父母冲突、青少年的认知评价及其与青少年社会适应的关系

以446名小学五年级至初中二年级的学生为被试,采用问卷法,让被试报告父母冲突形式、内容,对父母冲突的认知评价,以及抑郁、焦虑、自尊、学习问题和不良行为,以探讨父母冲突形式和内容、青少年对冲突的评价与其社会适应的关系,并检验认知评价在父母冲突与青少年适应间的中介作用。结果发现：（1）男女生除在父母情绪冲突和自尊方面的报告有显著差异外,其余各个方面都没有显著差异;随年级升高,儿童知觉的父母冲突内容显著增多,抑郁情绪、学习问题显著增多,而自尊水平显著下降;（2）父母冲突的不同形式和内容,以及青少年对父母冲突的不同认知评价可以预测青少年不同方面的社会适应;（3）认知评价在父母冲突与青少年的内部适应中起中介作用,但在父母冲突与青少年的外部适应中不起中介作用。     

Therapists as fixed versus random effects-some statistical and conceptual issues: a comment on Siemer and Joormann (2003)

The authors disagree with M. Siemer and J. Joormann's assertion that therapist should be a fixed effect in psychotherapy treatment outcome studies. If treatment is properly standardized, therapist effects can be examined in preliminary tests and the therapist term deleted from analyses if such differences approach zero. If therapist effects are anticipated and either cannot be minimized through standardization or are specifically of interest because of the nature of the research question, the study has to be planned with adequate statistical power for including therapist as a random term. Simulation studies conducted by Siemer and Joormann confounded bias due to small sample size and inconsistent estimates.     

Measuring stress responses in postpartum mothers: perspectives from studies in human and animal populations

Reduced hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) responses to stress during the last week of pregnancy and lactation have been consistently observed in rat studies. Several contributing factors have been proposed for this phenomenon in lactation, including the suckling stimulus from the pups, hormones (oxytocin and prolactin) and opioids, a decrease in the ability of noradrenaline to potentiate hypothalamic responses and changes in pituitary responsiveness to ACTH secretagogues (AVP and CRF). In contrast to this vast literature using the rat model, only few studies have addressed this issue in the human population. The consensus is that women engaging in breastfeeding activities exhibit reduced anxiety, although the reductions in neuroendocrine and autonomic responses to stressors are variable, in part because of the different nature of the stressors used. Further work is required to investigate how additional factors, such as maternal parity or emotional salience of the stressor can affect stress responsiveness in postpartum women. Here, we review first the findings regarding stress responsiveness during lactation in both rat and human studies, and then discuss potential research avenues and methodological issues that could be the lead to future research protocols in human subjects. Knowing the reciprocal relationship in the mother-infant dyad, it is clear that investigation of the mechanisms regulating stress responses and mental health in postpartum mothers can only be beneficial to the development of the infant.     

英语阅读问题解决的认知诊断

本研究尝试将认知诊断技术应用于中学生英语阅读问题解决(ERPS),以实现对中学生英语阅读问题解决的认知诊断,探讨中学生英语阅读问题解决的认知发展特点及其所存在的问题,为中学生的相关认知发展和知识获取服务。研究发现:(1)基于文本表征和反应决策两个加工过程中的七个认知属性是影响中学生ERPS的主要认知成分(R2=0.792);(2)中学生对于文本表征加工过程所涉及的属性的掌握情况优于反应决策加工过程所涉及的属性,学生所面临的主要困主要难于在反应决策加工阶段;(3)对不同属性掌握情况上存在显著的学校类型差异。(4)学生认知掌握状态的类型主要集中在15种(占73%),最多的三种为(1111011)、(1111110)和(1111101)(占34%)。总体来说,学生的属性掌握还是比较好的。相对地,对推理、信息匹配和正确选项的加工水平三个属性掌握较差,应引起重视。     

HO-DINA模型的MCMC参数估计及模型性能研究

认知诊断目前在国内外越来越受到重视,而要真正实现认知诊断,需借助一定的计量学模型即认知诊断模型。国际上,目前已开发近60种认知诊断模型,不同模型又各具特点。本研究重点分析国外研究较成熟的模型--HO-DINA/DINA模型,具体探讨该模型参数估计的实现及模型性能,采用Monte Carlo模拟方法进行,研究发现：(1)本研究对项目参数、属性参数和被试参数估计返真性较好、稳健性较强、HO-DINA模型具有较高的判断率,MCMC算法可行;（2）诊断的属性个数越多,诊断的模式正确率越低,建议实际使用该模型时,诊断的属性个数不宜超过7个;（3）用于诊断的项目数越多,诊断的模式正确率越高,在实际工作中,若要保证有80%以上的模式判准率,则4个属性的至少需20题,5个、6个和7个属性的至少需要40题,8个属性至少需60题。实际运用者应根据实际情况考虑适当的项目数及属性数。     

Acoustic and perceptual categories of vocal elements in the warble song of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus)

The warble songs of budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus) are composed of a number of complex, variable acoustic elements that are sung by male birds in intimate courtship contexts for periods lasting up to several minutes. If these variable acoustic elements can be assigned to distinct acoustic-perceptual categories, it provides the opportunity to explore whether birds are perceptually sensitive to the proportion or sequential combination of warble elements belonging to different categories. By the inspection of spectrograms and by listening to recordings, humans assigned the acoustic elements in budgerigar warble from several birds to eight broad, overlapping categories. A neural-network program was developed and trained on these warble elements to simulate human categorization. The classification reliability between human raters and between human raters and the neural network classifier was better than 80% both within and across birds. Using operant conditioning and a psychophysical task, budgerigars were tested on large sets of these elements from different acoustic categories and different individuals. The birds consistently showed high discriminability for pairs of warble elements drawn from between acoustic categories and low discriminability for pairs drawn from within acoustic categories. With warble elements reliably assigned to different acoustic categories by humans and birds, it affords the opportunity to ask questions about the ordering of elements in natural warble streams and the perceptual significance of this ordering.     

Investigation of fine motor performance in children younger than 36-month-old using PDMS-2 and Bayley-III

ABSTRACT

The aim of the study was to investigate the concurrent validity of fine motor (FM) development scores between the Peabody Developmental Motor Scales, Second Edition (PDMS-2), and Bayley Scale of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III). Both tests were administered to 223 children aged 13–36 months with suspected developmental delays from a medical centre. Concurrent validity and agreement of FM delay were assessed. The Bayley-III FM scale scores (FMSS) and motor composite quotients were moderately correlated with PDMS-2 FM quotients. The agreement of FM delay between the two instruments was excellent (Kappa coefficient value = .80) in children aged 13–18 months and good in children aged 19–36 months. When using PDMS-2 as the reference standard, Bayley-III (FMSS < 7) identified fewer children aged 19–24 months as delayed but more in children aged 25–36 months as delayed. When adjusting the cut-off point of Bayley-III FMSS to 8 for children aged 19–24 months and to 6 for children aged 25–36 months, the agreement improved between these two instruments. FM delays might be underestimated solely using Bayley-III in children aged 19–24 months. Additional tests, such as PDMS-2 should be considered to avoid delays in accessing early intervention services.     

Daily mood, partner support, sexual interest, and sexual activity among adolescent women.

The main objective of this study was to examine day-to-day associations of coitus, sexual interest, partner emotional support, negative mood, and positive mood among adolescent women. Diaries assessed partner interactions, sexual activity, substance use, and mood. Participants were 146 adolescent women who provided 28,376 diary days. Correlates of coitus on a given day included age, increased coital frequency in previous week, coitus on the previous day, partner support, increased same-day sexual interest, and decreased same-day negative mood. The data demonstrate complex associations of sexual interest, mood, partner interactions, and sexual activity. The findings extend understanding of the sexuality of adolescent women and have implications for a variety of interventions to reduce sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies.