Reliability and Validity of a DSM-IV Based ADHD Screener

The Diagnostic Rating Scale (DRS) was completed by the parents and teachers of 82 children referred for clinical evaluations, 73 referred children seen twice, and 218 non-referred children from the community. The DRS, which uses a categorical rather than a dimensional rating approach, was 70% to 90% sensitive to diagnoses of Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) made by blind clinical teams. In research and clinical applications, the DRS could improve screening efficiency, especially in situations where it would be desirable to exclude all children who might have ADHD or identify all children with Hyperactive-Impulsive symptoms. Because of its objectivity and consistency with the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM)-IV criteria, the DRS could facilitate comparison of participant samples across studies.     

Early attachment quality moderates eating disorder risk among adolescent girls

Objective: There is growing evidence that children’s early relational environment has lasting implications for physical and mental health. In this paper, we test whether attachment insecurity in early childhood is associated with increased responsivity to risk factors for eating disorders (EDs; e.g. pubertal weight gain, maternal negative affect) during adolescence.

Design: Hypotheses were tested with longitudinal data from 447 girls (final mean age?=?15.1?years) over a 12-year period. Tests of direct effects, moderation and moderated mediation were conducted using nested structural equation models and bootstrapped estimates of direct and indirect effects.

Results: Early attachment quality was not directly associated with disordered eating attitudes and behaviours (DEABs), but did moderate relations between adolescent ED risk factors and DEABs. Specifically, among girls with an insecure attachment history, higher BMI at age 15 directly predicted more DEABs, while maternal negative affect and pubertal weight gain indirectly predicted DEABs via greater preoccupation with parental relationships. These same direct and indirect paths did not emerge among adolescent girls with a secure attachment history.

Conclusion: Results delineate one way early attachment quality may contribute to EDs among some adolescent girls, and support recent efforts to incorporate relational components into obesity and ED prevention programmes.     

College Students With Military Experience Report Greater Alcohol-Related Consequences

This study examined associations among military experience, alcohol use, and alcohol-related consequences among a large national sample of 27,249 students pursuing postsecondary education. Because of the uniqueness of the developmental period of emerging adulthood, we stratified all analyses by age groups of 18–24 and 25 and older. There were no differences between students with and without military service history in terms of 3 indicators of alcohol use: alcohol consumption in the last 30 days, binge drinking in the last 2 weeks, and drinking and driving in the last 30 days. There were, however, several differences in self-reported consequences of drinking. Among individuals ages 18–24, students with military service history had nearly twofold increased odds of police encounters as a consequence of drinking (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.91, 95% confidence interval [CI] [1.02, 3.57]) and increased odds greater than twofold of experiencing nonconsensual sex (aOR = 2.68, 95% CI [1.17, 6.19]). Among both age groups, students with military service history reported greater odds of having unprotected sex as a consequence of drinking when compared to students without military service history. Research is needed to identify the reasons why alcohol use results in these particular negative consequences for students with military service history, which can inform prevention and intervention efforts.     

A Religious Profile of American Entrepreneurs

The entrepreneur is a celebrated figure in American society. These innovative risk‐takers hold an influential place in the economy and in popular culture. Substantial research has gone into identifying characteristics associated with these individuals, but research on entrepreneurs and religion is surprisingly sparse and inconsistent. Using national survey data, we examine religious affiliation, belief, and behavior for Americans who have started or are trying to start a business. American entrepreneurs appear no different than nonentrepreneurs in religious affiliation, belief in God, or religious service attendance. They do tend to see God as more personal, pray more frequently, and are more likely to attend a place of worship that encourages business activity. A discussion of implications concludes the research note.     

Children's Developing Intuitions About the Truth Conditions and Implications of Novel Generics Versus Quantified Statements

Generic statements express generalizations about categories and present a unique semantic profile that is distinct from quantified statements. This paper reports two studies examining the development of children's intuitions about the semantics of generics and how they differ from statements quantified by all, most, and some. Results reveal that, like adults, preschoolers (a) recognize that generics have flexible truth conditions and are capable of representing a wide range of prevalence levels; and (b) interpret novel generics as having near‐universal prevalence implications. Results further show that by age 4, children are beginning to differentiate the meaning of generics and quantified statements; however, even 7‐ to 11‐year‐olds are not adultlike in their intuitions about the meaning of most‐quantified statements. Overall, these studies suggest that by preschool, children interpret generics in much the same way that adults do; however, mastery of the semantics of quantified statements follows a more protracted course.     

Observational Effects on Preference Selection for Four Children on the Autism Spectrum: A Replication

Individuals with autism have been noted to have restricted interests and repetitive behavior such as nonfunctional manipulation of objects. In this study, we used an observational conditioning procedure to switch the preference of items for four individuals diagnosed with autism who are considered lower functioning. The procedure consisted of the participant observing an adult playing with toys that were initially non‐preferred by the participant in a functional and engaging manner. For two participants, results were similar to the findings by Leaf; one participant required additional conditioning procedures, and we were unable to switch the preference for the other participant. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Uncovering the Nuances of Referral Hiring: How Referrer Characteristics Affect Referral Hires’ Performance and Likelihood of Voluntary Turnover

The literature on employee referral hiring gives little attention to referrers. Synthesizing 2 theories in the literature (the better match and social enrichment accounts), through the lens of social resources theory, I provide a conceptual and empirical breakdown of the effects of referrer quality (referrer performance at hire and referrer tenure at hire) and posthire accessibility (referrer employment and referrer–referral hire job congruence) on referral hire performance and likelihood of voluntary turnover. I tested my hypotheses with longitudinal data from 386 referrer–referral hire pairs at the same job level in a U.S. call center over a 2‐year period. Across analyses of 2 performance criteria (calls/hour and quality) and likelihood of leaving, I found a nuanced mix of benefits and liabilities that illuminate potential boundary conditions of the revised theories. Referral hires from high‐performing referrers performed better but had higher turnover propensities than those from lower performing referrers. Longer‐tenured employees also produced better performing referral hires, up to a point. Referral hires were less likely to leave, provided their referrer remained employed, but they performed less effectively under this condition. Similarly, referral hires performed worse when their job was congruent with their referrer's job. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.     

Antipsychotic dose modulates behavioral and neural responses to feedback during reinforcement learning in schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is characterized by an abnormal dopamine system, and dopamine blockade is the primary mechanism of antipsychotic treatment. Consistent with the known role of dopamine in reward processing, prior research has demonstrated that patients with schizophrenia exhibit impairments in reward-based learning. However, it remains unknown how treatment with antipsychotic medication impacts the behavioral and neural signatures of reinforcement learning in schizophrenia. The goal of this study was to examine whether antipsychotic medication modulates behavioral and neural responses to prediction error coding during reinforcement learning. Patients with schizophrenia completed a reinforcement learning task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. The task consisted of two separate conditions in which participants accumulated monetary gain or avoided monetary loss. Behavioral results indicated that antipsychotic medication dose was associated with altered behavioral approaches to learning, such that patients taking higher doses of medication showed increased sensitivity to negative reinforcement. Higher doses of antipsychotic medication were also associated with higher learning rates (LRs), suggesting that medication enhanced sensitivity to trial-by-trial feedback. Neuroimaging data demonstrated that antipsychotic dose was related to differences in neural signatures of feedback prediction error during the loss condition. Specifically, patients taking higher doses of medication showed attenuated prediction error responses in the striatum and the medial prefrontal cortex. These findings indicate that antipsychotic medication treatment may influence motivational processes in patients with schizophrenia.     

Preferences Regarding Targeted Education and Risk Assessment in People with a Family History of Major Depressive Disorder

Genetic testing for susceptibility to major depressive disorder (MDD) is not available for clinical use at present. Given this, family history remains the best predictor for development of MDD, and family-history-based risk assessment and information about familial aspects of MDD may be useful to clients at increased risk for MDD attending for genetic counseling. This study uses a mixed-methods design to assess the information needs and preferences of people at increased familial risk for MDD. Telephone interviews were conducted with 23 individuals, who had at least one first-degree relative with MDD and were recruited through advertisements placed on depression education websites. The most preferred way to access depression information was via the internet (87 % of participants), although this preference may have been due to the internet-based recruitment method. The second most preferred dissemination strategy (56 %) was face-to-face delivery through a health professional, including genetic counselors. Individuals reported a need for information about etiology and development of MDD, reproductive decision-making, early detection of symptoms and risk-reducing strategies. Nearly all participants expressed an interest in risk assessment. The present study found evidence of a high level of interest for information targeted to people at increased familial risk for MDD. Genetic counselors are likely to be called upon increasingly to provide supportive counseling to assist clients at increased familial risk in interpreting and contextualizing such information once it becomes available.