Beyond stereotypes: The role of exposure in reshaping Children's biases towards women as coaches in sports

The underrepresentation of women in sports coaching, linked to discrimination and bias may, according to contact theory, be mitigated by increasing the visibility of women coaches, especially among children. Our study examined whether young athletes exposed to women coaches affected their explicit and implicit biases compared to unexposed peers. Seventy-five children aged between 4 and 17 years were evaluated using two explicit attitude measures and an Implicit Association Task. Results indicated that participants with women coach experience were more explicitly satisfied with woman coaches, preferred them more as potential coaches, and associated men with sports less than those without such exposure. Whilst exposure and implicit bias significantly predicted explicit satisfaction, exposure did not moderate the bias relationship. This suggests that exposure to women coaches reduces negative attitudes in young athletes but does not significantly affect the underlying influence of implicit biases, indicating a need for more comprehensive strategies to address gender inequalities in sports coaching

The predictive validity of the family risk survey and child risk survey for identifying persistent firesetting risk

Young firesetter behavior poses significant risks to individuals and communities. Intervention is important to mitigate youth firesetting, and treatment needs vary depending on underlying motives. Effective screening of persistent firesetter risk to inform intervention approach is critical to ensure appropriate matching of risk and needs. This study aimed to evaluate the utility of the child risk survey (CRS) and family risk survey (FRS) for predicting persistent firesetting risk, and subsequent triaging of cases toward the appropriate treatment. A total of 61 families engaged with the Firelighting Consequences Awareness Program, Melbourne, Australia, completed the CRS and FRS preintervention, and reported their firesetting behavior 1-year postintervention. The CRS was not effective for correctly predicting persistent and nonpersistent firesetters. The FRS was successful at predicting persistent firesetters 85% of the time, but had a high rate of false positives, overclassifying nonpersistent firesetters as high risk. Finally, the actual rate of firesetters that would be deemed suitable for each of the three recommended interventions based on the CRS and FRS scoring protocols was substantially different to the expected rates described in the accompanying manual. Implications for service provision are discussed

Youth misuse of fire: measuring the risk of firesetting behaviour using explicit and implicit methods

Accelerated shifts in global climate have increased the threat from intentionally lit fires, especially within wildfire prone communities. A considerable proportion of intentionally lit fires are set by adolescents with high levels of fire interest. A persistent issue within the literature is difficulty with reliably assessing fire interest, as existing self-report measures are highly susceptible to censored responses. The current study investigated whether fire interest could be effectively measured using attentional bias tasks. The sample consisted of 86 participants (10–17 years; M = 13.65, SD = 1.81) allocated into three firesetter classifications: minor firesetter (n = 24), serious firesetter (n = 28), and non-firesetter (n = 34). All participants completed a series of questionnaires and two modified Stroop tasks aimed at measuring implicit fire interest. The findings showed no association between explicit and implicit measures of fire interest. However, serious firesetters scored significantly higher than other firesetter classifications on both explicit and implicit measures. Additionally, both explicit fire interest and performance on the Lexical Fire-Stroop emerged as significant predictors of firesetting behaviour. Collectively, these results illustrate the Stroop paradigm may be an effective tool to measure implicit fire interest within a community sample, and potential improvements are discussed. The current study detected a surprisingly high frequency of self-reported firesetters within a community sample and significant incongruency between parental and child reported firesetting behaviour, demonstrating the importance of continued research in this area

Mutations in SLC39A14 disrupt manganese homeostasis and cause childhood-onset parkinsonism-dystonia

Although manganese is an essential trace metal, little is known about its transport and homeostatic regulation. Here we have identified a cohort of patients with a novel autosomal recessive manganese transporter defect caused by mutations in SLC39A14. Excessive accumulation of manganese in these patients results in rapidly progressive childhood-onset parkinsonism-dystonia with distinctive brain magnetic resonance imaging appearances and neurodegenerative features on post-mortem examination. We show that mutations in SLC39A14 impair manganese transport in vitro and lead to manganese dyshomeostasis and altered locomotor activity in zebrafish with CRISPR-induced slc39a14 null mutations. Chelation with disodium calcium edetate lowers blood manganese levels in patients and can lead to striking clinical improvement. Our results demonstrate that SLC39A14 functions as a pivotal manganese transporter in vertebrates

Mutations in SLC39A14 disrupt manganese homeostasis and cause childhood-onset parkinsonism-dystonia.

Although manganese is an essential trace metal, little is known about its transport and homeostatic regulation. Here we have identified a cohort of patients with a novel autosomal recessive manganese transporter defect caused by mutations in SLC39A14. Excessive accumulation of manganese in these patients results in rapidly progressive childhood-onset parkinsonism-dystonia with distinctive brain magnetic resonance imaging appearances and neurodegenerative features on post-mortem examination. We show that mutations in SLC39A14 impair manganese transport in vitro and lead to manganese dyshomeostasis and altered locomotor activity in zebrafish with CRISPR-induced slc39a14 null mutations. Chelation with disodium calcium edetate lowers blood manganese levels in patients and can lead to striking clinical improvement. Our results demonstrate that SLC39A14 functions as a pivotal manganese transporter in vertebrates.Action Medical ResearchThis is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/ncomms1160

Predicting risk of repeat firelighting in young people: the development and evaluation of the Behaviour Risk Tool

Firelighting is not an uncommon behaviour for young people. A review of the relevant literature shows that, fortunately, most young people who light fires, do so because they are curious, and fire safety education intervention is enough to prevent any future firelighting activity. However, a small number have significant psychosocial issues that may contribute to continued firelighting behaviour. The Juvenile Fire Awareness and Intervention Program (JFAIP) is a fire safety education program established in Victoria, Australia to target active young firelighters. While some young firelighters referred to the program have mental health problems, the JFAIP is not designed for such cases. Thus a need has been identified for a screening questionnaire to identify young people with psychosocial disturbance predictive of ongoing firelighting behaviour, in order to recommend supplementary mental health intervention. The overarching aim of this project was to develop such a screening tool. The first aim of Study 1 was to evaluate the validity of two internationally established firelighter screening tools, the FEMA Child Risk Survey (CRS) and Family Risk Survey (FRS). The second aim was to explore the fire-specific, family and psychosocial profile of young repeat firelighters and develop a new firelighter screening tool to be subsequently evaluated and compared to the CRS and FRS. Utilising a sample of 61 JFAIP families, data about fire-specific, family and psychosocial characteristics of the young firelighters (5-17 years of age) at the time of their initial pre-intervention interview was collected via the CRS, FRS, Fire Risk Interview and Child Behaviour Checklist. A 12-month follow-up obtained information about continued firelighting activity. Study 1 results indicated that the CRS was unable to distinguish between the groups (repeat and non-repeat), but the FRS demonstrated some utility, accurately detecting 86% of repeat firelighters. However it was overly inclusive, erroneously predicting that half of the non-repeat firelighters were also at risk. The results also identified significant differences on a number of fire-specific and psychosocial variables between repeat and non-repeat firelighters. The 25 specific items or themes across the four instruments used to collect data demonstrating the greatest differences between the repeat and non-repeat firelighters were combined into a new screening tool, termed the Behaviour Risk Tool (BRT). Study 2 was designed to measure the validity and reliability of the BRT using new samples. In Part A the BRT was completed by the parent/guardian of 63 young people in the JFAIP (5-17 years of age) at their initial pre-intervention interview. A minimum six month follow up contact determined the presence or absence of repeat firelighting. Results demonstrated the BRT had a sensitivity of 0.8 and specificity of 0.7 at the cut-off score of 57.5. Thus the BRT detected 80% of the repeat firelighters and 70% of the nonrepeat firelighters correctly. In Part B, the test-retest reliability and internal consistency of the BRT was assessed. Parents/guardians of 76 children (5-17 years) in the general population completed the questionnaire twice, two weeks apart. The results indicated high repeatability across time (r=.93) and high internal consistency (.88-.93) for the BRT. Hence, Study 2 found that the BRT had better sensitivity and specificity than the CRS and FRS and was a reliable questionnaire. The expectation is that the BRT will be used as a preliminary screening measure in the JFAIP, to identify cases where additional mental health support may be necessary. This is the first such tool to be developed in an Australia context. Furthermore, the JFAIP is the first young firelighter program in Australia to adopt a screening tool of this kind. Ideally the BRT will continue to be used over many years with many families, and continue to be evaluated for effectiveness and further improvements

Associations between pre-COVID-19 physical activity profiles and mental wellbeing and quality of life during COVID-19 lockdown among adults

Abstract: The COVID-19 pandemic has been detrimental to the physical and mental health and wellbeing of people across the globe. Regular physical activity has consistently demonstrated an array of health benefits, but the impact of regular physical activity habits pre-pandemic on health and wellbeing during the pandemic is largely unknown. The purpose of this study was to identify distinct pre-COVID-19 lockdown physical activity profiles [i.e., walking, leisure-time moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA), domestic MVPA and muscle strengthening exercise] and assess whether these profiles were associated with mental wellbeing and quality of life during COVID-19 lockdown. A total of 442 adults (Mage = 43.97 ± 13.85; 75.6% female) from Melbourne, Australia completed an online questionnaire measuring pre-COVID-19 physical activity, including walking habits, leisure-time MVPA, domestic MVPA, and muscle strengthening exercise – and completed measures of mental wellbeing and health related quality of life. Latent profile analysis identified five distinct profiles that differed in terms of levels of walking, leisure-time MVPA, domestic MVPA and muscle strengthening exercise. Based on the observed pre-COVID-19 lockdown profiles, it appears that high levels of MVPA and muscle strengthening exercise may serve as a protective factor against the potential negative impact of a global pandemic lockdown on mental wellbeing and quality of life

Lifestyle behaviours and mental health and wellbeing of tertiary students during COVID-19 lockdown in Australia: A cross-sectional study

Background: Australia experienced significant COVID-19 lockdown restrictions throughout 2020 that had an impact on mental health and disrupted health-promoting lifestyle behaviours. Lockdowns may have exacerbated existing mental health concerns among tertiary students, who experience higher levels of mental health concerns compared to the wider community. This study aimed to investigate the association between modifiable lifestyle factors and wellbeing of students at a Melbourne-based tertiary education institution during COVID-19 lockdown. Methods: This quantitative, cross-sectional study was conducted across campuses in Melbourne and Sydney. Data was collected via online questionnaire during the 7th week of a second-wave lockdown. Descriptive statistics were calculated for demographic variables (n = 239). Linear regression models were estimated to determine multivariate associations between lifestyle variables and psychological distress. Results: Participants were on average 30.98 years old (SD = 9.78), predominantly female, domestic students, undergraduate, not the first member of their family to attend university and living out of family home. Mindfulness, diet quality, sleep quality and moderate-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) were all inversely correlated with psychological distress. Unadjusted and adjusted models show that mindfulness, sleep quality, and MVPA were all independently inversely related to psychological distress. Greater mindfulness, sleep quality and engagement in MVPA were associated with lower psychological distress during COVID-19 lockdowns. Limitations: As this study is cross-sectional and we cannot rule out reverse causality. Conclusion: This study highlights the potential for lifestyle focused mental-health promotion delivered through tertiary education institutions to support students in times of crisis as well as more generally