Children's Sensitivity to Ulterior Motives When Evaluating Prosocial Behavior

Reasoning about ulterior motives was investigated among children ages 6–10 years (total N = 119). In each of two studies, participants were told about children who offered gifts to peers who needed help. Each giver chose to present a gift in either a public setting, which is consistent with having an ulterior motive to enhance one's reputation, or in a private setting, which is not consistent with having an ulterior motive. In each study, the 6‐ to 7‐year olds showed no evidence of understanding that the public givers might have ulterior motives, but the 8‐ to 10‐year olds rated the private givers more favorably. In 3. , the older children were more likely than the younger children to refer to impression management when explaining their judgments of the givers. The younger children who mentioned impression management did so to justify a preference for public givers (e.g., by explaining that public givers are nicer because more of their peers will know that they are nice). Results from 4. suggest that developmental change in children's reasoning about intentions and social outcomes contributes to their understanding of ulterior motives.     

Presidential Address: Team Science Across Disciplines: Advancing CBT Research and Practice on Hoarding

This presidential address focuses on the recent history of research and practice on hoarding disorder (HD) as a potential model for coordinating interdisciplinary teams of professionals within and outside mental health fields to advance scientific efforts to understand and resolve mental health problems. To identify, assess, and intervene with clients who have HD, psychologists, social workers, psychiatrists, and other service professionals are needed, including those in public health, housing, medicine, aging and protective services, fire, safety, and animal protection. Research findings and practice methods developed by many of my colleagues highlight the various skills of these diverse disciplines and fields. Of particular interest are multimethod assessments and CBT interventions that span individual, group, and family treatments, delivered in the office, at home and via the web by mental health and other professionals, as well as peers. Outcomes are positive, but there remains much work to do to improve understanding and intervention outcomes.     

Hiding effort to gain a competitive advantage: Evidence from China

Previous studies with Western populations have shown that adolescents' tendency to downplay their academic effort is affected by two kinds of motives: ability‐related motives (e.g., to appear competent) and social approval motives (e.g., to be popular). In this research, we test for the presence of additional competition‐related motives in China, a culture placing strong emphasis on academic competition. Study 1 (N = 150) showed that, in response to a scenario in which a hard‐working high‐school junior hid effort from classmates, the most highly endorsed explanation was “to influence others to work less hard to maintain a competitive advantage.” Study 2 (N = 174) revealed that competition‐related explanations were endorsed relatively more often when the speaker and audience had similar academic rankings. This tendency was most evident when both speaker and audience were top performers, and when this was the case, participants' desire to demonstrate superiority over others was a positive predictor of endorsement of competition‐related motives. Study 3 (N = 137) verified that competition‐related motives were more strongly endorsed among Chinese participants than U.S. participants. These results suggest that at least in cultures that emphasize academic competition and in contexts where competition is salient, hiding effort is often about attempting to gain strategic advantage.     

Accuracy of Reported Community Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder

To compare community diagnoses of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) reported by parents to consensus diagnoses made using standardized tools plus clinical observation. 87 participants (85% male, average age 7.4 years), with reported community diagnosis of ASD were evaluated using the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule) (ADOS-2), Differential Ability Scale (DAS-II), and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales (VABS-II). Detailed developmental and medical history was obtained from all participants. Diagnosis was based on clinical consensus of at least two expert clinicians, using test results, clinical observations, and parent report. 23% of participants with a reported community diagnosis of ASD were classified as non-spectrum based on our consensus diagnosis. ASD and non-spectrum participants did not differ on age at evaluation and age of first community diagnosis. Non-verbal IQ scores and Adaptive Behavior Composite scores were significantly higher in the non-spectrum group compared to the ASD group (104.5?±?21.7 vs. 80.1?±?21.6, p?<?.01; 71.1?±?15 versus 79.5?±?17.6, p?<?.05, respectively). Participants enrolled with community diagnosis of PDD-NOS were significantly more likely to be classified as non-spectrum on the study consensus diagnosis than Participants with Autism or Asperger (36% versus 9.5%, Odds Ratio?=?5.4, p?<?.05). This study shows suboptimal agreement between community diagnoses of ASD and consensus diagnosis using standardized instruments. These findings are based on limited data, and should be further studied, taking into consideration the influence of DSM 5 diagnostic criteria on ASD prevalence.     

Profiles of Contextual Risk at Birth and Adolescent Substance Use

This study examined whether there are subgroups of families with distinct profiles of prenatal/birth contextual risk, and whether subgroup membership was differentially related to adolescent substance use. Data from the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1986 were used. A five-class model provided the most meaningful solution. Large Family Size (7.72%) and Low Risk (69.69%) groups had the lowest levels of alcohol, cigarette, and illegal drug use. Similar high levels for each of the three substance-related outcomes were found for Parent Substance Misuse (11.20%), Maternal School Dropout (4.66%), and Socioeconomic Disadvantage (6.72%) groups. Maternal smoking and drinking while pregnant and paternal heavy alcohol use were found to be key prenatal risk factors that tended to cluster together and co-occur with other prenatal risk factors differently for different subgroups of youth.     

Maternal limit setting during toddlerhood,delay of gratification,and behavior problems at age five

In this study, self‐regulation was examined in relation to maternal limit setting during toddlerhood. Observational coding of limit‐setting interactions was carried out at 12, 24, and 36 months using the Prohibition Coding Scheme (Houck & LeCuyer, 1995; LeCuyer‐Maus & Houck, 2002). At five years, self‐regulation was assessed by observation of self‐imposed delay‐of‐gratification (Shoda, Mischel, & Peake, 1990), and behavior problems were measured by maternal report on a behavior checklist (CBCL; Achenbach, 1991). Maternal limit‐setting patterns at every age differentiated subsequent duration of delay, but not behavior problems. A power‐based maternal pattern in limit setting adversely affected later self‐imposed delay. Although an indirect limit‐setting pattern optimized the child's delay duration, a teaching‐based pattern yielded more consistently positive outcomes at 36 months and normative delay durations at age five years. ©2004 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

Promoting positive body image among university students: A collaborative pilot study

The purpose of the present study was to pilot a prevention program designed to promote positive body image among university students. Thirty-seven undergraduate students from three Canadian universities were recruited to participate in the study. They were selected from a pool of students enrolled in a peer health education program facilitated by the university-based health promotion staff. Borrowing from the tenets of the non-specific vulnerability stressor model and the disease-specific social cognitive theory, the intervention focused on media literacy, self-esteem enhancement strategies, stress management skills and ways to recognize healthy versus unhealthy relationships. Separate ANOVAs revealed that participants reported significant improvements in body satisfaction and reductions in the internalization of media stereotypes between the baseline and post-program period. The program received a favorable response from the participating students, who appreciated the face-to-face format of the intervention, and from the university staff who expressed interest in embedding the strategies into their routine peer mentoring training activities. Limitations of the study and suggestions for future research are discussed.