The effects of SES on infant and maternal diurnal salivary cortisol output

The present study directly compared diurnal salivary cortisol output and maternal-infant synchrony in low and high socio-economic status (SES) mother–infant dyads. Saliva cortisol samples were collected from 32 6–12-month-old infants and their mothers on the same day in the morning, afternoon and evening, and assayed for free cortisol concentration. Low-SES infants and mothers exhibited higher average salivary cortisol output, without dysregulation, compared to high-SES infants. Low-SES infants and mothers also showed reduced synchrony in cortisol output compared to high-SES infants and mothers. Results are discussed with respect to maternal sensitivity and early stress reduction interventions.     

Effect of repetition proportion on language-driven anticipatory eye movements

Previous masked priming research in word recognition has demonstrated that repetition priming is influenced by experiment-wise information structure, such as proportion of target repetition. Research using naturalistic tasks and eye-tracking has shown that people use linguistic knowledge to anticipate upcoming words. We examined whether the proportion of target repetition within an experiment can have a similar effect on anticipatory eye movements. We used a word-to-picture matching task (i.e., the visual world paradigm) with target repetition proportion carefully controlled. Participants' eye movements were tracked starting when the pictures appeared, one second prior to the onset of the target word. Targets repeated from the previous trial were fixated more than other items during this preview period when target repetition proportion was high and less than other items when target repetition proportion was low. These results indicate that linguistic anticipation can be driven by short-term within-experiment trial structure, with implications for the generalization of priming effects, the bases of anticipatory eye movements, and experiment design.     

The Influence of Personality on the Decision to Cheat

Seventeen transgressive behaviors were studied in the context of six personality variables using survey methods. The personality variables were impulsivity, sensation seeking, empathetic perspective taking, guilt, and shame, with social desirability used as a control. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated a five-factor model as having the best fit. Those five factors are competitive cheating, self-cheating, school cheating, relationship cheating, and breaking a social contract. A structural equation model indicated that only impulsivity, sensation seeking, and empathetic perspective taking were related to frequency of transgressive behaviors, thus supporting the hypothesis that moral decision making has a critical automatic component.     

Client Views and Attitudes to Non-Invasive Prenatal Diagnosis for Sickle Cell Disease,Thalassaemia and Cystic Fibrosis

In the near future the availability of non-invasive prenatal diagnosis (NIPD) for single gene disorders will change the prenatal diagnosis options available to couples who are carriers of conditions such as cystic fibrosis, sickle cell disorder and thalassaemia. Client opinions about NIPD are needed to inform the implementation of NIPD for single gene disorders. This qualitative study used two focus groups (n?=?12) and one-to-one interviews (n?=?16) with carriers and support group representatives of sickle cell disease, thalassaemia and cystic fibrosis. Discussions were digitally recorded, transcribed verbatim and analysed using thematic analysis. Opinions about NIPD were very positive and participants valued the opportunity to have safe and early testing. Uptake of prenatal testing is likely to increase as women who had previously declined invasive testing expressed interest in having NIPD. Participant concerns about NIPD centred on the need for accuracy to be high to be used for subsequent decision making about termination of pregnancy. Participants also raised concerns that less thought may be given to having a blood test compared to an invasive test and that the perceived ease of a blood test may bring increased pressure to have testing. Participants thought NIPD should be offered through existing specialist services to ensure appropriate genetic counseling and support. Maintaining all testing options is important as some people may prefer invasive testing over NIPD if invasive testing was more accurate or if invasive testing could give information about other conditions such as Down syndrome.     

Seeking congruity for communal and agentic goals: a longitudinal examination of U.S. college women’s persistence in STEM

Social Psychology of Education - An abundance of literature has examined barriers to women’s equitable representation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields, with many...     

“My Entire World Stopped”: College Students’ Psychosocial and Academic Frustrations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted normalcy for college attending young adults which resulted in a loss of the campus environment and classroom setting. This change in setting may interfere with a student’s personal and academic wellbeing. This study used an online survey to evaluate college students’ academic and psychosocial frustrations during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data were collected from March–April 2020 at a land-grant university in the Appalachian region. Data were available from 2643 undergraduate and graduate students. There was a 65.8% and 15.7% increase in the number of students who reported their learning and health as fair, poor, or very poor after the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively. Qualitative responses were coded and 8 themes and 24 subthemes emerged. College students expressed frustrations regarding technology, classwork, research, family, social, emotional, behavioral, and financial aspects of life. These results can be used by higher education administration, faculty, and staff when planning for online courses. Ensuring that student frustrations and barriers to success are recognized and considered may help prevent students departing from higher education during this time.

     

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.