Constructions of Mexican American family grief after the death of a child: an exploratory study

Using a collective case study ethnographic approach, nine individuals comprising three Mexican American families were interviewed about their family bereavement experiences after the death of a child. All families were Catholic, had surviving siblings, and had had three or more years to grieve their loss when interviewed. The deceased children ranged in age from 3 to 14, and all experienced sudden, traumatic, nonsuicide deaths. To provide a broader, contextual picture of their grief experiences, four individuals who supported these family members after the loss were also interviewed. Unique grief experiences were identified, and eight common themes emerged, reflecting the ways in which family members maintained their bond to the deceased: dreams, storytelling, keepsakes, sense of presence, faith-based connections, proximity connections, ongoing rituals, and pictorial remembrances. The cultural implications of family bereavement are highlighted.     

Serious,Minor, and Non-Delinquents in Early Adolescence: The Impact of Cumulative Risk and Promotive Factors. The TRAILS Study

This study uses a social-ecological approach to the development of delinquency. The authors emphasize that a balance between eliminating risk and enhancing protection across domains is essential in reducing problems and promoting competence. The cumulative risk and promotive effects of temperament, family and school factors in preadolescence were examined on different groups of delinquents (based on self-report) in early adolescence. Data from the first two waves of the TRAILS study (N = 2,230) were used. The results provide evidence for a compensatory model that assumes main effects of risk and promotive factors on problem behavior. Accumulation of risks in preadolescence promoted being a serious delinquent in early adolescence, with the strongest effects for temperament. Accumulation of promotive effects decreased being a delinquent and supported being a non-delinquent. Furthermore, evidence is found for a counter-balancing effect of cumulative promotive and risk factors. Exposure to more promotive domains in the relative absence of risk domains decreased the percentage of serious delinquents. Our results did not support a protective model. Implications for prevention and intervention are discussed.     

The creativity quotient: An objective scoring of ideational fluency

A classical test for accessing the potential creativity of an individual is based on ideational fluency, where a person is asked to generate all possible uses for a familiar item like a piece of paper. In scoring the results, it is intuitive that the suggested uses should not be weighted equally. Those suggested in radically different categories are “worth more”; than those suggested within the same category only. We used information theory to derive a simple mathematical expression for a more objective measure of ideational fluency. We call this the creativity quotient (CQ). This innovative measure was examined using a small sample of participants, and is illustrated by the responses of two typical individuals from an ideational fluency task. The CQ accounts for the number of ideas (fluency), plus the number of categories (flexibility). Ongoing research will examine the independence of CQ from established measures of intelligence and personality.     

Verbal Memory Deficits in Children with Less than 750 g Birth Weight

Numerous studies have documented memory deficits in very low birthweight (VLBW, < 1500 g) children, yet we know little about the nature of these memory problems. To clarify memory sequelae and examine memory deficits in relation to the degree of low birth weight, we administered the California Verbal Learning Test–Children’s Version (CVLT-C) to a regional sample of 57 < 750 g birthweight children and to groups of 53 750–1499 g birthweight children and 49 term-born controls. Group comparisons revealed significant differences between the < 750 g birthweight group and term-born children on measures of list learning, delayed recall, and inaccurate recall. In addition, the percentage improvement in correct recognitions relative to long-term delayed recall was greater in the < 750 g group than in the term-born controls. Similar differences were observed between VLBW children with and without abnormal neonatal cerebral ultrasounds (high- and low-risk groups). Differences in learning rate between the VLBW and term-born groups, and between high- and low-risk VLBW children, were evident even when vocabulary skill was covaried or when children with neurosensory deficits or IQ < 80 were excluded from analysis. The findings document deficits in verbal memory in the subset of VLBW children at greatest biological risk, and suggest that acquisition processes are selectively impaired.     

Social Problem-Solving Skills in Children with Traumatic Brain Injury: Long-Term Outcomes and Prediction of Social Competence

The effects of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) on social problem-solving were examined in 35 children with severe TBI, 40 children with moderate TBI, and 46 children with orthopedic injuries (OI). The children were recruited prospectively following injuries that occurred between 6 and 12 years of age. They were followed longitudinally, and ranged from 9 to 18 years of age at the time of the current study, which occurred on average 4 years post injury. They were administered a semi-structured interview used in previous research on social problem-solving to assess the developmental level of their responses to hypothetical dilemmas involving social conflict. Children in the severe TBI group defined the social dilemmas and generated alternative strategies to solve those dilemmas at the same developmental level as did children in the OI group. However, they articulated lower-level strategies as the best way to solve the dilemmas and used lower-level reasoning to evaluate the effectiveness of the strategies. After controlling for group membership, race, socioeconomic status, IQ, and age, children's social problem-solving, and particularly the developmental level of their preferred strategies for resolving conflicts, predicted parents ratings of children's social skills, peer relationships, aggressive behavior, and academic performance. The findings indicate that children with severe TBI demonstrate selective, long-term deficits in their social problem-solving skills that may help to account for their poor social and academic outcomes.     

Sources of variability in sequelae of very low birth weight.

Few investigations have examined the specificity of sequelae of very low birth weight (VLBW, <1500 g) or sources of variability in outcome. To better understand the nature and determinants of outcome, we assessed neuropsychological and achievement skills at mean age 11 years in 62 children with <750 g birth weight, 54 with 750-1499 g birth weight, and 66 term-born controls. Distinct cognitive constructs were identified by factor analysis, and the three birthweight groups were compared on these constructs and on composite measures of achievement. Although the group with <750 g birth weight performed less well on all tests than term-born controls, group differences in a perceptual planning factor and in mathematics remained even when IQ was controlled, and deficits were more pronounced in mathematics than in reading. Results from structural equation modeling were consistent with the hypothesis that neuropsychological skills mediated the relationship between birth weight and achievement. The findings confirm the differential deficit hypothesis, support the need to consider multiple sources of variability in VLBW outcomes, and highlight the importance of neuropsychological constructs in developing an explanatory framework.     

Aboriginal Health Care and Bioethics: A Reflection on the Teaching of the Seven Grandfathers

Contemporary bioethics recognizes the importance of the culture in shaping ethical issues, yet in practice, a process for ethical analysis and decision making is rarely adjusted to the culture and ethnicity of involved parties. This is of a particular concern in a health care system that is caring for a growing Aboriginal population. We raise the possibility of constructing a bioethics grounded in traditional Aboriginal knowledge. As an example of an element of traditional knowledge that contains strong ethical guidance, we present the story of the Gifts of the Seven Grandfathers. We note a resemblance of this Ojibway teaching to virtue ethics in European traditions, but we suggest that there are also important differences in how these two traditions are currently presented. We hope that further engagement with a variety of indigenous moral teachings and traditions could improve health care involving Aboriginal patients and communities, and enrich the discipline of bioethics.     

Recalling what was where when seeing nothing there

So-called “looks-at-nothing” have previously been used to show that recalling what also elicits the recall of where this was. Here, we present evidence from an eye-tracking study which shows that disrupting looks to “there” does not disrupt recalling what was there, nor do (anticipatory) looks to “there” facilitate recalling what was there. Therefore, our results suggest that recalling where does not recall what.     

Leadership behavior changes following a theory‐based leadership development intervention: A longitudinal study of subordinates’ and leaders’ evaluations

The aim was to evaluate effects of leadership courses based on the developmental leadership model at the leadership behavioral level. A longitudinal design was employed with assessments before, one and six months after the leadership courses. The sample consisted of 59 leaders who made self‐ratings and were rated by at least three subordinates on each occasion. Leadership behaviors were measured with the Developmental Leadership Questionnaire (DLQ). A limited increase of favorable leadership behaviors and a significant reduction of unfavorable leadership behaviors were found, particularly according to the subordinates’ ratings. A cluster analysis yielded three meaningful leader profiles and showed that this pattern was found in all three profiles, irrespective of how favorably they were rated before the onset of the intervention.