Authoritarianism and sociopolitical attitudes in response to threats of terror

The relationship between threat and authoritarianism in relation to support for democratic values and military aggression was examined. Participants completed Altemeyer's Right-Wing Authoritarianism Scale, read a scenario concerning 9/11/01 that was either threatening or nonthreatening, and completed the Democratic Values Scale and the Militarism Scale. Simple linear regressions indicate RWA scores contributed significant variation to Democratic Value Scale scores (43% of the variance) and Militarism Scale Scores (22% of the variance). There was a significant difference in the contribution of RWA scores between the threatening and nonthreatening conditions on the Democratic Values Scale (34% and 17%, respectively). These results suggest that in the presence of threat, there is increased activation of authoritarian responses.     

Predicting preschoolers' externalizing behaviors from toddler temperament,conflict, and maternal negativity

Rarely have researchers elucidated early childhood precursors of externalizing behaviors for boys and girls from a normative sample. Toddlers (N = 104; 52 girls) were observed interacting with a same-sex peer and their mothers, and indices of conflict-aggression, emotion and behavior dysregulation, parenting, and child externalizing problems were obtained. Results indicated that boys initiated more conflictual-aggressive interactions as toddlers and had more externalizing difficulties 2 years later, yet girls' (not boys') conflict-aggressive initiations at age 2 were related to subsequent externalizing problems. When such initiations were controlled for, emotional-behavioral undercontrol at age 2 also independently predicted externalizing problems at age 4. Moreover, the relation between conflict-aggressive initiations at age 2 and externalizing problems at age 4 was strongest for dysregulated toddlers. Finally, the relation between age 2 conflict-aggressive initiations and age 4 externalizing problems was strongest for those toddlers who incurred high levels of maternal negativity. These findings illustrate temperament by parenting connections in the development of externalizing problems.     

Parasympathetic Regulation and Inhibitory Control Predict the Development of Externalizing Problems in Early Childhood

The current report examined the longitudinal relations between cognitive self-regulation, physiological self-regulation, and externalizing problems. At age 4 (n = 98; 49 girls) and 6 (n = 87; 42 girls), children completed the Day-Night task, which taps the inhibitory control dimension of executive function. During the task, cardiac activity was measured and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) was derived as an index of parasympathetic activity. Mothers reported on externalizing problems. A cross-lagged path model was used to estimate longitudinal predictions while controlling for stability in all constructs over time. Earlier inhibitory control negatively predicted later externalizing problems, but not vice versa. However, RSA reactivity moderated this link; better inhibitory control predicted fewer externalizing problems only when reactivity to the Day-Night task ranged from mild RSA suppression to RSA augmentation. Externalizing problems at 6 years were highest among preschoolers who augmented RSA but showed poor inhibitory control performance, suggesting that risk for psychopathology may be better delineated by viewing self-regulation from an integrated, multi-system perspective.     

On Measuring and Modeling Physiological Synchrony in Dyads

Physiological synchrony within a dyad, or the degree of temporal correspondence between two individuals' physiological systems, has become a focal area of psychological research. Multiple methods have been used for measuring and modeling physiological synchrony. Each method extracts and analyzes different types of physiological synchrony, where ‘type’ refers to a specific manner through which two different physiological signals may correlate. Yet, to our knowledge, there is no documentation of the different methods, how each method corresponds to a specific type of synchrony, and the statistical assumptions embedded within each method. Hence, this article outlines several approaches for measuring and modeling physiological synchrony, connects each type of synchrony to a specific method, and identifies the assumptions that need to be satisfied for each method to appropriately extract each type of synchrony. Furthermore, this article demonstrates how to test for between-dyad differences of synchrony via inclusion of dyad-level (i.e., time-invariant) covariates. Finally, we complement each method with an empirical demonstration, as well as online supplemental material that contains Mplus code.     

KAGAWA TOYOHIKO (1888–1960): WITNESS TO THE COSMIC DRAMA

At home and abroad, Kagawa Toyohiko was probably the best‐known Japanese Christian evangelist, social reformer, writer, and public intellectual of the twentieth century, nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature twice (1947, 1948) and the Nobel Peace Prize three times (1954, 1955, 1956). Appealing to the masses with little knowledge of Christian faith, Kagawa believed that a positive, religio‐aesthetic interpretation of nature and science was a key missiological concern in Japan. He reasoned that a faith rooted in the kenotic movement of incarnation and self‐giving must strongly support the scientific quest. A voracious reader of science and especially biology, he argues for “directionality,” or what he calls “initial purpose” in the long, painful, cosmic journey from matter to life to mind (or consciousness). Through an antireductionistic, a posteriori methodological pluralism that sought to “see all things whole,” this “scientific mystic” employed Christian, Buddhist, Neo‐Confucian, personalist, and vitalist ideas to envision complementary roles for science and religion in modern society.     

Development of a Screening Instrument for Exposure to Violence in Children: The KID-SAVE

The present study provided psychometric data on the KID-SAVE, an empirically based measure of children's exposure to community violence. The KID-SAVE was administered to 470 inner-city children in the third through seventh grades and demonstrated excellent reliability. Factor analysis yielded three subscales: Traumatic Violence, Indirect Violence, and Physical/Verbal Abuse. Initial investigation of construct validity suggested that the KID-SAVE successfully discriminated between groups of children reporting high and low levels of traumatic symptoms. The KID-SAVE appears to be a promising assessment tool and allows for quantification of the severity of violence exposure.     

Predictive and incremental validity of the Violence Risk Appraisal Guide scores with male and female jail inmates

The present study examines the predictive and incremental validity of Violence Risk Appraisal Guide scores in a sample of 328 male and 145 female jail inmates held on felony charges. Significant gender differences were observed in VRAG item and total score means, as well as in correlations between the VRAG and concurrent measures of aggression. VRAG scores significantly predicted institutional misconduct during incarceration and recidivism in the first year postrelease for male inmates but not for female inmates. In terms of incremental validity, VRAG scores predicted institutional misconduct and recidivism beyond that accounted for by psychopathy for male inmates but not for female inmates. Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed.     

Mindful Parenting and Care Involvement of Fathers of Children with Intellectual Disabilities

There are few data addressing psychological variables that may explain some variation in parenting by fathers of children with intellectual disabilities. In the present study, we hypothesized that fathers who were more mindful in their parenting role (specifically, fathers who reported more present-centered attention in their relationship with their child) would use less avoidance in relation to their child with intellectual disability and that this would be reflected in increased father involvement in childcare. In a questionnaire survey 105 fathers completed a mindful parenting measure and a measure of parental involvement. Regression analyses revealed that fathers who reported being more mindful as a parent also reported more involvement in child-related parenting tasks and roles related to child socialization. These data suggest that mindfulness in the parenting role may be an important predictor of parenting in families of children with intellectual disabilities. Therefore, interventions designed to increased mindfulness should improve parent–child relationships and ultimately child outcomes.