Race/Ethnic Differences in Social Resources as Cognitive Risk and Protective Factors

Overall social network size, often the sum of common lifetime relationships, including children, family, and friends, has been linked to cognitive impairment and Alzheimer’s Disease. However, little research has examined the association between network size composition and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults in the context of race/ethnicity. We investigated the associations between the number of close children, family, and friends independently with executive function (EF) and memory across a subsample of non-Hispanic Black, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic White participants who completed the Health and Retirement Study Harmonized Cognitive Assessment Protocol (N = 2,395). We found that network size composition was more closely linked to EF than memory and that these associations varied by race/ethnicity. Specifically, the strongest associations existed between EF and quadratic estimates of the number of close children of non-Hispanic Black participants, and number of close family members for Hispanic participants. Among Black participants, a curvilinear relationship indicated that two close children were associated with greater EF, while a smaller or larger number of close children were associated with lower EF. On the other hand, among Hispanic participants, higher EF was associated with fewer (0–1) and greater (4-5+) numbers of family member contacts. Overall, these results indicate that examining children, family, and friends independently may be more useful than the common practice of aggregation of overall network size, especially in the context of race/ethnicity.     

Psychosocial–Environmental Risk Factors for Suicide Attempts in Adolescents with Suicidal Ideation: Findings from a Sample of 73,238 Adolescents

We determined risk factors that discriminate between suicide attempt (SA) adolescents and suicidal ideation only (SI only) adolescents using data from the 2010 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web‐based Survey (12–19 years; N = 73,238). In males, heavy alcohol use, drug use, and high perceived sadness/hopelessness showed significant effects on the presence of SA versus the presence of SI only. In females, along with these variables, low academic achievement, poor perceived health status, high perceived stress, and unhealthy coping strategy were also significantly related to the presence of SA versus SI only. Therefore, clinical interventions targeting adolescents' psychological distress are warranted to prevent suicide.     

The stages-of-change approach for prosocial behavior: Message tailoring to encourage blood donation

This research applied the Trans-Theoretical Model and the Construal Level Theory to framing messages for blood donation. People can be at different degrees of readiness for blood donation and are, therefore, dispersed into discrete stages of change. These stages of change correspond to varying psychological distances that define the extent to which a person's thinking on the suggested behavior is abstract (high construal level) or concrete (low construal level). Differences in psychological distance thus affect whether individuals focus on how easy it is to donate blood (feasibility) or on why it is important to donate blood (desirability) in the ad message. This research conducted two studies using a 2 (types of message: feasibility vs. desirability—manipulated) × 3 (stages of change: pre-contemplation vs. contemplation/preparation vs. action/maintenance—measured) between-subject, randomly assigned factorial design experiment. The results of both studies showed that for individuals in the pre-contemplation stage, desirability, rather than feasibility, messages were more likely to produce favorable attitudes toward the ad, its sponsoring organization, and blood donation behavior itself, whereas the opposite was true for those in the action/maintenance stage. Those differences were weakened or not observed for those in the contemplation/preparation stage. These patterns of interaction were not replicated for behavioral intention. Collectively, these findings suggest that tailoring a message according to the intended audience's stage of change should promote positive attitudes for blood donation. Meanwhile, future research is needed to bridge the attitude-behavior gap when it comes to blood donation.     

Will Bootstrap Clustering Resuscitate Repertory Grid Assessment of Cognitive Complexity? Convergence with Integrative and Dialogical Complexity Suggests It Could

This article is concerned with an introduction and examination of a new cognitive complexity index derived from repertory grid data. Our approach follows Heckmann's and Bell’s introduction of bootstrap clustering of grid data. In order to examine the validity of the new index, we reanalyze data from an older study. The reanalysis showed that the new index correlated significantly with other independent complexity indices: integrative complexity and dialogical complexity. The directions of correlations were in accordance with complexity theories that underlie the indices. These findings support the validity of the cognitive complexity index based on bootstrap clustering.     

The utility of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) facet and item scores in predicting violent recidivism

There is relatively limited research on psychopathy in non-Caucasian ethnic groups and even less on the utility of the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised (PCL-R) that focuses on PCL-R facet and item scores in predicting violent recidivism. In this study, we assessed the utility of the PCL-R in prospectively predicting violent versus nonviolent recidivism during an 11-year follow-up window. A high-risk sample of 451 incarcerated Korean male offenders was assessed on the PCL-R at baseline. A total of 445 were reconvicted after release (353 violent and 92 nonviolent recidivists). Psychopathy facet scores were higher in violent compared to nonviolent recidivists. Facet 2 (affective) showed the strongest effect size (Cohen's d = 0.53; Percentage change in odds = 22.6%) in predicting violent recidivism. Analyses of the four items constituting the affective facet indicated that callous/lack of empathy (Percentage change in odds = 134.4%) and failure to accept responsibility (Percentage change in odds = 94.5%) were the strongest predictors of violent recidivism. Findings are to our knowledge the first to document the utility of the PCL-R in distinguishing violent from nonviolent recidivism and highlight the role of affective impairment (particularly lack of empathy) in violent recidivism.