High-Risk Behavior Among Young Adolescents in The Central and Northern Region of Peninsular Malaysia: Baseline Data from The MyHeART Study

The onset of high-risk behaviors in adolescents are associated with family, social and behavioral factors. This study aims to describe the prevalence of high-risk behaviors among young adolescents in Peninsular Malaysia and determine the relationship between high-risk behaviors and family sociodemographics and behaviors. The data utilized are from the Malaysian Health and Adolescents Longitudinal Research Study, a prospective cohort analysis conducted in three large states of Peninsular Malaysia: Selangor, Perak, and the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur. The sample included 13-year-old adolescents in their first year of secondary school. Students and parents or guardians were given separate, standardized self-administered questionnaire. A high-risk behavior variable was determined on the basis of exposure to substance use (tobacco, alcohol, and illicit drugs), gambling, and online pornography or violence. The exploratory variable of interest (family sociodemographics) was defined as parents’ demographics, employment status, education level, and socioeconomic status. The analysis included 1341 adolescents and 1146 parents. Of the school-going adolescents, 4.7?% (n?=?52) reported HRBs. Tobacco use (9?%, n?=?1 19) and watching pornography or violent content on the Internet (5?%, n?=?72) accounted for most of the behaviors, whereas illicit drug use contributed the least (2?%, n?=?32). More adolescents from the higher socioeconomic groups, than from the middle groups exhibited high-risk behaviors (odds ratio ?=?3.039, 95?% confidence interval?=?2.884–3.202); by contrast, the odds ratio of high-risk behavior among adolescents with a low socio-economic status was 2.246 (95?% CI?=?2.014–2.397). Future intervention programs for adolescents should focus on overcoming high-risk behaviors and sustain behavioral changes.     

Narcissism,Bullying, and Social Dominance in Youth: A Longitudinal Analysis

A few previous studies have shown that narcissistic traits in youth are positively associated with bullying. However, research examining the developmental relationship between narcissism and bullying is lacking. Moreover, it is unclear whether narcissists constitute a homogeneous group and whether the bullying of narcissistic youth results in establishing social dominance over peers. The present work addresses these gaps. Children (N?=?393; M _age?=?10.3; 51 % girls) were followed during the last 3 years of primary school. Person-centered analyses were used to examine whether groups with distinct developmental trajectories for narcissism and two bullying forms (direct and indirect) can be identified, and how these trajectories are related. Multiple groups emerged for all constructs examined. For girls, higher narcissism was neither related to more intense bullying, nor to higher social dominance. In contrast, highly narcissistic boys were more likely than their peers to show elevated direct bullying, and in particular elevated indirect bullying. Hence, high narcissism is a risk factor for bullying in boys, but not in girls. However, narcissism is not always accompanied by high bullying, given that many boys on the high bullying trajectories were not high in narcissism. Results show that among narcissistic youth only those who engage in high levels of bullying are high in social dominance.     

Economic Impact of Third-Wave Cognitive Behavioral Therapies: A Systematic Review and Quality Assessment of Economic Evaluations in Randomized Controlled Trials

The term third-wave cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) encompasses new forms of CBT that both extend and innovate within CBT. Most third-wave therapies have been subject to randomized controlled trials (RCTs) focused on clinical effectiveness; however, the number and quality of economic evaluations in these RCTs has been unknown and may be few. Evidence about efficiency of these therapies may help support decisions on efficient allocation of resources in health policies. The main aim of this study was to systematically review the economic impact of third-wave therapies in the treatment of patients with physical or mental conditions. We conducted a systematic literature search in PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE, and CINALH to identify economic evaluations of third-wave therapies. Quality and Risk of Bias (RoB) assessment of economic evaluations was also made using the Drummond 35-item checklist and the Cochrane Collaboration’s tool for assessing risk of bias, respectively. Eleven RCTs were included in this systematic review. Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT), Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT), and extended Behaviour Activation (eBA) showed acceptable cost-effectiveness and cost-utility ratios. No study employed a time horizon of more than 3 years. Quality and RoB assessments highlight some limitations that temper the findings. There is some evidence that MBCT, MBSR, ACT, DBT, and eBA are efficient from a societal or a third-party payer perspective. No economic analysis was found for many third-wave therapies. Therefore, more economic evaluations with high methodological quality are needed.     

A note on monotonicity of item response functions for ordered polytomous item response theory models

A monotone relationship between a true score (τ) and a latent trait level (θ) has been a key assumption for many psychometric applications. The monotonicity property in dichotomous response models is evident as a result of a transformation via a test characteristic curve. Monotonicity in polytomous models, in contrast, is not immediately obvious because item response functions are determined by a set of response category curves, which are conceivably non-monotonic in θ. The purpose of the present note is to demonstrate strict monotonicity in ordered polytomous item response models. Five models that are widely used in operational assessments are considered for proof: the generalized partial credit model (Muraki, 1992, Applied Psychological Measurement, 16, 159), the nominal model (Bock, 1972, Psychometrika, 37, 29), the partial credit model (Masters, 1982, Psychometrika, 47, 147), the rating scale model (Andrich, 1978, Psychometrika, 43, 561), and the graded response model (Samejima, 1972, A general model for free-response data (Psychometric Monograph no. 18). Psychometric Society, Richmond). The study asserts that the item response functions in these models strictly increase in θ and thus there exists strict monotonicity between τ and θ under certain specified conditions. This conclusion validates the practice of customarily using τ in place of θ in applied settings and provides theoretical grounds for one-to-one transformations between the two scales.     

Structural validity of miokinetic psychodiagnosis-revised and digitalyzed (MKP-RD) lineograms

In this study, we have applied a principal components analysis to the data obtained from a graphical record of motor behaviour performed without vision. The data was obtained from two samples, one made up of men and the other one made up of women. Hand dominance was controlled in both samples. Five independent factors were obtained: Factor I (Tendency to increase or decrease the length), Factor II (Tendency to deviate in a sagittal direction), Factor V (Tendency to deviate in a frontal direction); two factors (III and IV) were found in a transversal direction. This factor structure did not depend on sex, because the same structure was found in both sexes, nor it could be explained by learning, because the same factors appeared for each hand, except for Factors III and IV which were different for each hand. This study supports different motor dispositions as foundations of behaviour tendencies.     

Target selection during bimanual reaching to direct cues is unaffected by the perceptual similarity of the targets

Investigations of bimanual movements have shed considerable insight on the constraints underlying our ability to perform coordinated actions. One prominent limitation is evident when people are required to produce reaching movements in which the two trajectories are of different amplitudes and/or directions. This effect, however, is only obtained when the movements are cued symbolically (e.g., letters indicate target locations); these planning costs are absent when the target locations are directly cued (J. Diedrichsen, E. Hazeltine, S. Kennerley, & R. B. Ivry, 2001). The present experiments test whether the absence of planning costs under the latter condition is due to the perceptual similarity of the direct cues. The results demonstrate that measures of response planning and execution do not depend on the perceptual similarity of the direct cues. Limitations in our ability to perform distinct actions with the two hands appear to reflect interactions related to response selection involving the translation of symbolic cues into their associated movements rather than arise from interactions associated with perception, motor programming, and motor execution.     

儿童面对不同对象的欺骗表现及其相关的社会性特点

为进一步探讨儿童欺骗行为的表现及其影响因素,在研究一中,分别引入陌生的成年女性、成年男性、同龄女孩、同龄男孩等四种游戏对手,探讨159名幼儿园大班的儿童在面对不同对象的情况下外显欺骗行为是否发生变化？结果表明,被试性别、对手年龄和对手性别三因素之间交互作用显著,儿童更倾向于欺骗成年女性以及和自己性别不同的同伴。研究二采用儿童社会化量表进一步考察儿童欺骗行为和其它社会性特点的关联。结果表明隐蔽的动作欺骗和意志维度显著相关,外显的动作欺骗和好胜心维度显著相关,说谎和自我概念维度显著相关     

伙伴选择、战略设计与合资企业学习效果——广州标致与广州本田的比较研究

文章对影响合资企业学习效果的因素进行了考察,认为恰当的伙伴选择与自身战略设计分别构成影响学习效果的内外生因素.选择合作伙伴时应以对方的输出意愿与输出能力为基准,而相应合资战略则应以提升自身的学习意愿与学习能力为基础进行设计.此外,包括股权结构及组织安排在内的治理结构也是在进行战略设计时应考虑的重要内容.伙伴选择与战略设计的适配、与文化差异有关的情境因素也会影响到学习效果.在此理论基础上,文章还以广州本田与广州标致两合资企业为对象,对上述框架进行了案例讨论.     

The impact of individual ability, favorable team member scores, and student perception of course importance on student preference of team-based learning and grading methods

This study explores the impact of individual ability and favorable team member scores on student preference of team-based learning and grading methods, and examines the moderating effects of student perception of course importance on student preference of team-based learning and grading methods. The author also investigates the relationship between student perception of course importance and their responses to social loafing. Results indicate that individual ability on the preference of team-based learning was affected by the three levels of favorable team member scores. For students with a low level of individual ability, the preference for team-based learning was significant among students with each of three levels of favorable team member scores (p < .05). However, the team-based learning and grading methods was not significant (p > .05). The findings also reveal a negative correlation between student perception of course importance and their responses to social loafing (p < .05). Findings note the importance of teachers' grading methods, student perceptions of course importance as well as individual ability and favorable team member scores in the team selection process to promote student attitude toward team-based learning.