Preparing the Way: A Qualitative Study of High-Achieving African American Males and the Role of the Family

Employed qualitative methods to examine the role of the family in the academic success of very high-achieving African American males. Findings revealed a complex tapestry of family processes and contexts involved in each youth's journey to outstanding academic achievement. Specifically, the combined importance of parental-determined academic engagement, strict discipline, nurturance, and community connectedness appeared to counteract potentially negative contextual influences of neighborhood, peers, schools, and society. The qualitative findings tell a multifaceted, rich, and compelling story of the pathways to academic success for Black males, and highlight the need for culture-specific and ecologically based conceptualization, research, and intervention approaches.     

Infants’ vocalizations at 6 months predict their productive vocabulary at one year

Long before their first words, children communicate by using speech-like vocalizations. These protophones might be indicative of infants’ later language development. We here examined infants’ (n = 56) early vocalizations at 6 months (vocal reactivity scale of the IBQ-R) as a predictor of their expressive and receptive language at 12 months (German version of the CDI). Regression analyses revealed vocalizations to significantly predict expressive, but not receptive language. Our findings in German-learning 6-month-olds extend previous predictive evidence of early vocalizations reported for older infants. Together these findings are informative in light of early assessments monitoring typical and atypical language development.     

Relationships Among Emerging Adult Psychological Problems,Maltreatment, and Parental Psychopathology: Moderation by Parent–Child Relationship Quality

Current research supports clear relationships between parental psychopathology, parental maltreatment, and emerging adult child psychopathology. Less research has examined how the role of the parent–child relationship influences these existing associations. The current study tested two models that examined the moderating effect of parent–child relationship quality on parental psychopathology and emerging adult mental health as well as the effect on parental maltreatment and emerging adult mental health. It was expected that high parent–child relationship quality would buffer against the negative effects of parental psychopathology and maltreatment while enhancing the effects of functional parenting characteristics. Participants included 1,452 emerging adults, predominantly Caucasian (73.3%) college students who completed surveys on their mental health, recent experienced maltreatment, and their parents’ mental health problems. Results suggested lowest rates of mental health problems for emerging adults were associated with higher parent–child relationship quality and lower parental psychological problems, whereas negative outcomes were associated with higher parental psychopathology, regardless of parent–child relationship quality. Additionally, physical maltreatment was associated with lower rates of mental health concerns in the context of higher mother-daughter relationship quality. Results emphasize the continuing impact of the parent–child relationship, particularly the mother-daughter relationship, on emerging adults’ mental health. Moreover, the current study demonstrates the continuing influence of parents on their emerging adult children.     

The Associations between Mothers’ and Grandmothers’ Depressive Symptoms,Parenting Stress,and Relationship with Children: An Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Model

Three-generation households that include parents and grandparents raising children together have become increasingly common in China. This study examined the relations among depressive symptoms, parenting stress, and caregiver–child relationships in the mother–grandmother dyadic context. Participants were mothers and grandmothers from 136 three-generation households. Results from Actor–Partner Interdependence Mediation Modeling indicated that mothers’ depressive symptoms were indirectly related to mother–child conflict/closeness through own parenting stress; grandmothers’ depressive symptoms were indirectly related to grandmother–child conflict through own parenting stress. Mothers’ depressive symptoms were indirectly related to grandmothers’ conflict with children through grandmothers’ parenting stress, and grandmothers’ depressive symptoms were indirectly related to mothers’ conflict/closeness with children through mothers’ parenting stress. The relation between mothers’ parenting stress and mother–child closeness was stronger than the relation between grandmothers’ parenting stress and grandmother–child closeness. Findings highlight the implications of using a family system perspective and the dyadic approach in understanding and improving family functioning in Chinese three-generation households.     

Discrepancy in internalized values of workers in extreme situations: Consequences for soldiers and risk for the organization

IntroductionIn the present paper, we address the double-edged role of values among Army personnel and how they can be used in information warfare. We suggest that value discrepancy may impact the agent's trust and consequently, affect behaviour and ultimately destabilize the organization.ObjectivesBased on cognitive dissonance theory and the meaning maintenance model, we hypothesized that exposing trained soldiers to information which confronts their core values and involves both their peers and their institution could promote an overwhelming reaction that could finally alter their trust in the organization.MethodTo examine the proposed model, interviews were conducted with 38 active-duty soldiers that permits to stress the importance of values for their personal life. To complete the interviews, a staged observation was led with the second set of participants (n = 21). Its goal was to evaluate the soldiers’ reaction to a message aiming at their values.ResultsQualitative and quantitative analysis of the Interviews confirmed both the importance of the said values and stressed the ambivalence toward their institution. The results of the staged observation suggested that a low credibility source of information aiming at their central values could lead to a direct emotional reaction, that could potentially lead to a decrease in institutional trust, and therefore ultimately in the organisation performance.ConclusionThe discussion focuses on the consequences of this mechanism, the fundamental necessity for the organization of taking this process into account. Finally, we suggest ways to cope with this risk which can alter strategy deployment and goal achievement.     

Reducing reactive aggression in schoolchildren through child,parent, and conjoint parent‐child group interventions: An efficacy study of longitudinal outcomes

This study was the first to evaluate the effectiveness of three different group interventions to reduce children's reactive aggression based on the social information processing (SIP) model. In the first stage of screening, 3,734 children of Grades 4–6 completed the Reactive–Proactive Aggression Questionnaire (RPQ) to assess their reactive and proactive aggression. Respondents with a total score of z ≥ 1 on the RPQ were shortlisted for the second stage of screening by qualitative interview. Interviews with 475 children were conducted to select those who showed reactive aggression featuring a hostile attributional bias. Finally, 126 children (97 males and 29 females) aged 8 to 14 (M = 9.71, SD = 1.23) were selected and randomly assigned to one of the three groups: a child group, a parent group, and a parent–child group. A significant Time × Intervention effect was found for general and reactive aggression. The parent–child group and child group showed a significant drop in general aggression and reactive aggression from posttest to 6‐month follow‐up, after controlling for baseline scores, sex, and age. However, the parent group showed no treatment effect: reactive aggression scores were significantly higher than those in the child group at 6‐month follow‐up. This study has provided strong evidence that children with reactive aggression need direct and specific treatment to reconstruct the steps of the SIP involving the selection and interpretation of cues. The intervention could help to prevent severe violent crimes at the later stage of a reactive aggressor.     

Minority representation,tokenism, and well-being in army units

Racial and ethnic diversity is increasing in the US Army and women are moving into more combat roles. This puts minority soldiers at risk for being underrepresented in their work units. Tokenism theory predicts that when a work group has less than 15% representation in a social group, the numerically underrepresented minority (i.e., token) members are subject to three disadvantages: higher visibility, informal isolation, and role encapsulation. In the Army, where many companies contain small numbers of women and racial minorities, some soldiers may face additional stressors and constraints. We explored psychosocial, organizational, and health outcomes of all identifiable token women (N = 4,425) and Black soldiers (N = 5,040). Tokens were remarkably similar to non-tokens and majority soldiers on outcomes such as coping skills, adaptability, organizational trust, sleep, substance use, and pain. The intersection of token status in terms of race and gender was not related to any appreciable differences. One potential explanation is the shared Army culture that emphasizes group unity and the importance of the mission above individual characteristics and goals. The Army depends on cohesion, organizational identification, and commitment to the group in order to reduce stress and anxiety, and to maximize combat performance. For soldiers who have internalized this culture, it could be easier to see past individual differences such as gender and race and identify others in the unit as fellow soldiers primarily.     

A factor analytic investigation of the BASC-2 Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Parent Form: psychometric properties, practical implications, and future directions

The Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition (BASC-2) Behavioral and Emotional Screening System Parent Form (BESS Parent; Kamphaus & Reynolds, 2007) is a recently developed instrument designed to identify behavioral and emotional risk in students. To describe the underlying factor structure for this instrument, exploratory (EFA) and confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were conducted utilizing two subsets of a large, nationally-representative sample. The results of the EFA suggested that the BESS Parent contained a four-factor latent structure (i.e., Externalizing, Internalizing, Adaptive Skills, and Inattention), which was supported by CFA. Results support further investigation into utilizing four subscales in addition to an overall risk score; distributional and reliability information for the BESS Parent subscales is provided. Practical implications for school psychologists interested in early identification and directions for future research are discussed.     

Associations between parent perceived social cognitive factors and child objectively measured physical activity behaviors among preschool-aged children

Grounded in social cognitive theory (SCT), this study sought to examine whether parents perceived social cognitive factors regarding children's physical activity (PA) behaviors were associated with preschool children's moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) levels. A total of 142 Hong Kong parent-child pairs from five preschools/childcare centers completed all assessments in the cross-sectional study. Children’s (42% girls; mean age = 4.52 ± 0.67 years) PA was measured through accelerometers. Parents (74% mothers; mean age = 37.38 ± 4.63 years) completed a paper-based questionnaire assessing the social cognitive factors on their children’s PA participation. The data were analyzed using latent variable structural equation modeling. Findings revealed that the model showed acceptable fit with the data: χ² (23) = 38.14, p = .025, χ²/df = 1.66, CFI = 0.955, TLI = 0.929, RMSEA = 0.068, 90% CI [0.025, 0.106], and SRMR = 0.072. The model accounted for 39.1% of the variance in the PA behavior of preschool-aged children. Structural equation modelling revealed parental self-efficacy (β = 0.29, 95% CI [0.95, 0.49]) and goal setting (β = 0.25, 95% CI [0.06, 0.44]) were directly associated with children’s MVPA. Outcome expectations (β = 0.09, 95% CI [0.01, 0.03]) and goal setting (β = 0.18, 95% CI [0.05, 0.32]) mediated the association between parental self-efficacy and children’s MVPA. Indirect associations of parental self-efficacy from setting goals via parental support (β = 0.15, 95%CI [0.02, 0.30]) and perceived barriers (β = 0.15, 95% CI [0.05, 0.28]) were uncovered. Results supported the use of SCT in understanding how the parents perceived social cognitive factors predict the PA behaviors of young children. This study provides insight into whether these theoretical variables could be modified or promoted in future intervention programs. Enhancing parents’ abilities to ensure preschool-aged children are physically active is of great importance given the global decline in PA among children.     

Sexual Assault Training in the Military: Evaluating Efforts to End the “Invisible War”

Sexual assault is an insidious problem in the United States military. In 2005 the Department of Defense (DoD) created the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Office, which centralizes responsibility for sexual assault training. However, this training initiative has undergone little evaluation by outside researchers. Addressing this need, we analyzed responses from over 24,000 active duty personnel who completed the 2010 DoD Workplace and Gender Relations Survey. We assessed whether sexual assault training exposure (None, Minimal, Partial, or Comprehensive) predicted accurate knowledge of sexual assault resources and protocols. Using a social-ecological framework, we investigated whether institutional and individual factors influenced Service members’ training exposure and judgment of training effectiveness. According to our results, exposure to comprehensive training predicted lower sexual assault incidence and superior knowledge. However, comprehensive training differed as a function of military branch, rank, gender, and sexual assault history. Judgments of training effectiveness also varied across these dimensions. Our results highlight the importance of considering context, gender, and victimization history when evaluating institutional efforts to end sexual violence. The DoD’s 2010 annual report on military sexual assault concluded that “most Active Duty members receive effective training on sexual assault” (p. 104). Our results cast doubt on that assertion.