Executive functions after age 5: Changes and correlates

Research and theorizing on executive function (EF) in childhood has been disproportionately focused on preschool age children. This review paper outlines the importance of examining EF throughout childhood, and even across the lifespan. First, examining EF in older children can address the question of whether EF is a unitary construct. The relations among the EF components, particularly as they are recruited for complex tasks, appear to change over the course of development. Second, much of the development of EF, especially working memory, shifting, and planning, occurs after age 5. Third, important applications of EF research concern the role of school-age children’s EF in various aspects of school performance, as well as social functioning and emotional control. Future research needs to examine a more complete developmental span, from early childhood through late adulthood, in order to address developmental issues adequately.     

Utility of the trauma symptom inventory's atypical response scale in detecting malingered post-traumatic stress disorder

The authors examined the Trauma Symptom Inventory's (TSI) ability to discriminate 88 student post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) simulators screened for genuine PTSD from 48 clinical PTSD-diagnosed outpatients. Results demonstrated between-group differences on several TSI clinical scales and the Atypical Response (ATR) validity scale. Discriminant function analysis using ATR revealed 75% correct patient classification but only 48% correct simulator classification, with an overall correct classification rate of 59% (positive predictive power [PPP] = .71; negative predictive power [NPP] = .51). Individual ATR cutoff scores did not yield impressive classification results, with the optimal cutoff (T score = 61) correctly classifying only 61% of simulators and patients (PPP = .66, NPP = .54). Although ATR was not developed as a malingered PTSD screen, instead serving as a general validity screen, caution is recommended in its current clinical use for detecting malingered PTSD.     

A further analysis of the affective meanings associated with male and female sex-trait stereotypes

This study was concerned with the qualitative differences in the male and female sex-trait stereotypes. Previous research employing the item pool of the Adjective Check List (ACL) had indicated no relationship between the stereotype loading of the adjectives and their favorability ratings. In the present study, university students rated the ACL items for strength and activity, and these ratings were used to demonstrate that the male stereotype was appreciably stronger and more active than the female stereotype. It was found that the strength ratings were highly correlated with both activity and favorability ratings which were, themselves, unrelated. It was concluded that the principal qualitative difference between the stereotypes lay in the connotations of activity and passivity associated, respectively, with the male and female stereotype traits, and that any assertion of greater social desirability for the male stereotype was based on its greater activity and not, as is often supposed, on its greater favorability.     

The impact on pastoral care of structural, organisational and statutory changes in schooling: Some empirical evidence and a discussion

Against the historical background of institutionalised pastoral care in schools, the results are reported of a questionnaire survey of 159 members of the National Association for Pastoral Care in Education (NAPCE) with regard to the impact of post-1988 changes on pastoral care and personal and social education (PSE). Five hypotheses are generated concerning the likely effects of the 1988 Education Reform Act, the National Curriculum and associated developments in educational policy and management. The data reveal that, for the sample surveyed, the importance, time and resources given to pastoral care and PSE are considered not to have declined in the way predicted. Respondents were also more positive than expected about the impact of a range of related changes, including school-centred initial teacher training, teacher mentoring, the introduction of statutory training days, National Curriculum cross-curricular elements, and SCAA and OFSTED guidance. However, there were some developments which were considered to have had a negative effect. These included the National Curriculum programmes of study and key-stage assessments, published league tables and collective acts of worship. Respondents were divided as to the impact of other developments, including the advent of local financial management (LMS), grant-maintained status and OFSTED inspections. There was little visible effect on the role structures in schools, with traditional 'horizontal' arrangements of years and schools-within-schools predominating. In sum, the picture as regards the impact on pastoral care and PSE of a decade of educational policy change is more optimistic than might have been supposed.     

Psychological Distress and Symptoms of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder in Jewish Adolescents Following a Brief Exposure to Concentration Camps

We investigated the psychological impact of an organized visit to Polish concentration camps on Jewish-American adolescents. Eighty-seven adolescents who participated in a B'nai B'rith memorial visit to concentration camps in Poland completed measures of general psychological adjustment and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) at four time-points: pretest, posttest, 6-month follow-up and 12-month follow-up. Measures included the SCL-90-R, the Mississippi Scale for PTSD, and the Impact of Events Scale (IES) for PTSD. On the SCL-90-R, changes in somatization, interpersonal sensitivity, obsessive-compulsive tendencies, depression, anxiety, and phobic anxiety were observed over time, with peak symptom scores at posttest and 6-month follow-up. Scores on the Mississippi Scale for PTSD and the IES Intrusion subscale also increased at 6-months. Predictors of PTSD symptoms on the Mississippi Scale included previous psychiatric treatment and SCL-90-R symptoms of paranoia, depression, and psychosis. Elevated psychotic symptoms on the SCL-90-R predicted PTSD symptoms on the IES. Jewish adolescents with preexisting symptoms of generalized distress or psychoticism appeared at increased risk for PTSD symptoms following exposure to Holocaust stimuli. This study contributes a prospective, multi-measure assessment of trauma reactions in adolescents.