Listeners’ perception of compensatory shortening

English exhibits compensatory shortening, whereby a stressed syllable followed by an unstressed syllable is measured to be shorter than the same stressed syllable alone. This anticipatory shortening is much greater than backward shortening, whereby an unstressed syllable is measured to shorten a following stressed syllable. We speculated that measured shortening reflects not true shortening, but coarticulatory hiding. Hence, we asked whether listeners are sensitive to parts of stressed syllables hidden by following or preceding unstressed syllables. In two experiments (Experiments 1A and 1B), we found the point of subjective equality—that is, the durational difference between a stressed syllable in isolation and one followed by an unstressed syllable—at which listeners cannot tell which is longer. In a third experiment (Experiment 2), we found the point of subjective equality for stressed monosyllables and disyllables with a weak-strong stress pattern. In all of the experiments, the points of subjective equality occurred when stressed syllables in disyllables were measured to be shorter than those in monosyllables, as if the listeners heard the coarticulatory onset or the continuation of a stressed syllable within unstressed syllables.     

Phenomenology,psychopathology, and short‐term therapeutic outcome of 102 infants aged 0 to 12 months consecutively referred to a community‐based 0 to 3 mental health clinic

Infants ages 0 to 1 year consecutively referred for psychiatric treatment during the year 2005 were followed, and variables associated with diagnosis and short‐term outcome were assessed. Infants were evaluated using the Psychiatric Infant Navigator Chart and Evaluation that includes nosological diagnoses [Diagnostic Classification of Mental Health and Developmental Disorders of Infancy and Early Childhood, (DC 0–3), Zero to Three, 1994] as well as risk and protective factors, treatment procedure, and outcomes. Seventy‐six percent of the infants had an Axis I diagnosis, with anxiety disorders and a mixed disorder of emotional expressiveness being the most frequent. Twenty‐five percent had an Axis II diagnosis. Multiple correspondence analyses showed that two dimensions corresponding grossly to DC 0–3 Axes I and II emerged. They emphasized three clinical profiles characterized by (a) good infant functioning, parent's awareness of their own difficulties, and a good outcome; (b) moderate child symptoms, overinvolved relating, and a good/intermediate outcome; (c) severe child symptoms, underinvolved relating, and a less favorable short‐term outcome, signaling the risk for developmental disorders. Among the associated risk factors were cumulative parental stress, maternal psychopathology, and family dysfunction. Clinical implications of these findings indicated that infants under the age of 1 year who are referred for mental health evaluation and intervention are a heterogeneous group in terms of both severity and prognosis. Clinicians should differentiate subgroups of young children to detect those infants at risk for persistent psychopathology.     

Cross‐cultural similarities and differences in the theoretical predictors of cyberbullying perpetration: Results from a seven‐country study

The Barlett Gentile cyberbullying model (BGCM) posits that correlated anonymity perceptions and the belief in the irrelevance of muscularity for online bullying (BIMOB) predict positive cyberbullying attitudes to predict subsequent cyberbullying perpetration. Much research has shown the BGCM to be the only published theory that differentiates traditional and cyberbullying while validly predicting cyberbullying. So far, however, the cross‐cultural ubiquity has gone understudied. Thus, 1,592 adult participants across seven countries (USA, Australia, Brazil, China, Germany, Japan, and Singapore) completed measures germane to the BGCM. Supporting the BGCM, the variables were significantly correlated for the entire sample, participants from independent cultures, and participants from interdependent cultures. However, the relationship between BIMOB and positive cyberbullying attitudes as well as the relationship between positive cyberbullying attitudes and cyberbullying perpetration were stronger for independent cultures. These results suggest that the BGCM postulates are mostly universal, but several relations appear to be culturally different. Theoretical implications are discussed.     

Psychometric Parameters of the Cyberbullying Attitude Scale in Brazil

This study aimed to determine the psychometric properties of the Cyberbullying Attitude Scale (CBAS) in the Brazilian context. Three empirical studies were conducted for this purpose. Study 1 (N = 202) sought to ascertain the psychometric properties of the CBAS using exploratory factor analysis. Study 2 (N = 211) sought to gather additional evidence regarding the validity and reliability of the CBAS using confirmatory factor analysis. Study 3 (N = 279) aimed to verify the CBAS’s convergent validity. The results revealed that the two-factor structure was the most pertinent. In addition, the CBAS demonstrated convergent validity with other cyberbullying measures, good internal consistency for the Negative Cyberbullying Attitudes factor, and reasonable internal consistency for the General Cyberbullying Characteristics factor. In general, the CBAS appears to be a valid and reliable measure for evaluating attitudes toward cyberbullying.

     

Stress Management for Police Special Forces

This article reports on the implementation of a stress management program for French police Special Forces units. A stressor analysis was conducted to identify stress sources and understand how mental skills could help the Special Forces to cope and function more effectively. An initial difficulty had to be overcome to allow this population to talk about stress and emotions without being afraid of losing their "virility." The program was then organized around three levels (organizational, group, and individual) and around three periods of time (an initial four-day meeting, a two-day follow-up meeting one month later, and a final one-day meeting held after six months). One hundred and fifty male police officers were involved in the program. Results revealed that the psychological training was very well received and led the police management to consider factors and manifestations of stress in a more extensive way. Stress management training soon will be initiated for all the police forces working on the street. Moreover, other groups asked for the training to be adapted to their specific work characteristics, such as the intelligence service and bodyguard detachments.