Short-term memory in deaf and hearing children in relation to stimulus characteristics

Experiment 1 examined short-term memory with a serial probe task in 20 younger (mean age: 6 years, 3 months) and 20 older (mean age: 8 years, 8 months) deaf children. Four sets of stimuli were used: familiar animals, unfamiliar nonsense forms, fingerspelled letters, and lower-case print. In contrast to earlier research with hearing children, strong primacy effects were found with all stimuli at both ages, with frequent gestural and/or oral labeling but little cumulative rehearsal evident. To determine whether results were uniquely tied to deafness, identical procedures were used in Experiment 2 with 20 younger (4 years, 9 months) and 20 older (5 years, 10 months) hearing children. Again, overt activity was common, with strong primacy effects on animals and nonsense forms in the older group and on animals in the younger group. Contrasts between present and earlier findings suggest the need to consider the degree to which stimulus labels are overlearned, the role of nonverbal mediators in rehearsal, and the effects of changing educational experiences.     

Perfectionism, acne and appearance concerns

This study investigated the relationship between perfectionism and two aspects of appearance worry: acne-related concerns and dysmorphic concerns. One-hundred and sixty five female university students completed measures of three facets of perfectionism: self-oriented, other-oriented and socially prescribed [Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991a). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: conceptualization, assessment and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 456–470], general psychopathology (GHQ-28), acne health related quality of life [Girman, C. J., Hartmaier, S., Thiboutot, D., Johnson, J., Barter, B., DeMunro-Mercon, & Waldstreicher, J. (1996). Evaluating health-related quality of life in patients with facial acne: development of a self-administered questionnaire for clinical trials. Quality of Life Research, 5, 481–490] and dysmorphic concerns [Oostuizen, P., Lambert, T., & Castle, D.J. (1998). Dysmorphic concern: prevalence and associations with clinical variables. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Psychiatry, 32, 129–132]. Multiple regression analyses showed that, after controlling for general psychopathology, a high level of socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with a greater tendency to be concerned about acne in particular and appearance in general.     

A Comparison of Three Methods of Teaching Skin Self-Examinations

Skin self-examinations are essential for the early identification and treatment of skin cancers. However, little is known about the most effective methods for teaching skin cancer detection and skin self-examination. This study compared three skin cancer education methods that are commonly used in the primary care setting: viewing a videotape, reading brochures, and one-on-one instruction from a nurse practitioner. One hundred forty-three young adults were randomly assigned to one of the four conditions (educational intervention or wait list) and completed measures of skin cancer knowledge, ability to visually discriminate cancerous versus noncancerous skin growths, and behavioral ability to perform a skin self-examination immediately (Time 1) and 3 weeks (Time 2) after the educational intervention. Results showed that participants across all educational interventions had significantly higher skin cancer knowledge compared to those in the wait-list control group, and these knowledge scores were maintained for 3 weeks. Participants in the brochure condition scored significantly higher than participants in all other conditions on an observational measure of skin self-examination. Demographic variables, such as gender and ethnicity, were not found to be related to performance on any of the dependent measures. These findings provide preliminary evidence that knowledge of skin cancer may be enhanced through a variety of educational techniques and that written materials (e.g., brochures) may represent the minimal intervention level necessary for teaching adults how to perform thorough skin self-examinations.     

Traumatic Brain Injury as a Risk Factor for Alzheimer's Disease: A Review

Accumulating epidemiological evidence implicates traumatic brain injury as a pathogenic agent in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). Considering the increase in the prevalence of both traumatic brain injury and AD in recent times, the possibility that brain trauma may provoke the early development of AD has important implications for health service planning, preventative efforts, and medico-legal compensation settlements. This paper evaluates the plausibility of the proposed link between traumatic brain injury and AD, largely by way of exploring a theoretical perspective advanced by Satz (1993) and considering recent contributions from the epidemiological, neuropathological, and biochemical literature that are pertinent to this issue. The literature reviewed provides sufficient support and empirical vindication to give credence to the proposed association between these two neuropsychological entities at the statistical, theoretical, and biological level.     

Sex and generational differences in desired characteristics in mate selection

This study compared the ranking of 18 personal characteristics or qualities which college students might use in selecting a future mate and builds on six other assessment periods from 1939-1996 which dealt with this issue. Among the most consistent findings for all seven assessment periods is the high value both sexes place on dependable character, emotional stability/maturity, pleasing disposition, and mutual attraction/love. Men across all assessment periods placed a higher value than women on good health, good cook/housekeeper, and good looks, while women placed a higher value on ambitious/industrious, similar educational background, and good financial prospect. These trends could go along with ethological theory. For both sexes chastity and similar religious background gained value; however, this may be an artifact of the current sample of 100 students.     

A model of childhood perceived peer harassment: analyses of the Canadian National Longitudinal Survey of Children and Youth Data

The authors developed a model of childhood perceived peer harassment, using several personality, peer, and familial characteristics of victims, and tested it with children 10 to 11 years old (N = 3,434) drawn from the Canadian National Survey of Children and Youth, which is a stratified random sample of 22,831 households in Canada. A 3-step analytic procedure with 3 separate subsamples of the children was used to explore psychosocial correlates of peer harassment. Results from the latent variable path analysis (comparative fit index = .90) showed that victims are likely to feel anxious and disliked by their peers. Their parents reported using high levels of control and low levels of warmth with their children and reported high levels of depression and marital conflict themselves. These results are discussed from a social-cognitive perspective.     

Peer Victimization in Youth with Tourette’s Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder: Relations with Tic Severity and Internalizing Symptoms

The present study analyzed rates of peer victimization in children with a chronic tic disorder as compared to children with type 1 diabetes and healthy controls. The associations among peer victimization, tic symptom severity, and psychological symptoms, as well as the potential mediating relationship between peer victimization, tic severity, and child internalizing symptoms, were also explored. Children with tics displayed higher rates of peer victimization than control groups, and peer victimization in children with tics was positively correlated with tic symptom severity, loneliness, anxiety symptoms, and parent report of child internalizing symptoms. Results also supported the hypothesis that peer victimization mediates the relationship between tic symptom severity and loneliness. Findings highlight the importance of the assessment and treatment of psychosocial variables in children with chronic tic disorders, including social functioning and peer relationships.