A Teacher-Consultation Approach to Social Skills Training for Pre-Kindergarten Children: Treatment Model and Short-Term Outcome Effects

This study evaluated the post-treatment outcome effects of a classroom-based social skills program for pre-kindergarten children, using a teacher-consultation model. The pre-K RECAP (Reaching Educators, Children, and Parents) program is a semi-structured, cognitive-behavioral skills training program that provides teachers with in-classroom consultation on program implementation and classroom-wide behavior management. Data on children's social skills and behavior problems were collected from parents and teachers at pre- and post-treatment, for 149 children aged 4–5 years (of whom 56% were girls). Significant treatment effects were found for teacher but not parent reports, with treatment group children improving significantly more than comparison group children in their teacher-rated social skills and internalizing and externalizing problems. These results provide some preliminary support for the efficacy of the program on children's social skills and behavior problems, and for a teacher-consultation model for training teachers to implement school-based mental health programs.     

Reclaiming “Mydentity”: Counterstorytelling to challenge injustice for racially and economically marginalized emerging adults

Emerging adulthood is an important period for identity development, the development of sociopolitical beliefs, and establishment of social roles and responsibilities. As a part of this development, counterstorytelling—narrative processes that contrast and challenge dominant oppressive narratives—may be used within counterspaces to facilitate positive identity development and to challenge injustice. In this qualitative study, we analyse interviews with and poetry from 12 emerging adults who were facilitators within a youth critical literacy program to understand how counterstorytelling functions to both facilitate identity development and challenge injustice. We found evidence of two superordinate themes: reclaiming identity, taking ownership of identity through counterstorytelling; and co-creating a narrative community, collectively building community through counterstorytelling. Findings support counterstorytelling promotes emergent identity development and works as a strategy for challenging injustice and oppression for marginalized emerging adults. Implications for practitioners and future research are discussed.     

Interaction of irrational beliefs with goal pursuit

152 subjects reported affective and cognitive reactions at several stages of pursuing a hypothetical goal related to the taking of a classroom test, then gave Anxious Overconcern and High Self-expectations ratings from Jones' Irrational Belief Test. Subject groups differed in kinds of goals set; e.g., easy vs. difficult. Affective and attributional correlates of the irrational beliefs appeared maladaptive, but differed as a function of difficulty and phase of pursuit of the hypothetical goal. These results supported a contextual model in which irrational beliefs are general cognitive structures which interact with other internal and/or external factors to influence reactions in particular situations. Motivational variables-such as type of goal pursued and number of steps taken in pursuit of it-appear to be important among such factors. The study thus points to growing complexity in our knowledge of how B functions in the ABC paradigm.Frank W. Wicker is Professor of Educational Psychology in the Department of Educational Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin. His research interests are focused on the cognitive bases of motivation and emotion.Gail Brown is a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction in the Department of Educational Psychology, University of Texas at Austin. Her primary research interests relate to theoretical explorations of motivation and emotion.Anastasia S. Hagen is a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction. She is especially interested in motivation as it pertains to learning and instruction.Wayne Boring is a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction. He is interested in cognitive approaches to the understanding of animal behaviors.James A. Wiehe is also a graduate student in the program in Cognition, Learning, and Instruction. He combines interests in cognitive, motivation, and the psychology of music.     

Recent Suicidal Ideation Among Patients in an Inner City Emergency Department

The rates and associated features of suicidal ideation among 5,641 patients seeking routine, nonsuicide related care in an inner‐city emergency department were examined. Approximately 8% of patients seeking routine care in the emergency department reported some form of suicidal ideation within the past 2 weeks. Suicidal ideation was common in individuals who were single with poorer mental health, had higher depression, and had received some drug or alcohol treatment in the past 3 months or had used cocaine or marijuana in the past 30 days. Improved screening procedures could help to identify routine care patients who are at risk for suicide.     

Resting cardiovascular levels and reactivity to interpersonal incivility among Black, Latina/o, and White individuals: the moderating role of ethnic discrimination

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to examine cardiovascular responses among Black, non-Hispanic White, and Latina/o participants exposed to a potentially discriminatory situation. The study also examined the moderating role of prior history of discrimination on cardiovascular responses. DESIGN: Black, Latina/o, and White participants engaged in a resting baseline and then interacted with an uncivil White research assistant. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Two measures of prior exposure to discrimination were administered. Participants' blood pressure and heart rate (HR) were monitored throughout the protocol. The primary outcomes were resting cardiovascular function and cardiovascular reactivity to the uncivil interaction. RESULTS: Past discrimination was related to higher resting systolic blood pressure (SBP) among Latina/o participants and lower resting SBP among White participants. Further, past discrimination was related to attenuated SBP and HR reactivity among Latina/o participants but was related to augmented HR reactivity among White participants. Discrimination was not related to resting levels or reactivity among Black participants. CONCLUSION: This study is the first to examine the relationship between discrimination and cardiovascular responses to interpersonal incivility among Black, Latina/o, and White individuals. Findings suggest that the relationship between discrimination and cardiovascular risk may differ by ethnicity.     

A Web-Based Contingency Management Program With Adolescent Smokers

The present study evaluated a new 30-day Web-based contingency management program for smoking abstinence with 4 daily-smoking adolescents. Participants made 3 daily video recordings of themselves giving breath carbon monoxide (CO) samples at home that were sent electronically to study personnel. Using a reversal design, participants could earn money for continued abstinence during the treatment phases (CO ≤ 5 ppm). All participants were compliant with the treatment (submitting 97.2% of samples), and all achieved prolonged abstinence from smoking.     

A threat-detection advantage in those with autism spectrum disorders

Identifying threatening expressions is a significant social perceptual skill. Individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are impaired in social interaction, show deficits in face and emotion processing, show amygdala abnormalities and display a disadvantage in the perception of social threat. According to the anger superiority hypothesis, angry faces capture attention faster than happy faces in individuals with a history of typical development [Hansen, C. H., & Hansen, R. D. (1988). Finding the face in the crowd: An anger superiority effect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 54(6), 917–924]. We tested threat detection abilities in ASD using a facial visual search paradigm. Participants were asked to detect an angry or happy face image in an array of distracter faces. A threat-detection advantage was apparent in both groups: participants showed faster and more accurate detection of threatening over friendly faces. Participants with ASD showed similar reaction time, but decreased overall accuracy compared to controls. This provides evidence for less robust, but intact or learned implicit processing of basic emotions in ASD.     

A Content Analysis of Female Body Imagery in Video Games

The 150 top-selling video games sold in the U.S. across nine platforms were content analyzed to study representations of female bodies. All human females in the games were captured via screenshot and body parts measured. These measurements were then compared to actual anthropometric data drawn from a representative sample of 3,000 American women. The results show that female video game characters at low levels of photorealism are systematically larger than the average American woman whereas female characters at the highest level of photorealism are systematically thinner. This study also found that games rated for children featured females that are thinner than characters in games rated for adults. These findings are discussed in terms of cultivation theory.     

Variables influencing the neural correlates of perceived risk of physical harm

Many human activities involve a risk of physical harm. However, not much is known about the specific brain regions involved in decision making regarding these risks. To explore the neural correlates of risk perception for physical harms, 19 participants took part in an event-related fMRI study while rating risky activities. The scenarios varied in level of potential harm (e.g., paralysis vs. stubbed toe), likelihood of injury (e.g., 1 chance in 100 vs. 1 chance in 1,000), and format (frequency vs. probability). Networks of brain regions were responsive to different aspects of risk information. Cortical language- processing areas, the middle temporal gyrus, and a region around the bed nucleus of stria terminalis responded more strongly to high- harm conditions. Prefrontal areas, along with subcortical ventral striatum, responded preferentially to high- likelihood conditions. Participants rated identical risks to be greater when information was presented in frequency format rather than probability format. These findings indicate that risk assessments for physical harm engage a broad network of brain regions that are sensitive to the severity of harm, the likelihood of risk, and the framing of risk information.     

Productive procrastination: academic procrastination style predicts academic and alcohol outcomes

Productive procrastination replaces one adaptive behavior with another adaptive—albeit less important—behavior (e.g., organizing notes instead of studying for an exam). We identified adaptive and maladaptive procrastination styles associated with academic and alcohol outcomes in 1,106 college undergraduates. Cluster analysis identified five academic procrastination styles—non‐procrastinators, academic productive procrastinators, non‐academic productive procrastinators, non‐academic procrastinators, and classic procrastinators. Procrastination style differentially predicted alcohol‐related problems, cravings, risk of alcohol use disorders, and grade point average (all ps < .01). Non‐procrastination and academic productive procrastination were most adaptive overall; non‐academic productive procrastination, non‐academic procrastination, and classic procrastination were least adaptive. Productive procrastination differed from other procrastination strategies, and maladaptive procrastination styles may be a useful risk indicator for preventative and intervention efforts.