A Clinical Psychologist Who Studies Alcohol

In this article, I describe why I believe the study of alcohol use and its consequences is a rich and rewarding area of scholarly activity that touches on multiple disciplines in the life sciences, the behavioral sciences, and the humanities. I then detail the circuitous path I took to become an alcohol researcher and the various challenges I encountered when starting up my research program at the University of Missouri. A major theme of my journey has been my good fortune encountering generous, brilliant scholars who took an interest in me and my career and who helped guide and assist me over the course of my career. I also highlight selected, other professional activities I've been involved in, focusing on editorial work, quality assurance, and governance of professional societies. While the focus is on my training and work as a psychologist, the overarching theme is the interpersonal context that nurtures careers.

Politics or paranoia: Reading between the lines when undertaking social research studies

Although reports of political issues in social research were popular in the 1960s and 1970s, more recent accounts of nursing research largely neglect this area. This paper highlights such political issues, offering guidance to help equip researchers to deal with these.

Published reports of research studies necessarily present a linear account of how, and how well, the research question was answered. It is rare for research to follow so straightforward a path, because interwoven is a little discussed, but not uncommon, political arena. Standard texts offer plenty of guidance on research ethics, but there is little advice to help researchers walking a thin line between diverse political elements. This paper draws on the literature and provides examples from the authors' research to illustrate some of the key political scenarios researchers may face. The advantages and disadvantages of insider/outsider status are discussed in order to present a 'matrix of involvement' to illustrate key issues. It is suggested that as the pressure to undertake funded research rises there is likely to be an exponential increase in the complex political environments in which research takes place. This paper offers some pointers towards reading between the political lines and navigating research successfully towards a conclusion.

Childhood and adolescent sexual abuse and subsequent sexual risk behavior: evidence from controlled studies, methodological critique, and suggestions for research

Childhood and adolescent sexual abuse (CSA) is associated with a wide variety of adverse psychological and health outcomes, including negative sexual health outcomes. In this paper, we review the literature investigating the relation between CSA and subsequent sexual risk behaviors among men and women. Previous research has found a relatively consistent association between CSA and higher rates of sexual risk behaviors, particularly sex trading, more sexual partners, and an earlier age of first intercourse. However, there are a number of limitations to this research, including lack of a consistent definition of CSA, failure to investigate gender as a moderator, and possible confounding of the CSA experience with some of the sexual behavior outcome variables. Further, although there appears to be an association between CSA and later sexual risk behavior, researchers have not established whether this association is causal. Suggestions for future research and implications for clinical practice are discussed.

The correlates and consequences of newspaper reports of research on sex differences

Correlates and consequences of newspaper accounts of research on sex differences were examined. In Study 1, articles from high-circulation newspapers were coded for the degree to which biological factors were used to explain sex differences. Results showed that political conservatism and traditional attitudes toward gender roles coded from other newspaper sections predicted greater use of biological explanations than did political liberalism and less traditional attitudes toward gender roles. In Studies 2 and 3, participants read a fictional newspaper article reporting research on a gender difference that cited either biological or sociocultural factors as explaining the difference. Results showed that exposure to biological explanations significantly increased participants' endorsement of gender stereotypes. Moreover, exposure to social explanations significantly increased participants' belief in the mutability of human behavior. Together, these studies show that political ideology influences how the popular press reports research findings and that such reporting in turn affects readers' beliefs and attitudes.

Progress and controversy in the study of posttraumatic stress disorder

Research on posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been notable for controversy as well as progress. This article concerns the evidence bearing on the most contentious issues in the field of traumatic stress: broadening of the definition of trauma, problems with the dose-response model of PTSD, distortion in the recollection of trauma, concerns about "phony combat vets," psychologically toxic guilt as a traumatic stressor, risk factors for PTSD, possible brain-damaging effects of stress hormones, recovered memories of childhood sexual abuse, and the politics of trauma.