Factorial Survey Design Research Articles

The Gender Gap in Support for Capital Punishment: A Test of Attribution Theory

Studies of public support for capital punishment have consistently observed a strong and enduring gender gap in the level of death penalty support, with males consistently more inclined than females to support capital punishment. This unexplained relationship has endured over time and space as well as across a myriad of research designs. The present study uses attribution theory in a factorial survey design to account for this relationship. Analyses of data obtained from jurors provide mixed support for attribution theory yet fails to bridge the gender gap in death penalty support. The implications of these findings as they relate to gender, socialization, and attributions are discussed.

Indicators of acute deterioration in adult patients nursed in acute wards: a factorial survey

The primary objective of the study was to determine which professional, situational and patient characteristics predict nurses' judgements of patient acuity and likelihood of referral for further review. A secondary aim was to test the feasibility of the factorial survey method in an acute area. There is increasing recognition that indicators of deterioration in acutely unwell adults are being missed and referrals delayed. The reasons for this are unclear and require exploration. Assessing nurses' clinical decision-making or judgements in a 'real-world' situation is problematic. The study used a factorial survey design where participants completed randomly generated paper-based vignettes on one occasion. The dependent variables were assessment of patient acuity and likelihood of referral. Independent variables consisted of a number of patient characteristics, i.e. heart rate, blood pressure, nurse characteristics, i.e. clinical experience, and situational characteristics i.e. staffing. Participants were registered nurses working in acute areas excluding intensive care and theatre. Ninety-nine participants responded resulting in 1940 completed vignettes. An early warning score was the single most significant predictor of referral behaviour accounting for 9.6% of the variance. When this was not included in the vignette, nurses used physiological characteristics e.g. respiratory rate, urine output, neurological status. These explained 12% of the variance in the model predicting assessment of patient acuity and 9.4% or the variance predicting likelihood of referral. When given a series of vignettes, nurses appear to use appropriate physiological parameters to make decisions about patient acuity and need for referral. Our results support the use of early warning scoring systems. Education and professional development should focus more on developing and maximising clinical experience and expertise rather than knowledge acquisition alone. A factorial survey method is feasible to explore decision-making in this area. This study has several implications for practice. The emergence of an early warning scoring system as a significant individual predictor supports the use of such systems. However, the small amount of explained variance suggests that there are other influences on nurses' assessment of patient acuity and referral decisions that were not measured by the factorial survey approach. Educational provision might focus not just on knowledge acquisition but include educational delivery methods that incorporate or mimic real-ward settings.

Judgments of Critical Care Nurses About Risk for Secondary Brain Injury

Interdisciplinary care for patients with traumatic brain injury focuses on treating the primary brain injury and limiting further brain damage from secondary injury. Intensive care unit nurses have an integral role in preventing secondary brain injury; however, little is known about factors that influence nurses' judgments about risk for secondary brain injury. To investigate which physiological and situational variables influence judgments of intensive care unit nurses about patients' risk for secondary brain injury, management solely with nursing interventions, and management by consulting another member of the health care team. A multiple segment factorial survey design was used. Vignettes reflecting the complexity of real-life scenarios were randomly generated by using different values of each independent variable. Surveys containing the vignettes were sent to nurses at 2 level I trauma centers. Multiple regression was used to determine which variables influenced judgments about secondary brain injury. Judgments about risk for secondary brain injury were influenced by a patient's oxygen saturation, intracranial pressure, cerebral perfusion pressure, mechanism of injury, and primary diagnosis, as well as by nursing shift. Judgments about interventions were influenced by a patient's oxygen saturation, intracranial pressure, and cerebral perfusion pressure and by nursing shift. The initial judgments made by nurses were the most significant variable predictive of follow-up judgments. Nurses need standardized, evidence-based content for management of secondary brain injury in critically ill patients with traumatic brain injury.

Decision making preferences in the medical encounter – a factorial survey design

BackgroundUp to now it has not been systematically investigated in which kind of clinical situations a consultation style based on shared decision making (SDM) is preferred by patients and physicians. We suggest the factorial survey design to address this problem.This method, which so far has hardly been used in health service research, allows to vary relevant factors describing clinical situations as variables systematically in an experimental random design and to investigate their importance in large samples.Methods/DesignTo identify situational factors for the survey we first performed a literature search which was followed by a qualitative interview study with patients, physicians and health care experts. As a result, 7 factors (e.g. "Reason for consultation" and "Number of therapeutic options") with 2 to 3 levels (e.g. "One therapeutic option" and "More than one therapeutic option") will be included in the study. For the survey the factor levels will be randomly combined to short stories describing different treatment situations.A randomized sample of all possible short stories will be given to at least 300 subjects (100 GPs, 100 patients and 100 members of self-help groups) who will be asked to rate how the decision should be made. Main outcome measure is the preference for participation in the decision making process in the given clinical situation.Data analysis will estimate the effects of the factors on the rating and also examine differences between groups.DiscussionThe results will reveal the effects of situational variations on participation preferences. Thus, our findings will contribute to the understanding of normative values in the medical decision making process and will improve future implementation of SDM and decision aids.

Oncology Nurses' Responses to Patient-Initiated Humor

The purpose of this study was to investigate potential predictors (patient variables) that would result in oncology nurses' recognition of and response to patient-initiated humor (PIH). Participants included 47 nurses of an 80-member Oncology Nursing Society chapter (57% response rate), which yielded 232 usable vignettes. Previously collected qualitative data of patient-nurse conversations were used to construct simulated vignettes using a factorial survey design. Five randomly generated vignettes containing 14 independent patient variables with different levels were used to examine nurses' identification of PIH. The unit of analysis in factorial survey is the vignette. Multiple regression and analysis of variance were used to analyze variables in each vignette. Two of 14 variables were significant: "verbal" (actual words the patient spoke) and "intonation" (inflection, pitch, or manner of speech). A 2x2 factorial analysis of variance using verbal and intonation variables revealed that oncology nurses' recognition of and response to PIH were primarily predicted by patients' verbal words. This study distinguishes PIH as a patient-initiated behavior rather than nurse-driven interventions and is a new venue for research in patient-nurse interactions. Results demonstrate the central role of patient-centered communication to inform clinical practice about patient preferences, individualized integration/participation in their care, and a knowledge base of patient-centered behaviors for outcomes of personal importance.

Attitudes Toward Posthumous Harvesting and Reproduction

Attitudes toward posthumous harvesting of reproductive material and beliefs about medical professionals' obligation to assist were examined using a multiple segment factorial vignette survey design with 407 randomly selected respondents from a southern state. Attitudes and beliefs were primarily shaped by the vignette couple's marital status, parental support, and evidence of the deceased's wishes, as well as by respondents' religiosity and level of education. Three primary groups of respondents were identified: libertarians emphasized the survivor's rights, consentualists were skeptical until hearing that the deceased approved of the procedure, and persistent dissenters retained their negative attitudes despite the deceased's known wishes in favor of posthumous harvesting. Overall, attitudes and obligation beliefs were primarily in favor of posthumous harvesting when contextual circumstances deemed suitable were portrayed.

Social Workers' Intervention Preferences in Cases of Parental Violence Toward Intellectually Disabled Children

ABSTRACT Children with intellectual disabilities are at risk of being abused by family members. This study sought to identify factors influencing the intervention decisions of social workers. Fifty-nine social workers employed at welfare services participated in the study. The study used a factorial survey design describing a violent interaction between a child with intellectual disability and a parent. Professional characteristics of the workers as well as personal attitudinal characteristics had no significant effect on the preference of intervention mode. However, levels of child and parental aggression presented in the vignettes did influence the preferred intervention. Child's challenging behavior plays an important and increasing role in preferences for more intrusive and authoritative interventions, even after controlling for parental aggression.

Reconsidering Child Saving

The 1990s saw concerted legislative efforts to increase the mechanisms through which juveniles could be transferred to the adult court. Beginning research exists on how the public feels about transferring youths out of the juvenile justice system, but it is somewhat dated and does little to illuminate the reasons people support transfer. Using a statewide sample and factorial survey design, this study assesses how public views are related to multiple factors, including offense and offender characteristics, views on the appropriate aims of juvenile sentencing, perceptions of juvenile maturity, and expectations about the results of transferring juvenile cases to the adult criminal justice system. Our findings suggest that people want transfer used sparingly and selectively and that support is greatest when they believe that the adult system can provide effective rehabilitation as well as punishment. Implications are discussed.

T10-O-10 The influence of respondent characteristics on Spanish professionals’ judgments on sexual activity involving minors

Objective In order to search for possible personal and professional biases in detecting sexual abuse, we examined the effect of respondent characteristics on Spanish professionals’ judgments on dyadic sexual activity involving a consenting minor. Design and method By using a Factorial Survey design, five hundred Spanish professionals and experts from diverse fields (including Law, Health, Education, Social Services and Police) rated each of 18 randomly selected vignettes describing dyadic sexual activity involving a consenting minor (systematically varying the type of sexual act, the minor's and the other's age and gender) on two dimensions: inappropriateness and abusiveness. Information was also gathered about respondent characteristics. Results Statistical analysis showed how judgments on vignettes significantly differed according to some respondents’ socio-demographic, professional training and personal characteristics: age, gender, parental status, educational qualification, professional role, training and working experience with minors and sexual abuse cases, religious beliefs, attitudes towards sexuality. Conclusions Similarly to findings previously obtained with other samples, our data suggest that some respondent characteristics influence what Spanish professionals regard as abusive or inappropriate regarding minors’ sexual activity. Implications in detecting sexual abuse are discussed.

Disentangling the stigma of HIV/AIDS from the stigmas of drugs use, commercial sex and commercial blood donation – a factorial survey of medical students in China

BackgroundHIV/AIDS related stigma interferes with the provision of appropriate care and support for people living with HIV/AIDS. Currently, programs to address the stigma approach it as if it occurs in isolation, separate from the co-stigmas related to the various modes of disease transmission including injection drug use (IDU) and commercial sex (CS). In order to develop better programs to address HIV/AIDS related stigma, the inter-relationship (or 'layering') between HIV/AIDS stigma and the co-stigmas needs to be better understood. This paper describes an experimental study for disentangling the layering of HIV/AIDS related stigmas.MethodsThe study used a factorial survey design. 352 medical students from Guangzhou were presented with four random vignettes each describing a hypothetical male. The vignettes were identical except for the presence of a disease diagnosis (AIDS, leukaemia, or no disease) and a co-characteristic (IDU, CS, commercial blood donation (CBD), blood transfusion or no co-characteristic). After reading each vignette, participants completed a measure of social distance that assessed the level of stigmatising attitudes.ResultsBivariate and multivariable analyses revealed statistically significant levels of stigma associated with AIDS, IDU, CS and CBD. The layering of stigma was explored using a recently developed technique. Strong interactions between the stigmas of AIDS and the co-characteristics were also found. AIDS was significantly less stigmatising than IDU or CS. Critically, the stigma of AIDS in combination with either the stigmas of IDU or CS was significantly less than the stigma of IDU alone or CS alone.ConclusionThe findings pose several surprising challenges to conventional beliefs about HIV/AIDS related stigma and stigma interventions that have focused exclusively on the disease stigma. Contrary to the belief that having a co-stigma would add to the intensity of stigma attached to people with HIV/AIDS, the findings indicate the presence of an illness might have a moderating effect on the stigma of certain co-characteristics like IDU. The strong interdependence between the stigmas of HIV/AIDS and the co-stigmas of IDU and CS suggest that reducing the co-stigmas should be an integral part of HIV/AIDS stigma intervention within this context.

Cognition or Involvement? Explaining Sexual-coercion in High-school Dating

The purpose of the present study was to examine a predictive model of perpetration of, and victimization by, sexual coercive practices. The theoretical perspective focused on the interactive nature of dating and sexual coercion within the dating context. The interactive nature of sexual coercion assumes that in each dating encounter, partners have expectations of developing some level of sexual and romantic relations. Thus, one of the partners may initiate a sexual advancement, while the other reacts to this initiation. The reaction may range from cooperation, through passive reaction to straight forward resistance. Any attempt to continue in the face of resistance should be defined as an attempt at sexual coercion. In order to asses perpetration and victimization risks, a planned behavior model was examined, including the relative importance of personal attitudes and subjective norms, operationalized as perceived peers' expectations. Further, the role of other factors related to social/cultural background (such as immigration status, religiosity, and gender) in contributing to either risk of victimization and perpetration was examined. Instruments and sample: A factorial survey design was carried out on a sample of 329 adolescents in eleventh grade, 157 males and 172 females. The findings indicate that males are more prone to both victimization and perpetration of sexual coercion. Overall, the current conceptualization of dating sexual coercion as an interactional process, based on socially constructed and personally interpreted scripts, has enabled the comparison of two major explanatory models--the TPB and the involvement model, and to show the primacy of involvement.

Cognition or Involvement? Explaining Sexual-coercion in High-school Dating

The purpose of the present study was to examine a predictive model of perpetration of, and victimization by, sexual coercive practices. The theoretical perspective focused on the interactive nature of dating and sexual coercion within the dating context. The interactive nature of sexual coercion assumes that in each dating encounter, partners have expectations of developing some level of sexual and romantic relations. Thus, one of the partners may initiate a sexual advancement, while the other reacts to this initiation. The reaction may range from cooperation, through passive reaction to straight forward resistance. Any attempt to continue in the face of resistance should be defined as an attempt at sexual coercion. In order to asses perpetration and victimization risks, a planned behavior model was examined, including the relative importance of personal attitudes and subjective norms, operationalized as perceived peers' expectations. Further, the role of other factors related to social/cultural background (such as immigration status, religiosity, and gender) in contributing to either risk of victimization and perpetration was examined. Instruments and sample: A factorial survey design was carried out on a sample of 329 adolescents in eleventh grade, 157 males and 172 females. The findings indicate that males are more prone to both victimization and perpetration of sexual coercion. Overall, the current conceptualization of dating sexual coercion as an interactional process, based on socially constructed and personally interpreted scripts, has enabled the comparison of two major explanatory models--the TPB and the involvement model, and to show the primacy of involvement.

Overreporting and underreporting of child abuse: Teachers’ use of professional discretion

Objective According to mandatory reporting laws for professionals, the relationship between initial recognition that a child may have been abused and the subsequent reporting of that suspected case of child abuse to the responsible agency would, at first glance, appear to be clear. However, this relationship has developed into one of the major social policy controversies of the recent past. Our major goal is to present research findings that address this social policy debate concerning the problems of underreporting and overreporting, focusing specifically on teachers. Method A factorial survey design, that combines the advantages of the factorial experiment with those of surveys, was employed in a probability sample of teachers ( N = 480) who responded to vignettes in which case characteristics were systematically manipulated. Teachers responded with judgments about whether the vignette was child abuse and the likelihood that they would report this suspected case. Characteristics of the teachers and their work setting (school) were also measured. Results When comparing the teachers’ recognition and reporting scores, we found that they gave the same score for 63% of the vignettes they judged, gave higher reporting than recognition scores (overreporting) for 4% of the vignettes, and gave higher recognition than reporting scores (underreporting) for 33% of the vignettes. Discrepancies between recognition and reporting (over and under reporting) were related to characteristics of the case, teacher, and school where the teacher was employed. Conclusions Teachers in our Ohio sample evidence the use of professional discretion in making judgments about the recognition and reporting of child abuse and do not appear to make these judgments with equal certainty. Their use of discretion is more likely to result in underreporting than overreporting.

Capital punishment preferences for special offender populations

The present study utilized the factorial survey design, a quasi-experimental approach, in an attempt to measure respondent's capital punishment preferences regarding juvenile, the mentally incompetent, and the mentally retarded offenders. The findings indicated that respondents were significantly less likely to prefer capital punishment over alternative sentencing options. Moreover, the influence aggravating and mitigating circumstances such as the offender's age, mental capacity, prior record, and death-eligibility were found to strongly affect the public's death penalty preferences. The substantive, methodological, and public policy implications of this study are discussed.

Teachers’ recognition and reporting of child abuse: a factorial survey

Objective: The major aim of this study was to determine the effect of characteristics of the case, the teacher, and the organizational setting on recognition and reporting of child abuse. Method: A factorial survey design was employed in which a probability sample of teachers ( N = 480) responded to vignettes in which case characteristics were systematically manipulated. Results: Analysis using OLS regression showed that case characteristics alone accounted for 50.30% of the variance in recognition and 51.08% of the variance in reporting: the strongest effects were from type and seriousness of abuse, positive behavior of the victim and positive psychology of the perpetrator. The inclusion of variables describing the teachers and the school explained only a very small additional proportion of the variance in teacher’s responses. Conclusions: Teachers responses to child abuse are relatively unbiased by either the extraneous characteristics of the perpetrator or victim, the responding teacher, or the school setting. The findings do not appear to support the problem of “overreporting.” There is evidence for “underreporting,” particularly in less serious cases involving physical and emotional abuse. Teachers are undeterred by the many problems and fears that may accompany a report of child abuse to Child Protective Services. Teachers use discretion in reporting abuse they recognize.

Measuring Subgroup Variation in Social Judgment Research: A Factorial Survey Approach

Factorial survey research has become increasingly popular in recent years as an efficient and effective methodology for the measurement of social judgments. In addition to the effects of dimensions and levels varied in factorial survey design, researchers often examine the impact of subgroup, or respondent, characteristics. However, the literature on subgroup variations does not reveal systematic differences among subgroups. Not previously examined in factorial survey research, and the focus of the present study, is whether or not subgroup attributes contribute to the variance in social judgments. The results suggest that subgroups, consistent with previous literature, often do not differ in social judgments. Interpretations are offered to account for the findings.

Influence of Perpetrators' Account on Nurses' Recognition and Reporting of Child Abuse

Suspected perpetrators may attempt to influence the professional's recognition and reporting of child abuse by providing an account that explains or justifies their behavior or the child's injury. A factorial survey design was employed in which a random sample of nurses (N = 1038) judged vignettes that included systematic variations of types of accounts and selected case characteristics. In comparison to the other characteristics of the case, perpetrator accounts had little impact on nurses recognition and reporting of child abuse. Only two types of accounts influenced the nurses' responses, and from the perspective of the suspected perpetrator they backfired, resulting in greater recognition and reporting of abuse. Interaction terms constructed of accounts and situational variables had little impact on nurses' judgments when sexual abuse was involved, but resulted in both higher and lower recognition and reporting scores when physical and emotional acts were judged.

Normative beliefs of health behavior professionals regarding the psychosocial and environmental factors that influence health behavior change related to smoking cessation, regular exercise, and weight loss.

To examine the degree of consensus among health behavior change professionals regarding the personal and environmental factors they believe most strongly influence health behavior decisions related to smoking cessation, regular exercise, and weight loss. A factorial survey design was implemented. This method combines the positive elements from simple sample surveys and factorial experiment designs. A total of 44 independent psychosocial and environmental variables are used to randomly construct vignettes, or short stories, to collect dependent variable data. A probability sample of 311 health behavior change professionals was selected from the Society for Public Health Education, Inc., the Society of Behavioral Medicine, and faculty from the 1986 Harvard University Symposium on Health Promotion in the Work Place. Judgment ratings on the probability that the person described in each vignette would initiate the behavior in question. Multivariate analysis indicates that the multidimensional model explained approximately one half of the variance in the judgments across the three health behaviors (smoking cessation, R2 = .52; weight loss, R2 = .49; and regular exercise, R2 = .49). These data suggest a high degree of consensus among the sample regarding the personal and environmental factors that influence health behavior judgments. Here, the subjects perceive both behavioral intentions and self-efficacy as the most powerful determinants of judgments to initiate weight loss, regular exercise, and smoking cessation.

Political use of income: Some experimental evidence from Capitol Hill

The political-cost hypothesis predicts that managers in firms that are good political targets will use the leeway permitted by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) to lower income and, thereby, reduce their political exposure. Though the political-cost hypothesis has been widely tested, past tests have assumed that politicians use accounting income when selecting targets for costly legislation and/or regulation. This article uses experimental methods to test the validity of this assumption. The article employs a factorial survey design in which vignettes describing various factors related to a legislative bill introducing new regulatory costs on an industry were sent to aides of each U.S. member of Congress. The results suggest that legislators are less likely to impose new costs on industries with low income, which is consistent with the political-cost hypothesis.

Nurses' Responses to Child Abuse

According to interactionist theory, recognition and reporting of child abuse will vary by characteristics of the event, characteristics of the observer, and characteristics of the organization in which the process occurs. To test hypotheses derived from this theory, a factorial survey design was employed. A probability sample of nurses ( N = 1,038) responded to vignettes where case characteristic variables were systematically manipulated. Analysis using ordinary least squares regression showed that case characteristics involving type and level of seriousness of abuse, perpetrator status, and perpetrator psychology had the greatest effects on the average recognition and reporting scores. Victim age and gender had consistently significant but small effects on both recognition and reporting. Perpetrator account had mixed effects on recognition and reporting. The addition of nurse characteristics and organizational characteristics accounted for a small additional amount of the variance.