Adapting the Unique Minds Program: Exploring the Feasibility of a Multiple Family Intervention for Children with Learning Disabilities in the Context of Spain

The Unique Minds Program (Stern, Unique Minds Program, 1999) addresses the socio‐emotional needs of children with learning disabilities (LD) and their families. Children and their parents work together in a multiple family group to learn more about LD and themselves as people with the capacity to solve problems in a collaborative way, including problems in family school relationships. This article reports the cultural adaptation of the program for use in Spain and findings from a feasibility study involving three multiple family groups and a total of 15 children and 15 mothers, using a pre‐post design. This Spanish adaptation of the program is called “Mentes Únicas”. Standardized outcome measures indicated an overall statistically significant decrease in children's self‐rated maladjustment and relationship difficulties by the end of the program. Improvements were endorsed by most mothers, although they were not always recognized by the children's teachers. The program had a high level of acceptability: Mothers and children felt safe, understood, and helped throughout the sessions. The efficacy of the adapted intervention for the context of Spain remains to be tested in a more rigorous study.     

Sensitive Topics,Missing Data,and Refusal in Social Network Studies: An Ethical Examination

We describe our ethics‐driven process of addressing missing data within a social network study about accountability for racism, classism, sexism, heterosexism, cis‐sexism, ableism, and other forms of oppression among social justice union organizers. During data collection, some would‐be participants did not return emails and others explicitly refused to engage in the research. All refusals came from women of color. We faced an ethical dilemma: Should we continue to seek participation from those who had not yet responded, with the hopes of recruiting more women of color from within the network so their perspectives would not be tokenized? Or, should we stop asking those who had been contacted multiple times, which would compromise the social network data and analysis? We delineate ways in which current discussions of the ethics of social network studies fell short, given our framework and our community psychology (CP ) values. We outline literature that was helpful in thinking through this challenge; we looked outside of CP to the decolonization literature on refusal. Lessons learned include listening for the possible meanings of refusals and considering the level of engagement and the labor required of participants when designing research studies.     

'To Paint the Portrait of a Bird': analytic work from the perspective of a 'developmental' Jungian

Jungians who are trained in the so-called 'Developmental School' straddle the two worlds of psychoanalysis and classical Jungian thinking. This is not always an easy position in which to be, but if the tensions can be held it is potentially a rich and creative way of working. In this paper I attempt to explore this position using the poem, 'To Paint the Portrait of a Bird' by Jacques Prévert as a metaphor for the analytic endeavour. From this perspective I hope to illustrate the importance of being able on the one hand to hold and maintain a clear frame for the careful and detailed exploration of the transference within which the more malign aspects of the psyche might be expressed, and, on the other, to allow the alchemical process of mutual transformation that lies outside the conscious understanding of the analytic couple.     

The Effectiveness of Cultural Adjustment and Trauma Services (CATS): Generating Practice-Based Evidence on a Comprehensive, School-Based Mental Health Intervention for Immigrant Youth

A collaborative study of Cultural Adjustment and Trauma Services (CATS), a comprehensive, school-based mental health program for traumatized immigrant children and adolescents, was conducted to generate practice-based evidence on the service delivery model across two school districts. Program effectiveness was assessed by testing whether client functioning and PTSD symptoms improved as a result of 7 separate service elements. An array of clinical services including CBT, supportive therapy, and coordinating services were provided to all students, and an evidence-based intervention for trauma, TF-CBT, was implemented with a subset of students. Greater quantities of CBT and supportive therapy increased functioning, while greater quantities of coordinating services decreased symptoms of PTSD. TF-CBT services were associated with both improved functioning and PTSD symptoms, although TF-CBT was implemented with fidelity to the overall comprehensive service model rather than the structured intervention model. Results suggest the comprehensive school-based model was effective, though different service components affected different student outcomes. Implications of these findings for immigrant mental health interventions and implementing structured evidence-based practices into community mental health programs are discussed. Suggestions are made for future research on existing mental health practices with immigrants.     

The role of the executive functions in school achievement at the end of Grade 1

The aim of this study was to determine the role of executive functions (EFs) in early school achievement when a variety of potential confounding factors were controlled. Measures of EF (inhibition, flexibility, and working memory) and school readiness were administered to a sample of 85 kindergartners (39 boys and 46 girls, 5-6 years old). School achievement was then assessed at the end of Grade 1. Results show math and reading/writing skills at the end of Grade 1 to be associated with kindergarten EFs. Only working memory contributed uniquely to the variance in school achievement after all covariates (preacademic abilities, affective variables, and family variables) were controlled and, even then, only with respect to math skills. On the other hand, working memory and inhibition had an indirect effect on reading/writing skills via anger-aggression. EF implication in school achievement is discussed in terms of task demands and child age.     

What matters when children play: Influence of Social Cognitive Theory and perceived environment on levels of physical activity among elementary-aged youth

ObjectivesSocial Cognitive Theory (SCT) has often been used as a guide to predict and modify physical activity (PA) behavior. We assessed the ability of commonly investigated SCT variables and perceived school environment variables to predict PA among elementary students. We also examined differences in influences between Hispanic and non-Hispanic students.DesignThis analysis used baseline data collected from eight schools who participated in a four-year study of a combined school-day curriculum and environmental intervention.MethodsData were collected from 393 students. A 3-step linear regression was used to measure associations between PA level, SCT variables (self-efficacy, social support, enjoyment), and perceived environment variables (schoolyard structures, condition, equipment/supervision). Logistic regression assessed associations between variables and whether students met PA recommendations.ResultsSchool and sex explained 6% of the moderate-to-vigorous PA models' variation. SCT variables explained an additional 15% of the models' variation, with much of the model's predictive ability coming from self-efficacy and social support. Sex was more strongly associated with PA level among Hispanic students, while self-efficacy was more strongly associated among non-Hispanic students. Perceived environment variables contributed little to the models.ConclusionsOur findings add to the literature on the influences of PA among elementary-aged students. The differences seen in the influence of sex and self-efficacy among non-Hispanic and Hispanic students suggests these are areas where PA interventions could be tailored to improve efficacy. Additional research is needed to understand if different measures of perceived environment or perceptions at different ages may better predict PA.     

Refus transfusionnel

After a twenty-year hiatus, the issue of transfusion refusal issued by Jehovah's Witnesses comes up in legal news with the decision of May 20, 2022 rendered by the Council of State. During these 20 years the rights of patients and the autonomy of the person have been considerably strengthened. Although the refusal of treatment is clearly stated in the law, the High Administrative Court nevertheless maintains its position.     

Investigation de l’effet des ressources personnelles dans la relation des demandes et de la santé psychologique en emploi des directions d’établissement scolaire

A proportion of 55 % of school administrators experience a high level of job stress mainly caused by relationship conflicts and overwork. According to the demands and resources of employment model, having personal resources would protect against the harmful effect of the difficulties experienced and the more specific a resource, the more it can counter the effect. Thus, political skills (HP) would decrease the effect of demands related to relationship conflicts, while the sense of self-efficacy (PES) decreases the negative impact of the workload on the PES. The objective of this study is to verify the effect of personal resources, HP and MS, on the relationship between job demands and job psychological health. A total of 232 school administrators from Quebec participated in the study. Job demands, as well as personal resources, are linked to anxiety and serenity according to Bakker and Demerouti (2007). Nevertheless, the SEP does not interact with the relationship of demands and psychological health in employment (PES). In addition, only the social astuteness dimension of HP moderates the relationship of demands and anxiety.     

School absenteeism and mental health among sexual minority youth and heterosexual youth

Adolescent school absenteeism is associated with negative outcomes such as conduct disorders, substance abuse, and dropping out of school. Mental health factors, such as depression and anxiety, have been found to be associated with increased absenteeism from school. Sexual minority youth (youth who are attracted to the same sex or endorse a gay, lesbian, or bisexual identity) are a group at risk for increased absenteeism due to fear, avoidance, and higher rates of depression and anxiety than their heterosexual peers. The present study used longitudinal data to compare sexual minority youth and heterosexual youth on excused and unexcused absences from school and to evaluate differences in the relations between depression and anxiety symptoms and school absences among sexual minority youth and heterosexual youth. A total of 108 14- to 19-years-old adolescents (71% female and 26% sexual minority) completed self-report measures of excused and unexcused absences and depression and anxiety symptoms. Compared to heterosexual youth, sexual minority youth reported more excused and unexcused absences and more depression and anxiety symptoms. Sexual minority status significantly moderated the effects of depression and anxiety symptoms on unexcused absences such that depression and anxiety symptoms were stronger predictors of unexcused absences for sexual minority youth than for heterosexual youth. The results demonstrate that sexual minority status and mental health are important factors to consider when assessing school absenteeism and when developing interventions to prevent or reduce school absenteeism among adolescents.     

Unraveling Brain Functional Connectivity of encoding and retrieval in the context of education

Human memory is an enigmatic component of cognition which many researchers have attempted to comprehend. Accumulating studies on functional connectivity see brain as a complex dynamic unit with positively and negatively correlated networks in perfect coherence during a task. We aimed to examine coherence of network connectivity during visual memory encoding and retrieval in the context of education. School Educated (SE) and College Educated (CE) healthy volunteers (n = 60) were recruited and assessed for visual encoding and retrieval. Functional connectivity using seed to voxel based connectivity analysis of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) was evaluated. We noticed that there were reciprocal dynamic changes in both dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) region and PCC regions during working memory encoding and retrieval. In agreement with the previous studies, there were more positively correlated regions during retrieval compared to encoding. The default mode network (DMN) networks showed greater negative correlations during more attentive task of visual encoding. In tune with the recent studies on cognitive reserve we also found that number of years of education was a significant factor influencing working memory connectivity. SE had higher positive correlation to DLPFC region and lower negative correlation to DMN in comparison with CE during encoding and retrieval.