Effects of a Brief Parenting Intervention In Shelters For Mothers And Their Children Experiencing Homelessness

This study was designed to examine the effectiveness of an evidence-based parenting program—Triple P Positive Parenting Program—in shelter settings for families experiencing homelessness. The intervention has not previously been evaluated in a shelter setting, where there is a critical need for evidence-based parenting programs. Using a within-group pre- and post-intervention with 3-month follow-up design, 39 mothers residing in a shelter with a child ages 2–6 years participated. Results of this preliminary study showed positive effects of Triple P Discussion Groups. There were significant improvements in mother-reported parenting practices and child behavior across time, but no change in child maltreatment risk as measured by the Brief Child Abuse Potential Inventory. Mothers rated satisfaction with the program high immediately after the group and again three weeks later. Results showed Triple P Discussion Groups are acceptable and have some positive effects for this vulnerable population in need of parenting support. We discuss implications of findings, limitations of the study (including a 33% attrition rate), and recommendations for further study.

     

Critical consciousness among rural adolescents: the roles of school connection and positive relationships with teachers

Social Psychology of Education - Critical consciousness (CC) has been linked to academic and civic engagement for students from marginalized backgrounds, but little work has examined CC for...     

The validation of an active control intervention for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Most of the extant literature investigating the health effects of mindfulness interventions relies on wait-list control comparisons. The current article specifies and validates an active control condition, the Health Enhancement Program (HEP), thus providing the foundation necessary for rigorous investigations of the relative efficacy of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and for testing mindfulness as an active ingredient. 63 participants were randomized to either MBSR (n = 31) or HEP (n = 32). Compared to HEP, MBSR led to reductions in thermal pain ratings in the mindfulness- but not the HEP-related instruction condition (η² = .18). There were significant improvements over time for general distress (η² = .09), anxiety (η² = .08), hostility (η² = .07), and medical symptoms (η² = .14), but no effects of intervention. Practice was not related to change. HEP is an active control condition for MBSR while remaining inert to mindfulness. These claims are supported by results from a pain task. Participant-reported outcomes (PROs) replicate previous improvements to well-being in MBSR, but indicate that MBSR is no more effective than a rigorous active control in improving these indices. These results emphasize the importance of using an active control condition like HEP in studies evaluating the effectiveness of MBSR.     

Relationship between reaction time variability and motor skill development in ADHD

Slower and more variable reaction times to computerized tasks have been documented in children diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Recent research supports a role for attentional lapses in generating abnormally variable and slow responses. However, given the association between ADHD and impairments in motor control, we hypothesized that slower or more variable reaction times might also correlate with motor development. The aim of this case-control study was to explore the relationship between motor function, reaction speed and variability, and ADHD. After comprehensive educational and clinical assessments, motor skill development was evaluated in 35 children ages 9 to 14 (19 with ADHD) using the Physical and Neurological Examination for Subtle Signs (PANESS) test battery. Finger-sequencing speed and variability were quantified with goniometers. Reaction times were measured with 20 trials each of computerized simple and choice (binary) tasks. Compared to healthy controls, children with ADHD had slower and more variable reaction times, and these findings correlated with impaired motor development (PANESS) and slow and variable finger sequencing (goniometers). Further studies of motor development in ADHD may identify factors influencing speed and variability of reaction times.     

Older,wiser, and happier? Comparing older adults’ and college students’ self-defining memories

The present study compared self-defining memories in adults 50 years of age and older to the self-defining memories of college students. Findings are largely congruent with previous memory and ageing research, but shed additional light on how personal memories are employed to achieve a sense of identity and continuity in older adults. Older adults’ self-defining memories, compared to those of younger adults, were more positive in emotional tone, more summarised and less detailed, and more likely to contain integrative meaning. The implications of these findings for assessing normative personal memory in older adults are discussed along with more general observations about narrative identity in older adulthood.     

PARENT EDUCATION INTERVENTION RESULTS IN DECREASED CHALLENGING BEHAVIOR AND IMPROVED TASK ENGAGEMENT FOR STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES DURING ACADEMIC TASKS

Children with developmental disabilities and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder often engage in challenging behavior when presented with academic demands. Parents of school‐age children with such diagnoses are commonly asked to assist their child with academic tasks but may struggle to do so as a result of challenging behavior. This study evaluated the effects of a parent education intervention on the challenging behaviors and task engagement of three school‐age children with disabilities during academic activities. Parent education consisted of (i) weekly didactic instruction; (ii) modeling; (iii) role‐play; and (iv) in vivo coaching and performance feedback. Using a non‐concurrent multiple baseline across participants with embedded individual multi‐element design, this study demonstrates that a parent education intervention results in decreases in challenging behavior and increases in task engagement. These results suggest that parent education focused on addressing challenging behavior during one‐to‐one instruction may facilitate completion of academic tasks. Implications for practice and suggestions for future research are discussed. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Energetic Cost and Stability during Human Walking at the Preferred Stride Frequency

The possibility that preferred modes of locomotion emerge from dynamical and optimality constraints and the energetic and dynamical constraints on preferred and predicted walking frequency are explored in this article. Participants were required to walk on a treadmill at their preferred frequency, at a frequency predicted as the resonance of a hybrid pendulum-spring model of the legs, and at frequencies ±15%, ±25%, ±35% of the predicted frequency. Walking at the preferred and predicted frequencies resulted in minimal metabolic costs and maximal stability of the head and joint actions. Mechanical energy conservation was constant across conditions. The head was more stable than the joints. The joints appeared to be in service of the head in maintaining a stable trajectory. The major findings of this study suggest a complementary relationship between energetic (physiological) and stability constraints in the adoption of a preferred frequency of walking. Multiple subsystems may be involved in constraining observed macroscopic behavior in intact biological systems. The approach and results of the study imply that a useful tack in understanding how dynamical control structures arise is to study the potential criteria that serve to act as constraints on skilled movement patterns in unimpaired and impaired populations.     

Prospective Risk Factors for Adolescent PTSD: Sources of Differential Exposure and Differential Vulnerability

There are two types of risk factors for developing PTSD: factors that increase the likelihood of experiencing a potentially traumatizing event and factors that increase the likelihood of developing symptoms following such events. Using prospective data over a two-year period from a large, diverse sample of urban adolescents (n?=?1242, Mean age?=?13.5), the current study differentiates these two sources of risk for developing PTSD in response to violence exposure. Five domains of potential risk and protective factors were examined: community context (e.g., neighborhood poverty), family risk (e.g., family conflict), behavioral maladjustment (e.g., internalizing symptoms), cognitive vulnerabilities (e.g., low IQ), and interpersonal problems (e.g., low social support). Time 1 interpersonal violence history, externalizing behaviors, and association with deviant peers were the best predictors of subsequent violence, but did not further increase the likelihood of PTSD in response to violence. Race/ethnicity, thought disorder symptoms, and social problems were distinctly predictive of the development of PTSD following violence exposure. Among youth exposed to violence, Time 1 risk factors did not predict specific event features associated with elevated PTSD rates (e.g., parent as perpetrator), nor did interactions between Time 1 factors and event features add significantly to the prediction of PTSD diagnosis. Findings highlight areas for refinement in adolescent PTSD symptom measures and conceptualization, and provide direction for more targeted prevention and intervention efforts.     

Discrimination of acoustically similar conspecific and heterospecific vocalizations by black-capped chickadees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Poecile atricapillus</Emphasis>)

Chickadees produce a multi-note chick-a-dee call in multiple socially relevant contexts. One component of this call is the D note, which is a low-frequency and acoustically complex note with a harmonic-like structure. In the current study, we tested black-capped chickadees on a between-category operant discrimination task using vocalizations with acoustic structures similar to black-capped chickadee D notes, but produced by various songbird species, in order to examine the role that phylogenetic distance plays in acoustic perception of vocal signals. We assessed the extent to which discrimination performance was influenced by the phylogenetic relatedness among the species producing the vocalizations and by the phylogenetic relatedness between the subjects’ species (black-capped chickadees) and the vocalizers’ species. We also conducted a bioacoustic analysis and discriminant function analysis in order to examine the acoustic similarities among the discrimination stimuli. A previous study has shown that neural activation in black-capped chickadee auditory and perceptual brain regions is similar following the presentation of these vocalization categories. However, we found that chickadees had difficulty discriminating between forward and reversed black-capped chickadee D notes, a result that directly corresponded to the bioacoustic analysis indicating that these stimulus categories were acoustically similar. In addition, our results suggest that the discrimination between vocalizations produced by two parid species (chestnut-backed chickadees and tufted titmice) is perceptually difficult for black-capped chickadees, a finding that is likely in part because these vocalizations contain acoustic similarities. Overall, our results provide evidence that black-capped chickadees’ perceptual abilities are influenced by both phylogenetic relatedness and acoustic structure.     

Observed Attachment and Self-Report Affect Within Romantic Relationships

Adult attachment provides unique insights that help researchers and clinicians understand the complexities of individuals and relationships. In romantic relationships, individual attachment can explain partners' abilities for closeness and autonomy as well as how they experience affect within the relationship. These affective experiences during couple interactions have been shown to influence both proximal and distal relationship outcomes. Thus, the authors explore the impact of partners' observed attachment behaviors—coded using the AABQ—on continuous reports of their affective experiences during both difficult and positive marital conversations. Variables examining couple affective negativity and flexibility were developed using state space grids, and data were analyzed using GridWare. Results showed that observed female attachment behaviors significantly impacted a couple's affective experiences of negativity and flexibility during conversations, while there were no significant associations between male observed attachment behaviors and the couple affective experience. Clinical implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.