A Comparison on Inclusive Practices for Children with Special Needs in Faith-Based Kindergartens in Hong Kong

This qualitative study aimed to examine the inclusive practices implemented in three faith-based kindergartens in Hong Kong. A questionnaire was used to collect information about school backgrounds, students’ special needs, teacher training, special education services, curriculum design, school policy, parental involvement, and challenges faced by these schools when implementing their inclusive practices. The primary focus of this study was the influence of faiths on the provision of inclusive services for children with special needs. The results indicated that faiths, along with other factors, have played a significant role in contributing to the inclusive education services provided to children in these schools.     

Tactile enumeration of small quantities using one hand

Our study explores various aspects of enumerating small quantities in the tactile modality. Fingertips of one hand were stimulated by a vibro-tactile apparatus (for 100/800 ms). Between 1 and 5 stimuli were presented to the right or the left hand and applied to neighboring (e.g., thumb–index–middle) or non-neighboring (e.g., thumb–middle–pinkie) fingers. The results showed a moderate increase in RT up to 4 stimuli and then a decrease for 5 stimuli. Right hand stimulation evoked more accurate performance than left hand stimulation only under short exposures (100 ms). Importantly, when the stimuli were presented to neighboring fingers, the accuracy rate was higher and the RT was faster than when presented to non-neighboring fingers. We discuss the results and suggest that when the stimuli are presented to one hand the subitizing range is 4 rather than 3. Furthermore, the right hand advantage and the efficiency for neighboring fingers are further support for the association between number and spatial arrangement of the fingers.     

Symbouki: a meta‐analysis on the emergence of sound symbolism in early language acquisition

Adults and toddlers systematically associate pseudowords such as “bouba” and “kiki” with round and spiky shapes, respectively, a sound symbolic phenomenon known as the “bouba‐kiki effect”. To date, whether this sound symbolic effect is a property of the infant brain present at birth or is a learned aspect of language perception remains unknown. Yet, solving this question is fundamental for our understanding of early language acquisition. Indeed, an early sensitivity to such sound symbolic associations could provide a powerful mechanism for language learning, playing a bootstrapping role in the establishment of novel sound–meaning associations. The aim of the present meta‐analysis (SymBouKi) is to provide a quantitative overview of the emergence of the bouba‐kiki effect in infancy and early childhood. It allows a high‐powered assessment of the true sound symbolic effect size by pooling over the entire set of 11 extant studies (six published, five unpublished), entailing data from 425 participants between 4 and 38 months of age. The quantitative data provide statistical support for a moderate, but significant, sound symbolic effect. Further analysis found a greater sensitivity to sound symbolism for bouba‐type pseudowords (i.e., round sound‐shape correspondences) than for kiki‐type pseudowords (i.e., spiky sound‐shape correspondences). For the kiki‐type pseudowords, the effect emerged with age. Such discrepancy challenges the view that sensitivity to sound symbolism is an innate language mechanism rooted in an exuberant interconnected brain. We propose alternative hypotheses where both innate and learned mechanisms are at play in the emergence of sensitivity to sound symbolic relationships.     

Prospective memory in youth with perinatally-acquired HIV infection

Youth with perinatal HIV infection (PHIV) are at increased risk for neurocognitive impairment (NCI). Prospective memory (PM) is a complex neurocognitive function that has been shown to be impaired in adults with HIV disease and independently associated with poorer daily living skills, including medication nonadherence. The current study sought to determine the presence and extent of PM deficits in youth with PHIV. Participants included 173 youth with PHIV and 85 youth perinatally HIV-exposed but uninfected (PHEU), mean age 14.1 years, 75% black, 18% Hispanic. Among youth with PHIV, 26% had a past AIDS-defining condition (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], Class C), 74% did not (non-C). Adjusted generalized estimating equation models were used to compare groups (PHIV/C, PHIV/non-C, and PHEU) on the Naturalistic Event-Based Prospective Memory Test (NEPT) and the Prospective Memory Assessment for Children & Youth (PROMACY). Secondarily, subgroups defined by HIV serostatus and global NCI were compared (PHIV/NCI, PHIV/non-NCI, PHEU). PHIV/C had significantly lower NEPT scores than PHEU, with decreases of 40% in mean scores, but did not differ from PHIV/non-C. PHIV/NCI had 11–32% lower PROMACY scores and 33% lower NEPT scores compared to PHIV/non-NCI (all p < .05); significantly, lower scores for PHIV/NCI versus PHEU also were observed for PROMACY and NEPT indices. Findings suggest a subset of youth with PHIV (those with a prior AIDS-defining diagnosis) is vulnerable to PM deficits. The extent to which PM deficits interfere with development and maintenance of independent living and health-related behaviors during transition to adulthood requires further study.     

Assessing Psychiatric Symptoms in Youth Affected by HIV: Comparing a Brief Self-Administered Rating Scale with a Structured Diagnostic Interview

Brief psychiatric assessment tools are needed for evaluating children affected by HIV for emotional and behavioral problems. We compared a self-administered symptom rating scale (CASI-4R) to a semi-structured diagnostic interview (DICA-P) in 136 U.S. children affected by HIV. Agreement and performance measures for the two instruments were computed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, anxiety, and disruptive behavior. Correlations and regression analyses were conducted to compare the two instruments, and to evaluate their associations with social, academic, and global function. Higher CASI-4R symptom severity scores were associated with DICA diagnoses (p?<?0.02 for all disorders). Agreement (κ) between DICA diagnoses and CASI-4R Clinical Cutoffs (which incorporated symptoms and impairment) was low to moderate (0.19–0.40 for all disorders). Thirty-two percent of cases with a DICA diagnosis were identified by the CASI-4R Clinical Cutoff (sensitivity), yet over 90% of DICA-negative cases were negative by the CASI-4R (specificity). Sensitivity was higher using CASI-4R Severity Score thresholds based on median scores compared to the DICA diagnoses. The presence and severity of psychiatric symptoms and impairment were associated with poorer academic, social, and global function. The CASI-4R symptom checklist can be used to inexpensively screen youth affected by HIV for emotional and behavioral problems, although it is important that there be appropriate mental health evaluation follow-up.     

Patient Perspectives on Medical Trauma Related to Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - Post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in response to medical trauma are understudied in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Two studies identify...     

Motor adaptation and manual transfer: Insight into the persistent nature of sensorimotor representations

It is well known that sensorimotor memories are built and updated through experience with objects. These representations are useful to anticipatory and feedforward control processes that preset grip and load forces during lifting. When individuals lift objects with qualities that are not congruent with their memory-derived expectations, feedback processes adjust motor plans to achieve successful lifts and contribute to the updating of the stored representations. The two experiments presented examine motor adaptation to an illusory size–weight lifting task, and the transfer of this motor adaptation to the unexposed hand. In Experiment 1, performers acquired motor adaptation with their right hand and transfer was measured on their left hand. In Experiment 2, adaptation was acquired with the left hand and transfer was measured on the right hand. In order to investigate the persistence of sensorimotor memories, these experiments measure adaptation, retention, and transfer after 15 min and 24 h delay periods. Both experiments confirm that experience with objects leads to adaptation of force scaling processes, that these adaptations transcend effector and are persistent. The results are discussed in terms favouring interpretations that describe motor adaptations to illusion as being centrally available.     

Feminist Ideals for a Healthy Female Adolescent Sexuality: A Critique

This paper explores the ideals of healthy sexuality for teenage girls in the U.S. proposed by feminist theorists and researchers. Current ideals emphasize desire, pleasure, and subjectivity, and appear to be a response to three historically problematic areas for women and girls: objectification; abuse and victimization; and stereotypes of female passivity. There are, however, several problems with using these qualities as markers of healthy sexuality. This essay discusses these problems, including the rigid dichotomizing of subject and object, the idea that desire, pleasure, and subjectivity may have different historical meanings for girls from diverse backgrounds; and that using pleasure as a gauge for whether sex is “good” has moral implications that may undermine other important goals of feminism.     

Detecting true and false opinions: The Devil's Advocate approach as a lie detection aid

We examined the efficacy of a new approach to detect truths and lies in expressing opinions: the Devil's Advocate approach. Interviewees are first asked an opinion eliciting question that asks participants to argue in favour of their personal view. This is followed by a Devil's Advocate question that asks participants to argue against their personal view. People normally think more about reasons that support rather than oppose their opinion. Therefore we expected truth tellers to provide more information and shorter latency times in their responses to the opinion eliciting question than to the Devil's Advocate question. Liars are expected to reveal the opposite pattern as the Devil's Advocate question is more compatible with their beliefs than is the opinion eliciting question. In Experiment 1, we interviewed seventeen truth tellers and liars via the Devil's Advocate approach and measured the difference in number of words and latency times to the two questions. Our hypotheses were supported. In Experiment 2, 25 observers were shown these interviews, and made qualitative judgements about the statements. Truth tellers' opinion eliciting answers were seen as more immediate and plausible and revealed more emotional involvement than their Devil's Advocate answers. No clear differences emerged in liars' answers to the two types of question. We conclude that the Devil's Advocate approach is a promising lie detection approach that deserves attention in future research.