The K-BIT: A screen for IQ in six diverse populations

Performance data were collected on the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test (K-BIT) from a total of 196 individuals from six diverse populations. College students did best, followed closely by closed head-injured adults and their controls; the order of performance then was learning-disabled children, psychiatric patients, and finally, neurosurgical patients in the acute stages of recovery.     

关于我国学生汉语阅读困难的研究

旨在探讨在我国学生的汉语学习中是否存在阅读困难问题。研究分别采用了目前国外较常使用的两种阅读困难操作定义和新近提出的截点法,对我国学生汉语学习中的阅读困难问题进行了考查。结果揭示出阅读困难在汉语学习者中同样存在,检出率分别为４．５５％和７．９６％．中国学生的阅读困难既表现在词汇上也表现在理解上;研究还发现同为阅读困难者男生和女生呈现出不同的特点。     

Differential relations of narcissism and self‐esteem to romantic relationships: The mediating role of perception discrepancy

Recent research has suggested that narcissism and self‐esteem, though correlated, are qualitatively different. Little research, however, has examined narcissism and self‐esteem simultaneously to test their unique contributions. The aims of this study are twofold: to examine the unique contributions of narcissism and self‐esteem to romantic relationships, and to test the mediating role of perception discrepancy (PD) in these relationships. One hundred and three pairs of dating couples in Hong Kong were recruited to complete measures of narcissism, self‐esteem, relationship satisfaction and PD. Results from actor–partner interdependence modeling (APIM) indicate that narcissism had significant negative associations with both self‐ and partner‐reported relationship satisfaction, whereas the effects of self‐esteem were generally positive. In subsequent actor–partner interdependence mediation modeling (APIMeM), in which PD was used as the mediator, narcissism and self‐esteem continued to show differential relations to both the outcomes and the mediators. In particular, narcissism had positive actor effects on PD, which further negatively predicted both self‐ and partner‐reported relationship satisfaction. In contrast, the predictive effects of self‐esteem were reversed and weaker. Implications of the findings for research and practice are discussed.     

The mediating role of maternal responsiveness in some longer term effects of postnatal depression on infant development

We hypothesized a mediating role for low maternal responsiveness in certain child developmental deficits found previously to be associated with postnatal depression. Forty depressed inpatients and 48 control (non-depressed) mothers and their infants were followed until 42 months postpartum. Mother–infant interactions were impaired at 6 months postpartum in the depressed group. Subsequent cognitive deficits were found in children's Full Scale IQ on the Wechsler Preschool Primary Scale of Intelligence (Revised) at 42 months of age. Statistical modeling of the mediation hypothesis confirmed that these effects were overwhelmingly explained by lowered maternal responsiveness at 6 months. Similarly, increased temperamental difficulties were apparent in children of depressed mothers but were not correlated with maternal responsiveness. Male infants of depressed mothers were disproportionately vulnerable (compared to females) to impaired cognitive abilities associated with maternal depression. The data concur with previous work and provide empirical support for the theoretical prediction that early disturbances of the mother–infant interaction will mediate some developmental deficits in the children of depressed mothers.     

The rise and fall of IQ in special ed: Historical trends and their implications

Using IQ records from 10 sites around the country, we examined longitudinal trends in IQ among mental retardation (MR) students during the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC) to WISC-Revised (R) transition in the 1970s and learning disability (LD) students during the WISC-R to WISC-3rd Revision (III) transition in the 1990s. Based on the work by Flynn [American Journal of Mental Deficiency 90 (1985) 236; Psychology, Public Policy, and Law 6 (2000) 191], we predicted a rise in IQ followed by a fall each time a newly normed IQ test is introduced into the schools and used to diagnose children as MR or LD. As expected, we found that mean IQs of MR and LD students followed a nearly identical parabolic trajectory, and differed depending on what year they were tested. IQs from the older norms were higher than IQs from the newly introduced norms. This systematic shift had a significant impact on the likelihood of a MR diagnosis. The broader implications of this pattern are discussed.     

Jensen Effects and African/Coloured/Indian/White differences on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in South Africa

A test is made to determine whether various ethnic group differences on tests of cognitive performance in South Africa are like the Black/White differences in the United States in being positively associated with a tests' g loadings, where g is the general factor of intelligence. A non-parametric re-analysis is made of data from 1056 White, 1063 Indian, 778 mixed-race “Coloured,” and 1093 Black 14 year olds on the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices Test in South Africa, given without time limits by Owen (1992) [Personality and Individual Differences, 13, 149]. The new analyses showed that the more highly correlated an item was with g, the more it predicted the White/Indian/Coloured/African differences on the test (Spearman's rhos from 0.35 to 0.85; all Ps<0.01). The effects remained regardless of which group g was extracted from. Understanding group differences around the world requires new research on the nature and nurture of g.     

People with intellectual disabilities on probation: an initial study

The two studies in this paper aim to investigate the prevalence and characteristics of people with intellectual disabilities in the probation service in England. Study one screened the abilities of a sample of 70 probationers in one single probation service. Study two compares a sub‐set of these to an equal number of control participants in order to further investigate the characteristics of those with intellectual disability on probation. Nearly 6% of service users appeared to have an intellectual disability, and 11% fell into the bottom 5% of the general population in terms of their intellectual and social functioning. We conclude that a significant minority of those in the probation service have an intellectual disability or similar needs. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Intellectual function in children with teacher reported language problems

We predicted that teacher reported language problems are associated with low IQ, even when gender and behavior-emotional disorders are controlled for. All subjects were participants in a population based study. In stage 1, teachers completed a questionnaire containing four items pertaining to language function. A case-control sample (n= 294) was assessed using WISC-III and Kiddie-SADS-PL. A child was defined with "language problems" (LP) if s/he obtained a score indicating severe problems on at least one item. Teacher reported LP was found in 9.9% of the population sample and 20.7% of the case-control sample, with a three-fold higher risk for boys than girls. The LP group obtained significantly lower scores on all WISC-III factors compared with the non-LP group. The differences were not accounted for by the presence of behavioral-emotional disorders. When primary school teachers report LP, further assessment of the child's cognitive function is warranted.     

铆题比例对等值精度的影响

在非等组铆测验设计中,铆题量占测验长度的多大比例比较合适,这个比例随测验长度的增大可否发生变化？这些是实际工作者和研究者非常关心的问题。该文在固定被试数和测验长度的条件下,探查铆题量所占测验长度比例（简称铆题比例）的变化对等值精度的影响,讨论了在实际等值中如何在等值精度和铆题比例之间取得平衡的问题。并在模拟研究的条件下,给出了几个反应实际等值精度的指标。     

The association of childhood intelligence with mortality risk from adolescence to middle age: Findings from the Aberdeen Children of the 1950s cohort study

There is growing evidence that childhood IQ is inversely associated with mortality in later life. However, the specificity of this association in terms of causes of death, whether it is continuous over the whole range of IQ scores and whether it is the same according to age and sex is not clear. In a large cohort (N = 11,603) of a complete population of children born in one city in the UK in the early 1950s, IQ measured at age 7 years (using a routinely administered picture test) was found to be inversely associated with mortality between the ages of 15 and 57 years. For every 1 SD increase in IQ at 7, the all cause mortality hazard ratio was 0.79 (95% CI 0.73, 0.85). On adjustment for a range of perinatal factors, father's social class at birth, number of sibs in the household and childhood height and weight, this was attenuated slightly to 0.81 (0.74, 0.88). Almost identical associations of IQ with mortality were seen for men and women as well as at younger (15–39) and older (40+) ages. These associations were across the entire IQ range, although some of the high mortality in the lowest category of IQ (< 70) was accounted for by causes associated with congenital disorders. Overall, external causes of death showed the strongest association, with weaker associations being seen for cancer. Further work is required to understand the mechanisms whereby childhood IQ has such a robust association with mortality in later life.