Serotonin Transporter Genotype Moderates the Link Between Children’s Reports of Overprotective Parenting and Their Behavioral Inhibition

The goal of the current study was to examine environmental and genetic correlates of children’s levels of behavioral inhibition (BI). Participants were 100 mother child pairs drawn from the community who were part of a larger study of the intergenerational transmission of depression. Results indicated that higher levels of maternal overprotection, as reported by the child, were associated with elevations in BI among children carrying two copies of the lower expressing 5-HTTLPR alleles (S or L_G), but not among those carrying only one copy or those homozygous for the L_A allele. In addition, this interaction was specific for the social component of BI, not the nonsocial component. This relation was maintained even after statistically controlling for children’s and mother’s psychopathology. Together, these findings add to emerging research demonstrating that G × E interactions predict variation in BI during childhood.     

Technology and the evolution of clinical methods for stuttering

The World Wide Web (WWW) was 20 years old last year. Enormous amounts of information about stuttering are now available to anyone who can access the Internet. Compared to 20 years ago, people who stutter and their families can now make more informed choices about speech-language interventions, from a distance. Blogs and chat rooms provide opportunities for people who stutter to share their experiences from a distance and to support one another. New technologies are also being adopted into speech-language pathology practice and service delivery. Telehealth is an exciting development as it means that treatment can now be made available to many rural and remotely located people who previously did not have access to it. Possible future technological developments for speech-language pathology practice include Internet based treatments and the use of Virtual Reality. Having speech and CBT treatments for stuttering available on the Internet would greatly increase their accessibility. Second Life also has exciting possibilities for people who stutter.Educational objectives: The reader will (1) explain how people who stutter and their families can get information about stuttering from the World Wide Web, (2) discuss how new technologies have been applied in speech-language pathology practice, and (3) summarize the principles and practice of telehealth delivery of services for people who stutter and their families.     

Direct-to-Consumer Genetic Testing: What Are We Talking About?

The term Direct-to-Consumer (DTC) genetic testing refers to many different categories of testing. This editorial addresses the issues related to DTC testing for large effect and small effect variants associated with disease. In particular, there are issues of clinical validity and utility, informativeness and residual risk. Genetic counselors are poised to address these issues because of their training in probability and statistical models. The authors suggest that genetic counselors can impact the general public’s understanding of DTC test results by: including evaluation of DTC concepts in graduate program curricula, holding AEC plenary sessions about emerging DTC concepts, and helping other professionals understand DTC concepts. Importantly, genetic counselors are advised to continue doing and promoting rigorous research on how people access and use DTC genetic testing and results, as well as gathering empirical data so that discussions of harms and benefits can go beyond theory. It is our hope that genetic counselors in practice will continue to critically evaluate claims made about emerging new tests, including those marketed DTC, in order to provide the best possible services to our patients.     

On component analyses

Principal components analysis can be redefined in terms of the regression of observed variables upon component variables. Two criteria for the adequacy of a component representation in this context are developed and are shown to lead to different component solutions. Both criteria are generalized to allow weighting, the choice of weights determining the scale invariance properties of the resulting solution. A theorem is presented giving necessary and sufficient conditions for equivalent component solutions under different choices of weighting. Applications of the theorem are discussed that involve the components analysis of linearly derived variables and of external variables.Preparation of this article was supported in part by National Institute of Aging Grant NIA-AG03164-03 to William Meredith.     

A note on latent trait theory and Bowker's test

Bowker's test for marginal equality in contingency tables provides a familiar chi-square test to determine whether the marginal distributions are the same across two or more factors or occasions. In this note it is shown how latent trait theory provides a theoretical framework for the development and application of this test.The research reported here was supported by a grant to the senior author from the National Institute on Aging (AG03164).     

Social metrics of song learning

Five metrics of song learning are described for brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater). The intent of these metrics is to capture not only the behavior of the song learner but the social context in which song learning occurs. Playback procedures, observations of mating, and acoustic and functional assessment of song content are combined to yield measures of song potency, functional validity, social dynamics, vocal flexibility, and social reactivity. Taken as a whole, the results revealed by these metrics indicate that males learn to be effective singers by attending to the social consequences of their behavior.     

Obtaining squared multiple correlations from a correlation matrix which may be singular

A theorem is presented relating the squared multiple correlation of each measure in a battery with the other measures to the unique generalized inverse of the correlation matrix. This theorem is independent of the rank of the correlation matrix and may be utilized for singular correlation matrices. A coefficient is presented which indicates whether the squared multiple correlation is unity or not. Note that not all measures necessarily have unit squared multiple correlations with the other measures when the correlation matrix is singular. Some suggestions for computations are given for simultaneous determination of squared multiple correlations for all measures.The research reported in this paper was supported by the Personnel and Training Branch of the Office of Naval Research under Contract Number 00014-67-A-0305-0003 with the University of Illinois.     

Contrasting patterns in the acquisition of spatial/temporal terms

Competing hypotheses about the acquisition of terms that refer to relationships in both time and space are tested. One hypothesis is that the language of time is acquired as a spatial metaphor; consequently, such terms will be acquired in their spatial sense first. The competing hypothesis is that differential experience with the dual senses of each term will result in different patterns of acquisition, depending upon which sense is dominant in actual usage. Comprehension of before-after, first-last, and ahead-behind by 4- to 6-year-olds was assessed in spatial, temporal, and spatial-temporal meaning tasks. Results support the second view: there is no consistent order of acquisition; the sense acquired first is the dominant sense, as determined by both linguistic evidence and empirical survey.