Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder,Trait Impulsivity,and Externalizing Behavior in a Longitudinal Sample

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly comorbid with and predictive of externalizing behavior, yet is most often examined categorically, not dimensionally. We tested a recently proposed trait impulsivity model by dimensionally examining measures of childhood inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity separately as predictors of later externalizing behavior in an all-female longitudinal sample of 228 young women. We also examined influences of parenting and peer relations, given the transactional nature and importance of environmental factors. We analyzed the relative contribution of hyperactive/impulsive (HI) and inattentive (IA) symptoms of girls with and without childhood-diagnosed ADHD (M age?=?9.5; 140 ADHD and 88 Comparison) to the development of externalizing behaviors in adolescence (M age?=?14.2) and early adulthood (M age?=?19.6). Authoritarian parenting was examined as a moderator and adolescent externalizing behavior as a mediator of the relation between childhood HI and later externalizing behavior. Childhood HI symptoms significantly predicted multiple externalizing behaviors in adolescence and early adulthood, after accounting for IA and covariates (ΔR ² ranged from 2.6 to 7.5 %). Mother’s authoritarian parenting moderated this relation. Adolescent externalizing behavior mediated the relation between childhood HI symptoms and early adult externalizing behavior. In no case did childhood IA significantly predict externalizing behavior after accounting for HI symptoms. Findings support a trait impulsivity model, as HI symptoms, but not IA symptoms, significantly predicted later externalizing behavior. Results support the importance of dimensional predictors of developmental trajectories. We discuss implications for assessment, intervention, and future research.     

COMMENTARY ON FATHERS’ PLAY: MEASUREMENT,CONCEPTUALIZATION, CULTURE,AND CONNECTIONS WITH CHILD DEVELOPMENT

The diverse set of studies in this special issue on fathers' play includes empirical research from several countries, observational measures of play, and multiple children's outcomes, including language, negativity, social competence, aggression and internalizing problems. The chief conclusion across studies is that the role of paternal play is important in various domains of child development. This is encouraging, yet also disturbing given the results of the State of the World's Fathers: Time for Action report 2017, revealing the low amount of care fathers provide to their children worldwide, relative to mothers. In this commentary, the measurement and conceptualization of play are discussed, as well as cultural considerations regarding the meaning and consequences of play. The findings of the studies are integrated in order to guide future research, addressing what domains of child development appear to be influenced by what types of paternal play, and discussing the contexts that affect paternal play. Lastly, the collective results are related to recent efforts to increase fathers' involvement and implications for interventions are discussed.     

The influence of motor function on processing speed in preterm and term-born children

This study investigates the relationship between motor function and processing speed in preterm children. Processing speed was compared in 145 adolescents, born 25–41 weeks gestational age, utilizing tasks including differing motor demands. The influence of motor cortex excitability and functional motor skills on task performance was assessed. For tasks with motoric demands, differences in performance between preterm and term-born children were mediated by the relationship between gestational age, corticomotor excitability, and motor function. There were no differences in non-motor processing speed task performance between preterm and term-born children. Measures of processing speed may be confounded by a timed motor component.     

Cultural influences in acquiescent response: A study of trainer evaluation biases

The current study is developed to identify factors that affect trainees’ acquiescent tendency in organizational trainer evaluations. We posit that conflict‐handling style affects ones tendency to acquiesce in trainer evaluations, and this relationship is regulated by cultural influence. Surveys were sent to employees with training experience in Taiwan and North America, 395 valid responses were collected. Results showed that the two individual conflict‐handling styles: non‐confrontation style and dominating style, are positively related to acquiescent tendency; and their relationship is found moderated by the influence of Confucian work dynamism, thus confirming the influence of cultural norms. Our findings contribute to HRD practitioners by highlighting the different conflict‐handling style and culture influence will result in different level of acquiescent propensity, trainer evaluations results should be interpreted more carefully and cautiously.     

Does a Religious Transformation Buffer the Effects of Lifetime Trauma on Happiness?

A number of studies have examined religious transformations. But most of this work has been concerned with identifying different types of transformations and steps in the process of transformation. The current study was designed to examine the ways in which religious transformations may be associated with happiness. We take a novel approach toward the evaluation of this relationship. We argue that a religious transformation may be an important resource for coping with lifetime trauma. Two major findings emerge from our nationwide survey (N = 2,851). First, the data indicate that the magnitude of the relationship between lifetime trauma and happiness is reduced significantly for people who have had a religious transformation but not for those who have not had this type of religious experience. Second, the results reveal that the potential stress-related benefits of a religious transformation are more evident among younger adults than among middle-aged or older adults.     

Associating a time‐based prospective memory task with an expected context can improve or impair intention completion

Three experiments investigated time‐based prospective memory defined here as remembering to fulfil an intention during a later window of time. When people associated the response window with a future context, time‐based responding was better if that context expectation was correct as compared with having no context expectation at all. By contrast, if the response window occurred in a context that preceded the expected context, time‐based performance was worse than having no context expectation at all. An explicit reminder about the intention was sufficient to ameliorate the decrement found with an incorrect context association. However, successfully completing a different, event‐based prospective memory intention was not sufficient to overcome the incorrect context association. The authors assert that possessing such associations alters normal monitoring of the passage of time which in turn leads to the pattern of results obtained. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Easing the Inferential Leap in Competency Modelling: The Effects of Task‐related Information and Subject Matter Expertise*

Despite the rising popularity of the practice of competency modeling, research on competency modeling has lagged behind. This study begins to close this practice–science gap through 3 studies (1 lab study and 2 field studies), which employ generalizability analysis to shed light on (a) the quality of inferences made in competency modeling and (b) the effects of incorporating elements of traditional job analysis into competency modeling to raise the quality of competency inferences. Study 1 showed that competency modeling resulted in poor interrater reliability and poor between‐job discriminant validity amongst inexperienced raters. In contrast, Study 2 suggested that the quality of competency inferences was higher among a variety of job experts in a real organization. Finally, Study 3 showed that blending competency modeling efforts and task‐related information increased both interrater reliability among SMEs and their ability to discriminate among jobs. In general, this set of results highlights that the inferences made in competency modeling should not be taken for granted, and that practitioners can improve competency modeling efforts by incorporating some of the methodological rigor inherent in job analysis.     

Implicatures et développement

We summarize our work on pragmatic inference-making in children, while generally focusing on scalar implicatures. Such inferences arise when a relatively weak term implies the rejection of a stronger one. For example, some is often understood to mean not all. While adults readily draw such implicatures, children tend to rely on the terms’ minimal, lexically encoded meanings (with which some is compatible with all). Given that children’s treatments coincide with logical ones, children end up appearing more logical than adults on standard reasoning tasks. We describe this effect in detail while showing that (a) even young children can be encouraged to carry out implicatures and, that; (b) evidence of non-pragmatic behavior is best explained as due to unavailable effort.     

Counterfactual thinking and stereotypes: The nonconformity effect

Past research has shown that counterfactual thinking (‘if only…’) is related to judgements of responsibility for negative events. It has also shown that behaviours deviating from the target's own behavioural standard (intrapersonal norm) are likely to trigger counterfactuals—the so‐called exceptional‐routine effect. In the present research, we demonstrate that behaviours deviating from a social category's behavioural standard (social norm) are also likely to trigger counterfactuals—what may be called the nonconformity effect. Two studies investigated counterfactual thinking regarding a rape case, classifying counterfactuals according to their conformity versus nonconformity to relevant social norms, and their focus on actions versus inactions. In Study 1, participants with higher endorsement of the rape victim stereotype generated more counterfactuals on the victim's non‐conforming inactions than did participants with lower stereotype endorsement. The presence of a nonconformity effect was confirmed in Study 2, where participants rated their agreement with externally generated counterfactuals. Moreover, in Study 2, counterfactuals focused on the victim's non‐conforming inactions predicted responsibility attribution to the victim through the mediating role of perceived avoidability of the event. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.