Beyond trigger warnings: Toward a trauma‐informed andragogy for the graduate theological classroom*

Although development of trauma‐informed pedagogy for elementary and secondary classrooms has developed significantly, a dearth of resources for trauma‐informed andragogy in graduate theological classrooms remains. Theological classrooms are a unique context in which many students and professors carry experiences of trauma with them. This article makes the case for the need for a trauma‐informed andragogical model for the graduate theological classroom by: discussing the pervasiveness of trauma; providing definitions of key terms that need to be understood for elaborating a trauma‐informed andragogy; recommending trauma‐informed principles for course design and class‐session planning based in safety, trust, choice, collaboration, and empowerment; and identifying a few next steps for cultivating trauma‐informed classrooms and institutions at the graduate level.     

‘Believe in me,and I will too’: a study of how teachers’ expectations instilled confidence in Grade 10 students

Social Psychology of Education - Teacher expectation research has continued to establish an association between what teachers expect of their students and what students accomplish academically....     

Disrupted memory inhibition in dementia of Alzheimer’s type

Cognitive inhibition has been suggested to deteriorate in Alzheimer’s disease. While numerous studies with different experimental paradigms found evidence on impaired inhibition in attention and memory, evidence in favour of intact memory inhibition has been reported with regard to the phenomenon of retrieval-induced forgetting (Moulin et al., 2002). Here, we adapted the previously used paradigm in order to reduce the contribution of non-inhibitory processes and examined whether retrieval-induced forgetting could still be observed in a sample of participants with diagnosed Alzheimer’s disease. In contrast to the previous finding, we found that retrieval-induced forgetting only occurred in an age-matched control group. These results suggest that inhibitory deficits in Alzheimer’s disease also generalize to memory inhibition that resolves interference occurring during retrieval, whereas effects of retrieval-induced forgetting may still occur when non-inhibitory causes, such as, blocking by previously retrieved content, are not precluded.     

Conversation Orientation Moderates the Relationship between Information Sharing of Medically Assisted Reproduction and Child Adjustment

Parents who experienced infertility have increasingly used medically assisted reproduction (MAR) to add children to their families over the past few decades. These parents will need to decide if they will tell their children about being conceived using MAR. Although MAR information sharing operates within family contexts, little is known about the role of conversation orientation—one family contextual factor—in child outcomes associated with MAR information sharing in middle childhood. Derived from the Family Communication Patterns Theory, this study proposes that conversation orientation moderates the associations between MAR information sharing and children's psychosocial adjustment. This proposal was tested using a sample of 81 6- to 12-year-old MAR-conceived children from 55 families and a structured observational measure of conversation orientation. Multiple regression analyses showed that MAR information sharing interacted with conversation orientation to influence children's behavioral and attention problems but not emotional problems. In families with high conversation orientation, MAR information sharing was not significantly associated with children's behavioral and attention problems. In families with low conversation orientation, MAR information sharing was significantly associated with an increase in children's behavioral and attention problems. Results of this exploratory study demonstrate the potential significance of general communication orientation in understanding child outcomes of MAR information sharing and highlight the needed family context nuances in MAR research.     

Relationships Among Emerging Adult Psychological Problems,Maltreatment, and Parental Psychopathology: Moderation by Parent–Child Relationship Quality

Current research supports clear relationships between parental psychopathology, parental maltreatment, and emerging adult child psychopathology. Less research has examined how the role of the parent–child relationship influences these existing associations. The current study tested two models that examined the moderating effect of parent–child relationship quality on parental psychopathology and emerging adult mental health as well as the effect on parental maltreatment and emerging adult mental health. It was expected that high parent–child relationship quality would buffer against the negative effects of parental psychopathology and maltreatment while enhancing the effects of functional parenting characteristics. Participants included 1,452 emerging adults, predominantly Caucasian (73.3%) college students who completed surveys on their mental health, recent experienced maltreatment, and their parents’ mental health problems. Results suggested lowest rates of mental health problems for emerging adults were associated with higher parent–child relationship quality and lower parental psychological problems, whereas negative outcomes were associated with higher parental psychopathology, regardless of parent–child relationship quality. Additionally, physical maltreatment was associated with lower rates of mental health concerns in the context of higher mother-daughter relationship quality. Results emphasize the continuing impact of the parent–child relationship, particularly the mother-daughter relationship, on emerging adults’ mental health. Moreover, the current study demonstrates the continuing influence of parents on their emerging adult children.     

Solitude in context: On the role of culture,immigration, and acculturation in the experience of time to oneself

Older adults spend much time in solitude (without social interaction), putting them at risk of loneliness, especially if aging outside their country of origin (e.g., Chinese immigrants to Canada). Yet, cultural contextual factors that may reduce loneliness in moments of solitude are poorly understood. This study sought to disentangle the roles of culture, immigration, and acculturation in solitude-loneliness associations across two countries. Community-dwelling adults aged 51–85 in Vancouver (N = 58 East Asian, N = 37 European/North American) and in Hong Kong (N = 56 East/Southeast Asian) completed approximately 30 ecological momentary assessments over 10 days on their current affect and social situations. Participants in Vancouver spent more time in solitude, desired solitude more, and felt less lonely overall than those in Hong Kong. Multilevel models revealed that moments of solitude felt lonelier than moments spent in social interaction, but only for individuals less acculturated to their host culture or not concurrently desiring solitude. Associations held regardless of host culture, cultural heritage, or immigration status. Findings suggest that solitude need not feel lonely if it happens by choice and if individuals feel connected with their host culture, for both immigrant older adults and those aging in their birth country.     

Validity of the multiple-stimulus without replacement preference assessment for edible items

Studies have shown that the multiple-stimulus without replacement (MSWO) preference assessment is an effective assessment format for identifying preferred items. However, it is possible that factors other than reinforcer quality might influence selections by some individuals when the MSWO array consists of edible items. The validity of the MSWO results was evaluated by comparing items identified as most and least preferred by the MSWO assessment in a concurrent-schedule (CS) format. Varying edible items were used in each study. The MSWO format accurately identified the higher quality edible item for most participants across studies (76%); however, the MSWO format did not predict the highest quality edible item in the CS assessment for 20% to 30% of participants in each study.