Ambiguity in the brain: what brain imaging reveals about the processing of syntactically ambiguous sentences

Two fMRI studies investigated the time course and amplitude of brain activity in language-related areas during the processing of syntactically ambiguous sentences. In Experiment 1, higher levels of activation were found during the reading of unpreferred syntactic structures as well as more complex structures. In Experiments 2A and 2B higher levels of brain activation were found for ambiguous sentences compared with unambiguous sentences matched for syntactic complexity, even when the ambiguities were resolved in favor of the preferred syntactic construction (despite the absence of this difference in previous reading time results). Although results can be reconciled with either serial or parallel models of sentence parsing, they arguably fit better into the parallel framework. Serial models can admittedly be made consistent but only by including a parallel component. The fMRI data indicate the involvement of a parallel component in syntactic parsing that might be either a selection mechanism or a construction of multiple parses.     

Delinquency and Substance Use among Gang-Involved Youth: The Moderating Role of Parenting Practices

This study uses longitudinal data from an ethnically diverse sample of 300 ninth grade students to examine the moderating effect of parenting practices upon the relationship between gang involvement and adolescent problem behavior. Results of hierarchical linear modeling indicate that gang involvement is a highly significant positive predictor of each of three categories of problem behavior (minor delinquency, major delinquency, and substance use). Three of the four parenting variables (behavioral control, psychological control, parent–adolescent conflict, and warmth) are found to moderate the relationship between gang involvement and problem behavior, with the most consistent effects found for behavioral control and warmth. These findings indicate that intervention efforts aimed at reducing the impact of gang involvement on adolescent development should consider factors that may decrease the deleterious behavioral outcomes associated with youth gangs.     

Psychological distress and resilience as risk and protective factors of psychoactive substance use among Chinese nonengaged youth

Nonengaged youth (NEY) are those who have neither been working nor studying for a prolonged period of time. They are at risk of psychoactive substance use, but relevant studies are scarce. Based on a population‐based telephone survey and referrals, we anonymously interviewed 479 Hong Kong Chinese NEY aged 15–24 years. Of them, 14.8–23.7% reported moderate to severe depression, anxiety, and stress. Moreover, one fourth of the participants (24.8%; n = 119) had used psychoactive substances. Adjusted analyses showed that these three psychological distress variables were positively associated with, while resilience was negatively associated with, both ever‐use of psychoactive substances and intention to use such substances in the next 12 months. Loneliness was associated only with intention to use psychoactive substances. The mediating role of psychological distress was shown: Anxiety significantly mediated the association between resilience and ever‐use of psychoactive substances, whereas depression mediated that between resilience and behavioural intention. Resilience was not a significant moderator on the relationship between psychological distress and ever‐use of psychoactive substance use or behavioural intention to use those substances. The findings suggest that anti‐drug interventions should outreach NEY and should include mental health support as well as building up resilience, as NEY are prone to psychological distress that increases risk of substance use.     

Behaviorally Based Interventions for Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children with ASD in Inclusive Settings: A Meta-analysis

Behaviorally based interventions have been demonstrated to be effective to teach social interaction skills for children with autism spectrum disorders in general education. However, the overall and moderating effects of these interventions have not been previously investigated in inclusive settings. The goal of this study was to investigate the overall effectiveness and contextual factors that moderate intervention effectiveness in inclusive settings. Findings showed overall high effect size based on studies previously considered of methodological quality in single-case research. Interventions are demonstrated to be highly effective for children aged 2–10 years. While differences were found according to target social skills and behavioral components used, no differential effects were found regarding intervention implementer and peer training. The findings highlight the practical significance of behavioral interventions and guide educators toward more suitable evidence-based practices in inclusive settings.     

Parents,Peers, and Places: Young Urban Adolescents’ Microsystems and Substance Use Involvement

Limited research is available that explains complex contextual and interactive effects of microsystems such as family relationships, peer networks, and place-based influences have on urban adolescent substance use. We contend that research into these complex processes is improved by integrating psychological, social, and geographic data to better understand urban adolescent substance use involvement. Accordingly, we tested a longitudinal, 3-way moderation model to determine if the direct effect of teen–parent relationships on substance use involvement is moderated by peer network characteristics, which in turn is moderated by the risk and protective attributes within urban adolescents’ activity spaces, among a sample of 248 adolescents. Results revealed that peer networks moderate the effects of relations with parents on substance use involvement for those adolescents with higher levels of risk attributes within their activity space, but not for those who spend time in locations with less risk. Thus, the teen–parent relationship interacts with peer network characteristics, for those urban adolescents whose activity space is constituted within high-risk environments. We conclude that peer networks have important interactive effects with family relationships that influence substance use, and that this is particularly salient for young adolescents who are exposed to risky environments. This finding underscores the importance of continued study into the interrelations among microsystems of urban adolescents, and provides further support that substance use is a social practice that is constituted within the unique geography of young adolescents’ lives.     

Reactions of African American Students to the George Zimmerman Trial: Co-Rumination and Thought Intrusions as Mediators

We document how prior experiences with racism, sequentially mediated by co-rumination about racial problems with a friend and thought intrusions, are associated with negative reactions to a racially charged event—the fatal shooting of Trayvon Martin by George Zimmerman and the subsequent trial and acquittal of Mr. Zimmerman. African Americans’ prior experiences with racial discrimination predicted more co-rumination about racial problems with a friend. In turn, co-rumination was associated with more thought intrusions about the trial, leading to more negative affect and less forgiveness for Zimmerman. Co-rumination about racism and worrisome thinking about high-profile race-related events may amplify concern about racism for a frequent target of racial discrimination, lowering the threshold for negative psychological reactions to racist acts (including acts of violence) that may happen to other African Americans or to oneself.     

How Robust is the Influence of Causal Explanation on Clinical Judgments? Assessments in Structured Clinical Interviews

When causal life-event explanations for disorder symptoms are available, clinicians tend to explain away those symptoms (Ahn, Novick, &; Kim, 2003 Ahn, W., Novick, L. R., &; Kim, N. S. (2003). Understanding behavior makes it normal. Psychonomic Bulletin Review, 10(3), 746–752. doi:10.3758/BF03196541[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Meehl, 1973 Meehl, P. E. (1973). Why I do not attend case conferences. In P. Meehl (Ed.), Psychodiagnosis: Selected papers (pp. 225–302). Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press. [Google Scholar]), eschewing formal diagnostic guidelines such as the DSM-5 (American Psychiatric Association, 2013 American Psychiatric Association [APA]. (2013). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.). Arlington, VA: American Psychiatric Publishing.[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). We asked whether this effect is attenuated in the context of a structured diagnostic clinical interview procedure, which deliberately directs evaluators' attention to symptoms alone, or whether it is robust enough to continue to emerge. Across two experiments, lay evaluators given causal life-event explanations for disordered behaviors gave them lower judgments of abnormality and need for treatment compared to evaluators not given such explanations, regardless of whether they used a structured clinical interview. Thus, causal life-event explanations may have significant impact on clinical evaluations regardless of the mode of assessment. Implications for the clinical utility of structured interviews and the role of life-event context in diagnosis and classification are discussed.