New Word Acquisition in Children: Examining the Contribution of Verbal Short‐term Memory to Lexical and Semantic Levels of Learning

A variety of evidence suggests that human vocabulary acquisition and verbal short‐term ability are related. The aim of this study was to investigate the learning of new lexical and semantic representation in 7 to 12 years old children selected on the basis of their poor working memory capacity. A deep characterization of the short‐term memory (STM) capacities has been carried out through a series of tasks derived from recent STM models tapping STM, language and attentional processes. Participants experienced a three conditions word learning task designed to reflect lexical learning, semantic learning and lexical–semantic learning capacities. Other aspects of the learning such as the learning rate and the word length effect were evaluated. The experimental participants scored more poorly than controls on lexical learning, and this deficit was associated with the serial order STM and the attentional capacities. The current study also highlighted that neither the experimental group nor the control group took advantage in lexical learning of semantic information supplement. Our results suggest that children with verbal STM problems learn a smaller number of new words but present a similar way of learning than children without verbal STM problems. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring Adolescent Experiences with Disclosing Self-Injurious Thoughts and Behaviors Across Settings

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Disclosure of self-injurious thoughts and behaviors (SITBs) is critical to current treatment and prevention programs. Limited research has...     

Residual Effects of Slavery: A Delphi Study

Slavery and its aftermath have created multiple challenges that are unique to the African American community. Although literature exists within other disciplines, no published empirical study within the marriage and family therapy literature has examined the residual effects of slavery. We used a modified Delphi methodology to explore the residual effects of slavery on African Americans and to determine resultant clinical implications. To obtain information from panelists who have expertise in this area, we conducted three rounds of data collection: an open-ended questionnaire, a Likert-scale questionnaire, and a round of in-depth interviews. Based on our analysis of the data collected, this empirical study describes the influence of the residual effects of slavery, implications for clinicians and directions for future research.

     

Coping with Job Loss and Reemployment: A Two-Wave Study

Using a national sample, this study investigated the effects of unemployed workers’ coping resources and coping strategy use on reemployment after a three-month period. Based on previous research, it was expected that (1) three types of coping resources (self-esteem, social support, and financial resources) would be positively related to problem-focused coping with job loss, (2) coping resources would be negatively related to emotion-focused coping with job loss, (3) problem-focused coping would be positively related to reemployment, (4) problem-focused coping would be more strongly related to reemployment than emotion-focused coping, and (5) coping strategies would mediate the relationship between the availability of coping resources and obtaining reemployment. Results provided support for the direct effects of coping resources (self-esteem, social support, and, to some extent, financial resources) on coping strategies, and a direct effect of problem-focused coping on reemployment 3 months later. Self-esteem and social support were each indirectly related to subsequent employment status, mediated by problem-focused coping. In other words, individuals with higher levels of self-esteem and social support were not only more likely to engage in problem-focused coping, but having a higher level of self-esteem and social support was also associated with a higher likelihood of being reemployed three months later. Findings are pertinent for the design of more effective interventions that mitigate adverse effects of unemployment and facilitate a successful return to the workforce.