The Impact of Abuse and Learning Difficulties on Emotion Understanding in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

Children's affective experiences and cognitive abilities have an impact on emotion understanding. However, their relative contribution, as well as the possibility of an interaction between them, has rarely been examined. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the influence of severe abuse and learning difficulties on simple and complex components of emotion understanding in late childhood and early adolescence. A total of 28 older children and young adolescents were selected for the study. Half of the participants had suffered from severe abuse, and half of these abused children additionally had learning disabilities. The remaining half of the sample had no history of abuse but were matched with the abused children on learning difficulties, age and gender. The participants’ emotion understanding was assessed with the Test of Emotion Comprehension (TEC). Results showed that (a) learning difficulties but not abuse had an impact on emotion understanding, (b) there was no interaction effect of abuse and learning difficulties on emotion understanding, and (b) the observed effects of learning difficulties were most apparent for the understanding of relatively complex components of emotion and not for simple components. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical implications.     

Readdressing Gender Bias in the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory-Short Form

The short form of the Coopersmith Self-Esteem Inventory (SEI) was evaluated for gender bias. The authors replicated a study by L. Francis and D. James (1998) and administered the SEI to 361 middle and high school students (146 boys, 215 girls). They found that gender bias existed in 6 of the 25 items on the SEI, with 5 of those items favoring boys. Because recent literature indicates that male and female adolescents experience problems in different areas of their lives, the authors suggest that researchers consider such differences when selecting items for a standardized measure.     

Competitive Fighting between Mice with Different Hereditary Backgrounds

It was hypothesized that Piaget's argument on behalf of the reorganization of cognitive processes would gain empirical support from a color/form, matching similar objects problem for 52 (29 boys, 23 girls) 6-year-olds from a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds. The instrument had 32 frames, each of which had three red or blue objects, some of regular and some of irregular shape. After color or form dominance for each child was established, frames were presented in which the dominant dimension could be chosen only through cognitive reorganization. Indications of cognitive reorganization for form-processing children included switching to color choices when all three objects were of identical shape, taking significantly (p < .05) greater time to make a choice for irregularly shaped objects, and having judges find indications of the use of parts of irregularly shaped objects for matches in verbal explanations by each child.     

Age Trends in Eidetikers

The entire available population (N = 408) of a primary school in Perth, Western Australia, was tested for eideticism using a slightly modified presentation of the Haber and Haber (1964) procedure. Sixteen eidetikers were found in the age range covered (5–13 years). When classified into four age categories (5–6, 7–8, 9–10, 11–13), the number of eidetikers in relation to noneidetikers showed a statistically significant and systematic decline with increasing age. These results are discussed in relation to their possible significance for a theory of eidetic development.     

The Effects of Context on Parent—Child Interactions

Abstract

Revue Internationale de Pédagogie Comparative. Nantes (France): Auguste Mailloux, Rédacteur en chief. Mars, 1899, 1e année, No. 1. pp. 68. 10 francs a year. Reviewed by Will S. Monroe.

An Introduction to the Study of Literature. Edited by Edwin Herbert Lewis, Ph. D. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1899, pp. 410. Reviewed by W. S. Small.

L'Enfant et l'Adolescent dans la Société Moderne, par Louis Defert. Preface de M. Th. Ranssel. Paris, Montgredien et Cie, 1897. pp. 217. Reviewed by W. S. Small.

Une enquěte pédagogique dans les écoles primaires de Lyon. Par M. Chabot. Bulletin de l'Instruction primaire du Rhóne. January, 1899. pp. 51-55. Reviewed by Will S. Monroe.

Women and Economics, by Charlotte Perkins Stetson. Boston, 1898. pp. 340. Reviewed by J. P. Hylan.

Talks to Teachers on Psychology: and to Students on Some of Life's Ideals, by William James. Henry Holt &; Co., New York, 1899. pp. 301.

Psychology and Life, by Hugo Munsterberg. Houghton, Mifflin &; Co., Boston and New York, 1899. pp. 286.

From Comte to Benjamin Kidd, by Robert Mackintosh. The Macmillan Co., New York, 1899. pp. 312.

From the Child's Standpoint, by Florence H. Winterburn. Baker &; Taylor Co., New York, 1899. pp. 278.

Der Stoffwechsel des Kindes, von Wilhelm Camerer. Tübingen, 1896. pp. 160.

Tom Tit Tot, by Edward Clodd. London, 1898. pp. 249.

The Story of Ab; A Tale of the Time of the Cave Man, by Stanley Waterloo. Chicago and New York, 1899. pp. 351.

Legends of the Saints, by G. R. Woodward. London, 1898. pp. 104.

A Country Schoolmaster; James Shaw, Tynron, Dumfriesshire. Edited by Robert Wallace. Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh, 1899. pp. 392.

Creative Myths of Primitive America in Relation to the Religious History and Mental Development of Mankind, by Jeremiah Curtin. Little, Brown and Co., Boston, 1898. pp. 530.

The Art of Teaching, by David Salmon. Longmans, Green and Co., New York, 1898. pp. 289.

The Life of Henry Drummond, by George Adam Smith. London, 1899. pp. 506.

Émile Zola, by Édouard Toulouse. Paris, 1896. pp. 285.

The Great Affirmations of Religion, by Thomas R. Slicer. Houghton, Mifflin &; Co., Boston and New York, 1898. pp. 273.

Have You a Strong Will? by Charles G. Leland. George Redway, London, 1899. pp. 235.

Early Chapters in Science, by Mrs. W. Awdry. J. Murray, London, 1890. pp. 348.

L'Ignorance et l'Irréflexion, par L. Gérard-Varet. F, Alcan, Paris, 1898. pp. 296.

L'Ignorance et l'Irréflexion, par L. Gérard-Varet. F, Alcan, Paris, 1898. pp. 296.

Die Spiele der Menschen, von Karl Groos. Jena, 1899. pp. 538.

Popular Education in England, by J. George Hodgins. Toronto, 1899. pp. 77.

Psychologisches Lesebuch zusammengestellt mil Rücksicht auf pädagogische Verwertung, von S. Hoffmann. E. Wunderlich, Leipzig, 1896. pp. 167.

Special Method in Natural Science, by Charles A. McMurry and Mrs. Lida B. McMurry. Bloomington, Ill., 1899. pp. 267.

Through Nature to God, by John Fiske. Houghtou, Mifflin and Co., Boston, 1899. pp. 194.

L'Éducation Nouvelle, par Edmond Demolins. Paris. pp. 320.

Les François d'aujourd'hui, par Edmond Demolins. Paris. pp. 465.

A Study of the Kindergarten, by Frederic Burk and Caroline Frear Burk. San Francisco, 1899. pp. 123.

The Pedagogues, by Arthur Stanwood Pier. Small, Maynard &; Co., Boston, 1899. pp. 287.

L'Enfant, par Comtesse Nacla. E. Flammarion, Paris, 1899. pp.203.

Autobiography of a Child. Wm. Blackwood &; Sons, London, 1899. pp. 299.     

Simple Discrimination Behavior of Young Chimpanzees: Comparisons with Human Aments and Domestic Animals

The authors' purpose in this paper was to examine how the use of the “sad passive” coping style may be related to adolescent self-reported loneliness. Subjects were asked to complete the revised UCLA Loneliness Scale (Russell, Peplau, & Cutrona, 1980) to determine self-reported loneliness and the Coping with Loneliness Questionnaire (CLQ; Rubenstein & Shaver, 1980) in order to examine coping styles. We hypothesized that those adolescents whose coping strategies fell into the category of sad passivity described by Rubenstein and Shaver would indicate greater loneliness than those adolescents whose coping strategies fell into other categories. Results indicated that sad passivity was used by both lonely and nonlonely adolescents, but that nonlonely youngsters resorted to this method only temporarily and in preparation for a more active coping style. Lonely teens, on the other hand, appeared to remain in the sad-passive mode to a maladaptive degree. These results were discussed in terms of their importance for theories of adolescent loneliness and for possible intervention strategies.     

Factors Influencing the Selection of Toys for Handicapped and Normally Developing Preschool Children

Factors influencing the selection and purchase of toys for children's use were investigated. Subjects were 73 parents or adult friends of normally developing or handicapped preschool children. In addition to providing demographic information about themselves, the subjects rated the importance of 17 factors influencing their selection and purchase of toys. Contrary to previous research, the sex of the child was reported to be of only minor importance in toy selection, as was the picture on the toy package. Two factors, safety and teaching new skills, were rated as extremely important. There were no significant differences in ratings as a result of sex, ethnicity, or whether or not the subjects were parents of a handicapped child. The findings suggest a substantial degree of agreement among parents about what they consider important when choosing toys for children.     

Longitudinal Predictors of Alcohol‐Related Harms During the Transition to Adulthood

While a range of factors have been found to increase the likelihood of alcohol‐related harms among young people, little is known about their relative importance. This article aimed to identify the risks for alcohol‐related harms at an age when alcohol use and problems tend to peak in Australia (19–20 years). A wide range of concurrent and antecedent factors from multiple domains were examined using path analysis, including individual characteristics, family environment, and externalising and internalising problems. The sample comprised of 941 individuals from the Australian Temperament Project, a large longitudinal community‐based study. The path model controlled for current risky drinking and revealed a number of variables that were significant longitudinal predictors of alcohol‐related harms within each of the domains, including adolescent antisocial behaviour and drinking behaviour, low agreeableness, impulsivity, and paternal drinking levels. The potential for developmental prevention approaches to reduce alcohol‐related harms by targeting externalising behaviour problems, interpersonal influences, and individual characteristics is discussed.     

Predicting Psychologists' Intentions to Integrate Complementary and Alternative Therapies Into Their Practice

Drawing on an extended Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) framework, we employed a cross‐sectional design study to investigate psychologists' intentions to integrate complementary and alternative therapies (CAT) into their practice via recommending CAT to clients or referring clients to CAT practitioners. Participants were registered practicing psychologists from a range of therapeutic orientations (e.g., narrative, cognitive behavioural, psychodynamic). The psychologists were either recruited by phone, following a search of the Internet, or were contacted through their place of employment (hospitals, university counselling service). Those who agreed to participate (N = 122; n = 88 females, n = 34 males) completed a questionnaire that included standard TPB items of attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control, along with items measuring perceived risk, past behaviour, CAT knowledge, and gender. The outcome variables of interest were (a) intention to recommend CAT to clients and (b) intention to refer clients to CAT practitioners. Structural equation modelling revealed that the extended model was a good fit, explaining 69% (recommending CAT) and 51% (referring to CAT practitioners) of the variance in intentions. For both behaviours, direct paths from attitude and subjective norm to intentions were observed, with perceived risk and past behaviour influencing the TPB predictors of attitudes, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. The findings illustrate the role that cognitive and risk factors have on psychologists' decisions to integrate CAT into their practice. Understanding psychologists' cognitions and decisions about CAT integration forms an important basis on which to consider future changes in policy or practice.     

Hope and Burden among Latino Families of Adults with Schizophrenia

This study examined hope and family burden among Latino families of individuals with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 54 family members, one family member per outpatient adult recruited from public mental health programs in a diverse urban community. Hierarchical linear regression analyses were used to test the hypothesis that the family member's increased hope for the patient's future would be associated with decreased family burden beyond effects explained by the patient's length of illness and severity of symptoms. Results supported the study hypothesis. Family hope for the patient's future was associated with four of five types of family burden. Findings point to the prominent role of hope as a source of resilience for Latino families dealing with severe mental illness of a loved one.