Functional relationships in the nuclear and extended family: A 16‐culture study

This study investigated the relationship between culture, structural aspects of the nuclear and extended family, and functional aspects of the family, that is, emotional distance, social interaction, and communication, as well as geographical proximity. The focus was on the functional aspects of family, defined as members of the nuclear family (mother, father, and their children) and the extended family (grandmother/grandfather, aunt/uncle, cousins). Sixteen cultures participated in this study, with a total number of 2587 participants. The first hypothesis, that the pattern of scores on the psychological measures and the behavioral outcomes are similar across cultures, an indication of cultural universality, was supported. The second hypothesis, that functional relations between members of the nuclear family and their kin are maintained in high‐affluent and low‐affluent cultures, and that differences in functional relationships in high‐ and low‐affluent cultures are a matter of degree, was also supported by the findings. The results suggest that it is less meaningful in cross‐cultural family studies to ask questions about the structure of the family, than to ask about the functional relationships between members of the nuclear family and their kin. In looking only at the nuclear family, one focuses only on those residing in the household, but ignores those important members of the extended family who may reside nearby and their significant relationships with the members of the nuclear family.     

Expanding Knowledge of Parental Involvement in Children's Secondary Education: Connections with High School Seniors' Academic Success

This paper analyzes data from the parent and student components of the National Educational Longitudinal Study of 1988 to investigate family educational involvement in secondary education. It examines connections between parental involvement practices and the educational outcomes of high school seniors. Utilizing multiple involvement indicators for the 8th and 12th grades, the study concludes that the nature of relationships between parental involvement and 12th grade educational outcomes depends on the type of parental practices and educational outcomes considered. Parental involvement indicators are not associated with achievement growth between the 8th and 12th grades. However, a number of parental involvement indicators are associated with seniors' enrollment in an academic high school program and with their coursework in core academic subjects. High levels of educational expectations, consistent encouragement, and actions that enhance the learning opportunities of children are the family practices that are positively associated with the above educational experiences of high school seniors. The relationships between parental involvement and educational outcomes exist regardless of students' socioeconomic or race/ethnic background and regardless of whether parental practices are measured in the middle grades or in high school.     

Trace.space: a psychogeographical community project with members of an arts and health organisation

In this article we present a psychogeographical community project involving members of an arts and health organisation. Using creative ways to improve the mental health and well-being of individuals, we draw on the concepts of trace and spaces to map relationships between researchers and participants. This project was underpinned by three aims which were: to do community group work to produce contributions both in and beyond the University; to playfully critique everyday life in consumer capitalist society and finally, to consider the extent to which personal and social changes could be enabled. To realise those aims, we put into practice a range of architectural, community psychological and psychogeographical methods such as photo-elicitation, dice walking and scavenger hunting. We also facilitated participatory workshops which involved the production of artistic maps, writing poems and short stories. We conclude the paper with reflections from stakeholders with conclusions and future psychogeographical research being considered.     

Visual experiences during letter production contribute to the development of the neural systems supporting letter perception

Letter production through handwriting creates visual experiences that may be important for the development of visual letter perception. We sought to better understand the neural responses to different visual percepts created during handwriting at different levels of experience. Three groups of participants, younger children, older children, and adults, ranging in age from 4.5 to 22 years old, were presented with dynamic and static presentations of their own handwritten letters, static presentations of an age‐matched control's handwritten letters, and typeface letters during fMRI. First, data from each group were analyzed through a series of contrasts designed to highlight neural systems that were most sensitive to each visual experience in each age group. We found that younger children recruited ventral‐temporal cortex during perception and this response was associated with the variability present in handwritten forms. Older children and adults also recruited ventral‐temporal cortex; this response, however, was significant for typed letter forms but not variability. The adult response to typed letters was more distributed than in the children, including ventral‐temporal, parietal, and frontal motor cortices. The adult response was also significant for one's own handwritten letters in left parietal cortex. Second, we compared responses among age groups. Compared to older children, younger children demonstrated a greater fusiform response associated with handwritten form variability. When compared to adults, younger children demonstrated a greater response to this variability in left parietal cortex. Our results suggest that the visual perception of the variability present in handwritten forms that occurs during handwriting may contribute to developmental changes in the neural systems that support letter perception.     

Meta‐Perceptions of the Coach–Athlete Relationship,Achievement Goals,and Intrinsic Motivation Among Sport Participants

This study investigated a motivational sequence hypothesizing relationships between athletes' meta‐perceptions of the coach–athlete relationship, achievement goals, and intrinsic motivation. Participants (N = 194) completed a multi‐sectional questionnaire assessing the targeted variables. Structural equation modeling analysis revealed that athletes who viewed their coaches to be more cooperative, committed, and close in their relationships were more likely to endorse a mastery‐approach goal, and less likely to adopt a performance‐avoidance goal. Subsequent findings confirmed the hypothesized positive relationship between a mastery‐approach goal and intrinsic motivation. Finally, a mastery‐approach goal was found to partially mediate the link between athletes' meta‐perceptions of the coach–athlete relationship and intrinsic motivation. The results are discussed in terms of their theoretical and practical utility.     

Body Sanctification and Sleep in Adolescents with Cystic Fibrosis: A Pilot Study

Journal of Religion and Health - Imbuing one’s body with divine significance is associated with health-protective behaviors. The purpose of this study was to determine whether adolescents...     

The effectiveness of positive psychology interventions in enhancing positive behaviors and family relationships in Hong Kong: A community-based participatory research project

This paper describes a program of brief, universal, positive psychology-based interventions to increase targeted behaviors that enhance family relationships, developed and delivered to over 1500 participants using a community-based participatory approach. The cluster-randomized design combined interventions based on one of three themes (gratitude, hope, or open-mindedness) in one of two structures (intervention, or intervention with planning). The latter structure supplemented with materials and exercises derived from the Health Action Process Approach model of behavior change. Planning was more effective in increasing attitude and intention to perform behaviors, frequency of the targeted behaviors, and family health and happiness (Cohen’s ds: 0.10–0.16, p < 0.05), particularly in the theme targeting open-mindedness. Qualitative data supported effectiveness. This project was a first effort to develop a large-scale preventive psychological intervention in an understudied culture with the goal of maximizing acceptability and utilization by involving community stakeholders in every stage of the design.     

Grasping the Nature of Pictures

The role of experience in the development of pictorial competence has been the center of substantial debate. The four studies presented here help resolve the controversy by systematically documenting and examining manual exploration of depicted objects by infants. We report that 9-month-old infants manually investigate pictures, touching and feeling depicted objects as if they were real objects and even trying to pick them up off the page. The same behavior was observed in babies from two extremely different societies (the United States and the Ivory Coast). This investigation of pictures occurs even though infants can discriminate between real objects and their depictions. By the time infants are 19 months of age, their manual exploration is replaced by pointing at depicted objects. These results indicate that initial uncertainty about the nature of pictures leads infants to investigate them. Through experience, infants begin to acquire a concept of "picture." This concept includes the fact that a picture has a dual nature (it is both an object and a representation of something other than itself), as well as knowledge about the culturally appropriate use of pictures.