Grief experiences and expectance of suicide

Suicide is generally viewed as an unexpected cause of death. However, some suicides might be expected to a certain extent, which needs to be further studied. The relationships between expecting suicide, feeling understanding for the suicide, and later grief experiences were explored. In total, 142 bereaved participants completed the Grief Experience Questionnaire and additional measurements on expectance and understanding. Results supported the prediction of a link between expecting suicide and understanding the suicide. Higher expectance and understanding were related to less searching for explanation and preoccupation with the suicide. There was no direct association with other grief experiences. We conclude that more attention should be brought to the relation between expecting the suicide of a loved one and later grief responses in research and in clinical practice.     

Attack efficacy in volleyball: elite male teams

The goal was to identify performance indicators predicting attack efficacy in volleyball's game phase denominated Complex II, i.e., the counter-attack. 28 games from the 2007 Men's World Cup were analyzed. Attack efficacy was predicted by three primary variables: Attack tempo, Attack type, and Number of blockers. Power attack and Attack tempo 1 increased the probability of an Attack point. The supremacy of Attack tempo 3 and the high frequency of Two blockers and Three blockers reflected the difficulty of efficient attack during Complex II. Despite unfavourable conditions, attackers managed to execute Power attacks in the majority of the situations, and score a high frequency of Attack points.     

Number of players who gain ball possession as a function of basketball mass among 9-11-year-old male players

This study analyzed whether a ball with a higher (540-g) or lower (440-g) mass than the regulation ball (485-g) resulted in a larger number of participants gaining ball possession during games. Prior studies have indicated that ball handling is facilitated by decreasing the mass of the ball. It was assumed that a greater number of children gaining possession of the ball indicated greater ease of use and more control. Thus, the hypothesis was that the number of participants who gained ball possession would increase when using a ball of lower mass. The participants were 54 boys from six youth basketball teams. Participants played four games with each one of the three different balls and the number of possessions was calculated using videos of each game. The hypothesis was only partially supported: the number of participants who gained possession with the regular ball was similar to that with the 440-g ball and with the 540-g ball, but a greater number of participants gained possession with the 440-g ball in comparison to the 540-g ball. This result suggests balls that differ by more than 65 g may affect actual game outcomes.     

Work-family and family-work conflict: does intrinsic-extrinsic satisfaction mediate the prediction of general job satisfaction?

The objective of this study is to analyze the mediating role of intrinsic and extrinsic job satisfaction in the relationship between the 2 dimensions of work-family conflict-family interfering with work (FIW) and work interfering with family (WIF)-and general job satisfaction. Step-by-step hierarchical regression analyses were carried out on a sample of 151 men and women from a Spanish public organization. The results confirmed the mediating role of intrinsic job satisfaction in the case of FIW. This highlights the importance of taking into account the level of satisfaction with the intrinsic facets of one's job as a measure for understanding why FIW has a negative impact on general job satisfaction.     

Parkinson's disease differentially affects adaptation to gradual as compared to sudden visuomotor distortions

Patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD) have difficulties in movement adaptation to optimize performance in novel environmental contexts such as altered screen cursor-hand relationships. Prior studies have shown that the time course of the distortion differentially affects visuomotor adaptation to screen cursor rotations, suggesting separate mechanisms for gradual and sudden adaptation. Moreover, studies in human and non-human primates suggest that adaptation to sudden kinematic distortions may engage the basal ganglia, whereas adaptation to gradual kinematic distortions involves cerebellar structures. In the present studies, participants were patients with PD, who performed center-out pointing movements, using either a digitizer tablet and pen or a computer trackball, under normal or rotated screen cursor feedback conditions. The initial study tested patients with PD using a cross-over experimental design for adaptation to gradual as compared with sudden rotated hand-screen cursor relationships and revealed significant after-effects for the gradual adaptation task only. Consistent with these results, findings from a follow-up experiment using a trackball that required only small finger movements showed that patients with PD adapt better to gradual as against sudden perturbations, when compared to age-matched healthy controls. We conclude that Parkinson’s disease affects adaptation to sudden visuomotor distortions but spares adaptation to gradual distortions.     

Full naming with bi-dimensional abstract stimuli in six-year-old children

The aim of this study was to evaluate a procedure to reveal the emergence of full naming in typically developing children. In Experiment 1, five 6-year-old children (a) learned tacts of pictures and the emergence of the selection of these pictures upon hearing their names was tested; and (b) the selection of other pictures was taught and the emergence of the tacts was tested. All children showed the emergence of picture selection and 3 children showed the emergence of the tacts. In Experiment 2a, the children's correct repetition of the names of 3 pictures was verified first, then the experimenter presented the pictures with their names without requiring any behavior other than attending. Finally, the emergence of picture selection and the tacts was tested. Experiment 2b replicated Experiment 2a with words that were easier to pronounce. Picture selection and the tacts emerged; this performance documented full naming for the first time with typically developing children. These procedures can be used to induce naming capacity in children who lack it; hence, they can be applied to teach children with learning delays.     

Development and validation of a Spanish version of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory, ACSI-28

This study involved the translation, cultural adaptation and validation of the Athletic Coping Skills Inventory (ACSI-28) for a Spanish-speaking sport environment. The sample was made up of 1,253 Spanish athletes, 967 males and 286 females. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the 7-factor structure found in the English version was replicated in the Spanish translation in both males and females. Likewise, the reliability coefficients were similar to those of the English version, with values exceeding .80 for the total score. Several of the subscales correlated positively with sports experience and performance level. The Spanish version of the ACSI-28 thus maintains the factor structure of the original and exhibits similar psychometric properties. Consequently, it can reliably be applied to Spanish-speaking athletes for research and evaluation purposes.     

Implementation of training programs in self-regulated learning strategies in Moodle format: results of a experience in higher education

This paper tests the efficacy of an intervention program in virtual format intended to train studying and self-regulation strategies in university students. The aim of this intervention is to promote a series of strategies which allow students to manage their learning processes in a more proficient and autonomous way. The program has been developed in Moodle format and hosted by the Virtual Campus of the University of Oviedo. The present study had a semi-experimental design, included an experimental group (n=167) and a control one (n=206), and used pretest and posttest measures (self-regulated learning strategies' declarative knowledge, self-regulated learning macro-strategy planning-execution-assessment, self-regulated learning strategies on text, surface and deep learning approaches, and academic achievement). Data suggest that the students enrolled in the training program, comparing with students in the control group, showed a significant improvement in their declarative knowledge, general and on text use of learning strategies, increased their deep approach to learning, decreased their use of a surface approach and, in what concerns to academic achievement, statistically significant differences have been found in favour of the experimental group.     

Morphological awareness: development trends and patterns of evolution in kindergarten and primary education

We present a study that investigates changes in the acquisition and development of morphological awareness in children from 5 to 7 years old. This investigation was carried out on three separate occasions over two academic years, in which morphological awareness was assessed according to two levels. The data indicate an increase in the morphological awareness development from the kindergarten to primary education, verifying the acquisition in the first instance of the morphological judgment level and secondly, of morphological production level. It also generates a pattern of acquisition of the various parameters that make up morphology.     

Self-concept and psychosocial adjustment in adolescence

This study analyses the relationship between a multidimensional measure of self-concept, Self-concept Form-5 Questionnaire (AF5), and a broad set of adolescents' psychosocial adjustment indicators. From the responses of 1,281 participants (53.7% females) aged 12 to 17 years ( M = 14.98 years, SD = 1.74 years), results indicated that higher self-concept scores corresponded to better psychological adjustment, good personal skills and fewer behavioral problems. Although a positive relationship between social self-concept and drug use was found, this significant relationship disappeared once the adolescent's age and sex was controlled for. These results support the idea that the self-concept is a basic theoretical construct closely related to the psychosocial adjustment in adolescence. Also this study helps explain some contradictory results reported in the literature (i.e., a positive relationship between social self-concept and drug use), by showing how the statistical control of a third variable effect (i.e., age) avoids reaching conclusions based on spurious relationships.