Analyzing temporal patterns of infant sleep and negative affective behavior: a comparison between different statistical models

Objective

Variability in infant sleep and negative affective behavior (NAB) is a developmental phenomenon that has long been of interest to researchers and clinicians. However, analyses and delineation of such temporal patterns were often limited to basic statistical approaches, which may prevent adequate identification of meaningful variation within these patterns. Modern statistical procedures such as additive models may detect specific patterns of temporal variation in infant behavior more effectively.

Method

Hundred and twenty-one mothers were asked to record different behaviors of their 4–44 weeks old healthy infants by diaries for three days consecutively. Circadian patterns as well as individual trajectories and day-to-day variability of infant sleep and NAB were modeled with generalized linear models (GLMs) including a linear and quadratic polynomial for time, a GLM with a polynomial of the 8th order, a GLM with a harmonic function, a generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) with a polynomial of the 8th order, a generalized additive model, and a generalized additive mixed model (GAMM).

Results

The semi-parametric model GAMM was found to fit the data of infant sleep better than any other parametric model used. GLMM with a polynomial of the 8th order and GAMM modeled temporal patterns of infant NAB equally well, although the GLMM exhibited a slightly better model fit while GAMM was easier to interpret. Besides the well-known evening clustering in infant NAB we found a significant second peak in NAB around midday that was not affected by the constant decline in the amounts of NAB across the 3-day study period.

Conclusion

Using advanced statistical procedures (GAMM and GLMM) even small variations and phenomena in infant behavior can be reliably detected. Future studies investigating variability and temporal patterns in infant variables may benefit from these statistical approaches.     

Friendship Dissolution Within Social Networks Modeled Through Multilevel Event History Analysis

A social network perspective can bring important insight into the processes that shape human behavior. Longitudinal social network data, measuring relations between individuals over time, has become increasingly common—as have the methods available to analyze such data. A friendship duration model utilizing discrete-time multilevel survival analysis with a multiple membership random effect structure is developed and applied here to study the processes leading to undirected friendship dissolution within a larger social network. While the modeling framework is introduced in terms of understanding friendship dissolution, it can be used to understand microlevel dynamics of a social network more generally. These models can be fit with standard generalized linear mixed-model software, after transforming the data to a pair-period data set. An empirical example highlights how the model can be applied to understand the processes leading to friendship dissolution between high school students, and a simulation study is used to test the use of the modeling framework under representative conditions that would be found in social network data. Advantages of the modeling framework are highlighted, and potential limitations and future directions are discussed.     

Neighborhood Predictors of Intimate Partner Violence: A Theory‐Informed Analysis Using Hierarchical Linear Modeling

Due to high prevalence rates and deleterious effects on individuals, families, and communities, intimate partner violence (IPV) is a significant public health problem. Because IPV occurs in the context of communities and neighborhoods, research must examine the broader environment in addition to individual‐level factors to successfully facilitate behavior change. Drawing from the Social Determinants of Health framework and Social Disorganization Theory, neighborhood predictors of IPV were tested using hierarchical linear modeling. Results indicated that concentrated disadvantage and female‐to‐male partner violence were robust predictors of women's IPV victimization. Implications for theory, practice, and policy, and future research are discussed.     

高中生沉思与应激性生活事件对抑郁症状的影响:1年追踪研究

探讨沉思及沉思亚型与应激性生活事件的交互作用对抑郁症状的影响。采用流调中心用抑郁量表、青少年生活事件问卷和沉思反应量表等自评量表对527名高中生的抑郁症状、应激性生活事件和沉思进行评估,随后每3个月测评一次抑郁症状和应激性生活事件的发生情况,追踪调查1年,用多层线性模型分析数据。结果表明:沉思和强迫性冥思对抑郁症状的主效应显著,而反思不显著;沉思、强迫性冥思和反思与生活事件对抑郁症状的交互作用均不显著。结论:应激性生活事件和强迫性冥思会加重抑郁症状,而反思没有加重抑郁症状;沉思及亚型均不会改变应激性生活事件对抑郁症状的影响程度。     

试论骨科辐射效应的线性与非线性关系

放射界对于辐射效应一直沿用线性无阈理论,但近年来,低剂量辐射效应却让其表现出非线性特征。而且对于骨折以及骨科其他疾病来说不同剂量辐射所产生的效应是不同的,即其在骨科中也存在线性与非线性的对立统一,只有认清这两者的辩证关系,才能抓住其本质,最终产生深远的意义和临床应用。     

Exploring the effects of congruence and Holland’s personality codes on job satisfaction: An application of hierarchical linear modeling techniques

This study applied hierarchical linear modeling to investigate the effect of congruence on intrinsic and extrinsic aspects of job satisfaction. Particular focus was given to differences in job satisfaction by gender and by Holland’s first-letter codes. The study sample included nationally represented 1462 female and 1280 male college graduates who held full-time jobs in 2000. Congruence was measured by using actual occupational and academic major codes. After controlling for the differences across three-letter Holland personality codes, results indicate that job satisfaction was largely a function of individual attributes rather than disparities in personality types. Holland’s congruence was most effective in explaining intrinsic dimensions of job satisfaction for females, and less effective for extrinsic job satisfaction for both genders. Social females and males were less satisfied with extrinsic satisfaction, while Conventional and Social females were more satisfied with intrinsic features in their vocational environments.     

Constraint Respecters, Constraint Challengers, and Crisis Decision Making in Democracies: A Case Study Analysis of Kennedy versus Reagan

Models linking domestic political constraints (audience costs, pressures for the diversionary use of force, democratic norms and institutions) to foreign policy behavior generally assume that leaders simply recognize and submit to constraints in their domestic environments—a strong structural argument. In contrast, research on political leadership and decision making suggests that leaders vary systematically in their orientations toward constraints: "constraint respecters" tend to internalize potential constraints, while "constraint challengers" are more likely to view them as obstacles to be overcome. This article develops an integrative theoretical framework that explicitly incorporates these insights and applies them to the domain of crisis decision making. After identifying leaders' expected orientations toward constraints via at-a-distance methods, the plausibility of hypotheses derived from this framework is examined through case studies that explore the decision-making processes employed by President Kennedy (a "constraint respecter") and President Reagan (a "constraint challenger") during international crises. The results suggest that there is important variation in how leaders perceive and respond to domestic constraints, and that leadership style is one—though not the only—important source of this variation.     

Deductive databases for computing certain and consistent answers from mediated data integration systems

We address the problem of retrieving certain and consistent answers to queries posed to a mediated data integration system under the local-as-view paradigm with open sources and conjunctive and disjunctive view definitions. For obtaining certain answers a query program is run under the cautious stable model semantics on top of a normal deductive database with choice operator that specifies the class of minimal legal instances of the integration system. This methodology works for all monotone Datalog queries. To compute answers to queries that are consistent with respect to given global integrity constraints, the specification of minimal legal instances is combined with another disjunctive deductive database that specifies the repairs of those legal instances. This allows to retrieve the answers to any Datalog^¬ query that are consistent with respect to global universal and referential integrity constraints.     

虚拟团队共享心理模型与团队效能的关系

通过对62个虚拟团队的调研,检验了虚拟团队认同式共享心理模型与分布式共享心理模型构思,并运用多层线性建模技术,对团队特征变量、共享心理模型与虚拟团队效能间的关系进行了分析。结果表明：两类共享心理模型与团队效能间存在显著正相关;团队时间会影响共享心理模型与虚拟团队任务效能间的关系,团队时间会削弱认同式共享心理模型对任务效能间的正向关系,但能加强分布式共享心理模型对任务效能的正面影响;团队规模则主要影响共享心理模型对合作效能的效应,团队规模增加会加强认同式共享心理模型与合作效能间的相关,却会削弱分布式共享心理模型与合作效能间的关系     

全息项目因素分析在心理学研究中的应用

文章首先指出了经典线性因素分析的种种局限;然后介绍了一种基于“被试—项目矩阵”而非仅仅协方差矩阵或相关矩阵的全息项目因素分析,该方法能克服经典线性因素分析的种种局限,在心理学研究中尤其是人格研究中有着其他因素分析方法不可替代的作用。