Structure of preschool phonological sensitivity: overlapping sensitivity to rhyme,words, syllables,and phonemes

Phonological sensitivity is an important causal variable in reading acquisition; however, there is controversy concerning its nature. One view holds that sensitivity to various linguistic units reflects independent abilities, whereas another holds sensitivity to these units reflects one ability. We examined relations among sensitivity to words, syllables, rhymes, and phonemes in 149 older preschool children (4- and 5-year-olds) and 109 younger preschool children (2- and 3-year-olds) who completed eight measures of phonological sensitivity and measures of print knowledge. Confirmatory factor analyses of all combinations of word, syllable, rhyme, and phoneme factors found that a one-factor model best explained the data from both groups of children (CFIs >.98). Only variance common to all phonological sensitivity skills was related to print knowledge and rudimentary decoding. Findings support a developmental conceptualization of phonological sensitivity.     

A Path of Counselor Self‐Awareness

This article explores self‐reflection and self‐awareness from an ethical standpoint, proposing that counselors have a responsibility to themselves, their clients, and the profession to engage in these practices. The authors propose a path to counselor self‐awareness and a 2nd process that assumes counselor mastery.     

Measuring and testing awareness of emotional face expressions

Comparison of behavioural measures of consciousness has attracted much attention recently. In a recent article, Szczepanowski et al. conclude that confidence ratings (CR) predict accuracy better than both the perceptual awareness scale (PAS) and post-decision wagering (PDW) when using stimuli with emotional content (fearful vs. neutral faces). Although we find the study interesting, we disagree with the conclusion that CR is superior to PAS because of two methodological issues. First, the conclusion is not based on a formal test. We performed this test and found no evidence that CR predicted accuracy better than PAS (p = .4). Second, Szczepanowski et al. used the present version of PAS in a manner somewhat different from how it was originally intended, and the participants may not have been adequately instructed. We end our commentary with a set of recommendations for future studies using PAS.     

Student Preferences in Divisional Studies and their Preferential Activities

Samples of preadolescents, adolescents, and young adults of middle-class backgrounds from Canadian and Asian-Indian populations were used to assess the hypothesis that with age, individuals reveal increasing differentiation in categories of personal characteristics, when evaluating themselves. The results of this cross-cultural study showed a linear increase in variance with age, in both cultural samples, and confirmed the findings of earlier investigations conducted exclusively with American-born subjects. Consistency of the findings of increasing differentiation in self-evaluations with age in the American, Canadian, and Asian samples suggests that such differentiation is a basic developmental factor in the organization of self-evaluations across cultures. In addition, it was found that, as compared with the Canadian sample, the Asian sample had significantly lower mean summation self-evaluation scores and lower mean variance scores at each age level. The implications of these cultural differences are discussed.     

Validation of the Italian Emotion Awareness Questionnaire for children and adolescents

This study aimed at validating the Emotion Awareness Questionnaire (EAQ, Rieffe et al., 2008) for Italian children and adolescents. Emotion awareness is a prerequisite of emotion regulation including the abilities to monitor and differentiate emotions, locate their antecedents, and value the importance of one's own and others' emotions. The EAQ consists of six scales: Differentiating Emotions, Verbal Sharing of Emotions, Not Hiding Emotions, Bodily Awareness of Emotions, Attending to Others' Emotions, and Analyses of (Own) Emotions. The questionnaire was filled in twice with a one-year time interval. At T1, 420 Italian children and adolescents took part (M = 12.65; SD = 1.41). Additionally, the Somatic Complaints List was administered to examine the concurrent validity of the EAQ. Results confirmed the six-factor structure, showed good psychometric properties of the separate scales and a good concurrent validity, which make the EAQ a reliable instrument to administer emotion awareness in Italian youth.     

Metalinguistic development in French learners enrolled in an immersion programme: A longitudinal study

Research on bilingualism has shown a bilingual advantage in phonological and syntactic awareness, and more recently on some morphological awareness tasks in children who had acquired two languages simultaneously. However, there is still limited knowledge about this advantage in students who acquire a second language in school after having developed a first language. The present longitudinal study addressed this issue by comparing, over the first two years of primary school, the development of metalinguistic abilities in 33 French learners enrolled in an immersion French–German programme to that of 43 French monolingual peers. Results support the bilingual advantage and add to the growing body of research reaching the same conclusion. In this study, this advantage appears as early as in first grade and the gap favouring second language learners widens with time. The results are discussed in light of differences between the characteristics of the two languages.     

To Add Insight to Injury: Childhood Abuse,Abuse Perceptions,and the Emotional and Physical Health of Young Adults

Although childhood abuse is strongly associated with psychological difficulties, survivors may not perceive their experiences as abusive. Depression, anxiety, dissociation, and physical health complaints may decrease perceptions of abuse and may also be exacerbated by individuals' abuse perceptions. The current study examined abuse perceptions, abuse experiences, and current symptoms among 185 university students. Ninety-six participants repeated the study 1–2 years later. At Time 1, self-labeling as “abused” or “maltreated” was not related to psychological or physical health symptoms. At Time 2, self-labeling as “abused” or “maltreated” was positively related to depression, anxiety, and dissociation. Results indicate that abuse perceptions may change over time and may be connected with emotional and physical symptoms.     

Reading and Phonological Awareness Skills in Children Exposed to Domestic Violence

This study examined whether children exposed to domestic violence perform worse on tests of reading and phonological awareness than children from nonviolent homes. Forty children, ages 6 to 9 years, were divided into control or domestic violence groups based on their mothers' responses on the revised Conflict Tactics Scales (CTS2). The groups were matched on age, gender, nonverbal IQ, and socioeconomic status. The domestic violence group performed worse than the control group on all measures of reading and phonological awareness. Significantly more children in the domestic violence group were identified as having reading difficulties compared to the control group. The results suggest that domestic violence may negatively impact children's reading skills, and appropriate intervention techniques should be developed.     

Involuntary attention in the absence of visual awareness

ABSTRACT

Previous studies have found a dissociation between voluntary attention and awareness. Here, we examined the relationship between involuntary attention and awareness. We presented a masked cue such that participants were unaware of the cue. This was followed by a search array, for which participants detected the presence of a shape target. Even though the cue was task irrelevant and unconscious, we observed faster reaction times when either the cue’s location or colour was congruent with shape target. We conclude an unconscious stimulus can elicit both space- and feature-based attention. These results provide further evidence for the dissociation between attention and consciousness.