Executive function outcomes of children with traumatic brain injury sustained before three years

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a common cause of disability in childhood. While the outcomes of TBI sustained in school years has been heavily researched, very little is known about the impact of TBI in infants and young children. The aim of this study was to investigate the impact of TBI on executive function (EF) in children who sustained a TBI before 3 years of age. A group of 55 children, 19 with a mild TBI, 16 children with a moderate-severe TBI, and 20 uninjured comparison children participated. The EF of children aged 3 to 6 years were compared using child-based measures of attentional control and information processing. Parents completed questionnaires rating their child's EF. Severity groups differed on the child-based EF measure of attentional control with children with TBI performing below the control group. There were no significant group differences for information processing or parent-rated EF. It appears that children who sustain a TBI before the age of 3 years display impairments in some areas of attentional control 3–4 years postinjury. The findings fit with the existing EF literature for older children.     

A Preventive Coping Perspective of Individual Response to Terrorism in Canada

A plethora of studies on terrorism underscores the challenges of managing the psychological and behavioural impacts of terrorist events. This literature also emphasizes the idea that the global pending threat of terrorism, prior to the occurrence of any event, may also give rise to significant reactions among members of the public. Drawing from the literature on proactive coping, the current study presents the results of factor analyses performed on sections of a national survey that assessed appraisals of as well as actual responses to the threat of terrorism in Canada (N = 1,502). Findings revealed that items assessing individual response to terrorism were represented by three factors in this context: Individual Preparedness, Information Seeking, and Avoidance Behaviour. Further analyses demonstrated a tendency for actual preparedness behaviours to be associated with decreased psychological stress, and actual avoidance behaviours to be associated with heightened psychological stress. Furthermore, the divergent patterns of relationships of terrorism response appraisals and corresponding actual responses with psychological stress emphasized the need to distinguish different stages in the process of preventive coping with terrorism. Theoretical and practical implications of findings for individual preparedness in Canada are discussed.

The Teenage Problem Is the Adult

Counselor education programs and professional associations of behavioral and social sciences have failed to assist counselors, teachers, and parents in understanding and relating to youth in this technological era. Rebelliousness, alienation, and even rioting engaged in by youth represent cries for help to which adults respond, sometimes with indifference but more often with confusion, resentment, or active antagonism. Empathic and informed counselors may be able to reduce the basic feeling of guilt that leads to such negative reactions by helping school staff and parents recognize that rapid and dramatic changes in modern society have irrevocably influenced attitudes, values, and behaviors of youth. Youth have much right on their side. However, they need wisdom of perceptive adults to guide them in working in acceptable ways for legitimate goals which the older generation has preached but often disregarded in practice. “There is, of course, a teenage problem, but that problem is not the teenager but the adult.”—Ashley Montagu.     

The anatomy of loneliness

Loneliness is a potent but little understood risk factor for broad-based morbidity and mortality. We review five social neurobehavioral mechanisms that may account for this association. The evidence suggests that different mechanisms explain short-term and long-term effects, and that the long-term effects operate through multiple pathways. Implications for the design of interventions are discussed.     

Sex differences in ADHD trajectories across childhood and adolescence

Previous studies have hinted at sex differences in developmental trajectories in ADHD symptoms; however, little is known about the nature or cause of these differences and their implications for clinical practice. We used growth mixture modelling in a community‐ascertained cohort of n = 1,571 participants to study sex differences in ADHD symptom developmental trajectories across the elementary and secondary school years. Participants were measured at ages 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, and 15. We found that females were more likely to show large symptom increases in early adolescence while males were more likely to show elevated symptoms from childhood. For both males and females, early adolescence represented a period of vulnerability characterized by relatively sudden symptom increases. Females affected by hyperactivity/impulsivity may be more likely to be excluded from diagnosis due to current age of onset criteria. More attention should be paid to early adolescence as a period of risk for hyperactivity/impulsivity symptom onset or worsening.     

Towards an evidence‐base for student wellbeing and mental health: Definitions,developmental transitions and data sets

Against a background of huge changes in the world of university and college students since the turn of the millennium, together with a multitude of reports on student mental health/wellbeing, this article argues that the field of student mental health is hampered by the imprecise use of terms, a rush to action by universities in the absence of a robust evidence‐base, and a lack of overall coordination and collaboration in the collection and use of data. In response, we argue for clearer and more consistent use of definitions of, as well as differentiations between, student wellbeing and mental health, for a longitudinal approach to the student body that captures their developmental transitions to and through university, and a strategic and systematic approach to the use of bona fide measures in the collection of data on wellbeing and on the process of outcomes in embedded university counselling services. Such a coordinated approach will provide the necessary evidence‐base upon which to develop and deliver appropriate support and interventions to underpin and enhance the quality of students’ lives and learning while at university or college.     

Exploring the depths of the rainforest: a metaphor for teaching critical reflection

Many social welfare and social work students struggle to demonstrate competence in the complex process of critical reflection through to the stage of transformed thinking and action. Examples of how students learn critical reflection as an interpretive experience are scarce. This paper presents, as a case study, the process one of the authors experienced while critically reflecting on teaching critical reflection. The paper explores how this approach unlocked disturbing insights into how personally held values, views and knowledge influenced her performance relating to teaching critical reflection. Experiencing what she asks of her students raised questions regarding the duty of care that social welfare and social work educators have to ensure their students engage in critical, and transformative, self-discovery in safe and supportive ways. We propose that in the early stages of social welfare and social work degrees, rather than assessing students’ critical reflection of an event, educators examine students’ capacity to learn critical reflection in a different way. Drawing on critical hermeneutics, and a theory of visual thinking, the paper outlines the cognitive map of a process of critical reflection on teaching critical reflection. We present this as a metaphor of walking through a rainforest.