The relevance of leadership models in presidential leadership, and principally the role of perceived leadership in presidential election years, is an area of study with limited development but increasing importance. This study explores the relationship between young voters' leadership assessment of presidential candidates, Barack Obama and John McCain, and their reports of voting behavior during the 2008 presidential election. Leadership perceptions were collected from 812 respondents prior to the election. Results indicate that candidate leadership assessments have a significant effect on candidate preference after controlling for the impact of party identification and self‐perceived political efficacy. Further, political efficacy significantly impacted respondents' intent to vote in the election after controlling for these same variables. Party affiliation produced significant differences across the political ideology, leadership ratings, political efficacy, and likelihood of voting variables. The study concludes with a discussion of the implications as they pertain to political leadership.

This study examined the relationship between reticence (Keaten & Kelly, 2000) and instant messaging (IM), including affect for IM, usage of IM, and self-perceived competence using IM in difficult interpersonal situations. Participants (N ¼ 336) from undergraduate courses responded to self-report measures of reticence, affect for IM, general usage of IM, as well as usage in challenging interpersonal situations, and communication competence. A structural equation model indicated that reduced anxiety and inhibition, IM competence, and increased preparation and control explained 34% of the variance in frequency of IM use in a difficult personal situation. Results showed that higher levels of reticence were associated with positive affect for IM, which, in turn, increased the likelihood of using IM in a difficult personal situation.

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Communication apprehension (CA) intervention techniques are systematic, empirically grounded methods employed in a variety of settings to reduce communication‐related anxiety, most commonly in public speaking contexts, where many speakers experience → stage fright. Communication scholars have developed, adapted, and tested a variety of effective methods to treat → speech anxiety due to its pervasive nature and deleterious effects. Although most contemporary CA theories view → communication apprehension as being a multidimensional construct comprised of interrelated cognitive, affective/physiological, and behavioral components, different interventions emphasize one component over the others. That is, some theorists viewed speech anxiety as stemming primarily from thoughts, internal dialogue, and/or images associated with public speaking (e.g., Ellis 2001). Others emphasized the physiological consequences of autonomic nervous system activation. And still others underscored the lack of public speaking skills as the primary reason people experience speech anxiety (e.g., Kelly 1997). Thus, treatments are typically categorized as cognitive, affective, or behavioral in nature, and instructors and counselors employ either one or a combination of the treatments outlined below.