Protective effect of aerobic fitness on the detrimental influence of exhaustive exercise on information processing capacity

Although aerobic fitness has been thought to protect against the detrimental cognitive effects following exhaustive exercise, available evidence from studies using traditional mean behavioral measures remain somewhat equivocal.PurposeThis study aimed to reconcile this discrepancy by using a novel theory-driven diagnostic tool, the Systems Factorial Technology (SFT).MethodsSixty-six healthy young adults aged from 18 to 30 years old with different levels of aerobic fitness (n = 33 for the higher-fit and lower-fit groups) completed a go/nogo version of redundant-target task before and after a graded exercise test (GXT) until exhaustion. SFT was used to calculate the resilience capacity, which reflects the information processing capacity underlying inhibitory control.ResultsFollowing the GXT, both higher-fit and lower-fit groups showed faster responses while leaving accuracy unchanged as compared to the performance at the pretest. On the other hand, the resilience capacity decreased for the lower-fit group but was maintained for the higher-fit group.ConclusionThe present findings suggest that aerobic fitness may modulate the individual difference in decisional mechanism following exhaustive exercise. In sum, this study offers an alternative mechanistic explanation regarding cognitive individual differences in response to exhaustive exercise and provides novel insights into the significance of maintaining a state of high physical fitness for those who need to perform cognitively challenging tasks under physically stressful conditions (e.g., elite athletes).     

Family Functioning among Rural Teens and Caregivers: Interactive Influence on Teen Dating Violence

Multi-informant assessment of family functioning is considered best practice in research and clinical settings. However, in the area of teen dating violence, multi-informant assessment of family functioning has received limited attention. The current study investigated whether and to what extent caregiver and adolescent perceptions of family functioning interact in their influence on adolescent dating violence. Participants were 493 adolescents and their primary caregivers from a rural southeastern community in the United States. As hypothesized, a paired-samples t test showed that adolescents’ scores on the family functioning measure were significantly lower than their caregivers’ scores. Logistic regressions revealed that adolescents’ positive views of family functioning were significantly associated with a lower likelihood of dating violence victimization but not perpetration and that caregivers’ views on family functioning moderated the impact of adolescent-reported family functioning on both dating violence outcomes. Post hoc analyses showed that adolescents with negative perceptions of family environment were most likely to be victims and perpetrators of dating violence when their parents also reported more negative views of family environment. The article concludes with a discussion of how these findings can: (a) advance our understanding of the impact of family functioning on teen dating relationships and (b) inform practical efforts aimed at preventing dating aggression among teens.     

The Family Resilience Inventory: A Culturally Grounded Measure of Current and Family-of-Origin Protective Processes in Native American Families

The purpose of this article is to introduce the Family Resilience Inventory (FRI) and present findings on initial efforts to validate this measure. The FRI is designed to assess family resilience in one's current family and in one's family of origin, enabling the assessment of family protective factors across these generations. The development of the FRI was the result of many years of ethnographic research with Southeastern Native American tribes; yet, we believe that this scale is applicable to families of various backgrounds. Items for the FRI were derived directly from thematic analysis of qualitative data with 436 participants, resulting in two 20-item scales. Due to missing data, eight cases were removed from the 127 participants across two tribes, resulting in an analytic sample size of 119. Conceptually, the FRI is comprised of two factors or scales measuring distinct dimensions of family resilience (i.e., resilience in one's current family and resilience in one's family of origin). The results of the confirmatory factor analysis supported the hypothesized two-factor structure (X²(644) = 814.14, p = .03, X²/df = 1.10, RMSEA = .03, CFI = .97, TLI = .96). Both the subscales and the total FRI scale (α = .92) demonstrated excellent reliability. The results also provided preliminary evidence of convergent and discriminant validity. This measure fills a gap in the absence of community-based, culturally grounded, and empirical measures of family resilience. The examination of family resilience, which may occur across generations, is an exciting new contribution of the FRI.     

Generate,maintain, manipulate? Exploring the multidimensional nature of motor imagery

Motor imagery (MI), the mental rehearsal of a motor task, is thought to be a synergistic interaction between processes that allow for the generation, maintenance, and manipulation, of motor images. While our understanding of the multidimensional nature of MI stems from research examining various methods to assess MI ability, limited research has been conducted employing multiple assessments across participants to probe the underlying dimensions of MI. Accordingly, the current study sought to explore the multidimensional nature of MI using an exploratory approach that would allow for the dimensions of imagery to be examined and linked to each assessment measure. Specifically, participants (N = 81) underwent a battery of MI-assessments (including questionnaires, mental chronometry, a hand laterality judgment task, and a MI-based learning task), and data was analyzed via principal component analysis (PCA). Three components resulted, which were named based on which outcome measures loaded on to the component: generation, maintenance, and manipulation of motor images. We further discuss a fourth component, named ‘temporal sequencing’ of motor images, identified via the initial component solution. Concordant with previous research, we highlight the importance of employing multiple measures when assessing imagery ability prior to its use in training. Notably, this work allowed us to link assessments of MI to the different dimensions of MI, informing on the nature of MI.     

Psychometric properties of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale in women with breast cancer

Background/Objective:The aim was to analyse the psychometric properties of the 10-item version of the Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC 10©) in breast cancer patients. Method: A sample of 169 Spanish women who had undergone surgery for breast cancer completed the CD-RISC 10©, along with questionnaires assessing life satisfaction, emotional intelligence, self-esteem, and positive and negative affect. Results: Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported a single-factor structure with adequate fit indices. Reliability was analysed by calculating McDonald’s omega coefficient, which yielded a value of .83. Validity evidence based on relationships with other variables was provided by positive and significant correlations between scores on the CD-RISC 10© and scores on emotional intelligence (clarity and repair), life satisfaction, self-esteem and positive affect, and by a negative and significant correlation with negative affect. The majority of these correlations were above |.50|. Conclusions: The CD-RISC 10© has satisfactory psychometric properties and is a suitable tool for measuring resilience in patients with cancer. The instrument is quick and easy to apply and may be used in both clinical and research contexts.     

Clinical issues in the assessment of adolescent alcohol and other drug use

Clinicians working with adolescents are routinely faced with the issue that alcohol and other drug (AOD) involvement may be part of the clinical picture either as a primary problem or a contributing factor to other problems or disorders. Fortunately, assessment research in this area has produced several behaviorally oriented and psychometrically sound tools from which to choose for problem identification, referral and treatment of youth suspected of AOD abuse. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of several issues related to the clinical utility of such assessment tools.     

Hispanic and non-Hispanic children's performance on PASS cognitive processes and achievement

Hispanics have become the largest minority group in the United States. Hispanic children typically come from working class homes with parents who have limited English language skills and educational training. This presents challenges to psychologists who assess these children using traditional IQ tests because of the considerable verbal and academic (e.g., quantitative) content. Some researchers have suggested that intelligence conceptualized on the basis of psychological processes may have utility for assessment of children from culturally and linguistically diverse populations because verbal and quantitative skills are not included. This study examined Hispanic children's performance on the Cognitive Assessment System (CAS; [Naglieri, J.A., and Das, J.P. (1997). Cognitive Assessment System. Itasca, IL: Riverside.]) which is based on the Planning, Attention, Simultaneous, and Successive (PASS) theory of intelligence. The scores of Hispanic (N = 244) and White (N = 1956) children on the four PASS processes were obtained and the respective correlations between PASS and achievement compared. Three complementary sampling methodologies and data analysis strategies were chosen to compare the Ethnic groups. Sample size was maximized using nationally representative groups and demographic group differences were minimized using smaller matched samples. Small differences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic children were found when ability was measured with tests of basic PASS processes. In addition, the correlation between the PASS constructs and achievement were substantial for both Hispanic and non-Hispanic children and were not significantly different between the groups.     

A Psychometric Evaluation of the Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol Questionnaire (AAAQ) in Alcohol Dependent Outpatients

The Approach and Avoidance of Alcohol Questionnaire (AAAQ; McEvoy et al. in Addiction 99:482–497, 2004) was administered to a clinical sample of 138 alcohol dependent men and women. An exploratory factor analysis was used to determine the AAAQ factor structure and a confirmatory analysis run on a second administration of the AAAQ. Convergent validity was examined by conducting an alcohol cue reactivity test and by administering the Timeline Follow-Back (TLFB), a retrospective calendar method for assessing alcohol consumption, and several measures of alcohol-related problems. The factor analysis supported a two-factor solution representing approach and avoidance dimensions. Regressions predicting measures of alcohol cue reactivity, alcohol consumption, and other alcohol-related constructs with the AAAQ provide support for its convergent validity. The results suggest that alcohol craving may be viewed as a multi-dimensional construct that includes both approach and avoidance inclinations which may vary depending on the population under examination.

中国人人格量表（QZPS）的编制过程与初步结果

旨在编制能够反映中国人人格结构特点的中国人人格量表（QZPS）。文中首先分析了直接采用或修订西方人格量表的问题和潜在危险,以及目前国内使用的各种人格量表存在的局限;按照人格研究的“词汇学假设”,根据杨国枢和王登峰（1999）以及后来的研究所确定的中国人人格结构的七因素模型,提出了QZPS的编制原则和操作程序。按照人格特质形容词的含义编写测量项目,并根据小因素和大因素的含义对项目进行修改,初步确定了1600多个项目。经2280名被试的评定,初步筛选出409个项目。再经1099名被试评定,确定了215个项目构成QZPS,测量中国人人格的7个维度和18个小因素。文中还报告了对QZPS的项目分析的结果     

Cross-Validation of the Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2 Youth Version: An Exploration of Strength-Based Latent Traits

High-quality measurement is a necessary requirement to develop and evaluate the effectiveness of programs that use strength-based principles and strategies. Using independent cross-validation samples, we report two studies that explored the construct validity of the BERS-2 Youth Report, a popular measure designed to assess youth strengths, whose conceptual structure has not yet been examined. In Study 1, an exploratory factor analysis found a four-factor solution with conceptual support, which included both internal assets associated with (a) the management of emotions and positive social interaction skills and (b) engagement in the important social contexts of family and school. In Study 2, confirmatory factor analyses found reasonable model fit for the BERS-2 five-factor structure and superior model fit for the more parsimonious four-factor solution found in Study 1. In future studies, parallel reporting of the four-factor model may provide additional insight to the nature and structure of the BERS-2 Youth Version’s clinical validity and utility when compared with the five-factor model, thus potentially contributing to a broader objective to develop a better understanding of important strength-based latent traits.