Group status drives majority and minority integration preferences

This research examined preferences for national- and campus-level assimilative and pluralistic policies among Black and White students under different contexts, as majority- and minority-group members. We targeted attitudes at two universities, one where 85% of the student body is White, and another where 76% of students are Black. The results revealed that when a group constituted the majority, its members generally preferred assimilationist policies, and when a group constituted the minority, its members generally preferred pluralistic policies. The results support a functional perspective: Both majority and minority groups seek to protect and enhance their collective identities.     

The path to glory is paved with hierarchy: when hierarchical differentiation increases group effectiveness

Two experiments examined the psychological and biological antecedents of hierarchical differentiation and the resulting consequences for productivity and conflict within small groups. In Experiment 1, which used a priming manipulation, hierarchically differentiated groups (i.e., groups comprising 1 high-power-primed, 1 low-power-primed, and 1 baseline individual) performed better on a procedurally interdependent task than did groups comprising exclusively either all high-power-primed or all low-power-primed individuals. There were no effects of hierarchical differentiation on performance on a procedurally independent task. Experiment 2 used a biological marker of dominance motivation (prenatal testosterone exposure as measured by a digit-length ratio) to manipulate hierarchical differentiation. The pattern of results from Experiment 1 was replicated; mixed-testosterone groups achieved greater productivity than did groups comprising all high-testosterone or all low-testosterone individuals. Furthermore, intragroup conflict mediated the productivity decrements for the high-testosterone but not the low-testosterone groups. This research suggests possible directions for future research and the need to further delineate the conditions and types of hierarchy under which hierarchical differentiation enhances rather than undermines group effectiveness.     

Impact of the 1998 football World Cup on suicide rates in France: results from the national death registry

Our objective was to determine whether the Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup in 1998 had a short-term impact on the number of suicides in France. Exhaustive individual daily data on suicides from 1979 to 2006 were obtained from the French epidemiological center on the medical causes of death (CepiDC-INSERM; France). These data were analyzed using the seasonal ARIMA model. The overall effect of the World Cup was tested together with potential specific impact on days following the French team games. Between 11th June and 11th July, a significant decline of 95 suicides was observed (-10.3%), this effect being the strongest among men and people aged between 30 and 44. A significant decrease was also observed for the days following French team games (-19.9%). Our results are in favor of an effect of nationwide sport events on suicidal behaviors and are consistent with other studies. Many of the theories explaining the relationship between sports and suicide are related to sense of belongingness and social integration, highlighting the importance of social link reinforcement in suicide prevention.     

Cognitive control: A role for implicit learning?

We investigated the influence of implicit learning on cognitive control. In a sequential Stroop task, participants implicitly learned a sequence placed on the color of the Stroop words. In Experiment 1, Stroop conflict was lower in sequenced than in random trials (learning-improved control). However, as these results were derived from an interaction between learning and conflict, they could also be explained by improved implicit learning (difference between random and sequenced trials), under incongruent compared with congruent trials (control-improved learning). Therefore, we further unraveled the direction of the interaction in 2 additional experiments. In Experiment 2, participants who learned the color sequence were no better at resolving conflict than participants who did not undergo sequence training. This shows that implicit knowledge does not directly reduce conflict (no learning-improved control). In Experiment 3, the amount of conflict did not directly improve learning either (no control-improved learning). However, conflict had a significant impact on the expression of implicit learning, as most knowledge was expressed under the highest amount of conflict. Thus, task-optimization was accomplished by an increased reliance on implicit sequence knowledge under high conflict. These findings demonstrate that implicit learning processes can be flexibly recruited to support cognitive control functions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Examination of the structural, convergent, and incremental validity of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS) with a clinical sample

Empirical examination of the Reynolds Intellectual Assessment Scales (RIAS; C. R. Reynolds & R. W. Kamphaus, 2003a) has produced mixed results regarding its internal structure and convergent validity. Various aspects of validity of RIAS scores with a sample (N = 521) of adolescents and adults seeking psychological evaluations at a university-based clinic were examined. Results from exploratory factor analysis indicated only 1 factor, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) indicated that the 1-factor model was a good fit and a better fit than the 2-factor model. Hierarchical factor analysis indicated the higher order, general intelligence factor accounted for the largest amount of variance. Correlations with other measures of verbal/crystallized and nonverbal/fluid intelligence were supportive of the convergent validity of the Verbal Intelligence Index but not the Nonverbal Intelligence Index. Joint CFA with these additional measures resulted in a superior fit of the 2-factor model compared with the 1-factor model, although the Odd-Item-Out subtest was found to be a poor measure of nonverbal/fluid intelligence. Incremental validity analyses indicated that the Composite Intelligence Index explained a medium to large portion of academic achievement variance; the NIX and VIX explained a small amount of remaining variance. Implications regarding interpretation of the RIAS when assessing similar individuals are discussed.     

Adolescents with suicidal and nonsuicidal self-harm: clinical characteristics and response to therapeutic assessment

Self-harm is one of the best predictors of death by suicide, but few studies directly compare adolescents with suicidal versus nonsuicidal self-harm. Seventy adolescents presenting with self-harm (71% young women, ages 12-18 years) who participated in a randomized controlled trial were divided into suicidal and nonsuicidal self-harm categories using the Columbia Classification Algorithm of Suicide Assessment. Adolescents with suicidal self-harm were more likely than those with nonsuicidal self-harm to be young women, 22/23 (96%) versus 34/47 (72%), odds ratio (OR) = 8.33, 95% confidence interval (CI) [1.03, 50.0]; had a later age of onset of self-harm, 15.4 years vs. 13.8 years, mean difference = 1.6, 95% CI [.8, 2.43]; and used self-poisoning more often, 18/23 (78%) versus 11/47 (23%), OR = 3.43, 95% CI [2.00, 5.89]. Only those with nonsuicidal self-harm had an improvement on Children's Global Assessment Scale score following a brief therapeutic intervention, mean difference = 8.20, 95% CI [.97, 15.42]. However, there was no interaction between treatment and suicidality. There are important differences between adolescents presenting with suicidal and nonsuicidal self-harm. Suicidal self-harm in adolescence may be associated with a less favorable response to therapeutic assessment.     

Service Coordination and Children’s Functioning in a School-Based Intensive Mental Health Program

Coordination of mental health services in children with serious emotional disturbance (SED) has shown a preliminary relationship to positive outcomes in children. Yet, research in this area is sparse. Therefore, the relation between service coordination activities and adaptive functioning was examined for 51 children SED who were treated in the school-based Intensive Mental Health Program for elementary school students (IMHP; average treatment length was 12?months; mean age 9.37 at intake). Systematic review of detailed case records identified 16,669 episodes of service coordination that could be coded reliably for frequency, quality, and purpose (planning, linking, monitoring) of the service coordination component. Adaptive functioning was measured by Child and Adolescent Functional Assessment Scale (CAFAS) ratings and daily points earned on the behavior management system of the IMHP at intake, 6, 12?months, and discharge. Findings indicated that the frequency, quality, and purpose of the service coordination component varied from case to case and by time in treatment. Although service coordination activities overall decreased as treatment progressed, concentrated high quality service coordination (measured by frequency, quality, and component of service coordination) consistently predicted improved functioning on both CAFAS ratings and daily points earned. Results have both practice and policy implications for training interagency teams and clinicians on when and how to optimally coordinate services.