MATERNAL DEPRESSION AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF EXECUTIVE FUNCTION AND BEHAVIOR PROBLEMS IN HEAD START: INDIRECT EFFECTS THROUGH PARENTING

The present study used a large, nationally representative sample of Head Start children (N=3,349) from the Family and Child Experiences Survey of 2009 (FACES) to examine associations among maternal depression (measured when children were ?36 months old) and children's executive function (EF) and behavior problems (measured when children were ?48 months old). Preliminary analyses revealed that 36% of mothers in the sample had clinically significant levels of depressive symptoms. Furthermore, a path analysis with demographic controls showed a mediation effect that was significant and quite specific; mother‐reported warmth (and not mother–child reading) mediated the path between maternal depression, children's EF, and behavior problems. Findings provide empirical support for a family process model in which warm, sensitive parenting supports children's emerging self‐regulation and reduces the likelihood of early onset behavior problems in families in which children are exposed to maternal depression.     

The Experience of Prisoners’ Parents: A Meta‐Synthesis of Qualitative Studies

The parents of prisoners have long drawn the attention of researchers, due to their role in the etiology of criminality as well as the importance of their support of their offspring during and after incarceration. However, although studies have shown that the parents of prisoners experience high levels of distress, burden, and social stigma, research into their experience is only now beginning to emerge. This metasynthesis examined the limited body of qualitative research on the experience of prisoners’ parents, as an exploratory step toward advancing the understanding of their experience. Relevant terms were used to systematically search key databases. Ten small‐scale studies, which varied in focus, location, and disciplinary orientation, met the inclusion criteria. The synthesis produced four core themes, reflecting findings regarding parents’ (primarily mothers’) experience of their offspring's incarceration: parenting from a distance; the burden of care; troubled parental identity; and social reaction. Furthermore, the findings suggested a number of possible mediating factors of this experience, such as parents’ social capital and their cognitive appraisal of their offspring's criminality. These themes imply a possible experience of “imprisonment by association” among the parents of inmates and illuminate features that may be unique to them. Given the inherent limitations regarding generalizability of a metasynthesis and the heterogeneity of the experiences of the parents represented by the articles reviewed, the findings call for future large‐scale quantitative studies to explore the challenges and therapeutic needs of parents of prisoners regarding the themes identified.     

Computer-aided analysis of grain-boundary connectivity of B10 copper-nickel alloys

A numerical calculation method based on the angle in a triple junction composed of a random grain boundary is proposed to predict the connectivity and stability of a grain boundary in a B10 copper-nickel alloy. The grain-boundary connectivity and its effect on corrosion resistance are studied combining computer-aided analysis with electrochemical impedance testing. The results show that the prediction of corrosion resistance using a grain-boundary connectivity numerical method is consistent with immersion experimental results. The B10 alloy exhibited the best corrosion resistance after cold rolling with a 9% reduction rate. The relationship between the grain-boundary characteristics and corrosion resistance is well established using the numerical method to quantify the grain-boundary connectivity. A higher connective frequency and a low proportion of grain-boundary angles between 60° and 180° in the triple junction is detrimental to corrosion resistance of the B10 alloy.     

防艾宣传大学生对艾滋病患者的内隐态度与交往意愿

目的：探讨大学生防艾宣传者对艾滋病患者的内隐态度。方法：采用自编大学生与艾滋病患者交往意愿调查问卷,通过测量获得对艾滋病患者有较高交往意愿的防艾宣传者100名,并随机抽取其中30名作为实验被试,完成了两组内隐联想测验（IAT）。结果：当艾滋病相关词与普通正性词相联以及非艾滋类乙型传染病与普通负性词相联时,其平均反应时低于艾滋病与一般消极性词相联及非艾滋类乙型传染病与普通正性词相联时的反应时;当艾滋病相关词与正性人际词相联以及非艾滋类乙型传染病与负性人际词相联时,其平均反应时与艾滋病和负性人际词相联及非艾滋类乙型传染病与正性人际词相联时的反应时无统计学意义的差异。结论：大学生防艾宣传者对各类传染病患者的内隐交往意愿处于同一水平,但相对于非艾滋类乙型传染病而言,其对艾滋病患者的消极厌恶水平较低。     

The marriage checkup: increasing access to marital health care

Despite the ongoing prevalence of marital distress, very few couples seek therapy. Researchers and clinicians have increasingly been calling for innovative interventions that can reach a larger number of untreated couples. Based on a motivational marital health model, the Marriage Checkup (MC) was designed to attract couples who are unlikely to seek traditional tertiary therapy. The objective of the MC is to promote marital health for as broad a population of couples as possible, much like regular physical health checkups. This first paper from the largest MC study to date examines whether the MC engaged previously unreached couples who might benefit from intervention. Interview and survey data suggested that the MC attracted couples across the distress continuum and was perceived by couples as more accessible than traditional therapy. Notably, the MC attracted a substantial number of couples who had not previously participated in marital interventions. The motivational health checkup model appeared to encourage a broad range of couples who might not have otherwise sought relationship services to deliberately take care of their marital health. Clinical implications are discussed.     

Counterfactuals and Context-Sensitivity

It is commonly agreed that when evaluating the validity of an argument involving context-sensitive expressions, the context should be held fixed. In their 2008 essay “Counterfactuals and Context,” Brogaard and Salerno argue further that context should be held fixed when evaluating an argument involving counterfactuals for validity, since, as many will agree, counterfactuals are context-sensitive. In the present paper, it will however be argued that Brogaard and Salerno fail to distinguish between two different roles that context plays in determining the meaning of a given counterfactual. If they were fully aware of the distinction between these two roles played by context, they might propose a contextualist approach to counterfactuals, as has been developed by Ichikawa in his 2011 paper “Quantifiers, Knowledge, and Counterfactuals.”     

Consumerism,Catholicism, and Hall's Theology of the Cross

Abstract : This article examines what Catholics can learn from Douglas John Hall, a Protestant, in relationship to consumerism and the North American context. It does this by first, examining the relationship of consumerism to this context; second, viewing various Catholic reflections on consumerism through the lens of Stephen B. Bevans’ models of contextual theology; and third, placing the Catholic reflections in conversation with Hall in order to come to a constructive conclusion.