Effects of the Student Success Skills Program on Executive Functioning Skills,Feelings of Connectedness,and Academic Achievement in a Predominantly Hispanic,Low‐Income Middle School District

The authors examined the effects of the Student Success Skills program on executive functioning, feelings of connectedness, and academic achievement of a sample of 193 middle school students in a predominantly Hispanic and economically challenged school district in the southwestern United States. Using multilevel regression analyses in a two‐level randomized design, the authors found treatment effects for multiple executive functioning scales, feelings of connectedness to classmates, and mathematics and reading achievement.     

Brief report: Response inhibition and processing speed in children with motor difficulties and developmental coordination disorder

A previous study reported that children with poor motor skills, classified as having motor difficulties (MD) or Developmental Coordination Disorder (DCD), produced more errors in a motor response inhibition task compared to typically developing (TD) children but did not differ in verbal inhibition errors. The present study investigated whether these groups differed in the length of time they took to respond in order to achieve these levels of accuracy, and whether any differences in response speed could be explained by generally slow information processing in children with poor motor skills. Timing data from the Verbal Inhibition Motor Inhibition test were analyzed to identify differences in performance between the groups on verbal and motor inhibition, as well as on processing speed measures from standardized batteries. Although children with MD and DCD produced more errors in the motor inhibition task than TD children, the current analyses found that they did not take longer to complete the task. Children with DCD were slower at inhibiting verbal responses than TD children, while the MD group seemed to perform at an intermediate level between the other groups in terms of verbal inhibition speed. Slow processing speed did not account for these group differences. Results extended previous research into response inhibition in children with poor motor skills by explicitly comparing motor and verbal responses, and suggesting that slow performance, even when accurate, may be attributable to an inefficient way of inhibiting responses, rather than slow information processing speed per se.     

Being positive despite illness: The contribution of positivity to the quality of life of cancer patients

Objective: The purpose of this study was to examine the longitudinal relationship between Positivity (POS), defined as a stable disposition to view at experience under a positive outlook, and physical and psychological functioning in a sample of cancer patients immediately after diagnosis and one year later.

Methods: A total of 110 patients (40% males) with pulmonary, colorectal and breast cancer, aged 30–75 (M age = 59.62; SD = 10.33), have been prospectively enrolled between 2012 and 2013, at the S. Andrea Hospital in Rome. All patients were previously aware of their diagnosis. A follow-up one year after diagnosis was conducted. We used structural equation modeling in order to analyse the specific effects of POS on functioning impairment from diagnosis to follow up.

Results: POS was associated with less functioning impairment both at diagnosis and follow-up assessments. Furthermore, POS level at diagnosis continued to be associated with less functioning impairment one year later, after controlling for its stability.

Conclusions: Patients with higher level of POS tended to report less symptoms associated with negative affect such as anxiety and despondency and to preserve their habitual relationships and social roles. POS may act as a basic disposition that sustains patients’ efforts to deal efficaciously with severe illness, by complying with medical treatment and using cognitive strategies that enable individuals to cope with concurrent and prospective challenges of illness.     

The relationships between family functioning and attachment orientations to post-traumatic stress symptoms among young adults who were evacuated from Gaza Strip settlements as adolescents

Background and Objectives: This study examined post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms among young adults that were evicted from their residences in Gaza settlements (“Gush Katif”) as adolescents and actively participated in the resistance events. Furthermore, we examined the moderating role of exposure to forced relocation on the association between attachment orientations and family functioning and PTSD symptoms. Design: We conducted a correlative, cross-sectional study in 2013. Methods: Participants were Israeli evicted residents (ER group; N = 102), comparison groups of evicted nonresidents (ENR group; N = 27), and nonevicted nonresidents (NENR group; N = 53). All participants completed a battery of self-reported questionnaires. Results: The ER group reported a higher number of PTSD symptoms as compared to the comparison groups. However, ER participants did not differ from ENR and NENR participants in their perception of family functioning. Importantly, the group (ER vs. NENR) moderated the association between attachment-anxiety and PTSD symptoms and between family adaptability and PTSD symptoms. Conclusions: Nine years after the forced relocation from Gaza settlements, young adults that were evicted from their residences as adolescents suffer from PTSD symptoms that are more related to the relocation itself than the stress entailed in the resistance events.     

Swedish youth football players’ attitudes towards moral decision in sport as predicted by the parent-initiated motivational climate

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine associations between late adolescent football players’ perceptions of the motivational climate – as initiated by mothers and fathers – and attitudes towards moral decision making in sports.DesignCross-sectional.MethodsParticipants were 213 Swedish football players (144 males, 67 females) aged 16–19 years who completed measures assessing perceived parent-initiated motivational climate (i.e., success-without-effort climate [SWEC]; worry conducive climate [WCC]; and learning/enjoyment climate [LEC]) and attitudes towards moral decision-making in sport (i.e., acceptance of cheating [AOC]; acceptance of gamesmanship [AOG] and keeping winning in proportion [KWIP]).ResultsCanonical correlations demonstrated moderate positive relations between parent-initiated − both mother and father − performance climates (WCC and SWEC) and AOC and AOG. Moreover, the relationship between mother and father-initiated learning/enjoyment climate (LEC) were shown to be moderately and positively associated with the prosocial attitude dimension of KWIP. Results also showed that a mother-initiated LEC and a mother-initiated SWEC were stronger predictors of the criterion variables (AOC, AOG, and KWIP) than equivalent father-initiated climate dimensions.ConclusionsThe results highlight the importance of considering the relationship between parent-initiated climates − especially initiated by mothers − and the development of moral decision-making among youth football players.     

Clinical Application of the Couple Adaptation to Traumatic Stress (CATS) Model: A Pragmatic Framework for Working With Traumatized Couples

ABSTRACT

The authors attempt to apply knowledge of traumatization to clinical practice with couple dyads. Elaborating on the Couple Adaptation to Traumatic Stress (CATS) Model (Nelson Goff & Smith, 2005), the authors have worked to bridge the gap between a general understanding of trauma's impact on the couple relationship and couples' treatment. This article facilitates the application of the CATS Model to clinical work with couples impacted by trauma. Incorporating Herman's (1997) traumatic process with the original CATS Model, the authors created a more specific, clinically useful framework for clinicians. The goal of the current article is to provide clinicians with a pragmatic illustration articulating a clinical framework for understanding and treating posttraumaumitc symptoms and processes within the couple relationship. The main implication is that clinicians will be able to conduct effectively guided systemic therapy with distressed couples necessary to generate progress in the treatment of symptomatology and couple functioning of trauma survivors and their partners.     

Age and active navigation effects on episodic memory: A virtual reality study

We investigated the navigation‐related age effects on learning, proactive interference semantic clustering, recognition hits, and false recognitions in a naturalistic situation using a virtual apartment‐based task. We also examined the neuropsychological correlates (executive functioning [EF] and episodic memory) of navigation‐related age effects on memory. Younger and older adults either actively navigated or passively followed the computer‐guided tour of an apartment. The results indicated that active navigation increased recognition hits compared with passive navigation, but it did not influence other memory measures (learning, proactive interference, and semantic clustering) to a similar extent in either age group. Furthermore, active navigation helped to reduce false recognitions in younger adults but increased those made by older adults. This differential effect of active navigation for younger and older adults was accounted for by EF score. Like for the subject‐performed task effects, the effects from the navigation manipulation were well accounted for by item‐specific/relational processing distinction, and they were also consistent with a source monitoring deficit in older adults.