Assessing Trauma Impact,Recovery, and Resiliency in Refugees of War

Abstract

This paper describes the psychometric properties and process of using the Multidimensional Trauma Recovery and Resiliency Scale (MTRR) with 83 untreated war-affected adolescent and adult refugees of diverse cultures, family of origin, age, gender, and time since the war. The MTRR met reliability, validity, and utility criteria with this convenience sample. This paper discusses modifications made to the MTRR-I format, questions, and prompts to enable work with the wide range of ages and cultures represented in the sample. The results support the MTRR as a tool that may have the ability to capture the complexity of culture as well as measure a variety of trauma responses and work with other measurements. Limitations of the study and avenues of future research are discussed.     

Cognitive and behavioral rating measures of executive function as predictors of academic outcomes in children

Interrelations of two measurement methods (cognitive versus behavioral ratings) for executive function (EF) were examined and related to reading comprehension and math calculations in fourth and fifth grade students (n = 93) in the context of a diverse urban student population. Relations among measures within four EF processes (working memory, planning, inhibition and shifting) were modest; relations to academics were stronger. EF measures contributed to both academic outcomes even in the context of relevant covariates (age, language and educational program). Working memory was particularly important for reading comprehension across measurement type. Cognitive measures from all EF processes, particularly inhibition and planning, and behavioral ratings of working memory were important for math.     

Everyday dynamics in generalized social and political trust

We applied the traits as density distributions of states approach to generalized expectations of trustworthiness, namely, social trust and trust in politicians. Using an experience sampling study (N = 47), we assessed state social trust and trust in politicians four times a day for 2 weeks. Within-person variability was found to be low but meaningful as it was predicted by variations in affect, interactional trust, and prior experiences. There was high stability in interindividual differences in the mean levels of state trustworthiness expectations and in the levels of within-person variability. Our study provides a comprehensive understanding of stability and variability in generalized expectations of trustworthiness and indicates broad applicability of the traits as density distributions of states approach.     

A comparison of methods for assessing preference for social interactions

Researchers have evaluated a variety of methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and generally have found that such assessments accurately identify differentially reinforcing, preferred interactions. However, few researchers have compared methods for assessing preference for social interactions, and none have done so with participants across different skill levels. The current study compared the stability and validity of hierarchies produced by social interaction preference assessments (SIPA) and picture-based multiple stimulus without replacement preference assessments (MSWO) with 8 individuals diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The MSWO most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could match, identify, and tact pictures of social interactions and that the SIPA most often produced valid hierarchies for participants who could not identify or tact pictures of social interactions. A vocal paired-stimulus preference assessment (PSPA) was also conducted with a subset of participants who communicated vocally, and it produced valid hierarchies. Considerations and recommendations for selecting a method of assessing preference for social interactions are discussed.     

基于胜任特征的人才测评

该文总结了国内外有关胜任特征与测评方面的文献,阐述了胜任特征作为人才测评的标准的内涵,进而总结了胜任特征应用于人才测评的作用与意义,最后简要介绍了基于胜任特征的人才测评的技术方法。本文有助于胜任特征与人才测评课题的进一步研究,对于人才测评的实践具有很强的指导意义。     

心理治疗流派的哲学基础、差异与整合

以精神分析、来访者中心疗法、认知行为疗法这三大当代主流心理治疗流派为对象,分析了其哲学基础,并对这三大流派的临床应用效果作出评价。从本体论和认识论的角度,对各流派理论的主要哲学基础进行简单的划分,发现有的偏向于唯心主义,有的则偏向于唯物主义,哲学取向上有着本质的不同,但各流派的临床适应证相似。总的说来,疗效无明显差异,均各有利弊,各流派应取长补短,走向心理治疗整合,以期提高心理治疗效果并缩短其疗程。     

Are orthographic rules used by children with and without writing disabilities? / ¿Utilizan las reglas ortográficas los niños con y sin dificultades de aprendizaje en la escritura de palabras?

The aim of this study was to explore whether children with and without learning difficulties use orthographic rules to write words. To study this, two types of tasks from the Early Grade Writing Assessment (EGWA) test were used: (1) a dictation task which included pseudowords with an implicit orthographic rule; and (2) a dictation task which included words with arbitrary, unregulated orthography. An initial sample of 1,447 students from grades 1 to 3 of elementary school was selected. The results showed that the variables task type and grade were significant when explaining the differences found between the groups. These findings are discussed from the perspective of the orthographic representations self-teaching hypothesis as related to the orthographic depth hypothesis, associated with the orthographic transparency of Spanish.     

Intervention for aggressive victims of school bullying in Hong Kong: a longitudinal mixed-methods study

The distinction between aggressive and passive victims of school bullying is well documented. Aggressive victims exhibit restlessness and hot-temperedness, are easily provoked, and take revenge when irritated, whereas passive victims are quiet and timid when attacked or insulted and withdraw rather than retaliate. To date, there has been no evidence-based evaluative study examining interventions designed specifically to reduce aggressive victimization, and neither has there been an inclusive assessment screening of high-risk aggressive victims prior to intervention. This study addressed these research gaps by employing multi-stage assessment procedures and a mixed-mode methodology in a one-year longitudinal design. Data were collected from student self-reports, parent and teacher rating scales, and individual structured interviews with students, parents and teachers. A total of 269 potential high-risk aggressive victims were identified from among 5,089 schoolchildren, 68 of whom were screened out and randomly assigned to 10 treatment groups, with 39 completing a one-year follow-up study. Multivariate analysis of variance identified significant improvements in physical and verbal victimization (F(2,47, 93.99) = 10.73, p < 0.01), verbal victimization (F(2.74, 104.14) = 12.80, p < 0.01) and social exclusion scores at the three follow-up assessments compared to the pre-treatment scores, and the qualitative results were consistent, showing participants' cognition, emotion, and behavior to have been positively reconstructed by the group intervention. The consistent quantitative and qualitative results confirm that the cognitive-behavioral group therapy program reported herein is effective in reducing aggressive victims' anxious and depressed emotions and reactive cognition.