A randomized trial examining the effects of parent engagement on early language and literacy: the Getting Ready intervention

Language and literacy skills established during early childhood are critical for later school success. Parental engagement with children has been linked to a number of adaptive characteristics in preschoolers including language and literacy development, and family-school collaboration is an important contributor to school readiness. This study reports the results of a randomized trial of a parent engagement intervention designed to facilitate school readiness among disadvantaged preschool children, with a particular focus on language and literacy development. Participants included 217 children, 211 parents, and 29 Head Start teachers in 21 schools. Statistically significant differences in favor of the treatment group were observed between treatment and control participants in the rate of change over 2 academic years on teacher reports of children's language use (d = 1.11), reading (d = 1.25), and writing skills (d = 0.93). Significant intervention effects on children's direct measures of expressive language were identified for a subgroup of cases where there were concerns about a child's development upon entry into preschool. Additionally, other child and family moderators revealed specific variables that influenced the treatment's effects.     

Motivation and engagement in diverse performance settings: Testing their generality across school,university/college,work, sport,music, and daily life

In the light of recent calls for more integrative approaches to theorizing and measurement in motivation and engagement research, the present study assesses the generality of key motivation and engagement constructs across seven performance domains: elementary school (N = 624), high school (N = 21,579), university/college (N = 420), work (N = 637), music (N = 224), sport (N = 204), and daily life (N = 249). Based on domain specific adaptations of the Motivation and Engagement Scale, multi-group confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) tested invariance across the seven domains. First and higher order multi-group CFAs demonstrated broad invariance in factor loadings (in particular), factor correlations/variances, and uniquenesses across performance domains. Taken together, the present data support the hypothesized generality of key motivation and engagement constructs. Findings hold implications for pragmatic, statistical, substantive, and intervention considerations in motivation and engagement research and also for research into cognate constructs in personality psychology more generally.     

Crossing disciplinary boundaries: Applying financial portfolio theory to model the organization of the self-concept

Portfolio theory (from the field of finance) provides an explicit means for understanding the relationship between individual components of a complex system and their relationship to the overall structure and behavior of that system over time. This paper models the self-concept as a portfolio (self-portfolio) composed of multiple self-schemas of differing degrees of evaluative valence. The self-schemas are organized according to their mean level of activation over time and their associated variability of activation over time. Using simulation data (Study 1) and also daily self-ratings provided by a sample of college students (n = 65) collected via the internet over a 60 day interval (Study 2), the organizational structure of the individual self-schemas and their mean levels of variability in activation over time are shown to give rise to the overall evaluative valence of the self-concept and the way in which it changes over time. Implications of applying models from outside of psychology to study phenomena of interest to scientific psychology are discussed.     

The clock as a focus of selective attention in those with primary insomnia: An experimental study using a modified Posner paradigm

Espie and colleagues [(2006). The attention-intention-effort pathway in the development of psychophysiological insomnia: a theoretical review. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10, 215-245] propose a route into psychophysiological insomnia along the attention-intention-effort pathway which focuses on the inhibition of sleep-wake automaticity. A contributing factor to this is selective attention to sleep (alongside explicit intention to sleep and effort in the sleep engagement process). Following on from previous work on selective attention to sleep [Marchetti, L. M., Biello, S. M., Broomfield, N. M., MacMahon, K. M. A., & Espie, C. A. (2006). Who is pre-occupied with sleep?. A comparison of attention bias in people with psychphysiological insomnia, delayed sleep phase syndrome and good sleepers using the induced change blindness paradigm. Journal of Sleep Research, 15, 212-221; MacMahon, K., Broomfield, N., Macphee, L., & Espie, C. A. (2006). Attention bias for sleep related stimuli in primary insomnia and delayed sleep phase syndrome using the dot-probe task. Sleep, 29, 11] and considering the importance of monitoring both internal and external cues in the maintenance of insomnia, as highlighted in the cognitive model of insomnia [Harvey, A. G. (2002). A cognitive model of insomnia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 869-893], a cognitive probe task was employed to investigate further the role of the clock as a focus of selective attention in those with primary insomnia.A 2 × 2 between participants design comparing reaction time of individuals with primary insomnia (n = 22) and normal sleepers (n = 22) on a modified Posner paradigm. Responses obtained from a computer task presenting times which fall within a normal sleep period were analysed.Individuals with primary insomnia demonstrated delayed disengagement to the clock (F(1,84) = 6.9, p < 0.05) which is taken as further support for previous research demonstrating that individuals with primary insomnia exhibit an attentional bias to sleep related stimuli.These results lend support to the attention-intention-effort model (Espie et al., 2006) and the cognitive model (Harvey, 2002) both of which recognise the importance of selective attention towards salient stimuli in the maintenance of insomnia. Possible clinical implications of attentional bias to sleep as a marker of psychopathology progression and treatment efficacy are discussed.     

A longitudinal multilevel model analysis of the within-person and between-person effect of effortful engagement and academic self-efficacy on academic performance

Using data from an accelerated longitudinal study, we examined the within-person and between-person effect of effortful engagement and academic self-efficacy on academic performance across students (N = 135) in elementary school. Teachers assessed participants' effortful engagement and participants rated their academic self-efficacy once per year for 3 years. Academic performance was assessed through standardized test scores in reading and math. Multilevel models indicated that within-person change in Effortful Engagement and Academic Self-Efficacy scores significantly predicted concomitant within-person change in reading test scores, B = 2.71, p = .043, Pseudo-R² = .02 and B = 4.72, p = .005, Pseudo-R² = .04, respectively. Participants with higher between-person levels of Effortful Engagement had higher initial reading test scores, B = 10.03, p = .001, Pseudo-R² = .09, and math test scores, B = 11.20, p < .001, Pseudo-R² = .15, whereas participants with higher between-person levels of Academic Self-Efficacy showed a faster rate of increase in math test scores across elementary school, B = 10.21, p = .036, Pseudo-R² = .25. At the between-person level, Effortful Engagement mediated the association between Academic Self-Efficacy and both reading and math test scores, although no support was found for mediation at the within-person level. Collectively, results suggest that trait-level psychological factors can vary meaningfully within school-aged children and that both within-person change and between-person individual differences in these traits have important consequences for academic performance.     

The impact of school connectedness on violent behavior, transport risk-taking behavior, and associated injuries in adolescence

Adolescents engage in many risk-taking behaviors that have the potential to lead to injury. The school environment has a significant role in shaping adolescent behavior, and this study aimed to provide additional information about the benefits associated with connectedness to school. Early adolescents aged 13 to 15 years (N = 509, 49% boys) were surveyed about school connectedness, engagement in transport and violence risk-taking, and injury experiences. Significant relations were found between school connectedness and reduced engagement in both transport and violence risk-taking, as well as fewer associated injuries. This study has implications for the area of risk-taking and injury prevention, as it suggests the potential for reducing adolescents' injury through school based interventions targeting school connectedness.     

Project DyAdd: Visual attention in adult dyslexia and ADHD

In this study of the project DyAdd, three aspects of visual attention were investigated in adults (18–55 years) with dyslexia (n = 35) or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD, n = 22), and in healthy controls (n = 35). Temporal characteristics of visual attention were assessed with Attentional Blink (AB), capacity of visual attention with Multiple Object Tracking (MOT), and spatial aspects of visual attention with Useful Field of View (UFOV) task. Results showed that adults with dyslexia had difficulties performing the AB and UFOV tasks, which were explained by an impaired ability to process dual targets, longer AB recovery time, and deficits in processing rapidly changing visual displays. The ADHD group did not have difficulties in any of the tasks. Further, performance in the visual attention tasks predicted variation in measures of phonological processing and reading when all of the participants were considered together. Thus, difficulties in tasks of visual attention were related to dyslexia and variation of visual attention had a role in the reading ability of the general population.     

Unfair treatment and self-regulatory focus

Ample correlational evidence exists that perceived unfair treatment is negatively related to well-being, health, and goal striving but the underlying process is unclear. We hypothesized that effects are due in part to contextual priming of prevention focus and the negative consequences of chronic prevention-focused vigilance. Indeed, reasonable responses to unfair treatment—to avoid situations in which it occurs or if this is not possible, confront it head on—fit prevention self-regulatory focus response patterns. Results from three experiments support this notion. Priming stigmatized social category membership heightened students’ prevention (not promotion) focus (n = 117). Priming non-stigmatized social category membership (i.e., white) did not change prevention focus (n = 46). Priming prevention (not promotion) increased perceptions of unfair treatment (and aroused prevention-relevant fight or flight responses) in response to a negative ambiguous job situation among low and moderate income adults (n = 112).     

A Randomized Trial of Attention Training for Generalized Social Phobia: Does Attention Training Change Social Behavior?

The use of attention training protocols for the treatment of generalized social anxiety disorder (SAD) is undergoing increased examination. Initial investigations were positive but more recent investigations have been less supportive of the treatment paradigm. One significant limitation of current investigations is overreliance on self-report. In this investigation, we expanded on initial investigations by using a multimodal assessment of patient functioning (i.e., including behavioral assessment). Patients with a primary diagnosis of SAD (n = 31) were randomly assigned to eight sessions of attention training (n = 15) or placebo/control (n = 16). Participants were assessed at pre- and posttreatment via self- and clinician-report of social anxiety as well as anxious and behavioral response to two in vivo social interactions. Results revealed no differences between groups at posttreatment for all study outcome variables, suggesting a lack of effect for the attention training condition. The results are concordant with recent investigations finding a lack of support for the use of attention training as an efficacious treatment for patients with SAD.     

Gender processes in school functioning and the mediating role of cognitive self-regulation

The catalysts for gender discrepancies across developmental outcomes are widely debated. This study examines cognitive self-regulation (CSR) as a mechanism for understanding gender differences in scholastic performance—both subjective school functioning and objective standardized achievement. Utilizing a national sample from the NICHD SECCYD (n = 1364), not only does CSR (i.e., attention and executive function) in 3rd grade mediate the relation between early mother–child interactions (at 54 months) and scholastic outcomes (in 5th grade), but it also predicts gender discrepancies favoring girls in grades, work persistence and socio-emotional development. Additional exploratory evidence suggests quality mother–child interactions may be more meaningful for girls' CSR; however, for boys, CSR is more predictive of school functioning. Both school functioning and standardized achievement were utilized in this study and highlight that gender differences in development and learning are nuanced and not readily discernible across all measures of scholastic performance. Implications for future research, intervention, and practice are discussed.     

Brief Sensation Seeking Scale for Chinese – Cultural adaptation and psychometric assessment

International behavioral research requires instruments that are not culturally-biased to assess sensation seeking. In this study we described a culturally adapted version of the Brief Sensation Seeking Scale for Chinese (BSSS-C) and its psychometric characteristics. The adapted scale was assessed using an adult sample (n = 238) with diverse educational and residential backgrounds. The BSSS-C (Cronbach alpha = 0.90) was correlated with the original Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (r = 0.85, p < 0.01) and fitted the four-factor model well (CFI = 0.98, SRMR = 0.03). The scale scores significantly predicted intention to and actual engagement in a number of health risk behaviors, including alcohol consumption, cigarette smoking, and sexual risk behaviors. In conclusion, the BSSS-C has adequate reliability and validity, supporting its utility in China and potential in other developing countries.     

Cognitive ability,parenting and instruction in Vietnam and Germany

In a sample of N = 105 fifth graders from Vietnam and Germany, cognitive abilities (CogAT-Nonverbal, i.e. fluid figural, CogAT-Quantitative, i.e. crystallized mathematics), family attributes, parenting styles, leisure time activities, and attributes of school and instruction were compared. In spite of large cultural and economic differences, the general cognitive ability levels were similar (M_Vnm = 99.43 vs. M_Deu = 99.13 IQ points in current UK norms). This result is in contradiction to usual outcomes in developing countries. However, regarding family, parenting, school and instruction, differences were observed: German families had more books. German parents were less frequently married and German families less frequently consisted of both mother and father. Vietnamese parents had more children. Vietnamese parents showed higher levels of authoritarian and neglecting parenting. German children read more books. The Vietnamese did not attend kindergarten, had larger classes, more homework, and more private tuition. In a path analysis, parental educational level, number of books, burgher family, low birth order rank, amount of teaching, parental income, Confucian educational orientation and Vietnamese background all revealed a positive impact on children's intelligence.     

Peer rejection, negative peer treatment, and school adjustment: Self-concept and classroom engagement as mediating processes

Data gathered from a short term longitudinal study within fifth grade classrooms (n = 378) were used to evaluate two process-oriented models linking peer rejection and negative peer treatment to children's self-concept, school engagement and adjustment. Both structural models linked peer rejection, victimization, and exclusion to children's self-concept, classroom engagement, and change in achievement (fall of fifth grade to the spring). The model evaluations indicated that peer rejection predicted both exclusion and victimization and that these forms of peer treatment, in turn, predicted academic self-competence. Academic self-competence, however, only partially mediated linkages to achievement change. Parallel (i.e. direct) linkages from exclusion and victimization to both academic self-competence and engagement were required for adequate model fit, as were direct links from academic self-concept and engagement to achievement change. An alternative model representing the hypothesis that academic self-concept fully mediated the relationships between the forms of negative peer treatment and children's engagement and achievement did not fit the data well.     

Predicting mothers' reports of children's mental health three years after Hurricane Katrina

This study explored pathways through which hurricane-related stressors affected the psychological functioning of elementary school aged children who survived Hurricane Katrina. Participants included 184 mothers from the New Orleans area who completed assessments one year pre-disaster (Time 1), and one and three years post-disaster (Time 2 and Time 3, respectively). Mothers rated their children's behavior problems at Time 3 only (n = 251 children; 53.0% male; mean age: 10.19 years, SD = 1.68 years). A path analytic model indicated that hurricane-related stressors were associated with increased maternal psychological distress and school mobility in the first post-disaster year, which were associated with higher child internalizing and externalizing symptoms three years post-disaster. Mediation analysis indicated that hurricane-related stressors were associated with child symptoms indirectly, through their impact on maternal psychological distress. Findings underscore the importance of interventions that boost maternal and child mental health and support children through post-disaster school transitions.     

Using person matching to predict career specialty choice

Person matching promotes career exploration and choice by linking persons to persons in occupations based on inventory profile score similarity. We examined the efficacy of the procedure for career specialty choice. Medical students (N = 196 women, 224 men) responded to the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire (16PF) in their first year of training. After graduating and selecting a medical residency, members of a reference subgroup (n = 62) of the total sample were matched with members of a criterion subgroup (n = 358) based on 16PF score equivalencies determined by the D² statistic. Person matching predicted medical specialty choice 43-60% of the time. Using broader specialty group categories and adding criterion persons increased the number of specialty matches. Additional refinement and analysis should enhance the efficacy of this idiographic approach as an alternative to nomothetic P-E matching for career exploration. Future research should examine person matching in terms of consequential validity.     

Culture,method, and the content of self-concepts: Testing trait,individual–self-primacy,and cultural psychology perspectives

Three theoretical perspectives on cultural universals and differences in the content of self-concepts were tested in individualistic (United States, n = 178; Australia, n = 112) and collectivistic (Mexico, n = 157; Philippines, n = 138) cultures, using three methods of self-concept assessment. Support was found for both trait perspectives and the individual–self-primacy hypothesis. In contrast, support for cultural psychology hypotheses was limited because traits and other personal attributes were not more salient, or social attributes less salient, in individualistic cultures than collectivistic cultures. The salience of some aspects of self-concept depended on the method of assessment, calling into question conclusions based on monomethod studies.     

Use of landmark features and geometry by children and adults during a two-dimensional search task

Three- to six-year-old children (n = 28) and adults (n = 46) participated in a two-dimensional search task that included geometry and feature conditions. During each of 24 trials, participants watched as a cartoon character hid behind one of three landmarks arranged in a triangle on a computer screen. The landmarks and character then disappeared and reappeared in the same or a new position on the screen. During feature condition trials participants could use unique features of the landmarks to locate the hidden character, while during geometry trials participants could only use the geometry of the triangle. In both conditions, adults’ performance was near ceiling while children’s performance was significantly worse. Children’s performance was worse in the geometry condition than in the feature condition but search accuracy improved with age for both types of information. Findings are considered in the context of the broader literature on spatial cognition and development.     

Exploratory structural equation modeling,bifactor models,and standard confirmatory factor analysis models: Application to the BASC-2 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Teacher Form

Several psychological assessment instruments are based on the assumption of a general construct that is composed of multiple interrelated domains. Standard confirmatory factor analysis is often not well suited for examining the factor structure of such scales. This study used data from 1885 elementary school students (mean age = 8.77 years, SD = 1.47 years) to examine the factor structure of the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) Behavioral and Emotional Screening System (BESS) Teacher Form that was designed to assess general risk for emotional/behavioral difficulty among children. The modeling sequence included the relatively new exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) approach and bifactor models in addition to more standard techniques. Findings revealed that the factor structure of the BASC-2 BESS Teacher Form is multidimensional. Both ESEM and bifactor models showed good fit to the data. Bifactor models were preferred on conceptual grounds. Findings illuminate the hypothesis-generating power of ESEM and suggest that it might not be optimal for instruments designed to assess a predominant general factor underlying the data.     

Exogenous attention differentially modulates the processing of categorical and coordinate spatial relations

Carrasco and her colleagues have suggested that exogenous attention reduces the size of receptive fields at an attended location (Gobell & Carrasco, 2005; Yeshurun & Carrasco, 1998, 2000). Based on the hypothesis that categorical and coordinate spatial relations are more efficiently processed by smaller and larger receptive fields, respectively, we predicted that exogenous attention would be more beneficial to the processing of categorical spatial relations than coordinate spatial relations while it would disrupt the processing of coordinate spatial relations. To test these hypotheses, participants were tested using a variant of Posner's (1980) attentional cueing paradigm. Exogenous attention produced larger facilitative effects on categorical spatial processing than on coordinate spatial processing at a short cue-target stimulus onset asynchrony (100 ms, Experiment 1, N = 28), and this result was replicated regardless of cue size in Experiment 2 (N = 24). When the coordinate judgment was sufficiently difficult, exogenous attention disrupted the processing of coordinate spatial relations (Experiment 3, N = 28). These findings indicate that exogenous attention can differentially modulate the processing of categorical and coordinate spatial relations.     

Long-term musical training may improve different forms of visual attention ability

Many studies have suggested that structural and functional cerebral neuroplastic processes result from long-term musical training, which in turn may produce cognitive differences between musicians and non-musicians. We aimed to investigate whether intensive, long-term musical practice is associated with improvements in three different forms of visual attention ability: selective, divided and sustained attention. Musicians from symphony orchestras (n = 38) and non-musicians (n = 38), who were comparable in age, gender and education, were submitted to three neuropsychological tests, measuring reaction time and accuracy. Musicians showed better performance relative to non-musicians on four variables of the three visual attention tests, and such an advantage could not solely be explained by better sensorimotor integration. Moreover, in the group of musicians, significant correlations were observed between the age at the commencement of musical studies and reaction time in all visual attention tests. The results suggest that musicians present augmented ability in different forms of visual attention, thus illustrating the possible cognitive benefits of long-term musical training.