Vertical and leg stiffness and stretch-shortening cycle changes across maturation during maximal sprint running

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether vertical and leg stiffness, and stretch-shortening cycle (SSC) ability differed in developing athletes of various maturity status during maximal sprint running. Seventy-four male participants between 8 and 16 years of age were categorized into pre-, mid- or post-peak height velocity (PHV) and sprinted for 30 meters on a non-motorized treadmill. Dimensionless vertical stiffness increased significantly (p < .05) from pre-, to mid- and post-PHV state, while dimensionless leg stiffness was significantly higher in post- compared to mid- (18.4%) and pre-PHV participants (44.5%). Eccentric power was significantly lower in pre- compared to the mid- and post-PHV participants. Concentric power increased from pre- to mid- and post-PHV state. An analysis of covariance revealed no significant differences between all groups in dimensionless vertical and leg stiffness, eccentric and concentric time and power when controlling for years from PHV (maturation). Eccentric or concentric power, were found to be the best predictors of maximum velocity across all maturation groups (r² = .37–.68). It seems that maturation affects the ability to absorb and produce power and furthermore these variables are important predictors of maximal running velocity.     

Longitudinal relationships between core self-evaluations and job satisfaction

Core self-evaluations (CSE) have been proposed as a static personality trait that influences individuals' work experiences. However, CSE can also be influenced by work experiences. Based on the corresponsive principle of personality development, this study incorporated both dispositional and contextual perspectives to examine longitudinal reciprocal relationships between CSE and job satisfaction. Longitudinal data from 5,827 participants in the British Household Panel Survey from 1997 to 2006 were analyzed. A series of structural equation models revealed that job satisfaction and the growth of job satisfaction in previous years positively predicted CSE in a later year. In turn, CSE contributed to higher job satisfaction and growth of job satisfaction in following years. This result shows that both dispositional and contextual forces interweave to shape individuals' self-views and experiences over time.     

Longitudinal associations between hostility in adolescents' family relationships and friendships and hostility in their romantic relationships.

This study examined longitudinal predictors of hostility in adolescents' romantic relationships. The sample included 110 adolescents and their parents from 72 families. Observational measures of parents' marital hostility and parent-child hostility and self-reports of hostility in close friendships were collected when adolescents ranged from 14 to 16 years old. Three years later, when they were 17 to 19 years old, adolescents reported on the hostility in their romantic relationships. Results indicated that hostility in parents' marital relationships and in adolescents' friendships accounted for independent variance in hostility in adolescents' later romantic relationships. Results highlight the importance of both family relationships and friendships for predicting hostility in adolescents' romantic relationships over time.     

Longitudinal relationships between depressive symptoms and health in normal older and middle-aged adults

Comorbidity between health and depression is salient in late life, when risk for physical illness rises. Other community studies have not distinguished between the effects of brief and long-standing depressive symptoms on excess morbidity and mortality. S. Cohen and M. S. Rodriguez's (1995) differential hypothesis of pathways between depression and health was used to examine the relationships between health and depression in a prospective probability sample of 1,479 community-resident middle-aged and older adults. Findings suggest that different durations of depressive symptoms have different relationships to health. Health had an impact on short-term increases in depressive symptoms but depressive symptoms had a weaker impact on health. The reciprocal impact was indistinguishable from the health influence on depression. In contrast, longer term depressive symptoms had a clear impact on health. The results imply that physical illness can affect depressive states; depressive traits but not states can affect illness.     

Longitudinal relationships between gratitude,deliberate rumination,and posttraumatic growth in adolescents following the Wenchuan earthquake in China

To examine the longitudinal relationship between gratitude, deliberate rumination and posttraumatic growth (PTG) in the adolescent survivors after the Wenchuan earthquake, 217 adolescent survivors were randomly selected from several primary and secondary schools in the county of Wenchuan, and were assessed by questionnaires at three and a half years (T1), four and a half years (T2), five and a half years (T3) after the Wenchuan earthquake, respectively. The results found that there was a one‐way predictive relationship of gratitude onto PTG from T1 to T3, and gratitude predicted deliberate rumination from T1 to T2 but not T2 to T3. Deliberate rumination only had a significant positive effect on PTG from T2 to T3, and PTG only predicted deliberate rumination from T1 to T2. These results indicated that gratitude could be a stable predictive factor for the development of PTG, and gratitude could also affect PTG by deliberate rumination. In addition, the predictive effect between deliberate rumination and PTG is unstable with time change.     

Bidirectional associations between biased language exposure and school-based relationships across gender

Students often hear their peers use biased language regarding race, religion, sexual orientation, or disability status in the school setting. Prior research has indicated that biased language is related to school climate, and specifically to school-based relationships between peers and between students and their teachers. This study investigated the longitudinal associations among student-student relationships, teacher-student relationships, and being the target of or hearing biased language in middle school students. Students (N = 501; 46.5% White, 21.8% Hispanic, 13% African American, and 15% Multi-Racial; 48.7% female) reported on how much they were targeted or heard biased language related to race/religion, sexual orientation, and disability status. Students also reported on their relationships with their peers and teachers. Using a cross-lagged panel model with the overall sample, a negative unidirectional association from being the target of or hearing biased language and student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships was identified. Separate models for boys and girls identified unique patterns. For boys, biased-language exposure predicted more negative student-student relationships and teacher-student relationships, whereas for girls, biased-language exposure was not associated with school-based relationships. Implications include addressing language use and building positive student-student and teacher-student relationships.     

Longitudinal linkages between sibling relationships and adjustment from middle childhood through adolescence

The links between changes in sibling conflict and intimacy and changes in perceived peer social competence and depression symptoms were examined from middle childhood through adolescence. Participants were mothers, fathers and first- and second-born siblings from 197 White, working/middle class, two-parent families. Peer competence peaked in early adolescence and then declined; depression symptoms were high in middle childhood and, for girls, in middle adolescence. Controlling for parent-offspring relationships and sibling and parent adjustment, increases in sibling conflict were linked to increases in depression symptoms, and increases in sibling intimacy were linked to increases in peer competence and, for girls, decreases in depression symptoms.     

The relationships between functional and dysfunctional impulsivity and aggression across different samples

E. S. Barratt proposed the term impulsive aggression to define a kind of aggression that is characterized by acting without thinking because of high levels of impulsivity. Previous research using psychometric measures has shown that impulsivity and aggression are related as far as psychometric measures are concerned. Nevertheless, most of the research has been done with samples of university students. Our research tests whether this relationship is stable across different samples; university students, teenagers and workers. Our results show that impulsivity and aggression have a consistent pattern of relationships across these samples, with impulsivity being specially related to emotional and instrumental aspects of aggression. Furthermore, the effects of anger on aggression seem to show a pattern of relationship that depends on age, with a tendency to physical aggression in young people and verbal aggression in adults.     

Increasing convergence between imagined and executed movement across development: evidence for the emergence of movement representations

Motor imagery (MI) has become a principal focus of interest in studies on brain and behavior. However, changes in MI across development have received virtually no attention so far. In the present study, children (N = 112, 6 to 16 years old) performed a new, computerized Virtual Radial Fitts Task (VRFT) to determine their MI ability as well as the age‐related confluence between performance in executed and imagined movement conditions. Participants aimed at five targets, which were positioned along radial axes from a central target circle. The targets differed in width (2.5, 5, 10, 20 or 40 mm), resulting in an index of difficulty (ID) that varied from 6.9 to 2.9 bits. Performance was indexed by the linear relationship between ID and Movement Time (MT). The findings showed that executed task performance was slower than imagined performance. Moreover, conformance to Fitts’ Law during executed movement performance was obtained from a very young age. Most importantly, correlations between imagined and executed movements were low in the young participants but gradually increased across age. These age‐related changes in MI are hypothesized to reflect the children's emerging ability to represent internal models for prospective actions, consistent with the gradual unfolding of feedforward control processes.     

Leg and vertical stiffness (a)symmetry between dominant and non-dominant legs in young male runners

Biomechanical findings show that running is asymmetric in many kinetic properties. Running stiffness is a vital kinetic property of yet unknown pattern of lateralization. The aim of this study was to examine the degree and variability of lower limb dominance specific asymmetry of running in terms of leg stiffness, vertical stiffness, contact time, flight time, maximal ground reaction force during contact, vertical displacement of the center of mass, and change in leg length. Leg and vertical stiffness was estimated by the sine-wave method in 22 young males during treadmill running at 4.44 m/s. Lower limb dominance was determined by the triple-jump test. Asymmetry was expressed as dominant – non-dominant, and indexed by the absolute asymmetry index. Significant asymmetry was found only in flight time (3.98%) and in maximal ground reaction force (1.75%). The absolute asymmetry index ranged from 1.8% to 6.4%, showed high variation between subjects (0–31.6%), and differentiated among the 7 analyzed variables. Leg and vertical stiffness in treadmill running of moderate pace (4.44 m/s) should be considered symmetric.     

The rise of the nones and the changing relationships between identity,belief, and behavior

ABSTRACT

One of the more remarkable trends of the past 30 years is the dramatic rise of individuals who do not identify with any religious tradition. While this trend has been well documented, some of the underlying dynamics and consequences have not been fully appreciated or explicated. We examine the General Social Survey in the period from 1972 to 2014 to examine how the increase in the ‘nones’ is tied to changes in the strength of religious identity among US adults and, in turn, how the rise of the nones has affected the relationships between religious identity, religious belief, and religious behavior. In particular, we show that, as the percentage of US adults who do not identify with a religion has grown, the correlations between religious identification, belief, and behavior have increased. In short, the rise of the nones has led to more congruence between measures of religion.     

Visual movement perception: A comparison of sensitivity to vertical and horizontal movement

A psychophysical model that provides separate measures of judgmental standards and sensitivity is utilized to compare an O’s visual sensitivity for vertical and horizontal movement. The analysis indicates no consistent difference in sensitivity; those asymmetries that do exist simply appear to be due to idiosyncratic judgmental standards.     

Relational invariance of expressive microstructure across global tempo changes in music performance: An exploratory study

Summary This study addressed the question of whether the expressive microstructure of a music performance remains relationally invariant across moderate (musically acceptable) changes in tempo. Two pianists played Schumann's Träumerei three times at each of three tempi on a digital piano, and the performance data were recorded in MIDI format. In a perceptual test, musically trained listeners attempted to distinguish the original performances from performances that had been artificially speeded up or slowed down to the same overall duration. Accuracy in this task was barely above chance, suggesting that relational invariance was largely preserved. Subsequent analysis of the MIDI data confirmed that each pianist's characteristic timing patterns were highly similar across the three tempi, although there were statistically significant deviations from perfect relational invariance. The timing of (relatively slow) grace notes seemed relationally invariant, but selective examination of other detailed temporal features (chord asynchrony, tone overlap, pedal timing) revealed no systematic scaling with tempo. Finally, although the intensity profile seemed unaffected by tempo, a slight overall increase in intensity with tempo was observed. Effects of musical structure on expressive microstructure were large and pervasive at all levels, as were individual differences between the two pianists. For the specific composition and range of tempi considered here, these results suggest that major (cognitively controlled) temporal and dynamic features of a performance change roughly in proportion with tempo, whereas minor features tend to be governed by tempo-independent motoric constraints.     

Longitudinal relationships between speech perception,phonological skills and reading in children at high‐risk of dyslexia

Speech perception deficits are commonly reported in dyslexia but longitudinal evidence that poor speech perception compromises learning to read is scant. We assessed the hypothesis that phonological skills, specifically phoneme awareness and RAN, mediate the relationship between speech perception and reading. We assessed longitudinal predictive relationships between categorical speech perception, phoneme awareness, RAN, language, attention and reading at ages 5½ and 6½ years in 237 children many of whom were at high risk of reading difficulties. Speech perception at 5½ years correlated with language, attention, phoneme awareness and RAN concurrently and was a predictor of reading at 6½ years. There was no significant indirect effect of speech perception on reading via phoneme awareness, suggesting that its effects are separable from those of phoneme awareness. Children classified with dyslexia at 8 years had poorer speech perception than age‐controls at 5½ years and children with language disorders (with or without dyslexia) had more severe difficulties with both speech perception and attention control. Categorical speech perception tasks tap factors extraneous to perception, including decision‐making skills. Further longitudinal studies are needed to unravel the complex relationships between categorical speech perception tasks and measures of reading and language and attention.     

Sibling support in early adolescence: Buffering and compensation across relationships

The current study is an examination of how support from siblings relates to psychological adjustment and academic competence in early adolescence, with a focus on the buffering and compensatory effects of sibling support. Participants were 695 (357 female and 338 male) African-American, Hispanic-American and European-American students in grades 5 through 8. The age range was 11 to 15 (M?=?12.69, SD?=?1.12). Participants were interviewed in school regarding their social support in addition to their familial, economic and environmental risk, psychological wellbeing, and academic competence. Brother support was associated with more positive school attitudes and with higher self-esteem. Sister support buffered the relationship between ecological risk and school adaptation. In terms of a compensatory effect, students under low mother support conditions receiving greater support from brothers exhibited higher school achievement. The current study highlights the importance of examining constellation variables as part of the broader interest in sibling relations. Additionally, the current study indicates that the variability in sibling relationships reported in the literature may be associated with developmental changes in these relationships. The potential benefits of sibling support warrant a closer examination of the wide-ranging issues involved in sibling relations.     

Identity configurations across love and work in emerging adults in romantic relationships

Love and work constitute two life-defining identity domains for emerging adults. The present study utilized a five-dimensional identity model and examined identity configurations across these two domains, capturing the degree to which identity statuses correspond across domains. A sample of German 18–30-year-olds who were either working or studying and engaged in a romantic relationship was assessed at baseline and three years later. Six identity clusters emerged in each domain. Combining identity clusters across love and work domains, 7 identity configurations were distinguished. Whereas some configurations were characterized by strong commitments in one or both domains, other configurations consisted of individuals scoring low on commitment and high on exploration and rumination. These configurations were differentially related to psychological symptoms, work stress and satisfaction, and family–work conflict, both concurrently and longitudinally. Individuals characterized by high commitments in love and work provided the most favorable responses on all outcomes.     

When music tempo affects the temporal congruence between physical practice and motor imagery

When people listen to music, they hear beat and a metrical structure in the rhythm; these perceived patterns enable coordination with the music. A clear correspondence between the tempo of actual movement (e.g., walking) and that of music has been demonstrated, but whether similar coordination occurs during motor imagery is unknown. Twenty participants walked naturally for 8 m, either physically or mentally, while listening to slow and fast music, or not listening to anything at all (control condition). Executed and imagined walking times were recorded to assess the temporal congruence between physical practice (PP) and motor imagery (MI). Results showed a difference when comparing slow and fast time conditions, but each of these durations did not differ from soundless condition times, hence showing that body movement may not necessarily change in order to synchronize with music. However, the main finding revealed that the ability to achieve temporal congruence between PP and MI times was altered when listening to either slow or fast music. These data suggest that when physical movement is modulated with respect to the musical tempo, the MI efficacy of the corresponding movement may be affected by the rhythm of the music. Practical applications in sport are discussed as athletes frequently listen to music before competing while they mentally practice their movements to be performed.