Validity and reliability of a Cantonese-translated rating of perceived exertion scale among Hong Kong adults

This study assessed the validity and reliability of the Cantonese-translated version of the Borg 6-20 Rating of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale during continuous incremental cycle ergometry by Hong Kong adults. A total of 54 participants (25 males and 29 females), ages 22.2 +/- 4.7 yr., volunteered to participate. They performed two trials of identical continuous incremental cycling exercise 1 wk. apart for the reliability test. The objective measures of exercise intensity (heart rate, power output, and oxygen consumption) and the subjective measure of effort (RPE) were obtained during the incremental exercise. Significant (p < .01) Pearson correlations were found when RPE values were correlated with heart rate (rs > or = .73), power output (rs > or = .69), and oxygen consumption (rs > or = .68). The overall test-retest intraclass correlation (R = .92) indicated that the scale was reliable. In conclusion, this Cantonese scale for rating of perceived exertion appears to be a valid and reliable psychophysiological tool to measure perceptions of exertion during controlled cycle ergometer exercise by Hong Kong adults.     

Predicting Quality of Life in Caregivers of Children with Cancer Within One Year Post-Diagnosis

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Pediatric cancer diagnosis and treatment can impact the psychological adjustment and quality of life (QOL) of caregivers. We examined: (a) the relationship...     

A population-based 2-year longitudinal study of insomnia disorder in a Chinese population in Hong Kong

There is a paucity of literature examining the longitudinal course of insomnia using standardized diagnostic criteria. This study aims to evaluate the persistence, remission, relapse, and incidence rates of insomnia symptoms and insomnia disorders according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th and 5th edition (DSM-IV and DSM-5). A total of 398 community dwellers were interviewed annually over two years using the Brief Insomnia Questionnaire, a validated questionnaire for deriving insomnia diagnoses. Normal sleepers were defined according to the DSM-5 quantitative criteria as having insomnia symptoms at most twice per week. Estimates were weighted against population age and sex distribution. Persistence for two consecutive years was 26.3, 26.4, and 23.0% for insomnia symptoms, DSM-IV, and DSM-5 insomnia disorders; remission rate was 55.8, 22.9, and 26.1%, relapse rate was 21.8, 1.3, and 0%, while incidence rate was 62.4, 19.6, and 4.5%. The common trajectories for DSM-IV insomnia disorder were to remain the same (26.4%), followed by a change to insomnia symptoms at the second year (25.7%), and at the third year (17.3%). For DSM-5 insomnia disorder, a change to insomnia symptoms at the second year was the commonest (28.3%), followed by continuing the same (23.0%), and a change to insomnia symptoms at the third year (14.0%). Over a two-year naturalistic follow-up, persistence of insomnia disorder was roughly 25%. Changes from insomnia disorder to insomnia symptoms were common; however, remission only occurred in about 25%, highlighting the chronic course of insomnia, perhaps due to a lack of treatment, under-treatment, or resistance to treatment. Incidence of insomnia symptoms was 62.4%, suggesting a high risk of developing insomnia in the general population.     

Mindfulness and Burnout in Elite Junior Athletes: The Mediating Role of Experiential Avoidance

Previous research suggests that mindfulness and experiential avoidance are negatively and positively related to athlete burnout, respectively. It is unknown, however, whether experiential avoidance functions as a mediator between mindfulness and athlete burnout. To address this gap, 387 elite Chinese junior athletes (M = 15.44 years, SD = 1.42) completed self-report measures of mindfulness, experiential avoidance, and athlete burnout. Findings provided cross-sectional evidence that experiential avoidance mediated the inverse association from mindfulness to each of the three burnout dimensions. No gender difference of these indirect effects was revealed. This study is the first to test the theoretical sequence in which mindfulness is associated with athlete burnout via experiential avoidance and provide additional support the adaptive nature of mindfulness.     

Mediation models of implicit theories and achievement goals predict planning and withdrawal after failure

Dweck posits that implicit theories of intelligence provide a meaning system that organizes goal-based patterns of response in achievement situations. Goals of increasing competence or demonstrating competence provide purposes for engaging in achievement tasks and frameworks for interpreting and responding to outcomes. Despite suggestions that within an implicit theory framework, attributions and emotions should mediate associations between goals and post-failure responses, such models have rarely been explicitly tested. We obtained questionnaire data from college students (N = 261) on implicit theories, goals, and attributions, as well as emotions and behavior after a hypothetical failure. Path analysis showed that learning goal and effort attribution mediated the association between incremental theory and post-failure intention to plan remedial action. Theory-consistent indirect effects that predicted intention to withdraw were also identified. Findings provide support for Dweck’s theory and extend our understanding of the roles of goals, attributions, and emotions in explaining responses to achievement setbacks.     

Assessing and treating vocal stereotypy in children with autism

Previous research implies that stereotypic behavior tends to be maintained by the sensory consequences produced by engaging in the response. Few investigations, however, have focused on vocal stereotypy. The current study examined the noncommunicative vocalizations of 4 children with an autism spectrum disorder. First, functional analyses were conducted in an attempt to identify the function of each child's behavior. For each of the participants, it was found that vocal stereotypy was likely not maintained by the social consequences. Following assessment, response interruption and redirection (RIRD) was implemented in an ABAB design to determine whether vocal stereotypy could be successfully redirected. RIRD involved a teacher issuing a series of vocal demands the child readily complied with during regular academic programming. Vocal demands were presented contingent on the occurrence of vocal stereotypy and were continuously presented until the child complied with three consecutively issued demands without emitting vocal stereotypy. For each child, RIRD produced levels of vocal stereotypy substantially lower than those observed in baseline. For 3 of the children, an increase in appropriate communication was also observed. The children's teachers were trained to implement RIRD. Brief follow-up probes and anecdotal information implied that the treatment had a positive impact in the natural environment.     

A Latent Transition Model With Logistic Regression

Latent transition models increasingly include covariates that predict prevalence of latent classes at a given time or transition rates among classes over time. In many situations, the covariate of interest may be latent. This paper describes an approach for handling both manifest and latent covariates in a latent transition model. A Bayesian approach via Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) is employed in order to achieve more robust estimates. A case example illustrating the model is provided using data on academic beliefs and achievement in a low-income sample of adolescents in the United States. This research was partially supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant 1-R03-DA021639. This research was partially supported by the National Institute on Drug Abuse Grant 1-P50-DA10075, The Methodology Center, The Pennsylvania State University. This research was partially supported by the National Institute of Mental Health funds as part of the Studying Diverse Lives research support program at the Henry A. Murray Research Archive, Institute for Quantitative Science, Harvard University.     

Individual and Contextual Factors Associated With School Connectedness in the Context of Counseling in Schools

School connectedness refers to students' beliefs that their peers and adults at school care about their learning and themselves as individuals. School connectedness has been widely documented as a significant predictor for positive student outcomes, yet little is known about factors associated with it as an outcome variable. Guided by the advocating student-within-environment framework situated with the social development model, this study explored individual and contextual factors associated with school connectedness among 1,201 students in Grades 4 to 8. Gender, ethnicity, grade level, and social skills were found to be significant individual factors, whereas school support for learning and acceptance of diversity were significant contextual factors. Together, the individual and contextual factors explained 47% of the variance in school connectedness. Our findings also revealed grade-related variability concerning associations between the factors and school connectedness. These findings provide further insights into fostering connectedness in the context of counseling in schools with consideration to students' developmental needs.