Age-based stereotype threat and negative outcomes in the workplace: Exploring the role of identity integration

Previous studies have shown that the presence of age-based stereotypes in the workplace is often associated with lower levels of work engagement and adjustment among older employees. This study examines possible mediators and moderators of this relationship using data from a sample of 2,348 older (age > 50) employees at the Italian national rail company. We test a model in which the effects of age-based stereotype threat on organizational involvement, future time perspective, and psychological well-being are mediated by work–age identity integration (how much individuals see their age and organizational identities as compatible and blended). Secondly, we explored whether these effects are moderated by gender and job status. Results indicate that age-based stereotypes are associated with negative outcomes for employees’ work and personal adjustment, and that these relationships are partially mediated by variations in work–age identity integration.     

Pilot Effectiveness of a Stress Management Program for Sheltered Homeless Adults With Mental Illness: A Two-Group Controlled Study

This study examined the effectiveness of a stress management intervention for sheltered homeless adults with mental illness. Twelve intervention participants received a 6-week, 1-hour psychoeducation group combined with a 20-minute meditation. Eleven matched pairs did not receive intervention and served as controls. At 1 week post study, intervention participants reported a statistically significant reduction in perceived stress (Z=??2.285, p < .02, d=??1.176) compared to controls. No differences were found at 1 week post study between intervention and control participants on reported quality of life. This study provides pilot data on the effectiveness of an occupation-based stress management program for sheltered homeless adults and warrants further study.     

Enhancing Outcomes for Struggling Readers: Empirical Analysis of The Fluency Development Lesson

This study investigated the efficacy of the Fluency Development Lesson (FDL) in improving reading achievement in primary grade struggling readers. 30 readers, enrolled in a summer reading clinic, participated in daily 40-min mini-reading lessons across 5 weeks. During the fluency lessons, readers practiced and developed their literacy skills through participation in repeated readings, word work, rehearsal, and performance. Assessments measured comprehension, reading fluency, including word recognition accuracy, reading speed, and prosody. Control students also took the pre- and post-intervention tests; their performance did not change with repeated testing. The Fluency Development Lesson students showed significant gains on all measures.     

Everyday executive function in focal onset pediatric epilepsy on the parent-report BRIEF2

Executive function (EF) difficulties are a core neuropsychological feature of pediatric epilepsy, and parent-report measures of EF concerns are an important complement to task-based EF measures. The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF) has shown sensitivity to parent-reported EF concerns in epilepsy and other pediatric populations. We compared profiles of parent-reported EF concerns using the BRIEF and its revision, the BRIEF2, in 117 pediatric patients with focal onset epilepsy to examine the clinical utility of the revised scale. We then compared BRIEF2 profiles between patients and age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Among patients, profiles on the BRIEF did not globally differ from the BRIEF2, and agreement was very good across scales. Patients and controls differed significantly on the BRIEF2, with patients showing higher EF difficulties reported by parents across most scales. High rates of clinical elevation among patients emerged on the Task Monitor, Plan/Organize, Working Memory, and Shift scales. Younger age of epilepsy onset, chronic epilepsy, and right hemisphere seizure focus were associated with higher parent-reported EF concerns. Findings suggest that the BRIEF2 demonstrates similar performance to the BRIEF among pediatric patients with focal onset epilepsy who are most at risk in the areas of task monitoring, working memory, planning and organization, and flexibility. These findings are informative when comparing literature across versions and provide additional insight into the nature of parent-reported EF difficulties among children with focal onset epilepsy.     

Doxastic Compatibilism and the Ethics of Belief

Philosophical Studies -     

School Violence, Depression, and Suicide

The spread of endemic school violence in the United States from urban black, Hispanic, and other minority areas to white suburbia and smaller communities has alarmed the nation. Contrary to common belief, the incidence of school violence has been fairly stable except in the areas of violence against females and gang membership. The culture of violence and easy availability of guns is a major contributing factor. The relationship between school violence, suicidality and psychiatric disorders, specifically depressive disorders, conduct disorder, and alcohol and drug abuse are discussed within the framework of the psychological autopsy of suicide in children and adolescents. There are striking similarities between acts of school violence and suicidality. Specific guidelines are provided regarding clinical assessment of potentially violent youth with emphasis on exploration of attachment behavior in various developmental stages.     

The effect of perceptual information on output interference

Psychonomic Bulletin & Review - Retrieval from episodic memory has consequences (Malmberg, Lehman, Annis, Criss, &amp; Shiffrin, The Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 61;...     

The role of executive function and social‐emotional skills in the development of literacy and numeracy during preschool: a cross‐lagged longitudinal study

The majority of evidence on the interplay between academic and non‐academic skills comes from high‐income countries. The aim of this study was to examine the bidirectional associations between Ghanaian children's executive function, social‐emotional, literacy, and numeracy skills longitudinally. Children (N = 3,862; M age = 5.2 years at time 1) were assessed using direct assessment at three time points over the course of two school years. Controlling for earlier levels of the same skill, early executive function predicted higher subsequent literacy and numeracy skills, and early literacy and numeracy skills predicted higher subsequent executive function, indicating that the development of executive function and academic skills is inter‐related and complementary over time. Early literacy and numeracy predicted subsequent social‐emotional skills, but early social‐emotional skills did not predict subsequent literacy and numeracy skills. The findings provide longitudinal evidence on children's learning and development in West Africa and contribute to a global understanding of the relations between various developmental skills over time.     

Longitudinal causal impacts of preschool teacher training on Ghanaian children’s school readiness: Evidence for persistence and fade‐out

Preschool programs have expanded rapidly in low‐ and middle‐income countries, but there are widespread concerns about whether they are of sufficient quality to promote children's learning and development. We conducted a large school‐randomized control trial (‘Quality Preschool for Ghana’ – QP4G) of a one‐year teacher training and coaching program, with and without parental‐awareness meetings, designed to improve preschool quality and child development. We followed 3,435 children in 240 schools in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana, a country with universal pre‐primary education. A previous study reported positive impacts of teacher training (but not teacher training plus parental‐awareness meetings) at the end of the implementation year on some dimensions of classroom quality, teacher well‐being, and children's school readiness (Wolf et al., [2019] Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 12, 10–37). The present study analyzed a new round of data collected 1 year after the end of implementation to assess (a) the extent of persistence in impacts on child development and (b) whether such impacts vary by select child, household, and school characteristics. We found impacts of the teacher training intervention on children's overall school readiness were sustained (d = 0.13), but were only marginally statistically significant. When broken down by domain, impacts on social–emotional skills specifically persisted. Persistent negative effects of teacher training plus parental‐awareness meetings varied by the literacy status of the male parent such that negative impacts were concentrated in children in households with non‐literate male heads.