Children of mothers being released from incarceration: characteristics and potential targets for intervention

Incarcerated mothers and their children may face a multitude of problems. To identify possible targets for intervention, more clarity is needed about characteristics of these children and their mothers. This study examined children’s life events, behaviour problems and social cognitions and mothers’ parenting behaviours as potential targets for intervention with mothers being released from incarceration, in the Netherlands with a culturally diverse sample. Participants were 121 children of mothers being released from incarceration and 63 children of comparison mothers from disadvantaged areas, without a history of incarceration. Children of mothers being released from incarceration were more disadvantaged in life events, had more behaviour problems, and their mothers’ parenting behaviours were characterized by lower involvement and poorer monitoring compared with children of comparison mothers. Suboptimal parenting behaviours of mothers being released from incarceration were statistically associated with children’s behaviour problems. Hence, these children face more difficulties that may contribute to problematic development than children from another at-risk population.     

共情与青少年内外化问题的关系及影响机制

内外化问题是青少年最常见的心理行为问题,共情与青少年内外化问题具有重要联系,但以往研究青少年内外化问题的时候不注重共情不同成分的区分;即使区分了共情的不同成分,认知共情和情绪共情作为共情的不同成分和内外化问题的关系仍旧存在一定争议,且共情对内外化问题影响的机制鲜有探讨。本文首先综述了认知共情和情绪共情与青少年内外化问题的关系,并借助共情的发生过程（自我-他人模型）理论、发展过程（风险性发展模型）理论和相关神经生理因素,为理解共情对青少年内外化问题的影响机制提供了解释。未来研究可明确共情的定义,发展更生态化的测评方式,并进一步探索影响因素及机制,结合和关注个体特点、特殊群体及文化背景,以便为揭示共情与青少年内外化问题构建更系统的理论。     

The decision tree polytope and its application to sequential decision problems

This paper describes a new mathematical programming approach to sequential decision problems that have an underlying decision tree structure. The approach, based upon a characterization of strategies as extreme points of a 0–1 polytope called the ‘decision tree polytope’, is particularly suited to the direct examination of risk-return and other tradeoffs amongst strategies. However, it can also be used for conventional utility maximization if a utility function is available. Further, the approach requires no algorithmic development—it can be implemented using commercially available algebraic modeling software and can solve large problems. A related, and already known, approach can be used for some more general Markov decision problems. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Outranking-Based Interactive Exploration of a Set of Multicriteria Alternatives

Interactive procedures are very effective for exploring sets of alternatives with a view to finding the best compromise alternative. In this paper we consider the interactive exploration of implicitly or explicitly given large sets of alternatives. Upon review of classical interactive procedures, which usually assume a utility function preference model, we distinguish three typical operations used in various interactive procedures: contraction of the explored set, exploration of some neighbourhood of a current alternative and reduction of a sample of the explored set. After pointing out some areas for improvement in the traditional procedures, we describe three interactive procedures performing the three operations respectively using an outranking relation preference model. Owing to the proposed ways of building and exploiting the outranking relation, the weak points of the traditional procedures can be overcome. Finally we solve an exemplary problem using all three procedures. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

同伴、父母对青少年吸烟认识、吸烟行为的相对影响力

以1042名初一至高三学生为被试,考察了最要好同伴、父母对青少年吸烟认识和吸烟行为的相对影响力,以及同伴和父母对青少年吸烟行为的影响方式和影响途径。结果发现:(1)与父母作用相比,最要好同伴吸烟行为和态度对青少年吸烟认识的作用力要更大。但在不同的群体上,父母的影响力加强了;(2)与青少年吸烟认识相比,父母对青少年吸烟行为的作用力加大了,这种影响力同样表现在不同的群体上;(3)青少年的吸烟认识可以显著地预测其吸烟行为;(4)最要好同伴吸烟行为和态度、父母吸烟行为、青少年对吸烟的认识可以直接影响青少年的吸烟行为,而且最要好同伴吸烟行为和态度又通过青少年的吸烟认识对其吸烟行为产生间接的作用;(5)最要好同伴吸烟行为对青少年吸烟行为的影响力要大于父母的影响力。     

Early tactile experience of low birth weight children: links to later mental health and social adaptation

The purpose of this study was twofold: to determine (1) the degree to which specific qualities of maternal touch may contribute to the low birth weight infant's emotional and behavioural problems as well as social adaptation, and (2) the relationship between maternal touch and a mother's other caregiving behaviour. The sample included 114 socioculturally diverse infants and their mothers who were videotaped during an infant feeding when the baby was 3 months old. This videotape was analysed to assess dimensions of mother–infant interaction, including maternal touch. Data on perinatal risk and the mother's acceptance versus rejection of the infant were also acquired. Social adaptation and emotional/behavioural problems were measured when the child was 2 years of age. Hierarchical regression analyses indicated that maternal touch accounted for 15% of the variance in the likelihood of a child having emotional/behavioural problems at age 2. Children who received more nurturing touch had significantly fewer internalizing problems (such as depression) while children receiving both more frequent touch and harsh touch had more externalizing problems (such as aggressive behaviour). Infants who were less responsive to their caregivers were especially at risk of developing aggressive/destructive behaviour as a result of frequent touch. But less responsive infants also appeared to benefit most from greater use of diverse types of maternal touch, accounting for 6% of the variance in superior adaptive behaviour at age 2. Nurturing touch was the only quality that showed even a modest relationship to other caregiving behaviour, suggesting that touch may play a distinct role in the infant's psychosocial development. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Towards completeness: Husserl on theories of manifolds 1890–1901

Husserl’s notion of definiteness, i.e., completeness is crucial to understanding Husserl’s view of logic, and consequently several related philosophical views, such as his argument against psychologism, his notion of ideality, and his view of formal ontology. Initially Husserl developed the notion of definiteness to clarify Hermann Hankel’s ‘principle of permanence’. One of the first attempts at formulating definiteness can be found in the Philosophy of Arithmetic, where definiteness serves the purpose of the modern notion of ‘soundness’ and leads Husserl to a ‘computational’ view of logic. Inspired by Gauss and Grassmann Husserl then undertakes a further investigation of theories of manifolds. When Husserl subsequently renounces psychologism and changes his view of logic, his idea of definiteness also develops. The notion of definiteness is discussed most extensively in the pair of lectures Husserl gave in front of the mathematical society in Göttingen (1901). A detailed analysis of the lectures, together with an elaboration of Husserl’s lectures on logic beginning in 1895, shows that Husserl meant by definiteness what is today called ‘categoricity’. In so doing Husserl was not doing anything particularly original; since Dedekind’s ‘Was sind und sollen die Zahlen’ (1888) the notion was ‘in the air’. It also characterizes Hilbert’s (1900) notion of completeness. In the end, Husserl’s view of definiteness is discussed in light of Gödel’s (1931) incompleteness results.     

Predicting Change in Parenting Stress Across Early Childhood: Child and Maternal Factors

This study examined maternal parenting stress in a sample of 430 boys and girls including those at risk for externalizing behavior problems. Children and their mothers were assessed when the children were ages 2, 4, and 5. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was used to examine stability of parenting stress across early childhood and to examine child and maternal factors predicting parenting stress at age 2 and changes in parenting stress across time. Results indicated that single parenthood, maternal psychopathology, child anger proneness, and child emotion dysregulation predicted 2-year parenting stress. Child externalizing behaviors predicted initial status and changes across time in parenting stress. Stability of parenting stress was dependent upon child externalizing problems, as well as interactions between child externalizing problems and gender, and child externalizing problems and emotion regulation. Results are discussed in the context of mechanisms by which parenting stress may influence the development of child externalizing behaviors.     

Behavioral Outcomes of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and Triple P—Positive Parenting Program: A Review and Meta-Analysis

We conducted a review and meta-analyses of 24 studies to evaluate and compare the outcomes of two widely disseminated parenting interventions—Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and Triple P-Positive Parenting Program. Participants in all studies were caregivers and 3- to 12-year-old children. In general, our analyses revealed positive effects of both interventions, but effects varied depending on intervention length, components, and source of outcome data. Both interventions reduced parent-reported child behavior and parenting problems. The effect sizes for PCIT were large when outcomes of child and parent behaviors were assessed with parent-report, with the exclusion of Abbreviated PCIT, which had moderate effect sizes. All forms of Triple P had moderate to large effects when outcomes were parent-reported child behaviors and parenting, with the exception of Media Triple P, which had small effects. PCIT and an enhanced version of Triple P were associated with improvements in observed child behaviors. These findings provide information about the relative efficacy of two programs that have received substantial funding in the USA and Australia, and findings should assist in making decisions about allocations of funding and dissemination of these parenting interventions in the future.

A latent variable modeling approach to identifying subtypes of serious and violent female juvenile offenders

Females have recently become an important population in research related to serious and violent juvenile offending. Although a small body of research exists on girls in the deep end of the system, very few studies have examined the degree of heterogeneity within high-risk female samples. This study applied latent class analysis (LCA) to identify subgroups of female juvenile offenders based on their self-report of offending profiles (N=133). Results supported a three-class solution with subgroups characterized by patterns of 'violent and delinquent', 'delinquency only', and 'low' offending patterns. The LCA solution was replicated in an independent sample of high-risk females. The 'violent and delinquent' class was characterized by significantly higher rates of DSM-IV diagnoses for internalizing disorders, affect dysregulation, exposure to violence (within the home, school and neighborhood), and familial histories of criminality. Implications for future research, policy and clinical practice are discussed.