双语儿童语音意识与词汇认读关系的研究

通过平行语音和词汇加工任务。对64名双语儿童英汉两种语言语音意识和词汇认读能力进行了双向测查。结果表明：双语儿童在两种语言不同语音意识和词汇认读之间存在跨语言的多重相关;在对其英语和汉语词汇认读能力的预测中,汉语音节辨认和英语音素识别均为重要的指标,表明语音意识对词汇认读能力具有跨语言的双向预测作用。     

Providing therapy to children and families in foster care: a systemic-relational approach

Foster care is a system created to protect children from an unsafe home environment yet multiple foster home placements, conflictual or nonexistent relationships between foster parents and birth parents, long, drawn out court battles, and living in an on-going state of not knowing when or if they will be going home are just some of the challenges many children in care are expected to manage. This paper presents a guide for therapists working with families involved in foster care. Utilizing ideas from the postmodern therapies and structural family therapy, suggestions will be provided about who needs to talk to whom about what, when to have these necessary conversations, and how to talk to people in a way that mobilizes adults to take action for the children, with the goal of minimizing postplacement trauma, strengthening and repairing relational bonds, and moving children out of foster care and into permanent homes as quickly as possible.     

An outcome evaluation of Functional Family Therapy for court‐involved youth

This article presents results of a study on the effectiveness of Functional Family Therapy (FFT), a family intervention designed to prevent delinquency. The sample includes 155 court‐involved youth. This study employs two complementary outcomes: court‐obtained data on recidivism and the clinical data on clients’ psychosocial functioning, the Strengths and Needs Assessment (SNA). Adolescents in the treatment and in the comparison groups experienced statistically significant improvements on the majority of the SNA domains. Although youths in the treatment group improved more, the differences between the groups were not statistically significant. Multivariate analysis showed that youths in FFT had significantly lower odds of recidivism as measured by reconvictions for drug offenses, property offenses and technical violations. The results suggest that FFT was effective in reducing recidivism, however, such reductions cannot be attributed to improvements in the SNA scores.     

Risk and protective factors for pre- and postnatal bonding

Since disturbances in the mother–child bond increase the risk of negative consequences for child development, it is important to identify risk and protective factors for bonding as well as longitudinal associations. Previous research has used different bonding instruments during pregnancy and the postnatal phase, leading to inconsistent results. In the current study, the same instrument was used during the various phases. In a large, community-based sample (N = 793), general information, feelings of pre- and postnatal bonding (Pre- and Postnatal Bonding Scale), depressive symptoms (Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale), and partner support (subscale Tilburg Pregnancy/Postnatal Distress Scale) were measured at both 32 weeks of pregnancy and 8 months postnatally. Partner support was found to be a protective factor for suboptimal pre- and postnatal bonding, as was the engagement with fetal movements for prenatal bonding. High maternal educational level was a risk factor for suboptimal prenatal bonding, as were depressive symptoms for suboptimal postnatal bonding. The associations between most prenatal determinants and postnatal bonding were mediated by prenatal bonding, which underlines the importance of promoting prenatal bonding. Professionals in clinical practice should be aware of partner support, engagement with fetal movements, and postnatal depressive symptoms: All these factors offer opportunities for improving the bonding processes.     

Association between bullying victimization and physical fitness among children and adolescents

Background/ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to analyze the relationship between being bullied and the physical fitness components, and to determine whether a healthy physical fitness level is related with lower victimization in children and adolescents with overweight and obesity compared to unfit overweight/obese peers. Method:The present cross-sectional study included a total of 7,714 youths (9-17 years), categorized as normal-weight or overweight/obese and fit or unfit according to sex-specific handgrip strength and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) cut-points. Bullying (physical, verbal, social exclusion, sexual harassment, and cyberbullying) was assessed through the Standard Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey questions. Results:Boys and girls that were categorized as fit (healthy level of CRF) showed lower traditional bullying compared to unfit counterparts. Also, a healthy level of CRF could be a protective factor of traditional bullying among overweight/obese youths compared to unfit overweight/obese peers. Conclusions:CRF is related with lower risk for experiencing traditional bullying in Latino youths with and without obesity, thus emphasizing the role of fitness even among youth with excess of adiposity.     

Relationship Distress as a Mediator of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Health: Implications for Clinical Practice with Economically Vulnerable Racial and Ethnic Minorities

Adverse childhood experiences (ACE) are interpersonal sources of distress negatively correlated with physical and mental health, as well as maladaptive intimate partner conflict strategies in adulthood. Economically vulnerable racial and ethnic minorities report the greatest disparities in exposure to ACE, as well as relationship distress and health. Yet, little is known about the connections between ACE, relationship distress, and health. We therefore tested a theoretical model for the mediating role of relationship distress to explain the ACE‐health connection with a sample (N = 96) predominantly racial/ethnic minorities (87%) with low income. We applied partial least squares structural equation modeling with bootstrapping (N = 500). Relationship distress strengthened the predictive relationship between ACE and health, and accounted for 42% of the variance in health. The results provide preliminary support for relationship distress as a social determinant of health disparities with implications for interdisciplinary health intervention.     

In Our Lives and Under Our Skin: An Investigation of Specific Psychobiological Mediators Linking Family Relationships and Health Using the Biobehavioral Family Model

The objective of this study was to use the Biobehavioral Family Model (BBFM) to delineate which psychophysiological variables link romantic and family relationship satisfaction variables to health outcomes. Data from individuals who reported being partnered from the second wave of the National Survey of Midlife Development in the United States (MIDUS II), Project 4 (n = 812) were used to test a structural equation model which explored which psychophysiological variables potentially mediated associations between positive and negative family emotional climate variables and disease activity. This model found that current and past family variables had larger associations with the psychophysiological variables than romantic partner variables; depressive symptoms, anxiety, and inflammation partially mediated associations between family relationships and health; and, contrary to the hypotheses, romantic partner and family support were linked to worse health outcomes. However, the findings should be viewed with regard to the cross‐sectional design of the study. Overall, the findings support the use of the BBFM as a model that can guide clinical interventions.