Social connectedness,mindfulness, and coping as protective factors during the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unprecedented psychological impact, revealing immense emotional disturbances among the general population. This study examined the extent to which social connectedness, dispositional mindfulness, and coping moderate symptoms of anxiety and depression in 1242 adults under the same government-issued COVID-19 stay-at-home mandate. Participants completed measures of anxiety, depression, dispositional mindfulness, social connectedness, and coping, and regression analyses were used to examine associations and interaction effects. Results indicated that social connectedness and dispositional mindfulness were associated with reduced symptoms. For individuals living with a partner, decreased mindfulness and avoidant coping were associated with anxious symptoms. In households with children, overutilization of approach coping served to increase symptoms of depression. Results indicate the importance of considering social connectedness, mindfulness, and coping in counseling to enhance factors serving to protect clients during a public health crisis. Implications for professional counselors and areas of future research are discussed.     

Utility of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Preschool version (BRIEF-P) in young children with epilepsy

Executive functioning deficits are prominent in children with epilepsy. Although instruments, such as the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), are useful in detecting executive dysfunction in school-age children with epilepsy, little data are available for younger children. The present study evaluates the ability of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function – Preschool Version (BRIEF-P) to detect executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy. Parents of 51 clinically referred children with epilepsy (age: M = 1.99 years, SD = 1.29 years, range = 2–5 years) completed the BRIEF-P. Using a cutoff t score of ≥65 as the threshold for impairment, the BRIEF-P’s ability to detect executive dysfunction within this clinical population was established. Additionally, correlational analyses were used to assess the relations between epilepsy severity factors and BRIEF-P indices. Epilepsy severity variables that were significantly related to BRIEF-P indices were entered into a linear regression model to explore their predictive ability. Emergent metacognition (emergent metacognition index [EMI]; 59%) and the global executive composite (43%) were the most frequently elevated indices. The most commonly elevated subscales were working memory (65%), inhibition (37%), and planning/organization (35%). Age of seizure onset, seizure frequency, and number of antiepileptic drugs were not significantly correlated with BRIEF-P indices. However, children with lower intellectual ability were rated as having greater executive dysfunction, specifically with EMI (r = ?.30). Still, intellectual functioning only accounted for a small percentage (9%) of the variance in EMI scores. The current pilot study demonstrates that the BRIEF-P shows promise in identifying executive dysfunction in preschool-age children with epilepsy.     

Effects of response preference on resistance to change

Treatments based on differential reinforcement of alternative behavior, such as functional communication training, are widely used. Research regarding the maintenance of related treatment effects is limited. Nevin and Wacker (2013) provided a conceptual framework, rooted in behavioral momentum theory, for the study of treatment maintenance that addressed two components: (a) reemergence of problem behavior, and (b) continued expression of appropriate behavior. In the few studies on this topic, focus has been on variables impacting the reemergence of problem behavior, with fewer studies evaluating the persistence of appropriate behavior. Given the findings from applied research related to functional communication training, variables related to response topography, such as response preference, may impact this aspect of maintenance. In the current study, the impact of response preference on persistence was evaluated in the context of functional communication training for individuals who did not exhibit problem behavior (Experiment 1) and for individuals with a history of reinforcement for problem behavior (Experiment 2). High‐preferred mands were more persistent than low‐preferred mands. These findings suggest that response related variables, such as response preference, impact response persistence and further suggest that response related variables should be considered when developing interventions such as functional communication training.     

Evidence for improved conclusion accuracy after reading about rather than conducting a belief‐inconsistent simple physics experiment

Prior beliefs that contradict data may interfere with the ability to draw accurate conclusions; however, evidence shows that through engaged activity individuals may learn new information. In Experiment 1 , undergraduates performed or read about two physics experiments involving a ball and ramp. The first experiment was consistent with most people's prior beliefs, while the second was inconsistent with most people's prior beliefs. Participants' predictions, experimentation adequacy, conclusions and ability to generalize knowledge were measured to determine the effects of prior belief bias depending on whether participants conducted or read about the experiment. In Experiment 2, a structured hands‐on condition was included and developmental trends across adolescence and adulthood were examined. In both Experiments, reading about a belief‐inconsistent experiment led to improved conclusion accuracy and ability to generalize knowledge as compared to performing the experiment. This was the case when experiments were performed well and after a 12‐week delay for adolescents. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Generalization of Sight Word Accuracy using a Common Stimulus Procedure: A Preliminary Investigation

The need to investigate strategies promoting the generalization of reading skills is well documented. The current study builds upon previous literature by examining the impact of a common stimulus procedure on accuracy of reading generalization words in isolation. The common stimulus procedure used in this study intended to enhance the salience of the orthographic and phonemic features between taught and generalization words by highlighting the common rime structure in each word with a specific color. Taught and generalization words representing four word families were used (e.g., end, et, ell, & en). Using a multiple-baseline design across three participants with a replication of procedures for a fourth student, the impact of the common stimulus on accuracy of reading generalization words was examined. Results demonstrated increased accuracy and stability of responding when common stimulus procedures were implemented.     

Divining testimony? The impact of interviewing props on children’s reports of touching

There is a long-held assumption that objects help bridge the gap between what children know and what they can (or are willing to) explain. In this review, we present research on the extent to which two types of objects used as props in investigative interviews of children, anatomical dolls and body (human figure) diagrams, actually help children report accurate information about autobiographical events. We explain why available research does not instill confidence that props are the best solution to interviewing challenges, and we consider practitioners’ and policy-makers responses to this evidence. Finally, we discuss the types of developmental research that are necessary to advance the field of evidence-based interviewing of children.     

Timing moderates the effects of repeated suggestive interviewing on children's eyewitness memory

The relative role of the timing and repetition of misinformation on the accuracy of children's recall was examined in two experiments. Kindergarten children participated in a magic show and about 40 days later had a memory test. Between the magic show and the memory test, the children were suggestively interviewed either one time in a relatively ‘early’ interview (temporally closer to the magic show than the memory test) or a relatively ‘late’ interview (closer to the memory test than the magic show), or in both suggestive interviews. The timing of the suggestive interviewing was manipulated so that the interview was temporally distant from the event or memory test or temporally close to the event or memory test. Repeated interviewing heightened misinformation effects only when the children received the two interview sessions temporally close to the event and memory test. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The complexity of developmental predictions from dual process models

Drawing developmental predictions from dual-process theories is more complex than is commonly realized. Overly simplified predictions drawn from such models may lead to premature rejection of the dual process approach as one of many tools for understanding cognitive development. Misleading predictions can be avoided by paying attention to several cautions about the complexity of developmental extrapolations. The complexity of developmental predictions follows from the fact that overall normative responding at a given age derives from several different mental characteristics: (1) the developmental course of Type 1 processing, (2) the developmental course of Type 2 processing, (3) the acquisition of mindware usable by Type 1 processing, (4) the acquisition of mindware usable by Type 2 processing, and (5) the practicing of the mindware available to Type 2 processing to the extent that it is available to be processed in an autonomous manner. The complexity of all these interacting processes and sources of information can sometimes result in U-shaped developmental functions on some heuristics and biases tasks, making younger children look like they are responding more optimally than older children. This is particularly true when the youngest groups are ill-equipped to even understand the task and thus respond randomly. A final caution concerns terminology: The terms normative or rational should be reserved for responses and not attributed to subpersonal processes.