Adolescent Sense of Control: A Downward Extension of the Shapiro Control Inventory to Pre- and Early Adolescents

The most commonly used measures of perceived control for young adolescents are dated, psychometrically flawed, or focused on particular domains. To address the need for a general purpose measure of control for this age range, the overall sense of control (OSOC) and the domains of control (DOC) subscales of the Shapiro Control Inventory (D. H. Shapiro, 1994), designed for use with adults, were modified. Exploratory factor analyses suggested that the adapted OSOC and DOC scales consisted of internally consistent 1-factor structures, accounting for 32% and 29% of the variance, respectively. In Study 1, results from 310 preadolescents (9–13 years old) indicated that a higher sense of control was related to lower stress, OSOC, r(308) = ?.52, p < .001; DOC, r(308) = ?.23, p < .001; and depression, OSOC, r(308) = ?.63, p < .001; DOC, r(308) = ?.33, p < .001. In study 2, results from 195 adolescents (11–15 years old) showed that a higher sense of control was associated with lower stress, r(193) = ?.55, p < .001, and depression, r(193) = ?.60, p < .001, concurrently. The results suggest that these 2 revised measures of adolescent perceived control exhibited good content and predictive validities.     

New dimensions of abnormal illness behaviour derived from the Illness Behaviour Questionnaire

The primary aim was to explore the factor structure of the Illness Behaviour Questionnaire (IBQ) and the generalisability of the derived dimensions to both general community members and four chronic illness groups. A questionnaire was administered to 675 participants, comprising 344 from the community, 80 with asthma, 95 with diabetes, 79 with chronic pain and 77 with chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). Illness severity was calculated for all chronic illness participants (self-rated health for community members). Three IBQ scales were derived following an exploratory factor analysis for the whole sample: Affirmation of Illness (α = 0.71 (CFS)–0.79 (asthma, diabetes)), Concern for Health (α = 0.71 (asthma)–0.78 (pain)) and General Affective State (α = 0.70 (CFS)–0.80 (asthma)). Patterns of response across the five samples, and intercorrelations among the new scales and the original seven scales, were largely in accord with expectation. Long-standing criticisms of the IBQ were addressed by using systematic statistical principles to identify meaningful and psychometrically sound IBQ dimensions. The derived structure offers a more parsimonious account of possible illness responses, with the availability of a more concise yet informative index of abnormal illness behaviour having practical utility for researchers and clinicians alike.     

The role of sight of the hand in the development of prehension in childhood

In two studies, children between 5 and 10 years of age were asked to reach to grasp an object without sight of the hand during the movement. The oldest children and adults were faster when they could see the hand and increased maximum grip aperture when they could not see the hand. The 10-year-olds were less able to integrate grasp and lift than adults when they could see their hands. Children aged 5 and 6 showed no increase in movement time when they could not see the hand and did not adapt maximum grip aperture to lack of sight. These effects remained when children were encouraged to reach for and lift the target as quickly as possible. The results indicate that younger children did not give preference to vision in the control of prehension, while older children used visual feedback to improve efficiency. Dependence on sight of the hand for the control of prehension does not simply decrease with age, but it may be integrated into an anticipatory control strategy where it contributes to the efficiency of control.     

Working Memory Deficits in Boys with Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD): The Contribution of Central Executive and Subsystem Processes

The current study investigated contradictory findings from recent experimental and meta-analytic studies concerning working memory deficits in ADHD. Working memory refers to the cognitive ability to temporarily store and mentally manipulate limited amounts of information for use in guiding behavior. Phonological (verbal) and visuospatial (nonverbal) working memory were assessed across four memory load conditions in 23 boys (12 ADHD, 11 typically developing) using tasks based on Baddeley's (Working memory, thought, and action, Oxford University Press, New York, 2007) working memory model. The model posits separate phonological and visuospatial storage and rehearsal components that are controlled by a single attentional controller (CE: central executive). A latent variable approach was used to partial task performance related to three variables of interest: phonological buffer/rehearsal loop, visuospatial buffer/rehearsal loop, and the CE attentional controller. ADHD-related working memory deficits were apparent across all three cognitive systems--with the largest magnitude of deficits apparent in the CE--even after controlling for reading speed, nonverbal visual encoding, age, IQ, and SES.     

Working memory and behavioral inhibition in boys with ADHD: An experimental examination of competing models

Working memory (WM) and behavioral inhibition impairments have garnered significant attention as candidate core features, endophenotypes, and/or associated neurocognitive deficits of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The relationship between ADHD-related WM and inhibition deficits remains relatively unclear, however, with inferences about the constructs’ directional relationship stemming predominantly from correlational research. The current study utilized a dual-task paradigm to experimentally examine the relationship between ADHD-related WM and behavioral inhibition deficits. A total of 31 boys (15 ADHD and 16 typically developing [TD]) aged 8–12 years completed WM (1-back and 2-back), behavioral inhibition (stop-signal task [SST]), and dual-condition (1-back/SST and 2-back/SST) experimental tasks. Children with ADHD exhibited significant, large-magnitude WM deficits for the 1-back condition but were not significantly different from children in the TD group for the 2-back, 1-back/SST, and 2-back/SST conditions. Children with ADHD also exhibited significant inhibition deficits for the SST, 1-back/SST, and 2-back/SST conditions, but the within-group effect was not significant. The findings suggest that ADHD-related stop-signal demands are upstream, or compete for, resources involved in controlled-focused attention and/or other central executive (CE), WM processes.     

Quantum Theory Beyond the Physical: Information in Context

Measures and theories of information abound, but there are few formalised methods for treating the contextuality that can manifest in different information systems. Quantum theory provides one possible formalism for treating information in context. This paper introduces a quantum inspired model of the human mental lexicon. This model is currently being experimentally investigated and we present a preliminary set of pilot data suggesting that concept combinations can indeed behave non-separably.     

Predicting dating behavior from aggression and self‐perceived social status in adolescence

We investigated the longitudinal associations between self‐reported aggression, self‐perceived social status, and dating in adolescence using an intrasexual competition theoretical framework. Participants consisted of 536 students in Grade 9 (age 15), recruited from a community sample, who were assessed on a yearly basis until they were in Grade 11 (age 17). Adolescents self‐reported their use of direct and indirect aggression, social status, and number of dating partners. A cross‐lagged panel model that controlled for within‐time covariance and across‐time stability while examining cross‐lagged pathways was used to analyze the data. The findings revealed that direct aggression did not predict dating behavior and was negatively associated with self‐perceived social status in Grade 10. Self‐perceived social status in Grade 9 was positively associated with greater use of indirect aggression in Grade 10. Regarding dating, in Grade 9, self‐perceived social status positively predicted more dating partners the following year, while in Grade 10, it was higher levels of indirect aggression that predicted greater dating activity the following year. Overall, there were no significant sex differences in the model. The study supports the utility of evolutionary psychological theory in explaining peer aggression, and suggests that although social status can increase dating opportunities, as adolescents mature, indirect aggression becomes the most successful and strategic means of competing intrasexually and gaining mating advantages.

     

The Balint group experience for medical students: a pilot project

Loss of empathy has been reported in medical students as they move through the clinical phases of their training. Several researchers have attempted to address this issue by exploring ways of heightening students’ awareness of the emotional, non-biomedical aspects of illness and the dynamics of the doctor–patient relationship, using a variety of reflective group discussion methods. This pilot project employed the specific group method developed by Michael Balint for general practitioners working in London after the Second World War. The pilot was based on one group of six third-year graduate students, meeting weekly over six weeks. Evaluation includes pre- and post-questionnaires, a 1000-word essay and leaders’ observations. The results suggest that the traditional Balint method needs to be modified for students at a point in their training where they have not yet been exposed to patients for long enough to develop meaningful patient relationships. Nevertheless, there was some evidence of a heightened awareness of the dynamics of doctor–patient relationships and the importance of psychological/emotional factors (including their own prejudices) when interacting with a patient. Balint-style groups could be an effective way of encouraging medical students to reflect on the importance of emotions in the doctor–patient relationship.