儿童社会生活适应量表的编制与应用

本研究编制的儿童社会生活适应量表具有较高的信度和效度,该量表包含五个因素:亲社会行为、居家、生活自我管理、情绪监控和社会交往。我国儿童的社会生活适应总体上存在显著的性别差异,具体体现在亲社会行为、居家、生活自我管理、情绪监控方面,女生显著高于男生。从年级的发展趋势看,儿童社会生活适应总体上呈上升趋势,他们的社会生活适应能力在不断增强。     

Early maladaptive schemas in Finnish adult chronic pain patients and a control sample

Engel (1959) suggested that negative physical or emotional experiences in childhood predispose to the development of chronic pain. Studies have shown that physical and sexual abuse in early life is connected with chronic pain. Emotional adversities are much less studied causes contributing to the development of chronic pain and disability. Early emotional abuse, neglect, maltreatment and other adversities are deleterious childhood experiences which, according to Young's schema theory (1990), produce early maladaptive schemas (EMSs). The primary goal of this study was to examine whether early adversities were more common in chronic pain patients than in a control group. A total of 271 (53% women) first-visit chronic pain patients and 331 (86% women) control participants took part in the study. Their socio-demographic data, pain variables and pain disability were measured. To estimate EMSs the Young Schema Questionnaire was used. Chronic pain patients scored higher EMSs reflecting incapacity to perform independently, catastrophic beliefs and pessimism. The most severely disabled chronic pain patients showed an increase in all the EMSs in the Disconnection and Rejection schema domain, namely Abandonment/Instability, Mistrust/Abuse, Emotional Deprivation, Defectiveness/Shame and Social Isolation/Alienation EMSs. The results of the study suggested that chronic pain patients had suffered early emotional maltreatment.     

Association of the DAT1 genotype with inattentive behavior is mediated by reading ability in a general population sample

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and reading disability (RD) frequently co-occur in the child population and therefore raise the possibility of shared genetic etiology. We used a quantitative trait loci (QTL) approach to assess the involvement of the dopamine transporter (DAT1) gene polymorphism in mediating reading disability and poor attention in a general population sample of primary school children aged 6-11 years in the UK. The potential confounding effects of IQ and chronological age were also investigated. We found an independent association between the homozygous DAT1 10/10 repeat genotype and RD that was not accounted for by the level of ADHD symptoms. This finding suggests that the DAT1 gene polymorphism may influence a common neural mechanism underlying both reading acquisition and ADHD symptoms.     

Do Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices function in the same way in typical and clinical populations? Insights from the intellectual disability field

Standardized tests are used widely in comparative studies of clinical populations, either as dependent or control variables. Yet, one cannot always be sure that the test items measure the same constructs in the groups under study. In the present work, 460 participants with intellectual disability of undifferentiated etiology and 488 typical children were tested using Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM). Data were analyzed using binomial logistic regression modeling designed to detect differential item functioning (DIF). Results showed that 12 items out of 36 function differentially between the two groups, but only 2 items exhibit at least moderate DIF. Thus, a very large majority of the items have identical discriminative power and difficulty levels across the two groups. It is concluded that RCPM can be used with confidence in studies comparing participants with and without intellectual disability. In addition, it is suggested that methods for investigating internal bias of tests used in cross-cultural, cross-linguistic or cross-gender comparisons should also be regularly employed in studies of clinical populations, particularly in the field of developmental disability, to show the absence of systematic measurement error (i.e. DIF) affecting item responses.     

MD儿童与正常儿童早期数学认知差异的研究

该研究采用测验法,考察数学学习不良(MD)儿童的早期数学认知能力,包括计数、数守恒、时空概念、逻辑、计算和操作等方面。被试为城市幼儿园34名MD儿童和30名正常儿童,平均年龄约6.0岁。结果发现:学习不良儿童早期数学能力在逻辑、计算和空间保持上有缺陷,与Johnson、Ginsburg等人的研究结果一致。与以往研究有所不同的是:在计数能力上,MD儿童与正常儿童间差异不明显;在数守恒能力上,MD儿童明显低于正常儿童;空间保持缺陷表现突出,表现为书写数字时的镜像反应、图形的错误表征等。     

关于学生自我妨碍策略与学业不良的相关研究

本研究通过问卷法对240名小学高年级、初中、高中生进行了自我妨碍策略与学业不良的相关研究,其研究结果表明:小学高年级学生、初中生学业优秀者与学业不良者采用自我妨碍策略存在显著差异;高中生学业优秀者与学业不良者采用自我妨碍策略不存在显著差异;学业不良与自我妨碍预测因素即自我效能感、智力责任归因、自尊、抑郁存在相关,与惧怕否定没有显著相关等。     

Using Quality of Life to Assess Performance in the Disability Services Sector

Measurement of performance is extremely important for not-for-profit agencies in terms of measuring the efficiency and effectiveness of agencies in achieving their goals. Performance indicators assist managers of agencies in strategic decision making and in fulfilling their accountability obligations for the best use of limited resources. This paper argues that not-for-profit agencies that serve people with intellectual disabilities can use quality of life as one measure of agency and/or program performance. This is demonstrated with reference to research conducted on the effect of different methods of employment on the quality of life for people with intellectual disabilities. Effectiveness of agencies and/or programs can be assessed based on comparisons of quality of life outcomes under different methods of employment or by reference to absolute percentage of scale maximum scores and whether homeostasis is defeated.     

Caring for children with an intellectual disability: An exploratory qualitative study

This study explored family caregiver experiences of children with an intellectual disability in a rural South African day-care centre. The family caregivers (N = 15; mothers = 60%; age range = 35 to 68 years) completed in-depth interviews regarding their experiences providing care to children with intellectual disability. Data collection and analysis was done using phenomenological methods. The following themes emerged to characterise the family caregiver experiences: deeper understanding of intellectual disability; disability disclosure conditions; and social and economic support needs. Family support emerged as an important factor in the relationship between caregivers’ psychological stress and well-being.     

Voices of Silence: Foucault,Disability, and the Question of Self-determination

Studies in Philosophy and Education - In this paper I examine two controversialissues that occurred in two different centuriesbut that are inextricably linked with eachother – the 1835 murder...     

Parental Responsibility and the Morality of Selective Abortion

It is now a common opinion in Western countries that a child's impairment would probably place an unexpected burden on her parents, a burden that the parents have not committed themselves to dealing with. Therefore, selective abortion is in general a morally justified option for the parents. I argue that this view is based on biased information about the quality of life of individuals with impairments and their families. Also, a conscious decision to procreate should bring about conscious assent to assuming obligations as a parent. This implies a duty of caring for any kind of child. Consequently, if the child's condition is not such that it would make its life not worth living, and if the parents live in an environment where they are able to provide their child and themselves an adequate well-being, they do not have a morally sufficient reason to terminate the pregnancy on the grounds of fetal abnormality.