, but only 4.36% of the variance of delinquency at Time 2. Possible explanations for these findings are discussed and some suggestions for future research are made.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1991

Venturesomeness, impulsiveness, and Eysenck's personality dimensions: a study among Australian adolescents.

In Eysenckian personality theory, the dimension extraversion has traditionally consisted of two elements, sociability and impulsiveness. More recently, however, impulsiveness has become associated with the dimension psychoticism (Rocklin & Revelle, 1981), although subfactors of impulsiveness have been shown to be differentially related to extraversion and psychoticism (S. Eysenck & H. Eysenck, 1977). This study investigates the structures of impulsiveness and venturesomeness and their association with extraversion, emotional stability-neuroticism, and psychoticism among 170 Australian adolescents. Both impulsiveness and venturesomeness were found to be multidimensional, although the subfactors differed slightly from those suggested by the Eysencks. No support was found for the view that impulsiveness narrowly defined is pathological, although the impulsiveness and venturesomeness subfactors were found to be differentially related to extraversion, emotional stability-neuroticism, and psychoticism. The theoretical implications of these findings are briefly discussed.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1990

Structure and demographic correlates of attitudes toward AIDS sufferers.

Two studies investigated the structure and demographic correlates of attitudes toward AIDS sufferers among adult Australians 18 to 75 years of age. Attitudes were found to be multidimensional, with similar dimensions being identified in both samples. In both samples, men were found to be more prejudiced than women.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1989

Type A behaviour and the authoritarian personality.

The demonstration of modest statistical associations between measures of the Type A behaviour pattern (TABP) and some measures of authoritarianism has given rise to a view that the TABP represents little more than an attempt by some individuals to exercise the personality attribute of dominance. The present study examined this view with regard to a wide selection of measures of the authoritarian personality and found that measures of the TABP related only to measures of authoritarianism reflecting authoritarian behaviours. While such correlations indicate a facet of the TABP resembles the attribute of dominance, they do not amount to conceptual equivalence of the TABP and authoritarianism. The conceptual complexity of the TABP demands a more multidimensional view of this explanatory notion in medical psychology.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Beliefs about the spread of the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Beliefs about the spread of the human immunodeficiency virus were determined among a community sample (n = 178:98 women; 80 men) of Australians. In order to reduce the statements to manageable clusters, a principal components analysis was computed which was followed by Varimax rotation for eigenvalues that were greater than unity. Five interpretable factors were extracted which dealt with statements that referred to social contact, chance 1, heterosexual activity, biological matters and chance 2. Three-way (sex x age x education) analyses of variance were computed on the total factor scores. No sex differences were found, although age and educational level appeared to have some influence on beliefs. The findings are discussed in the light of the recent television advertising campaign about the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed1985

Construction and validation of a measure of authoritarian personality.

This paper reports the results of a series of studies in which the construction and validation of a behavioral measure of authoritarianism is reported. Factor analysis of already established behavioral scales (e,g., Ray's (1976) Directiveness scale; the Buss-Durkee (1957) Hostility inventory, etc.) and items especially written for the study resulted in a Revised F scale with a reliability (Cronbach's alpha) of .79 and a rpN of -.45. The items loaded significantly on four factors, namely, Dominance/Leadership, Achievement motivation. Interpersonal conflict and Verbal hostility. Furthermore, validity studies revealed the scale to possess satisfactory validity. It is suggested that this measure be seriously considered as an alternative indicator of levels of authoritarianism.

Journal Article↗
PubMed1977

Do authoritarians hold authoritarian attitudes? The case of South Africa.

This study attempted to check, in an authoritarian culture, Ray's hypothesis that there is no relationship between authoritarian behavior and authoritarian attitudes. Scales measuring these two variables were administered to 38 white Afrikaans-speaking South African college men and women (average age 20.74 years). The correlation between the two scales was--.21 which is not significant. The results were therefore seen as a confirmation of Ray's hypothesis.

Adult↗