Procedures for identifying evidence-based psychological treatments for older adults

The authors describe the methods used to identify evidence-based psychological treatments for older adults in this contribution to the special section. Coding teams were assembled to review the literature on several problems relevant to mental health and aging. These teams used the manual developed by the Committee on Science and Practice of the Society for Clinical Psychology (Division 12) of the American Psychological Association that provided definitions of key constructs used in coding. The authors provide an overview of the process followed by the review teams and of some of the issues that emerged to illustrate the steps involved in the coding procedure. Identifying evidence-based treatments is a fundamental aspect of promoting evidence-based practice with older adults; such practice is advocated by most health care disciplines, including psychology.     

Psychological predictors of problem mobile phone use.

Mobile phone use is banned or illegal under certain circumstances and in some jurisdictions. Nevertheless, some people still use their mobile phones despite recognized safety concerns, legislation, and informal bans. Drawing potential predictors from the addiction literature, this study sought to predict usage and, specifically, problematic mobile phone use from extraversion, self-esteem, neuroticism, gender, and age. To measure problem use, the Mobile Phone Problem Use Scale was devised and validated as a reliable self-report instrument, against the Addiction Potential Scale and overall mobile phone usage levels. Problem use was a function of age, extraversion, and low self-esteem, but not neuroticism. As extraverts are more likely to take risks, and young drivers feature prominently in automobile accidents, this study supports community concerns about mobile phone use, and identifies groups that should be targeted in any intervention campaigns.     

A Comparison of Family Environment Characteristics Among White (Non‐Hispanic), Hispanic,and African Caribbean Groups

To investigate differences in the family environments of different cultural groups, the Family Environment Scale and a clinical interview were administered to 153 college students from White (non‐Hispanic), Hispanic, and African Caribbean backgrounds. A multivariate analysis of covariance and post hoc comparisons revealed significant differences between the groups on the Expressiveness, Independence, and Moral‐Religious Emphasis subscales. Para investigar las distinciones en los ambientes familiares entre grupos culturales diferentes, la Escala del Ambiente Familiar (FES) y una entrevista clínica fueron administradas a 153 estudiantes colegiales Blancos (no‐Hispanos), Hispanos, y Africano‐Caribeños. Un análisis de la covariancia multivariado y comparaciones post hoes revelarón diferencias significativas entre los grupos en Expresividad, Independencia, y Enfasis Moral‐Religioso.     

Thriving and Ethnic Discrimination: A Mixed‐Methods Study

Using mixed methodology, the authors examined facilitators to psychological thriving—or positive changes after adversity—in the context of ethnic discrimination among Latina/o adults. Several themes emerged from qualitative interviews (n = 10), including proving others wrong, ethnic identity, and community involvement. Quantitative analyses (n = 97) indicated that U.S. identity moderated the relationship between ethnic microaggressions and thriving such that high levels of U.S. identity were associated with lower thriving. Implications and future directions are discussed. Usando una metodología mixta, los autores examinaron los facilitadores de la prosperidad psicológica (o cambios positivos tras la adversidad) en el contexto de la discriminación étnica en personas latinas adultas. Varios temas surgieron de las entrevistas cualitativas (n = 10), entre los que se incluyen demostrar que otros estaban equivocados, la identidad étnica y la implicación de la comunidad. Los análisis cuantitativos (n = 97) indicaron que la identidad estadounidense moderó la relación entre las microagresiones étnicas y la prosperidad de tal modo que unos altos niveles de identidad estadounidense se asociaron con una baja prosperidad. Se discuten las implicaciones y direcciones futuras.     

Physical home environment is associated with prefrontal cortical thickness in adolescents

Biologically embedded experiences alter developmental trajectories in ways that can influence health, learning, and/or behavior. These systematic differences in experiences may contribute to different biological outcomes as individuals grow and develop, including at the neural level. Previous studies of biologically embedded experiences on neurodevelopment have focused on large‐scale institutional or economic factors (e.g. socioeconomic status [SES]) and psychosocial factors (e.g. caregiving behavior). Less attention has focused on how the quality of the immediate home settings, such as the physical home environment (PHYS), influences neurodevelopment. Moreover, no study has investigated these effects in adolescents, who undergo significant physical maturation and neurodevelopment that may influence how they respond to their physical environments. The goal of the current study was to examine whether PHYS quality is biologically embedded in the developing adolescent brain as evidenced by cognitive achievement and cortical development in 56 (48% female) healthy adolescents (14–18 years (M = 16.83 years, SD = 1.17). Using in‐home assessments of the physical home environment, anatomical brain scans, and indices of academic achievement, we found that adolescents who have more physical problems in the home (e.g. structural hazards, crowding, excessive noise, poorly lit) have thinner prefrontal cortices, which was associated with lower levels of reading achievement, independent of SES and psychosocial factors. By conducting home visits to assess physical characteristics of adolescents’ home, we highlight a typically overlooked aspect of the home environment that has relevance for adolescents’ cognitive and brain development.     

Reading Difficulties in Low-SES Children: A Study of Cognitive Profiles

Reading difficulties of children growing up in poverty contexts have not received as much attention as those of children from middle-income families. This paper analyzes the reading-related cognitive profiles of Argentine, Spanish-speaking, low-SES children with reading difficulties (RD), by comparing them with chronological age- (CA) and reading age- (RA) matched children from the same socioeconomic background. Ninety children (30 in each group) participated in the study. Testing included reading, spelling, verbal memory, phonological sensitivity, rapid naming, letter knowledge, and vocabulary measures. Results showed that children from the RD group performed significantly worse than their same-age peers. These findings would suggest the presence of a cognitive vulnerability in children with reading difficulties. Interestingly, when compared with children from the RA-matched control group, children in the RD group only obtained significantly lower scores in phoneme segmentation and letter-sound recognition tasks. Cognitive profiles of low-income children growing in poverty differ from cognitive profiles described for middle-income children with dyslexia. Given that teaching of letter sounds is not included in Argentina’s mandatory curriculum, it is possible that letter-sound teaching constitutes an environmental factor that interacts with other risk factors to produce reading difficulties in poverty contexts.     

Religion and civic engagement: the case of Iglesia ni Cristo in the Philippines

The Iglesia ni Cristo (INC) is one of the fastest-growing indigenous Christian churches in the world. They have an estimated membership of 2.25 million adherents in more than 100 countries. In recent years its civic engagements have expanded through bigger relief operations and charity dedicated to the poor and those affected by calamities. These initiatives are typically articulated in terms of unity, duty and obedience to God. This article gives attention to this expansion by spelling it out and explaining it in view of its newfound role in civil society. This is an important intervention in the literature. Studies on INC have mainly focused on its successes in the political and religious spheres. INC now repackages itself as a civic organisation, which cares about public welfare. My argument is that this is how it manifests its new triumphalism in the Philippines, but with implications on its expanding presence in civil society.     

The Polish Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale: Preliminary Evidence on Validity and Cross-Cultural Comparison

Anxiety disorders are one of the most widespread psychological diseases in adolescence, which may lead to impairment in several areas of life and has been demonstrated a risk factor of other psychiatric disorders. One of the most widely used self-report measures to assess multiple symptoms of anxiety in youth is the Spence Children’s Anxiety Scale (SCAS). Literature suggests that anxiety symptoms vary across cultures to some extent. It has been found that individuals from collectivistic culture report higher levels of anxiety disorders than those from individualistic culture. Poland is a country whose culture was traditionally collectivistic; but now Poland is undergoing social and economic system transformation, which is taking it closer to individualistic culture. However, SCAS has never been validated in Polish samples, and thus the current study aimed (1) to assess the psychometric properties (structural validity and reliability) of SCAS in a sample of 303 Polish adolescents, (2) to examine gender differences, (3) to test the divergent validity of SCAS by relating it to the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale, and (4) to compare the mean levels with Chinese (collectivistic) and Italian (individualistic) samples. The results confirmed that the Polish version of SCAS showed good reliability and validity. Polish girls showed higher physical injury and generalized anxiety/overanxious symptoms than boys. Furthermore, Polish adolescents reported higher levels of anxiety than Italian youth but lower levels of anxiety than their Chinese counterparts. Implications for professionals and researchers are discussed.     

Eye blink rate predicts reward decisions in adolescents

The ventral striatum displays hyper‐responsiveness to reward in adolescents relative to other age groups, and animal research on the developmental trajectory of the dopaminergic system suggests that dopamine may underlie adolescent sensitivity to reward. However, practical limitations prevent the direct measurement of dopamine in healthy adolescents. Eye blink rate (EBR) shows promise as a proxy measure of striatal dopamine D2 receptor function. We investigated developmental differences in the relationship between EBR and reward‐seeking behavior on a risky decision‐making task. Increasing EBR was associated with greater reward maximization on the task for adolescent but not adult participants. Furthermore, adolescents demonstrated greater sensitivity to reward value than adults, as evinced by shifts in decision patterns based on increasing potential reward. These findings suggest that previously observed adolescent behavioral and neural hypersensitivity to reward may in fact be due to greater dopamine receptor activity, as represented by the relationship of blink rate and reward‐seeking behavior. They also demonstrate the feasibility and utility of using EBR as a proxy for dopamine in healthy youth in whom direct measurements of dopamine are prohibitively invasive.     

The influence of lying positions and postural control on hand-mouth and hand-hand behaviors in 0-4-month-old infants

The purpose of this study was to verify how and when body position and postural control affect hand-mouth and hand-hand behaviors in infants during their first 4 months of life. Forty healthy infants were positioned in supine, prone and side-lying positions so that frequency and duration of the behaviors were quantified. Postural control when in supine and prone was also analyzed. The prone position elicited hand-mouth behavior in 0-2-month-old infants. The side-lying position elicited hand-mouth behavior in 3-4-month-old infants and hand-hand behavior in 2-4-month-olds. The increased postural control promoted the emergence of hand-hand behavior when in supine, and decreased hand-mouth behavior when in prone. The results show that self-exploratory behaviors may be affected not only by extrinsic constraints, represented by different body positions, but also by intrinsic constraints, represented by characteristic action possibilities and postural control of each age group.