Ethnic socialization and the academic adjustment of adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds

Ethnic and generation differences in the frequency and types of ethnic socialization messages that 524 eleventh-grade adolescents from Mexican, Chinese, and European backgrounds received from their parents were examined. Results indicated that adolescents from both Mexican and Chinese backgrounds reported more cultural socialization and preparation for bias messages than their peers from European backgrounds. Chinese adolescents reported more promotion of mistrust messages than their peers with European backgrounds. Moreover, promotion of mistrust messages negatively predicted academic achievement, whereas positive cultural socialization messages accounted for the higher levels of motivation among adolescents from Chinese and Mexican backgrounds as compared with their equally achieving peers from European backgrounds.     

Elucidating the neural correlates of egoistic and moralistic self-enhancement

Self-enhancement is the biasing of one’s view of oneself in a positive direction. The brain correlates of self-enhancement remain unclear though it has been reported that the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) may be important for producing self-enhancing responses. Previous studies have not examined whether the neural correlates of self-enhancement depend on the particular domain in which individuals are enhancing themselves. Both moralistic and egoistic words were presented to participants while transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was applied to the MPFC, precuneus or in a sham orientation. Participants were asked to make decisions as to the words describing themselves, some of which were positive and some of which were negative. It was found the MPFC TMS significantly disrupted egoistic self-enhancement when TMS was delivered to the MPFC. Judgments involving moralistic words were not influenced by TMS. These data provide further evidence that MPFC is involved in self-enhancement, and that the role of MPFC may be selective in this regard.     

Dissociations in visual attention deficits among persons with mild cognitive impairment

Impairments in visual attention and visual information processing have been identified as part of the neuropsychological features of Alzheimer's disease (AD), even in its earliest stages. There is increasing recognition that these deficits may be selective rather than global, with some attentional subtypes being more vulnerable than others. The few studies that have investigated attentional deficits in mild cognitive impairment (MCI), a putatively prodromal phase of AD, have not satisfactorily addressed the possible selectivity in attentional deficits in MCI. This study examined potential dissociations in visual attention deficits in MCI using a measure that assesses simple, divided, and selective attention. The results indicated a hierarchy of attentional impairments, with divided attention being the most affected and simple attention the least. Among participants with MCI, 53% showed evidence of impairment in divided attention compared to 19% of controls (OR = 4.81, p < .001). Poorer visual attention was also associated with poorer overall cognitive status. The implications of these findings for early identification of MCI, prevention of functional decline in MCI, and delay/reversal of cognitive degradation in MCI are discussed.     

On the mechanisms and effects of feedback in group psychotherapy

Group psychotherapists commonly see feedback as one of the primary mechanism that furthers the goals of the group. This paper will summarize the research that has been done on the mechanisms leading members to produce feedback, the factors that induce members to accept feedback (for example, feedback valence and timing), and the effects of feedback on outcome and aspects of group process such as group cohesion. The article will address the practical implications of these findings for the interventions of the group psychotherapist. As will be discussed, the emphasis on the importance of feedback in the interpersonal group psychotherapy literature exceeds the programmatic research that has been done on basic questions. This paper will identify major lines of future investigation that could yield findings critical to the delivery of effective group psychotherapy such as the information processing sequences that underlie feedback delivery and reception.     

Participant loss due to "fussiness" in infant visual paradigms: a review of the last 20 years

One hundred and one published articles that used visual habituation or violation-of-expectation techniques with infants of 12 months or younger were surveyed. Information was compiled on the number of infants who failed to complete experimental procedures due to "fussiness" or other factors. Also noted for each experiment was whether or not infants as a group demonstrated differential responding to the test display. On average 13.7% (range 0-62%) of infants failed to complete these visual procedures as a result of fussiness. There was no correlation between experimental outcome and infant attrition due to fussiness or to any other factor. We thus found no evidence to suggest that differential exclusion rates systematically influence experimental outcomes. However, we urge researchers to provide operational definitions of "fussiness."     

Evaluation of the Dispositional Hope Scale in injury survivors

Hope is a higher-order cognitive construct that encompasses the belief in one’s ability to accomplish personal goals. Hope has been conceptualised as consisting of two constructs – Pathways (the individual’s perceived means available to achieve goals) and Agency (belief in ones ability to succeed in using the identified Pathways). This study aimed to validate a measure of hope, the Dispositional Hope Scale (DHS: [Snyder, C. R., Harris, C., Anderson, J. R., Holleran, S. A., Irving, L. M., Sigman, S. T., et al. (1991). The will and the ways: Development and validation of an individual differences measure of hope. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(4), 570–585]) in a large sample of traumatic injury survivors (N = 1025). The findings support the psychometric properties of the scale, as well as the two-factor structure of Agency and Pathways, in this population. This study provides support for the use of the DHS as a measure of hope in traumatised populations.     

Provision of Genetic Services for Hearing Loss: Results from a National Survey and Comparison to Insights Obtained from Previous Focus Group Discussions

Hearing loss is a common sensory deficit and more than 50% of affected individuals have a genetic etiology. The discovery of 40 genes and more than 100 loci involved in hearing loss has made genetic testing for some of these genes widely available. Genetic services for deafness are also being sought more often due to the early identification of hearing loss through newborn screening services. The motivations for pursuing genetic testing, and how genetic services are provided to the client may differ among individuals. Additionally, information obtained through genetic testing can be perceived and used in different ways by parents of deaf children and deaf adults. This study aimed to follow up on focus group studies published earlier with a quantitative survey instrument and assess the preference of consumers for provision of genetic services. We conducted a national survey of hearing and deaf parents of children with hearing loss and of deaf adults. Data was compared and analyzed by hearing status of the participant, their community affiliation and the genetic testing status using nominal logistic regression. Consistent with our focus group results, the survey participants thought that a genetic counselor/geneticist would be the most appropriate professional to provide genetics services. Statistically significant differences were noted in the preferred choice of provider based on the genetic testing status. Parents preferred that genetic evaluation, including testing, occur either immediately at or a few months after the audiologic diagnosis of hearing loss. This data should help providers in clinical genetics keep patient preferences at the helm and provide culturally competent services.     

Spoken and gestural production in a naming task by young children with Down syndrome

Lexical production in children with Down syndrome (DS) was investigated by examining spoken naming accuracy and the use of spontaneous gestures in a picture naming task. Fifteen children with DS (range 3.8-8.3 years) were compared to typically developing children (TD), matched for chronological age and developmental age (range 2.6-4.3 years). Relative to TD children, children with DS were less accurate in speech (producing a greater number of unintelligible answers), yet they produced more gestures overall and of these a significantly higher percentage of iconic gestures. Furthermore, the iconic gestures produced by children with DS accompanied by incorrect or no speech often expressed a concept similar to that of the target word, suggesting deeper conceptual knowledge relative to that expressed only in speech.