Cumulative Risk,Emotion Dysregulation,and Adjustment in South African Youth

Research on cumulative risk is growing, however, little work has occurred in low- or middle-income countries, and few studies have focused on processes linking risk to outcomes. This study explored relations between components of cumulative risk and adjustment in a sample of 324 South African youth (M age?=?13.11 years; SD?=?1.54 years; 65% female; 56% Black/African; 14% Colored; 23% Indian; 7% White), and tested competing models of emotion dysregulation as a mediator or moderator of risk—adjustment links. Data was collected from youth and their female caregivers during home interviews. Structural equation models and regression analyses accounting for age and sex contributions revealed that emotion dysregulation mediated associations between sociodemographic risk and internalizing symptoms, externalizing problem behavior, and drug use severity, and moderated links between psychosocial risk and internalizing symptoms and externalizing problem behavior. For the mediator models, sociodemographic risk was associated with impaired emotion regulation, which in turn was linked with heightened adjustment difficulties. For the moderator models, psychosocial risk was linked with adjustment problems only when emotion dysregulation was high. These data indicate the importance of disentangling components of cumulative risk. Future research within the South African cultural context might build on these findings by adapting and testing school- or family-based prevention or intervention programs that include modules on emotion regulation.     

An Assessment of Sustainability Integration and Communication in Canadian MBA Programs

This paper explores how sustainability has been integrated into and communicated in Canadian Master’s of Business Administration (MBA) programs. We content analyzed university, business school, and MBA program mission and values statements; communicated strategic priorities; and relevant academic calendar content, as well as sustainability rankings and select media depictions of sustainable MBA programs and practices. We explore the potential for greenwashing practices in relation to the integration of sustainability in business education. We found some evidence of a decoupling between university and/or business school mission and claims, and MBA policies and practices. We conclude with a discussion of our findings, study limitations and some relevant implications for academia.     

Social problem‐solving skills as a mediator between executive function and long‐term social outcome following paediatric traumatic brain injury

There is debate regarding the relationship between executive function and social outcome following paediatric traumatic brain injury (TBI), due to inconsistent findings in the literature. It has been suggested that these contradictory results may reflect the absence of an established mechanism to explain this relationship. Yeates and colleagues (2004) proposed a possible model in which the maturity of social problem‐solving skills mediates the relationship between executive function and social outcome. The current study aimed to explore this model and determine whether social problem solving mediates the relationship between executive function and social outcome in a TBI population. The sample consisted of 36 adolescents and young adults who sustained a TBI between 8 and 12 years of age. They ranged between 16 and 22 years of age and were 7–10 years post‐injury. Findings indicated that a higher level of executive dysfunction was associated with less sophisticated social problem‐solving skills and poorer social outcome. Further, the maturity of social problem‐solving skills was found to mediate the relationship between executive function and social outcome in this group.     

Erratum: Effects of pre‐trial publicity and jury deliberation on juror bias and source memory errors

Effects of Pre‐Trial Publicity and Jury Deliberation on Juror Bias and Source Memory Errors. By Christine Ruva, Cathy McEvoy and Judith Becker Bryant. The above article (DOI:10.1002/acp.1254) was published online in Early View on 21 June 2006. An error has subsequently been identified in this article. The mediation analyses for the critical SM errors mistakenly reported that the Sobel test z was not significant when in fact it was, Sobel test z = 2.17 (1982). Therefore, critical SM errors were found to mediate the effect of PTP on guilt ratings suggesting that these errors may be a mechanism through which PTP imparts its biasing effects on juror decision making.     

Age-related differences in responses to thoughts of one's own death: mortality salience and judgments of moral transgressions

Two experiments explored age differences in response to reminders of death. Terror management research has shown that death reminders lead to increased adherence to and defense of one's cultural worldview. In Study 1, the effect of mortality salience (MS) on evaluations of moral transgressions made by younger and older adults was compared. Whereas younger adults showed the typical pattern of harsher judgments in response to MS, older adults did not. Study 2 compared younger and older adults' responses to both the typical MS induction and a more subtle death reminder. Whereas younger adults responded to both MS inductions with harsher evaluations, older adults made significantly less harsh evaluations after the subtle MS induction. Explanations for this developmental shift in responses to reminders of death are discussed.     

Optic variables used to judge future ball arrival position in expert and novice soccer players

Although many studies have looked at the perceptual—cognitive strategies used to make anticipatory judgments in sport, few have examined the informational invariants that our visual system may be attuned to. Using immersive interactive virtual reality to simulate the aerodynamics of the trajectory of a ball with and without sidespin, the present study examined the ability of expert and novice soccer players to make judgments about the ball’s future arrival position. An analysis of their judgment responses showed how participants were strongly influenced by the ball’s trajectory. The changes in trajectory caused by sidespin led to erroneous predictions about the ball’s future arrival position. An analysis of potential informational variables that could explain these results points to the use of a first-order compound variable combining optical expansion and optical displacement.     

The relationship between violence and youth suicide indicators among Asian American and Pacific Islander youth

The literature documents a relationship between interpersonal violence and suicide. One tool used to understand interpersonal violence is the Power Wheel, developed from clinical experience and originally used in domestic violence education. We examine the relationship between Teen Power and Control Wheel domains and suicidal indicators (seriously considered suicide, made a suicide plan, and attempted suicide) among Asian American and Pacific Islander high school students, in terms of both victimization and perpetration. Data from a 2007 survey of two multi-ethnic high schools on the island of O'ahu, Hawai'i were used. The survey assessed interpersonal youth violence and a multitude of risk and protective factors. It found that females were significantly more likely to seriously consider suicide and attempt suicide, compared to males. There were no statistically significant differences in seriously considering suicide, making a suicide plan, and attempting suicide by ethnic group, employment status, or hours worked per week. Using the Wheel, we found that all dimensions for victimization and perpetration were associated with the three suicidal indicators. However, the magnitude of this association was dramatically higher for victims than for perpetrators. School- and healthcare-based prevention strategies should ensure that both suicide and violence intervention components are addressed. Professionals who work with youth should be trained to feel comfortable, confident, and competent in discussing suicide and violence, and be willing and capable to assess and intervene.