J . Chrid P s ~ ~ h oPAychiar.

l.
Vol. 42. No. 8, pp. 1029-1034, 2001
Cambridge Un~vers~ty
Press
02001 Association for Chlld Psychology and Psychlatry
Printed In Great Britain. All rlghts reserved
0021-9630/01 $15.00+0.00

Fear in Children and Adolescents: Relations with Negative Life Events,

Attributional Style, and Avoidant Coping
Thomas H. Ollendick, Audra K. Langley, Russell T. Jones, and Christina Kephart
Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, U.S.A.
In this study, we explored relations among negative life events, negative attributional style,
avoidant coping, and level of fear in 99 children who had survived residential fires. Overall,
negativelifeevents,negative
attributional style, and avoidant coping were found to be
predictive of levels of fear. However, the relation between negative life events and fear was
moderated by mothers level of education such that this prediction was obtained only for
those children whose mothers were low in education level. Age, ethnicity, and sex did not
moderate these relations. In addition, negative attributional style and avoidant coping were
related to levels offear in those children whosemothers were high ineducation levels hut not
those whose mothers were low in education level. Results are discussed within a stress and
coping framework.
Keywords: Coping, environmental influences, fears, life events.
Abbreviations; CASQ: Childrens Attributional Style Questionnaire;FSSC-R: Revised
Fear Survey Schedule for Children; HICUPS: How I Coped Under Pressure Scale.

It is generally accepted that childhood fears are relatively (e.g. the child reads a story or hears a news report about
commonandthatthenature
ofthesefearschanges
hurricanes or residential fires). Investigations examining
systematically across development (cf. Bauer, 1976; King, theonsetofchildhoodfearshavegenerallyfound
Hamilton, & Ollendick, 1988; Marks, 1987; Ollendick,
considerable support for Rachmans theory (cf. Doogan
1979). Forexample,younginfantsare
unaffectedby
& Thomas,1992;King,Clowes-Hollins,
& Ollendick,
events that will frighten them at a later time, whereas
1997;Ollendick
& King,1991).Inthesestudies,a
older children are no longer affected
by events such as
majority of children (and their parents) report that direct
separationorstrangersthatonceresultedinmajor
and indirect conditioning of events frequently precede
distress for them. Although the exact mechanisms under- fear acquisition. Still, not all children and parents report
lying these changes are not fully understood, it is probablesuch events. In fact, a sizable minority (close
to one third)
that they areinpartrelatedtothegrowingchilds
reports nonconditioning events. Such findings lend supcognitivecapacityforrecognizingandunderstanding
porttothenonassociativeDarwiniantheoryoffear
potential dangers inherent in such situations. As noted
acquisitionputforthmostforcefully
byMenzies and
early on by H . T. Jones and Jones (1928), many common Clark (1 994). This theory affords much less significance
totraumaticevents(whetherexperienceddirectlyor
childhood fears emerge because the child is increasingly
indirectly); rather, it asserts most members of the species
abletoperceivedangerinthesituation,buthasnot
will show fear to a set of evolutionary-relevant stimuli on
advanced to the point of fully understanding it, nor able
their Jirst encounter (Menzies & Clark, 1994, p. 500).
to exercise control over it. In this respect, fearsbecan
said
to be adaptive and to possess survival value. They may
That is, according to this theory, fear to certain stimuli is
constituteaprotectiveresponsetoasituationthat
preprogrammed, unlearned, and of direct evolutionary
is
significance. Moreover, it is further proposed that this
neitherfullyunderstoodnorcontrollable(Ollendick,
initial fear response will typically diminish across time
Hagopian, & King, 1997).
due to repeated, nontraumatic exposure to the feared
The exact etiology of childhood fearsis poorly understood at this time, however. Associative learning theorists object or situation (i.e., habituation). However, poor
experiencesafe
suggest that significant learning or conditioning events in habituatorsandthosewhodonot
the childs environment explain the onset of specific fears. exposure will remain fearful from their first encounter
with the feared stimuli. Ultimately, it is probable that a
Rachman (1977), for example, proposed three distinct,
thoughfrequentlyoverlapping,pathwaystofearacfull explanation of fear onset requires recognition of both
quisition: direct conditioning (e.g. the child is exposed to biological and environmental factors (Ollendick et al.,
1997).
a traumatic event such as a hurricane or a residential fire),
modeling (e.g. the child observes fearful behavior in a
In addition to specific associative and nonassociative
accounts of fear acquisition, Barlow (1988),
Beck (1986),
peer,sibling,
orparent),andinstruction/information
and Ollendick (1979) have proposed that stress and, more
generally,negative
life eventssetthestageforthe
development and onset of a variety of fears and anxieties.
Requests for reprints to: Thomas H. Ollendick, PhD, Child
That is, repeatedstressfulexperiencesassociatedwith
Study Center, Department ofPsychology,VirginiaTech,
diverse negative life events serve to make the individual
Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, U.S.A. (E-mail: tho@vt.edu).
1029

1030

T. H. OLLENDICK et al.

life
more susceptible to, and produce vulnerability for, the socioeconomic status and its interaction with negative
events
in
the
present
study.
We
did
not
explore
developmentoffearinthepresenceofconditioning
mediational models of fear onset inasmuch as an examevents. Thus, negative life events might
be viewedas a risk
ination of such relations wouldbe premature at this time.
factor for the development of heightened levels of fear,
muchastheyareforthedevelopmentofdepression
(Seligman, 1975).
Method
As in thedepressionliterature(seeGladstone
&
Kaslow, 1995, and Joiner & Wagner, 1995, for reviews),
Participants
the manner in which the individual explains the causes
of
Participants were 99 children and adolescents who particinegative (and positive)life events is critical in determining patedin a study assessing the impact ofresidentialfire
on
whethertheeventsproducenegativeorpositiveoutchildren and their families in the southeastern United States (see
comes. Not unlike their depressed counterparts, fearful
R. T. Jones & Ollendick,inpress). The samplewas 54.5%
female, with a mean age of 1 1.76 years( S D = 2.8 1 years, range
and anxious individuals (particularly adults) frequently
8-16 years; in those families with more than one child between
report a negative attributional style life
for events; thatis,
8 and 16 years of age at the time of the fire, the child with the
they report internal, stable, and global attributions for
birthday closest to the fire was selected, insuring that only one
negativeeventsbutexternal,unstable,andspecific
childperfamily
participated). Of the sample,43.5 YO was
attributions for positive events (see Bell-DoIan
& Wessler,
Caucasian and56.5% wasAfricanAmerican.
In termsof
1994, for a review). In this regard, negative attributional
family structure, 45 % of the childrenlived in single-parent
style cannot be said to be specific to depression; rather,
families (mother), 25 O/O in divorced but remarried families, and
this cognitive style appears to characterize fearful and
30 % in two-parent,never-divorced families. Given these family
anxious adults as well. Whether fearful children report
structures, maternal education levelwasused as an index of
similar
attributional
styles
is currently
unknown,
socioeconomic status (SES). Families were paid $75 for their
participation.
although highly probable (Bell-Dolan & Wessler, 1994).
Briefly, the residential fires varied considerably in the extent
Thus, in examining the link between negative life events
and amountof loss. Approximately 30 YOof the homes and the
and heightened levels of fear, it may be important to
determine how children explain the cause of such events. possession therein were totally lost; in other homes, however,
the loss was more circumscribed, although still significant (at
Consistent
with
the
adult
literature,
it would
be
least 25 YOloss). Homes ranged in value from about $25.000 to
hypothesized that a negative attributional style would
be
$250,000. Fifty-four per cent ofthe children were at home at the
associated with heightened levels of fear in children.
time of the fire but 46 YOwere not (they were at school, church,
In addition to attributional
style,ineffectivecoping
a friends house, etc.). Approximately 30 YOof those at home at
styles might be associated with the development of fear
the time of thefire thought they would dieduring the fire; 49 %
or, at the least, persistence of fears once they are acquired.
of those at home felt a lot of fear and another 27% felt at
least some fear on a 3-point scale ranging from no fear to
In particular, an avoidant coping style may
be associated
a lot of fear. Although 46 YOof the children werenot at home
withtheonsetandexpressionoffear.Avoidance,
of
during the fire, 85% of all children reported they had never
course, is the hallmark of fears and phobias as described
experienced anything as bad as the fire.Clearly,thiswasa
inmajordiagnosticclassificationsystems(American
traumatic event for many of the children and their families
PsychiatricAssociation,1994;WorldHealthOrgani(R. T. Jones & Ollendick, in press).
zation,1992).Inthe
DSM-IV, forexample,aphobia
is defined asmarkedorpersistentfearthatisunreasonable
or
excessive,
cued
by
the
presence
or
Procedures
anticipation of a specific object or situation, andavoided
Measures for the current study were administered as part of
or else endured with intense fear or anxiety. Avoidance
a larger interview conducted in the childrens homes, neighboritself can be viewed as a coping strategy that is used to
hood churches, libraries, or Red Cross officesbyadvanced
escape the conditioned anxiety associated with the feargraduate clinicians. Informed consent was obtainedfrom
producing stimuli. In turn, reduction of the aversive state parents of participatingyouth. Moreover, eachchild and
adolescent signedan informed assent form prior to initiation of
(i.e.negativereinforcement)servestomaintainthe
the interview. Each of the measures was self-administered
avoidant behaviors over time. In this manner, children
following instructions from and continued supervision by the
using avoidant coping styles in response to negative life
graduate clinician. The larger interview took approximately 3
events might be more likely to develop fears associated
hours to complete.
with such events (i.e. the normal habituation processes
would not occur).
Theprimarypurpose
ofthepresentstudywasto
Measures
explore relations among negative
life events, attributional
Denlographic information. This was obtained via parentstyle, avoidant coping, andlevels of fear in children who
report(mother-report, with fewexceptions)ofchildsage,
experienced a residential fire. Residential fires, in comethnicity, gender, and maternal education level. Information
bination with other negativelife events, appear to lead to
regarding maternal educationwas codedon a scale of1-7 based
heightened levels of post-traumatic stress symptoms in
on theEducationalFactor
classificationofHollingsheads
(1975) Index of Social Status, where 1 = less than 7th grade, 2
some children (R. T. Jones & Ollendick, in press). Here,
= junior high school (9th grade), 3 = partial high school (10th
we exploreitsrelationstofear.Inasmuchasthese
or 1 lth grade), 4 = high school graduate, 5 = partial college (at
relations have not been explored systematically in earlier
least 1 year) or specialized training, 6 = college or university
research with children, we adopted a model in which we
graduation, and 7 = graduate degree. On the 7-point scale, the
hypothesized that negative life events, negative attribumean was 4.53 ( S D = 1.06), indicating that average maternal
tional style, and avoidant coping would all
be related
education in these families was somewhat higher than a high
independently to levels of fear. In addition, based on
school education. For moderation analyses(seebelow),mafindings that suggest socioeconomic status might modternal education was dichotomized into low ( N = 42,higherate the effects of negative life events (Werner, 1993; see
schooldegree or less) and high ( N = 57, greater than high
Johnson & McCutcheon, 1980, for review), we examined
school) levels of education.

PREDICTORS OF FEAR
Negative l$e events. An adapted LifeEventsChecklist
(LEC; Johnson & McCutcheon, 1980), a 28-itemself-report
measure was utilizedto assess the number and perceived impact
of stressful life events that occurred in the childrens life in the
year preceding the ,fire. Each event on the LEC is classified as
bad or goodand its impact is rated on a scale from 0-3,
where 0 = no effect and 3 = great effect. The LEC yields
positive life events and negative life events scores. Acceptable
validity (Johnson & McCutcheon, 1980) and reliability for
negative, positive, and total life events on the LEC have been
reported (Brand & Johnson, 1982). Representative items include
Moving to a new home, Mother or father lost job, and
Increased absence of parents from the home. For purposes
of this study, the impact of negative life events was used.
Attributional
style.
KASTAN Childrens Attributional
Style Questionnaire-Revised (KASTAN-R-CASQ; Kaslow,
Tanenbaum, & Seligman,
1978)
was
employed
to assess
attributional style for children and adolescents in the current
sample. The CASQ is a 48-item forced-choice scale measuring
causal attributions to 24 positive and 24 negative hypothetical
events or situations. The scaleyieldspositive and negative
composite scores as well as a total difference score (positivenegativecomposites). For purposes of the current analyses,
difference scores were used.Internal consistency reliabilitiesfor
negative composite, positive composite, and differencescore
were estimated at M = .45, .52, and .43, respectively. Although
modest, thesereliabilityestimates
are consistent with those
reported for this measure in previous studies ( m ranging from
.42-.67; see Gladstone & Kaslow, 1995, for review).
Coping. The How I Coped Under Pressure Scale(HICUPS;
Ayers, Sandler, West, & Roosa, 1996; Sandler, Kim-Bae, &
MacKinnon, 2000), a 45-itemself-report inventory in which
children report the extent to which they used various coping
strategies to deal with a specificevent, in this casethe fire, based
on a 4-point Likert-type scale (1 = not at all,2 = a little,
3 = some, 4 = a lot), was used to assess coping. The items
form 11 subscales of 3-5 items each, which are grouped into
four factors of coping style: Active, Avoidant, Distraction, and
Support Seeking. For the current sample, coefficientalphas for
each of the factors were as follows: Active 3 9 , Avoidant .77,
Distraction .79, and Support Seeking .79. Only the Avoidant
Coping Scale was used in the current study. This scale consists
of eight items, comprising behavioral and cognitive avoidance
strategies: Avoidant Actions and Cognitive Avoidance. Representative items include Tried to stay away from things that
made mefeelupset
about the fire and Tried to put it
(thoughts of the fire) out of my mind, respectively.
Fear. The Revised Fear Survey
Schedule
for Children
(FSSC-R; Ollendick, 1983) was used to measure level of fear.
The FSSC-R is a fear inventory consisting of 80 items, designed
to assess the frequency, intensity, andcontent ofchildrens
fears. Level of fear for each item is self-rated on a scale of 1-3,
where 1 = none, 2 = some, and 3 = a lot. Beyond a
total score, the FSSC-Ryields fivesubscales,derivedfrom
factor analyses: Fear of the Unknown, Fear of Minor Injury
and Small Animals, Fear of Death and Danger,Medical Fears,
and Fear of Failure and Criticism.These factors havebeen
shown to have satisfactory internal consistency and to be stable
across cultures. Likewise, the FSSC-R has been shown to have
acceptable test-retest reliability and validity estimates (King &
Ollendick,1992;Ollendick,1983;Ollendick,
King, & Frary,
1989). Thetotal score was usedin the present analyses to arrive
at anoverall measure of level of
fear. Internal consistency in the
current sample was M = .97.

Results
Descriptive Statistics
As can be seen in Table
1, the means and standard
deviations for this sample were similar to those reported
in other studies. For negative
life events, our findings
were
similar
to
those
reported
by
Johnson
and

1031

McCutcheon (1980) in their normative research. Similarly, our findings paralleled those reported by Kaslow et
al. (1978) for the CASQ. However, the avoidant coping
score was greater than that reported by Ayres et al. (1996)
for theHICUPS. The mean score for avoidant coping
fell
between a little and some on the 4-point
HICUPS.
The avoidant coping items most frequently endorsed by
youth in response to thefire were Tried to put it outof
my mind and Tried to stay away from the problem.
Finally, our findings on the FSSC-R were similar to those
reported by Ollendick and colleagues in their normative
research. The most frequently reported fears, based on
those rated with the highest intensity for this sample, were
obtained on the danger and death factor and included
items such as Fire-getting burned (Mean = 2.23, SD
= 0.77), Death-dead people (Mean
= 2.06, SD =
0.82), Falling from a high place (Mean = 2.06, SD =
0.86), N o t being able to breathe (Mean = 2.04, SD =
0.90), and Getting lost (Mean= 2.01, SD = 0.82). As
is evident, although our means and standard deviations
did not vary substantially from those obtained in normativestudies(exceptforhigheravoidancecoping
scores),ourchildrenreportedfears,copingstrategies,
attributions, and negative life events reflective of their
experiences and, in particular, events associated with the
residential fire itself.

Regression Analyses
T o assessforpossiblemoderationofoursociodemographic variables (gender, ethnicity, age of child,
maternal education) on the relations between negative
life events and fear, four separate hierarchical multiple
regressionanalyseswereconducted.Ineachofthese
analyses, the negative
life events impact score was entered
inthe first step;inthesecondstep,thedemographic
variablewasentered(e.g.gender,ethnicity,age,or
maternaleducation);finally,inthethirdstep,the
interaction between the negative life events impact score
andthe
respective moderatorvariablewasentered.
According to Baron and Kenney (1986) and Holmbeck
(1997),a moderation effect wouldbeevident
if the
interaction effect were found to be a significant predictor
of fear when the main effects of negative life events and
the
moderator
variable(s)
were
controlled
for.
No
significantinteraction effects withnegative life events
were foundforgender,ethnicity,orage.However,a
significant interaction effect was found for negative life
eventsandmaternaleducation(standardizedBeta
=
-0.832, t = -2.194, p < .OS). Lower levels of maternal
education were associated with higher
levels of fear, as
evidenced by the negative sign of the standardized Beta
(also see Table l for mean
differences). In addition to this
interaction effect, asignificant main effect wasfound
fornegative
life events(standardizedBeta
= 1.093,
t = 2.865, p < .OOl) butnotformaternaleducation
(standardized Beta = 0.01 1, t = 0.084, n.s.). The threevariablemodelaccountedfor17.4%ofthevariance
associated with fear scores.
Next, to determine the amount of variance accounted
for inlevel ofreportedfear(based
on FSSC-R total
scores),
negative
life events,
maternal
education,
attributional style, avoidant coping, and the interaction
term for maternal education x negative life events were
entered simultaneously into the regression analysis. First,
zero-order correlations among the measures were com-

T. H. OLLENDICK et al.

1032
Table 1

Means (and Standard Deviations)

for the Sample (N
Total

= 99)

High MEDU

Low MEDU

__

Variable

Mean

(SDI

Mean

(SD)

Mean

~_______

Negative life events

Number
Impact
Attributional style
Avoidant coping
Fear

2.95
4.45
5.79
2.75
124.67

2.77
(2.10)
(2.24)
4.09
(4.61)
(4.04)
6.93
(4.36)
(4.34)
2.68
(0.70)
(0.70)
120.91
(27.40)
(23.76)
N = 57 for High MEDU (maternal education), N = 42 for low MEDU.

3.19
4.95
4.25
2.84
128.42

(2.41)
(5.30)
(3.86)
(0.70)
(31.47)

Table 2

Zero-order Correlations between Fear, Impact of Negative Life Events (NLE-I),

Maternal Education (MEDU), Attributional Style (CASQ), and Avoidant Coping
( A VC) (N = 99)
VariableIMeasure

.269**

NLE-I
MEDU
CASQ
AVC

FEAR
.310***
.233*
- .282**
-

NLE-I
-

.l48
.l60
.l64

MEDU

.322***
.203*

CASQ

.095

* p < .05; **p < .01; ***p < ,001.

with low maternal education than in families with high

puted. As can be seen in Table 2, the impact of negative
maternal education.
life events was positively associated withlevel of fear, as
Whentheimpact
ofnegative
life events,negative
hypothesized. In addition, and as hypothesized, level of
attributional style, and avoidant coping
were entered into
fearwasnegativelyrelatedtotheCASQcomposite
asimultaneousregressionanalysisforchildrenwhose
attributional style (the more positive the attributional
familieswerehighinlevelsofmaternaleducation,it
style, the lower thelevel of fear) and positivelyto the use
of avoidant coping strategies, as reported on the HICUPSwas revealed that the predictor variables accounted for
approximately 21 % of the variance in total fear scores:
(the higher the avoidant coping style, the higher the
level
R e = .211; F(3,53) = 4 . 7 2 0 , ~< .005. However, only the
of fear). It can also be seen that maternal education was
related negatively to fear and to avoidant coping
style but
main effect for avoidant coping was significant,
t = 3.005,
p < .005, andthemain
effect forattributionalstyle
positively to CASQ attributional style.
wasmarginallysignificant,
Results of the simultaneous regression performed on
t = - 1.624, p = . l 10.
Unexpectedly, but consistent with the zero-order correthe
total
sample
revealed the
predictor
variables
accounted for approximately 25
YOof the variance in total lations, the main effect for negativelife events, t = 0.175,
p = 362, was not significant.
fear scores: R2 = .248; F (5,93) = 6.145, p < ,001. The
Resultsofaseparatesimultaneousregressionfor
main effects of negative life events, t = 2.949, p < .001,
children from families low in levels of maternal education
and avoidant coping, t = 2.283, p < .05, were positive
revealed thatthepredictorvariablesaccountedfor
and significant, whereas attributional style, t = - 1.952,
approximately 23 YOof the variance in total fear scores:
p = .054, was negative and marginally significant. Moreover,theinteractiontermofnegative
life eventsand
R' = .234;F(3,38) = 3 . 8 6 1 , ~< .05. Only themaineffect
for negativelife events was significant, t = 2 . 6 8 6 , ~< .05 ;
maternal education, t = -2.394, p < .001, was negative
and significant.
unexpectedly, the main effects for avoidant coping,
t=
Informed by the moderating effect of maternal edu0.487, p = 0.629, and attributional style, t = - 1.076,
cation on the relationship between negative life events
p = 0.288, were not significant. Thus, negativelife events
performed as a significant predictor of fear scores for
andfear,simultaneousregressionanalyseswerenext
conductedseparatelyformotherswithahigh-school
young people from families with low levels of maternal
education degree or less (low maternal education) and
education but not for young people from families with
those with some education in addition to high school
highlevelsofmaternaleducation.Incontrast,avoid(high maternal education). Consistent with the observed
ant
coping
styles and
negative
attributional
styles
moderation effectsofmaternaleducation,zero-order
(marginally) served as predictorsof fear in children from
families with high maternal education but not in families
correlationsrevealedthattheimpactofnegative
life
events was significantly and positively related to level of
with low levels of maternal education.
fear in families with low maternal education,
r = .455,
p < .001; however, although the relation remained posiDiscussion
tive in families with high maternal education, it was not
significant, r = .108, n.s. A Fischer'sr to z transformation
In the present study, partial support for our hypotheses
revealed that the difference between the two correlations
was obtained. In our overall analyses, negative
life events,
negativeattributionalstyle,andavoidantcopingall
wassignificant (p < .Ol), indicatingthatnegative
life
significantlypredictedlevelsoffear,
ashypothesized.
events was a more powerful predictor of fear in families

PREDICTORS O F FEAR

1033

However, we also
found
that
maternal
education
we might speculate they areless likely to have developed
fear in the first place because of the protective
effects
moderated the relation between negative life events and
fear. For those children from families with low levels of
associated
with
high
maternal
education
and
the
resourcesattendanttosuchstatus.Inthoseinstances
maternaleducation,therelationbetweennegative
life
when such resources do not exert their buffering effect,
events and fear was positive and significant. In contrast,
for children from families with high levels of maternal
however,
more
psychological
adaptations
such
as
avoidantcopingandnegativeattributional
style may
education,
negative
life events
were
not associated
come to the foreground and be related to fear outcomes.
significantlywith
level offear.Forthesechildren,
Ofcourse,thesespeculationstooawaitexperimental
avoidantcopingandnegativeattributionalstylewere
replication and verification.
related to level of fear. In contrast, for children from
A number of shortcomings associated with the current
families
with
low
maternal
education,
negative
study should be noted. First, it is obvious that all of our
attributional style and
avoidant
coping
were
not
associated with level of fear. Thus, different predictors of measures were self-report ones and that our findings are
limitedbyproblemsassociatedwithsuchmethodsof
fear were evident for children from families with high
experimental inquiry. Second, quite obviously, the curversus low levels of maternal education.
rent sample is a limited one inasmuch as all children and
The moderating effect of maternal education on the
their families were survivorsof residential fires. It maybe
relation between negativelife events andlevel of fearis an
the case that children undergoing other more chronic
interesting one. Ineffect, it appears thatlevel of maternal
educationserved
to buffer orprotectchildrenwho
traumatic events (e.g. child sexual abuse) might respond
underwentdiversenegative
life events(includingthe
differently, especially in relation to the role of negative
residential fire) from the adverse effects associated freattributional styles and avoidant coping. Finally, given
quentlywiththeseevents
(see Jones & Ollendick,in
the correlational and cross-sectional nature of our study,
causal relations among the variables cannot be asserted.
press). Although we do not havespecific information on
the precise mechanisms involved in this buffering process, Theseshortcomingsnotwithstanding,importantand
suggestive findings were obtained which form the basis
anecdotalinformationsuggestedthatmotherswith
for additional inquiry into the relations and specification
highereducation levels had access tomorefinancial,
among these variables.
psychological, and community resources than mothers
with low levels ofeducation. Inline with Hobfolls (1989)
Conservation of Resource Loss Model, resources may
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Manuscript accepted 5 June 2001