Acquiring Dependence and Independence: A Theoretical Orientation

(Wallach, M. A., and Wing, C. W., Jr. The Talented Student: A Validation of the Creativity-Intelligence Distinction. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1969) Reviewed by John G. Nicholls     

Analysis of An Intervention to Reduce or Prevent Secondary Conditions for People with Spinal Cord Injuries

People with acute spinal cord injuries (SCI) are at risk for developing secondary conditions such as pressure sores, urinary tract infections, pain, weight gain and deconditioning, and depression. This study analyzed the effectiveness of an Internet assessment and feedback tool in determining secondary condition risk for this population based on individual responses to a knowledge and behavioral questionnaire. Seventy-one people with newly-diagnosed SCI who were treated at one of five Model Spinal Cord Injury Systems Centers were randomly assigned to either an experimental condition in which they received computerized feedback and one-on-one consultations based on their online questionnaire answers, or to a control condition in which they received no feedback until the study's completion. One year after the initial assessment, the online questionnaire was re-administered to all participants as a post-test. Three times between the pre- and post-test assessments researchers telephoned participants to administer phone surveys probing secondary condition development. Results indicate there were significant differences among race groups and between complete and incomplete injury status for pressure sore occurrence. This study represents a new era of interactive technology in health promotion that can serve as a basis for future research to decrease secondary condition risk for people with SCI.     

Effects of aging on action-intentional programming

Background: Action-intentional programs control “when” we initiate, inhibit, continue, and stop motor actions. The purpose of this study was to learn if there are changes in the action-intentional system with healthy aging, and if these changes are asymmetrical (right versus left upper limb) or related to impaired interhemispheric communication. Methods: We administered tests of action-intention to 41 middle-aged and older adults (61.9 ± 12.3 years). Results: Regression analyses revealed that older age predicted a decrement in performance for tests of crossed motor response inhibition as well as slower motor initiation with the left hand. Conclusion: Changes in action-intention with aging appear to be related to alterations of interhemispheric communication and/or age-related right hemisphere dysfunction; however, further research is needed to identify the mechanisms for age-related changes in the brain networks that mediate action-intention.     

Evaluations of relational aggression as a function of relationship type and conflict setting

The present study examined influences on girls' evaluations of relational aggression situations. Second‐, third‐, fifth‐, and sixth‐grade girls evaluated four relational aggression conflict scenarios in terms of attributions of aggressor's intentions, evaluator's behavioral response, evaluator's affective state, and how likely the situation was to actually occur. Girls evaluated intentions of a best friend more positively, reported being more mad at an enemy, and perceived conflict to be more likely to occur with an enemy than a best friend. Aggressor intentions in direct conflict scenarios (aggressor said something mean to evaluator) were perceived as more negative than aggressor intentions in indirect conflict scenarios (aggressor said something mean about evaluator to another peer). Younger girls reported intentions of their enemy as being more positive than did older girls. Further, older girls reported intentions of their best friend as being more positive than intentions of their enemy. Older girls also were more accurate in conceptualizing variations in the conflict setting (direct, indirect) and responding in a context‐consistent manner. Findings are discussed in terms of the social‐relational and social‐situational processes that influence children's evaluations of relational aggression and how the current study extends previous research on relational aggression. Aggr. Behav. 26:179–191, 2000. © 2000 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Termination of parental rights: A neglected side effect of infant intervention programs

A significant proportion of infants receiving treatment in programs designed to prevent abuse and psychosocial disorders may be removed from the custody of their parents by social service agencies. In an effort to help distinguish those cases at risk for termination of parental rights (TPR), seven such cases were analyzed and compared to seven similar cases where TPR did not occur. All 14 cases were referred because of abuse/neglect, and were at risk for continued abuse. Results showed that TPR was most likely in families where the parents were viewed as being unpleasant, as having a poor relationship with their child, were seen as retarded by the social service agency, and whose infants showed large gains in developmental level, especially during foster placement. These findings were interpreted as indicating a mixture of actual lack of progress in treatment and a negative attitudinal set about these clients.     

Genetic Influence on the Variance in Coincidence Timing and its Covariance with IQ: A Twin Study

Performance measures on a coincidence timing task have previously been associated with psychometric IQ suggesting that the ability of an individual to devote processing resources at the required time may account for some of intelligence test variance. Using the twin design, this study investigates whether genetic variability explains some of the variance in coincidence timing and whether common genetic factors account for the association with intellectual functioning. Fifty-five 16-year old twin pairs (28 MZ, 27 DZ) were tested. Individual differences in number of hits (HITS), mean absolute error (MAE), and intra-individual trial-to-trial consistency (SD) were significantly influenced by genetic factors, accounting for approximately 50 percent of the variance. The correlation between coincidence timing and psychometric IQ was confirmed and ranged from 0.11 to 0.53 with a mean correlation of 0.33. In the limited sample, the correlation between IQ and the coincidence timing measures appeared to be mediated largely by a unique environmental factor, with only a small loading of SD on the genetic factor influencing IQ. However, as the confidence intervals in the other genetic cross loadings are large, we cannot exclude the possibility of a much stronger genetic influence.     

POTENTIAL SPACE AND REFLECTIVE FUNCTIONING: TOWARDS CONCEPTUAL CLARIFICATION AND PRELIMINARY CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS

The authors propose that although the psychoanalytic constructs 'reflective functioning' and 'potential space' overlap and are sometimes used interchangeably, a knowledge of their distinctions and the ways in which they interface have important clinical implications. These concepts are similar in that both are capacities considered (1) to originate in the caregiver-child relationship, (2) to involve playing with ideas and symbolic thought, (3) to facilitate the therapeutic process and (4) to represent a desirable treatment outcome. The terms diverge in three important ways. First, potential space is a broader concept that can be applied not only to thinking about internal states but to aspects of human experience (e.g. art, religion) involving a sense of aliveness. Reflective functioning is more circumscribed to representations of mental states and their implications for interpersonal functioning. Second, potential space has more of a conscious introspective element, whereas reflective functioning is based in procedural memory. Third, reflective functioning operates intrapsychically, whereas potential space tends to be thought of as occurring in an interpersonal field. The authors hypothesise and illustrate a possible bi-directional, dialectic relationship between the two constructs. It is suggested that this new understanding might, in some cases, facilitate productive reformulations of clinical formulations, such as working with a perceived resistance.     

Characteristics of life events during adolescence

Two studies of the characteristics of life events during adolescence are reported. In the first, open-ended reports of major life events and daily events were obtained from early, middle, and late adolescents. Analyses of the frequency of past events perceived as positive versus negative revealed effects for type of event (major vs. daily), age, and gender. In contrast, anticipated events were perceived similarly across age and gender. The second study examined judgments by older adolescents of the valence, type, and domain of life events. Consensus regarding these characteristics was achieved on only a small portion of events. The implications of these findings for the measurement of life events during adolescence are highlighted.