Identification of Early Child and Family Risk Factors for Aggressive Victim Status in First Grade

This prospective investigation sought to discriminate children who were both aggressive towards and victimized by peers in the first grade, from those who were only aggressive, only victimized, or neither (i.e., socially adjusted), using early child and family risk factors. Two hundred thirty-eight children, their mothers, and teachers participated in a longitudinal study since birth. All three aggressor/victim subgroups showed greater temperamental dysregulation than the socially adjusted children, but only aggressive victims had significantly poorer social perception skills. Aggressive victims were distinguished from aggressors by greater exposure to maternal depression and from victims by lower levels of early inhibition, but they shared the experiences of negative family emotional expressiveness with aggressors and greater mother-child negativity with victims. The identification of early risk factors is crucial to prevention and early intervention efforts that have the potential to attenuate the long term emotional, social, and academic problems associated with aggressive victim status.     

The prevalence of perceived discrimination among African American and Caribbean Black youth

The present study examined ethnic, gender, and age differences in perceived discrimination and the association between perceived discrimination and psychological well-being in a nationally representative sample of Black adolescents. Data are from the National Survey of African Life (NSAL), which includes 810 African American and 360 Caribbean Black youth. Results indicate that the majority of Black youth perceived at least 1 discriminatory incident in the previous year. Adolescents at later stages of development perceived more discrimination than those at earlier stages, and African American and Caribbean Black males perceived more discrimination than their female counterparts. Perceptions of discrimination were positively linked to depressive symptoms and were negatively linked to self-esteem and life satisfaction, regardless of ethnicity. However, Caribbean Black youth appear to be more vulnerable when they perceive high levels of discrimination.     

Sample diversity and premise typicality in inductive reasoning: evidence for developmental change

Evaluating whether a limited sample of evidence provides a good basis for induction is a critical cognitive task. We hypothesized that whereas adults evaluate the inductive strength of samples containing multiple pieces of evidence by attending to the relations among the exemplars (e.g., sample diversity), six-year-olds would attend to the degree to which each individual exemplar in a sample independently appears informative (e.g., premise typicality). To test these hypotheses, participants were asked to select between diverse and non-diverse samples to help them learn about basic-level animal categories. Across various between-subject conditions (N=133), we varied the typicality present in the diverse and non-diverse samples. We found that adults reliably selected to examine diverse over non-diverse samples, regardless of exemplar typicality, six-year-olds preferred to examine samples containing typical exemplars, regardless of sample diversity, and nine-year-olds were somewhat in the midst of this developmental transition.     

An evaluation of crisis hotline outcomes. Part 1: Nonsuicidal crisis callers

The effectiveness of telephone crisis services/hotlines, examining proximal outcomes as measured by changes in callers' crisis state from the beginning to the end of their calls to eight centers in the U.S. and intermediate outcomes within 3 weeks of their calls, was evaluated. Between March 2003 and July 2004, 1,617 crisis callers were assessed during their calls and 801 (49.5%) participated in the followup assessment. Significant decreases in callers' crisis states and hopelessness were found during the course of the telephone session, with continuing decreases in crisis states and hopelessness in the following weeks. A majority of callers were provided with referrals and/or plans of actions for their concerns and approximately one third of those provided with mental health referrals had followed up with the referral by the time of the follow-up assessment. While crisis service staff coded these callers as nonsuicidal, at follow-up nearly 12% of them reported having suicidal thoughts either during or since their call to the center. The need to conduct suicide risk assessments with crisis callers and to identify strategies to improve referral follow-up is highlighted.     

Visual discrimination by heifers (Bos taurus) of their own species

Species discrimination has been described in several taxa but rarely in domestic animals. In contrast to wild species, domestic species present a great phenotypic variety. This study investigated whether 10 Prim'Holstein heifers (Bos taurus) could discriminate images of cows from images of other domestic animals. The experiment was based on simultaneous discrimination. Responses were obtained through instrumental conditioning using a food reward. In Experiment 1, the reward was associated with a cow face and, in the reversal learning task, with faces of other domestic species. The results showed that in both tasks, cows were able to reach the criterion in few sessions. Therefore, despite great phenotypic variety (a cognitive challenge) cows were able to visually discriminate their own species from other domestic species.     

Lower extremity kinetics for balance control in children with cerebral palsy

The authors examined and compared the effect of support-surface perturbations of various magnitudes on lower extremity kinetics of 7 children with cerebral palsy (CP) and 8 typically developing (TD) children. Results showed that the highest velocity tolerated without stepping was slower in children with CP than in either age-matched TD or younger TD children. Multimodal torque profiles were more frequent in children with CP than in TD controls. TD groups temporally and spatially organized torque activation, whereas children with CP activated all joints simultaneously and showed altered torque contribution patterns among joints. Those results suggest that impairments in reactive postural control in children with CP result not only from developmental delay but also from pathology. Evidence for pathology included increased numbers of torque bursts required to regain stability and less efficient temporal and spatial organization of torque activation patterns.     

Overt naming fMRI pre- and post-TMS: Two nonfluent aphasia patients, with and without improved naming post-TMS

Two chronic, nonfluent aphasia patients participated in overt naming fMRI scans, pre- and post-a series of repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) treatments as part of a TMS study to improve naming. Each patient received 10, 1-Hz rTMS treatments to suppress a part of R pars triangularis. P1 was a ‘good responder’ with improved naming and phrase length; P2 was a ‘poor responder’ without improved naming.Pre-TMS (10 years poststroke), P1 had significant activation in R and L sensorimotor cortex, R IFG, and in both L and R SMA during overt naming fMRI (28% pictures named). At 3 mo. post-TMS (42% named), P1 showed continued activation in R and L sensorimotor cortex, R IFG, and in R and L SMA. At 16 mo. post-TMS (58% named), he also showed significant activation in R and L sensorimotor cortex mouth and R IFG. He now showed a significant increase in activation in the L SMA compared to pre-TMS and at 3 mo. post-TMS (p < .02; p < .05, respectively). At 16 mo. there was also greater activation in L than R SMA (p < .08). At 46 mo. post-TMS (42% named), this new LH pattern of activation continued. He improved on the Boston Naming Test from 11 pictures named pre-TMS, to scores ranging from 14 to 18 pictures, post-TMS (2–43 mo. post-TMS). His longest phrase length (Cookie Theft picture) improved from three words pre-TMS, to 5–6 words post-TMS.Pre-TMS (1.5 years poststroke), P2 had significant activation in R IFG (3% pictures named). At 3 and 6 mo. post-TMS, there was no longer significant activation in R IFG, but significant activation was present in R sensorimotor cortex. On all three fMRI scans, P2 had significant activation in both the L and R SMA. There was no new, lasting perilesional LH activation across sessions for this patient. Over time, there was little or no change in his activation. His naming remained only at 1–2 pictures during all three fMRI scans. His BNT score and longest phrase length remained at one word, post-TMS.Lesion site may play a role in each patient’s fMRI activation pattern and response to TMS treatment. P2, the poor responder, had an atypical frontal lesion in the L motor and premotor cortex that extended high, near brain vertex, with deep white matter lesion near L SMA. P2 also had frontal lesion in the posterior middle frontal gyrus, an area important for naming (Duffau et al., 2003); P1 did not. Additionally, P2 had lesion inferior and posterior to Wernicke’s area, in parts of BA 21 and 37, whereas P1 did not.The fMRI data of our patient who had good response following TMS support the notion that restoration of the LH language network is linked in part, to better recovery of naming and phrase length in nonfluent aphasia.     

INCREASING AUTISTIC CHILDREN'S SPONTANEOUS VERBALIZATIONS OF AFFECTION: AN ASSESSMENT OF TIME DELAY AND PEER MODELING PROCEDURES

We assessed the efficacy of time delay and peer modeling procedures in increasing autistic children's spontaneous verbalizations of affection. Four autistic children were taught to spontaneously say “I like (love) you” in response to a hug from a familiar person and their mother. Generalization from a free play training setting to free play outdoors and at home was assessed. Ancillary social and affection behaviors were also observed. Results indicated that the time delay was a quick and effective procedure for all the children. Peer modeling was unsuccessful in teaching the target behavior.