Children in the public eye: The functioning of Pastors' children

Pastors' children have been thought to have more behavioral problems than other children since they face high expectations and are part of families that are often under public scrutiny. The purpose of this study was to describe the social competencies and behavioral problems of a national sample of pastors' children, aged 4–16, and to compare them to age and sex standardized norms. Data were obtained on 98 children from a random sample of 62 families, using the Child Behavior Checklist. Results indicate that scores for both boys and girls at each age grouping fell within the acceptable norms for both social competencies and behavioral problems.     

From the Desk of Editor-in-Chief

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research -     

Simulationist models of face-based emotion recognition

Recent studies of emotion mindreading reveal that for three emotions, fear, disgust, and anger, deficits in face-based recognition are paired with deficits in the production of the same emotion. What type of mindreading process would explain this pattern of paired deficits? The simulation approach and the theorizing approach are examined to determine their compatibility with the existing evidence. We conclude that the simulation approach offers the best explanation of the data. What computational steps might be used, however, in simulation-style emotion detection? Four alternative models are explored: a generate-and-test model, a reverse simulation model, a variant of the reverse simulation model that employs an "as if" loop, and an unmediated resonance model.     

Latent growth curve analyses of accelerating decline in cognitive abilities in late adulthood

Latent growth models were applied to data from the Swedish Adoption/Twin Study of Aging to discover if the rate of change in cognitive performance increased from middle age to later adulthood. The sample included 590 participants aged 44 to 88 years at first measurement. Data were gathered at 2 follow-up occasions at intervals of 3 years. Cognitive ability was assessed through 11 tests that tapped crystallized, fluid, memory, and spatial abilities and perceptual speed. Results indicated stability for measures of crystallized ability, linear age changes for many cognitive abilities, and a significant acceleration in linear decline after age 65 for measures with a large speed component. Gender differences were found only in mean level, not in rate of decline.     

Online Story Comprehension among Children with ADHD: Which Core Deficits are Involved?

Children with ADHD have difficulty understanding causal connections and goal plans within stories. This study examined mediators of group differences in story narrations between children ages 7-9 with and without ADHD, including as potential mediators both the core deficits of ADHD (i.e., inattention, disinhibition, planning/working memory) as well measures of phonological processing and verbal skills. Forty-nine children with ADHD and 67 non-referred children narrated a wordless book and completed tasks assessing the core deficits of ADHD, phonological processing, and verbal skills. Results revealed that, although no shorter than those of non-referred children, the narratives of children with ADHD contained fewer elements relating to the story's causal structure and goal plan. Deficits in sustained attention accounted for the most variance in these differences. Results have implications for understanding and ameliorating the academic problems experienced by children with ADHD.     

“Getting to Know”: Exploring How Urban African American Women Conceptualize Safer and Risky Sexual Behaviors

The surge in the rate of the Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS) cases continues to be most prevalent for African American women between the ages of 18 and 29, with heterosexual transmission remaining the primary cause of HIV spread for this population. The high rates of HIV/AIDS among African American women continue to emphasize the need for understanding how members of this population conceptualize sexual safety and risk. A qualitative research study using grounded theory methods was conducted to explore how African American women define safer and risky sexual behaviors. Interviews were conducted with 14 African American women between the ages of 18 and 29. The study findings suggest that African American women’s definitions of safer and risky sexual behaviors, while in a consensual sexual relationship, are consistently influenced by sex partner type. The information garnered from this study can help inform the development of HIV prevention strategies, health education, counseling and reproductive health services that support African American women’s wellness.     

We should screen for major depression

This article is a response to Coyne, Thompson, Palmer, Kagee, and Maunsell's (2000) article, “Should We Screen for Depression? Caveats and Potential Pitfalls.” We address four points that we view as central to their argument: (1) current screening measures are inadequate; (2) correct identification of depressed patients does not result in improved clinical outcomes; (3) screening is too expensive; and (4) screening may have harmful negative effects. We discuss the following important issues: (1) screening and prevention are still in the research and development phase; (2) the kindling phenomenon is an important reason to screen; (3) there is a need to focus screening and prevention efforts on ethnic minorities; and (4) high depressive symptoms have a substantial public health impact. Finally, we present reasons why screening is advisable, both for prevention and treatment purposes, and provide our recommendations. Our stance is that, in order for screening and prevention to become practical, they need to be implemented in both research and practice contexts. Therefore, we should make screening for major depression a priority.     

THE EFFECTS OF GROUP PRESSURE IN PERCEPTION

Une réplique interculturelle des études de Asch (1952) et de Whittaker et Meade (1967) sur l'influence de la pression sociale sur la distorsion du jugement a été effectuée avec un groupe de sujets des îles Fiji provenant de deux races dominantes. Les résultats dénotent une tendance au conformisme plus marquée chez les sujets de cette culture et particulièrement chez les femmes.     

An atomistic modelling and statistical analysis study of crack–void interaction in Aluminum

The interaction between a brittle crack and pre-existing void in front of the crack tip was studied in the realm of molecular dynamics simulations at the nanoscale in face centred cubic Al within the framework of embedded-atom method. The results provide corroborative evidence of the fact that presence of a void in front of a running crack deters further crack growth. By performing an extensive series of simulations with different void sizes and crack-void distances coupled with statistical analysis, it has been found that (1) major role of voids is to decrease the fracture stress with increasing void size, in addition to slight increase in strain at which the crack growth occurs and the consequent strain to fracture, (2) fracture stress for a constant void size follows a sinusoidal distribution by varying the crack-void distance and (3) it is the void size that is most crucial in dictating the fracture properties of the material, rather than the void placement.