Assessing handwriting speed of children biliterate in English and Chinese

The assessment of multiliterate handwriting performance is rarely reported despite increased globalization. The present study describes the psychometric properties of a handwriting speed test developed for children who are biliterate in English and Chinese. This included interrater reliability, test-retest reliability, interitem correlation, construct validity, and concurrent validity. The test's reliabilities between two raters and over a 1-wk. interval were high with ICCs ranging from .89 to .99. Interitem correlation between the English and Chinese items was .87. The presence of age trends but not sex differences was a positive indicator of the test's validity. Correlations of .91 and 1.00 between the Chinese and the English items of the Handwriting Assessment Tool with the Chinese Handwriting Speed Test and Handwriting Speed Test, respectively, provided evidence of concurrent validity. These preliminary results showed the Handwriting Assessment Tool is reliable and is a potentially useful handwriting test for children biliterate in English and Chinese. The feasibility of assessing biliterate handwriting speed performance with the same set of scoring criteria for different writing systems was supported.     

Early developmental issues reconsidered: commentary on Pine's ideas on symbiosis

The concept of symbiosis is a powerful one expressing a significant emotional experience for many individuals. However, the concept needs to be differentiated from infant-stage symbiosis, Margaret Mahler's second stage of normal development. The latter idea, according to Pine (2004), was of "central" importance to Mahler. Although Pine acknowledges the influence of research findings and some critical challenges to this idea, he maintains nonetheless that it "remains quite valuable" and reports what he suggests are manifestations of symbiotic experiences in the infant-mother relationship. His recognition of infant observational data has led him to feature the idea of "moments" of merger between mother and infant. Empirical data, however, challenge both the idea of a more broadly defined stage of infantile symbiosis and the more narrowly conceived "moments." A different understanding of development in the presence of early-stage symbiosis is provided.     

Psychometric Evaluation of the Spiritual Transcendence Scale in a Chinese Sample: Is There Factorial Invariance Across Gender,Occupation, and Religion?

This study investigated the reliability and validity of the widely used 23-item Spiritual Transcendence Scale and tested whether there was factorial invariance of the scale by demographic variables such as gender, occupation, and religion in a large Chinese sample (n = 1,894). Exploratory factor analysis with a random subsample supported the original 3-factor structure (prayer fulfillment, universality, and connectedness) in a revised 16-item scale. Confirmatory factor analysis suggested that a 15-item model provided a good fit to the data of the remaining subsample. The scale had alpha reliabilities ranging from .64 to .92 in the exploratory factor analysis and .60 to .92 in the confirmatory factor analysis. Subsequent factorial invariance tests indicated that the scale was invariant across gender and occupation but not religion. Evidence of construct validity was equivocal. Additional empirical studies should be conducted to evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale in other culturally and religiously diverse settings.     

Methodological challenges in treatment outcome research with ethnic minorities

Treatment outcome research focused on ethnic minorities is critically needed to eliminate mental health disparities. Because the conduct of treatment outcome research with ethnic minorities is difficult and complex, we discuss key challenges and present some methodological options suited to provide answers to specific types of questions. We focus first on the randomized clinical trial (RCT) paradigm, reviewing specific challenges facing investigators conducting ethnically inclusive trials. We then highlight the promise of other methods of inquiry to expand the science on mental health treatment with ethnic minorities.     

The Interplay Of Autonomy And Relatedness In Hong Kong Chinese Single Mothers

The mediating effects of autonomy and relatedness on the relationship between self–esteem and life satisfaction were investigated among 49 single mothers. Among all tested variables in the dimension of relatedness, only network orientation (propensity to utilize one's available social support) was a mediator of the positive relationship between self–esteem and life satisfaction. No variable in the dimension of autonomy was a mediator. Three components of self–actualization contributed to the model: self–regard mediated the relationship between self–esteem and network orientation, spontaneity contributed to network orientation, self–acceptance contributed to life satisfaction directly and indirectly by contributing to self–regard. Findings suggest that Chinese single mothers' psychological adjustment can be enhanced by fostering their self–regard, self–acceptance, and readiness to seek help from trusted others.     

"In Search of Token Women in Academia": Some Definitions and Clarifications

This article makes an important distinction between two definitions of "token woman." In the first definition, a token woman is one of few women in a predominantly male setting. The second meaning of "Token Woman" identifies that subset of such women who have made the distinctive psychological adaptation described by Laws (1975). The methodological decisions in Young, MacKenzie, and Sherif's (1980) research are justified as based on that definitional distinction. Constantinople's critique is shown to be appropriate as an alternative to Laws' theory, but not as a criticism of our research. Alternative generational explanations for previous findings about Token Women are not supported by existing data.