The development of the Game Engagement Questionnaire: A measure of engagement in video game-playing

Deep engagement in video game-playing has the potential to be to be one important determinant of the impact of playing violent video games, but there are currently no reliable measures of this subjective experience. To fill this gap, the Game Engagement Questionnaire (GEQ) was developed using both classical and Rasch analyses. In Study 1 Rasch analyses provide support for the reliability and functionality of the GEQ scores. Rasch analyses also demonstrate that the GEQ has adequate separation, fit, rating scale functioning, and dimensionality, suggesting that one’s tendency to become engaged in video game-playing is a quantifiable construct. In Study 2, behavioral and questionnaire data supported the reliability and validity of the GEQ for predicting engagement in violent video games. The GEQ provides a psychometrically strong measure of levels of engagement specifically elicited while playing video games, and thus shows promise for future research examining risk and protective factors for negative game impact.     

Women's aggression in heterosexual conflicts

Using a longitudinal design, prior experience with violence as a victim and opportunity to aggress were examined as predictors of college women's verbal and physical aggression toward romantic partners. Five additional categories of predictors identified in previous research (experienced and witnessed parental aggression during childhood, attitudes accepting of aggression, aggressive/impulsive personality attributes, psychopathology, and prior use of aggression) were also examined. Blockwise hierarchical regression analyses were performed to reveal the best predictors of verbal and physical aggression during the first year of college. Significant predictors of verbal aggression were prior use of verbal aggression in heterosexual conflicts during adolescence, witnessed parental aggression, level of adolescent sexual victimization, being a target of rational conflict strategies during adolescence, and use of physical aggression in romantic adolescent relationships, as well as self-reported verbal aggression as an index of personality, weak emotional ties, number of sexual partners, and approval of sexual intimacy in many types of relationships. Significant predictors of physical aggression were prior use of physical aggression during adolescence, witnessing and experiencing parental aggression, being a victim of physical aggression in adolescent romantic relationships, weak emotional ties, low levels of alcohol/drug use, and opportunity to aggress. A developmental model of aggression in which childhood experiences with family violence contribute to the likelihood of subsequent involvement in relationship violence seems appropriate. Past experience with aggression may be particularly important for women. Cultural expectations about women's roles do not provide the social support for female aggression that is provided for male aggression. Adolescent sexual victimizations and general involvement in conflictual relationships (as target and perpetrator) predicted subsequent verbal aggression, whereas experiencing family violence and sustaining physical aggression in romantic relationships predicted subsequent physical aggression. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The testing effect: The role of feedback and collaboration in a tertiary classroom setting

Successful retrieval on a test compared to just re‐studying material improves long‐term retention—a phenomenon called the ‘testing effect’. This study investigated the role of feedback and collaborative testing on the retention of course material in a tertiary educational setting. Tested material was better retained relative to non‐tested material (testing effect), and feedback facilitated correction of errors. Group testing produced higher performance on the initial, but not final test performance, compared to individual testing. This set of findings suggests that to encourage long‐term retention, educators should utilise individual formative testing with feedback; theoretical implications are also discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Case Study on the Use of Auditory Integration Training as a Treatment for Stereotypy

The purpose of the current study was to assess the effectiveness of auditory integration training (AIT) as a treatment for motor stereotypy. The participant was a 5‐year‐old boy diagnosed with autism who had been prescribed AIT. We used an ABCBCA reversal design to examine the effectiveness of AIT on stereotypy. Data were collected for 5 min before, during, and after each experimental condition. Results showed that AIT did not decrease stereotypy. In fact, the total overall occurrence of stereotypy increased and remained high, suggesting that AIT was not an effective treatment for this participant. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Sympathetic Under-Arousal and Externalizing Behavior Problems in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) commonly exhibit co-occurring externalizing behavior problems, which can impede learning opportunities and contribute significantly to caregiver stress. Substantial theory and research has linked under-arousal of the sympathetic nervous system to increased externalizing problems in children without ASD, but under-arousal has not been considered as an explanatory mechanism for individual differences among children with ASD. We tested the notion that lower electrodermal activity (EDA) would predict more externalizing problems in children with ASD, and considered the degree to which parent co-regulatory support could buffer this risk. Forty children with ASD between the ages of 4 and 11 years and their primary caregivers participated in a laboratory visit that included various play, compliance, and problem-solving regulatory tasks. EDA was measured through wireless wrist sensors, parental scaffolding was observed during a dyadic problem-solving task, and parents rated their children’s externalizing behavior problems. As predicted, low EDA during the compliance-oriented tasks directly predicted higher child externalizing problems. Parental scaffolding moderated the link between under-arousal during the problem-solving regulatory tasks and externalizing problems such that the relation was observed in the context of low, but not high, support. Implications for relevant theories (e.g., fearlessness theory, stimulation-seeking theory) are discussed, and the potential for psychophysiological patterns to inform intervention with these children is considered.     

Vulnerability and Resilience within Military Families: Deployment Experiences,Reintegration, and Family Functioning

This study examined how family factors that diminish feelings of loss (frequent communication) and reflect system-level adaptation (effective household management) during deployment were associated with enhanced resilience and fewer vulnerabilities during reintegration and, ultimately, the promotion of family functioning following deployment. Multiple reporters from active duty (AD) military families (N?=?214 families; 642 individuals) were examined, including AD members, civilian spouses, and their adolescent offspring. Most service members were men and enlisted personnel (95.3% male; 87.9% enlisted). Most AD and civilian spouses were between the ages of 31 and 40 (68.2% and 72.4%, respectively). Adolescent gender was relatively equal between boys (46.3%) and girls (53.7%), and their average age was 13.58. A SEM assessed the influence of communication frequency (reported by both AD and civilian spouses) and household management during deployment (reported by civilian spouses) on subsequent family functioning (reported by AD spouse, civilian spouse, and adolescent). The mediating role of positive and negative aspects of post-deployment family reintegration (reported by AD spouse, civilian spouse, and adolescent) was also assessed, as indicators of family resilience and vulnerability. Communication during deployment and civilian spouses’ household management during deployment were associated with multiple family members’ reintegration experiences. In turn, reintegration experiences were linked to self-perceptions of subsequent family functioning and, in some cases, other family members’ perceptions of family functioning. Similarities and differences among family members are discussed. While deployment and reintegration create systemic family changes and challenges, results indicated opportunity for growth that can reinforce connections between family members.     

Context As a Critical Dimension of Multicultural Counseling: Articulating Personal,Professional, and Institutional Competence

Multicultural counseling standards and competencies (D. W. Sue, P. Arredondo, & R. J. McDavis, 1992) were established to provide consistency and ethical guidelines for practitioners, educators, and organizations. Although there has been general acceptance of this model, the current conceptualization risks superficial interpretation and limited implementation. This article describes a model that addresses the complexity of multicultural competence. The Multicultural Counseling Competency Assessment and Planning Model (MCCAP) enhances the D. W. Sue et al. model by integrating personal, professional, and institutional contexts as critical elements in multicultural competence. The MCCAP model suggests that the complexity of change includes three domains: affective, cognitive, and behavioral learning and competence. The resulting framework integrates self‐assessment and strategic planning to assist counselors, psychologists, and educators in a more complete application of multicultural counseling standards. Las normas de competencia multicultural en la consejería (D. W. Sue, P. Arredondo, & R. J. McDavis, 1992) fueron establecidas para proveer consistencia y guías éticas para consejeros, educadores, y organizaciones. Aunque ha habido aceptación de este modelo por lo general, la conceptualización presente corre el riesgo de ser interpretada superficialmente y de ser implementada incompletamente. Este artículo describe un modelo que trata la complexidad de la competencia multicultural. El Modelo de Evaluación y Planeación de Competencia de Consejería Multicultural (Multicultural Counseling Competency Assessment and Planning Model ‐MCCAP) aumenta sobre el modelo de D. W. Sue et al., al integrar los contextos personales, e institucionales como elementos críticos en la competencia multicultural. Además, el modelo (MCCAP) sugiere que el cambio es complejo y ocurre en très dominios: el afectivo, cognitivo, y de comportamiento, en el aprendizaje de las competencias. El resultato es una estructura que intégra la evaluación personal, planes y estrategias para ayudar a consejeros, psicólogos y educadores en una aplicación mas completa de las normas de consejería multicultural.     

Prevalence and correlates of suicidal behavior among adult female victims of intimate partner violence

The prevalence and correlates of suicidal threats and attempts among 662 racially and ethnically diverse adult female victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) were studied. One in five women had threatened or attempted suicide during her lifetime. They observed that multiple logistic regression results indicated that women at greater risk of severe or potentially lethal assaults as measured by the Danger Assessment and those who reported having a chronic or disabling illness were more likely to have threatened or attempted suicide. A linear association was found between age and suicide threats/attempts, with younger women having increased odds. Finally, African American IPV victims were less likely to have threatened or attempted suicide as compared to Latina victims. Study implications are discussed.     

CHRM2, parental monitoring, and adolescent externalizing behavior: evidence for gene-environment interaction

Psychologists, with their long-standing tradition of studying mechanistic processes, can make important contributions to further characterizing the risk associated with genes identified as influencing risk for psychiatric disorders. We report one such effort with respect to CHRM2, which codes for the cholinergic muscarinic 2 receptor and was of interest originally for its association with alcohol dependence. We tested for association between CHRM2 and prospectively measured externalizing behavior in a longitudinal, community-based sample of adolescents, as well as for moderation of this association by parental monitoring. We found evidence for an interaction in which the association between the genotype and externalizing behavior was stronger in environments with lower parental monitoring. There was also suggestion of a crossover effect, in which the genotype associated with the highest levels of externalizing behavior under low parental monitoring had the lowest levels of externalizing behavior at the extreme high end of parental monitoring. The difficulties involved in distinguishing mechanisms of gene-environment interaction are discussed.