The results demonstrate the importance of social variables for predicting disease outcomes in the elderly and across ethnic groups.

In this study assertiveness as a moderator of stress reactions among women was examined. Specifically, the experimenters examined how high and low assertive women cognitively appraised, affectively and physiologically responded to, and behaviorally coped with the stress of giving an impromptu speech. High assertive women appraised the speech stressor as challenging, whereas low assertive women appraised the stressor as threatening. High assertive women also had a challenge pattern of autonomic response during the task, compared with the threat response of low assertive women. Afterward, the high assertive women reported experiencing less stress and negative emotion and greater positive emotion than did the low assertive women. Overall, the high assertive women's stress-related reactions indicated challenge, whereas the low assertive women's reactions indicated threat (see J. Tomaka, J. Blascovich, R. M. Kelsey, & C. L. Leitten, 1993).

Empirical research has documented the attitudinal and behavioral consequences of sexual harassment, but has not examined the physiological consequences. In the present study, we monitored women's autonomic physiological activity while they performed a wordassociation task with a male confederate who was either harassing, egalitarian, or submissive. Subsequently, we examined the women's cognitive, affective, and physiological reactions as they prepared and delivered a speech to the same confederate. Results indicate that harassment led to greater cardiovascular reactivity during the word-association task and to greater cognitive, negative affective, and cardiovascular reactions during the subsequent speech compared with other conditions. Subgroups of harassed women who confronted their coworker, or who blamed themselves for his behavior, also exhibited greater cardiovascular reactivity during both tasks compared to women who did not use these coping responses. We integrate our laboratoly results with those obtained in field settings.

Alcohol and alcohol expectancies relate to sexual victimization. The present study examined these links in a sample of 407 predominantly Hispanic male and female college students, along the Mexico-US border. The study also examined the independent contribution of sexual sensation seeking to the prediction of victimization. Results showed that victimization was associated with alcohol risk, alcohol consumption-related problems, and positive alcohol expectancies. Importantly, sexual sensation seeking independently predicted victimization and did so after controlling for alcohol risk and expectancies. Our results suggest that associations among victimization, alcohol risk, and expectancies generalize to Hispanic women and men. The study's limitations are noted.

Although Hispanic college students consume alcohol in equal proportion to other ethnic groups, studies have not examined whether established alcohol-risk-reduction approaches are effective in this population. Accordingly, this study examined effectiveness of the brief alcohol screening and intervention for college students (BASICS) risk-reduction model for reducing alcohol consumption and related problems in two samples of predominantly Hispanic college students (N = 206 and 405). The study also examined whether factors such as gender, baseline risk level, and readiness to change moderated program impact. Students first participated in an in-depth assessment of drinking patterns followed by relatively brief intervention including psychoeducation and personalized normative feedback. Behavioral outcomes were assessed six months after the intervention and included alcohol-risk scores, alcohol consumption-related problems, consumption, drinking and driving frequency, and stage of change. Supporting the effectiveness of BASICS, both samples showed significant improvement across all these outcomes. Moderator analyses suggested greater program impact among heavier drinkers and among high in change contemplation at assessment. Overall, the results strongly support use of the BASICS intervention model among Hispanic students. The study's limitations are noted.