Compliance,opposition, and behavior problems in toddlers born preterm or low birthweight

Although children born preterm or low birth weight (PT LBW) are more likely to exhibit behavior problems compared to children born at term, developmental and family processes associated with these problems are unclear. We examined trajectories of maternal depressive symptoms in relation to toddler compliance and behavior problems in families with PT LBW infants. A total of 177 infants (93 boys, 84 girls) and their mothers enrolled in the study during the infant's NICU stay. Data were collected at five time points across 2 years. Assessments of maternal depressive symptoms were conducted at all time points, and toddler compliance and opposition to maternal requests and behavior problems were assessed at 2 years. Toddlers born earlier with more health problems to mothers whose depressive symptoms increased over time exhibited the most opposition to maternal requests during a cleanup task at 24 months, consistent with multiple risk models. Mothers with elevated depression symptoms reported more behavior problems in their toddlers. The study has implications for family‐based early intervention programs seeking to identify PT LBW infants at highest risk for problem behaviors.     

Learning and consolidation of new spoken words in autism spectrum disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by rich heterogeneity in vocabulary knowledge and word knowledge that is not well accounted for by current cognitive theories. This study examines whether individual differences in vocabulary knowledge in ASD might be partly explained by a difficulty with consolidating newly learned spoken words and/or integrating them with existing knowledge. Nineteen boys with ASD and 19 typically developing (TD) boys matched on age and vocabulary knowledge showed similar improvements in recognition and recall of novel words (e.g. ‘biscal’) 24 hours after training, suggesting an intact ability to consolidate explicit knowledge of new spoken word forms. TD children showed competition effects for existing neighbors (e.g. ‘biscuit’) after 24 hours, suggesting that the new words had been integrated with existing knowledge over time. In contrast, children with ASD showed immediate competition effects that were not significant after 24 hours, suggesting a qualitative difference in the time course of lexical integration. These results are considered from the perspective of the dual‐memory systems framework.     

The influence of inhibitory processes on affective theory of mind in young and old adults

The primary aim of this study was to examine the impact of an inhibition manipulation on the effect of age on theory of mind (ToM) in an ecologically valid, affective ToM task. Participants were 30 young and 30 old adults. The Cambridge Mindreading Face-Voice Battery was used to measure ToM; in addition, measures of fluid and crystallized intelligence were taken. Participants were subjected to three levels of inhibitory demand during ToM reasoning: emotional inhibition, non-emotional inhibition, and no inhibition. Old adults performed worse than young adults. The emotional and non-emotional inhibition conditions resulted in worse ToM performance compared to the no inhibition condition. There were no differences in the impact of the inhibition conditions on old and young adults. Regression analyses suggested that old adults’ crystallized intelligence was a significant predictor of ToM performance, whereas it did not predict young adults’ ToM performance. Results are discussed in terms of verbal ability as a possible compensatory mechanism in coping with verbal inhibitory load in ToM reasoning.     

Prosecutors' Perspectives on Clarifying Terms for Genitalia in Child Sexual Abuse Interviews

In investigative interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse, professionals must establish the nature of the alleged abuse by determining what body parts were involved in the offending. This can be difficult, however, because children often use colloquial (non‐anatomical) terms to describe genitalia, and there has been little direction for interviewers about clarifying these terms sufficiently to establish the charge. The aim of this study was to address the need for guidance from prosecutors about the level of clarity in terms required from a legal perspective, and how this clarity can be achieved. A focus group of nine prosecutors (representing all but one Australian State and Territory) were asked to consider what degree of clarity in terminology for genitalia was adequate and how such clarity could be achieved. Thematic analysis revealed that a reduction in specific questioning around genitalia would improve the usefulness of investigative interviews with children from a legal perspective. Recommendations for improving interviews about abuse with child witnesses are discussed.     

Conservatives Anticipate and Experience Stronger Emotional Reactions to Negative Outcomes

The present work examined whether conservatives and liberals differ in their anticipation of their own emotional reactions to negative events. In two studies, participants imagined experiencing positive or negative outcomes in domains that do not directly concern politics. In Study 1, 190 American participants recruited online (64 male, M_age = 32 years) anticipated their emotional responses to romantic relationship outcomes. In Study 2, 97 Canadian undergraduate students (26 male, M_age = 21 years) reported on their anticipated and experienced emotional responses to academic outcomes. In both studies, more conservative participants predicted they would feel stronger negative emotions following negative outcomes than did more liberal participants. Furthermore, a longitudinal follow‐up of Study 2 participants revealed that more conservative participants actually felt worse than more liberal participants after receiving a lower‐than‐desired exam grade. These effects remained even when controlling for the Big Five traits, prevention focus, and attachment style (Study 1), and optimism (Study 2). We discuss how the relationship between political orientation and anticipated affect likely contributes to differences between conservatives and liberals in styles of decision and policy choices.     

The Impact of Feminist Attitudes on the Relation between Racial Awareness and Racial Identity

This study examined the role of liberal and inclusive feminist attitudes in the development of a positive racial identity in a sample of White female undergraduates in the Midwestern United States. Participants (N?=?90) provided self-report data on their racial awareness, liberal and inclusive feminist attitudes, racial identity and demographic information. The main research question was how and to what extent liberal and inclusive feminism influence the relationship between racial awareness and racial identity. Building on conceptual scholarship on identity theory and the intersectionality, results indicated that the relation between racial awareness and racial identity was partially mediated by inclusive feminist attitudes but not by liberal feminist attitudes. The results suggest that a specific type of feminism, which takes into account the experience of race, plays a significant role in our understanding of how White women develop a positive White identity. Results highlight the intersection of race and gender in college student development and have potential implications for administrative responses to student adjustment in increasingly diverse college environments.     

A Longitudinal Examination of Overgeneral Memory and Psychopathology in Children Following Recent Trauma Exposure

This study represents the first longitudinal examination of the trajectory of overgeneral memory (OGM) in children and how this relates to psychopathology immediately after trauma exposure. We recruited fifty 7‐ to 17‐year‐olds who had experienced an accidental injury that resulted in hospital admission. Assessment of psychological symptoms, OGM and cognitive processes proposed to drive OGM was completed at three points over a 6‐month period post‐trauma. We found that OGM was not related to depressive symptoms and that time since trauma exposure moderated the relationship between post‐traumatic stress disorder symptoms and OGM. Although no relationship was found in the first 3 months following trauma, OGM was protective against post‐traumatic stress disorder symptoms at 6 months post‐trauma. Despite models of OGM (e.g. Williams et al., 2007 ) emphasising the role of rumination and executive control in explaining OGM, we found no evidence that they were related to OGM. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Contributions of Observed Parent Socialization of Coping and Skin Conductance Level Reactivity to Childhood Adjustment

This research examined the longitudinal association between parent socialization of coping and child adjustment, as well as the moderating role of children's skin conductance level reactivity (SCLR). Participants were a community sample of children (n = 64, M age = 9.02, 54.5% females, 93.2% Caucasian) and their parent(s). Parent coping suggestions were observed while their child engaged in a stressful challenge task, during which the child's SCLR, a measure of children's physiological reactivity to stress, was also measured. Parent(s) completed the Child Behavior Checklist (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) at baseline and a 6‐month follow‐up to assess internalizing and externalizing problems. Results revealed that secondary control engagement suggestions predicted fewer internalizing problems over time. In addition, disengagement suggestions predicted fewer externalizing problems over time among children with high SCLR. This study provides evidence that parent coping suggestions serve as a resource that protects youth from developing adjustment problems.     

An Approach‐Inhibition Model of Employee Silence: The Joint Effects of Personal Sense of Power and Target Openness

When employees consciously withhold potentially important suggestions or concerns from those who may be able to act on that information, it can have serious implications for organizational performance. Yet there is research suggesting that, when faced with the choice of whether or not to raise an issue, employees often choose to remain silent. Our objective in this paper is to expand current theoretical understanding of why employees often remain silent and of situational factors that can lessen this tendency. Drawing on the approach‐inhibition theory of power, we argue that an employee's personal sense that he or she is lacking in power in relation to others at work is a key factor contributing to the decision to remain silent but that this effect is moderated by perceived target openness. We took a multimethod approach, testing these relationships across 3 studies: a laboratory experiment, a survey study of healthcare workers, and a survey study of employees working across a wide range of industries. Our findings suggest that, although silence is indeed rooted in the psychological experience of powerlessness, perceived target openness mitigates this relationship, encouraging employee to speak up when they would not otherwise do so.