Pain reduces discrimination in helping

Because of their shared neurobiological underpinnings, factors increasing physical pain can also increase feelings of social disconnection (“social pain”). Feelings of connection with a social group are reflected in the term social identification, and social identity is commonly associated with intergroup discrimination. In two experiments, we examined the notion that physical pain would reduce social identification and subsequently inhibit intergroup discrimination in helping. By using a pain memory manipulation and a support measure of helping in Study 1 (N = 173), and an actual pain manipulation combined with a behavioural measure of helping in Study 2 (N = 72), results from both studies confirmed the predictions. As expected, physical pain eliminated ingroup favouritism in helping, and identification mediated this effect in the ingroup condition but not in the outgroup condition. We discuss these findings in light of the apparently paradoxical relationship between social support and pain. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Occupational Therapy Support Service for University Students With Asperger's Syndrome (AS)

Students with Asperger's Syndrome (AS) face challenges, within third-level education, related to the person, environment, and occupation. This study describes an occupational therapy (OT) service that aims to enhance the interplay between the person (i.e., the student) and his/her occupation within a given context (i.e., college environment). A chart review and Student Satisfaction Survey was used to identify the demographics, concerns, and goals of the students using it. It was found that goals and concerns shift according to students' stage in college and recommends that services employ a student-centered, flexible approach responsive to the particular concerns of these students.     

Young clients' narratives of the purpose and outcome of counselling

This study explores how adolescent clients construct the purpose and outcome of counselling. A narrative analysis was performed on interviews with 22 clients (aged 16–18) who had used a school-based counselling service. The aim was to identify the purpose and outcomes that participants attributed to their counselling experience. The analysis identified four narrative forms that young clients used to describe counselling. These included ‘transformative’, ‘supportive’, ‘pragmatic’ and ‘disappointed’ narratives. Each narrative form constructed a different purpose and outcome for counselling. Engaging with clients' narratives about the purpose and intended outcome of counselling may allow counsellors to better match their expectations and approach to fit with their young client or to work with them to co-construct more flexible narratives that support helpful outcomes.     

Family‐Based HIV and Sexually Transmitted Infection Risk Reduction for Drug‐Involved Young Offenders: 42‐Month Outcomes

This study tested a family‐based human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)/sexually transmitted infection (STI) prevention approach integrated within an empirically supported treatment for drug‐involved young offenders, Multidimensional Family Therapy (MDFT). A randomized, controlled, two‐site community‐based trial was conducted with 154 youth and their parents. Drug‐involved adolescents were recruited in detention, randomly assigned to either MDFT or Enhanced Services as Usual (ESAU), and assessed at intake, 3, 6, 9, 18, 24, 36, and 42‐month follow‐ups. Youth in both conditions received structured HIV/STI prevention in detention and those in MDFT also received family‐based HIV/STI prevention as part of ongoing treatment following detention release. Youth in both conditions and sites significantly reduced rates of unprotected sex acts and STI incidence from intake to 9 months. They remained below baseline levels of STI incidence (10%) over the 42‐month follow‐up period. At Site A, adolescents who were sexually active at intake and received MDFT showed greater reduction in overall frequency of sexual acts and number of unprotected sexual acts than youth in ESAU between intake and 9‐month follow‐ups. These intervention differences were evident through the 42‐month follow‐up. Intervention effects were not found for STI incidence or unprotected sex acts at Site B. Intensive group‐based and family intervention in detention and following release may reduce sexual risk among substance‐involved young offenders, and a family‐based approach may enhance effects among those at highest risk. Site differences in intervention effects, study limitations, clinical implications, and future research directions are discussed.     

Resign or carry-on? District and principal leadership as drivers of change in teacher turnover intentions during the COVID-19 crisis: A latent growth model examination

During the COVID-19 pandemic, teachers in the United States, an already at-risk occupation group, experienced new work-related stressors, safety concerns, and work-life challenges, magnifying on-going retention concerns. Integrating the crisis management literature with the unfolding model of turnover, we theorize that leader actions trigger initial employee responses but also set the stage for on-going crisis response that influence changes in teachers' turnover intentions. We apply latent growth curve modelling to test our hypotheses based on a sample of 617 K-12 teachers using nine waves of data, including a baseline survey at the start of the 2020–2021 school year and eight follow-up surveys (2-week lags) through the Fall 2020 semester. In terms of overall adaptation, teachers on average, experienced an increase in work-life balance and a decrease in turnover intentions over the course of the semester. Results also suggest that district and school leadership provide unique and complementary resources, but leader behaviours that shape initial crisis responses do not similarly affect employee responses during crisis, contrary to theory. Instead, teachers' adaptive crisis response trajectories were triggered by continued resource provision over the semester; increasing provision of valued resources (i.e., continued refinement of safety practices) and improvements in work-life balance prevented turnover intentions from spiralling throughout the crisis. Crisis management theory and research should continue to incorporate temporal dynamics and identify factors that contribute to crisis response trajectories, using designs and analyses that allow for examination as crises unfold in real time.     

Surviving the Transformation: Social Quality in Central Asia and the Caucuses

This paper develops a sociologically informed understanding of what influences the lives and life-choices of people living in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan (Central Asian Republics) and Armenia and Georgia (the Caucasus), four of the successor states of the Soviet Union that suffered significant social and economic changes following the collapse of the Union in 1991. The focus is on the nature of these societies for their citizens; ultimately we are concerned to understand what makes a society liveable for all, what type of society enables people to be generally satisfied with their lives. To do this we use the Social Quality model to derive indicators from which to model what makes for a liveable or at least tolerable society. The model is validated by reference to subjective satisfaction—how people feel about life in general—as the ultimate outcome indicator of individual well-being. The data we use were collected as part of a broader study of living conditions, lifestyles and health in eight of the successor states of the Soviet Union, the Confederation of Independent States (CIS).     

Parental goals and talk with toddlers

Myriad studies support a relation between parental beliefs and behaviours. This study adds to the literature by focusing on the specific relationship between parental goals and their communication with toddlers. Do parents with different goals talk about different topics with their children? Parents' goals for their 30‐month olds were gathered using semi‐structured interviews with 47 primary caregivers, whereas the topics of conversations that took place during interactions were investigated via coding videotapes of observations in the home. Parents' short‐ and long‐term goals spanned several areas, including educational, social–emotional, developmental and pragmatic goals. Parental utterances most frequently focused on pragmatic issues, followed by play and academic topics. Parents who mentioned long‐term educational goals devoted more of their talk to academic topics and less to pragmatic topics, controlling for socio‐economic status. Thus, parental goals differ and these differences relate to the conversations parents engage in with their children. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Functional Neuroimaging in the Examination of Effects of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure

Functional neuroimaging offers the opportunity to understand the effect of prenatal alcohol exposure on the activities of the brain as well as providing a window into the relationship between neural activation and the behavioral outcomes that have been described in affected individuals. Several different methodologies have been used to examine the neurophysiological signal changes associated with different brain functions in prenatally exposed individuals and those diagnosed with fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or other fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD). These include electroencephalography (EEG), positron emission tomography (PET), single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT), and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). These studies demonstrate that it is feasible to use these technologies with this clinical population and that the damage to the central nervous system associated with prenatal alcohol exposure has widespread functional implications; however, currently, the literature in these areas is limited and unsystematic. Functional MRI with this clinical population has just begun to explore the implications of prenatal alcohol exposure with the first paper published in 2005. Other methodologies are similarly limited in scope. Nonetheless, these functional neuroimaging studies suggest that prenatal alcohol exposure, or a diagnosis of FAS, may lead to restrictions in neural efficiency or a global decrement in processing resources.     

Shedding light on photosensitive behaviour in brown planaria (Dugesia Tigrina)

The planarian flatworm is one of the simplest animals to develop two eyecups that enable them to detect the presence and direction of light, which they typically avoid. In this study we assessed responses of planaria to different intensities of light. We found that they exhibited a graded, sigmoidal, photonegative response to light intensity. A two-octave increase in luminance (on the upward slope of the sigmoid) corresponded to a 9% increase in the speed planaria travelled to avoid light.