Correlates and predictors of hyperactivity and aggression: A longitudinal study of parent-referred problem preschoolers

Forty-six parent-referred problem 3-year-olds and 22 comparison children were assessed with parent report and observational measures; 54 were followed up at age 4, and 53 were followed again at age 6. Lower social class and greater family stress were associated with higher symptom ratings at initial referral and age 6 follow-up. Negative and directive maternal behavior and negative and noncompliant child behavior observed in the lab at age 3 were associated with higher maternal ratings of child aggression and hyperactivity; these observed behaviors continued to be highly predictive of maternal ratings of persistent problems at ages 4 and 6. A laboratory index of inattention and overactivity at intake also predicted hyperactivity ratings at age 6. These findings suggest that externalizing problems identified in early childhood are likely to persist when they are associated with more family disruption and a negative mother-child relationship.This research was supported by Grant No. MH 32735 from the National Institute of Mental Health to Dr. Campbell. We are indebted to the children and families who have participated so enthusiastically in this study over the past 5 years. The help of Deborah Baldwin, Patricia Cluss, and Diane Gluck is gratefully acknowledged. Many additional people participated in various phases of this study as independent observers and data coders. Their contributions are also recognized.     

A multidimensional assessment of parent-identified behavior problem toddlers

Sixty-eight 2-and 3-year-olds (46 parent-referred, 22 controls) participating in an identification, assessment, and follow-up study of hyperactivity and related behavior problems were evaluated on parent-report, observational, and cognitive measures. Referred youngsters were described by both parents as more active, inattentive, difficult to discipline, and aggressive with peers than were controls. Mothers of referred children also reported a more difficult infancy period. Laboratory assessments confirmed parental reports of current problems. Referred children shifted activities more during free play, were more active and inattentive during structured tasks, and made more impulsive responses on a delay task than did controls. Discriminant function analysis indicated that parental ratings of activity paired with laboratory measures of sustained attention and impulsivity correctly classified 88% of the sample. These data suggest that the core symptoms of hyperactivity can be identified in very young children, although their prognostic significance remains to be determined.This research was supported by Grant No. R01 MH 32735 from the National Institute of Mental Health to the first author. Thanks are due to the parents and children who participated so enthusiastically in this study. The dedication of Patricia Cluss is gratefully acknowledged. Mady Fingeret, Frank McKee, Jenny Palermo, Susan Riley, Elizabeth Schaughency, Sheree Thomas, and Russell Walters are also thanked for their help in data collection.     

On Finite Models of the Lambek Calculus

We study a class of finite models for the Lambek Calculus with additive conjunction and with and without empty antecedents. The class of models enables us to prove the finite model property for each of the above systems, and for some axiomatic extensions of them. This work strengthens the results of [3] where only product-free fragments of these systems are considered. A characteristic feature of this approach is that we do not rely on cut elimination in opposition to e.g. [5], [9].     

Non-Inferential Aspects of Ad Hominem and Ad Baculum

The aim of the paper is to explore the interrelation between persuasion tactics and properties of speech acts. We investigate two types of arguments ad: ad hominem and ad baculum. We show that with both of these tactics, the structures that play a key role are not inferential, but rather ethotic, i.e., related to the speaker’s character and trust. We use the concepts of illocutionary force and constitutive conditions related to the character or status of the speaker in order to explain the dynamics of these two techniques. In keeping with the research focus of the Polish School of Argumentation, we examine how the pragmatic and rhetorical aspects of the force of ad hominem and ad baculum arguments exploit trust in the speaker’s status to influence the audience’s cognition.     

Patients’ and Parents’ Perceptions of Appearance in Scoliosis Treated with a Brace: A Cross-Sectional Analysis

The perspective of trunk deformity is a matter of special concern for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) patients. No research group has ever reported interviewing patients and their parents regarding differences in perception of body appearance in the course of Cheneau brace treatment. We aimed to investigate the level of agreement in the field of concerns and perceptions of spinal appearance in relation to brace- and scoliosis-related data between parents and female patients with AIS, treated with a Cheneau brace, by means of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire-pl (SAQ-pl). In this cross-sectional study forty-one pairs of parents and female patients with AIS were asked to separately complete the Polish versions of the Spinal Appearance Questionnaire-pl patient form (SAQ-pl patient form) and the SAQ-pl parent form. Age of patients was 13.60 years SD 1.60 (range 10–17). Patients scored 2.70 (SD 0.60) and parents scored 2.70 SD 0.60 in the total score of the SAQ-pl. The study groups do not differ significantly in regards to the SAQ-pl results. The percentage of consistent answers on SAQ-pl items ranges from 34.10 % (item 20) to 78 % (item 8). Height, age and brace-wearing time per day, were significantly related to the differences in the patient-parent General perception of body shape (r _s  = ?0.51, r _s  = ?0.34, r _s  = 0.36, respectively). Parents and female patients with AIS have similar concerns and perceptions of spinal appearance. The discrepancies in General perception of spinal appearance between parents and AIS females decrease with age of patient. Parental emotional support may contribute to minimizing the risk factors of psychological impairment, especially in late adolescents with AIS.     

Time Perspectives Predict Mood States and Satisfaction with Life over and above Personality

The present study aimed to test the incremental validity of Time Perspective (TP) scales in predicting satisfaction with life and mood, over and above the Big Five personality traits. It also investigated whether the new TP construct of Future Negative perspective contributed to prediction of these outcomes. Participants (N = 265) completed four measures: Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS), UWIST Mood Adjective Checklist (UMACL), a modified Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI), and NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Results confirmed the incremental validity of TP, although Big Five dimensions were independently predictive of life satisfaction and certain mood scales. Past Negative TP was the strongest single predictor of life satisfaction. However, Future Negative TP was be the strongest mood predictor from the TP universe, after controlling for the Big Five and remaining TP dimensions. Findings suggest that TP is an important aspect of personality for understanding individual differences in well-being.     

Both differences in encoding processes and monitoring at retrieval reduce false alarms when distinctive information is studied

A reduction in false alarms to critical lures is observed in the DRM paradigm (Roediger & McDermott, 1995) when distinctive information is presented at encoding. Two mechanisms have been proposed to account for this reduction. According to the monitoring theory (e.g., the distinctiveness heuristic), lack of diagnostic recollection serves as a basis for discarding non-presented lures. According to the encoding theory, presenting distinctive information at study leads to impoverished relational processing, which results in a reduction in memorial information elicited by critical lures. In the present study a condition was created in which the use of the distinctiveness heuristic was precluded by associating, within the same study, lures with distinctive information in a context different from the study session. Under that condition reduction in false alarms to distinctive critical lures was still observed. This result supports the predictions of the encoding theory. However, when in the same study the use of the distinctiveness heuristic was not precluded, reductions in false alarms to unrelated lures were also observed when distinctive information was presented at study, indicating that both mechanisms are likely to contribute to the rejection of false memories.