Attention Deficits in Children with < 750 gm Birth Weight

Although attention deficit disorders are frequently diagnosed in low birth-weight children, it is not clear if attention problems are apparent in neuropsychological testing. The present study examined the performances of a regional sample of 68 children with birth weights <750 gm on several psychometric measures of attention given at early school age. Matched groups of 65 children with birth weights between 750–1499 gm and 61 term controls were also assessed. The group <750 gm performed more poorly on one attention test than did either comparison group, even when overall cognitive ability was taken into account. Performances on the attention tests were also related to academic skills and ratings of behavior. Findings confirm the hypothesis that children with birth weights <750 gm have specific attentional weaknesses and support the validity of attention tests as predictors of learning and behavior problems.     

Before and after entering school: The development of attention and executive functions from 6 to 8 years in Finnish children

In this 2‐year prospective follow‐up study we examined typical and atypical development of attention and executive function (AEF) across the transition to school. The NEPSY‐battery was used to evaluate the AEFs of the children before school at 6 years of age. Two subgroups, typical AEF (n = 25) and atypical AEF (n = 25), were formed according to the performance in AEF tasks. Children were assessed again at 8 years, when they were at the 2nd grade. The same subtests of the NEPSY‐battery and the ATTEX behavioral rating completed by a teacher were used. The effects of AEF deficits were compared with and without controlling for IQ. The group effect was significant in four out of the six NEPSY subtests used. The atypical AEF group had problems especially on subtests measuring motor inhibition both at the age of 6 and 8. The group‐time interaction effect was found in the subtest measuring attentional shifting. A catch‐up effect on shifting skills was observed in the atypical AEF group by the age of 8 years. In school at the 2nd grade, the early AEF problems were still observable, and related especially to inattention problems. Our results support the interpretation that inhibitory problems are at the core of executive dysfunction, that the problems are stable from preschool to 2nd grade, and that the effects of early AEF problems go over and beyond intellectual deficits. Our results also support the use of performance based measures of inhibition as an important part of the neuropsychological evaluation for school readiness.     

Emotion regulation and psychopathological symptoms of Chinese school‐age children: A person‐centred and multi‐informant approach

Emotion regulation (ER) is a critical component of children's development. Many previous studies have utilised a single‐assessment method to reflect child ER, which might result in losing important information regarding the unique contribution of each informant. With a person‐centred approach and multi‐informant reports (mother, teacher and child), the current study examined 196 children's (age M = 9.21, SD = 1.10, range = 7–11 years; 51% girls) ER patterns and their associations with psychopathological symptoms in a Chinese sample. A model‐based clustering procedure resulted in 3 ER groups: the poor family ER group (n = 36), poor school ER group (n = 120), and overall good ER group (n = 40). Significant differences were found among ER clusters on teacher‐reported child psychopathological symptoms compared on the levels of withdrawn depression, somatic complain, thought problems and attention problems. No significant differences were found on the mother‐reported psychopathological symptoms. Compared with children in the poor school or poor family ER clusters, children in the overall good ER group demonstrated fewer psychopathological symptoms at school. Our results confirmed the advantage of adopting multi‐informant assessments to fully capture children's emotional profiles and linked these profiles with children's emotional and behavioural functioning at school.     

Linking family characteristics with poor peer relations: The mediating role of conduct problems

Parent, teacher, and peer ratings were collected for 75 grade school boys to test the hypothesis that certain family interaction patterns would be associated with poor peer relations. Path analyses provided support for a mediational model, in which punitive and ineffective discipline was related to child conduct problems in home and school settings which, in turn, predicted poor peer relations. Further analyses suggested that distinct subgroups of boys could be identified who exhibited conduct problems at home only, at school only, in both settings, or in neither setting. Boys who exhibited cross-situational conduct problems were more likely to experience multiple concurrent problems (e.g., in both home and school settings) and were more likely than any other group to experience poor peer relations. However, only about one-third of the boys with poor peer relations in this sample exhibited problem profiles consistent with the proposed model (e.g., experienced high rates of punitive/ineffective home discipline and exhibited conduct problems in home and school settings), suggesting that the proposed model reflects one common (but not exclusive) pathway to poor peer relations.     

Personality Types and Applicant Reactions in Real‐life Selection

The study aimed to determine if an applicant's personality type is associated with his/her reactions (fairness perceptions, face validity perceptions, and predictive validity perceptions) to the selection process. The participants (N = 258) were real‐life applicants for admission to a vocational school. A person‐centered approach was applied to find subgroups with similar personality profiles. Latent profile analysis found four personality types: Resilient (45%), Overcontrolled (13%), Undercontrolled (10%), and Bohemian (32%). The Resilient and Bohemian personality types had more favorable perceptions of test fairness than the Overcontrolled type. Personality type did not affect face validity or predictive validity perceptions. The results suggest that personality (type) could be included in applicant reactions models and in analyses investigating the antecedents of applicant reactions.     

SOME COMMENTS ON CULTURE FAIR TESTS1

An attempt has been made in this paper to show that culture fair tests have some problems associated with them. These tests should be examined and reviewed closely before being used and should not be regarded as the answer to testing the culturally disadvantaged. The following points were made in this paper: Culture fair tests measure different psychological functions. Culture fair tests today measure such functions as spatial visualization, abstract reasoning, perceptual speed, etc. Culture fair tests vary considerably in format. Some are pencil and paper tests, some are performance tests. Some use verbal instructions, others do not. There are many test parameters along which culture fair tests now vary. Some evidence suggests that culture fair tests possibly increase the differential between the culturally disadvantaged and the more advantaged population. Use of these tests may not be in the best interests of minority groups. It is not yet definite about the kind of items on which culturally disadvantaged people perform poorer. Some evidence suggests that they do better on verbal items and worst on perceptual items, which is in contrast to the assumption of most proponents of culture-fair tests. The validity of culture fair tests has not been shown to be better than more traditional tests. In contrast, some research even indicates that they do not show relationships as high. What is to be done, if anything, about the test differentials between the culturally disadvantaged and the majority population? Some individuals (Lorge, 1964; Coffman, 1964) agree that the elimination of group differences on tests is futile and argue that the real task at hand is a realistic attempt to study the behavioral significance of test differences. In essence, this is an all out attempt to collect validation information. Does a particular score for a black have the same behavioral implications of a higher (or lower) test score for a white? Are there criterion differences that are related to test differences? Do differential validities exist for various subgroups? Are the standard errors of estimates different for different groups? This approach is essentially what has been pursued by individuals investigating the “moderating” effects of subgrouping by race and/or socio-economic factors. The investigation of test differences within and between subgroups is called for. In my opinion, attempting to mask test differentials by using culture fair tests may in actuality have a reverse effect than what was intended. Test differentials may actually increase, making it more difficult for culturally disadvantaged individuals to be selected into schools, jobs, etc. Clearly, the construction of culture fair tests is not the only answer to testing the disadvantaged.     

Achievement Goal Impacts Students' Preferences for “Personalized Problems” in Computer-Adaptive Tests1

The contemporary development of psychometric theories and information technologies enables students to work on algorithm-based personalized tests in classroom settings. This study aims to investigate the relationship between students' achievement goals and what they prefer as “personalized problems” in computer-adaptive tests. We theoretically contrast achievement goals with developing competency through mastery and demonstrating competency through performance goals. We asked elementary and secondary school students to work on a computer-adaptive test and to complete questionnaires about what they prefer as “personalized problems” in computer-adaptive tests. The results revealed that while mastery goals positively predicted preference for challenging problems, performance goals positively predicted preference for problems that guaranteed students’ success. Moreover, only the preference for challenging problems positively predicted the intention to take computer-adaptive tests in the future. These results suggest that simply introducing a computer-adaptive test into the classroom may not be effective. We discuss how educational technologies should be integrated into human teaching activities.     

Creativity Profiles and the Role of Interpersonal Relationships in Primary School Pupils: A Person-Centered Approach

This study aimed to investigate the heterogeneity of creativity and the role of interpersonal relationships for creativity subgroups among primary school students. We used latent profile analysis to identify subgroups of creativity among pupils. We then used logistic regression analysis to investigate the role of teacher-student and peer relationships in these subgroups. A total of 1,047 primary school students (M_age = 10.97, SD = 0.91; 47.80% girls) completed the Chinese version of the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking Figural Form A, the Teacher-Student Relationship Scale, and peer nominations. First, the results revealed five creativity profiles for pupils in primary school: high-creativity individuals, innovators, medium-creativity individuals, adaptors, and low-creativity individuals. Heterogeneity across the five subgroups was reflected in the differing creativity levels and differences in creativity dimensions. Second, students who had better teacher-student relationships were more likely to be high-creativity individuals and innovators than low-creativity individuals. In addition, students who had higher perceived popularity tended to be high-creativity individuals, innovators, adaptors, and medium-creativity individuals than low-creativity individuals. The results of this study provide a theoretical basis and empirical support for the targeted cultivation of creativity in primary schools.     

The Heterogeneity of Truancy among Urban Middle School Students: A Latent Class Growth Analysis

This longitudinal study explores heterogeneity of middle school students by identifying subgroups of youth characterized by distinct truancy trajectories and by determining disability profiles that distinguish these subgroups. Participants comprised an entire 7th through 9th grade student population, with approximately 58,000 students, in a large urban school district. Latent class growth analysis was used to identify subgroups of truant youth. This analysis yielded five distinct truant subgroups: Very-Low (37 %), Low (43.4 %), Declining (3.3 %), Rising (12.8 %), and Chronic (3.6 %). Further, differential disability profiles were found in each subgroup with the control of demographic characteristics (i.e., gender, race/ethnicity, free/reduced lunch, Limited English Proficiency, grade, and prior school absences), students with serious emotional disturbance and learning disabilities demonstrated amplified risks of being classified in the Chronic or Rising subgroups, which show chronic or incremental upward truant trajectories over time. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for future research.     

Social and personal adjustment of elementary and secondary students

The present study examined school adjustment problems of about 1000 students aged 6 through 17 years. The Behavior Problem Checklist was factor-analyzed to identify multivariate factors of adjustment problems. Age- and sex-based subgroups were then compared on these factors, and some estimates of criteria for abnormality were derived. Finally, the prevalence of each problem on the checklist was derived separately for age- and sex-based subgroups, which were then contrasted on the items. The results provide basic information about the adjustment problems of those students who are not considered socially or personally maladjusted.     

Discriminant Analysis of Clinical Outpatients and Public School Children by TEMAS: A Thematic Apperception Test for Hispanics and Blacks

This study investigated the utility of the minority version of the Tell Me a Story (TEMAS) test, a thematic apperception technique for minorities and nonminorities, by discriminating public school and clinical Hispanic and Black children. The test is composed of 23 stimuli, depicting minority characters interacting in urban settings, and is scored for nine personality functions (e.g., aggression and anxiety). The subjects were 100 outpatients at psychiatric centers and 373 public school students, all from low socioeconomic (SES), innercity families. All subjects were tested individually by examiners of the same ethnicity. Results indicated that TEMAS profiles significantly, p < .001, discriminated the two groups and explained 21% of the variance independent of ethnicity, age, and SES. Classification accuracy, based on the discriminant function, was 89%. The TEMAS profiles interacted with ethnicity; better discrimination was evident for Hispanics than Blacks. Results are discussed in terms of the need to develop and validate culturally sensitive personality tests for ethnic minorities.     

Cognitive emotion regulation strategies among Chinese adolescents having unprotected sex: a latent profile analysis

The association between cognitive emotion regulation strategy use and adolescents’ risk behavior has long been emphasized. To identify coping profiles of Chinese adolescents having unprotected sex and to examine the characteristics and associations among those subgroups, 541 adolescents (age, 14–19 years) were screened from secondary schools in 10 Chinese cities. By latent profile analysis (LPA), the participants were identified into three latent profiles: the low reaction profile (LRP, N = 70), the medium reaction profile (MRP, N = 369), and the high reaction profile (HRP, N = 102) based on nine subscales of the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (CERQ). By one-way analysis of variance, chi-square tests, and multivariate logistic regression analysis, we found that: the HRP has the highest level of using eight strategies and the lowest unprotected sex, meanwhile the LRP has the lowest level of using nine strategies and the highest unprotected sex among three groups (both p < .05). The low response coping was more prevalent among boys and younger students. It indicates that more active cognitive coping, using both adaptive and maladaptive strategies, may associate with less unprotected sex. The programs of enhancing active copying may be targeted in interventions aiming to reduce adolescent unprotected sex.     

Discriminant analysis of clinical outpatients and public school children by TEMAS: a thematic apperception test for Hispanics and blacks

This study investigated the utility of the minority version of the Tell Me a Story (TEMAS) test, a thematic apperception technique for minorities and nonminorities, by discriminating public school and clinical Hispanic and Black children. The test is composed of 23 stimuli, depicting minority characters interacting in urban settings, and is scored for nine personality functions (e.g., aggression and anxiety). The subjects were 100 outpatients at psychiatric centers and 373 public school students, all from low socioeconomic (SES), inner city families. All subjects were tested individually by examiners of the same ethnicity. Results indicated that TEMAS profiles significantly, p less than .001, discriminated the two groups and explained 21% of the variance independent of ethnicity, age, and SES. Classification accuracy, based on the discriminant function, was 89%. The TEMAS profiles interacted with ethnicity; better discrimination was evident for Hispanics than Blacks. Results are discussed in terms of the need to develop and validate culturally sensitive personality tests for ethnic minorities.     

Thirty years on – a large anti‐Flynn effect? The Piagetian test Volume & Heaviness norms 1975–2003

Background. Volume & Heaviness was one of three Piagetian tests used in the CSMS survey in 1975/76. However unlike psychometric tests showing the Flynn effect – that is with students showing steady improvements year by year requiring tests to be restandardized – it appeared that the performance of Y7 students has recently been getting steadily worse. Aims. A sample of schools sufficiently large and representative was chosen so that the hypothesis of worsening performance could be tested, and estimated quantitatively. Sample. Sixty‐nine Y7 school year groups containing pupil data on the Volume & Heaviness test and the University of Durham CEM Centre MidYIS test were located giving a sample of 10, 023 students covering the years 2000 to 2003. Method. Regression of the students' school mean on Volume & Heaviness on the schools' mean MidYIS 1999 standardized score, and computing the regression at MidYS = 100 allows comparison with that found in 1976. Results. The mean drops in scores from 1976 to 2003 were boys = 1.13 and girls = 0.6 levels. A differential of 0.50 standard deviations in favour of boys in 1976 had completely disappeared by the year 2002. Between 1976 and 2003 the effect‐size of the drop in the boys' performance was 1.04 standard deviations, and for girls was 0.55 standard deviations. Conclusion. The idea that children leaving primary school are getting more and more intelligent and competent – whether it is viewed in terms of the Flynn effect, or in terms of government statistics on performance in Key Stage 2 SATS in mathematics and science – is put into question by these findings.     

AULA virtual reality test as an attention measure: Convergent validity with Conners’ Continuous Performance Test

The majority of neuropsychological tests used to evaluate attention processes in children lack ecological validity. The AULA Nesplora (AULA) is a continuous performance test, developed in a virtual setting, very similar to a school classroom. The aim of the present study is to analyze the convergent validity between the AULA and the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) of Conners. The AULA and CPT were administered correlatively to 57 children, aged 6–16 years (26.3% female) with average cognitive ability (IQ mean = 100.56, SD = 10.38) who had a diagnosis of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) according to DSM-IV-TR criteria. Spearman correlations analyses were conducted among the different variables. Significant correlations were observed between both tests in all the analyzed variables (omissions, commissions, reaction time, and variability of reaction time), including for those measures of the AULA based on different sensorial modalities, presentation of distractors, and task paradigms. Hence, convergent validity between both tests was confirmed. Moreover, the AULA showed differences by gender and correlation to Perceptual Reasoning and Working Memory indexes of the WISC-IV, supporting the relevance of IQ measures in the understanding of cognitive performance in ADHD. In addition, the AULA (but not Conners’ CPT) was able to differentiate between ADHD children with and without pharmacological treatment for a wide range of measures related to inattention, impulsivity, processing speed, motor activity, and quality of attention focus. Additional measures and advantages of the AULA versus Conners’ CPT are discussed.     

The Contributions of Memory and Attention Processes to Cognitive Abilities

In two experiments, the contributions of memory and attention processes to the cognitive abilities of reasoning and perceptual speed were investigated. Two measures of speed of information retrieval from long-term and short-term memory (Posner paradigm, Sternberg paradigm) and two attention measures (continuous attention test, attention switching test) were included in the first experiment (N = 220). The memory tests led to correlations with the measures of cognitive abilities, whereas the attention test did not. The same tests as well as one additional memory test and one attention test (working memory test, test of covert orientation) were administered in the second experiment (N = 116). Again, the memory tests led to the larger correlations with the measures of cognitive abilities. Two components were obtained in components analysis, of which the first was characterized by high loadings of the memory tests and the second by high loadings of the attention tests. Only the memory component contributed to the prediction of cognitive abilities.     

Pupils' over‐reliance on linearity: A scholastic effect?

Background. From upper elementary education on, children develop a tendency to over‐use linearity. Particularly, it is found that many pupils assume that if a figure enlarges k times, the area enlarges k times too. However, most research was conducted with traditional, school‐like word problems. Aims. This study examines whether pupils also over‐use linearity if non‐linear problems are embedded in meaningful, authentic performance tasks instead of traditional, school‐like word problems, and whether this experience influences later behaviour. Sample. Ninety‐three sixth graders from two primary schools in Flanders, Belgium. Method. Pupils received a pre‐test with traditional word problems. Those who made a linear error on the non‐linear area problem were subjected to individual interviews. They received one new non‐linear problem, in the S‐condition (again a traditional, scholastic word problem), D‐condition (the same word problem with a drawing) or P‐condition (a meaningful performance‐based task). Shortly afterwards, pupils received a post‐test, containing again a non‐linear word problem. Results. Most pupils from the S‐condition displayed linear reasoning during the interview. Offering drawings (D‐condition) had a positive effect, but presenting the problem as a performance task (P‐condition) was more beneficial. Linear reasoning was nearly absent in the P‐condition. Remarkably, at the post‐test, most pupils from all three groups again applied linear strategies. Conclusions. Pupils' over‐reliance on linearity seems partly elicited by the school‐like word problem format of test items. Pupils perform much better if non‐linear problems are offered as performance tasks. However, a single experience does not change performances on a comparable word problem test afterwards.     

Neurological soft signs and school achievement: The mediating effects of sustained attention

A group of 115 black male adolescents drawn from a clinically unselected birth cohort, half of whom were known to have had neurological soft signs at age 7, were examined at age 17 to determine the relation between soft signs and performance on standard tests of school achievement and sustained attention. Three signs measured at age 17-dysgraphesthesia, difficulties with rapid alternating movements (dysdiadochokinesis), and motor slowness—were related to lower concurrent and past IQ and to impaired performance on laboratory and paper-and-pencil measures of sustained attention. The relation between signs and the attentional measures remained significant after IQ was statistically controlled. The three age 17 soft signs as well as age 7 signs were related to impaired performance on standardized tests (age 17) of school achievement. Most of the relation between signs and school achievement could be accounted for by the variance signs shared with sustained attention. One sign, mirror movements, was unrelated to all other attentional and cognitive measures.The study was supported by center grant MH 306906 and research training grant 5 T32 MH 13043-13 from the National Institute of Mental Health, as well as by the City College and the City University Computing Centers. We thank Lillian Belmont and two reviewers for their critical comments on an earlier version of the paper. We dedicate this paper to the memory of Joseph Barmack.     

Television Viewing and Attentional Abilities in Fourth and Fifth Grade Children

To evaluate the common assumption that television viewing is related to attentional difficulties in school, 70 fourth and fifth grade students recorded a “television diary” for one week and reported their preferred television shows. Parents estimated their child's television viewing time and reported their child's preferred shows. Assessment of attentional difficulties included teacher ratings, parent ratings, standardized tests, and classroom observations. It was found that the amount of television a child viewed was significantly related to teacher ratings of attentional difficulties, but not to parent ratings, classroom observations or a standardized test. Type of shows viewed did not relate to any attentional outcome variable. There was a clear relationship between fourth and fifth grade children's ability to pay attention in school, as assessed by their teacher, and the amount of time they spent watching television.