Biomedical subjects
Publications and source records attributed to David Lester.
The reasons the social sciences do not have an effect on public policies are discussed, including that there are conflicting results, the effect of scholars' biases on their research, and a desire to keep the social sciences value-free.
A scale to measure myths about suicide was derived from Domino's Suicide Opinion Questionnaire, but the scale had poor reliability.
In a sample of 352 students, correlates of credit card ownership differed by sex. For both men and women, credit card ownership was predicted by their affective attitude toward credit cards. However, whereas for men concern with money as a tactic for gaining power predicted credit card ownership, for women feelings of insecurity about having sufficient money and having a conservative approach to money predicted credit card ownership.
In a study with 95 students, the three subscales on a credit card attitude scale devised by Pinto, et al. were not replicated.
The legalization of abortion in five states in 1970 and the rest of the American states in 1973 did not appear to result in a decline in the murder rate of babies.
Thalbourne's Manic-Depressiveness Scale was given to 1,250 college students and depression scores (but not sex or manic scores) predicted past suicidal ideation and attempts.
A sample of 202 Kuwaiti college students (63 men and 139 women; Mage=21.6 yr., SD=2.4) responded to the Thalbourne, et al.'s Manic-Depressiveness Scale. In a factor analysis with a varimax rotation, 14 of 18 items had significant loadings (>.3) on the first factor, including 8 items of the original depression scale. 6 items significantly loaded on the second factor, including 3 items of the original mania scale. This did not match the hypothetical structure of the scale.
In a sample of 273 American college students who were administered seven personality tests, only death obsession scores were consistently associated with sibship size and birth order (not optimism, pessimism, anxiety, a Taoist orientation, suicidal ideation, or obsessive-compulsive tendencies).
In a sample of 19 nations, suicide rates were not associated with nations' estimates of work locus of control, job satisfaction, psychological well-being, physical well-being, or individualism.
A study of Scottish suicide rates from 1958 to 1981 showed no evidence for a preventive effect from the growth in the number of Samaritan centres.
Thalbourne's Manic-Depressiveness Scale was given to 1250 college students. The reliabilities were quite low, and the factor pattern did not match the face content of the items.
In 2000 over 38 states of America, several measures of gun ownership were intercorrelated. Factor scores assessing gun prevalence and socioeconomic status predicted child and adolescent firearm mortality.
In a sample of 139 community residents, three of the four subscales from the Yamauchi and Templer Money Attitude Scale were replicated.
Analysis of a large sample of suicide notes from 262 suicides in Australia found that men less often had escape from pain as a motive for their suicides and more often had love/romantic problems. The suicides of older persons were more often motivated by escape from pain and less often had love/romantic problems.
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A study by Leenaars and Lester (1995) found that suicide prevention centers in the provinces of Canada in 1985 had a preventive, but nonsignificant, impact on the suicide rates of the provinces. The present study replicated that study for 1994-1998 and found a similar preventive impact, although weak, of suicide prevention centers on the provincial suicide rates.
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In a sample of 51 nations, the suicide rates were negatively associated with the proportion of people with Type O blood, while homicide rates were positively associated with this proportion.