Capturing Children's Response to Parental Conflict and Making Use of It

To read this article's abstract in both Spanish and Mandarin Chinese, please visit the article's full-text page on Wiley InterScience ( http://interscience.wiley.com/journal/famp ).
The aim of our study is to examine the interface between children's physiological changes and the specificities of parental conflict, and to develop a procedure in which such information can be shared with the family for therapeutic change. Children from 20 families were exposed to parental conflict discussion (CD) while their arousals were measured through skin conductance and heart rate sensors. It was found that regardless of the subject of the argument, 80% of the time they were complaining about each other. Likewise, 80% of the time the children were responding to the parents' own interpersonal tension, including moments of silence. The protocol established for the study, consisting of CD and debriefing, was found to be a powerful tool in moving parents toward conflict resolution.     

Associations between Prenatal and Early Childhood Fish and Processed Food Intake,Conduct Problems,and Co-Occurring Difficulties

Little is known about early life diet as a risk factor for early-onset persistent conduct problems (EOP CP). To investigate this, we used data from the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a UK-based prospective epidemiological birth cohort. 5727 mother-child pairs (49.9 % boys) monitored since pregnancy (delivery date between 1 April, 1991 and 31 December, 1992) reported intake of fish and processed foods at 32 weeks gestation and, for the child, at 3 years; EOP (n = 666) and Low conduct problem (Low CP, n = 5061) trajectories were measured from 4 to 13 years; hyperactivity and emotional difficulties were assessed in childhood (4–10 years) and early adolescence (12–13 years), in addition to potential confounding factors (family adversity, birth complications, income). Compared to Low CP, mothers of EOP children consumed less fish (p < 0.01) and more processed food (p < 0.05) prenatally, while EOP children consumed more processed food at 3 years (p < 0.05). For EOP, but not Low CP children, consuming less than two servings/week of fish (vs. two or more servings/week, p < 0.05), and one or more servings/day of processed food (vs. less than one serving/day, p < 0.01), was associated with higher emotional difficulties in early adolescence. Conclusions: Findings suggest that prenatal and postnatal diets high in processed food, and low in fish, associate with an EOP CP trajectory and co-occurring difficulties in early adolescence. As small effect size differences were found, further studies are needed to investigate the long-term impact of early unhealthy diet.     

Monitoring and Anti-Reductionism in the Epistemology of Testimony

One of the central points of contention in the epistemology of testimony concerns the uniqueness (or not) of the justification of beliefs formed through testimony–whether such justification can be accounted for in terms of, or 'reduced to', other familiar sort of justification, e.g. without relying on any epistemic principles unique to testimony. One influential argument for the reductionist position, found in the work of Elizabeth Fricker, argues by appeal to the need for the hearer to monitor the testimony for credibility. Fricker (1994) argues, first, that some monitoring for trustworthiness is required if the hearer is to avoid being gullible, and second, that reductionism but not anti-reductionism is compatible with ascribing an important role to the process of monitoring in the course of justifiably accepting observed testimony. In this paper we argue that such an argument fails.     

BUILDING CHARACTER THROUGH SPORTS: MYTH OR POSSIBILITY?

In this article the authors ask whether striving to win in sports is compatible with the belief that participation in sports builds character. In identifying two viewpoints on winning in sports—winning as consequence and winning as experience—the authors suggest ways in which counselors might encourage athletes, coaches, and parents to perceive winning as experience so that participation in sports can foster “character” and build feelings of self-worth.