A meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of child sexual abuse

A meta-analysis of the published research on the effects of child sexual abuse (CSA) was undertaken for 6 outcomes: posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), depression, suicide, sexual promiscuity, victim-perpetrator cycle, and poor academic performance. Thirty-seven studies published between 1981 and 1995 involving 25,367 people were included. Many of the studies were published in 1994 (24; 65%), and most were done in the United States (22; 59%). All six dependent variables were coded, and effect sizes (d) were computed for each outcome. Average unweighted and weighted ds for each of the respective outcome variables were .50 and .40 for PTSD, .63 and .44 for depression, .64 and .44 for suicide, .59 and .29 for sexual promiscuity, .41 and .16 for victim-perpetrator cycle, and .24 and .19 for academic performance. A file drawer analysis indicated that 277 studies with null ds would be required to negate the present findings. The analyses provide clear evidence confirming the link between CSA and subsequent negative short- and long-term effects on development. There were no statistically significant differences on ds when various potentially mediating variables such as gender, socioeconomic status, type of abuse, age when abused, relationship to perpetrator, and number of abuse incidents were assessed. The results of the present meta-analysis support the multifaceted model of traumatization rather than a specific sexual abuse syndrome of CSA.     

Corporal punishment and child adjustment

The association between corporal punishment and children's emotional and behavioral functioning was studied in a sample of 98 non-referred children with a mean age of 12.35 (SD=1.72) recruited from two school systems in the southeastern United States. Children were divided into those who had experienced no corporal punishment over approximately a two-week period, those who had experienced mild levels of corporal punishment (i.e., 1 or 2 instances), and those who had experienced high levels of corporal punishment (i.e., 3 or more instances). Results indicated that use of corporal punishment was associated with problems in both emotional and behavioral adjustment. However, these associations were strongest for children who experienced high levels of corporal punishment, for children who were impulsive, and for children who did not experience a warm and supportive family climate.     

The Role of Race in the Association between Corporal Punishment and Externalizing Problems: Does Punishment Severity Matter?

Parental corporal punishment is frequently associated with emotional and behavioral problems among youth. Some researchers propose that this association does not exist in African–American families, although the literature is mixed. Among recent studies, there is a lack of standardization in the measure of corporal punishment, which may help explain the inconsistent findings. The present study used a community sample (N = 106, 34 % African–American, 48 % female) to test for racial differences in the association between corporal punishment and youths’ aggression and delinquency, while examining different corporal punishment types separately by severity level. The three corporal punishment variables were spanking, severe corporal punishment (hitting and hitting with an object), and total corporal punishment (a composite of spanking, hitting, and hitting with an object). Regression analyses revealed that race moderated the association between corporal punishment and delinquency, although this moderation was contingent upon the corporal punishment variable. Specifically, severe corporal punishment and total corporal punishment were associated with delinquency only for Caucasian and not African–American youth. The model testing spanking and delinquency was not moderated by race. Additionally, race moderated the association between severe corporal punishment and youth aggression. Findings suggest that corporal punishment is associated with youth externalizing problems, but that this varies based upon race, severity of corporal punishment, and type of externalizing problem.     

Trust, trustworthiness, and trust propensity: a meta-analytic test of their unique relationships with risk taking and job performance

The trust literature distinguishes trustworthiness (the ability, benevolence, and integrity of a trustee) and trust propensity (a dispositional willingness to rely on others) from trust (the intention to accept vulnerability to a trustee based on positive expectations of his or her actions). Although this distinction has clarified some confusion in the literature, it remains unclear (a) which trust antecedents have the strongest relationships with trust and (b) whether trust fully mediates the effects of trustworthiness and trust propensity on behavioral outcomes. Our meta-analysis of 132 independent samples summarized the relationships between the trust variables and both risk taking and job performance (task performance, citizenship behavior, counterproductive behavior). Meta-analytic structural equation modeling supported a partial mediation model wherein trustworthiness and trust propensity explained incremental variance in the behavioral outcomes when trust was controlled. Further analyses revealed that the trustworthiness dimensions also predicted affective commitment, which had unique relationships with the outcomes when controlling for trust. These results generalized across different types of trust measures (i.e., positive expectations measures, willingness-to-be-vulnerable measures, and direct measures) and different trust referents (i.e., leaders, coworkers).     

Corporal Punishment by Mothers and Development of Children's Cognitive Ability: A Longitudinal Study of Two Nationally Representative Age Cohorts

This study tested the hypothesis that the use of corporal punishment (CP), such as slapping a child's hand or “spanking,” is associated with restricted development of cognitive ability. Cognitive ability was measured at the start of the study and 4 years later for 806 children age 2–4 and 704 children age 5–9 in the National Longitudinal Study of Youth. The analyses controlled for 10 parenting and demographic variables. Children of mothers in both cohorts who used little or no CP at Time 1 gained cognitive ability faster than children who were not spanked. The more CP experienced, the more they fell behind children who were not spanked.     

Neighborhoods as a Developmental Context: A Multilevel Analysis of Neighborhood Effects on Head Start Families and Children

Neighborhoods have been recognized in theory and research as an important context for child development. This study used data from the Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey (FACES) and Census 2000 to assess the underlying factor structure and impact of neighborhood factors on child cognitive and behavioral outcomes, including the critical family and social factors that may mediate and/or moderate these relationships. Factor analyses found five factors described Head Start neighborhoods. After controlling for family and child factors, multilevel analyses found significant direct effects of neighborhood factors on Head Start children’s cognitive and behavioral outcomes. There were no mediation effects found for family or social variables between neighborhood factors and child outcomes. A large number of moderation effects were found although there was not a clear pattern to the results. Future research, policy, and practice implications are discussed.     

A review and meta-analysis of the nomological network of trainee reactions

A review and meta-analysis of studies assessing trainee reactions are presented. Results suggest reactions primarily capture characteristics of the training course, but trainee characteristics (e.g., anxiety and pretraining motivation) and organizational support also have a moderate effect on reactions. Instructional style (rho = .66) followed by human interaction (rho = .56) were the best predictors of reactions. Reactions predicted pre-to-post changes in motivation (beta = .51) and self-efficacy (beta = .24) and were more sensitive than affective and cognitive learning outcomes to trainees' perceptions of characteristics of the training course. Moderator analyses revealed reactions- outcomes correlations tended to be stronger in courses that utilized a high level rather than a low level of technology, and affective and utility reactions did not differ in their relationships with learning outcomes. The current study clarifies the nomological network of reactions and specifies outcomes that are theoretically related to reactions.     

Perception,use and abolition of corporal punishment among high school teachers in a district in southwestern Nigeria

Students in many regions of the world experience corporal punishment in multiple settings, although what is currently known about corporal punishment is derived from parental corporal punishment. Using a convenience sample of 271 teachers in 14 public and private secondary schools in a district in southwestern Nigeria, this article describes the associations between perception, use and support for abolition of corporal punishment. Results suggest that having children, more corporal punishment of own children and higher frequency of corporal punishment by colleagues were associated with frequent use of corporal punishment. Frequency of corporal punishment by colleagues accounted for the strongest variance in frequent use of corporal punishment. Lower corporal punishment of own children was associated with higher endorsement of abolition of corporal punishment from schools, whereas being male was associated with higher endorsement of abolition of corporal punishment from society. Teachers endorsed abolition of corporal punishment not only from schools but also from society. These findings highlight the “bandwagon” effect and teacher characteristics as potential risk factors for sustained perpetration and transmission of corporal punishment and draw attention to the need for intervention on alternative approaches to corporal punishment that could facilitate the abolition of corporal punishment from home and schools.     

Early risk pathways to physical versus relational peer aggression: The interplay of externalizing behavior and corporal punishment varies by child sex

Children who aggress against their peers may use physical or relational forms, yet little research has looked at early childhood risk factors and characteristics that uniquely predict high levels of relational versus physical aggression in preadolescence. Accordingly, the main aim of our study was to link early corporal punishment and externalizing behavior to children's physical and relational peer aggression during preadolescence and to examine how these pathways differed by sex. Participants were 193, 3‐year‐old boys (39%) and girls who were reassessed following the transition to kindergarten (5.5 years) and preadolescence (10.5 years). A series of autoregressive, cross‐lagged path analyses were conducted to examine the relationships between child externalizing problems and corporal punishment at ages 3 and 5.5 years, and their association with physical and relational aggression at age 10.5. Multiple group analysis was used to determine whether pathways differed by sex. Three developmental pathways were identified: (i) direct associations between stable childhood externalizing problems and later physical aggression; (ii) a direct pathway from early corporal punishment to preadolescent relational and physical peer aggression; and (iii) an indirect pathway from early corporal punishment to later physical aggression via continuing externalizing problems in middle childhood. Child sex moderated the nature of these pathways, as well as the direction of association between risk and outcome variables. These data advance our understanding of the etiology of distinct forms of peer aggression and highlight the potential for more efficacious prevention and intervention efforts in the early childhood years.

     

奖惩对注意缺陷多动障碍儿童情感决策的影响

采用简化版儿童赌博任务,其中操纵了奖励和惩罚的强度,探察两种亚型（注意缺陷型和混合型）ADHD儿童的情感决策能力,同时采集儿童在任务中的皮肤电活动以探析ADHD儿童在情感决策中的生理机制。结果发现,在不同的奖惩强度下,ADHD儿童情感决策模式不同,在即刻奖励条件下,ADHD儿童情感决策的能力明显弱于正常对照组儿童,倾向于不利选择,所产生的预测性皮电振幅也明显低于正常对照组;在即刻惩罚条件下,ADHD儿童的情感决策能力未见异常。两种亚型ADHD儿童的表现模式相似。上述结果证明,ADHD儿童仅存在对奖励的异常敏感性,并确实影响了其决策能力,而其回避惩罚的能力正常。两种亚型ADHD儿童存在的问题相似     

Using session-by-session measurement to compare mechanisms of action for acceptance and commitment therapy and cognitive therapy

Debate continues about the extent to which postulated mechanisms of action of cognitive behavior therapies (CBT), including standard CBT (i.e., Beckian cognitive therapy [CT]) and acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) are supported by mediational analyses. Moreover, the distinctiveness of CT and ACT has been called into question. One contributor to ongoing uncertainty in this arena is the lack of time-varying process data. In this study, 174 patients presenting to a university clinic with anxiety or depression who had been randomly assigned to receive either ACT or CT completed an assessment of theorized mediators and outcomes before each session. Hierarchical linear modeling of session-by-session data revealed that increased utilization of cognitive and affective change strategies relative to utilization of psychological acceptance strategies mediated outcome for CT, whereas for ACT the mediation effect was in the opposite direction. Decreases in self-reported dysfunctional thinking, cognitive "defusion" (the ability to see one's thoughts as mental events rather than necessarily as representations of reality), and willingness to engage in behavioral activity despite unpleasant thoughts or emotions were equivalent mediators across treatments. These results have potential implications for the theoretical arguments behind, and distinctiveness of, CT and ACT.     

Corporal punishment by parents and associated child behaviors and experiences: a meta-analytic and theoretical review

Although the merits of parents using corporal punishment to discipline children have been argued for decades, a thorough understanding of whether and how corporal punishment affects children has not been reached. Toward this end, the author first presents the results of meta-analyses of the association between parental corporal punishment and 11 child behaviors and experiences. Parental corporal punishment was associated with all child constructs, including higher levels of immediate compliance and aggression and lower levels of moral internalization and mental health. The author then presents a process-context model to explain how parental corporal punishment might cause particular child outcomes and considers alternative explanations. The article concludes by identifying 7 major remaining issues for future research.     

Child Discipline and Conservative Protestantism: Why the Relationship Between Corporal Punishment and Child Behavior Problems May Vary by Religious Context

Using data on 1,214 families from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, this study explored why and under what conditions parental conservative Protestant affiliation moderates the relationship between corporal punishment and children??s problem behavior. Previous scholars suggest that children raised by conservative Protestants may be less likely to experience negative outcomes associated with corporal punishment due to (1) adherence to guidelines that may minimize the risk of harm from corporal punishment, and (2) corporal punishment being used as part of a consistent parenting strategy. This study extended previous research by testing these hypotheses. Overall, corporal punishment was associated with increased externalizing and internalizing problem behavior among children. However, there was some support for our hypotheses. Specifically, children raised by conservative Protestant parents were less likely to display problem behavior if only the father spanked and if the father spanked infrequently, and were less likely to display externalizing behavior only if both parents were conservative Protestant.     

父母体罚、学校参与与青少年网络游戏成瘾:亲子关系的调节作用

采用问卷法对1389名初中生进行调查,考察了学校参与在父母体罚与青少年网络游戏成瘾（Internet Gaming Addiction,IGA）关系间的中介效应,以及父子关系和母子关系在其中的调节效应。结果发现：（1）在控制了性别、年龄、家庭人均月收入和父母受教育水平后,父母体罚可显著正向预测青少年IGA;（2）学校参与显著部分中介父母体罚与青少年IGA的关系;（3）母子关系显著调节中介路径"父母体罚→学校参与→IGA",即父母体罚通过侵蚀青少年的学校参与进而增加其IGA的中介效应在高母子关系青少年群体中显著,但在低母子关系青少年群体中不显著。     

Everyday Impact of Cognitive Interventions in Mild Cognitive Impairment: a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Cognitive interventions in Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) seek to ameliorate cognitive symptoms in the condition. Cognitive interventions may or may not generalize beyond cognitive outcomes to everyday life. This systematic review and meta-analysis sought to assess the effect of cognitive interventions compared to a control group in MCI on generalizability outcome measures [activities of daily living (ADLs), mood, quality of life (QOL), and metacognition] rather than cognitive outcomes alone. PRISMA guidelines were followed. MEDLINE and PsychInfo were utilized as data sources to locate references related to cognitive interventions in individuals with MCI. The cognitive intervention study was required to have a control or alternative treatment comparison group to be included. Thirty articles met criteria, including six computerized cognitive interventions, 14 therapist-based interventions, and 10 multimodal (i.e., cognitive intervention plus an additional intervention) studies. Small, but significant overall median effects were seen for ADLs (d = 0.23), mood (d = 0.16), and metacognitive outcomes (d = 0.30), but not for QOL (d = 0.10). Computerized studies appeared to benefit mood (depression, anxiety, and apathy) compared to controls, while therapist-based interventions and multimodal interventions had more impact on ADLs and metacognitive outcomes than control conditions. The results are encouraging that cognitive interventions in MCI may impact everyday life, but considerably more research is needed. The current review and meta-analysis is limited by our use of only PsychInfo and MEDLINE databases, our inability to read full text non-English articles, and our reliance on only published data to complete effect sizes.     

An initial evaluation of the role of emotion and impulsivity in explaining racial/ethnic differences in the use of corporal punishment

The authors sought to provide an initial evaluation of the hypothesis that corporal punishment is less strongly associated with parental emotion and impulsivity among African American ("Black") in contrast to European American ("White") parents. White-Latino and Black-Latino differences in corporal punishment, emotion, and impulsivity were explored, given the lack of existing theory predicting group differences. Couples with 3- to 7-year-old children were recruited via random digit dialing, and the parents completed questionnaires and an analog parent-child conflict task in the laboratory. Group differences were tested pooling mothers and fathers via dyadic data analyses. Black parents (N = 57) had more positive attitudes toward and used more corporal punishment than White parents (N = 730). Latino American parents' (N = 78) views and use of corporal punishment were similar to those of White parents. By and large, associations of corporal punishment with parents' impulsivity and emotion did not significantly vary by race/ethnicity. The present findings, although preliminary, do not support the emotion-impulsivity hypothesis of racial differences in the use of corporal punishment suggested by K. Deater-Deckard, K. A. Dodge, J. E. Bates, and G. S. Pettit (1996).     

Analysis of physical abuse in American schools

This study examined variables included in press reports of excessive infiction of pain on school children over the past ten years. Cross-tabulations were used to examine the relationship between severe corporal punishment with sex of educator, sex of pupil, nature of infraction, severity of punishment, job position of staff member, and age of student. The results indicate that severe corporal punishment is most often administered by males to boys. The frequency steadily increased to 12 or 13 years of age and then decreased. There was no relation between type of misbehavior and severity of punishment. Tentative clinical and educational implications of the study are discussed.     

Personality characteristics of the users of corporal punishment in the schools

The Rokeach Dogmatism Scale and the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire were correlated with educator-reported use of corporal punishment. Respondents were from a medium-size school system in Tennessee. Results indicated that closed-mindedness, as measured by the Rokeach scale, and Neuroticism, as measured by the Eysenck Scale, were highly correlated with reported use of corporal punishment. Of the remaining two dimensions of personality measured by the Eysenck questionnaire, Extraversion was found to be moderately correlated with reported use of corporal punishment while Psychoticism showed no significant relationship. A significant negative correlation was found between years of experience in teaching and use of corporal punishment. Frequency of physical punishment used on an educator when he/she was in grades K-12 was positively correlated with reported use of corporal punishment. Heavy users of corporal punishment tended to be relatively inexperienced, close-minded, neurotic, and impulsive as compared to their peers who did not use corporal punishment.     

The Effects of Children's Exposure to Domestic Violence: A Meta-Analysis and Critique

A wide range of children's developmental outcomes are compromised by exposure to domestic violence, including social, emotional, behavioral, cognitive, and general health functioning. However, there are relatively few empirical studies with adequate control of confounding variables and a sound theoretical basis. We identified 41 studies that provided relevant and adequate data for inclusion in a meta-analysis. Forty of these studies indicated that children's exposure to domestic violence was related to emotional and behavioral problems, translating to a small overall effect (Z _r = .28). Age, sex, and type of outcome were not significant moderators, most likely due to considerable heterogeneity within each of these groups. Co-occurrence of child abuse increased the level of emotional and behavioral problems above and beyond exposure alone, based on 4 available studies. Future research needs are identified, including the need for large-scale longitudinal data and theoretically guided approaches that take into account relevant contextual factors.     

Age differences in temporal discounting: the role of dispositional affect and anticipated emotions

We examined age differences in temporal discounting, the tendency to devalue delayed outcomes relative to immediate ones, with particular emphasis on the role of affective responses. A life-span sample completed an incentive-compatible temporal discounting task involving both monetary gains and losses. Covariates included demographic characteristics, cognitive functioning, personality traits, affective responses, and subjective health. Advanced age was associated with a lower tendency to discount the future, but this effect reached statistical significance only for the discounting of delayed gains. An examination of covariates suggested that age effects were associated with age differences in mental health and affective responses rather than demographic or cognitive variables.