Text anxiety in adolescents: the role of self-criticism and acceptance and mindfulness skills

The current study sets out to explore test anxiety in adolescent students. The effect of sociodemographic variables on test anxiety was controlled for and the relationship between test anxiety and other psychological constructs, such as self-criticism, social anxiety, acceptance and mindfulness, was examined. In addition, the predictive effect/power of these variables was analyzed and a comparative study between high and low test anxiety adolescents was conducted. Participants in this study were 449 high school students, 211 boys and 238 girls, with a mean age of 16.28 years. These participants completed a battery of self-report questionnaires composed by the Portuguese versions of Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI), Child Acceptance and Mindfulness Measure (CAMM), Forms of Self-Criticizing/Attacking and Self-Reassuring Scale (FSCRS), and the Social Anxiety and Avoidance Scale for Adolescents (SAASA). Results showed that gender, self-criticism and competencies for acceptance and mindfulness had a significant and an independent contribution on the prediction of test anxiety. The comparative study revealed that adolescents with high test anxiety score significantly higher in negative forms of self-criticism, social anxiety and lower in self-reassurance, acceptance and mindfulness, when compared to those with low test anxiety. Despite its exploratory nature, the current study adds to the existing knowledge on the influence of psychological processes, such as self-criticism and acceptance, on test anxiety. These findings might constitute a relevant contribution to psychological intervention with adolescents.     

Development and use of behavior and social interaction software installed on Palm handheld for observation of a child’s social interactions with the environment

In settings in developing countries, children often socialize with multiple socializing agents (peers, siblings, neighbors) apart from their parents, and thus, a measurement of a child’s social interactions should be expanded beyond parental interactions. Since the environment plays a role in shaping a child’s development, the measurement of child-socializing agents’ interactions is important. We developed and used a computerized observational softwareBehavior and Social Interaction Software (BASIS) with a preloaded coding scheme installed on a handheld Palm device to record complex observations of interactions between children and socializing agents. Using BASIS, social interaction assessments were conducted on 573 preschool children for 1 h in their natural settings. Multiple screens with a set of choices in each screen were designed that included the child’s location, broad activity, state, and interactions with child-socializing agents. Data were downloaded onto a computer and systematically analyzed. BASIS, installed on Palm OS (M-125), enabled the recording of the complex interactions of child-socializing agents that could not be recorded with manual forms. Thus, this tool provides an innovative and relatively accurate method for the systematic recording of social interactions in an unrestricted environment.     

The factor structure and composite reliability of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale among ex-prisoners

The aim of this study was to examine the factor structure and composite reliability of the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES) using a sample of 669 ex-prisoners identified in the National Survey of American Life. Six distinct factor models, with uncorrelated measurement error terms, were specified and tested using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Results indicated that the two-factor model consisting of positive and negative latent variables provided a better fit to the data than the alternative models. Moreover, only positive self-esteem was a significant predictor of recidivism. Composite reliability indicated that the two factors were measured with very good reliability. The results consequently provide additional support for a two-dimensional model of the RSES within offender populations.     

Efficacy of the program "Testas's (mis)adventures" to promote the deep approach to learning

This paper provides information about the efficacy of a tutorial training program intended to enhance elementary fifth graders' study processes and foster their deep approaches to learning. The program "Testas's (mis)adventures" consists of a set of books in which Testas, a typical student, reveals and reflects upon his life experiences during school years. These life stories are nothing but an opportunity to present and train a wide range of learning strategies and self-regulatory processes, designed to insure students' deeper preparation for present and future learning challenges. The program has been developed along a school year, in a one hour weekly tutorial sessions. The training program had a semi-experimental design, included an experimental group (n=50) and a control one (n=50), and used pre- and posttest measures (learning strategies' declarative knowledge, learning approaches and academic achievement). Data suggest that the students enrolled in the training program, comparing with students in the control group, showed a significant improvement in their declarative knowledge of learning strategies and in their deep approach to learning, consequently lowering their use of a surface approach. In spite of this, in what concerns to academic achievement, no statistically significant differences have been found.     

Ipsilesional Arm Aiming Movements After Stroke: Influence of the Degree of Contralesional Impairment

The authors examined the effects of the degree of impairment of the contralesional upper limb and the side of the hemispheric damage on ipsilesional upper limb performance in chronic stroke individuals. Right- and left-side stroke resulting in mild-to-severe impairment and healthy participants took part in simple and choice reaction time tasks involving aiming movements. The stroke individuals performed the aiming movements with the ipsilesional upper limb using a digitizing tablet to ipsi- or contralateral targets presented in a monitor. The global performance of the group with severe right hemispheric damage was worse than that of the other groups, indicating that the side of hemispheric damage and degree of motor impairment can adversely affect aiming movement performance.     

Conceptualizing “Prayer” for an East–West Dialogue and Beyond

Early in the American psychology of religion, prayer was a central topic, emphasizing the “self” (James in Varieties of religious experience. Longmans, Green, New York, 1902) and social activity (Strong in The psychology of prayer. University of Chicago Press, Chicago, 1909). These writings, and contemporary efforts as well, typically conceptualize prayer as a theistically directed activity of communication, locating the work firmly in Western faith traditions. While this orientation captures a portion of the practice within those traditions, it is difficult to carry that definition over into comparative studies with Eastern practices. The present paper explores alternative ways to think about prayer and analogous activities that may facilitate an East–West dialogue. In addition, non-theistic formulations may help extend the conversation to encompass the spiritual practices of people not associated with any sort of traditionally bounded belief system.     

Psychometric assessment of the processes of change scale for sun protection

The fourteen-factor Processes of Change Scale for Sun Protection assesses behavioral and experiential strategies that underlie the process of sun protection acquisition and maintenance. Variations of this measure have been used effectively in several randomized sun protection trials, both for evaluation and as a basis for intervention. However, there are no published studies, to date, that evaluate the psychometric properties of the scale. The present study evaluated factorial invariance and scale reliability in a national sample (N = 1360) of adults involved in a Transtheoretical model tailored intervention for exercise and sun protection, at baseline. Invariance testing ranged from least to most restrictive: Configural Invariance (constraints only factor structure and zero loadings); Pattern Identity Invariance (equal factor loadings across target groups); and Strong Factorial Invariance (equal factor loadings and measurement errors). Multi-sample structural equation modeling tested the invariance of the measurement model across seven subgroups: age, education, ethnicity, gender, race, skin tone, and Stage of Change for Sun Protection. Strong factorial invariance was found across all subgroups. Internal consistency coefficient Alpha and factor rho reliability, respectively, were .83 and .80 for behavioral processes, .91 and .89 for experiential processes, and .93 and .91 for the global scale. These results provide strong empirical evidence that the scale is consistent, has internal validity and can be used in research interventions with population-based adult samples.     

Dreaming and cognition in patients with frontotemporal dysfunction

Individuals with Parkinson’s disease (PD) and temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) have hallucinations and mild cognitive dysfunction. The objective of this work was to study dreams in PD and TLE patients using a common functional model of dream production involving the limbic and paralimbic structures.Dreams were characterised in early-stage PD (19 males) and TLE patients (52) with dream diaries classified by the Hall van de Castle system and were compared with matched controls.In PD, there were significant differences between patients’ dreams and those of controls: animals, physical aggression, and a befriender were more common in patients, and aggressor and bodily misfortunes were less common. The dreams of patients with frontal dysfunction showed more aggressive features.TLE patients had lower recall than PD patients and a higher proportion of dreams involving family and familiar settings, lower proportions involving success, and a higher incidence of frontal dysfunction.The dreams of PD and TLE patients share important features.     

The Effect of Male Incarceration on Rape Myth Acceptance: Application of Propensity Score Matching Technique

The aim is to assess the effect of imprisonment on rape myth acceptance. The research used a sample of male prisoners incarcerated for non-sexual crimes (n = 98) and a sample of males drawn from the general population (n = 160). Simple linear regression did not indicate a significant effect of incarceration on rape myth acceptance. After controlling for background covariates using propensity score matching, analysis revealed a positive significant effect of incarceration on rape myth acceptance. Although further research is required, results indicate that being subject to incarceration has a significant positive effect on stereotypical thinking about rape.     

The Integrated Psychosocial Model of Criminal Social Identity (IPM-CSI)

The integrated psychosocial model of criminal social identity attempts to synthesize, distill, and extend our knowledge and understanding of why people develop criminal social identity, with a particular focus on the psychological and social factors involved. We suggest that the development of criminal social identity results from a complex interplay between four important groups of psychosocial factors: (1) an identity crisis that results in weak bonds with society, peer rejection, and is associated with poor parental attachment and supervision; (2) exposure to a criminal/antisocial environment in the form of associations with criminal friends before, during, and/or after incarceration; (3) a need for identification with a criminal group in order to protect one’s self-esteem; and (4) the moderating role of personality traits in the relationship between criminal/antisocial environment and the development of criminal social identity. The model produces testable hypotheses and points to potential opportunities for intervention and prevention. Directions for future research are discussed.