Patterns of Aggression in Parents and their Children

In this research, we examined children's awareness of inconsistencies in messages that are meaningful for children, instructions for games. In the first experiment, kindergarten (n = 25) and second- (n = 25) and fourth-grade (n = 26) children were individually read the instructions for two games, each of which included two inconsistent statements. Chi-square analyses yielded a significant effect for grade for one game (p < .05) and a marginally significant effect for a second game (p < .10). In a second experiment, second- (n = 40), fourth- (n = 40), and sixth-grade (n = 40) children were read the instructions for two games, each of which included two statements that were inconsistent. An analysis of variance demonstrated that with an increase in grade, there was a significant increase (p < .001) in awareness that a message contained an inconsistency. The analysis also indicated that the subjects were more willing (p < .08) to question an adult than they were to question a child about an inconsistency. Moreover, a regression analysis indicated that awareness of inconsistencies in the rules for games was significantly related to memory (p < .001) and to one's ability to note inconsistencies in shorter, simpler messages (p < .001).     

Subjective determinants of attraction: Self-perceived causes of the rise and decline of liking,love, and being in love

Eighty-one female students at a German university were asked to indicate in writing (a) how they would come to like, love, and be in love with someone, and (b) how in their case liking, loving, and being in love with someone would come to an end. The responses were analyzed using a comprehensive list of 117 determinants developed for this study, which were grouped into four causal categories–P (person), O (other), P×O (relational), and E (environmental) conditions. Regarding the rise of attraction, the most frequent determinant for liking and for being in love was the existence of positive attributes of O (69% and 63%); for love, it was the existence of positive feelings from O (29%). Regarding the decline of attraction, the most frequent determinant for liking was negative behavior on O's part (42%); for love, abuse of one's trust by O (25%); and for being in love, disillusionment with regard to O (44%). Further analyses (including ANOVAs) involved the mean frequencies for the four causal categories. Concerning the rise of attraction sentiments, P causes were predominant for love and O causes were predominant for liking and for being in love; P×O causes were particularly infrequent for being in love. Concerning the decline of attraction sentiments, only for liking was one causal category predominant (O causes). E causes were hardly mentioned for both the rise and the decline focus. The findings are discussed in the context of both the more traditional research on “objective” determinants of attraction and, in particular, of recent research on the subjective (common-sense or implicit) understanding of liking, love, and being in love.     

A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial of the Insomnia Coach Mobile App to Assess Its Feasibility,Acceptability, and Potential Efficacy

Insomnia is highly prevalent among military veterans but access to cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I) is limited. Thus, this study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and potential efficacy of Insomnia Coach, a CBT-I-based, free, self-management mobile app. Fifty U.S. veterans, who were mostly male (58%) and mean age 44.5 (range = 28–55) years with moderate insomnia symptoms were randomized to Insomnia Coach (n = 25) or a wait-list control condition (n = 25) for 6 weeks. Participants completed self-report measures and sleep diaries at baseline, posttreatment, and follow-up (12 weeks postrandomization), and app participants (n = 15) completed a qualitative interview at posttreatment. Findings suggest that Insomnia Coach is feasible to use, with three quarters of participants using the app through 6 weeks and engaging with active elements. For acceptability, perceptions of Insomnia Coach were very favorable based on both self-report and qualitative interview responses. Finally, for potential efficacy, at posttreatment, a larger proportion of Insomnia Coach (28%) than wait-list control participants (4%) achieved clinically significant improvement (p = .049) and there was a significant treatment effect on daytime sleep-related impairment (d = −0.6, p = .044). Additional treatment effects emerged at follow-up for insomnia severity (d = −1.1, p = .001), sleep onset latency (d = −0.6, p = .021), global sleep quality (d = −0.9, p = .002), and depression symptoms (d = −0.8, p = .012). These findings provide preliminary evidence that among veterans with moderate insomnia symptoms, a CBT-I-based self-management app is feasible, acceptable, and promising for improving insomnia severity and other sleep-related outcomes. Given the vast unmet need for insomnia treatment in the population, Insomnia Coach may provide an easily accessible, convenient public health intervention for individuals not receiving care.     

Cognitive Behaviour Therapy to Improve Mood in People with Epilepsy: A Randomised Controlled Trial

This study compared a 9-week individualised Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT) programme for people with epilepsy (PWE), with a wait-list control. Fifty-nine PWE were randomised and 45 (75%) completed post-treatment outcomes. People with lower quality of life (QoL), particularly for cognitive functioning, were more likely to drop out. Analyses based on treatment completers demonstrated significant improvements on the Neurological Depressive Disorders Inventory for Epilepsy (p = .045) and Hospital Anxiety Depression Scale-Depression subscale (p = .048). Importantly, CBT significantly reduced the likelihood of clinical depressive symptoms (p = .014) and suicidal ideation (p = .005). Improvements were not observed for anxiety, QoL or maintained overtime for depression. Results suggest that CBT was effective, however, and could be improved to increase patient retention and long-term outcomes.     

Passion,grit and mindset in the ages 14 to 77: Exploring relationship and gender differences

This study aims to investigate the relationship between passion, grit and mindset across the life span. The sample consisted of 917 participants between 14 to 77 years old. The eight item Passion Scale was used to assess passion, and the Grit-S scale to assess grit. Mindset was measured with the Theories of Intelligence Scale (TIS). The scale has 8-items.The results showed that for the group as a whole there was a significant relationship between passion and grit (r = .325); passion and mindset (r= .166) and grit and mindset (r= .167).For the female group (N = 502) the correlation was significant for the three factors: between passion and grit (r = .311), for passion and mindset (r = .195), and grit and mindset (r = .170). For the male group (N = 415) the correlation between the factors was also significant: for passion and grit (r = . 362), for passion and mindset (r = . 161), and grit and mindset (r = . 163).For the youngest age groups (14–19, 20–36, 37–53) the correlation between passion and grit was significant: 14–19: r = .588; 20–36: r = .317; 37–53: r = . 491. For the two oldest age groups the correlation was not significant. For passion and mindset the correlation was significant for the two youngest age group only. 14–19: r = .226; 20–36: r = . 161. For grit and mindset there was significant correlation for age group 2 only. 20–36: r = . 195).These findings might be potentially important for better understanding of the relationship between these constructs positively related to learning, achievement, well-being and life satisfaction.     

Memory for emotional faces in naturally occurring dysphoria and induced sadness

The aim was to establish if the memory bias for sad faces, reported in clinically depressed patients (Gilboa-Schechtman, Erhard Weiss, & Jeczemien, 2002; Ridout, Astell, Reid, Glen, & O'Carroll, 2003) generalises to sub-clinical depression (dysphoria) and experimentally induced sadness. Study 1: dysphoric (n = 24) and non-dysphoric (n = 20) participants were presented with facial stimuli, asked to identify the emotion portrayed and then given a recognition memory test for these faces. At encoding, dysphoric participants (DP) exhibited impaired identification of sadness and neutral affect relative to the non-dysphoric group (ND). At memory testing, DP exhibited superior memory for sad faces relative to happy and neutral. They also exhibited enhanced memory for sad faces and impaired memory for happy relative to the ND. Study 2: non-depressed participants underwent a positive (n = 24) or negative (n = 24) mood induction (MI) and were assessed on the same tests as Study 1. At encoding, negative MI participants showed superior identification of sadness, relative to neutral affect and compared to the positive MI group. At memory testing, the negative MI group exhibited enhanced memory for the sad faces relative to happy or neutral and compared to the positive MI group. Conclusion: MCM bias for sad faces generalises from clinical depression to these sub-clinical affective states.     

Self-regulation evaluation of therapeutic yoga and walking for patients with irritable bowel syndrome: a pilot study

With limited efficacy of medications for symptom relief, non-medication treatments may play an important role in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), the most common functional gastrointestinal (GI) disorder. This study aimed to evaluate the efficacy of two self-regulation strategies for symptom relief and mood management in IBS patients. Thirty-five adult participants meeting ROME III criteria for IBS were enrolled, 27 of the 35 participants (77%) completed treatment and pre- and post-treatment visits (89% women, 11% men; M (SD) age = 36 (13)), and 20 of the 27 (74%) completed a 6-month follow-up. Participants were randomly assigned to 16 biweekly group sessions of Iyengar yoga or a walking program. Results indicated a significant group by time interaction on negative affect with the walking treatment showing improvement from pre- to post-treatment when compared to yoga (p < .05). There was no significant group by time effect on IBS severity. Exploratory analyses of secondary outcomes examined change separately for each treatment condition. From pre- to post-treatment, yoga showed significant decreases in IBS severity measures (p < .05), visceral sensitivity (p < .05), and severity of somatic symptoms (p < .05). Walking showed significant decreases in overall GI symptoms (p < .05), negative affect (p < .05), and state anxiety (p < .05). At 6-month follow-up, overall GI symptoms for walking continued to significantly decline, while for yoga, GI symptoms rebounded toward baseline levels (p < .05). When asked about self-regulated home practice at 6 months, significantly more participants in walking than in yoga practiced at least weekly (p < .05). In sum, results suggest that yoga and walking as movement-based self-regulatory behavioral treatments have some differential effects but are both beneficial for IBS patients, though maintenance of a self-regulated walking program may be more feasible and therefore more effective long term.     

A Unified Nonparametric IRT Model for <Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>-Dimensional Psychological Test Data (<Emphasis Type="Italic">d</Emphasis>-ISOP)

The (univariate) isotonic psychometric (ISOP) model (Scheiblechner, 1995) is a nonparametric IRT model for dichotomous and polytomous (rating scale) psychological test data. A weak subject independence axiom W1 postulates that the subjects are ordered in the same way except for ties (i.e., similarly or isotonically) by all items of a psychological test. A weak item independence axiom W2 postulates that the order of the items is similar for all subjects. Local independence (LI or W3) is assumed in all models. With these axioms, sample-free unidimensional ordinal measurements of items and subjects become feasible. A cancellation axiom (Co) gives, as a result, the additive isotonic psychometric (ADISOP) model and interval scales for subjects and items, and an independence axiom (W4) gives the completely additive isotonic psychometric (CADISOP) model with an interval scale for the response variable (Scheiblechner, 1999). The d-ISOP, d-ADISOP, and d-CADISOP models are generalizations to d-dimensional dependent variables (e.g., speed and accuracy of response). The author would like to thank an Associate Editor and two anonymous referees and also Professor H.H. Schulze for their very valuable suggestions and corrections.     

Dissociative effects of phonological vs. semantic associates on recognition memory in the Deese/Roediger-McDermott paradigm

Using a variation of the Deese/Roediger–McDermott paradigm in four experiments, we examined hit rate, false alarm rate, and memory discriminability (d′) for critical items (e.g., sleep) after their semantic associates (e.g., dream, rest, and awake), phonological associates (e.g., bleep, sheep, and cheap) or unrelated items were studied. Replicating previous research (e.g., Neely & Tse, 2007), d′ was lower for critical items than for yoked associates in semantic lists. However, d′ was higher for critical items than for yoked associates in phonological lists, even when the same critical items were used for these two list types. The memory discriminability of critical items was enhanced by phonological lists via a larger increase in their hit rates than in their false alarm rates, relative to the same critical items in lists of unrelated words. These findings (a) could not be fully accounted for by the activation-based theories proposed in the false memory literature, and (b) may suggest that the memory discriminabilities of semantic and phonological lists are modulated by two distinct activation mechanisms.     

Techniques for Assisting Life-Stage Vocational Development

Since vocational development processes are not synonymous with psycho-pathology, the techniques for assisting vocational development must be conceptualized as distinct from psychotherapy. Two levels of assistance are suggested: facilitation (promoting normal development) and remediation (actively removing serious blocks to development). Utilizing the author's earlier formulation of five vocational development life stages, four transitions exist: (a) social amniotic to self-differentiation; (b) self-differentiation to competence; (c) competence to independence; and (d) independence to commitment. Procedures required for making these transitions involve, respectively: (a) determining the program; (b) information in-put; (c) information processing; and (d) information utilization. Techniques for assisting these procedures involve, respectively: (a) facilitation—life style analysis, remediation—environmental manipulation and psychotherapy; (b) facilitation—guidance, remediation—skill training; (c) for content—client-centered approach, for process—training in decision-making; and (d) for intrapsychic difficulties—existential approaches, for situational difficulties—job matching. For c and d, facilitation and remediation differ in degree, not in kind.     

Dialectical Behavior Therapy With Prolonged Exposure for Adolescents: Rationale and Review of the Research

Among adolescents, interpersonal trauma has been associated with severe post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and impairments across multiple domains of functioning (e.g., Derosa, Amaya-Jackson & Layne, 2013; Ford, Courtois, Steele, van der Hart, & Nijenhuis, 2005; van der Kolk, 2005). Such difficulties can include high-risk behaviors such as active suicidality (Middlebrooks & Audage, 2008) and nonsuicidal self-injurious behavior (NSSI; Hu, Taylor, Li, & Glauert, 2017). While there have been many advances in the treatment of trauma, treatment dropout for adolescents seeking trauma-informed treatment is predicted by diagnostic comorbidity and complexity (Sprang et al., 2013), as well as the number of traumatic events endorsed (Wamser-Nanney & Steinzor, 2016). Many traumatized adolescents with high-risk behaviors are referred to Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT-A). However, DBT-A does not yet include a specific, evidence-based protocol for treating PTSD, without which treatment gains may not be sustained for traumatized adolescents (Harned, Korslund, & Linehan, 2014). While Prolonged Exposure (PE) is indicated as the gold-standard treatment for PTSD and has proven effective for adolescents (PE-A; Foa, McLean, Capaldi, & Rosenfield, 2013), it has not yet been validated with adolescents who are actively suicidal. However, PE has successfully been integrated within DBT for adults with co-occurring Borderline Personality Disorder and PTSD (e.g., DBT-PE; Harned et al., 2014). Based upon this model, the current paper proposes the integration of DBT-A and PE-A to treat adolescents with interpersonal trauma who also present with high-risk behaviors. The paper discusses anticipated complications related to adapting this model for adolescents and provides direction for future research.     

An ecological momentary assessment study of affectively-charged motivational states and physical activity

The physical activity (PA) intention-behavior gap has prompted researchers to explore other explanatory factors such as affective mechanisms which might better explain PA engagement. Affectively-charged motivations (e.g., desire, dread) are thought to influence the pursuit or avoidance of future behavior. This study examined whether affectively-charged motivations for PA changed across the day and were differentially associated with PA intensity. Participants (N = 60) wore ActiGraph GT3X accelerometers and answered EMA (M = 134.7 prompts/person) about affectively-charged motivations for upcoming PA using a 0-to-100-point scale (dread-excitement) in the morning, pre-activity, at-random, and evening for 14 days. Affectively-charged motivations for PA were lower in the morning and at-random compared to pre-activity (p = .004) and evening (p < .001). On average, individuals who rated morning affectively-charged motivations for PA 10-points higher engaged in 28 additional min/week of moderate-to-vigorous PA (p = .048). These findings suggest that affectively-charged motivations occurring in the morning may have greater salience for PA.     

An open trial of mindfulness‐based stress reduction for young adults with social anxiety disorder

The present study investigated mindfulness‐based stress reduction (MBSR) for young adults with a social anxiety disorder (SAD) in an open trial. Fifty‐three young adults in a higher education setting underwent a standard eight‐week MBSR program. Eight participants (15%) did not complete the program. Participants reported significant reductions in SAD symptoms and global psychological distress, as well as increases in mindfulness, self‐compassion, and self‐esteem. Using intention‐to‐treat (ITT) analyses, effect sizes ranged from large to moderate for SAD symptoms (Cohen's d = 0.80) and global psychological distress (d = 0.61). Completer analyses yielded large effect sizes for SAD symptoms (d = 0.96) and global psychological distress (d = 0.81). The largest effect sizes were found for self‐compassion (d = 1.49) and mindfulness (d = 1.35). Two thirds of the participants who were in the clinical range at pretreatment reported either clinically significant change (37%) or reliable improvement (31%) on SAD symptoms after completing the MBSR program, and almost two thirds reported either clinically significant change (37%) or reliable improvement (26%) on global psychological distress. MBSR may be a beneficial intervention for young adults in higher education with SAD, and there is a need for more research on mindfulness and acceptance‐based interventions for SAD.     

Feasibility and Acceptability of Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation as an Adjunctive Treatment for OCD and Related Disorders: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Cognitive models implicate interpretation bias in the development and maintenance of obsessive compulsive and related disorders (OCRDs), and research supports Cognitive Bias Modification for Interpretation (CBM-I) in targeting this mechanism. However, prior studies in OCRDs have been limited to nonclinical populations, adolescents, and adults in a laboratory setting. This study evaluated the feasibility and acceptability of CBM-I as an adjunctive intervention during intensive/residential treatment (IRT) for adults with OCRDs. We modified a lab-based CBM-I training for adults seeking IRT for OCRDs, and conducted a feasibility trial (N = 4) and subsequent pilot RCT; participants (N = 31) were randomized to receive CBM-I or psychoeducation. Benchmarks were met for feasibility, acceptability, and target engagement. From pre- to post-intervention, the CBM-I group showed a large effect for change in interpretation bias (d = .90), whereas this effect was trivial (d = .06) for psychoeducation. This was the first study to evaluate CBM-I in naturalistic treatment for adults seeking IRT for OCRDs. Findings support the feasibility and acceptability of CBM-I in this novel sample and setting. A larger scale RCT is needed to determine whether CBM-I can enhance OCRD treatment response.     

Personality and team performance: a meta‐analysis

Using a meta‐analytical procedure, the relationship between team composition in terms of the Big‐Five personality traits (trait elevation and variability) and team performance were researched. The number of teams upon which analyses were performed ranged from 106 to 527. For the total sample, significant effects were found for elevation in agreeableness (ρ = 0.24) and conscientiousness (ρ = 0.20), and for variability in agreeableness (ρ = ?0.12) and conscientiousness (ρ = ?0.24). Moderation by type of team was tested for professional teams versus student teams. Moderation results for agreeableness and conscientiousness were in line with the total sample results. However, student and professional teams differed in effects for emotional stability and openness to experience. Based on these results, suggestions for future team composition research are presented. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Across-reinforcement blocking effects in a mediational test of the CS's general signaling property

Rats received Pavlovian aversive (shock) conditioning in which white noise was established for independent groups as a CS+, CSo, or CS−. Then, in an easy (light-dark) T-maze discrimination, the CS was presented either immediately following choice (Locus 1) or at the food cup in the goal (Locus 3), contingent upon either a food-reinforced (right) or nonreinforced (wrong) response. When presented at Locus 3, the CS+ facilitated and the CS− retarded learning for CS/right subjects, with these effects being exactly reversed but somewhat less pronounced for CS/wrong subjects. However, when the CS was presented at Locus 1, the CS+ and CS− effects for both response contingencies were attenuated. These findings oppose an interpretation of the CS's function as a general cue or transformed signal for the presence or absence of the new appetitive reinforcer and argue instead for across-reinforcement blocking effects: By signaling in the presence of food reinforcement an outcome (safety or shock) which is consonant with or discrepant from the “good” outcome obtained, the CS− blocks (retards) and the CS+ counterblocks (enhances) the association of food reinforcement and the S^D; conversely, in the presence of nonreinforcement (a “bad” outcome), the CS− counterblocks and the CS+ blocks inhibitory conditioning to the S^Δ. As in Kamin's (1968) original research, such effects are attenuated when the CS is presented early in the compound, distal to the reinforcer.     

Brain electrical activity from encoding to retrieval while maintaining and manipulating information in working memory

ABSTRACT

Differences between working memory maintenance (Mt) and manipulation (Mp) have been studied, mostly in the absence of stimuli (delay period); encoding and retrieval phases have been less explored. The present study assessed differences between Mt and Mp, by means of event-related potentials (ERPs) and event-related synchronisation (ERS) and desynchronisation (ERD) for theta, alpha and beta bands at: encoding, delay period and retrieval; using a delayed-match to sample task (DMST). Twenty-six young volunteers solved two DMST conditions (one for Mt and one for Mp). Higher behavioural accuracy for Mt than for Mp was observed. At encoding, higher amplitude for Mt at posterior regions to N1, P2 and P3 components were observed. In the delay period, differences in ERP components and frontal theta ERD were observed. Meanwhile, at retrieval, P3 amplitude and latency, as well as the theta band were modulated by both process (Mt or Mp) and type of trial (target or non-target stimuli). These findings mainly suggest different attentional implications at encoding, differences at the delay period related with task difficulty, and differential retrieval for Mt or Mp dependent on the process which the information comes from, suggesting that Mt and Mp differ at the very beginning of the processing.     

Parent and Child Agreement for Acute Stress Disorder,Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and other Psychopathology in a Prospective Study of Children and Adolescents Exposed to Single-Event Trauma

Examining parent-child agreement for Acute Stress Disorder (ASD) and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) in children and adolescents is essential for informing the assessment of trauma-exposed children, yet no studies have examined this relationship using appropriate statistical techniques. Parent-child agreement for these disorders was examined by structured interview in a prospective study of assault and motor vehicle accident (MVA) child survivors, assessed at 2–4 weeks and 6 months post-trauma. Children were significantly more likely to meet criteria for ASD, as well as other ASD and PTSD symptom clusters, based on their own report than on their parent’s report. Parent-child agreement for ASD was poor (Cohen’s κ = −.04), but fair for PTSD (Cohen’s κ = .21). Agreement ranged widely for other emotional disorders (Cohen’s κ = −.07–.64), with generalised anxiety disorder found to have superior parent-child agreement (when assessed by phi coefficients) relative to ASD and PTSD. The findings support the need to directly interview children and adolescents, particularly for the early screening of posttraumatic stress, and suggest that other anxiety disorders may have a clearer presentation post-trauma.     

DEMAND EQUATIONS FOR QUALITATIVELY DIFFERENT FOODS UNDER FIXED‐RATIO SCHEDULES: A COMPARISON OF THREE DATA CONVERSIONS

Concurrent schedules were used to establish 6 hens' preferences for three foods. The resulting biases suggested wheat was preferred over honey‐puffed and puffed wheat, and puffed wheat was the least preferred food. The hens then responded under fixed‐ratio schedules for each food in 40‐min (excluding reinforcer time) sessions, with the response requirement doubling each session until no reinforcers were received. At the smaller ratios, the less preferred the food, the faster the hens' overall response rates (mainly as a result of shorter postreinforcement pauses) and the more reinforcers they received. The relations between the logarithms of the number of reinforcers obtained (consumption) and the response ratio (price) were well fitted by curvilinear demand functions. Wheat produced the smallest initial consumption (ln L), followed by honey‐puffed and puffed wheat, respectively. The response requirement at which the demand functions predicted maximal responding (P_max) were larger for wheat than for the other foods. Normalizing consumption and price, as suggested by Hursh and Winger (1995), moved the data for the three foods towards a single demand function; however, the P_max values were generally largest for puffed wheat. The results of normalization, as suggested by Hursh and Silberberg (2008), depended on the k value used. The parameter k is related to the range of the data, and the same k value needs to be used for all data sets that are compared. A k value of 8.0 gave significantly higher essential values (smaller α values) for puffed wheat as compared to honey‐puffed wheat and wheat, and the P_max values, in normalized standard price units, were largest for puffed wheat. Normalizing demand by converting the puffed and honey‐puffed wheat reinforcers to wheat equivalents (by applying the bias parameter from the concurrent‐schedules procedure) maintained separate demand functions for the foods. Those for wheat had the smallest rates of change in elasticity (a) and, in contrast to the other analyses, the largest P_max values. Normalizing demand in terms of concurrent‐schedule preference appears to have some advantages and to merit further investigation.     

Blame Game Triangulation between Parents,Teachers and Children with Academic Problems

This cross-sectional survey on a sample of parent, teacher and child respondents (n = 195) elicited their perceptions on or about the ‘reasons/causes’ for academic problems in school students. A semi-structured ‘Demographic Data Sheet’ and another open ended exploratory ‘Causes of Academic Problems Interview Schedule’ (CAPIS) exclusively developed for this study was used. A classification of the ‘causes’ for academic problems into four categories by two independent observers revealed preponderance of ‘child-centered’ causes (N: 937), followed by ‘teacher-centered’ causes (N: 751), ‘parent-centered’ (N: 643) and ‘environment centered’ causes (N: 362). Analysis of trends show significant statistical differences in reported perceptions between the three respondents (p: < 0.04); with highest disparity between ‘teacher-centered’ causative perceptions (p: < 0.001). Concordance rates as measured by Cohen’s Kappa Coefficient is reflected by greater agreements on or about the reasons for academic problems between parent-teacher respondents (0.34) and least for child-teacher reports (−0.08). The results suggest an attitudinal triangulation on or about the reasons attributed for academic problems between parents, teachers and the children. This opens up the need for stepping up measures to de-triangulate or harmonize these varying inter personal perceptions for optimum benefit of such children.