Socioenvironmental experiences,self-esteem,and emotional/behavioral problems in early adolescence

Tested the role of self-esteem as a mediator of relationships between socioenvironmental experiences and emotional/behavioral problems using a sample of 215 young adolescents (Grades 7–9). Socioenvironmental experiences were assessed using self-report questionnaire measures of social support and major and minor stressful events. Self-esteem was assessed using a self-report questionnaire, an interview, and a parent-report questionnaire. Emotional/behavioral problems were assessed using self-report, parent-report and teacherreport questionnaires. Utilizing structural equation modeling, the data were used to test a model in which self-esteem mediated the relationship between socioenvironmental experiences and emotional/behavioral problems. The hypothesized model provided a reasonably good fit to the data (normed fit index=.90). However, an alternative model which also allowed for direct effects of socioenvironmental experiences on emotional/behavioral problems produced a significant improvement in model fit. In this model, socio-environmental experiences had significant effects on emotional problems via both direct effects and indirect effects that indicated a mediating role for self-esteem. Only direct effects of socioenvironmental experiences were evident for behavioral problems. This research was supported by a grant to the first author from the University of Missouri Research Board. Thanks are due to the students, staff, and parents of the Columbia Public Schools, Columbia, Missouri, for their participation in and support of this research project.     

关于早期知觉过程中注意资源分配权重的实验研究

本研究将早期知觉过程中分配的资源比例理解为权重。实验采用中心提示法,探讨了字母、数字、图形和颜色四种刺激特征的早期识别过程中资源分配权重问题。结果发现：（１）颜色不易受到提示的影响,而其它三个特征则受提示的影响较大;（２）在弱提示位置上,对数字的识别比对字母和图形的识别要难,而在强提示位置上,则相差不大。说明这四种刺激特征的注意权重在知觉加工的初始阶段是不同的;这种“不同”是早期知觉过程中刺激因素与注意资源分配之间相互作用的结果。     

Early Adversity and the Prospective Prediction of Depressive and Anxiety Disorders in Adolescents

The current study was a prospective exploration of the specificity of early childhood adversities as predictors of anxiety and depressive disorders in adolescents. Participants were 816 adolescents (414~males, 402 females) with diagnostic information collected at age 15; information on early adversities had been collected from the mothers during pregnancy, at birth, age 6 months, and age 5~years for a related study. Adolescents with pure anxiety disorders were compared with adolescents with pure depressive disorders (major depressive disorder, dysthymia), and these groups were compared to never-ill controls. Analyses controlled for gender and maternal depression and anxiety disorders. Results indicated that adolescents with anxiety disorders were more likely than depressed youth to have been exposed to various early stressors, such as maternal prenatal stress, multiple maternal partner changes, and more total adversities, whereas few early childhood variables predicted depressive disorders. Even when current family stressors at age 15 were controlled, early adversity variables again significantly predicted anxiety disorders. Results suggest that anxiety disorders may be more strongly related to early stress exposure, while depressive disorders may be related to more proximal stressors or to early stressors not assessed in the current study.     

Women Behaving Badly: Gender and Aggression in a Military Town, 1653–1781

Magistrates records from the English town of Portsmouth show the towns women to have been exceptionally violent. Women accounted, on average, for just over 31% of all assaults on record for the years 1653 to 1781. We used a combination of quantitative and qualitative methods to compare the fighting styles of men and women and to examine the extent to which these were gendered. Particular attention was paid to levels of violence between pairs of brawlers. The most common form of violence was male-on-male (2,666 cases), followed by female-on-female (1,690), male-on-female (1,675), and female-on-male (299). Of these pairings, female-on-male assaults were the most violent, as measured by the types of weapons used by the aggressors, and female-on-female pairings were the least violent.Funding was provided by grant 410-2000-0467 from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. The authors are profoundly grateful to the gracious and highly capable staff of Portsmouths Museums and Records Service, including, most notably, Michael Gunton, Diana Gregg, Donna Malcolmson, and Sarah Speller. Special thanks also go to the team of volunteers who transcribed the towns sessions papers, thus greatly facilitating our entry of the same into a database. They were, in alphabetical order, Kate Beatty, Barbara Gower, Ursula Heinrich, Pam Honeysett, George Hothersall, Marjorie Hothersall, Una Lowe, Betty Richardson, Marjorie Ripper, and Brenda Whorton. There was one other volunteer: an inmate at the Kingston Prison just outside Portsmouth. Back in Toronto, several more people assisted in entering the records into a database. They were, in alphabetical order, Joanne Cordingley, James Hewitson, Allyson Lunny, Yvonne Pelletier, and Victoria Vaag.     

青少年早期网络欺凌/受欺凌对睡眠质量的影响：社交焦虑和抑郁情绪的链式中介作用

基于压力认知失眠模型,采用网络欺凌/受欺凌问卷、青少年社交焦虑问卷、流调中心抑郁问卷和匹兹堡睡眠质量指数问卷,对582名中小学生进行三次追踪测查,每次间隔半年,并运用结构方程模型考察社交焦虑和抑郁情绪在网络欺凌/受欺凌对睡眠质量的影响的中介作用及其性别差异。结果表明：(1)社交焦虑和抑郁情绪在网络欺凌/受欺凌影响睡眠质量的路径中均起到链式中介作用;(2)网络欺凌/受欺凌影响睡眠质量的链式中介模型存在性别差异。这启示要改善网络欺凌者与受欺凌者的睡眠质量,应关注网络欺凌给他们带来的情绪困扰,只有从根本上解决其情绪问题,才能最终有效促进其睡眠质量。     

Evidence for a developmental shift in the motivation underlying helping in early childhood

We investigated children's positive emotions as an indicator of their underlying prosocial motivation. In Study 1, 2-, and 5-year-old children (N = 64) could either help an individual or watch as another person provided help. Following the helping event and using depth sensor imaging, we measured children's positive emotions through changes in postural elevation. For 2-year-olds, helping the individual and watching another person help was equally rewarding; 5-year-olds showed greater postural elevation after actively helping. In Study 2, 5-year-olds’ (N = 59) positive emotions following helping were greater when an audience was watching. Together, these results suggest that 2-year-old children have an intrinsic concern that individuals be helped whereas 5-year-old children have an additional, strategic motivation to improve their reputation by helping.     

“There's more love between us”: The parental experience of attending Mellow Babies,a targeted,early intervention program for parents and their babies

It is recognized that parenthood in the context of psychosocial adversity can have negative implications for infant development. Parenting programs are the first line of intervention to improve outcomes for families; however, evidence for the effectiveness of group-based, targeted early interventions is still scarce. Preliminary findings indicate Mellow Babies (MB) as a promising group-based parenting program for families at risk for parenting difficulties. Using thematic analysis, we aimed to understand: (i) the aspects of the intervention that enabled parents to complete the program and (ii) the relational and behavioral changes perceived as valuable for parents and their babies post-intervention. In total, 68 parents residing in the United Kingdom were interviewed after completing MB (49 mothers and 19 fathers; 88% self-identified as British). Three themes and six subthemes were generated from the data. Parents identified several intervention components as beneficial, including the facilitators' interpersonal skills and multi-dimensional, group-based approach. Participant reflections highlighted three underlying mechanisms that enabled positive change: (i) the sense of community cultivated within the group, (ii) the process of formulating and re-conceptualizing one's difficulties, and (iii) the opportunity to reshape interpersonal interactions. Findings are discussed within the context of perinatal and infant mental health.     

The Relationship of Developmental Tasks to Life Satisfaction, Moral Reasoning, and Occupational Attainment at Age 28

This study was conducted to empirically investigate the relationship of several developmental tasks to the developmental outcomes of Life Satisfaction, Moral Reasoning, and Occupational Attainment at age 28. Structured retrospective interviews of 62 Midwestern men and women in their late twenties were converted to variable scores and submitted to quantitative analyses. The results indicated differing patterns of influence on each of the outcomes, clarifying the relative importance of each developmental task, and also highlighting the multi-faceted nature of human development.     

The predictive validity of nonverbal communicative skills in infants with perinatal hazards

This study investigated the predictive validity to 5 years of age of nonverbal communicative skills administered at 13 months. Subjects (N = 103) were Norwegian infants with birthweight below 1501 gms. The predictors included infant competence assessed by the Early Social-Communication Scales (ESCS). Cognitive competence at 2 years was measured by the Bayley Mental Development Scale, and at 3 and 5 years by the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scale: Fourth Edition (SB:FE). Language competence at 2 and 3 years was assessed by the Reynell Developmental Language Scales, and at 5 years by a verbal comprehension factor derived from the SB:FE. Partial correlations and multiple regression analyses suggest that the infants' initiation of communication was related to cognitive ability and language skills up to 5 years of age. In particular, joint attention was the most consistent predictor of the subsequent competencies. The Bayley cognitive index was overruled as a predictor when used in combination with initiation of joint attention.     

CHEMISTRY: WHAT DOES ONE NEED TO KNOW?

Abstract. The general knowledge and understanding that every teacher of religion and science should have relative to chemistry can be found in the answers to three major questions. In my own response to the first question, How did chemistry emerge as a discipline? I trace the origins, establishment, and subsequent historical significance of cosmology. I contend that chemistry is “the obvious, oldest science” and, as such, has played a key role among the sciences in agelong human efforts to understand reality. In my response to the second question, How do chemists currently view (cosmic) reality? I outline three prominent examples in support of my contention that chemistry, despite being “the obvious, oldest science,” is seen by some as playing only a tacit role in current efforts to (re)integrate religion and science. In my response to the third question, How do chemists currently view ultimate reality and meaning? I argue that “unifiers” in chemistry can also now play a key role in a reality revolution that is pointing humankind not only toward a possible historical (re) integration of religion and science but also toward a return to cosmology.