Familial Influences on Dating Violence Victimization Among Latino Youth

Despite theoretical and empirical evidence suggesting that the family environment plays a central role in Latino youth development, relatively little is known about how family processes influence dating violence victimization among Latino adolescents. To address this gap in the literature, we used data from 210 Latino parents and their 13- to 15-year-old adolescents to examine associations between several different family processes, including both parenting practices (parent monitoring, parent–adolescent communication) and aspects of the family relational climate (family cohesion, family conflict, acculturation conflict) and psychological, physical, and sexual dating violence victimization. Consistent with expectations, lower levels of family cohesion and higher levels of family and acculturation conflict were associated with risk for dating violence victimization, although associations varied depending on victimization type. In contrast, neither parental monitoring nor parent–adolescent communication was significantly associated with any type of dating violence victimization. In addition, we found that parent, but not teen, Anglo-American acculturation was associated with higher dating violence victimization risk. Findings suggest that family-based dating abuse prevention programs for Latino youth should seek to increase family cohesion and decrease family conflict, including acculturation-based conflict.     

Episodic-like memory in zebrafish

Episodic-like memory tests often aid in determining an animal’s ability to recall the what, where, and which (context) of an event. To date, this type of memory has been demonstrated in humans, wild chacma baboons, corvids (Scrub jays), humming birds, mice, rats, Yucatan minipigs, and cuttlefish. The potential for this type of memory in zebrafish remains unexplored even though they are quickly becoming an essential model organism for the study of a variety of human cognitive and mental disorders. Here we explore the episodic-like capabilities of zebrafish (Danio rerio) in a previously established mammalian memory paradigm. We demonstrate that when zebrafish were presented with a familiar object in a familiar context but a novel location within that context, they spend more time in the novel quadrant. Thus, zebrafish display episodic-like memory as they remember what object they saw, where they saw it (quadrant location), and on which occasion (yellow or blue walls) it was presented.     

Teacher Nominations of Preschool Children at Risk for Mental Health Problems: how False Is a False Positive Nomination and What Make Teachers Concerned?

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Identification attempts in populations with a low prevalence of problems usually result in a considerable number of false positives. Thus, the...     

Keeping an “I” on PRIDE: Measuring Imitation in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy

In parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT), therapists encourage parents to imitate child behaviors in order to convey approval of the child’s actions and promote the development of linguistic and social–cognitive skills. However, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS-IV), used to measure skills taught during PCIT, does not include guidelines for coding parent–child imitation, making it difficult to determine how PCIT affects it. The current study addresses this problem by developing guidelines for coding imitation, which were then used to code DPICS-IV segments from 58 Mexican American families that participated in a past clinical trial. Results suggest that these coding guidelines can be used to reliably measure parent and child imitation. A series of additional analyses supported the construct validity of the codes. Specifically, there was a trend for parent imitation, but not child imitation, to increase more from pre–post treatment in PCIT relative to treatment as usual. In addition, parents who imitate their children were found to have children who imitate them more in return. Finally, improvement in parent imitation, but not child imitation, was significantly related to a decrease in child behavior problems. Further study is needed to determine the optimal frequency of imitation, and findings suggest that additional attention to coaching imitation may be warranted.     

What in the world is weakness of will?

At least since the middle of the twentieth century, philosophers have tended to identify weakness of will with akrasia—i.e. acting, or having a disposition to act, contrary to one’s judgments about what is best for one to do. However, there has been some recent debate about whether this captures the ordinary notion of weakness of will. Richard Holton claims that it doesn’t, while Alfred Mele argues that, to a certain extent, it does. As Mele recognizes, the question about an ordinary concept here is one apt for empirical investigation. We evaluate Mele’s studies and report some experiments of our own in order to investigate what in the world the ordinary concept of weakness of will is. We conclude that neither Mele nor Holton (previously) was quite right and offer a tentative proposal of our own: the ordinary notion is more like a prototype or cluster concept whose application is affected by a variety of factors.     

Youth’s Negative Self-Statements as Related to Social Self-Efficacy Among Differing Relationships

Background

Cognitive variables are often neglected in child and adolescent populations despite their roles in the development and maintenance of psychopathology. Furthermore, the importance of examining these variables contextually is underestimated.

Objective

The present study aimed to examine the relationship between two theoretically related cognitive variables in a contextually relevant fashion by proposing several models demonstrating the association between negative self-statements and social self-efficacy holistically and among differing relationships (i.e., peers, adults, strangers) using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) techniques.

Method

As part of a larger study, 126 participants (ages from 11 to 14 years) were recruited for participation from the middle school grades. Participants’ parents were contacted for informed consent, and subsequently, participants were asked to fill out a set of measures in assembly format.

Results

Results indicated that the structural model was well-fitted to the data. Specifically, the frequency of negative self-statements was found to indicate the amount of social self-efficacy present with more negative self-statements being associated with less social self-efficacy. Further, when examined among differing relationships via path analysis, the frequency of negative self-statements was found to be indicative of the social self-self efficacy with peers and adults, but not with strangers.

Conclusions

These findings provide useful information concerning cognitive trends, which are likely relevant for the enhancement of treatment processes in children and adolescents. Implications and recommendations are discussed.     

Trajectories of self-efficacy in persons with chronic illness: An explorative longitudinal study

Background: Self-efficacy is important for changing health behaviour in persons with chronic illness. Longer term trajectories have not been previously explored.

Objective: This study’s objective was to explore the trajectories of self-efficacy in two different groups with chronic illnesses attending a patient education course.

Design: The study design was a longitudinal, comparative cohort study with five time points during a one-year follow-up, using repeated measures analysis of variance.

Setting and participants: Persons with morbid obesity (n = 55) and persons with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; n = 56) were recruited at the start of patient education courses in Norway and followed-up four times the following year.

Main outcome measure: The General Self-Efficacy Scale was the main outcome.

Results: Obese persons showed a linear pattern of increasing self-efficacy during the follow-up period, whereas persons with COPD had an initial increase followed by a decrease in self-efficacy. Having paid work was associated with a more positive self-efficacy trajectory.

Conclusion: The results provide support for the currently employed patient education course for morbidly obese persons. In contrast, persons with COPD may need more extensive and/or more frequent support in order to increase and maintain self-efficacy across time.