Relations Among Children's Coping Strategies and Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Coping Efficacy

The current study tests a model that depicts the relationships among coping strategies (active, distraction, avoidance, and support seeking) and anxiety symptoms. SEM is used to test if the relationship between these variables is mediated by coping efficacy. A large sample of Canadian children (N = 506) aged 8 to 11 years (boys = 249, girls = 245, unknown gender = 12) participated in the study. Results showed that coping efficacy is a partial mediator of the relations between active coping strategies and anxiety symptoms, however support was not found for it to be an effective mediator for other coping strategies. This study contributes to the understanding of childhood anxiety by highlighting the importance of the relationship between anxiety and the methods children use to cope with stress and how perceptions of their coping abilities influence this relationship.     

Processing Italian Relative Clauses: Working Memory Span and Word Order Effects on RTs

In this study, the authors aim to clarify whether the subject–object asymmetry in relative clause comprehension is due to the use of parsing strategies (Active Filler Theory) or to a greater memory load generated by object sentences. Two experiments investigate how individual differences in working memory span may influence the reading times of relative sentences in Italian, a language characterized by a flexible structure. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that object extraction is more complex than subject extraction when sentences have a canonical structure. Furthermore, low-span participants have particular difficulties with object relative sentence comprehension. The results of Experiment 2 show that subject-relative clauses with uncanonical structures are more complex to understand than object-relative clauses, and low-span participants have more difficulties than high-span participants in elaborating both subject and object relative clauses. These data seem to be coherent with the Active Filler Theory.     

The Value of Research Methods in Psychotherapy Research: A Reply to the Commentary of Dr Norton

Norton's commentary on our article has prompted us to think further about the purpose of psychotherapy research. We agree with his suggestion that researchers have much work to do to understand when and for whom interventions are most efficacious. We hope that our field will make progress in this regard. In this reply, we further describe why we believe careful attention to research methods, such as those highlighted in our article, is key to making progress in psychotherapy research.     

A Reply to the Commentaries of Drs DiBenedetto and Pakenham

This commentary addresses some of the cogent responses offered by Drs. DiBenedetto and Pakenham and the idea of an alternative approach to addressing the self‐care needs of our profession.     

The utility of written numerals for preschool children when solving additive problems / La utilidad de los numerales escritos en la resolución de problemas aditivos en niños preescolares

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the impact the presence conventional written numerals has on solving additives problems. We asked 45 children (aged four and five) to solve ten different 5 + 3 type problems by adding tokens that were placed into an opaque box in view of the children. The participants’ performance in counting, recognizing written numerals and solving a number conservation task were assessed. The results suggest that the presence of written numerals facilitated children’s ability to perform additive operations: they were able to use these numerals as a reference to calculate the amount of tokens added, even those who had not shown good quantitative judgement in the number conservation task. Identifying preschoolers’ possible reliance on written numerals could eventually influence formal teaching conditions.     

The Impact of Coping Strategies on the Operations in the Jungle Course of the Brazilian Army

The aim of this study is to investigate which coping strategies can predict success or failure in the Brazilian Army’s Jungle Operations Course. To achieve this, the sample included 36 military volunteers (18 who quit and 18 who completed the course) from a total of 63 candidates (57.14%), all male career officers and sergeants of the Brazilian Army. Results indicate that completers (n = 18) show significantly higher scores in 2 of the 8 different coping strategy factors—self-control and positive reappraisal—than those in the quitters group (n = 18). In general, emotion-focused strategies were prominent in relation to problem-focused ones. The findings of this study suggest that coping strategies focused on emotion, especially self-control and positive reappraisal, can influence individuals’ performance in situations of intensive military training, which possibly makes them more resilient, preparing them for a more successful training.     

Perceptions of dual career development among elite level swimmers and basketball players

ObjectiveThe purpose of this study was to (1) examine swimmers' and basketball players' perceptions of their dual career development (2) explore these perceptions for possible differences between male and female participants as well as between swimmers and basketball players.Design and methodSemi-structured interviews with 12 retired Slovene elite level swimmers and basketball players (six males and six females) were used to discuss about transitions, demands and challenges which occurred throughout their dual career development. The interviews were transcribed verbatim and analysed using the qualitative analytic software program Nvivo 10.ResultsQualitative analysis of interviews revealed that athletes perceived their athletic career in strong and reciprocal connection to other domains in their lives, i.e. academic/vocational, psychological, psychosocial, financial level. Some of the transitions occurring in their dual career were experienced as particularly important (e.g., transition to university, finishing university study) and connected to several challenges occurring at different levels of development. Differences between male and female participants, swimmers and basketball players in this study were identified.ConclusionThe study revealed a usefulness of using a holistic perspective when investigating athletes' dual career development, and a reciprocal nature of transitions occurring at different levels of athletes' development.     

Habits and beliefs that guide self-regulated learning: Do they vary with mindset?

Prior research by Kornell and Bjork (2007) and Hartwig and Dunlosky (2012) has demonstrated that college students tend to employ study strategies that are far from optimal. We examined whether individuals in the broader—and typically older—population might hold different beliefs about how best to study and learn, given their more extensive experience outside of formal coursework and deadlines. Via a web-based survey, however, we found striking similarities: Learners’ study decisions tend to be driven by deadlines, and the benefits of activities such as self-testing and reviewing studied materials are mostly unappreciated. We also found evidence, however, that one's mindset with respect to intelligence is related to one's habits and beliefs: Individuals who believe that intelligence can be increased through effort were more likely to value the pedagogical benefits of self-testing, to restudy, and to be intrinsically motivated to learn, compared to individuals who believe that intelligence is fixed.