Chronic Stress as a Mediator of Acute Stress: The Case of Hurricane Hugo1

This study explored one mechanism through which acute disaster stress (injury, life threat, property damage, loss) may produce lasting psychological distress (depression, anxiety, somatization, hostility). More specifically, the study examined the mediating roles of seven domains of chronic stress (marital, parental, filial, financial, occupational, ecological, physical) within a sample of 930 disaster victims and controls. The results provided strong support for the hypothesis that chronic stress mediates the long-term effects of acute disaster stress on psychological distress. The main effects of loss, though limited in strength, were completely explained by victims’ higher financial, marital, filial, and physical stress. The effects of injury, though quite strong, were largely mediated by these same domains of chronic stress. Likewise, the effects of life threat were largely mediated by all these domains plus ecological stress. A mediational model was not appropriate for understanding the consequences of property damage because it did not exhibit a main effect on psychological distress.     

Interference control in preschoolers: factors influencing performance on the day–night task

Two experiments investigated preschoolers' interference control in variants of the day–night task. The day–night task involves instructing children across 16 trials to say the word ‘day’ when viewing a card depicting a nighttime sky and to say ‘night’ when shown a picture of the daytime sky. The purpose of the experiments was to investigate whether the depiction on each card distracts children because it is semantically associated with the instructed response or because the depicted item cues the alternative (incorrect) response within the response set. The results in the first study (N=23, M=52.65 months) and second study (N=54, M=50.81 months) indicate that a close semantic relation between the picture and the target response does not pose substantial interference for preschoolers. In contrast, the pictured item poses a significant challenge for preschoolers when it depicts the interfering alternative in the response set. Theoretical implications of these results for the development of interference control are discussed. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cognitive risk factors explain the relations between neuroticism and social anxiety for males and females

The hierarchical model of vulnerabilities to emotional distress contextualizes the relation between neuroticism and social anxiety as occurring indirectly through cognitive risk factors. In particular, inhibitory intolerance of uncertainty (IU; difficulty in uncertain circumstances), fear of negative evaluation (FNE; fear of being judged negatively), and anxiety sensitivity (AS) social concerns (fear of outwardly observable anxiety) are related to social anxiety. It is unclear whether these risk factors uniquely relate to social anxiety, and whether they account for the relations between neuroticism and social anxiety. The indirect relations between neuroticism and social anxiety through these and other risk factors were examined using structural equation modeling in a sample of 462 individuals (M age = 36.56, SD = 12.93; 64.3% female). Results indicated that the relations between neuroticism and social anxiety could be explained through inhibitory IU, FNE, and AS social concerns. No gender differences were found. These findings provide support for the hierarchical model of vulnerabilities to emotional distress disorders, although the cognitive risk factors accounted for variance beyond their contribution to the relation between neuroticism and social anxiety, suggesting a more complex model than that expressed in the hierarchical model of vulnerabilities.     

The influence of examiner race on the cognitive functioning of urban and rural children of different races

Urban and rural girls enrolled in second grades of a school system in the South were randomly assigned to black and white examiners to be tested on an individually administered intelligence test. The interaction of race of examiner, race of subject, and location of subject's home on test performance was investigated using a factorial design employing analysis of covariance. This interaction was not significant. However, as found in other studies, the white children as a group scored significantly higher than the black children. A discussion of conditions in which an interaction relationship may result is presented.     

Computer‐assisted reading intervention with a phonics approach for children using cochlear implants or hearing aids

The present study examined computer‐assisted reading intervention with a phonics approach for deaf and hard of hearing (DHH) children in Sweden using cochlear implants or hearing aids, or a combination of both. The study included 48 children, 5, 6 and 7 years of age. Sixteen children with normal hearing (NH) served as a reference group. The first purpose of the study was to compare NH and DHH children's reading ability at pre and post‐intervention. The second purpose was to investigate effects of the intervention. Cognitive and demographic factors were analyzed in relation to reading improvement. Results showed no statistically significant difference for reading ability at the group level, although NH children showed overall higher reading scores at both test points. Age comparisons revealed a statistically significant higher reading ability in the NH 7‐year‐olds compared to the DHH 7‐year‐olds. The intervention proved successful for word decoding accuracy, passage comprehension and as a reduction of nonword decoding errors in both NH and DHH children. Reading improvement was associated with complex working memory and phonological processing skills in NH children. Correspondent associations were observed with visual working memory and letter knowledge in the DHH children. Age was the only demographic factor that was significantly correlated with reading improvement. The results suggest that DHH children's beginning reading may be influenced by visual strategies that might explain the reading delay in the older children.