Development and exploratory cluster-randomised opportunistic trial of a theory-based intervention to enhance physical activity among adolescents

This article reports the development and exploratory testing of a school-based intervention programme designed to enhance levels of physical activity in adolescents. The intervention is based on social cognitive theory (SCT), self-regulation theory (SRT) and planning as evidence-based mediators of physical activity changes. Two classes, paired on socio-economic variables, were selected from each of eight Portuguese schools and randomly assigned to an intervention or control group (N = 291). Primary outcome was ‘moderate to vigorous physical activity’ (International Physical Activity Questionnaire) measured pre and post intervention and at three and nine months follow-up. SCT, SRT and planning variables were secondary outcomes measured pre and post intervention. At post test, participants in the intervention group reported 18 min per week more physical activity (PA), adjusted for pre-intervention, age and sex, than those in the control group (95% confidence interval ?10 to 46; p = 0.249). This difference increased to 33 min (95% CI–4 to 71; p = 0.082) at three months and to 57 min (95% CI 13 to 101, p = 0.008) at nine month follow-up. Moreover, the intervention resulted in changes of some of the theoretical target variables, including outcome expectancies and coping planning. However, no evidence was found for the changes in theoretical moderators to mediate the intervention effects on behaviour. Implications for theory and for future research are discussed.     

Reexamining the Factor Structure of the 20-Item Toronto Alexithymia Scale: Commentary on Gignac,Palmer, and Stough

Gignac, Palmer, and Stough (2007/this issue) test a number of different latent factor models for the TAS–20 using a community sample of 355 participants and conclude that this scale is best represented by a “nested factors model,” with five substantive factors and a method factor. Gignac et al. also report that the correlated three-factor model and a comparable higher order model supported by most studies produced poor levels of incremental close fit. In this article, we challenge Gignac et al.'s unheralded and largely unsupported use of nested model fitting and the uncritical acceptance of exceptionally high cutoff levels to assess goodness of fit (GOF). Using more traditional and empirically supported model testing procedures and a more flexible approach to the interpretation of multiple tests of GOF, we interpret Gignac et al.'s results as actually supportive of the traditional three-factor model and one that has been recovered in 17 of the 24 factor analytic studies of the TAS–20.     

Intensional verbs in event semantics

In Attitude Problems, I gave an account of opacity in the complement of intensional transitive verbs that combined neo-Davidsonian event-semantics with a hidden-indexical account of substitution failure. In this paper, I extend the account to clausal verbs.     

Australia’s State-Specific and Regional Migration Scheme: An Assessment of its Impacts in South Australia

In post-demographic transition societies, the impacts of low fertility and aging are most strongly felt in peripheral areas where they are exacerbated by youth outmigration. International migration is increasingly seen to have the potential to offset these demographic constraints on economic development. In Australia, immigration policy has been strongly focused on selecting who can be accepted as settlers. However, there are now a range of visa categories which also influence where they settle and channels a fifth of settler arrivals into lagging peripheral parts of the nation. This paper shows how these have been used by the State of South Australia to more than treble its immigrant intake as part of its economic development strategy. The impact of the State-Specific Regional Migration (SSRM) Scheme in South Australia is assessed and the initial experience of settlers examined. It is argued that international migration can play a supportive role in the development of peripheral regions in OECD countries, but there are a number of preconditions which need to be met for them to be effective.     

Attention and executive function deficits in adolescent sex offenders.

Thirty male adolescent sex offenders and 20 age-matched male adolescents completed an extensive battery of attention and executive function tests. Controls were obtained from adolescents from a socially and economically deprived background, typical of the offending group. The attention battery was based on Mirksy, Anthony, Duncan, Ahearn, and Kellam (1991) and the executive function battery on Kelly (2000a). Successful matching for IQ was not achieved and therefore ANCOVA comparisons were made between the groups, with IQ as the covariate. In attention a highly significant difference was found on the focus-execute factor and a significant difference on the shift factor. In executive function there was a highly significant difference only on the response speed factor. In all cases better abilities were demonstrated by the control group. The importance of thorough neuropsychological investigation in the clinical assessment of this forensic group is supported. The clinical implications of neuropsychological deficits in terms of risk assessment and clinical management are discussed.     

Communication context,explanation, and social judgment

The effects of the communication context on explanations and judgments were investigated in two experiments where participants explained a boy's violent behavior either to a disciplinarian or to a permissive addressee. The results of Study 1 showed that the participants' explanations varied as a function of communication context, but their judgments of responsibility were not influenced. In Study 2, the communication demand was either subtle or blatant. The participants' explanations varied as a function of communication context independently from the communication demand. However, participants' responsibility judgments were influenced only when this demand was subtle. The implications of this for explanations in everyday social settings are considered. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effect of practice on the identification of auditory sequences

Using a variant of the up-and-down method to establish duration thresholds for correct report of the order of sound sequences, six experiments were run with a practiced crew of three Ss. All showed striking improvement with practice, but substantial individual differences were observed. Two Ss found spaced sequences harder than simple cyclic ones and single presentations hardest of all, had increased difficulty when the component frequencies were brought closer together, and were disturbed by irregular timing. These variables made no difference to the third and most sensitive S, whose threshold reached 23 msec per component. All Ss displayed poorer performance if noise, additional signals, or a distrating activity occurred between the stimulus sequence and the response.