Effects of training in rapid decoding on the reading comprehension of adult ESL learners

We report an experimental investigation of the effects on comprehension of increasing the decoding speed of three adult learners of English as a Second Language (ESL). Participants were taught to read lists of 25 difficult words in isolation until they could read the entire list at a mean rate of not more than 1.5 secs per word. They were then asked to read passages containing these words. Decoding speed and accuracy measures, for both the word lists and passages, and passage comprehension measures, were obtained. In a temporally contiguous within-subjects repeated trials reversal design, decoding training on isolated words was shown to be associated with significant increases in decoding speed and accuracy both in isolation and context, and improvements in the participants' comprehension. With all participants rate and accuracy gains in context were maintained in the final reversal phase, though the comprehension score gains did not. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for a decoding sufficiency hypothesis.     

As time goes by: Sixth graders remember a kindergarten experience

In this research we compared kindergarten children's immediate recall of a class field trip to a museum of archaeology on the same day of the trip to their recall 6 weeks later, 1 year later and 6 years later. Not surprisingly, children remembered less about this event over time. However, what children did recall was recalled as accurately and in as much detail 6 years after the trip as immediately after the trip. Most striking were the effects of cueing on memory over time. Without specific cues the event was forgotten by almost all of the children after 1 year, but with cues, 87 per cent of the children could recall details of the event even after 6 years. The set of ‘core’ activities which all children tended to recall on all recall trials were those activities that made this particular event distinctive. However, with increasing time since experiencing the event, children's recall tended to become more reconstructive and inferential. Thus, forgetting in autobiographic memory seems to involve three processes: decreases in amount recalled, changes in accessibility, and changes in memory content.     

Memories of Mickey Mouse: Young children recount their trip to disneyworld

What young children remember and how long they retain such information are crucial issues for the study of young children's memory. In this research, these issues were examined by asking children who visited Disneyworld at 37 or 49 months of age to recall their experience. Half of the children were interviewed 6 months after their trip, and the remaining children were interviewed after 18 months. Surprisingly, there were no effects for age or retention interval on the amount children recalled; all children recounted a great deal of accurate information about their Disneyworld experience. However, older children's reports were more detailed than younger children's, and older children tended to recall more information spontaneously than did younger children. Finally, there is some suggestion that children who talked about their Disneyworld experience more frequently with their families subsequently recounted more information during the memory interview. Implications for these findings are discussed.     

Political distrust,perceived threat,and intentions to engage in normative and violent collective action: A mixed-methods study

In three studies, we examined the role of distrust and perceived threat in intentions to engage in normative and violent non-normative collective action. A field-based qualitative study of 35 pro-democracy protestors during the 2019 Hong Kong Anti-Extradition protests revealed that perceived threat to Hong Kong values alongside distrust of political institutions spurred collective action engagement and support for defensive violent collection action. In Study 2, a questionnaire (N = 639) testing pro-democracy action intentions demonstrated direct paths on both normative and violent collective action intentions from distrust and threat. In Study 3 (N = 133), experimental trust and threat manipulations demonstrated a significant association between distrust and threat on violent collective action intentions and acceptance, and a significant interaction on acceptance of violent collective action. Our results reveal the importance of distrust and threat in attitudinal support for, and engagement in, collective action and their role in transitioning from non-violent to violent collective action.     

Preventing Vicarious Trauma: What Counselors Should Know When Working With Trauma Survivors

Counselors in all settings work with clients who are survivors of trauma. Vicarious trauma, or counselors developing trauma reactions secondary to exposure to clients' traumatic experiences, is not uncommon. The purpose of this article is to describe vicarious trauma and summarize the recent research literature related to this construct. The Constructivist Self‐Development Theory (CSDT) is applied to vicarious trauma, and the implications CSDT has for counselors in preventing and managing vicarious trauma are explored.     

Minimising misinformation effects in young children with cognitive interview mnemonics

This research evaluated the effect of several variations of a Cognitive interview on 4–5‐year‐old children's correct recall and subsequent reporting of misinformation. Children viewed an event followed by misinformation that was read or self‐generated before a Cognitive interview. Children were then given recognition tests under inclusion and exclusion instructions. Developmentally modified Cognitive interviews elicited significantly more correct details than control interviews. A Cognitive interview given after misinformation reduced children's reporting of misinformation at interview and reduced reporting of self‐generated misinformation on memory tests. Moreover, this research shows that the report all and context reinstatement Cognitive interview mnemonics in combination can offer some protection against the negative effect of misinformation when given after such misinformation. Process dissociation analyses revealed that both recollection and familiarity contributed to children's reporting of misinformation. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personal and Intergenerational Narratives of Transgression and Pride in Emerging Adulthood: Links to Gender and Well‐Being

Intergenerational narratives, stories parents share with children about their own youthful experiences, may facilitate the understanding of challenging life experiences and be related to psychological well‐being; yet, little research has examined what young people know of their parents' self‐challenging and self‐enhancing experiences and how they interpret them. Research examining intergenerational narratives has observed relations between adolescents' narratives and their psychological well‐being, but these relations may depend upon gender and narrative type. In the current study, 94 college students provided intergenerational and personal narratives of transgression and pride experiences. Narratives were coded for emotional, cognitive, and evaluative content. Results show that transgression and pride narratives differed in content, and that women provided more interpretative content than men. Stories about mothers contained more interpretative content than fathers, but this pattern varied by participant gender. Finally, relations to well‐being were observed, especially for cognitive content in stories of participants' same‐gender parent. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.StartCopTextStartCopTextStartCopTextCopyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Parentification of Adult Siblings of Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Many typically-developing (TD) siblings provide care for their siblings with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), both as children and as adults. Research on parentification (i.e., when children assume responsibilities typically reserved for adults) has been mixed, with some studies supporting positive outcomes for TD siblings and others indicating negative outcomes. Some of these discrepancies may be due to inconsistencies in differentiating types of parentification. The current study examined how different types of parentification during childhood (retrospectively-reported) related to distress outcomes and attitudes about sibling relationships among 41 TD adult siblings of individuals with ASD. Results indicated that parent-focused parentification was positively related with anxiety and stress among TD siblings. Sibling-focused parentification was positively related to stress but was also related to more positive sibling relationship attitudes. Accounting for demographic variables and the other form of parentification, parent-focused parentification was a unique predictor of distress, whereas sibling-focused parentification was a unique predictor of positive sibling relationship attitudes. Although parentification is often viewed negatively, sibling-focused parentification and perceived benefits of parentification may predict positive outcomes. Results suggest that parentification may prove important in understanding the complex nature of sibling relationships. Specifically, strengthening the sibling bond and reducing parent-focused parentification during childhood may curtail sibling relationship problems and general distress in TD siblings later in life.     

Concurrent Validity of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire in an Indigenous Pre-School Population

The strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) is a frequently used tool for universal screening of pre-schoolers’ behavioural and emotional problems. However, evidence for its concurrent validity is equivocal and has not been tested in a Māori population. We aimed to evaluate the concurrent validity of the strengths and difficulties questionnaire (SDQ) in Māori pre-schoolers (tamariki), aged 4 and 5. We carried out a prospective study of 225 tamariki (46% female) for whom a recent SDQ was available from the New Zealand Ministry of Health’s Before School Check database. A trained nurse carried out a standardised wellbeing and behavioural assessment for these children. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive and negative predictive values were calculated, using optimal total difficulty scale threshold values published for the SDQ (parent version SDQ-P; teacher version SDQ-T). Primary outcome: an assessment-based child referral to Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services or to a Paediatric outpatient service. Secondary outcomes: assessment-based parental referral to a parenting programme and combined referral. The optimal thresholds for child referral were low for the SDQ-P (13) and SDQ-T (7). Child referral SDQ-P: sensitivity 62%, specificity 83%, positive predictive value 0.35, negative predictive value 0.94. Child referral SDQ-T: sensitivity 77%, specificity 78%, positive predictive value 0.31, negative predictive value 0.96. The findings demonstrate optimal threshold values for referral for Māori on the SDQ-P and SDQ-T are much lower when compared to published thresholds (17 vs. 16). Sensitivity values were also low. A surveillance approach for the assessment of psychosocial problems is recommended for pre-schoolers.     

Repairing the rupture: Restorative justice and the rehabilitation of offenders

Restorative justice is a social justice movement that aims to deal with consequences of crime through repairing and restoring relationships of three key stakeholders: victims, offenders, and communities. Unfortunately, it is often unclear where offender rehabilitation fits within the constructs of repair and reintegration that drive this justice paradigm. An analysis of the relationship between restorative justice theory and offender rehabilitation principles reveals tensions between the two normative frameworks and a lack of appreciation that correctional treatment programs have a legitimate role alongside restorative practices. First, we outline the basic tenets of the Risk–Need–Responsivity Model and the Good Lives Model in order to provide a brief overview of two recent models of offender rehabilitation. We then consider the claims made by restorative justice proponents about correctional rehabilitation programs and their role in the criminal justice system. We conclude that restorative justice and rehabilitation models are distinct, although overlapping, normative frameworks and have different domains of application in the criminal justice system, and that it is a mistake to attempt to blend them in any robust sense.