EXPLORATION OF THE INTERACTIVE NATURE OF READING: USING COMMERCIAL IRIs TO GAIN INSIGHTS

A variety of commercial Informal Reading Inventories (IRIs) have recently been proposed as convenient and, perhaps, more reliable alternatives to teacher constructed instruments. This assumption is examined from an interactive point of view using case study data from three young readers. Reader variability across IRIs is discussed in terms of the varying demands of text and task, and in terms of the idiosyncratic contributions of each individual to the reading act.     

The Role of Self-Efficacy and Fear-Avoidance Beliefs in the Prediction of Disability

Both self-efficacy and fear-avoidance beliefs have been shown to be predictors of the level of disability in low back pain suffers. What is not clear from the literature, however, is whether the two constructs are differentially predictive of disability. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between pain self-efficacy and fear-avoidance beliefs and to determine whether they can explain unique variance in disability scores. One hundred and twenty-one people over the age of 18, suffering from chronic low back pain and receiving workers' compensation, completed the Pain Self-Efficacy Scale (PSEQ), the Fear Avoidance Beliefs questionnaire (FABQ), the Quebec Back Pain Disability Scale and a visual analogue scale for pain. The results show that, after controlling for pain, self-efficacy explained 24% of the variance in disability scores, and fear avoidance only a further 3.1%.     

We Welcome Refugees? Understanding the Relationship between Religious Orientation,Religious Commitment,Personality, and Prejudicial Attitudes toward Syrian Refugees

ABSTRACT

Approximately 5 million refugees have been displaced since the start of the Syrian civil war in 2011. In 2016, the refugee crisis reached deadly proportions, causing many Syrians to flee their homes in search of asylum. Individual responses to refugees differed as Syrians attempted to resettle throughout the world. Research has shown that religious orientation (intrinsic, extrinsic, quest), religious commitment, and personality traits can help explain prejudicial attitudes toward outgroups. The purpose of this study is to examine the role that personality and religion play in predicting prejudicial attitudes toward Syrian refugees in the United States. The study’s sample consists of 844 participants recruited during the height of the Syrian refugee crisis. Participants completed online surveys through Amazon’s Mechanical Turk. Results of hierarchical regression indicated that personality explained about 14% of the variance in prejudicial attitudes; specifically, Extroversion and Conscientiousness were positively related to prejudice, whereas Agreeableness was negatively related. Religious commitment and religious orientation explained an additional 0.8% to 2.5% variance, respectively, in prejudicial attitudes above and beyond personality. We discuss implications of findings for future research and practice.     

A systematic review of the relationship between religion and attitudes toward transgender and gender-variant people

Background: Prejudice against transgender people is widespread, yet in spite of the prevalence of this negativity relatively little is known about the antecedents and predictors of these attitudes. One factor that is commonly related to prejudice is religion, and this is especially true for prejudice targets that are considered to be “value violating” (as is the case for transgender individuals).

Method: In this paper, we present the findings of our systematic search of the literature on this topic and present the synthesized evidence. Our search strategy was conducted across five databases and yielded 29 studies (across 28 articles).

Results: We found consistent evidence that self-identifying as with either being “religious” or as Christian (and to a lesser extent, being Muslim) was associated with increased transprejudice relative to being nonreligious (and to a lesser extent, being Jewish). Additionally, we found consistent evidence that certain forms of religiosity were also related to transprejudice – specifically religious fundamentalism, church attendance, and interpretations of the bible as literal (transprejudice was unrelated to religious education).

Conclusion: Although this young, but important field of research is growing, more empirical exploration is needed to fully understand that nuances of the religion-transprejudice relationship.     

When All Is Considered: Evaluative Learning Does Not Require Contingency Awareness

We argue that the effects of evaluative learning may occur (a) without conscious perception of the affective stimuli, (b) without awareness of the stimulus contingencies, and (c) without any awareness that learning has occurred at all. Whether the three experiments reported in our target article provide conclusive evidence for either or any of these assertions is discussed in the commentaries of De Houwer and Field. We respond with the argument that when considered alongside other studies carried out over the past few decades, our experiments provide compelling evidence for a theory that posits a dissociation between evaluative learning and contingency awareness.     

Exposure-based cognitive behavior therapy for anxiety related to asthma: A feasibility study with multivariate baseline design

In the presence of asthma, the risk of having an anxiety disorder is increased twofold. The few trials conducted on cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for anxiety and asthma have mainly targeted panic disorder, and with mixed results. Experimental laboratory research indicates that increased anxiety may lead to hypervigilance toward asthma. Hence, fear and avoidance associated with increased anxiety due to asthma may be an important treatment target. A treatment that learn participants to differentiate between anxiety and asthma through gradual exposure to situations that risk triggering anxiety for asthma may be a possible avenue. As a first step to investigate this issue further, we developed a 10-week exposure-based CBT protocol for anxiety related to asthma and tested it in six participants using multivariate baseline design with repeated assessments throughout treatment. All participants reported satisfaction with treatment, as well as subjective overall improvement after treatment. Visual analysis, using graphs over each individual's trajectory, as well as potential efficacy on group level analyzing standardized mean change, indicated improvements in important outcomes. We conclude that exposure-based CBT is feasible and may improve anxiety related to asthma. Further investigation under randomized controlled trial conditions is warranted.     

Stressful Life Events,Psychopathology, and Adolescent Suicide: A Case Control Study

The relationship between stressful life events and adolescent suicide was assessed in 67 adolescent suicide victims and 67 matched community controls. In the year before death, suicide completers were more likely to have experienced: (1) interpersonal conflict with parents and with boy/girlfriends, (2) disruption of a romantic attachment, (3) legal or disciplinary problems. Legal or disciplinary problems were more commonly associated with suicide in conduct and substance abuse disordered youth. Interpersonal loss was more commonly associated with suicide in substance abuse as well. Even after controlling for psychopathology, legal and disciplinary problems in the past year were associated with an increased risk of suicide.