The role of intertask and intratask processing in acquisition and retention of motor skills

This study examined the role of intratask and intertask processing on retention of three motor skills acquired in a practice condition invoking low contextual interference. Forty-eight subjects were randomly assigned to four experimental conditions. All conditions experienced blocked practice, which was supplemented with either intertask processing, additional intratask processing, or no additional processing. Acquisition consisted of 18 trials on each of three barrier knock-down tasks. Retention performance was assessed after a 10-min filled retention interval. Results indicated that providing the opportunity to engage in intertask processing not afforded by the acquisition practice schedule enhanced access, implementation, and memorability of movement action plans. In contrast, whereas supplemental intratask processing did not appear to interfere with acquisition performance achieved when experiencing blocked practice, it did little to enhance subsequent retention performance.     

Relationships between marital satisfaction,resources, and power strategies

A study was conducted to determine usefulness of the Falbo and Peplau model for understanding the power strategies and marital satisfaction of 42 nonstudent married couples. In addition, this study examined the impact of imbalanced resources on power strategy use and marital satisfaction. Overall, the results supported the hypothesis that people who see themselves as Equal Partners are more satisfied with their relationship than Traditional Partners. The results also indicated that Equal Partners reported using fewer strategies overall in trying to get their way. Thus, the greater use of power strategies may be associated with being in an imbalanced resource relationship, such as a traditional marriage. Furthermore, the results of this study supported the expectation that marital dissatisfaction is associated with the use of indirect strategies. Although husbands and wives overall were not found to differ in their power strategy use, there was a suggestion that traditional wives used more power strategies, regardless of type, than traditional husbands.This research was based upon the first author's doctoral dissertation at the University of Texas at Austin.     

Codependency: Addictive love,adjustive relating,or both?

The concept of codependency constitutes a controversial but, in our view, eminently researchable area of clinical concern. Following a perspective on the evolution of the concept, we summarize the currently dominant view that codependency is a personality syndrome closely akin to addictive love. We then present an alternative point of view that focuses on the characteristics of codependent relating rather than the characteristics of the codependent person, arguing that codependency may be either endogynous or exogynous. Recent efforts to develop valid measures of codependency as a personality predisposition and as a set of relationship characteristics are discussed, followed by the conclusion that the two assessment approaches are complementary rather than contradictory.We gratefully acknowledge the assistance of Mike Dewald, Karin Parker, and Pam Quinn of the United Recovery Center, Grand Forks, ND, in some of the data collection.     

Haitian and Haitian American experiences of racism and socioethnic discrimination in Miami-Dade county: At-risk and court-involved youth

We examine how juvenile justice-involved youth of Haitian descent in Miami-Dade County cope with structural racism and its impact on their mental health. Drawing on longitudinal ethnography, psychosocial assessment data, and a family-based clinical intervention funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, this article explores youth narratives of discrimination prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We use critical race theory and theory of practice to understand youths’ perceptions as racialized bodies and stigmatized selves, highlighting the experiences and perspectives of a particular black immigrant group, ethnic beings caught up in the everyday practices of racialization, sociocultural marginalization, and racism. We frame these experiences as a variation of the complex continuum of structural racism and racial domination in the US. These experiences have caused anger, fear, anxiety, chronic anticipatory distress, and hopelessness among youth of Haitian descent. We conclude with some recommendations for therapeutic support that encourages youth to process their experiences, promotes their development of a positive self-concept, and provides them with mind-body techniques to attenuate the physical impacts of discriminatory events. The clinical trial registration number for this study intervention is NCT03876171.     

A client‐generated psychometric instrument: The development of ‘PSYCHLOPS’

PSYCHLOPS (Psychological Outcome Profiles) is a recently developed, client‐generated, psychometric instrument that can be used as an outcome measure. Based on a similar instrument developed primarily for use in physical illnesses (MYMOP — ‘Measure Your Medical Outcome Profile’), it seeks the client's perspective on their psychological distress. It asks them to describe and then score the problem that troubles them the most at the start of counselling. We describe the development of PSYCHLOPS, including the involvement of the Plain English Campaign and two national mental health organisations: the mental health charity and support group, Depression Alliance (DA) and Primary Care Mental Health Education (PRIMHE). We review the literature and suggest that PSYCHLOPS, by focusing on the problems of greatest priority to the client, might prove a sensitive measure of improvement after counselling.     

Curriculum-based measures of writing across grade levels

This study compared the technical adequacy of curriculum-based measures in written expression across diverse grade levels. Students (n = 484) completed two narrative writing samples in response to story starters. Samples were scored for the number of words written (TW), the number of correct word sequences (CWS), and the number of correct minus incorrect word sequences (CWS-ICWS). Alternate-form reliability and criterion-related validity coefficients of the curriculum-based measures were examined to determine differences between the coefficients according to grade level.Results indicated moderate to strong alternate-form reliability coefficients and variable criterion-related validity coefficients. The data from this study support the need for curriculum-based measures of writing to become more complex as students age and become more skilled.     

Effects of Attachment on Coping Efficacy,Career Decision Self‐Efficacy,and Life Satisfaction

This study examined attachment, self‐efficacy variables, and life satisfaction of 583 undergraduate students. The type of analysis used was structural equation modeling. Findings indicated that students with greater avoidant and anxious attachment patterns reported lower levels of career decision self‐efficacy and coping efficacy, which then had a positive relationship with life satisfaction. Implications for theory, research, and practice were provided.     

Boosting Metacognition in Science Museums: Simple Exhibit Label Designs to Enhance Learning

Science museums can be excellent learning environments for engaging citizens in the complex societal issues of our time—such as climate change, fishery collapse, social prejudice, and wealth inequities—by fostering experimentation and metacognition about visitors' own social behaviors. The authors studied a low-cost metacognitive tool—Question Asking—in exhibit labels through a within-subjects, quasi-experimental research design with 59 randomly selected adult and teen dyads. Results indicated that the inclusion of an exhibit-specific question increased the proportion of time visitors spent in metacognitive conversations by at least a factor of three. Following that specific question with a more generally applicable real-world question maintained the already elevated proportion of time spent in metacognitive talk but did not boost that proportion further. The authors recommend including an exhibit-specific question at social science exhibits (and potentially adding another, broader real-world question as well) to prompt or enhance users' metacognitive responses to exhibit content.     

Victimized Children’s Adjustment Difficulties: The Role of Parenting Styles and Parents’ Childhood Peer Victimization Status

The purpose of the present study was to examine the role of parents’ childhood victimization status in the associations among parenting styles and victimized children’s depression and anxiety. Participants were 203 parents (86% mothers; M age = 43.75, SD = .76) and their children in the fourth or fifth grade (n = 203; 56% female; M age = 9.74, SD = .34). Children completed measures on peer victimization, their perceptions of their parents’ parenting styles, depression, and anxiety, while parents completed a measure on their childhood peer victimization while in elementary school. Parents’ childhood peer victimization status moderated relationships among authoritarian and permissive parenting styles and victimized children’s adjustment difficulties. These findings highlight the importance of considering parents’ experience of childhood peer victimization and its impact on their parenting styles and their children’s adjustment difficulties.