Predicting First Graders' Development of Calculation versus Word-Problem Performance: The Role of Dynamic Assessment

The purpose of this study was to assess the value of dynamic assessment (DA; degree of scaffolding required to learn unfamiliar mathematics content) for predicting 1(st)-grade calculations (CA) and word problems (WP) development, while controlling for the role of traditional assessments. Among 184 1(st) graders, predictors (DA, Quantity Discrimination, Test of Mathematics Ability, language, and reasoning) were assessed near the start of 1(st) grade. CA and WP were assessed near the end of 1(st) grade. Planned regression and commonality analyses indicated that for forecasting CA development, Quantity Discrimination, which accounted for 8.84% of explained variance, was the single most powerful predictor, followed by Test of Mathematics Ability and DA; language and reasoning were not uniquely predictive. By contrast, for predicting WP development, DA was the single most powerful predictor, which accounted for 12.01% of explained variance, with Test of Mathematics Ability, Quantity Discrimination, and language also uniquely predictive. Results suggest that different constellations of cognitive resources are required for CA versus WP development and that DA may be useful in predicting 1(st)-grade mathematics development, especially WP.     

Relationship outcomes in Indian-American love-based and arranged marriages

The meaning and purpose of marriage, and the manner in which spouses are selected, varies across cultures. Although many cultures have a tradition of arranged marriage, researchers interested in marital dynamics generally have focused on love-based marriages. Consequently, there is little information on relational outcomes within arranged marriages. This study compared relationship outcomes in love-based and arranged marriages contracted in the U.S. A community sample of 58 Indian participants living in the U.S. (28 arranged marriages, 30 love-based marriages) completed measures of marital satisfaction, commitment, companionate love, and passionate love. Men reported greater amounts of commitment, passionate love, and companionate love than women. Unexpectedly, no differences were found between participants in arranged and love-based marriages; high ratings of love, satisfaction, and commitment were observed in both marriage types. The overall affective experiences of partners in arranged and love marriages appear to be similar, at least among Indian adults living in contemporary U.S. society.     

Colic: What's maternal mental health got to do with it?

Families can benefit when pediatric and mental health professionals have a greater appreciation of psychological and relational issues that arise in the course of caring for an infant with colic. The Infant Behavior, Cry, and Sleep Clinic is a multidisciplinary, clinical intervention for parents who identify infant crying as adversely affecting infant, parental, and/or family functioning. Pairing pediatric and mental health expertise provides parents with strategies to manage infant colic within a context that recognizes parental mental health needs. Clinical case material illustrates varying responses and degrees of psychological distress in mothers whose infants have colic. Treatment approaches to colic that take into account maternal mental health needs may contribute to more optimal infant, maternal, and family outcomes.     

Telehealth for persons with severe functional disabilities and their caregivers: facilitating self-care management in the home setting

Persons with severe functional disabilities are the highest users of health care services. Caring for the needs of this population represents a significant percentage of our national health care costs. A growing body of research has demonstrated the efficacy of self-management strategies and caregiver engagement for effective long-term care for individuals with chronic medical conditions. Economic forces over the past decade have led to new challenges and resulted in major changes in health care delivery resulting in shortened length of inpatient stays and greater limits on the length of outpatient treatment. Telehealth is an innovative method for health care delivery and a means of meeting this new challenge. This article highlights the findings of 3 pilot studies on the use of telecommunications technologies in promoting self-care management and enhancing health care outcomes in persons with severe disabilities and their family caregivers. The importance of matching technology to the needs of this population, lessons learned from these investigations, and future directions for research are addressed.     

Ontogeny of early event memory: II. Encoding and retrieval by 2- and 3-month-olds

The ability of 2-month-old infants to discriminate changes in a 5-object crib mobile following a retention interval of 24 hr was assessed using the mobile conjugate reinforcement paradigm. Infants were trained in 3 daily 15-min sessions to produce mobile movement by footkicking. Twenty-four hr later, independent groups received generalization tests with mobiles containing 1–5 novel objects substituted into their original training mobile. A control group was tested with the original training mobile. These findings were compared with findings of 2 previous studies involving identical procedures with 3-month-olds, reanalyzed for measures of individual performance over successive test minutes. Although, in absolute terms, 2-month-olds had a flat generalization gradient relative to 3-month-olds, when each infant's kick rate during the generalization test was expressed relative to that infant's kick rate before, and at the end of, training, it was found that the generalization gradients of 2- and 3-month-olds were indistinguishable. The relative response measures indicated a surprising degree of specificity by both age groups: Test mobiles containing more than 1 novel object did not cue retrieval, but test mobiles containing no more than 1 new object yielded perfect retention and complete generalization. These data indicate that infants as young as 2 months are capable of encoding and maintaining a representation of the specific details of their training context for at least 24 hr and, after that delay, can perform fine discriminations based on the discrepancy between their test context and that representation.     

JOB CHARACTERISTICS AND WELL-BEING AT MIDLIFE Ethnic and Gender Comparisons

Lacking in the research on work and well-being is a focus on the characteristics of the employment role that contribute to well-being and their differential relations across ethnicity and gender. White and Black women and men at midlife (ages 40-64) were studied. The samples were drawn from two national surveys and included 186 White women, 202 White men, 254 Black women, and 169 Black men. Multiple regression analyses were conducted to assess the relation of work commitment, job satisfaction, role stress, occupational status and personal income to perceived control, life satisfaction, and happiness. Marital status, age, and hours worked were included as control variables. Results indicate that job satisfaction is positively related to life satisfaction for all four groups, and to happiness for White women and Black men. Personal income is positively related to perceived control for Black women and White men, and to life satisfaction for White women. Occupational status is positively related to perceived control for White and Black women; role stress is negatively related to life satisfaction among White men, and to happiness among Black women. Among the control variable, being married positively related to well-being for all four race-sex groups.     

Dimensions of Temperament: Affect Intensity and Consumer Lifestyles

This article focuses on the relation between affect intensity and 3 fundamental dimensions of temperament—emotionality, sociability, and sensory arousability. The purpose was to show that individual differences in affect intensity as a dimension of temperament can influence not only advertising responses, but also the lifestyles and preferences of consumers. Study 1 confirmed the emotionality dimension in that high affect intensity individuals responded with significantly stronger levels of emotion when exposed to an affectively charged advertising appeal, but not when exposed to a nonemotional appeal. Studies 2 and 3 demonstrated that the fundamental dimensions of temperament are accompanied by heightened emotional intensity and do predict different preferences for lifestyle activities for high and low affect intensity consumers. A significant Affect Intensity × Gender interaction occurred indicating that both men and women expressed stronger emotions when experiencing activities that were gender‐congruent (e.g., watching sports on TV for men, and smelling perfumes for women). Future research directions are also discussed.     

Dimensions of Religion and Spirituality: A Longitudinal Topic Modeling Approach

In lieu of the traditional text data analysis methods, structural topic modeling was utilized to analyze the text contents of 255 self-report inventories of religion and spirituality (R/S) published from 1929 to 2017. The study had two objectives: (a) to clarify and identify the latent dimensions of R/S inherent in the items of the measures; and (b) to examine and demonstrate the usefulness of a longitudinal topic modeling in the study of R/S. We identified 5,617 unique text terms from the measures and fitted topic models on those terms to extract latent dimensions called topics. We also simultaneously analyzed the longitudinal effect of publication decade (i.e., 1950s–2010s) on the topics. A topic model with three topics was chosen to best support the data: Experience of Transcendence (Topic 1), Engagement in Transcendence (Topic 2), and Essence of Transcendence (Topic 3). In addition, the longitudinal analysis revealed that Topic 1 showed a continual increase over the decades, while Topics 2 and 3 both demonstrated a gradual decrease, in effect matching the general trend of Topic 1's increasing popularity in society and the academia.