Empirically Derived Subtypes of Child Academic and Behavior Problems: Co-Occurrence and Distal Outcomes

The aim of this study was to identify classes of children at entry into first grade with different patterns of academic and behavior problems. A latent class analysis was conducted with a longitudinal community sample of 678 predominantly low-income African American children. Results identified multiple subclasses of children, including a class with co-occurring academic and behavior problems. Gender differences were found in relation to the number of identified classes and the characteristics of academic and behavior problems for children. Several of the identified classes, particularly the co-occurring academic and behavior problems subclass for both genders, predicted negative long-term outcomes in sixth grade, including academic failure, receipt of special education services, affiliation with deviant peers, suspension from school, and elevated risk for conduct problems. The finding that subclasses of academic and behavior problems predict negative long-term outcomes validates the importance of the identified classes and the need to target interventions for children presenting with the associated class characteristics. Implications for early identification, prevention, and intervention for children at risk for academic failure and disruptive behavior problems are discussed.     

Research in industrial and organizational psychology from 1963 to 2007: changes, choices, and trends

The authors conducted a content analysis of all articles published in the Journal of Applied Psychology and Personnel Psychology from January 1963 to May 2007 (N = 5,780) to identify the relative attention devoted to each of 15 broad topical areas and 50 more specific subareas in the field of industrial and organizational (I-O) psychology. Results revealed that (a) some areas have become more (or less) popular over time, whereas others have not changed much, and (b) there are some lagged relationships between important societal issues that involve people and work settings (i.e., human-capital trends) and I-O psychology research that addresses them. Also, much I-O psychology research does not address human-capital trends. Extrapolating results from the past 45 years to the next decade suggests that the field of I-O psychology is not likely to become more visible or more relevant to society at large or to achieve the lofty goals it has set for itself unless researchers, practitioners, universities, and professional organizations implement significant changes. In the aggregate, the changes address the broad challenge of how to narrow the academic-practitioner divide.     

“Accept Me,or Else…”: Disputed Overestimation of Social Competence Predicts Increases in Proactive Aggression

It has been proposed that aggressive behavior may result from unrealistically positive self-evaluations that are disputed by others (Baumeister, Smart, & Boden, 1996). The present three studies tested this proposition concurrently and longitudinally for the domain of self-perceived social competence (SPSC) in 3-6th grade children on two continents. Each study tested whether aggressive behavior is related to general overestimation of SPSC compared to competence as perceived by peers, or to disputed overestimation, that is, overestimation disputed through rejection by peers. Specificity of relations with reactively or proactively aggressive behavior patterns was assessed and the predictive value of overestimation to the development of these types of aggressive behavior was investigated. Concurrently, disputed overestimation explained more variance in aggressive behavior than general overestimation, and was uniquely related to proactive aggression. Longitudinally, disputed overestimation also uniquely predicted changes in proactive, not reactive aggression.     

Academic Pathways between Attention Problems and Depressive Symptoms Among Urban African American Children

The present study investigated the pathways between attention problems and depressive symptoms, particularly the role of academic incompetence, among a community sample of urban African American children. Results supported the hypothesized path models from inattention to depressive symptoms for girls and boys. Academic performance in the spring of first grade mediated the relationship between inattention in fall of first grade and depressive symptoms in spring of 3rd grade. The effects held when controlling for conduct problems and academic competence in first grade suggesting the path was specific to attention problems rather than a more general externalizing or school readiness pathway. Implications for designing interventions and prevention strategies for children with attention problems and depressive symptoms are discussed.     

The great man from Tarsus: Freud on the apostle Paul

The author describes developments in Freud's writings concerning his views on the apostle Paul. This development shows that Freud more and more clearly regarded Paul as a key figure in understanding the complex relationship between Judaism and Christianity--and also as a man who essentially has no comfortable place in either of these religions. For Freud, Paul was a unique figure, an analyst of the human character and of his own culture and religion--a Jew who tried to free himself and his people from the burden of the sense of guilt.