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Articles

This is the place to find articles and chapters written by Dr. Weiss.

The Personal Nutrition Planner: An Evaluation of a 5-Week Computer-Tailored Intervention for Women

The Personal Nutrition Planner: An Evaluation of a 5-Week Computer-Tailored Intervention for Women. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior. ....

-Mouttapa, M., Robertson, T. P., McEligot, A. J., Weiss, J.W., Hoolihan, L., Ora, Ann., Trinh, L. Read More

Publications in 2009-2010

A Descriptive Multi-Attribute Utility Model for Everyday Decisions

We propose a descriptive version of the classical multi-attribute utility model; to that end, we add a new parameter, momentary salience, to the customary formulation. The addition of this parameter allows the theory to accommodate changes in the decision maker’s mood and circumstances, as the saliencies of anticipated consequences are driven by concerns of the moment.....

-Weiss, J.W., & Weiss, D. Read More

Physical activity among newly immigrated Latino adults

Latinos are disproportionately represented among overweight, obese, and unfit adults, putting them at higher risk for compromised health. This study examined weight status and usage of an aerobics program established within a residential complex among a sample of low-income, recently immigrated Latino adults (94 women/53 men). Results demonstrated that most participants were overweight or obese (79%) and physically inactive (59.1%).. ....

-Weiss, J.W., Rubin D., & Gomel J. N. Read More

I’m Mad and I’m Bad: Links between Self-Identification as a Gangster, Symptoms of Anger, and Alcohol Use among Minority Juvenile Offenders

This preliminary study examined whether anger and identification with the “gang member” peer group are associated with heavy alcohol use. Participants were 91 (53.8% male) juvenile offenders in four juvenile probation camps in Southern California who completed a self-report survey. Over half (53.4%) indicated that that they best fit in with the “gang member” peer group......

-Mouttapa, M., Watson, D. W., McCuller, J., Sussman, S., Weiss, J. W., Reiber, C., Lewis, D., & Tsai, W. Read More

A science of decision making: The legacy of Ward Edwards

Ward Edwards is well known as the father of the field of behavioral decision making. Edwards’s pioneering 1954 Psychological Bulletin paper on decision making brought psychological ideas into what had been the province of economists. One can trace a direct path from Ward’s work to the development of prospect theory, which brought Daniel Kahneman the 2002 Nobel Prize. Indeed, this linkage was noted in the Nobel Committee’s announcement......

-Weiss, J. W., & Weiss, D. J. Read More

Feeding re-school age children: A mother's decision making study

Altamirano, W., Weiss J.W., Gomel, J., & McMahan, S. (2009). Feeding re-school age children: A mother's decision making study. VDM Verlag Dr. Müller Aktiengesellschaft & Co. KG, Dudweiler Landstr. 125 a, 66123 Saarbrücken, Germany......

-Altamirano, W., Weiss J.W., Gomel, J., & McMahan, S. Read More

The puzzle of adolescent substance initiation

This paper reports the first-year results of a two-year study exploring whether a Multi-Attribute Utility (MAU) model that includes a new momentary salience parameter can predict smoking and alcohol use among an ethnically diverse Southern California sample of 2,789 7th graders.......

-Weiss, J. W., Edwards, W., & Mouttapa, M. Read More

Big decisions, little decisions: The hierarchy of everyday life

Most of the decisions we make are not momentous. Should I have that cigarette now, go to class today, go through that yellow traffic light? Our theoretical stance is that all decisions involve an attempt to maximize utility. We need to explain how such everyday decisions are made easily, without a conscious sense of weighing options.......

-Weiss, J. W., Weiss, D. J., & Edwards, W. Read More

Why is a bird in the hand worth two in the bush?

We present a prescriptive model for selecting an acceptable option that is currently (but only temporarily) available over more attractive prospects whose availabilities are uncertain. We call this the “bird in the hand” dilemma, and compare it to other named phenomena in which time affects utility, including status quo bias, temporal discounting and optimal stopping. We consider both one-sided risky choices, such as buying a house, and two-sided choices, such as finding a mate....

-Weiss, D. J., Edwards, W., & Weiss, J. W. Read More

Clinical Significance Decision

An important element in using evidence to select therapy is the determination of whether a treatment is clinically superior to its competitors. Statistical significance tells us that an observed difference is reliable, but whether the difference is large enough to be important cannot be resolved by applying a statistical formula.....

- Weiss, D. J., Edwards, W., & Weiss, J. W. Read More

Alcohol Use among Adolescents

Alcohol consumption is a major social problem throughout the US. This study seeks to identify the risk and protective factors associated with adolescent alcohol drinking by examining social psychological variables. Selected items from a baseline questionnaire for a two year drug prevention study were used to conduct bivariate and logistic regression analyses......

- Cheever A., & Weiss, J. W. Read More

Physical Performance as a Predictor of Cognitive Function in Fibromyalgia Physical Performance as a Predictor of Cognitive Function in Fibromyalgia

Physical Performance as a Predictor of Cognitive Function in Fibromyalgia Physical Performance as a Predictor of Cognitive Function in Fibromyalgia. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation. ....

-Barbara J. Cherry, Jie Weiss, Brandon K. Barakat, Dana N. Rutledge, & C. Jessie Jones Read More

Publications in 2007-2008

Food Security and Homelessness in the City of Anaheim

The primary purpose of the City of Anaheim’s 2007 Homeless Survey was to provide city staff with an opportunity to understand the characteristics of the City’s homeless population. The purpose of this study was to determine whether food insecurity was associated with: (1) homelessness, (2) demographic characteristics such as age, gender, and ethnicity, (3) mental and physical illness, and (4) family life among 85 homeless individuals in Anaheim.....

-Ora, A. G., Mouttapa, M., Weiss, J.W., & Weissmuller, P. Read More

Is Image Everything? The Role of Self-Image in the Relationship between Family Functioning and Substance Use among Hispanic Adolescents

This cross-sectional self-report study examined whether: (1) family functioning (Family Functioning in Adolescence Questionnaire) and self-image (Piers-Harris Children’s Self-Concept Scale) have independent associations with smoking and alcohol use, and (2) self-image mediates the relationship between family functioning, smoking and alcohol use among 1,598 Hispanic 7-12th grade males and females in Los Angeles County, California in 2001.....

-Mouttapa, M., Weiss, J W., & Hermann, M. Read More

Association between psychological factors and adolescent smoking in Seven Cities, China

Cigarette smoking is a culturally accepted behabior among adult males in China. However, there is limited information on smoking among Chinese adolescents, particularly the information on the relationship between psychological well-being and smoking behavior among chinese adolescents......

- Jie Wu Weiss, Paula H. Palmer, Chih-Ping Chou, Michele Mouttapa, C. Anderson Johnson, and the China Seven Cities Study Research Team. Read More

Commuting behavior, built environment, and obesity risk among college students

Moczulski, V., McMahan, S., Weiss, J., Beam, W., & Chandler, L. (2007). Commuting behavior, built environment, and obesity risk among college students. American Journal of Health Studies, 22, 26-32.....

-Moczulski, V., McMahan, S., Weiss, J., Beam, W., & Chandler, L. Read More

Ethnic variation in the association between weight concern and adolescent smoking

This study examined differences in associations between weight concern and smoking initiation among culturally diverse adolescents. Statistical analyses were conducted on responses from 3515 students in the 8th and 9th grades from three school districts in Los Angeles County......

- Jie Wu Weiss, Vincent Merrill, Ellen R. Gritz. Read More

Enrichment in Pre-Kindergarten Life Predicts Initiation of Cigarette Smoking in Asian American and Hispanic/Latino Adolescents

The risk of tobacco use during adolescence may be traced back to early childhood, the time when a child is most vulnerable to environmental influence.We examined daily-life enrichment during pre-kindergarten period as a predictor of initiation of cigarette smoking among Asian American and Hispanic/Latino children during adolescence.....

- Xinguang Chen, Jie Wu Weiss. Read More

Enrichment in early childhood, self-concept and cigarette smoking among adolescent minorities in California: A mediation model effect analysis

Chen, X. G. & Weiss, J. W. (2007). Enrichment in early childhood, self-concept and cigarette smoking among adolescent minorities in California: A mediation model effect analysis. In R. S. Grenell (Ed.) Adolescent behavior research studies. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science Publishers, Inc......

-Chen, X. G. & Weiss, J. W. Read More

Publications in 2006

Effects of Family Functioning and Self-Image on Adolescent Smoking Initiation among Asian-American Subgroups

This study examined differences in smoking prevalence and differences in associations between family functioning, self-image and adolescent smoking behavior among four Asian-American subgroups......

- Jie W. Weiss, James A. Garbanati, Sora P. Tanjasiri, Bin Xie, and Paula H. Palmer, Ph.D. Read More

Longitudinal effects of pro-tobacco and anti-tobacco messages on adolescent smoking susceptibility

We examined the longitudinal impact of self-reported exposure to pro- and anti-tobacco media on adolescents’ susceptibility to smoking, using in-school surveys from a culturally diverse sample. Ethnicity and acculturation also were examined as potential moderators. Middle-school students (N52,292) completed self-report questionnaires during the 6th, 7th, and 8th grades......

- Jie Wu Weiss, Steven Cen, Darleen V. Schuster, Jennifer B. Unger, C. Anderson Johnson, Michele Mouttapa, William S. Schreiner, Tess Boley Cruz. Read More

After-School Supervision, Psychosocial Impact, and Adolescent Smoking and Alcohol Use in China

School-age children who regularly take care of themselves without adult supervision for part of the day, particularly during out-of-school hours, are commonly referred to as “latchkey children” (Galambos & Maggs, 1991; McAnarney, 1993; Richardson, Radziszewska, Dent, & Flay, 1993; Steinberg, Fletcher, & Darling, 1994). In the United States, approximately 7.6% of the 21.2 million children of employed women were in self-care at least part of the time during the day.....

- Jie Wu Weiss, Ipei Liu, Steve Sussman, Paula Palmer, Jennifer B. Unger, Steven Cen, Chih-Ping Chou, and C, Anderson Johnson Read More

Effects of acculturation and social norms on adolescent smoking among Asian-Americans

This study provides new information about how acculturation and perceived social norms affect adolescents smoking among four Asian-American subgroups. Results showed differences in smoking prevalence rates across subgroups, with Koreans having the highest rates of smoking, while Chinese having the lowest rates....

- Jie Wu Weiss, PhD. Read More

Smoking among adolescents in China: An analysis based upon the Meaning of Smoking Theory

This study utilized the Meanings of Behavior theory to examine whether meanings of smoking differ among adolescents in China who were never smokers, ever smokers, and past-30-day smokers....

- Weiss, J. W., Spruijt-Metz, D., Palmer, P.H., Chou, C-P., Johnson, C. A., & the China Seven Cities Study Research Team
Read More

Publications in 2002-2005

Hostility, depressive symptoms, and smoking in early adolescence

Using logistic and multiple regression, we examined the association between hostility, level of depressive symptoms, and smoking in a sample of 1699 ethnically diverse students in California. Self-reports were collected twice from each student, at the beginning of the 6th and 7th grade years......

- Jie Wu Weiss, Michele Mouttapa, Chih-Ping Chou, Elahe Nezami, C. Anderson Johnson, Paula H. Palmer, Steven Cen, Peggy Gallaher, Anamara Ritt-Olson, Stanley Azen, Jennifer B. Unger Read More

Acculturation as a risk factor for smoking among Asian American adolescents: Is the association confounded by nationality?

Smoking among Asian American adolescents is an increasing public health problem. Although Asian American adolescents generally have a lower prevelence of smoking relative to most other ethnic groups except African-Americans, the difference is diminishing. Furthermore, somking prevalence increases dramatically as Asian American adolescents enter early adulthood.....

- Jennifer B. Unger, Dennis R. Trinidad, Jie Wu Weiss, Louise Ann Rohrbach Read More

Relationship of Acculturation and Family Functioning to Smoking Attitudes and Behaviors Among Asian-American Adolescents

As the number of immigrants in the United States has increased, the psychosocial and health-related behaviors of immigrant youth have become salient social and public health issues. It is known to the public that cigarette smoking poses the single most significant preventable threat to the public health in the United States. Although issues of culture and ethnicity have been considered in research studies on cigarette smoking, the research has primarily focused on African-American and Hispanic populations. Relatively little research has been carried out on the smoking behavior of Asian-American adolescents (Chen & Unger, 1999; Chen, Unger, Cruz,&Johnson, 1999; Flay et al. 1994). This knowledge deficit is troublesome.......

- JieWu Weiss, and James A. Garbanati Read More

Dieting and its relationship to smoking, acculturation, and family environment in Asian and Hispanic adolescents

The objective of this article was to examine dieting and its relationship to smoking behaviors and attitudes, acculturation, and family environment in an ethnically diverse sample of adolescents. Participants were 211 adolescents girls and boys.....

- Fary M. Cachelin, Jie Wu Weiss, James A. Garbanati. Read More

Recruiting Asian-American adolescents

Asian societies have distinct languages, cultural traditions, and histories. An important empirical question is whether the various ancestral countries yield immigrants who differ in psychologically interesting ways. For any research issue inspiring speculation that cultural background is important, we can try to examine whether differences across subgroups are large relative to differences among individuals within the same subgroup......

- Weiss, J. W., & Weiss, D. J. Read More