A Systematic Review of Sleep Associations in Parents and Children

This systematic review aimed to examine sleep associations in a) typically developing children and their parents, and b) children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents. Literature search was conducted on PubMed, PsycINFO, EMBASE and Scopus databases for articles examining sleep associations between parents and children. Thirty studies were included in the final review. Based on the first aim, sleep associations between parents and typically developing children were observed for sleep quality, sleep duration and sleep efficiency. However, evidence for associations between sleepiness levels in parents and children and sleep schedules related to bedtime or waketime was limited. Based on the second aim, children with neurodevelopmental disorders and their parents reported greater sleep disturbances in comparison to typically developing children and their parents. The review concluded that sleep in parents and children is interrelated across a number of sleep parameters. It also revealed some preliminary evidence on bidirectionality in parent-child sleep, which warrants further examination. The review highlights the need to examine the mediating role of environmental factors on the interactions between parent-child sleep. Rigorous, longitudinal designs should be employed to explore the pathways through which parents may impact their children’s sleep and functioning and vice-versa.

     

Effects of Gender and Appearance Comparisons on Associations Between Media-Based Appearance Pressure and Disordered Eating: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model

Sex Roles - Appearance pressure from mass media and appearance social comparisons have been implicated in theory and research on disordered eating. However, mediating effects of upward and downward...     

Subgroup differences in situational judgment test scores: Evidence from large applicant samples

To promote diversity in organizations it is important to have accurate knowledge about subgroup differences associated with selection procedures. However, current estimates of subgroup differences in situational judgment tests (SJTs) are overwhelmingly based on range‐restricted incumbent samples that are downwardly biased. This study provides much‐needed applicant level estimates of SJT subgroup differences (N = 37,530). As a key finding, Black‐White differences (d = 0.66) were higher than in incumbent samples (d = 0.38). Overall, sex differences were small. Females scored higher for management jobs (d = ?0.13) and males scored higher for administrative jobs (d = 0.15). By analyzing applicant samples that do not suffer from range restriction, this study adds knowledge about subgroup differences in SJTs.     

The Negative Physical Self Scale: Initial development and validation in samples of Chinese adolescents and young adults

This research presents four studies on the initial development and validation of the 48-item Negative Physical Self Scale (NPS), a multidimensional measure of body image concerns for use with Chinese samples. In Study 1 (N = 1095), exploratory factor analyses identified five dimensions underlying the NPS (General Appearance, Facial Appearance, Shortness, Fatness, Thinness). In Study 2 (N = 1057), confirmatory factor analyses replicated this factor structure. In Studies 3 and 4, the validity of all NPS dimensions except Thinness Concern was supported via their patterns of relation with both objective physical characteristics/behaviors and other self-report measures of body image and general self worth. Because Chinese adolescents and young adults expressed relatively more concerns about General Appearance, Shortness, and Facial Appearance than about Fatness, the NPS may have greater utility for assessing body image disturbances in China than existing measures that focus exclusively on general body satisfaction and body size/weight.     

Token reinforcement, choice, and self-control in pigeons.

Pigeons were exposed to self-control procedures that involved illumination of light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a form of token reinforcement. In a discrete-trials arrangement, subjects chose between one and three LEDs; each LED was exchangeable for 2-s access to food during distinct posttrial exchange periods. In Experiment 1, subjects generally preferred the immediate presentation of a single LED over the delayed presentation of three LEDs, but differences in the delay to the exchange period between the two options prevented a clear assessment of the relative influence of LED delay and exchange-period delay as determinants of choice. In Experiment 2, in which delays to the exchange period from either alternative were equal in most conditions, all subjects preferred the delayed three LEDs more often than in Experiment-1. In Experiment 3, subjects preferred the option that resulted in a greater amount of food more often if the choices also produced LEDs than if they did not. In Experiment 4, preference for the delayed three LEDs was obtained when delays to the exchange period were equal, but reversed in favor of an immediate single LED when the latter choice also resulted in quicker access to exchange periods. The overall pattern of results suggests that (a) delay to the exchange period is a more critical determinant of choice than is delay to token presentation; (b) tokens may function as conditioned reinforcers, although their discriminative properties may be responsible for the self-control that occurs under token reinforcer arrangements; and (c) previously reported differences in the self-control choices of humans and pigeons may have resulted at least in part from the procedural conventions of using token reinforcers with human subjects and food reinforcers with pigeon subjects.     

Psychological strengths and subjective well-being in South African white students

This study investigated the role of individual resources, notably self-efficacy, gratitude, and hope, in subjective well-being of white dormitory students at a historically white institution of higher learning. Using a convenience sample of white students (N?=?227), we tested the role of generalised self-efficacy, gratitude, and hope as indicators of a latent factor, labelled personal resources, in a structural equation model with subjective well-being as the latent output variable, measured by self-esteem and satisfaction with life. Path analyses indicated a reasonable fit between the data and our hypothesised theoretical model which proposed positive relations between levels of generalised self-efficacy, gratitude, dispositional hope, self-esteem and satisfaction with life. White students were psychologically doing well, considering above-midpoint levels obtained for levels of generalised self-efficacy, gratitude, dispositional hope, and satisfaction with life However, scores obtained for self-esteem and adult dispositional hope were below the mid-point and neutral respectively, indicating that White students do not agree that they experience high levels of these two psychological strengths. White female students experienced higher levels of hope, gratitude, and life satisfaction, while no significant gender differences were found for generalised self-efficacy and self-esteem. The results of this study highlight the potential for using psychological strengths to promote well-being in racially diverse students.     

Emotion Dysregulation in Comorbid Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Substance Use Disorders: A Narrative Review

Co-occurrence of substance use disorders (SUDs) and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is extremely common and is associated with elevated dropout and relapse rates. Given that PTSD/SUD co-occurrence rates among veterans have been found to be as high as 55?75%, it is important to identify mechanisms that may affect the interplay of both disorders. Emotion dysregulation (ED) presents a candidate mechanism that may underlie poor treatment response in co-occurring PTSD/SUD. This article proposes a transdiagnostic emotion regulation framework that considers ED conceptualized as a combination of low ability to tolerate emotional distress (low distress tolerance) and difficulties in the goal-directed use of emotion regulation strategies as a key risk factor in co-occurring PTSD/SUD. The authors review empirical findings from self-report and laboratory-based studies of ED in PTSD. They describe psychological explanations of the emotion-substance relationship and review studies documenting ED in SUDs and in co-occurring PTSD/SUD. The literature on ED in PTSD/SUD suggests that (a) patients with PTSD may resort to substances to cope with trauma-related symptoms due to ED, and (b) ED may maintain SUD symptoms and interfere with psychological treatment. Longitudinal studies on bidirectional relationships between ED and substance use in PTSD are needed, particularly research examining the course of ED in PTSD patients who use substances versus those who do not.