Structural priming as structure-mapping: children use analogies from previous utterances to guide sentence production

What mechanisms underlie children’s language production? Structural priming—the repetition of sentence structure across utterances—is an important measure of the developing production system. We propose its mechanism in children is the same as may underlie analogical reasoning: structure‐mapping. Under this view, structural priming is the result of making an analogy between utterances, such that children map semantic and syntactic structure from previous to future utterances. Because the ability to map relationally complex structures develops with age, younger children are less successful than older children at mapping both semantic and syntactic relations. Consistent with this account, 4‐year‐old children showed priming only of semantic relations when surface similarity across utterances was limited, whereas 5‐year‐olds showed priming of both semantic and syntactic structure regardless of shared surface similarity. The priming of semantic structure without syntactic structure is uniquely predicted by the structure‐mapping account because others have interpreted structural priming as a reflection of developing syntactic knowledge.     

Dialectical behavior therapy group skills training in a community mental health setting: a pilot study

Effective and affordable therapies are needed for treating people with severe and persistent mental illness in a community mental health setting. In this pilot study, we evaluated the effectiveness of a modified dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) protocol for improving symptoms and functioning in a cohort of persons with severe and persistent mental illness. We provided six months of weekly DBT skills training in a group setting. Depression symptoms decreased significantly after treatment. There was a wide range of number of sessions attended, with a minority of the participants completing the full course of treatment. Increased attendance was correlated with improvements in depression symptoms, overall symptoms, quality of life, and community functioning. The study findings suggest that the group skills training component of DBT can be successfully implemented in a community mental health center and that further research to determine its efficacy in comparison to other treatments is warranted.     

Exploring outcomes through narrative: the long-term impacts of Better Beginnings, Better Futures on the turning point stories of youth at ages 18-19

This study examined the long-term effects of the Better Beginnings, Better Futures project, a community-based early childhood development program, on 18–19 year-old youths’ narratives about turning points in their lives. The sample consisted of youth who participated in Better Beginnings from ages 4–8 (n = 62) and youth from a comparison community who did not participate in Better Beginnings (n = 34). Controlling for covariates, significant differences favoring youth from the Better Beginnings sites were found on several dimensions of the turning point stories: ending resolution, personal growth, meaning-making, coherence, and affect transformation. Effect sizes ranged from .45 to .76 for these outcome dimensions, indicating moderate to large effects. Also, turning point story dimensions were found to be significantly correlated with two standardized measures of well-being: youths’ self-esteem and community involvement. Youths’ self-esteem was directly related to story ending resolution, personal growth, and meaning making, and youths’ community involvement was directly related to story specificity, meaning making, and coherence. Family functioning was also examined in relation to these narrative dimensions but was not found to be significantly related to them. The findings suggest the utility of a narrative approach for the evaluation of the long-term outcomes of early childhood development programs.     

Varieties of Resilience in MIDUS

Population‐based studies of health typically focus on psychosocial contributors to illness and disease. We examine findings from a national longitudinal study of American adults, known as MIDUS (Midlife in the U.S.) to examine the role of psychosocial factors in promoting resilience, defined as the maintenance, recovery, or improvement in health following challenge. Classic studies of resilience are briefly noted, followed by a look at three categories of resilience in MIDUS. The first pertains to having good health and well‐being in the face of low socioeconomic standing. The second pertains to maintaining good health and well‐being despite the challenges that accompany aging. The third pertains to resilience in the face of targeted life challenges such as abuse in childhood, loss of spouse in adulthood, or having cancer. Across each area, we summarize evidence of positive health, and where possible, highlight protective influences that account for such salubrious outcomes. We conclude with opportunities for future research in MIDUS such as examining cultural and genetic influences on resilience as well as utilizing laboratory challenge data to illuminate underlying mechanisms.     

Correlates of Suicidal Ideation in Physically Injured Trauma Survivors

Epidemiologic studies have documented that injury survivors are at increased risk for suicide. We evaluated 206 trauma survivors to examine demographic, clinical, and injury characteristics associated with suicidal ideation during hospitalization and across 1 year. Results indicate that mental health functioning, depression symptoms, and history of mental health services were associated with suicidal ideation in the hospital; being a parent was a protective factor. Pre‐injury posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms, assaultive injury mechanism, injury‐related legal proceedings, and physical pain were significantly associated with suicidal ideation across 1 year. Readily identifiable risk factors early after traumatic injury may inform hospital‐based screening and intervention procedures.