Parents' reactions to finding out that their children have average or above average IQ scores

The parents of 41 children who had been given an individually-administered intelligence test were contacted approximately 19 months after testing. The sample included 20 parents who had learned their child had an Average IQ (children'smeanIQ = 100.8) and 21 parents who had learned their child had an Above Average IQ (children'smeanIQ = 130.0). Parents of Average IQ children were less accurate in their memory of test results, and they and their children experienced fewer positive consequences from IQ testing than Above Average children and their parents. Children with Above Average IQ experienced extremely low frequencies of sibling rivalry, conceit or pressure, and they and their parents experienced increased pride and/or self-confidence as a result of the IQ testing. The results as a whole suggest that parents of Average IQ children may need more psychological support during the parent informing process than parents of Above Average IQ children.     

Effects of the EXAT neuropsychological multilevel intervention on behavior problems in children with executive function deficits

This is a clinical intervention study of children with executive function (EF ) deficits. A neuropsychological multimodal group intervention called EXAT (rehabilitation of EX ecutive function and AT tention) was developed at the Psychology Clinic of the University of Tampere. Based on the principles of neuropsychological rehabilitation and behavioral modification, EXAT combines child group training, parent training, and teacher consultations. The aims of this study were to investigate behavior problems before and after the intervention in children attending EXAT and in controls, and to compare intervention effects in hyperactive, inattentive, and EF subgroups based on the primary deficit described in the referral. The participants were 86 children (6–12 years) with a mean IQ of 91.4 attending EXAT and 45 controls. The participants’ parents and teachers completed the Conners’ Rating Scales‐Revised. In addition, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was completed by the parents attending EXAT . The parents reported statistically significant decreases with medium effect sizes for the CPRS ‐R subscales for impulsivity, hyperactivity, and oppositional behavior. In the controls within the same time interval, there was increase in restless and impulsive behavior, and a decrease in total problems. The teachers reported positive changes after the intervention in ADHD symptoms and anxiousness/shyness, but the effects sizes were small. The intervention effects were larger in the hyperactive subgroup. Positive intervention effects were related to a younger age, lower IQ , and simultaneous learning support. In conclusion, EXAT – a structured multilevel group intervention – has positive effects on children's behavior regulation skills by decreasing impulsivity and restless behavior.     

The determinants of parents' beliefs about the intelligence their children: A study from Hong Kong

One hundred and ninety‐three Hong Kong parents (mean age 42.2 years) were given a structured interview / questionnaire concerning their own and their children's self‐estimated overall and multiple intelligence. Previous research suggested that males tend to give higher overall “g” estimates to their children and themselves than do females, as well as higher scores on mathematical and spatial intelligence (Furnham, 2001). Further, studies in the West suggest that parents think their children are significantly brighter than they are and that their sons are brighter than their daughters. Estimates were lower than those found in Western populations but, even so, males rated their own mathematical and spatial intelligence higher than did females. Hong Kong Chinese parents did not think their sons were brighter than their daughters. The seven multiple intelligences factored into three clear factors for self and children, and regressions indicated that it was “academic” intelligence (verbal, mathematical, spatial) that was most “g” loaded. The child's age and the self‐rated overall IQ of both the parents were the best predictors of the child's overall estimated IQ. Less than a third of the parents had taken an IQ test or believed they measured IQ very well. Those who were more likely to be better educated, had taken an IQ test, and believed intelligence was inherited were more likely to award themselves higher overall IQ scores. Results are compared with the British studies in the same area.     

Time estimation and hyperactivity, replication

Three groups of boys included 135 of normal IQ, showing normal activity; 6 were hyperactive and of normal IQ, and 6 showed normal activity but low IQ. Their ability to estimate a 30-sec. interval showed only the 6 normally active boys of low IQ had significantly different elapsed and estimated times. Time estimation is not clinically useful for identifying hyperactive boys.     

Stress in Mothers with Intellectual Disabilities

Both low parental IQ and stress have been shown to be associated with parenting difficulties and adverse child outcomes. We examined stress in parents with low IQ as a potential contributor to their documented parenting problems. Eighty-two mothers with intellectual disabilities (IQ < 80; labelled as having mental retardation) were given the Parenting Stress Index and they were found to be enduring very high levels of overall stress (95th percentile), stress related to child characteristics (95th percentile), and stress related to other life experiences (90th percentile) as compared to the normative test group. We divided the 82 mothers with intellectual disabilities into three groups depending on the age of their children. The mothers with school-age children reported significantly higher stress than parents of infant/toddler and preschool children. A hierarchical regression analysis revealed that child age and living in a crowded environment were significant predictors of parenting stress. The results confirm that mothers with intellectual disabilities experience extreme stress that, together with other factors, may hinder adequate parenting.     

Intergenerational transmission of neuropsychological executive functioning

Relationships between parent and child executive functioning were examined, controlling for the critical potential confound of IQ, in a family study involving 434 children (130 girls and 304 boys) and 376 parents from 204 community recruited families at high risk for the development of substance use disorder. Structural equation modeling found evidence of separate executive functioning and intelligence (IQ) latent variables. Mother’s and father’s executive functioning were associated with child’s executive functioning (beta = 0.34 for father–child and 0.51 for mother–child), independently of parental IQ, which as expected was associated with child’s IQ (beta = 0.52 for father–child and 0.54 for mother–child). Familial correlations also showed a significant relationship of executive functioning between parents and offspring. These findings clarify that key elements of the executive functioning construct are reliably differentiable from IQ, and are transmitted in families. This work supports the utility of the construct of executive function in further study of the mechanisms and etiology of externalizing psychopathologies.     

家庭沟通模式对儿童广告态度的影响

本文以家庭沟通模式理论为基础,通过对151份来自学生及母亲的问卷调查,探讨了不同家庭沟通模式对儿童广告态度的影响,结果表明,交互型和多元型的母亲比保护型和放任型的母亲更经常与孩子一起看电视;交互型和多元型的母亲比保护型和放任型的母亲更经常与孩子讨论电视广告;交互型和保护型母亲对孩子看电视时间的控制要比多元型和放任型的母亲严：交互型和多元型家庭中的儿童对广告的总体态度比另两类儿童对广告的总体态度要积极。     

A parent-offspring adoption study of cognitive abilities in early childhood

Do cognitive abilities in early childhood relate genetically and/or environmentally to isomorphic abilities in adulthood? Are specific cognitive abilities diffentiated in early childhood in terms of their prediction of adult cognitive abilities? The present study, the first behavioral genetic analysis of specific cognitive abilities in early childhood, explored these questions using parent-offspring data for 186 adopted children and 151 nonadopted children tested in the longitudinal Colorado Adoption Project at 3 years of age and 162 adopted children and 138 nonadopted children tested at 4 years. The children's Stanford-Binet IQ and scores for four specific cognitive abilities (verbal, spatial, perceptual speed, and memory) were correlated with corresponding measures for their parents—the biological and adoptive parents of the adopted children and the natural parents of the nonadopted children. Significant correlations were found between biological mothers' IQ and the IQ of their adopted away offspring at 3 and 4 years of age, suggesting genetic influence for IQ. However, specific cognitive abilities yielded no significant correlations between biological mothers and their adopted-away offspring. These results suggest that substantial genetic continuity exists for IQ from early childhood to adulthood, but not for specific cognitive abilities.     

Longitudinal Behavioral and Academic Adjustment in Children with HIV Infection

This study investigated; the behavioral adjustment and academic status of children with HIV infection through serial evaluations over a ten-year period. The parents of children were assessed with Achenbach Child Behavior Checklist Parent Forms and the children were administered the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Academic Achievement at regular intervals as part of their treatment in the HIV Program of a children’s hospital. Children with HIV were found to have behavioral adjustment within normal limits over time. Aggressive behavior was noted to decrease over time. Academic achievement mirrored IQ status, unlike other studies, which have reported poorer achievement than expected for IQ. Math skills appeared to improve over time. Thus, these findings suggest children with HIV infection did not show significant behavioral disturbance across time, however, aggressive behavior appeared to decrease. Academic achievement was stable over time.     

Development of an IQ test for New Zealand adults

In 2003 and 2004 a television network in New Zealand showed a syndicated program called Test the Nation: The New Zealand IQ Test. This paper demonstrates how the IQ test was devised using item response theory, and evaluates the properties of the test using data from the TV program participants.     

Patterns and correlates of personal,family, and prior placement variables in an interagency community based system of care

We examined interrelationships among personal, family, and prior service utilization data collected on young people selected to participate in a Chicago suburban area system of care, with a detailed consideration of a subset of 176 White participants aged 9–20 years. Data obtained through a review of archival information and then analyzed included WISC IQ grade retention, medication status, DSM diagnostic group, adjudication, marital status of parents, living situation before selection, maternal employment, public assistance status, family risk status, and placement history. Results showed that IQ and specific DSM diagnostic category were not important correlates of personal, family, or placement variables, although having a DSM diagnosis of any kind was. Family risk factors, including family history of mental illness, substance abuse, criminal conviction, and violence in the family, were related to other family variables, primarily. Adjudication and prescribed medication appeared to have been alternative responses to these young people's problems. A cluster analysis of these system of care participants' placement histories indicated five clusters characterized by varied personal and family correlates, as well as different patterns of placement usage.     

Effects of IQ on Executive Function Measures in Children with ADHD

The present study compared children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and controls on a selected set of clinical measures of executive function (EF). A total of 92 children (51 ADHD, 41 control), ages 6-16, completed measures chosen from a larger neuropsychological battery to illustrate diverse components of the EF construct (planning, inhibitory control, response preparation, memory search). The selected measures were moderately correlated with one another, and moderately correlated with IQ. After controlling for age, sex, presence of learning disability (LD), ADHD, and IQ test version, Full Scale IQ was significantly related to four of the five selected EF measures. A second analysis showed group differences on the EF measures at different IQ levels. After covarying for age, there was a significant multivariate effect for IQ level (average, high average, superior) and a significant multivariate interaction between group (ADHD vs. control) and IQ level. Three of the five selected EF measures showed significant univariate group effects (controls performing better than ADHD) at the average IQ level; however, there were no significant group differences between children with ADHD and controls at high average or superior IQ levels. These results suggest that clinical measures of EF may differ among children with ADHD and controls at average IQ levels, but there is poorer discriminatory power for these measures among children with above average IQ.     

Effects of IQ on executive function measures in children with ADHD.

The present study compared children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and controls on a selected set of clinical measures of executive function (EF). A total of 92 children (51 ADHD, 41 control), ages 6-16, completed measures chosen from a larger neuropsychological battery to illustrate diverse components of the EF construct (planning, inhibitory control, response preparation, memory search). The selected measures were moderately correlated with one another, and moderately correlated with IQ. After controlling for age, sex, presence of learning disability (LD), ADHD, and IQ test version, Full Scale IQ was significantly related to four of the five selected EF measures. A second analysis showed group differences on the EF measures at different IQ levels. After covarying for age, there was a significant multivariate effect for IQ level (average, high average, superior) and a significant multivariate interaction between group (ADHD vs. control) and IQ level. Three of the five selected EF measures showed significant univariate group effects (controls performing better than ADHD) at the average IQ level; however, there were no significant group differences between children with ADHD and controls at high average or superior IQ levels. These results suggest that clinical measures of EF may differ among children with ADHD and controls at average IQ levels, but there is poorer discriminatory power for these measures among children with above average IQ.     

Child,mother, and father evaluations of depression in psychiatric inpatient children

The agreement among children and their parents in evaluating the children's depression was examined in 48 families. Newly admitted inpatient children (ages 6–13) and their mothers and fathers independently completed selfreport and interview measures to assess severity and duration of the children's depression. The results indicated that different measures of depression completed by the same rater (child, mother, or father) were highly intercorrelated. Yet there was little or no relationship between childmother and child-father ratings of the children's depression for the same or related measures of depression. Children independently diagnosed (DSM III) as depressed rated themselves and were rated by their parents as more depressed than nondepressed children. Even so, children consistently rated themselves as less depressed across the measures than did their parents. Parent ratings of the children's depression and the correspondence of child-parent ratings varied as a function of several child and family variables, including child IQ, gender, race, and family welfare status.This investigation was supported in part by a Research Scientist Development Award (1 K02 MH00353) to the first author from the National Institute of Mental Health and by a Clinical Research Center Grant for the Study of Affective Disorders (5 P50 MH30915-05) from the National Institute of Mental Health. The authors are grateful to the clinical research team of the Child Psychiatric Treatment Service.     

Intellectual similarities within families of both adopted and biological children

The effects of genetic and environmental differences on intellectual differences among children were examined in a study of families with both biological and adopted children. IQ scores of all family members and education of natural parents were used to estimate intellectual similarities among related and unrelated persons, living together and apart. Comparisons of correlations between related and unrelated siblings produced negligible heritability values, whereas the parent-child data suggested moderate heritability for the children's IQ differences. The high mean values of the adopted children's IQ scores and the high degree of similarity among unrelated sibs suggest that IQ scores are more maleable than previously thought.     

IQ correlations in transracial adoptive families

IQ tests were administered to all available members over 4 years old in 101 transracial adoptive families when the adopted children were an average of 7 years old and again when they averaged 17 years old. At both times, 426 members of 93 families were studied; 398 were seen in person and administered the WAIS-R or WISC-R. IQ correlations were calculated for adopted and biological parent-child pairs, and for genetically related and unrelated siblings. Educational levels of birth parents were correlated with the IQ scores of their adopted-away children. Results show that biologically related family members tended to resemble each other intellectually more than did adoptive family members at both time points. IQ correlations for biological parent-child pairs exceeded those for adoptive parent-child pairs, and correlations were greater for genetically related than unrelated siblings. In late adolescence, the IQ scores of unrelated siblings in the transracial adoptive families were more similar than those of unrelated adolescent siblings pairs reported in other studies. The pattern of IQ correlations for unrelated siblings suggested that familial environmental influences on IQ decline from childhood to late adolescence, but this conclusion was not supported by parent-child IQ correlations. The effects of selective placement on familial IQ correlations were small. Estimates of genetic and familial environmental influences on IQ were very similar to those of other studies. This suggests that the influences on intellectual development in this sample of black/interracial adoptees reared in white families are similar to those for children in the majority populations of the United States and Western Europe.     

Relation of Creativity to Fluid and Crystallized Intelligence

The threshold hypothesis regarding creativity and intelligence suggests that these two constructs are positively correlated except at the higher end of the IQ distribution, where they are unrelated. Much of the support for this hypothesis comes from comparisons of correlations within average and high‐IQ groups. However, a common methodological flaw in these comparisons is that the high IQ group is smaller in variance than the average IQ group. In the present study we equated variances for a better test of the threshold hypothesis. College students in two IQ groups completed tests of creativity and intelligence. IQ and creativity correlated at least as strongly in the high IQ group as in the average IQ group, generally failing to support the threshold hypothesis. However, breakdown of composite IQ into fluid and crystallized IQ indicated minimal support for the threshold hypothesis with crystallized IQ, but support for an inverse threshold effect with fluid IQ. Fluid IQ correlated significantly with creativity in the high IQ group but not in the average IQ group, and this pattern was corroborated by regression analyses. Possible explanations for the pattern of results are offered.     

Correlates of therapeutic progress by infants with cerebral palsy and motor delay

A group of 10 infants diagnosed as having cerebral palsy or severe motor delays was administered pre/posttest assessments of both standardized and nonstandardized motor-evaluation instruments. Following 6 mo. of therapeutic intervention provided through neurodevelopmental treatment, the motoric gains of these infants were correlated with age, IQ, infant hours in treatment, hours of parental participation, and degree of involvement. Kendall's tau correlations showed a significant relationship between motoric progress and age, parental participation, and degree of involvement. The dilemma faced by habilitation professionals regarding whether or not to encourage parents to participate in therapeutic intervention programs is noted.     

弱智儿童视觉图形辨认的实验研究

本研究探讨了不同智商水平的弱智儿童的视觉图形辨认能力的差异,并与同龄正常儿童作了比较。结果表明,智商在31-51,平均智商为41.6,均龄为11.7岁的弱智儿童,在图形以0.05秒速度的呈现条件下,平均辨认正确率为21.4%;在以0.01秒速度呈现的条件下,平均正确率为20.7%。智商在55-75,平均智商为62.0,均龄为10.2岁的弱智儿童,图形以0.05秒速度呈现时,平均辨认正确率为48.5%;在以0.01秒速度呈现时,平均正确率为45.0%。与同均龄的正常儿童比较,无论在哪一种呈现速度条件下,对图形辨认正确率均明显低于正常儿童。     

Modeling Female Social Aggression: Predictors from Multiple Developmental Contexts

A diverse array of proposed antecedents of social aggression (SA) were examined in two studies. This work is informed by ecological systems theory and examined predictors from the micro- and mesosystems. In Study 1, women (n?=?284). completed measures of aggression, digit ratio, emotional intelligence (EI), agreeableness, parenting styles, attachment insecurity with parents and peers, and television (TV) consumption. Aggression correlated with EI, agreeableness, parental authoritarianism, attachment insecurity with fathers and peers, and TV consumption; these variables accounted for 22% of the variance in SA. Father attachment insecurity moderated the TV-SA association, suggesting that positive experiences with parents can buffer negative effects of TV consumption. Study 2 aimed to increase the predictive power of the model. Females (n?=?115) completed measures of aggression, digit ratio, EI, agreeableness, parental authoritarianism, interparental conflict, dominance goals, popularity goals, physical appearance comparison, and TV consumption. Aggression correlated with EI, agreeableness, interparental conflict, dominance goals, popularity goals, and appearance comparison. Together, these variables accounted for 40% of the variance in SA; agreeableness, dominance goals, and popularity goals were significant predictors. Interparental conflict moderated the TV-SA association, again suggesting that positive experiences with parents can cushion effects of TV consumption. Implications for development of SA are discussed.