Reminiscence functions over time: consistency of self functions and variation of prosocial functions

The current study examines the temporal stability of the tripartite model of reminiscence functions in which eight separate reminiscence functions map onto three second-order factors which contribute significantly to measurement of an overarching reminiscence latent construct. We collected online responses from 411 adults 50+ years of age. Confirmatory factor analytic models were computed at three points of data collection over 16 months. Invariance analyses were next undertaken to simultaneously compare the measurement properties to assess within-person stability of reminiscence functions over time. The tripartite structure of reminiscence functions was replicated at each point of data collection. As hypothesised, self-positive and self-negative functions are consistent across points of data collection, whereas prosocial functions vary over time. The temporal stability of the self functions may be attributed to enduring characteristics of the individual such as personality traits and life attitudes, as well as their solitary nature. Previous research indicates that consistency of self-positive reminiscence functions has ensuing benefits for physical health and psychological well-being; the opposite is true for self-negative functions. The temporal variation of prosocial functions may be due to the varying availability of others to share memories and their responsiveness to the emotional context.     

药价“虚高”:成因、结果分析与对策探讨

药品价格“虚高”已成为近年来药品市场中的一个突出问题。通过考量药价“虚高”的成因,并从实证的角度分析药价“虚高”的结果———“有效需求人数”和“消费者剩余”的减少,提出一些建议。     

Scientific Peer Review: A Case Study From Local And Global Analyses.

The dialog between Staddon (2001, 2004) and Baum (2004) raises general questions about the nature of scientific peer review. Their dialog displays effects on peer review of differences of opinion about the relative merits of local and global analyses. Baum (1995, 1997, 2001, 2002) favors global analyses as a paradigm different, newer, and better than the local, dynamic, real‐time approach that plays a significant role in Staddon (2001). According to the Kuhnian perspective (Kuhn, 1996) Baum advocates, we can better understand his review of Staddon (2001) by considering the implications for it of his commitment to the idea that a global analysis is a superior scientific paradigm. This commentary examines some characteristics of local and global analyses, as well as some of their possible implications for peer review in the context of a reviewer's belief in the Kuhnian idea of incommensurability: According to this idea, a reviewer who either is, or who believes he is, from one paradigm is unlikely, for better or worse, to understand or perhaps even tolerate work from a different paradigm. It is recommended that a process be developed to encourage “truth in peer reviewing” to reduce possible conflicts of interest embedded in the current conception of scientific peer review.     

Managing organizational commitment: Insights from longitudinal research

This article summarizes what is known about the active management of affective organizational commitment (AOC) through a review of 58 studies employing longitudinal research designs. The review yields six broad categories of antecedents that have empirically demonstrated effects on AOC: socialization practices, organizational changes, human resource practices, interpersonal relations, employee–organizational relations, and a residual “other” category. Insights from the review include (a) that perceptions of personal attachment to the organization are among the most substantiated (but tenuous) strategies for enhancing AOC, (b) that theorizing and research efforts have focused almost exclusively on achieving high levels of AOC, and (c) organizations have been reticent to address situations when AOC is low. Implications and recommendations for the theoretical, research and practical advancement of AOC are offered.     

Risk factors for onset of eating disorders: Evidence of multiple risk pathways from an 8-year prospective study

Objective

Use classification tree analysis with lagged predictors to determine empirically derived cut-points for identifying adolescent girls at risk for future onset of threshold, subthreshold, and partial eating disorders and test for interactions between risk factors that may implicate qualitatively distinct risk pathways.

Method

Data were drawn from a prospective study of 496 adolescent girls who completed diagnostic interviews and surveys annually for 8 years.

Results

Body dissatisfaction emerged as the most potent predictor; adolescent girls in the upper 24% of body dissatisfaction showed a 4.0-fold increased incidence of eating disorder onset (24% vs. 6%). Among participants in the high body dissatisfaction branch, those in the upper 32% of depressive symptoms showed a 2.9-fold increased incidence of onset (43% vs. 15%). Among participants in the low body dissatisfaction branch, those in the upper 12% of dieting showed a 3.6-fold increased incidence onset (18% vs. 5%).

Conclusion

This three-way interaction suggests a body dissatisfaction pathway to eating disorder onset that is amplified by depressive symptoms, as well as a pathway characterized by self-reported dieting among young women who are more satisfied with their bodies. It may be possible to increase the effectiveness of prevention programs by targeting each of these qualitatively distinct risk groups, rather than only individuals with a single risk factor.     

Infants in group care: their interactions with professional caregivers and parents across the second year of life

Seventy children were observed during structured play with their primary professional caregivers and three peers in the child care center and with their primary caregiving parents at home at 15 and 23 months of age. The same structured play tasks were used in the two settings and the quality of the children's interactions with caregivers and parents was rated using the same 7-point scales. As expected, the quality of caregiver–child interactions significantly increased between 15 and 23 months. At 15 months, the quality of caregiver–child interactions was significantly lower than the quality of parent–child interactions, particularly with regard to caregiver supportive presence and respect for the child's autonomy. At 23 months, however, the quality of caregiver–child interactions was no longer lower and in some respects even higher than the quality of parent–child interactions. At both ages, the children expressed more negativity towards their parents than towards their professional caregivers.     

Academic Achievement Over 8 Years Among Children Who Met Modified Criteria for Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder at 4–6 Years of Age

The predictive validity of symptom criteria for different subtypes of ADHD among children who were impaired in at least one setting in early childhood was examined. Academic achievement was assessed seven times over 8 years in 125 children who met symptom criteria for ADHD at 4–6 years of age and in 130 demographically-matched non-referred comparison children. When intelligence and other confounds were controlled, children who met modified criteria for the predominantly inattentive subtype of ADHD in wave 1 had lower reading, spelling, and mathematics scores over time than both comparison children and children who met modified criteria for the other subtypes of ADHD. In some analyses, children who met modified criteria for the combined type had somewhat lower mathematics scores than comparison children. The robust academic deficits relative to intelligence in the inattentive group in this age range suggest either that inattention results in academic underachievement or that some children in the inattentive group have learning disabilities that cause secondary symptoms of inattention. Unexpectedly, wave 1 internalizing (anxiety and depression) symptoms independently predicted deficits in academic achievement controlling ADHD, intelligence, and other predictors.     

Few Preschool Boys and Girls with ADHD are Well-Adjusted During Adolescence

To estimate the prevalence of being well-adjusted in adolescence, boys and girls with (n = 96) and without (n = 126) attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were assessed seven times in eight years starting when they were 4–6 years of age. Symptoms of ADHD, ODD/CD, and depression/anxiety in addition to social skills and social preference were gathered using multiple methods and informants. Being well-adjusted was defined by surpassing thresholds in at least four of the five domains. At the 7- and 8-year follow-up, when youth were 11–14 years old, probands were significantly less likely to be well-adjusted relative to age- and ethnicity-matched control children. Only a minority of children with ADHD was well-adjusted in adolescence when emotional, behavioral, and social domains were considered simultaneously. Even when their ADHD symptoms improved over time, most probands exhibited significant impairment 7–8 years after their initial assessment.     

Identification of Early Child and Family Risk Factors for Aggressive Victim Status in First Grade

This prospective investigation sought to discriminate children who were both aggressive towards and victimized by peers in the first grade, from those who were only aggressive, only victimized, or neither (i.e., socially adjusted), using early child and family risk factors. Two hundred thirty-eight children, their mothers, and teachers participated in a longitudinal study since birth. All three aggressor/victim subgroups showed greater temperamental dysregulation than the socially adjusted children, but only aggressive victims had significantly poorer social perception skills. Aggressive victims were distinguished from aggressors by greater exposure to maternal depression and from victims by lower levels of early inhibition, but they shared the experiences of negative family emotional expressiveness with aggressors and greater mother-child negativity with victims. The identification of early risk factors is crucial to prevention and early intervention efforts that have the potential to attenuate the long term emotional, social, and academic problems associated with aggressive victim status.     

Relationships Between Parental Negativity and Childhood Antisocial Behavior over Time: A Bidirectional Effects Model in a Longitudinal Genetically Informative Design

This study examined the direction and etiology underlying the relationships between parental negativity and early childhood antisocial behavior using a bidirectional effects model in a longitudinal genetically informative design. We analyzed parent reports of parental negativity and early childhood antisocial behavior in 6,230 pairs of twins at 4 and 7 years of age. Results from a cross-lagged twin model contribute to the understanding of the mechanisms underlying the bidirectional processes involved in parental negativity and childhood antisocial behavior. Specifically, the findings of this study suggest that the association between parenting and child antisocial behavior is best explained by both parent-driven and child-driven effects. We found support for the notion that parent's negative feelings towards their children environmentally mediate the risk for child antisocial behavior. We also found evidence of genetically mediated child effects; in which genetically influenced antisocial behavior evoke parental negativity towards the child.