The Association Between Socioeconomic Status and Cognitive Development in Children Is Partly Mediated by a Chaotic Home Atmosphere

ABSTRACT

There are socioeconomic-status (SES) differences in cognitive development. Various factors have been proposed that might explain this association, and one of these factors is the home environment. The present study examined a chaotic home atmosphere as a potential mediator of the association between parental SES and cognitive development. A nationally representative sample of children in the United Kingdom was studied when children were 3 years (n = 15,590), 5 years (n = 13,802), and 7 years old (n = 12,661). At each wave, the children completed multiple cognitive tests, and parents provided information on their SES (income, education, and occupation) and the home atmosphere. Mediation effects were tested with longitudinal structural equation modeling. Direct relations between parental SES and cognitive ability were partly mediated by the home atmosphere. The proportion of mediation was 16% for the change in cognitive ability predicted by parental SES. This study suggests that a chaotic home atmosphere might partly explain the association between parental SES and cognitive development.     

The memory drum theory after twenty years

The difference between the Henry “memory-drum” theory and our version is that ours includes an additional assumption that, after programming has occurred, the resultant representation can be stored in short-term memory. Otherwise, the essential ideas are the same in the two theories. Implications of the presently available data for the distinction between the theories are discussed. Regardless of how one evaluates our added assumption, it is clear that the essential insight of the Henry theory has fared very well in the 20 yr since the theory first appeared in print.     

Being Close and Being Social: Peer Ratings of Distinct Aspects of Young Adult Social Competence

Adaptation to contact lenses was chosen as a paradigm for a process of adjustment to self-selected stress. It was hypothesized that a tendency to cope actively with novel and complex situations is needed for success in adapting to this type of situation. Forty women, ages 16 to 33, before receiving contact lenses for cosmetic reasons, were administered the Shanan Sentence Completion Test, the Petrie experiment and a questionnaire. Two months later, objective symptoms, subjective complaints and feelings about adaptation and results were assessed. A significant positive relationship was found between the tendency to cope actively and success (number of hours wearing time per day). General positive motivation for self-realization in relation to people and for constructive activity was highly correlated with success, whereas situation specific motivation was not. Ss who tended to decrease stimulation on the Petrie experiment were more successful than those who “augmented.” The relevance of these findings for a theory of coping behavior and its assessment was discussed.     

Book Reviews

DesLauriers, Austin. The experience of reality in childhood schizophrenia. New York: International University Press, 1962, pp. 215. Reviewed by Sohan Lal Sharma.

Farberow, Norman L., Ph. D. and Shneidman, Edwin S., Ph. D., The Cry for Help, New York: McGraw-Hill, 1961, 388 pp., $9.95. Reviewed by Irving R. Stone.

Hirt, Michael (Ed.) Rorschach Science. New York: Glencoe Free Press. 1962. Pp. ix + 438. $8.50 Reviewed by Marvin R. Goldfried.

Kataguchi, Yasufumi, editor. Rorschachiana Japonica, Volume 5. Tokyo Institute of Rorschach Research, Seishin Book Co., 1962, Pp. 275. Reviewed by Bertram R. Forer.

Klopfer, B. & Davidson, Helen. The Rorschach Technique:: An Introductory Manual. New York: Harcourt, Brace & World, 1962, pp. 245. Reviewed by Mortimer M. Meyer.

Tomkins, Silvan S. Affect, Imagery, Consciousness. Vol. I, “The Positive Affects”. New York: Springer Publishing Co., 1962. Reviewed by S. Z. Dudek.

Tallent, Norman. Clinical psychological consultation: A rationale and guide to team practice. Englewood Cliffs, N. J.: Prentice-Hall Inc., 1963. Pp. xviii and 298. Reviewed by Dale Higbee.     

A Study of the Multiple and Complex Needs of Australian Young Adult Offenders

Youth offending is an important issue; it has significant social, psychological, interpersonal, and financial impacts on the society. International research has shown that young offenders generally have multiple and complex needs across a wide range of domains; however, research examining the depth and breadth of difficulties faced by young offenders in Australia is lacking. Arguably, such information is critical to help guide the development of valid preventative and treatment initiatives. This article describes a study examining the prevalence of mental illness, low intelligence, psychopathy, risk for reoffending, and criminogenic needs in 75 youth and young adult offenders in Victoria, Australia. Results suggest that the prevalence of mental illness and low intelligence is high in this population. Most (86%) of the sample had likely Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision Axis I disorders (including mood, anxiety, substance use, eating, and psychotic disorders); 15% had a Full Scale Intellectual Quotient (FSIQ) below 70; and an additional 25.7% had an FSIQ in the borderline range. The majority (80%) of the sample was considered to be at a high or very high risk of reoffending. The high prevalence of mental health issues found in this population highlights the need for comprehensive and multifaceted assessment, and for psychosocial treatment and management to be comprehensive, addressing clinical, criminogenic, and social domains.     

Einstellung: Still Alive and Well

Predator urine, specifically fox urine, is a noxious but harmless olfactory stimulus. The results of previous studies have shown that fox urine is aversive to rats, and that rats react to fox urine in a similar manner as to other psychostressors. In the present study, the authors further investigated the use of fox urine as an aversive or stressful stimulus, specifically examining behavior change in open-field place-preference task. Three methods of presenting the fox urine were examined. Results indicated that fox urine decreased behavior, especially locomotion, during both fox-urine presentation and during a post-fox-urine recovery session. Data suggested that (a) there were fewer ambulatory episodes and less distance was traveled during the presentation of fox urine, regardless of presentation method, and (b) there were fewer vertical movements during fox-urine presentation when a fox-urine-laced cotton ball was set in the wood shavings than when it was placed on a bare floor or in a cup. The data suggested that fox urine may be an effective but nonharmful stimulus alternative for use in avoidance tasks.     

The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ): Scale Development

In line with dynamic systems and dialectical theories of development, it was theorized that a psychopathology such as an addiction could have several causes (equifinality) and that more specific diagnoses and treatments of the most salient clinical issues for individuals coming from different developmental paths could increase the success rates of most therapies. Further, the issues from a developmental dynamic systems perspective should include not only individual clinical issues, but also relational, familial, peer, and organizational functioning. The Attachment and Clinical Issues Questionnaire (ACIQ) was developed as a research and clinical instrument relevant to these concerns. The 29 scales were based on naturalistic observations of patients in treatment and 12-step groups, attachment theory, and the clinical literature dealing with the addictions. The attachment scales were taken from classic attachment theory but, in line with more recent formulations, included relations to mother, father, and partner. Study 1 found the ACIQ to have good coefficient alphas (.79), and factor analyses revealed that the eight factors loaded on different attachment figures and sets of clinical issues rather than attachment styles per se. Study 2 found test–retest reliability to be, on average, .79. The results were in line with the developmental hypothesis that partner and father attachments are different than attachments to mother, and that family and peer relations as well as clinical issues need to be considered separately.     

Decomposing the within-person and between-person sources of variation in physical activity-cognition associations for low-active older adults

Abstract

Objectives: To examine within-person and between-person sources of variation in the relationship between physical activity and cognition in older adults participating in a walking program. To explore whether demographic, health and fitness variables, and their interactions with activity, are significant predictors of cognition.

Design: Brief longitudinal burst design.

Participants: 118 participants (91 females, mean age?=?72.81?+ 5.24 years).

Main Outcome Measures: Cognition, self-reported moderate-to-vigorous walking and self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity were assessed at baseline and 6, 9, 12 and 16 weeks follow-up. Attendance at weekly walks was also recorded.

Results: Within-persons, changes in physical activity were related to select measures of executive functioning, with increased activity predictive of better cognition (three of four cognitive functions, p<.05). Between-persons, activity was also associated with cognition (two of four cognitive functions, p<.05). Younger age and higher education were related to better cognition. Interactions of demographic, health, and fitness variables with changes in within-person activity were generally non-significant.

Conclusion: The results highlight the importance of distinguishing within- from between-person effects in longitudinal analyses of the association between physical activity and cognition. This stringent within-person test of association underscores the potential value of simple physical activity interventions for improving cognitive function.     

Increasing calcium intake in young women through gain-framed,targeted messages: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Adequate calcium consumption during early adulthood can help prevent osteoporosis in women.

Purpose: The effects of gain-framed, targeted messaging on calcium intake were examined over 12 months.

Methods: Young women (18–19 years) not consuming sufficient calcium were randomly assigned to receive standard care materials (control) or gain-framed, targeted materials (experimental). Health belief model (HBM) constructs, calcium intake and markers of bone formation, resorption and bone mineral density were assessed at various time points throughout the year.

Results: Calcium intake increased significantly more in the experimental versus the control condition (p?<?0.01). Self-efficacy was the only HBM construct to improve significantly more in the experimental condition versus control (p?=?0.05). The HBM did not mediate changes in calcium intake. Measures of bone health did not differ between conditions by the end of this nonpharmacological intervention (p's?>?0.05).

Conclusions: It is possible to increase young women's calcium consumption through gain-framed, targeted messages.     

Antecedents of children's physical activity intentions and behaviour: Predictive validity and longitudinal effects

Abstract

This study examined the predictive validity and time-lagged relationships in a model of children's physical activity intentions, attitudes, perceived behavioural control (PBC), behaviour and past behaviour using the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB; Ajzen, 1985) as a framework. In Study 1, 386 children aged 12–14 years completed measures of intentions, attitudes, subjective norm, PBC and past behaviour. Their physical activity behaviour was assessed one week later. Structural equation analyses supported the construct and predictive validity of the TPB with the exception of subjective norms which did not predict intentions. In Study 2,70 children completed measures of their physical activity attitudes, intentions, PBC and past behaviour. Attitudes, intentions, PBC and recent behaviour were re-assessed five weeks later. The cognitions demonstrated a moderate degree of stability over time and there were some cross-lagged effects between attitudes and PBC. Past behaviour demonstrated additive rather than attenuating effects. These results support the use of the TPB cognitions and past behaviour as a framework to examine children's physical activity behaviour.