The EARLY ALLIANCE Prevention Trial: An Integrated Set of Interventions to Promote Competence and Reduce Risk for Conduct Disorder, Substance Abuse, and School Failure

Describes the EARLY ALLIANCE interventions, an integrated set of four programs designed to promote competence and reduce risk for early-onset conduct disorder, substance abuse, and school failure. These interventions are evaluated as part of a prevention trial that begins at school entry and targets child functioning and socializing practices across multiple contexts (school, peer group, family) and multiple domains (affective, social, and achievement coping-competence). The paper presents the conceptual foundation of the four interventions, including a synopsis of the risk and protective factors associated with conduct disorder and related outcomes, and of the coping-competence model driving EARLY ALLIANCE. The developmental rationale, intended impact, and procedures are described for each intervention: a universally administered classroom program and indicated, peer, reading-mentoring, and family programs. Interventions are currently being tested in a prevention trial, which is briefly summarized.     

Conditioned orienting and defensive responses in the developing rat

Infant rats (16, 21, and 26 days old) received 3 days of classical conditioning training to Tone/Shock pairings using heart rate as the index of conditioning. The youngest group (16 days old) showed no evidence of conditioning at any stage of acquisition. In the 21- and 26-day-olds, response to the conditioned stimulus (CS) was a deceleration in heart rate during the first day of training. By day 3, the conditioned response (CR) shifted to cardioacceleration. The data were interpreted as offering strong support for a two-stage model of information processing in the infant rat, comprised of a conditioned orienting response in the first stage and a conditioned defensive response in the second.     

Enhancement of conditioned autonomic responses in monkey when preshock signals occasion operant suppression.

Classical pairings of a sound stilulus with shock elicited larger magnitude and more rapidly conditioned autonomic responses when subjects were responding on variable-interval schedules for food than when they were eating freely available food. The difference was not attributable to changes in control values of heart rate and blood pressure, or to alterations in motor activity, but appeared related to operant suppression.     

EFFECTS OF RELAXATION TRAINING ON PULMONARY MECHANICS IN CHILDREN WITH ASTHMA1

An experiment, designed to overcome shortcomings in previous work, was conducted to investigate the potential symptomatic benefits of relaxation training in the treatment of asthma in children. Fourteen chronic, severely asthmatic children received three sessions in which they rested quietly, followed by five sessions of relaxation training, and finally three sessions of relaxing as trained previously. Pulmonary function was assessed, in a manner far more definitive than in previous studies, before and after each session, and three additional times at 30-minute intervals thereafter. Tension in the frontales muscles, heart and respiration rates, and skin temperature and conductance were also monitored. Heart rate and to some extent muscle tension results tended to confirm the attainment of relaxed states. However, the lung function results failed to substantiate the previous, preliminary findings of a clinically meaningful change in pulmonary function following relaxation. The status of relaxation in the treatment of asthma was discussed.     

Cholesterol and Aggression: An Ethnocultural Perspective

Although serum cholesterol has for several decades been linked to atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease, cardiovascular primary prevention studies that have resulted in low or lowered cholesterol have not reduced total mortality. This finding may be due in part to an increase in mortality from suicides, homicides, and accidents among people with low or lowered serum cholesterol. This article attempts to review the literature on cholesterol and aggressive behavior, examines possible links connecting the two, and suggests an ethnocultural perspective to these connections.     

The effects of cooperative learning on trait emotional intelligence and academic achievement of Spanish primary school students

Increasing the students' academic achievement in the international evaluation arena is a challenge for our country, and cooperative learning and emotional intelligence may be a solution for this problem. The link between cooperative learning, emotional intelligence, and academic achievement has been poorly studied so far. The objective of the present investigation was to examine the influence of cooperative learning on trait emotional intelligence and academic achievement. The methodology used was a quasi-experimental design with pre/post-measurements and experimental/control groups. The participants were primary education students (n = 692) and teachers (n = 24) from eight public schools in Madrid, Spain. The instruments used were the Emotional Quotient-Youth Version questionnaire and internal and external assessment tests. Our results indicated that cooperative learning improved scores of one dimension of trait emotional intelligence, change adaptability, and students' academic achievement (Mathematics and Spanish Language). We discussed the possible implications of these outcomes for educational practice.     

“Now you are the body of Christ,and members in particular” (1 Cor. 12:27): Pentecostalism and its Mission

The paper presents Pentecostalism that is primarily a mission movement more than a hundred years old. It reflects on the place and role in World Christianity of this still young and growing church tradition, and the relationships between Pentecostalism and the ecumenical movement. The challenges that Pentecostalism is facing are discussed, with special attention to the Eastern European context.     

Effectiveness of a smartphone-based worry-reduction training for stress reduction: A randomized-controlled trial

Objective: Perseverative cognition (e.g. worry) and unconscious stress are suggested to be important mediators in the relation between stressors and physiological health. We examined whether a smartphone-based worry-reduction training improved a physiological marker of stress (i.e. increased heart rate variability [HRV]) and unconscious stress.

Design: Randomised-controlled trial was conducted with individuals reporting work stress (n = 136). Participants were randomised to the experimental, control or waitlist condition (resp. EC, CC, WL). The EC and CC registered emotions five times daily for four weeks. The EC additionally received a worry-reduction training with mindfulness exercises.

Main Outcome Measures: Primary outcome was 24-h assessments of HRV measured at pre-, mid- and post-intervention. Secondary outcomes were implicit affect and stress. Effects on heart rate and other psychological outcomes were explored.

Results: A total of 118 participants completed the study. No change from pre- to post-intervention was observed for the primary or secondary outcomes. The change over time was not different between conditions.

Conclusion: Findings suggest that the training was ineffective for improving HRV or psychological stress. Future studies may focus on alternative smartphone-based stress interventions, as stress levels are high in society. There is need for easy interventions and smartphones offer possibilities for this.     

目标定向在自我调节学习中的作用

该研究主要探讨了目标定向与认知策略、失败应对方式之间的关系,以及三者与学业成绩之间的关系,在此基础上对目标定向在自我调节学习中的作用提出了假设：目标定向是自我调节学习的始动机制,它影响着个体在学习中所采用的认知策略,以及在学业失败后所选择的应对方式,而认知策略和失败应对方式则直接对学习效果产生影响。     

Evaluating the Etiology of Anxiety Sensitivity: Relation to Cardiovascular Perception and Reactivity

A large body of research has suggested that anxiety sensitivity (AS) acts as a specific vulnerability factor in the development of anxiety pathology. More recently, attention has turned to the etiology of AS per se. The present study tested several related etiological hypotheses derived from Expectancy theory. S. Reiss and R. J. McNally (1985) originally proposed that greater physiological reactivity would increase risk for developing heightened AS. Reactive individuals are believed to have greater opportunity to perceive unpleasant bodily perturbations, thereby increasing the likelihood that concerns and fears could be attached to the sensations. Nonclinical participants (N = 86) completed physical (e.g., orthostatic) and biological (e.g., 35% CO₂) challenges and a heart beat perception task. AS was not related to heart beat perception but was related to greater tonic heart rate and greater diastolic blood pressure (DBP) reactivity to both the challenges. Higher DBP and higher heart beat accuracy interacted to predict higher AS.