3~4岁幼儿创造性人格与气质的交叉滞后分析

以幼儿创造性人格倾向教师评定问卷、儿童气质教师评定问卷作为研究工具,对287名3岁和4岁组幼儿进行为期一年的追踪研究,考察幼儿气质与创造性人格的发展变化情况,以及幼儿气质与其创造性人格之间的关系。结果发现：随着时间的发展,幼儿气质对其创造性人格有显著影响。幼儿的情绪性、活动性、反应性及专注性均能够显著正向预测其创造性人格,而幼儿的社会抑制性则能够显著负向预测其创造性人格。     

幼儿掌控动机与能力关系的纵向研究：任务类型与气质的调节作用

通过对幼儿3岁半掌控动机的任务评估、5岁半入学准备能力的测验及气质的教师评定，考察了幼儿掌控动机与能力的纵向关系，及任务类型与气质在两者关系中的调节作用。结果发现：(1)探索反馈任务中，气质因素活动性-专注性具有显著调节作用。对于活动型幼儿，探索时间负向预测了认知知识，掌控感负向预测了精细动作技能和学习方式，而对于专注型幼儿，预测关系不显著；(2)挑战性任务中成功的幼儿，气质因素反应性-抑制性具有显著调节作用。对于抑制型幼儿，掌控感正向预测了精细动作技能，而对于反应型幼儿，预测关系不显著；(3)挑战性任务中失败的幼儿，气质因素活动性-专注性具有显著调节作用。对于专注型幼儿，坚持性正向预测了学习方式，而对于活动型幼儿，预测关系不显著。     

幼儿自我调节能力的发展及与气质的关系

本研究主要讨论幼儿自我调节能力的发展及与气质的关系。研究从执行功能的角度入手,采用实验法和问卷法对90名3～5岁的幼儿进行研究,通过创设难度递进的冲突情境来考察儿童在两种不一致规则中的转换能力。结果表明,幼儿自我调节能力的发展随年龄增长而提高,并存在显著的年龄差异;幼儿气质与自我调节能力的发展有着密切的关系,特别是专注性和社会抑制性维度对不同水平的幼儿自我调节能力的方差检验都达到了显著,二者与年龄一起,能够对幼儿自我调节能力进行一定程度的预测。     

气质与童年早期的师生关系:家庭情感环境的作用

通过对118名幼儿的父母和教师间隔两年的追踪研究,考察了气质对童年早期师生关系的直接预测作用,以及气质与家庭情感环境在预测师生关系中的交互作用。结果发现:(1)控制先前的师生关系、性别、月龄、母子关系及家庭情感环境后,气质活动水平、节律性、趋避性对两年后的师生关系有显著的直接预测作用;(2)三种气质与家庭情感环境的交互作用对两次测量的师生关系也有显著的预测作用。这些发现同时支持了气质影响儿童发展的直接作用模型和交互作用模型。     

大学生归因方式、气质性乐观与心理幸福感的关系

采用问卷调查的方法,对350名大学生的归因方式、气质性乐观与心理幸福感(即抑郁、生活满意度)的关系进行了研究,结果表明:(1)归因方式问卷的总分与气质性乐观、生活满意度呈显著负相关,与抑郁呈显著正相关,气质性乐观与抑郁呈显著负相关,与生活满意度呈显著正相关;(2)归因方式的自身性维度上,乐观者、悲观者的归因方式无显著性差异;持久性和整体性维度上,对可控性低水平事件的归因方式无显著性差异,对中、高水平事件,悲观者的归因方式比乐观者更悲观;(3)归因方式对抑郁、生活满意度的影响以气质性乐观为中介变量.     

大班幼儿数学入学准备研究

研究从数与运算、量、几何空间及关系四个领域对江西省346名大班幼儿的数学入学准备的现状进行测查发现：幼儿在传递性推理、数的守恒概念、递增模式的认知等方面的发展相对较晚,在依据数量和大小进行双重排序、分类、加减运算等方面的发展相对较早;城市幼儿在各维度上的均分都显著高于农村幼儿;公办园幼儿学习结果优于民办园幼儿,小学附设幼儿最差。研究对了解公办与民办、城市与农村幼儿数学入学准备现状,分析幼儿数学学习影响因素,提高幼儿数学教育质量,进一步做好幼儿数学的入学准备具有重要的实现意义。     

气质性乐观与心理健康关系的元分析

运用元分析方法分别探讨了气质性乐观与心理健康的积极指标和消极指标的关系。共有106项研究满足了元分析的标准,涉及气质性乐观与心理健康积极指标的研究有70项,包括83个独立样本(N=30627);涉及气质性乐观与心理健康消极指标的研究有75项,包括105个独立样本(N=39064)。元分析结果发现:(1)整体上气质性乐观与心理健康积极指标有显著正相关(r=0.41),与心理健康消极指标有显著负相关(r=-0.41)。(2)气质性乐观与不同心理健康指标的相关有显著差异,积极指标中,与自尊的相关最高;消极指标中,与抑郁的相关最高。(3)气质性乐观测量工具的差异对其与心理健康的关系没有显著影响。(4)不同年龄阶段群体中气质性乐观与心理健康的关系没有显著差异。(5)文化背景差异对两者的关系有显著影响,西方文化中气质性乐观与心理健康的相关高于东方文化中的相关。     

睾酮素与反社会倾向未成年犯的攻击行为：敌意注意偏向的中介和皮质醇的调节作用

为考察睾酮素与反社会倾向未成年犯攻击行为的关系,在整合攻击行为生物激素视角和社会认知视角的基础上,探究敌意注意偏向的中介作用与皮质醇的调节作用。对84名未成年犯的激素水平、敌意注意偏向以及攻击行为进行调查。结果显示：(1)敌意注意偏向(注意不稳定性、注意回避)在睾酮素对攻击行为的影响中起完全中介作用;(2)皮质醇调节睾酮素与敌意注意偏向的关系,仅在高皮质醇水平下,敌意注意偏向的中介效应显著。基于生物激素影响攻击行为的中介机制和调节机制,可尝试从增加对敌意刺激的注意回避和提高皮质醇水平两个方面对反社会倾向未成年犯的攻击暴力行为进行干预。     

青少年气质性乐观与心理健康的元分析

采用元分析方法考察了气质性乐观与青少年心理健康的关系。经过文献搜索和筛选,共63篇文献符合研究主题的元分析标准。其中,涉及青少年气质性乐观与心理健康积极指标的文献46篇;涉及青少年气质性乐观与心理健康消极指标的文献30篇,所包含的独立样本共计110项(N=45084)。通过随机效应模型的元分析结果发现:气质性乐观与青少年心理健康的积极指标呈显著正相关,与青少年心理健康的消极指标呈显著负相关。     

母子依恋与农村儿童焦虑的关系：HPA轴活动的调节作用

本研究考察了母子依恋与农村留守、非留守儿童焦虑的关系以及儿童的HPA轴活动（唾液皮质醇日常节律）对这一关系的调节作用。39名留守儿童和70名非留守儿童完成了母子依恋问卷、儿童焦虑量表和连续三天共6次（上午、下午）的唾液采集。结果发现：（1）母子依恋安全性与留守儿童焦虑的负相关程度高于非留守儿童;（2）伴随皮质醇日常变化节律的提高,母子依恋安全性对留守儿童焦虑的保护作用增强,对非留守儿童焦虑的保护作用减弱。结果表明,HPA轴活动与母子依恋安全性的交互作用模式在农村留守与非留守儿童之间存在差异性。     

Does HPA‐Axis Dysregulation Account for the Effects of Income on Effortful Control and Adjustment in Preschool Children?

The effects of low income on children's adjustment might be accounted for by disruptions to hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA)‐axis activity and to the development of effortful control. Using longitudinal data and a community sample of preschool‐age children (N = 306, 36–39 months) and their mothers, recruited to over‐represent low‐income families, we explored the associations among diurnal cortisol levels and effortful control, and we tested a model in which diurnal cortisol and effortful control account for the effects of family income on child adjustment. Continuous indicators of morning cortisol level and diurnal slope, as well as dichotomous indicators reflecting low morning levels and flat diurnal slope, were examined as predictors of rank‐order changes in two dimensions of effortful control, executive control and delay ability. Low income was related to a flat diurnal cortisol slope, and above the effects of family income, a flat diurnal cortisol slope predicted lower social competence. Low morning cortisol level predicted smaller gains in executive control and higher total adjustment problems. Further, delay ability predicted lower adjustment problems above the effects of income and diurnal cortisol levels. The results suggest that HPA‐axis dysregulation and effortful control contribute additively to children's adjustment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Neuroendocrine regulation and physical and relational aggression: the moderating roles of child maltreatment and gender

The purpose of the present investigation was to examine the association between circadian rhythms of cortisol and physical and relational aggression. Morning arrival, prelunch, and afternoon predeparture salivary cortisol were assessed among 418 maltreated and nonmaltreated children (52% maltreated; 49% female) attending a summer day camp. Counselors and peers rated participants' involvement in physically and relationally aggressive behaviors. Results indicated that physical aggression was associated with heightened cortisol following morning arrival and relatively steep declines in cortisol over the day, whereas relational aggression was associated with low cortisol following morning arrival and blunted diurnal change in cortisol. Moreover, maltreatment was a significant moderator of this relationship such that aggression was related to greater cortisol dysregulation among nonmaltreated than among maltreated children. The findings suggest that physiological correlates of aggression may differ for physical and relational forms of aggression and among maltreated versus nonmaltreated populations.     

Stress, Cortisol, and Externalizing Behavior in Adolescent Males: An Examination in the Context of Multisystemic Therapy

Stress and hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis dysregulation have been associated with externalizing behavior in adolescence, but few studies have examined these factors in a treatment context. This study investigated the relationship between stress, cortisol, and externalizing behavior among 120 adolescent males (mean age?=?15) receiving Multisystemic Therapy (MST). To examine the differential relationship of cortisol with various types of stressors, self-report measures assessed lifetime stress, current episodic stress, and daily hassles. Morning and afternoon cortisol samples were collected to examine whether the relationship between stress and treatment outcome depended on the youth's biological stress levels. Regression analyses indicated that awakening cortisol levels moderated the relationship between daily hassles and externalizing behaviors at post-treatment. More specifically, higher levels of daily hassles predicted worse outcomes only among adolescents with high levels of morning cortisol. In addition, lifetime stressors and afternoon measures of cortisol interacted to predict changes in caretaker reports of externalizing problems and youth arrests following treatment; lifetime stressors were positively associated with externalizing behavior when adolescents had low levels of afternoon cortisol. Implications for theory and future directions for evidence-based treatment are discussed.     

The effects of SES on infant and maternal diurnal salivary cortisol output

The present study directly compared diurnal salivary cortisol output and maternal-infant synchrony in low and high socio-economic status (SES) mother–infant dyads. Saliva cortisol samples were collected from 32 6–12-month-old infants and their mothers on the same day in the morning, afternoon and evening, and assayed for free cortisol concentration. Low-SES infants and mothers exhibited higher average salivary cortisol output, without dysregulation, compared to high-SES infants. Low-SES infants and mothers also showed reduced synchrony in cortisol output compared to high-SES infants and mothers. Results are discussed with respect to maternal sensitivity and early stress reduction interventions.     

Exploring Diurnal Cortisol Rhythms of Kindergarten Teachers in Kosovo and Ukraine

Teachers’ stress is a dynamic combination of the individual teacher's characteristics and characteristics of the classroom and school environment. To date, there are limited studies on teachers’ stress in the context of lower‐middle‐income countries (LMICs), where working conditions as well as general political and economic circumstances might pose a considerable threat for teachers’ well‐being. This study explores whether certain combinations of individual and environmental experiences of teachers in LMICs may result in stress, assessed as patterns of diurnal cortisol rhythm. Participants were kindergarten teachers in Kosovo and Ukraine, two LMICs in Europe. Latent Profile Analysis identified three subgroups of teachers that significantly differed on teachers’ education and experience. Preliminary results of Latent Growth Modeling suggested differences between profiles in baseline waking cortisol and patterns of diurnal decline. Teachers in the profile that was characterized by the longest experience working in the field but the lowest level of education showed blunted cortisol in the morning and a flatter slope; a pattern that could indicate a maladaptive cortisol response. Future directions for studying stress processes among teachers in LMICs and implications for policy and practice on how to support teacher well‐being in low‐resource contexts are discussed.     

Longitudinal associations among child maltreatment, social functioning, and cortisol regulation

Child maltreatment increases the risk for impaired social functioning and cortisol regulation. However, the longitudinal interplay among these factors is still unclear. This study aimed to shed light on the effect of maltreatment on social functioning and cortisol regulation over time. The sample consisted of 236 children (mean age 7.64 years, SD = 1.36; 125 maltreated children and 111 nonmaltreated children, 128 boys and 108 girls) who attended a week-long summer camp for 2 consecutive years. Saliva was collected during 5 days at 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Means of morning and afternoon cortisol levels and cortisol change (difference between morning and afternoon levels, controlled for morning levels) were used to group the children into low-, medium-, and high-cortisol groups. Prosocial, disruptive/aggressive, and withdrawn behaviors were assessed using information from peers and counselors. Maltreated children showed less prosocial and more disruptive/aggressive and withdrawn behavior. Results of structural equation modeling analyses indicated that there were indirect effects of maltreatment on Year 2 morning cortisol via prosocial and disruptive/aggressive behavior: Lower levels of prosocial behavior and higher levels of disruptive/aggressive behavior were related to lower morning cortisol levels 1 year later. Withdrawn behavior was related to higher afternoon cortisol values 1 year later. Results of this study suggest that maltreated children are more likely to experience difficulties in social functioning, which in turn is related to cortisol regulation 1 year later. This altered hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical (HPA) axis functioning may put children at risk for later psychopathology.     

Early childhood cortisol reactivity moderates the effects of parent–child relationship quality on the development of children's temperament in early childhood

Positive parenting has been related both to lower cortisol reactivity and more adaptive temperament traits in children, whereas elevated cortisol reactivity may be related to maladaptive temperament traits, such as higher negative emotionality (NE) and lower positive emotionality (PE). However, no studies have examined whether hypothalamic‐pituitary‐adrenal axis activity, as measured by cortisol reactivity, moderates the effect of the quality of the parent–child relationship on changes in temperament in early childhood. In this study, 126 3‐year‐olds were administered the Laboratory Temperament Assessment Battery (Lab‐TAB; Goldsmith et al., 1995) as a measure of temperamental NE and PE. Salivary cortisol was collected from the child at 4 time points during this task. The primary parent and the child completed the Teaching Tasks battery (Egeland et al., 1995), from which the quality of the relationship was coded. At age 6, children completed the Lab‐TAB again. From age 3 to 6, adjusting for age 3 PE or NE, a better quality relationship with their primary parent predicted decreases in NE for children with elevated cortisol reactivity and predicted increases in PE for children with low cortisol reactivity. Results have implications for our understanding of the interaction of biological stress systems and the parent–child relationship in the development of temperament in childhood.     

An investigation of the effects of self-reported self-control strength on shooting performance

During professional shooting tournaments, which typically last multiple hours, athletes must stay focused at all times in order to perform at their highest levels. Sustaining attention over extended periods of time relies on self-control. Crucially, perceived state self-control strength appears to wane as a function of task duration, which ultimately can impair shooting performance. In the present study, we tested the assumption that the level of self-reported self-control strength decreases over the course of a 1-h shooting task measured twice during a regular training day and separated by a 2-h break. Additionally, we assumed that shooting performance would be linked with fluctuations in self-control. A total of 21 shooters (14 elite and 7 sub-elite) took part in this study and were asked to perform a series of 10 shots at a standardized target, five times in the morning and five times in the afternoon (i.e., 100 shots total). The participants also reported their perceived state self-control strength at the baseline (prior to the start of the morning session as well as the afternoon session) and after a series of 10 shots each in the morning and afternoon (i.e., 12 measurements in total). In line with our hypotheses, we observed that perceived state self-control diminished with the number of shots performed, and that perceived state self-control could explain shooting performance. Additionally, these observations could explain the difference in shooting performance between elite and sub-elite athletes. The results suggest that the perception of self-control strength is highly important for optimal shooting performance. Practical implications are discussed.     

Maternal prenatal stress and 4-6 year old children's salivary cortisol concentrations pre- and post-vaccination

In this study influences of maternal prenatal stress on the cortisol reactions of children to a vaccination were determined. Prenatal stress at around 16 weeks of gestation was measured through questionnaires and a cortisol day curve. Cortisol reactions were determined preceding and following the vaccination. A total of 24 children (age between 3.11 and 5.9 years, mean age 4.9 years) and their mothers participated in this study. Multilevel analysis (hierarchical linear modelling) was used to analyze the data. Children of mothers who had higher concentrations of morning cortisol during pregnancy had higher concentrations of cortisol as compared to children of mothers who had lower concentrations of morning cortisol. Furthermore, more daily hassles and a higher level of fear of bearing a handicapped child during pregnancy were associated with higher concentrations of cortisol in the children.