The intersectionality of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status on social and emotional skills

The intersectionality of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) in predicting social and emotional (SE) skills was examined for 81,950 6th–8th graders. At low levels of SES, White students tended to have the lower SE scores. However, as SES increased, they tended to have higher scores relative to minority groups. Across SES levels, Asian students showed higher Academic Discipline and Self-Regulation scores. The SES and SE skill relationship was less pronounced for underserved minority groups. This may be among the first reports where a measure of SE skills has documented different relationships with SES as a function of race/ethnicity. Possible explanations for these findings, as well as implications for designing culturally responsive programs that focus on SE skills, are discussed.     

低阶层大学生的炫耀性消费:自尊补偿与地位追求

近年来低阶层大学生炫耀性消费负性事件频发,研究以补偿性消费理论为基础,考察低阶层大学生炫耀性消费的内因与外因。实验一通过比较高、低状态自尊条件下不同阶层被试的炫耀性消费倾向来考察自尊的作用,结果表明低阶层大学生的炫耀性消费倾向受到其状态自尊的调节; 实验二通过比较不同阶层被试对地位及非地位符号商品的支付意愿来考察商品符号价值的作用,结果表明低阶层大学生只有在商品具有地位符号价值时,才会表现出比高阶层大学生更强烈的炫耀性消费倾向。     

家庭社会经济地位对数学成绩的影响:亲子沟通和学业自我效能感的链式中介模型

采用“中国学校课程教学调查项目”中1811名八年级学生及其家长作为样本进行调查,探讨家庭社会经济地位与数学成绩的关系,考察亲子沟通和学业自我效能感的作用机制。结果显示:(1)家庭社会经济地位显著正向影响数学成绩;(2)亲子沟通、学业自我效能感在家庭社会经济地位与数学成绩之间起部分中介作用;(3)亲子沟通、学业自我效能感在家庭社会经济地位与数学成绩之间具有链式中介作用。     

Assessment and treatment of elopement maintained by chase

Elopement can have serious or fatal consequences associated with leaving the presence of an adult or getting lost (e.g., traffic injury and drowning). Given the dangers associated with elopement, caregivers are likely to chase after their child when elopement occurs. Like other forms of attention that follow problem behavior, chasing and retrieving the child may serve as a reinforcer and therefore maintain elopement. However, no study to date has evaluated whether elopement is sensitive to positive reinforcement in the form of chase. We evaluated the effects of chase on elopement with an 8‐year old boy diagnosed with autism. Elopement was maintained, at least in part, by chase. We then conducted a treatment evaluation in which we tested the effects of various antecedent‐ and consequence‐based treatment components within a multiple schedule.     

Network change point detection in resting-state functional connectivity dynamics of mild cognitive impairment patients

Background/Objective: This study aims to characterize the differences on the short-term temporal network dynamics of the undirected and weighted whole-brain functional connectivity between healthy aging individuals and people with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). The Network Change Point Detection algorithm was applied to identify the significant change points in the resting-state fMRI register, and we analyzed the fluctuations in the topological properties of the sub-networks between significant change points. Method: Ten MCI patients matched by gender and age in 1:1 ratio to healthy controls screened during patient recruitment. A neuropsychological evaluation was done to both groups as well as functional magnetic images were obtained with a Philips 3.0T. All the images were preprocessed and statistically analyzed through dynamic point estimation tools. Results: No statistically significant differences were found between groups in the number of significant change points in the functional connectivity networks. However, an interaction effect of age and state was detected on the intra-participant variability of the network strength. Conclusions: The progression of states was associated to higher variability in the patient's group. Additionally, higher performance in the prospective and retrospective memory scale was associated with higher median network strength.     

网络社交媒体使用对青少年生活满意度的影响：自我同一性状态的中介作用

为考察网络社交媒体使用对青少年生活满意度的影响及其内在心理机制—自我同一性状态的中介作用,采用问卷法对2634名青少年进行调查。结果表明：（1）网络社交媒体使用无法直接预测青少年生活满意度,但可以通过自我同一性状态这一中介变量产生间接影响;（2）网络社交媒体使用对青少年心理发展呈现双重作用,既能通过加强成就型自我同一性状态提高生活满意度,也可以通过增强弥散型自我同一性状态进而削弱青少年生活满意度。     

Parental Influence on Students' Educational Choices in the United States and Germany: Different Ramifications—Same Effect?

Despite the historical trend in all Western societies to increase educational participation irrespective of students' social origin, the correlation between parents' education and socio-economic status and the educational outcomes of their offspring remains a rather universal phenomenon. Although comparative studies have consistently found this association in various nations which differ in many ways in their educational systems, little is known about the mechanism behind this effect. Drawing on the assumption that career decision points are the major gateway for social background influences, we assume that similarities, as well as differences in the structure of the correlation between parents' socioeconomic background and students' school success, can be explained. Using two longitudinal data sets from the United States (N=1425) and Germany (N=1755) covering the school careers from Grade 7 to Grade 10, the analyses supported the hypothesis that (a) achievement information is the best predictor of career relevant decisions in both nations, (b) parents' background variables are independent additional predictors of career decision but not for actual learning progress, and (c) the assumed accumulation process of social background influences is more pronounced in the German than in the U.S. school system.     

An evaluation of contingency strength and response suppression

Typically, functional analyses of severe problem behavior have been conducted in two ways: (a) The target response is reinforced immediately after it occurs, or (b) the target response is reinforced on some schedule thought to mimic a naturally occurring schedule. We evaluated the effects of contingency strength in reducing levels of problem behavior with 2 participants who had been diagnosed with developmental disabilities. Results showed that under a neutral contingency, one in which the probability of reinforcement for aggression was equal to the probability of reinforcement for the nonoccurrence of aggression, rates of aggression were suppressed to low levels for both participants.     

A comparison of multiple reinforcer assessments to identify the function of maladaptive behavior

Functional analysis results indicated that maladaptive behaviors displayed by a 25-year-old man with profound mental retardation were maintained by attention from caregivers and possibly, to a lesser degree, by access to tangible items. A concurrent-schedules procedure was then used to study the relative reinforcing value for maladaptive behavior of attention versus tangible items. Results of the concurrent-schedules assessment and subsequent functional communication training indicated that preference for attention versus access to a tangible object varied.