preadolescent Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Psychometrics, Cognition

Despite the fact that writing a dissertation seemed like a lonely endeavor as I was enmeshed in the process, upon reflection, I truly realized that its completion was only possible with the help of a great many others. Thus, I am truly humbled by all the assistance I received throughout the years from Loyola University and many of the faculty from its Department of History, from my friends and colleagues, and from my family. First, thank you to my knowledgeable committee members. Dr. Patricia Mooney-Melvin, I view your assistance throughout my academic career (from my first days as a masters student to my final days working on my dissertation) as nothing less than heroic. You are more than a mentor; you are a friend. Dr. Susan Hirsch, your insights and suggestions completely transformed (and elevated) my final copy. You are the teacher who I most try to emulate in the classroom. Dr. Lewis Erenberg, the person most responsible for this labor of love and for shaping me into the historian who I am today, I owe you a great debt of gratitude. A heartfelt thank you to you all. Thank you also to Loyola Chicago's Department of History. In many ways, these have been the best years of my life (so far). And a great many thanks to the Loyola University Chicago Graduate School who funded many years of my research through my various assistantships, the Advanced Dissertation Fellowship, and the Arthur J. Schmitt Dissertation Fellowship. Thank you to my friends and colleagues, many of whom pored iv over various drafts of chapters and/or listened to me talk incessantly about my topic. I dare not try to mention you all by name, but you know who you are. To my growing family, a most hearty εµχαριστω. You encouraged me when I was down, and never gave up on me. I leaned on each of you throughout the years and for your steadfastness, I am most grateful. I love you all. And finally, grazie a Francesco. I wouldn't have finished without you and your support. You are the love of my life.

- by Stella A Ress
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- Popular Culture, Culture, World War II, preadolescent

The effects of color on the reading recognition and comprehension of 3 students with learning disabilities and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder were assessed in a single-subject design. Color did not enhance sight-word learning;... more

- by Sydney Zentall
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- Psychology, Special Education, Performance, Reading

This study examined whether color perception is atypical in children with autism. In experiment 1, accuracy of color memory and search was compared for children with autism and typically developing children matched on age and non-verbal cognitive ability. Children with autism were significantly less accurate at color memory and search than controls. In experiment 2, chromatic discrimination and categorical perception of color were assessed using a target detection task. Children with autism were less accurate than controls at detecting chromatic targets when presented on chromatic backgrounds, although were equally as fast when target detection was accurate. The strength of categorical perception of color did not differ for the two groups. Implications for theories on perceptual development in autism are discussed. Keywords Autism Á Color Á Perception Á Categorization ''he was given photocopied sheets of characters from the film and would colour these in, from memory, with complete accuracy....….George knew the colours by heart, and never made a mistake'' (Moore 2004, p. 68). ''by and large he would eat only red food, and to this day he uses ketchup to mask unwelcome colours. I call his colour obsession 'mild' because I have heard of far more extreme cases (Moore 2004, p. 153).''

- by Rachel Burley
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- Perception, Education, Autism, Cognition

Self-presentation bias and continuing motivation for difficult and easy tasks among Grade 7 and 11 students in the People&#39;s Republic of China were investigated. Participants were 517 students from two schools in Wuhan, China. They read short scenarios in which male or female characters performed tasks that they considered to be hard or easy. The students then answered a question

- by ann igoe
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- Education, China, Educational, Social Environment

This study examines whether fear of abandonment mediates the prospective relations between divorce stressors and mother–child relationship quality and adjustment problems of children of divorce. Participants were 216 children, ages 8–12, and their primary residential mothers. Children reported on divorce stressors and fear of abandonment; mothers and children reported on mother–child relationship quality and internalizing and externalizing problems. Structural equation

- by Irwin Sandler
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- Psychology, Fear, Social Interaction, Stress

This study investigated the relation between victimization and victimization-related distress and implicit social-cognitive processing. Eighty-seven 9-13 year old children completed measures of victimization experience and social cognitive processing tasks, including the emotional Stroop task and the self-concept Implicit Association Test (IAT). Participants also related narratives of personal victimization experiences. Results showed that children who experienced more frequent victimization and expressed more distress when discussing their victimization demonstrated increased implicit association of themselves as victims and greater use of emotionally dysregulated preemptive processing. This study represents the first evidence of a relation between distinct implicit processing patterns and chronic peer victimization among children.

- by Jacob Harrison
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Social Cognition, Social Interaction
- by Berit Grøholt
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- Psychology, Epidemiology, Evolution, Adolescent

and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

- by Maurits Van Der Molen
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroimaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging

The relation between leisure and well-being, including happiness and self-concept, was examined in 375 children aged 8—12 years. Active leisure (e.g. physical activity) was positively correlated with well-being. Passive leisure (e.g. television and video games) was negatively correlated with well-being. Aspects of active leisure (e.g. the importance of sport to the child and how sports made the child feel) as judged by both parents and children accounted for unique variance in children's wellbeing; passive leisure did not. Similar to previous research on adolescents and adults, active leisure activities were related to children's well-being.

- by Mark Holder
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Health Psychology, Mental Health
- by George Keepers
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- Psychology, Family Therapy, Social Interaction, Juvenile Delinquency

This research examined the role a global image of the result has in length seriation problem solving. The first experiment showed that when subjects could not take advantage of the figurai help provided by this image, the degree of task difficulty increased. The subjects did not succeed in changing their way of solving the problem (until 12). The control made in the second experiment helped partially the subjects (especially the oldest) to put their representation back in conformity with the task and to improve their performance.

- by rené baldy
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Cognitive development, Mental Representation

Mentoring programs hold great promise for fostering competency in disadvantaged youth. Although considerable theoretical work has been conducted to explain the role of mentoring relationships in promoting positive youth outcomes, very little empirical research has directly investigated this alliance. The present study developed and validated a tool to assess mentees' perceptions of their relationships with their mentors and to investigate the relationship between this alliance and youth competency. Based on pilot data from four cross-national mentoring programs (N ¼ 276), a 10-item, two-factor Mentor-Youth Alliance Scale (MYAS) was created. Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses conducted on national evaluation data from a multi-site study of mentoring programs (N ¼ 219), generated a 10-item, one-factor solution. The one-factor MYAS significantly predicted youths' scores in four competency domains: Family Bonding, Relationships with Adults, School Bonding, and Life Skills...

- by Rachele Espiritu
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- Psychology, Poverty, Mental Health, Prediction

Objective: Stress is an important etiological factor for pain. Little is known, however, about how this process is mediated. The aim of this study is to highlight how more stress corresponds with the amount of reported perceived stress, pain symptom, and the cooccurrence of two pain symptoms-headache and abdominal pain-and how these three phenomena are related. We have also studied possible gender differences. Methods: A cross-sectional study based on data from child supplements linked to national household surveys in Sweden during 2002-2003. Information concerning harassment, perceived stress, headache, and abdominal pain was gathered from a questionnaire. The study population consisted of a representative national sample of 2597 children aged 10-18 years. Results: Children's reports of exposure to the stressor harassment were associated with their subjective perception of stress and recurrent pain in a stepwise manner. Having both pain symptoms was more strongly associated with the stressor harassment and perceived stress than having only one pain symptom. This was especially true of girls, who reported higher levels of stress symptoms and who had a different profile of pain symptoms than boys. Conclusions: The stressor harassment, perceived stress, and recurrent pain are associated with each other in a stepwise fashion. The co-occurrence of headache and abdominal pain is much more closely associated with harassment and perceived stress than any of these symptoms separately, especially in girls.

- by Viveca Ostberg
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- Mental Health, Pain, Public Health, Adolescent

Full terms and conditions of use: http://www.informaworld.com/terms-and-conditions-of-access.pdf This article may be used for research, teaching and private study purposes. Any substantial or systematic reproduction, redistribution , reselling , loan or sub-licensing, systematic supply or distribution in any form to anyone is expressly forbidden. The publisher does not give any warranty express or implied or make any representation that the contents will be complete or accurate or up to date. The accuracy of any instructions, formulae and drug doses should be independently verified with primary sources. The publisher shall not be liable for any loss, actions, claims, proceedings, demand or costs or damages whatsoever or howsoever caused arising directly or indirectly in connection with or arising out of the use of this material.

- by Guadalupe Morales
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Cognition, Nonverbal Communication

Although a number of studies have shown that brothers are highly correlated for delinquent behavior, much less research has been conducted on sisters. We propose that sisters, like brothers, show notable similarity for delinquent behavior, and also promote each other's delinquency through direct interaction. We examined these issues in 164 brother and sister pairs studied over a 4-year period (from early to middle adolescence) in a study of intact families in the rural Midwest. Sibling similarity for self-reports of delinquent behavior were highly correlated for both brothers and sisters. Conditional effects of high levels of hostile-coercive sibling relationships and older sibling delinquency predicted younger sibling delinquency in both brother and sister pairs. For brothers, conditional effects were also detected for high levels of warmth-support, in contrast to sisters. The conditional effects of older sibling delinquency and relationship quality were shown to predict change in younger sibling delinquency through adolescence. The results add to a growing literature on sibling effects as well as theoretical models that emphasize the role of social interaction between siblings as a risk factor for the development of delinquent activity in adolescence.

- by Richard Rende
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Child Development, Juvenile Delinquency

- by Maurits Van Der Molen
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Neuroimaging, Magnetic Resonance Imaging
- by Colin Harrison
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Computer Science, Educational Technology

Background Non-clinical psychotic symptoms appear common in children, but it is possible that a proportion of reported symptoms result from misinterpretation. There is a well-established association between pre-morbid low IQ score and schizophrenia. Psychosis-like symptoms in children may also be a risk factor for psychotic disorder but their relationship with IQ is unclear. Aims To investigate the prevalence, nature and frequency of psychosis-like symptoms in 12-year-old children and study their relationship with IQ. Method Longitudinal study using the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC) birth cohort. A total of 6455 children completed screening questions for 12 psychotic symptoms followed by a semi-structured clinical assessment. IQ was assessed at 8 years of age using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (3rd UK edition). Results The 6-month period prevalence for one or more symptoms was 13.7% (95% CI 12.8–14.5). After adjustment for confounding varia...

- by Chris Hollis
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- History, Intelligence, Mental Health, Cognition

This study seeks empirical validation for a behavioral self-management technique to improve homework-related behavior. Forty-two elementary and junior high school students with problems related to homework learned the technique through audiocassettes and supplementary written materials and mechanical aids. Parents rated the severity of their children&amp;amp;#39;s homework problems at stated intervals. Group 1 learned the technique at the beginning while Group

- by Paul Lehrer
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- Psychology, Behavior Modification, Evaluation, Self Control

The hypothesis of a general (i.e. cross-modal) temporal processing de®cit in dyslexia was tested by examining rapid processing in both the auditory and the visual system in the same children with dyslexia. Participants were 10-to 12-yearold dyslexic readers and age-matched normal reading controls. Psychophysical thresholds were estimated for auditory gap and visual double¯ash detection, using a two-interval, twoalternative forced-choice paradigm. Signi®cant group differences were found for the auditory and the visual test. Furthermore, temporal processing measures were signi®cantly related to word and pseudo-word reading skills. As 70% of the dyslexic readers had signi®cantly higher thresholds than controls for both auditory and visual temporal processing, the evidence tends to support the hypothesis of a general temporal processing de®cit in children with dyslexia. NeuroReport 12:3603±3607 & 2001 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins.

- by Astrid van Wieringen
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Psychophysics, Auditory Perception

Skip Navigation Links Home > November 16, 2001 - Volume 12 - Issue 16 > Psychophysical evidence for a general temporal processing de... ... Van Ingelghem, MiekeCA; van Wieringen, Astrid1; Wouters, Jan1; Vandenbussche, Erik2;... more

- by Astrid van Wieringen
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Psychophysics, Auditory Perception

Scores from the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL: Achenbach. 1991a) and the Client Development Evaluation Report (CDER: CaliJornia Department of Developmental Services, 1980) fi)r 67 children and adolescents with mental retardation were examined to evaluate the factorial validity of the bzstruments. Four factar analyses were conducted. The initial factor analysis ,~[' CBCL data tidied to confrm the presence of the five first-order fiwtors previously reported f~r the CBCL standardization sample (Achenbach, 1991b). Second, the higher-order ~[actors c~f Externalizing and blternalizing behaviors, similar to the structure reported for the CBCL standardization sample (Achenbach, 1991b), were confirmed on the present sample. Third, the two CDER.]actors of Personal Maladaption and Social Maladuption, previously idemified by Widaman, Gibbs, and Geary (1987), were also confirmed. Finally, a higher-order factor analysis of the two factor scores from the CBCL and two factor scores from the CDER was eonducted to study the congruence between the CBCL Externalizing and CDER Social Maladaption dimensions, and between the CBCL lnter~talizing and CDER Personal Maladaption factor.~. Moderate levels c~['congruem e were fimnd. Next, child characteristics, including level ~2f mental remr.dation, age, and fi)ur dimensions of adaptive behavior; were used as predictors ,~f problem behavior. No child characteristics were significantly related to the CBCL Externalizing dimension, but

- by Kathleen Lane
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- Psychology, Psychometrics, Adolescent, Intellectual Disability

Roger (1997) defined rehearsal as ''the tendency to rehearse or ruminate on emotionally upsetting events'' (p. 71). The Rehearsal Scale for Children-Chinese (RSC-C) was developed from the original 14-item Rehearsal Scale of the Emotion Control Questionnaire (Roger & Nesshoever, 1987) after translation and modification for Hong Kong Chinese preadolescents (aged 6-12 years). Confirmatory factor analysis using structural equation modeling revealed that with 1 item deleted from the original scale, the RSC-C possessed good internal validity and satisfactory test-retest reliability within a 1-year period. The new 13-item RSC-C also showed good external validity and internal reliability (a 5 .76). Convergent and discriminant validity was evidenced against the Emotional Problem and the Prosocial Behavior Subscales of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997), respectively. No gender differences in rehearsal scores were found. It was concluded that the 13-item RSC-C could be useful for measuring rehearsal in Chinese preadolescents.

- by Fiona Ling
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- Psychology, Clinical Psychology, Cognitive Science, Psychometrics

Students (n = 709), parents, and teachers (n = 82) completed a questionnaire concerning amount of homework assigned by teachers, portion of assignments completed by students, and attitudes about homework. Student achievement measures were... more

- by Jim LIndsay
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Educational Psychology, Prediction

Parents (n ϭ 709) were surveyed about involvement in their child's homework. A factor analysis revealed three dimensions of homework involvement similar to those found in more general studies of parenting style. These dimensions are autonomy support, direct involvement, and elimination of distractions. A fourth dimension, parental interference, differentiated itself from autonomy support for students in higher grades. Two-thirds of parents reported some negative or inappropriate form of involvement. Parenting style for homework was then related to student and family characteristics and student schooling outcomes. Results indicated parents with students in higher grade levels reported giving students more homework autonomy and less involvement of all other types. Parents in poorer families reported less support for autonomy and more interference. Parents reported less elimination of distractions when an adult was not at home after school and, for elementary school students, when there were more than one child living in the home. Elementary school parents of males reported more direct involvement in homework, while high school parents of females reported more direct involvement. More parental support for autonomy was associated with higher standardized test scores, higher class grades, and more homework completed. More positive parent involvement was associated with lower test scores and lower class grades, especially for elementary school students. Student attitudes toward homework were unrelated to parenting style for homework. Stage-environment fit theory and conceptions of families as This research was supported by a Grant R117E40309 from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not necessarily of the granting agency. Thanks are extended to the staff of the Center for Research and Policy in Basic Skills, Tennessee State University, for help with data collection and to the participating school districts and parents.

- by Jim LIndsay
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- Psychology, Social Interaction, Parent Involvement, Medicine

& We present the first assessment of motion sensitivity for persons with autism and normal intelligence using motion patterns that require neural processing mechanisms of varying complexity. Compared to matched controls, our results demonstrate that the motion sensitivity of observers with autism is similar to that of nonautistic observers for different types of first-order (luminance-defined) motion stimuli, but significantly decreased for the same types of second-order (texture-defined) stimuli. The latter class of motion stimuli has been demonstrated to require additional neural computation to be processed adequately. This finding may reflect less efficient integrative functioning of the neural mechanisms that mediate visuoperceptual processing in autism. The contribution of this finding with regards to abnormal perceptual integration in autism, its effect on cognitive operations, and possible behavioral implications are discussed. & This pattern of atypical performances has lead to the development of neurobehavioral theories of autism

- by Jocelyn Faubert
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Perception, Autism

... and Gender on Students' Interactions CECILE B. McANINCH Washington State University ... Bromfield, Weisz, and Messer ( 1986) showed chil-dren a videotape of a child failing a puzzle task. Participants who were told that the... more

- by Jacob Harrison
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- Psychology, Education, Social Interaction, Social Perception

Naïve conceptions and associated misconceptions about object motion arise in part from limitations on perceptual experience. Certain commercial video games, such as Enigmo, provide interactive experience with realistic trajectories and practice at purposefully manipulating those trajectories. We tested the possibility that this experience could modify naïve intuitions about object motion, bringing them into closer alignment with Newtonian principles of mechanics. Fifty-one middle-school children were randomly assigned to play either Enigmo or a strategy game for six sessions. Only the Enigmo group improved their ability to generate realistic trajectories, but this improvement was limited to learning about the general parabolic shape of trajectories. After training, both groups received a 30-minute tutorial on Newtonian principles which generated a much larger improvement in producing realistic trajectories than did game play. This improvement was of similar magnitude in both training groups, indicating that gaming experience provided no advantage in deriving benefits from direct instruction.

- by Daniel Bub
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- Marketing, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Cognitive development

Although the effects of paternal alcoholism on the psychosocial adjustment of children are well documented, the impact of fathers' illicit drug abuse on their children is poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to compare the adjustment of children living in families with drug-abusing fathers (n ϭ 40) with that of children with fathers who abused alcohol (n ϭ 40) and children with non-substance-abusing fathers (n ϭ 40). Children with drug-abusing fathers experienced more internalizing and externalizing symptoms than children with alcoholic or non-substance-abusing fathers. Interparental conflict and parenting behavior mediated the relationship between family type and children's adjustment. Interventions to improve fathers' parenting behavior and reduce partner conflict may lead to better adjustment among custodial children of drug-abusing fathers.

- by Joseane de Souza
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- Psychology, Family, Family Psychology, Substance Abuse

Identifying what is, and what is not an advertisement is the first step in realizing that an advertisement is a marketing message. Children can distinguish television advertisements from programmes by about 5 years of age. Although previous researchers have investigated television advertising, little attention has been given to advertisements in other media, even though other media, especially the Internet, have become important channels of marketing to children. We showed children printed copies of invented web pages that included advertisements, half of which had price information, and asked the children to point to whatever they thought was an advertisement. In two experiments we tested a total of 401 children, aged 6, 8, 10 and 12 years of age, from the United Kingdom and Indonesia. Six-year-olds recognized a quarter of the advertisements, 8-year-olds recognized half the advertisements, and the 10- and 12-year-olds recognized about three-quarters. Only the 10- and 12-year-olds were more likely to identify an advertisement when it included a price. We contrast our findings with previous results about the identification of television advertising, and discuss why children were poorer at recognizing web page advertisements. The performance of the children has implications for theories about how children develop an understanding of advertising.

- by Mark Blades
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- Marketing, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Advertising

We examined priming of adjective-noun structures in Dutch hearing and deaf children. In three experiments, hearing 7-and 8-yearolds, hearing 11-and 12-year-olds, and deaf 11-and 12-year-olds read a prenominal structure (e.g., the blue ball), a relative clause structure (e.g., the ball that is blue), or a main clause (e.g., the ball is blue). After reading each prime structure, children described a target picture in writing. Half of the target pictures contained the same noun as the prime structure and half contained a different noun. Hearing 7-and 8-year-olds and 11-and 12-year-olds, as well as deaf 11-and 12-year-olds, showed priming effects for all three structures in both the same-noun and different-noun conditions. Structural priming was not boosted by lexical repetition in the hearing and deaf 11-and 12-year-olds; a lexical boost effect was observed only in the 7-and 8-year-olds and only in the relative clause structure. The findings suggest that hearing and deaf children possess abstract representations of adjective-noun structures independent of particular lexical items.

- by liesbeth van Beijsterveldt
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Perception, Language Acquisition
- by Yael Orbach
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- Marketing, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Cognition

... Multiple regression showed that preschool measures of sibling interaction contributed independently of ... Council of the United Kingdom, by National Institute of Mental Health Grant MH ... Corresponding Author Contact Information... more

- by Lynn Beardsall
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Social Interaction

This report is based on the first epidemiological investigation of clustering of tobacco, alcohol, inhalant, and other drug involvement within individual schools using data from Panama's 1996 National Youth Survey on Alcohol and Drug Use. Clustering was estimated with the Alternating Logistic Regression method. Adjusted estimates of pair-wise cross-product ratios (PWCPR), a measure of clustering, show modest clustering (i.e. PWCPR\ 1.0) at the school level for tobacco smoking (

- by Miguel Cedeno
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- Epidemiology, Consumption, Adolescent, Medicine

This study compared the effects of low, medium, and high pretest anxiety levels on the social and nonsocial problem-solving performance of 45 boys with learning disabilities (LD) and 45 boys with no learning disabilities (NLD). Participants ranged from 9 to 11 years of age. Boys with LD reported significantly higher pretest trait and state anxiety on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children than did NLD boys, and their perceived state anxiety escalated over the course of the problem-solving session. There were no pervasive effects of LD status on problem solving by itself, boys with LD being as effective in problem solving as NLD boys. However, means for task solution suggest a tendency for an interaction between group and anxiety level, which should be examined using a larger, well-defined sample and an unstructured task.

- by Gary Kose
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- Mathematics, Cognition, Personality Assessment, Performance

- by Esmeralda Matute
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Cognition, Nonverbal Communication

This 1-year longitudinal study examined early adolescents' (N ϭ 278, age 11-13 years) perceptions of their mother's behavior (affection, knowledge of child's activities, and psychological control) and of how they react to their mother (trust in mother, defiance, and debilitation) as predictors of self-esteem among peers. Perceived maternal affection predicted self-esteem for girls; perceived psychological control forecast lower self-esteem for boys. Perceptions of self as untrusting, defiant, or debilitated led to lower self-esteem. Furthermore, perceived maternal behavior interacted with perceived self-reactions to predict self-esteem: Perceived debilitation led to reduced self-esteem only under high perceived maternal psychological control; perceived defiance predicted lower self-esteem only under low perceived maternal knowledge. The prediction of self-esteem is clearly enhanced when perceived self-reactions are included along with perceived maternal behavior as predictors. Combinations of perceived maternal behavior and perceived self-reactions-relational schemas-warrant increased attention as possible influences on the developing self.

- by Tiina Ojanen
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Perception

Social behaviour was investigated as a contributor to the peer acceptance of children with chronic illness. We predicted that children with illness would receive less acceptance than children without illness, and that prosocial behaviour would improve acceptance, while aggressive behaviour would hamper it. Based upon attribution and cognitive bias theories, we also predicted that prosocial behaviour would be more beneficial and aggressive behaviour less damaging to the acceptance of children with illness compared to healthy children. A 3 (social behaviour: prosocial, aggressive, no information) x 2 (physical status: chronically ill, healthy) within-subjects analogue design was used. Preadolescents (N = 149) indicated social acceptance of hypothetical children portrayed in vignettes as either chronically ill or healthy with prosocial, aggressive, or no social behaviour. A 13-item social intentions scale gauged acceptance. The hypotheses were supported. Although children described as ill received lower acceptance ratings than healthy children, prosocial/ill children were more accepted than aggressive/ill children. Social behaviour interacted with physical status to affect acceptance. Social behaviour influences the peer acceptance of hypothetical children with chronic illness. Prosocial behaviour enhances acceptance of children described with illness, while aggressive behaviour hampers it. Additionally, prosocial behaviour is more beneficial, and aggressive behaviour is less damaging for children described as ill versus healthy. The potential processes by which peers judge acceptance of children with illness are discussed.

- by Deborah Wiebe
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- Sociology, Psychology, Personality, Stigma

Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, Vol. 33, No. 4, August 2003 (© 2003) ... Lower Cortisol and Higher ACTH Levels in Individuals ... Jasna Marinovic ´Curin,1 Jano Terzic,2,5 Zorana Bujas Petkovic,3 Ljubinka Zekan,4 Ivana... more

- by Janoš Terzić
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- Education, Autism, Intelligence, Epilepsy

In Norway 1990-1992, the suicide rate was 18.6 per 100,000 individuals per year for boys 15-19 years old and 6.3 for girls, and for 10-14 year olds the rate was 2.7 for boys and 0.5 for girls. Comparison of all completed suicides (N = 129) with gender- and age-matched control subjects identified depression (OR = 19.9; CI = 11.2, 35.5), disruptive disorders (OR = 6.0; CI = 3.1, 11.4), and previous suicidal behavior (OR = 3.4, CI = 2.0, 5.6) as main risk factors. Of the suicide completers, 74% had mental disorders. Suicidal intent was previously expressed by 48%, but few (24%) had received treatment, despite well-developed health services. A history of disruptive disorders (17%) and substance abuse (10%) were less frequently found than in previous studies, but binge drinking may contribute to the adolescent suicide rate.

- by Berit Grøholt
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- Psychology, Epidemiology, Evolution, Adolescent

A structured diary was used to collect information about the informal peer interactions of 536 children in their final year at nine primary schools, and the findings compared with those from a previous survey of 328 children in their first year at four high schools. Measures of self-concept, locus of control, and social avoidance were also collected for both groups. Factor analysis of the data across the two samples produced the same four factors. These were labelled self-concept; and scale, scope, and enjoyment of social interactions. Popularity emerged as a fifth factor with the inclusion of additional sociometric data that were only collected for the primary school children. There were few cohort differences across samples on measures of self-concept or locus of control, although the older children reported greater social avoidance and higher scores on measures reflecting the scale and scope oftheir peer interactions. Other results indicated few consistent gender differences, except that girls reported greater anxiety in both samples. The findings are discussed within the context of identifying children at risk for rejection or isolation from their peers.

- by Alan Ralph
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Social Interaction, Sociometry
- by Larry Turner
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- Psychology, Mental Health, Depression, Family

Based on Schwartz' theory of cultural values, the present research tested whether the level of outgroup negativity among adolescents is influenced by the preferred values shared by the individual's cultural group. Furthermore,... more

- by David Schiefer
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- Sociology, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Social Identity

This study examined the effects of obesity on plantar pressure distributions in prepubescent children. DESIGN: Field-based, experimental data on BMI (body mass index), foot structure and plantar pressures were collected for 13 consenting obese children and 13 non-obese controls. SUBJECTS: Thirteen obese (age 8.1 AE 1.2 y; BMI 25.5 AE 2.9 kgam 2) and 13 non-obese (age 8.4 AE 0.9 y; BMI 16.9 AE 1.2 kgam 2) prepubescent children, matched to the obese children for gender, age and height. MEASUREMENTS: Height and weight were measured to calculate BMI. Static weight-bearing footprints for the right and left foot of each subject were recorded using a pedograph to calculate the footprint angle and the Chippaux ± Smirak index as representative measures of the surface area of the foot in contact with the ground. Right and left foot plantar pressures were then obtained using a mini-emed 1 pressure platform to calculate the force and pressure experienced under each child's foot during static and dynamic loaded and unloaded conditions. RESULTS: Obese subjects displayed signi®cantly lower footprint angle (t 4.107; P `0.001) values and higher Chippaux ± Smirak index values (t 6.176; P `0.001) compared to their non-obese counterparts. These structural foot changes were associated with differences in plantar pressures between the two subject groups. That is, although rearfoot dynamic forces generated by the obese subjects were signi®cantly higher than those generated by the non-obese subjects, these forces were experienced over signi®cantly higher mean peak areas of contact with the mini-emed 1 system. Therefore, rearfoot pressures experienced by the two subject groups did not differ. However, the mean peak dynamic forefoot pressures generated by the obese subjects (39.3 AE 15.7 N Á cm 2 ; q 3.969) were signi®cantly higher than those generated by the non-obese subjects (32.3 AE 9.2 N Á cm 2). CONCLUSIONS: It is postulated that foot discomfort-associated structural changes and increased forefoot plantar pressures in the obese foot may hinder obese children from participating in physical activity and therefore warrants immediate further investigation.

- by Julie Steele
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- Education, Obesity, Physical Activity, Medicine

This study evaluated the impact of two interventions-a training program and stimulant medication-on working memory (WM) function in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Twenty-five children aged between 8 and 11 years participated in training that taxed WM skills to the limit for a minimum of 20 days, and completed other assessments of WM and IQ before and after training, and with and without prescribed drug treatment. While medication significantly improved visuo-spatial memory performance, training led to substantial gains in all components of WM across untrained tasks. Training gains associated with the central executive persisted over a 6month period. IQ scores were unaffected by either intervention. These findings indicate that the WM impairments in children with ADHD can be differentially ameliorated by training and by stimulant medication.

- by Darren Dunning
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- Marketing, Psychology, Cognitive Science, Cognition

In this study 160 children, aged 11 years with a definite history of specific language impairment (SLI), completed four tasks that could be potential positive psycholinguistic markers for this impairment : a third person singular task, a past tense task, a nonword repetition task, and a sentence repetition task. This allowed examination of more than one type of marker simultaneously, facilitating both comparisons between markers and also evaluation of combinations of markers in relation to identifying SLI. The study also provided data regarding the markers in relation to nonverbal IQ, made use of new normative data on all tasks, and examined marker accuracy in relation to current language status. The results show that markers vary in accuracy, with sentence repetition (a previously unused marker) proving to be the most useful. This psycholinguistic marker shows high levels of sensitivity (90 %), specificity (85 %), and overall accuracy (88 %), as well as being able to identify the majority of children whose current language status falls in the normal range despite a history of SLI.

- by Nicola Botting
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Phonology, Cognition

Adults recognize familiar faces better by their internal than external face parts. It is not clear when children achieve this internal face part advantage, however, previous research has suggested that it emerges after the age of seven years. The present study was the first study to show personally familiar adult faces (school staff) to children aged 5-6, 7-8 and 10-11 years, and we asked the children to identify which faces were familiar. An internal face part advantage was found at all ages.

- by Mark Blades
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- Psychology, Cognitive Science, Developmental Psychology, Perception