The training & support programme for parents of children with ataxia: a pilot study

The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of the Training and Support Programme among parents of children with ataxia. A total of 39 parents expressed an interest in the TSP, 27 (mean age 41; range 25-58) returned baseline questionnaires and completed the study. Twenty-four children (mean age 12.5 years, SD=12.4) received the TSP. Data were collected by self-administered questionnaires mailed to parents immediately before attending the TSP and at 4-month follow-up. Interviews were conducted with 10 parents immediately following TSP completion. Comparisons over time revealed significant decreases in parental anxious mood (p=.011), depressed mood (p=.046) and perceived stress (p=.020) and significant improvements in generalized self-efficacy (p=.010), satisfaction with life (p=.045) and parental health status (p=.020). Parents reported improvements in children's mobility, "jumping legs", sleep patterns, energy and activity levels, relaxation, and happiness (e.g., more smiles). Parents felt closer to their children and one parent had become "more accepting" of their child's ataxia. Results indicate that the TSP may enhance the psychosocial well-being of parents of children with ataxia although a randomized controlled trial would be necessary to determine whether the changes reported here are in fact due to attending the TSP.     

The effects of prohibiting gestures on children's lexical retrieval ability

Two alternative accounts have been proposed to explain the role of gestures in thinking and speaking. The Information Packaging Hypothesis (Kita, 2000) claims that gestures are important for the conceptual packaging of information before it is coded into a linguistic form for speech. The Lexical Retrieval Hypothesis (Rauscher, Krauss & Chen, 1996) sees gestures as functioning more at the level of speech production in helping the speaker to find the right words. The latter hypothesis has not been fully explored with children. In this study children were given a naming task under conditions that allowed and restricted gestures. Children named more words correctly and resolved more 'tip-of-the-tongue' states when allowed to gesture than when not, suggesting that gestures facilitate access to the lexicon in children and are important for speech production as well as conceptualization.     

The Theory of Planned Behavior Without Compatibility? Beyond Method Bias and Past Trivial Associations1

Overreliance on one measurement approach can challenge accurate statements about reality, as findings can represent by‐products of the compulsory measurement paradigm. Within the theory of planned behavior (TPB), the compatibility principle represents one such strictly imposed paradigm. Using 2 cross‐sectional surveys of 1,394 volunteers and involving structural equation models, we demonstrate that the widely employed practice of measuring TPB constructs is confounded with method‐implied bias. This means the theory cannot conclusively reveal origins of a behavior. Our results also suggest that on an aggregated level, when method bias is eliminated, its constructs are linked in hypothesized ways. Adopting a more general model—thus, adopting a more traitlike conceptualization of attitudes—has interesting implications for social psychology and its current trends.     

Combined Medication and CBT for Generalized Anxiety Disorder With African American Participants: Reliability and Validity of Assessments and Preliminary Outcomes

Using data from a study of combined cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and venlafaxine XR in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), the current article examines the reliability and convergent validity of scales, and preliminary outcomes, for African American compared with European American patients. Internal consistency and short-term stability coefficients for African Americans (n = 42) were adequate and similar or higher compared with those found for European Americans (n = 164) for standard scales used in GAD treatment research. Correlations among outcome measures among African Americans were in general not significantly different for African Americans compared with European Americans. A subset of patients with DSM-IV–diagnosed GAD (n = 24 African Americans; n = 52 European Americans) were randomly selected to be offered the option of adding 12 sessions of CBT to venlafaxine XR treatment. Of those offered CBT, 33.3% (n = 8) of the African Americans and 32.6% (n = 17) of the European Americans accepted and attended at least one CBT treatment session. The outcomes for African Americans receiving combined treatment were not significantly different from European Americans receiving combined treatment on primary or secondary efficacy measures.     

Gender and Leadership in Spain: a Systematic Review of Some Key Aspects

As Spain experienced rapid societal and gender equality changes after the end of the dictatorship in 1975, the development of gender equality in Spain has differed from other European countries and the United States. Therefore, the results of Spanish studies conducted on gender and leadership might differ from those conducted in countries with other historical backgrounds such as other European countries or the United States. We systematically reviewed the current theoretical and empirical literature on gender and leadership with a special emphasis on this comparison. Thereby, we focused on four essential aspects: (a) the underlying mechanism of gender inequality (e.g., traditional gender roles), (b) gender and leadership behavior, (c) the relation of female representation in top management and on boards with organizational performance, and d) female representation and non-performance-related organizational outcomes. Further, Spain is currently experiencing a severe economic crisis. On the one hand, such a crisis might provide a chance for gender equality development; on the other hand, it might trigger a regression toward traditional gender roles in society. Thus, in our discussion, we relate the results of our comparison to these two different but possible consequences of the crisis. To conclude, we outline directions for future research that we hope will provide answers to important questions in this area of research.     

Towards a Pan‐cultural Personality Structure: Input from 11 Psycholexical Studies

The purpose of the present study is to find the common kernel of different trait taxonomic studies and find out how the individual structures relate to this common kernel. Trait terms from 11 psycholexically based taxonomies were all translated into English. On the basis of the commonalities in English, the 11 matrices were merged into a joint matrix with 7104 subjects and 1993 trait terms. Untranslatable terms produced large areas with missing data. To arrive at the kernel structure of the joint matrix, a simultaneous component analysis was applied. In addition, the kernel structures were compared with the individual taxonomy trait structures, obtained via principal component analysis. The findings provide evidence of a structure consisting of three components to stand out as the core of the taxonomies included in this study; those components were named dynamism, affiliation, and order. Moreover, the relations between these three kernel components and those of a six‐component solution (completing the six‐factor model) are provided. Copyright © 2014 European Association of Personality Psychology     

Egocentric and allocentric navigation strategies in Williams syndrome and typical development

Recent findings suggest that difficulties on small‐scale visuospatial tasks documented in Williams syndrome (WS) also extend to large‐scale space. In particular, individuals with WS often present with difficulties in allocentric spatial coding (encoding relationships between items within an environment or array). This study examined the effect of atypical spatial processing in WS on large‐scale navigational strategies, using a novel 3D virtual environment. During navigation of recently learnt large‐scale space, typically developing (TD) children predominantly rely on the use of a sequential egocentric strategy (recalling the sequence of left–right body turns throughout a route), but become more able to use an allocentric strategy between 5 and 10 years of age. The navigation strategies spontaneously employed by TD children between 5 and 10 years of age and individuals with WS were analysed. The ability to use an allocentric strategy on trials where spatial relational knowledge was required to find the shortest route was also examined. Results showed that, unlike TD children, during spontaneous navigation the WS group did not predominantly employ a sequential egocentric strategy. Instead, individuals with WS followed the path until the correct environmental landmarks were found, suggesting the use of a time‐consuming and inefficient view‐matching strategy for wayfinding. Individuals with WS also presented with deficits in allocentric spatial coding, demonstrated by difficulties in determining short‐cuts when required and difficulties developing a mental representation of the environment layout. This was found even following extensive experience in an environment, suggesting that – unlike in typical development – experience cannot contribute to the development of spatial relational processing in WS. This atypical presentation of both egocentric and allocentric spatial encoding is discussed in relation to specific difficulties on small‐scale spatial tasks and known atypical cortical development in WS.