Exploring the Role of Practical Wisdom in Addressing Adolescent Childrearing Dilemmas

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154376/1/fare12400.pdfhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/154376/2/fare12400_am.pd

Female firesetters: gender associated psychological and psychopathological features

Objective: Female firesetters are reported to commit nearly a third of deliberately set fires, yet there are limited studies examining the characteristics that distinguish them from suitable comparison groups. The aim of this study is to compare incarcerated female firesetters with incarcerated male firesetters and female offender controls on psychopathological and psychological features that could be targeted via therapeutic interventions. Method: Sixty-five female firesetters, 128 male firesetters, and 63 female offenders were recruited from the prison estate. Participants completed a battery of validated tools assessing psychiatric traits and psychological characteristics (i.e., inappropriate fire interest, emotion/self-regulation, social competence, self-concept, offense-supportive attitudes, and boredom proneness) highlighted in the existing literature. Results: Major depression and an internal locus of control distinguished female firesetters from male firesetters. Alcohol dependence, serious/problematic fire interest, and more effective anger regulation distinguished female firesetters from the female offender control group. Conclusions: This is the first study to examine differences between female firesetters, male firesetters, and female control offenders on both psychopathological features and psychological traits. These findings highlight the gender-specific and offence-specific needs of female firesetters that clinicians need to consider when implementing programs that ensure client responsivity. Keywords: firesetting, arson, psychopathology, female offender

Contrasting deficits on executive functions between ADHD and reading disabled children

BACKGROUND. The object of this study was to analyze the executive functioning of children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or reading disability (RD) independent of their non-executive deficits. METHODS: Three carefully diagnosed groups of children, aged between 7 and 12 years (35 ADHD, 22 RD and 30 typically developing children), were tested on a wide range of tasks related to five major domains of executive functioning (EF): inhibition, visual working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility, and verbal fluency. Additional tasks were selected for each domain to control for non-executive processing. RESULTS: ADHD children were impaired on interference control, but not on prepotent and ongoing response suppression. ADHD showed deficits on visual working memory, planning, cognitive flexibility and phonetic fluency. RD children were impaired on phonetic fluency. The only EF measure that differentiated ADHD from RD was planning. CONCLUSIONS: The present sample of ADHD children showed several EF deficits, whereas RD children were almost spared executive dysfunction, but exhibited deficits in phonetic fluency

Motor control in children with ADHD and non-affected siblings: deficits most pronounced using the left hand

Contains fulltext : 52261.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is strongly influenced by heritability. Identifying heritable vulnerability traits (endophenotypes) that mark a relatively high risk of developing the disorder can contribute to the identification of risk genes. A fruitful area for the search for such endophenotypes may be motor control in children with ADHD, since the disorder is frequently accompanied by motor problems. METHOD: The current study used a large sample of 350 children with ADHD, 195 non-affected siblings and 271 normal controls aged 5-19 years. Children were administered two computerised motor control tasks in which they had to trace a path between two circles (Tracking task) and follow a randomly moving target (Pursuit task). Both tasks were performed with both the right and the left hand. RESULTS: Children with ADHD were less precise and stable than controls. Non-affected siblings also deviated from controls, but only on the Tracking task. Group differences were modulated by the use of the right versus the left hand: no group differences emerged when the right hand was used, yet group differences did emerge when the left hand was used. Performance on both tasks was significantly familial. CONCLUSIONS: Imprecision and instability of movements in children with ADHD and in their non-affected siblings as measured by the Tracking task might be suitable endophenotypic candidates: these deficits are familially present in children having ADHD as well as in their non-affected siblings. Motor performance might be best assessed in children using their left hand, because motor control deficits are most pronounced using the left hand. This might relate to right hemispheric brain pathology in children with ADHD (and possibly in their non-affected siblings) that is related to the control of the left hand and/or relate to differential effects of daily life practice on both hands, which may be smaller on the left hand

Examining the Psychopathology of Incarcerated Male Firesetters using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III

Research to date has been equivocal on the relationship between firesetting and psychopathology, and has been impeded by studies lacking adequate control samples. The present study examined psychopathology in a sample of incarcerated adult male firesetters (n = 112) and prison controls (n = 113) using the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory-III. Firesetters demonstrated multiple elevated scores on personality and clinical syndrome scales. Logistic regression showed that the borderline personality scale was the strongest personality scale discriminator between firesetters and controls. Major depression and drug dependence were the strongest clinical syndrome scale predictors. However, both clinical syndrome scale predictors appeared to be mediated by borderline personality scores indicating that firesetters are best characterized by responding indicative of borderline personality traits rather than other psychopathological deficits. The results suggest that, relative to other offenders, firesetters face challenges with impulse control, affect regulation, stability of interpersonal relationships, and self-image

Assessing young people's political engagement: a critical and systematic literature review of the instruments used to measure political engagement

Over the past few decades, there has been an increasing interest in understanding youth political engagement. However, it has been argued that the instruments used to assess the concept often lack adequate validation, and this is important as this practice may result in biased statistical conclusions. Consequently, the main aim of the present study was to systematically review, summarize, and critique the extant research evidence on the development of psychometric instruments that assess young people’s political engagement. Following a systematic review of the literature, seven instruments were identified that were both valid and reliable, but none explicitly assessed young people’s political engagement. Instead, they considered broad concepts and/or dimensions related to political engagement. Emphasising the lack of statistically robust standardised measurement tools that empirically assess young people’s political engagement, the available evidence confirms the pressing need to adopt a robust psychometric approach to assess political engagement in youth

A statistical approach to quantitative data validation focused on the assessment of students' perceptions about biotechnology

Student awareness levels are frequently used to evaluate the effectiveness of educational policies to promote scientific literacy. Over the last years several studies have been developed to assess students' perceptions towards science and technology, which usually rely on quantitative methods to achieve broad characterizations, and obtain quantifiable and comparable data. Although the usefulness of this information depends on its validity and reliability, validation is frequently neglected by researchers with limited background in statistics. In this context, we propose a guideline to implement a statistical approach to questionnaire validation, combining exploratory factor analysis and reliability analysis. The work focuses on the psychometric analysis of data provided by a questionnaire assessing 1196 elementary and high school students' perceptions about biotechnology. Procedural guidelines to enhance the efficiency of quantitative inquiry surveys are given, by discussing essential methodological aspects and relevant criteria to integrate theory into practice.The authors are grateful to all the participant teachers and students that contributed to gather the data presented and to Catarina L. Santos for useful comments and suggestions on the manuscript. Maria Joao Fonseca was supported by the FCT fellowship SFRH/BD/37389/2007 and this work was sponsored by a research grant (PTDC/AGR-PRO/111857/2009) from Fundacao para a Ciencia e Tecnologia (FCT, Portugal)

Which executive functioning deficits are associated with AD/HD, ODD/CD and comorbid AD/HD+ODD/CD?

Item does not contain fulltextThis study investigated (1) whether attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) is associated with executive functioning (EF) deficits while controlling for oppositional defiant disorder/conduct disorder (ODD/CD), (2) whether ODD/CD is associated with EF deficits while controlling for AD/HD, and (3)~whether a combination of AD/HD and ODD/CD is associated with EF deficits (and the possibility that there is no association between EF deficits and AD/HD or ODD/CD in isolation). Subjects were 99~children ages 6–12 years. Three putative domains of EF were investigated using well-validated tests: verbal fluency, working memory, and planning. Independent of ODD/CD, AD/HD was associated with deficits in planning and working memory, but not in verbal fluency. Only teacher rated AD/HD, but not parent rated AD/HD, significantly contributed to the prediction of EF task performance. No EF deficits were associated with ODD/CD. The presence of comorbid AD/HD accounts for the EF deficits in children with comorbid AD/HD+ODD/CD. These results suggest that EF deficits are unique to AD/HD and support the model proposed by R. A. Barkley (1997).17 p

Do Smart Parents Raise Smart Children? The Intergenerational Transmission of Cognitive Abilities

Complementing prior research on income mobility and educational transmission, we provide evidence on the intergenerational transmission of cognitive abilities using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study. Our estimates suggest that individuals' cognitive skills are positively related to the abilities of their parents, even when educational attainment and family background is controlled for. We differentiate between mothers' and fathers' IQ transmission and find different effects on the cognition of sons and daughters. We show that cognitive skills which are based on past learning are more strongly transmitted from parents to children than cognitive skills which are related to innate abilities. Our findings are not compatible with a pure genetic model, but rather point to the importance of parental investments for the cognitive outcomes of children

The Returns to Cognitive Abilities and Personality Traits in Germany

We provide the first joint evidence on the relationship between individuals' cognitive abilities, their personality and earnings for Germany. Using data from the German Socio-Economic Panel Study, we employ scores from an ultra-short IQ-test and a set of measures of personality traits, namely locus of control, reciprocity and all basic items from the Five Factor Personality Inventory. Our estimates suggest a positive effect of so-called fluid intelligence or speed of cognition on males' wages only. Findings for personality traits are more heterogeneous. There however is a robust wage penalty for an external locus of control for both men and women