A jigsaw-puzzle imagery task for assessing active visuospatial processes in old and young people

Recent studies have suggested a theoretical distinction between active elaboration and passive storage in visuospatial working memory, but research with older adults has failed to demonstrate a differential preservation of these two abilities. The results are controversial, and the investigation of the active component has been inhibited by the absence of any appropriate experimental procedures. A new task was developed involving the mental reconstruction of pictures of objects from fragmented pieces, and this provides a useful procedure for exploring active visuospatial processing. Significant differences in terms of both correctness and response latency were obtained between young and older adults and between younger old and older old adults. Performance also varied with visual complexity, mental rotation, and processing load. It is concluded that this ecologically relevant procedure constitutes a very powerful, sensitive, and reliable tool for identifying individual differences in visuospatial working memory.     

Mechanisms of verbal memory impairment in four neurodevelopmental disorders

Profiles of verbal learning and memory performance were compared for typically developing children and for four developmental disorders characterized by different patterns of language functioning: specific language impairment, early focal brain damage, Williams Syndrome, and Down Syndrome. A list-learning task was used that allowed a detailed examination of the process of verbal learning, recall, and recognition (California Verbal Learning Test--Children's Version). Distinct patterns of performance characterized the four disorders. These patterns were consistent with the language deficits typically seen in the disorders, with the exception of a dissociation seen in Williams Syndrome.     

The Association Between Delirium and Cognitive Decline: A Review of the Empirical Literature

Delirium is a common neurobehavioral syndrome that occurs across health care settings which is associated with adverse outcomes, including death. There are limited data on long-term cognitive outcomes following delirium. This report reviews the literature regarding relationships between delirium and cognitive impairment. Psych Info and Medline searches and investigation of secondary references for all English language articles on delirium and subsequent cognitive impairment were carried out. Nine papers met inclusion criteria and documented cognitive impairment in patients following delirium. Four papers reported greater cognitive impairment among patients with delirium than matched controls. Four papers reported higher incidence of dementia in patients with a history of delirium. One study found 1 of 3 survivors of critical illness with delirium developed cognitive impairment. The evidence suggests a relationship between delirium and cognitive impairment, although significant questions remain regarding the nature of this association. Additional research on delirium-related effects on long-term cognitive outcome is needed.     

Further Support for Multidimensionality Within the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale

Although the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale is one of the most widely used measures of global self esteem, the underlying measurement structure of the items is still debated. In this study the dimensionality of a six item version of the Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale included in the National Population Health Survey of Canada was examined using nested confirmatory factor analyses. The results indicate that the six items measure two correlated dimensions of global self esteem. The first dimension appears to represent a measure of self competence, and the second is interpreted as a measure of self liking. Subsequent tests of predictive power and discriminant validity supported the two dimension interpretation. The two dimensions had substantially different relationships with theoretically related measures of anxiety, negative affect and happiness. In addition to these different correlations, latent variable regressions indicated that the self-competency factor consistently suppressed irrelevant variance in the self liking factor when predicting anxiety, negative affect and happiness.     

Assessing the importance of letter pairs in initial, exterior, and interior positions in reading

Exterior letter pairs (e.g., d--k in dark) play a major role in single-word recognition, but other research (D. Briihl & A. W. Inhoff, 1995) indicates no such role in reading text. This issue was examined by visually degrading letter pairs in three positions in words (initial, exterior, and interior) in text. Each degradation slowed reading rate compared with an undegraded control. However, whereas degrading initial and interior pairs slowed reading rate to a similar extent, degrading exterior pairs slowed reading rate most of all. Moreover, these effects were obtained when letter identities across pair positions varied naturally and when they were matched. The findings suggest that exterior letter pairs play a preferential role in reading, and candidates for this role are discussed.     

The impact of weight, sex, and race/ethnicity on body dissatisfaction among urban children

The purpose of the current study was to examine the relative contributions of weight status, race/ethnicity, sex, and age on body dissatisfaction in a large group of diverse children. Participants were 4th–6th graders (N = 1212) in ten inner-city schools who participated in an obesity prevention study previously published. Children completed the body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory-2 (EDI-2), and weight status was assessed by measured weights and heights. Multiple regression analyses were conducted. Relative weight status was the strongest predictor of body dissatisfaction, followed by race/ethnicity, and sex. Body dissatisfaction was greatest in obese, Asian, and female children. Overall, results indicated that children's body dissatisfaction varies based on relative weight status, as well as race/ethnicity and sex among urban children. Results highlight the strong need for additional research so that more definitive conclusions may be drawn regarding the development of body image among diverse groups of children.     

The Ukrainian orthodox question in the USSR

Abstract

This research compares the treatment of religion, especially minority faiths, by constitutional courts in Russia and Hungary, with the goal of testing an assumption in the literature that such courts in former communist countries protect human and civil rights, including religious freedom. We found that the ability of constitutional courts to fulfil this function depends on the degree of their independence from governments, with the Hungarian Constitutional Court having offered more effective protection for minority religions than its counterpart in Russia. This outcome in Russia has led minority religions to seek redress with the European Court of Human Rights, where they have experienced considerable success.     

Cognitive-Behavioural Treatment of School-Refusing Children: Maintenance of improvement at 3- to 5-year follow-up

Although evidence is accumulating on the immediate or short-term efficacy of cognitive-behavioural strategies in the treatment of school refusal, no studies have been reported on the long-term efficacy of this treatment approach. An earlier randomized clinical trial conducted by the authors demonstrated the efficacy of a manual-based cognitive-behavioural treatment program for school refusal relative to waiting list controls. We now report findings of a 3- to 5-year follow-up investigation of the treatment group. In general, results support the long-term efficacy of the treatment program, with children showing maintenance of improvements in school attendance and school adjustment. Methodological limitations of the follow-up investigation are emphasized.     

Book reviews

Muhammad: a short biography.Martin Forward, 1997. Oxford, Oneworld. 131 pp., pb. £8.99, ISBN 1 85168 131 0

Image of the Prophet Muhammad in the West: a study of Muir, Margoliouth and Watt. Jabal Muhammad Buaben, 1996. Leicester, The Islamic Foundation. 394 pp., hb. n.p., ISBN 0 86037 260 X, pb. n.p., ISBN 0 86037 261 8

Seven Doors to Islam: spirituality and the religious life of Muslims. John Renard, 1996. Berkeley, Los Angeles, London, University of California Press. xv + 333 pp., pb. £13.95, ISBN 0 520 20417 4

Global Communication in Transition: the end of diversity?. Hamid Mowlana, 1996. Thousand Oaks, Sage Publications. 233 pp., pb. n.p., ISBN 0 8039 4319 9

Islamic Fundamentalism. Abdel Salam Sidahmed & Anoushiravan Ehteshami (Eds), 1996. Boulder, Oxford, Westview Press. 284 pp. hb. £43.95, ISBN 0 8133 2429 7; pb. £14.95. ISBN 0 8133 2430 0

Political Participation and Identities of Muslims in Non‐Muslim States. W. A. R. Shadid & P. S. van Koningsveld, 1996. Kampen, KOK, Pharos. 239 pp., hb. FF69,50, ISBN 90 390 0611 3

Islams d'Europe: intégration ou insertion communitaire?. Robert Bistolfi & François Zabbal (Eds), 1995. Paris: L'Aube. 382 pp., pb. FF160, ISBN 2 87678 201 4

Sectarian Influences Within Islam in Britain: with reference to the concept of ’ummah’ and ‘community‘. Ron Geaves, 1996. Leeds, Department of Theology and Religious Studies, University of Leeds. 319 pp., £8.00 ISBN 1871 363 047

Political Islam: essays from the Middle East report. Joel Beinin & Joe Stork (Eds), 1997 Berkeley, University of California Press 395 pp. pb.. Make a Shield from Wisdom: selected verses from Nasir‐i Khusraw's Divan. Annemarie Schimmel (Ed. and tr.), 1993. London and New York, Kegan Paul International. vii + 103 pp., n.p., ISBN 0 7103 0455 2

The Shape of the Holy: early Islamic Jerusalem. Oleg Grabar, 1996. Princeton, Princeton University Press. xiv + 232 pp. with 84 illustrations in color and black‐and‐white, hb. $65, ISBN 0 691036535