An Investigation of Prospective Memory in Children With ADHD

Prospective memory, defined as the ability to follow through on intended behavior, is believed to be subserved by a number of neuroanatomical substrates, but particularly dependent, at least in part, on the frontal lobes. Children with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) traditionally have difficulty on tasks dependent on frontal lobe structures. The present study attempted to determine whether children with ADHD are impaired in prospective memory function. Two studies are described that use a new measure of time-based prospective memory, the CyberCruiser (Kerns, 2000), to compare children with ADHD to a control group consisting of participants who were matched in respect to age, gender, and IQ. The results document prospective memory deficits in ADHD. Prospective memory performance correlated significantly with clinical measures of ADHD as assessed by the Conners' Parent Rating Scale (Conners, 1990) Hyperactivity Index, but was unrelated to intellectual ability. Though psychometric measures of attention correlated with prospective memory performance, they did not account for the differences in prospective memory that were observed between the ADHD and control groups.     

The quality of children's allegations of abuse in investigative interviews containing practice narratives

To enhance the accuracy and completeness of children's testimony, recommendations have included implementing a practice narrative, during which children are prepared for their role as informative witnesses before discussing the allegations. In the present study, we aimed to systematically examine interviewer behaviour and the informativeness of children's testimony in a field setting. As predicted, interviewers posed fewer prompts, proportionally more open-ended prompts, and children provided proportionally more details in response to open-ended prompts in the substantive phase when preceded by a practice narrative than when no practice narrative was conducted. The relationship was enhanced when the practice narratives were conducted as recommended vs those that were conducted in a less open-ended manner. Together with experimental studies showing clear benefits of practice narratives on children's reports, these results underscore the value of a simple practice narrative as a means of enhancing the reliability of children's testimony.     

The neural substrates of action retrieval: An examination of semantic and visual routes to action

We report three PET experiments that examine the neural substrates of the conceptual components of action retrieval. In all three experiments, subjects made action or screen-size decisions to familiar objects presented either as pictures or written words (the names ofthe objects). In Experiment 1, a third task was included, requiring a decision on the real-life size of the stimuli. In Experiment 2, a third stimulus type was included, with action and size decisions also performed on pictures of meaningless novel objects. Finally, in Experiment 3, we changed the response mode from a button press to a more explicit movement made with a “manipulandum”. Based on neuropsychological findings, we predicted that when action responses were made to pictures of familiar or novel objects, relative to words, there would be less activation in semantic regions but greater activation in visual, motor, and perhaps parietal cortices. We found that, action relative to screen-size decisions on both pictures and words activated the left hemisphere temporo-frontal semantic system with activation in the left posterior middle temporal cortex specific to action retrieval (Experiment 1). In addition, action retrieval elicited more activation for (1) words than pictures in areas associated with semantics; and (2) novel objects than words or familiar objects in areas associated with pre-semantic object processing. These results are discussed in the context of semantic and visual routes to action retrieval.     

Appraisals of self and situation as determinants of upward influencing tactics

This study considers subordinate upward influencing as a proactive behavior and applies this lens to an investigation into the contributions of appraisals of self and situation in predicting tactic choice. One hundred seventy‐eight employees assessed the frequency with which they used influencing tactics in interactions with their direct line manager. The results indicated that favorable appraisals of self were associated with increased use of rationality and unfavorable appraisal of situation were associated with increased the use of ingratiation, assertiveness, and upward appeal. While the use of rationality could be explained within approaches to positive proactive work behaviors, the use of the remaining five tactics could not. The results are interpreted within a wider perspective of proactive discretionary behaviors.     

Religious Attendance Serves as a Protective Variable Against Suicidal Ideation During Treatment

Several studies have proposed potential mediators of the association between religion and mental health, including social support (SS), locus of control (LOC), and substance abuse (SA), but have been limited by their use of non-clinical samples. The current study, therefore, drew from a clinical sample at risk of violence to self to test associations among these variables, specifically examining the effect of these variables on the relation between religious attendance (RA) and suicidal ideation (SI). A total of 144 adult outpatient psychotherapy clients evidencing SI during treatment were assessed pre-treatment for diagnostic presentation and frequency of RA. Subsequently, before each therapy session, SI, SS, SA, and external LOC (eLOC) during the preceding week were assessed via self-report. RA exerted a significant direct effect on SI within this clinical sample, with increased attendance associated with decreased SI. In contrast to prior reports based on non-clinical samples, SS, SA, or eLOC did not mediate the association of RA to SI. However, these variables did work in tandem, independent of RA, to affect SI. Findings support prior research suggesting that focusing on SS, SA, and LOC may be beneficial to clients experiencing SI. Additionally, for those clients who hold religious practices as a personal value, incorporating discussion of RA may help thwart SI.