Socioeconomic Status and Psychological Function in Children with Chromosome 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: Implications for Genetic Counseling

The purpose of this study is to examine the association between parental socio-economic status (SES) and childhood neurocognition and behavior in children with chromosome 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS). Although undoubtedly, the deletion of genes in the 22q11.2 interval is primarily responsible for the psychological manifestations, little is known about the role of the environment in either mitigating or contributing to these problems. We examined the association of parental socio-economic status (SES) with cognition and behavior in children with 22q11DS (n = 65) and matched healthy control subjects (n = 52), since SES is a component of family resources. We found that in children with 22q11DS, higher SES correlated with better overall functioning (p < .01) and social skills (p < .01), and less frequent oppositional defiant behavior (p < .001). These findings were in contrast to the control subjects in whom SES correlated with cognition and achievement, but not behavior. Our results indicate that environmental factors influence the behavioral phenotype in children with 22q11DS, providing a framework for developing appropriate interventions. As such, genetic counseling for families with 22q11DS may include consideration of family resources and inclusion of other health professionals, such as social workers, to explore with the family available social supports and resources.     

Ceftriaxone rescues hippocampal neurons from excitotoxicity and enhances memory retrieval in chronic hypobaric hypoxia

Exposure to high altitude is known to cause impairment in cognitive functions in sojourners. The molecular events leading to this behavioral manifestation, however, still remain an enigma. The present study aims at exploring the nature of memory impairment occurring on chronic exposure to hypobaric hypoxia and the possible role of glutamate in mediating it. Increased ionotropic receptor stimulation by glutamate under hypobaric hypoxic conditions could lead to calcium mediated excitotoxic cell death resulting in impaired cognitive functions. Since glutamate is cleared from the synapse by the Glial Glutamate Transporter, upregulation of the transporter can be a good strategy in preventing excitotoxic cell death. Considering previous reports on upregulation of the expression of Glial Glutamate Transporter on ceftriaxone administration, the therapeutic potential of ceftriaxone in ameliorating hypobaric hypoxia induced memory impairment was investigated in male Sprague Dawley rats. Exposure to hypobaric hypoxia equivalent to an altitude of 7600 m for 14 days lead to oxidative stress, chromatin condensation and neuronal degeneration in the hippocampus. This was accompanied by delayed memory retrieval as evident from increased latency and pathlength in Morris Water Maze. Administration of ceftriaxone at a dose of 200 mg/kg for 7 days and 14 days during the exposure on the other hand improved the performance of rats in the water maze along with decreased oxidative stress and enhanced neuronal survival when compared to hypoxic group without drug administration. An increased expression of Glial Glutamate Transporter was also observed following drug administration indicating faster clearance of glutamate from the synapse. The present study not only brings to light the effect of longer duration of exposure to hypobaric hypoxia on the memory functions, but also indicates the pivotal role played by glutamate in mediating excitotoxic neuronal degeneration at high altitude. The therapeutic potential of ceftriaxone in providing neuroprotection in excitotoxic conditions by increasing Glial Glutamate Transporter expression and thereby enhancing glutamate uptake from the synapse has also been explored.     

LOEVINGER'S SENTENCE COMPLETION TEST OF EGO DEVELOPMENT: A USEFUL TOOL FOR CROSS-CULTURAL RESEARCHERS

This study examined the validity of Loevinger's ego development model and method from a cross-cultural perspective. Loevinger's Sentence Completion Test was administered to 171 Australian and 110 Indian tertiary students. The results strongly supported Loevinger's claims for the universality of her model.     

An empirical investigation of Garnets and Pleck's Sex Role Strain Analysis

This study is an empirical investigation of Garnets and Pleck's conceptual analysis — the Sex Role Strain Analysis — which sought to explain the contradictory findings in regard to the relationship between sex role identity and self-esteem. Garnets and Pleck (Sex Role Identity, Androgyny, and Sex Role Transcendence: A Sex Role Strain Analysis, Psychology of Women, 1979, 3(3), 270–283) argued that, while much of previous research assumed that sex role identity has a direct effect on self-esteem, the relationship between the two is actually moderated by the same-sex ideal and sex role salience. This paper adapted the model by considering the effect of sex role salience at the individual and at the cultural levels. More specifically, the revised model was tested within two societies (India and Australia) that differ markedly in the level of sex role salience at the cultural level. The results revealed that sex role salience at the cultural level is an important moderating variable. In the Indian sample, for example, the relationship between sex role ientity and self-esteem is moderated by individual's perception of the sam-sex ideal. In societies (e.g., Australia) that emphasize individuality, however, the relationship between sex role identity and self-esteem is probably moderated by other variables such as individuals' perception of the image that they desire for themselves. The implications of these findings for sex role identity research are discussed.     

It's not you,it's them: Social influences on trust propensity and trust dynamics

Scholars agree that trust primarily has two bases: trustworthiness—the extent to which a trustee is competent, honest, and has goodwill toward the trustor—and trust propensity—a stable trait reflecting the trustor's generalized belief that others can be trusted. Due to this trait characterization, the literature has largely reached a consensus that trust propensity is only an important base of trust in the earliest stage of a relationship—before information on trustworthiness has been gathered. Additionally, the trait conceptualization of trust propensity inhibits it from being modeled as an explanatory mechanism. Drawing on accessibility theory, a theory of trait activation, we argue that trust propensity has state‐like characteristics that are “activated” by the daily treatment an employee receives from coworkers. Our model highlights that the social context—predominantly ignored in prior trust research because of its lack of relevance to dyadic perceptions of trustworthiness—can have a substantial impact on dyadic trust. Across two multisource experience sampling methodology studies, we provide evidence that state trust propensity transmits the effects of citizenship and deviance received to trust in a focal coworker, whether that focal coworker is a source of that treatment or not. We also address how general levels of workplace unfairness—a between‐person construct—influence these dynamics. We discuss the theoretical and practical implications of these within‐person dynamics for fostering trust within organizations.     

Implicit memory for phonological processes in visual stem completion

Four experiments were conducted investigating the role of phonology in repetition priming. Experiment 1 used a cross-modal priming paradigm in which participants made semantic judgments about spoken words and then performed a visual stem completion task. In Experiments 2–4, both the primes and the test stems were presented visually. The results of the first three experiments revealed that priming transfers across interpretations of a homophone. That is, seeing or hearingweek primes bothweek andweak. The results of Experiment 4 showed that homophone priming cannot be attributed to the orthographic similarity of homophonic words. Together, these results indicate that repetition priming on a visual word completion task includes a phonological component.     

Psychopathology in Children with Thalassemia Major

The present work investigated the prevalence and spectrum of psychopathology in children with thalassemia. Childhood psychopathology measurement schedule (CPMS), adapted from Child Behavior Checklist was administered on children with thalassemia major receiving regular blood transfusion. Age and sex matched children with other chronic illness (bronchial asthma) served as controls. 46.7% of children with thalassemia had a CPMS score of > 10 as against 17.1% in the control group. Children with thalassemia had higher scores in factors of conduct problems, special symptoms and somatization. This study highlights the significantly higher psychopathology in children with thalassemia major and emphasizes the need for psychosocial support during treatment.     

Father responsivity: couple processes and the coconstruction of fatherhood

Forty in-depth interviews of heterosexual parents of children 5 five years of age and younger are analyzed using a qualitative grounded theory approach to understand how couples coproduce fatherhood within their day-to-day relationships and in social, cultural, and economic contexts. The analysis identifies the construct "responsivity" as a central process through which, to varying degrees, fathers are aware of the needs of their wives and children and able to take an active part in meeting them. Three groups of fathers are examined according to their level of responsivity: low, moderate, and high. Factors influencing degree of father responsivity include gender constructions, power and the wife's influence, attunement, work schedules, and emotional tradeoffs. Implications for practice are suggested.