Green construction and energy training program for at‐risk individuals: a case study

Training individuals who are at risk of unemployment/underemployment to increase their employability is a mission of many nonprofit agencies. These training programs, often supported by government funding, attempt to reduce these individuals’ reliance on government assistance. The purpose of this study is to obtain hard data and an in‐depth understanding about the factors that contribute to the success of the Green Construction training program. The methodology used is a multimethod, multimeasure approach, which provides a reasonably robust triangulation of results. The findings indicate that the program is successful because it has good participant retention, knowledge gain, and placement rates.     

The Role of Hope, Spirituality and Religious Practice in Adolescents’ Life Satisfaction: Longitudinal Findings

This longitudinal study presents the first examination of the relation between hope, spirituality, religious practice and life satisfaction of students in Portugal. A sample of 227 adolescents aged 15–19 completed the Portuguese versions of the Children Hope Scale, Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale and a single item for each spirituality and religious practice variable. The results from the cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses suggest that hope and spirituality, but not religious practice, were strongly linked to adolescents’ life satisfaction. Hope significantly predicted life satisfaction at a single time point, 6-months and 1-year later, and spirituality scores added significant variance beyond hope scores. All the variables demonstrate moderate to high stability across 6-months and 1-year time frame; no significant changes were found between the variables across the administrations. These results parallel recent studies of adult and child life satisfaction and suggest strategies to promote life satisfaction in adolescents.     

Parents Taking Action: A Psycho‐Educational Intervention for Latino Parents of Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The increased prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among Latino children, later diagnosis, limited access to bicultural specialist support, and worsened health outcomes when compared to non‐Latinos points to the need for a culturally relevant parent education intervention. This pilot study examined the feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary outcomes of a culturally derived intervention, Parents Taking Action, for 19 Spanish‐speaking mothers of children with ASD. This study introduces the Promotora de Salud Model of intervention delivery to the autism field. A mixed‐methods design including one group pre‐ and posttest design and focus groups was used to evaluate the outcomes of PTA. We found that the intervention was both feasible to implement and acceptable to participants. We also found significant increases in empowerment oriented outcomes for parents between pre‐ and posttest suggesting that the intervention is promising. Suggestions for future research and practice are offered.     

Cortisol,stress, and attentional bias toward threat

Abstract

Attentional bias toward threatening stimuli is a central characteristic of anxiety and acute stress. Recent small-scale studies have provided divergent perspectives on the association between the stress hormone cortisol and attentional bias toward threat cues. In a larger sample size than previous studies, we examined this association by investigating the impact of cortisol on attentional bias in two studies using a psychological stressor (N=35) and a physical stressor (N=65), respectively. Attentional bias and salivary cortisol were measured prior to and following the administration of a stressful task designed to increase cortisol levels. Results across these studies were equivocal relative to the association between baseline cortisol and baseline attentional bias. In addition, the association between acute change in cortisol and change in attentional bias appeared to differ as a function of the presence or absence of psychological stress. There was a trend toward a stronger negative association between acute cortisol change and attentional bias change among women relative to men. These results imply that the association between cortisol and attentional bias may be moderated by additional factors, such as gender or presence of stress.     

Revising Test Items to Increase Validity

Eight female interviewers varied their interview styles in interviewing 207 adults who had been involved in automobile accidents during a four-year period. A “professional” and a rapport or “interpersonal” style was used. Dependent variables consisted of reporting of events related to an automobile accident in which the respondent was the driver, and for which independent criterion data were available. In addition, the amount of health information reported was also analyzed. In spite of the respondents' more favorable attitudes towards the interpersonal interviews, accuracy was not significantly greater in these rapport interviews. In fact, significant interaction effects between interviewer style and recency of the accident were obtained. Respondents, however, reported more completely under rapport conditions. The results are interpreted within a cognitive, role-learning framework.     

Ethics,Brain Injuries,and Sports: Prohibition,Reform, and Prudence

Abstract

In this paper, we explore the issue of the elimination of sports, or elements of sports, that present a high risk of brain injury. In particular, we critically examine two elements of Angelo Corlett’s and Pam Sailors’ arguments for the prohibition of football and Nicholas Dixon’s claim for the reformation of boxing to eliminate blows to the head based on (a) the empirical assumption of an essential or causal connection between brain injuries incurred in football and the development of a degenerative brain disease known as chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE); and (b) John Stuart Mill’s rejection of consensual domination (ie voluntary enslavement). We present four arguments to contest the validity of Corlett, Dixon’s and Sailor’s positions. Specifically, we argue that (i) certain autonomy-based arguments undermine paternalist arguments for reform; (ii) the nature of the goods people pursue in their lives might justify their foregoing (degrees of) future autonomy; (iii) Mill’s argument against consensual domination draws on ambiguous and arbitrary distinctions; (iv) the lack of consensus and empirical evidence regarding CTE arising from brain injuries in sport underdetermines calls for reform. We conclude that these proposals for reforming or eliminating sports with high risks of brain injuries are not well founded.     

“Building Hope for the Future”: A Program to Foster Strengths in Middle-School Students

The authors investigated the effectiveness of a 5-week hope-based intervention designed to enhance hope, life satisfaction, self-worth, mental health and academic achievement in middle school students. The study includes a sample of 31 students from a community school, a matched comparison group of 31 students, and 2 secondary groups—guardians and teachers of the students’ intervention group. Students completed a questionnaire packet that included demographic information, the Portuguese versions of the Children’s Hope Scale, Students’ Life Satisfaction Scale, Mental Health and Self-Worth Scales. Academic achievement was obtained from school records. At baseline, groups are statistically similar on the variables of interest. At post-test the intervention group had enhanced hope, life satisfaction and self-worth. In the intervention group, benefits in hope, life satisfaction and self-worth were maintained at the 18-month follow up. Results suggest that a brief hope intervention can increase psychological strengths, and participants continue to benefit up to 1-year and 6-months later.     

Predicting consideration of cosmetic surgery in a college population: a continuum of body image disturbance and the importance of coping strategies

Elective cosmetic surgeries are increasing in the American population with reasons linked to body image disturbance and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Little research exists documenting the continuum of body image disturbance and its relationship to seeking surgery. The present research examined data from 544 participants, 55 of whom were diagnosable with BDD. Using assessments for body image disturbance, problematic coping strategies, and BDD symptomatology, results provided evidence for a continuum of body image distress. Logistic regression analysis supported the hypothesis that increased levels of body image disturbance and one type of problematic coping strategy (Appearance Fixing) predicted consideration of cosmetic surgery. Of participants diagnosable with BDD, those who considered cosmetic surgery showed more severe body image disturbance and problematic coping than those who did not consider surgery. These results have implications for pre-surgical assessment as well as psychological interventions rather than invasive medical interventions.     

The relation between teachers' math talk and the acquisition of number sense within kindergarten classrooms

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relation between teachers' math talk and the acquisition of number sense within kindergarten classrooms. The mathematical language input provided by 35 kindergarten teachers was examined with 9 different input categories. The results of this study indicate that the role of each of these math talk categories is not as straightforward as was hypothesized. Although significant positive relations were found for math talk categories such as cardinality and conventional nominatives, the relations between the categories' calculation and number symbols and children's score on specific number sense tasks were negative. Moreover, a large diversity in math talk was negatively related to kindergartners' number sense acquisition. These results suggest that teachers should be careful and selective with the amount of math talk that they offer to young children.