200 research outputs found

    Spina bifida

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    Spina bifida is a birth defect in which the vertebral column is open, often with spinal cord involvement. The most clinically significant subtype is myelomeningocele (open spina bifida), which is a condition characterized by failure of the lumbosacral spinal neural tube to close during embryonic development. The exposed neural tissue degenerates in utero, resulting in neurological deficit that varies with the level of the lesion. Occurring in approximately 1 per 1,000 births worldwide, myelomeningocele is one of the most common congenital malformations, but its cause is largely unknown. The genetic component is estimated at 60-70%, but few causative genes have been identified to date, despite much information from mouse models. Non-genetic maternal risk factors include reduced folate intake, anticonvulsant therapy, diabetes mellitus and obesity. Primary prevention by periconceptional supplementation with folic acid has been demonstrated in clinical trials, leading to food fortification programmes in many countries. Prenatal diagnosis is achieved by ultrasonography, enabling women to seek termination of pregnancy. Individuals who survive to birth have their lesions closed surgically, with subsequent management of associated defects, including the Chiari II brain malformation, hydrocephalus, and urological and orthopaedic sequelae. Fetal surgical repair of myelomeningocele has been associated with improved early neurological outcome compared with postnatal operation. Myelomeningocele affects quality of life during childhood, adolescence and adulthood, posing a challenge for individuals, families and society as a whole. For an illustrated summary of this Primer, visit: http://go.nature.com/fK9XNa

    Autonomy support, basic need satisfaction and the optimal functioning of adult male and female sport participants: A test of basic needs theory

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    Grounded in Basic Needs Theory (BNT; Ryan and Deci, American Psychologist, 55, 68–78, 2000a), the present study aimed to: (a) test a theoretically-based model of coach autonomy support, motivational processes and well-/ill being among a sample of adult sport participants, (b) discern which basic psychological need(s) mediate the link between autonomy support and well-/ill-being, and (c) explore gender invariance in the hypothesized model. Five hundred and thirty nine participants (Male = 271;Female = 268; Mage = 22.75) completed a multi-section questionnaire tapping the targeted variables. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) analysis revealed that coach autonomy support predicted participants’ basic need satisfaction for autonomy, competence and relatedness. In turn, basic need satisfaction predicted greater subjective vitality when engaged in sport. Participants with low levels of autonomy were more susceptible to feeling emotionally and physically exhausted from their sport investment. Autonomy and competence partially mediated the path from autonomy support to subjective vitality. Lastly, the results supported partial invariance of the model with respect to gender

    Parents’ Promotion of Psychological Autonomy, Psychological Control, and Mexican–American Adolescents’ Adjustment

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    Mexican–American adolescents are at an elevated risk for adjustment difficulties. In an effort to identify parenting practices that can affect the adjustment of Mexican–American youth, the current study examined parents’ promotion of psychological autonomy and parents’ psychological control as perceived by Mexican–American early adolescents, and explored their associations with adolescents’ adjustment in the context of acculturation. In 5th grade, 134 (54.5% female) Mexican–American adolescents reported on their acculturation level and the parenting practices of their mothers and fathers. In 5th and 7th grade, adolescents also reported on their depressive symptoms, number of delinquent friends, and self-worth. Perceptions of promotion of psychological autonomy and of psychological control were positively correlated. However, perceptions of more promotion of psychological autonomy and of less psychological control predicted fewer depressive symptoms 2 years later. Perceptions of more promotion of psychological autonomy also predicted fewer delinquent friends two years later. Finally, perceptions of more promotion of psychological autonomy predicted higher self-worth only among less acculturated adolescents. The study underscores the roles that promotion of psychological autonomy and psychological control may play in Mexican–American children’s well-being during early adolescence

    Differences in adjustment by child developmental stage among caregivers of children with disorders of sex development

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    <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The current study sought to compare levels of overprotection and parenting stress reported by caregivers of children with disorders of sex development at four different developmental stages.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Caregivers (<it>N </it>= 59) of children with disorders of sex development were recruited from specialty clinics and were asked to complete the Parent Protection Scale and Parenting Stress Index/Short Form as measures of overprotective behaviors and parenting stress, respectively.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Analyses of covariance (ANCOVAs) were conducted to examine differences between caregiver report of overprotection and parenting stress. Results revealed that caregivers of infants and toddlers exhibited more overprotective behaviors than caregivers of children in the other age groups. Further, caregivers of adolescents experienced significantly more parenting stress than caregivers of school-age children, and this effect was driven by personal distress and problematic parent-child interactions, rather than having a difficult child.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>These results suggest that caregivers of children with disorders of sex development may have different psychosocial needs based upon their child's developmental stage and based upon the disorder-related challenges that are most salient at that developmental stage.</p

    Seek Help from Teachers or Fight Back? Student Perceptions of Teachers’ Actions during Conflicts and Responses to Peer Victimization

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    Previous research has shown that teachers’ actions when addressing conflict on school grounds can shape adolescent perceptions regarding how well the school manages victimization. Our objective in this study was to determine how these perceptions influenced the likelihood that adolescent students would react to victimization scenarios by either seeking help from school authority or physically fighting back. Vignettes describing two events of victimization were administered to 148 ethnic minority adolescents (Latino, African American, and Asian backgrounds; 49% female) attending an urban high school with high rates of conflict. Positive perceptions of teachers’ actions during conflicts—assessed via a questionnaire tapping how teachers manage student conflicts both generally and in a specific instance of strife—predicted a greater willingness to seek help from school authority, which in turn negatively predicted self-reported aggressive responses to the victimization scenarios. Path analysis established the viability of this indirect effect model, even when we controlled for sex, beliefs about the acceptability of aggression, and previous levels of reactive aggression. Adolescents’ perceptions of teachers’ actions during conflicts are discussed in relation to social information processing models, improving student–teacher relations, and decreasing aggression at schools

    Bullying and Victimization Among Adolescents: The Role of Ethnicity and Ethnic Composition of School Class

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    The present study examined the relationships between ethnicity, peer-reported bullying and victimization, and whether these relationships were moderated by the ethnic composition of the school classes. Participants were 2386 adolescents (mean age: 13 years and 10 months; 51.9% boys) from 117 school classes in the Netherlands. Multilevel analyses showed that, after controlling for the ethnic composition of school class, ethnic minority adolescents were less victimized, but did not differ from the ethnic majority group members on bullying. Victimization was more prevalent in ethnically heterogeneous classes. Furthermore, the results revealed that ethnic minority adolescents bully more in ethnically heterogeneous classes. Our findings suggest that, in order to understand bullying and victimization in schools in ethnically diverse cultures, the ethnic background of adolescents and the ethnic composition of school classes should be taken into account

    Social Intelligence and Academic Achievement as Predictors of Adolescent Popularity

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    This study compared the effects of social intelligence and cognitive intelligence, as measured by academic achievement, on adolescent popularity in two school contexts. A distinction was made between sociometric popularity, a measure of acceptance, and perceived popularity, a measure of social dominance. Participants were 512, 14–15 year-old adolescents (56% girls, 44% boys) in vocational and college preparatory schools in Northwestern Europe. Perceived popularity was significantly related to social intelligence, but not to academic achievement, in both contexts. Sociometric popularity was predicted by an interaction between academic achievement and social intelligence, further qualified by school context. Whereas college bound students gained sociometric popularity by excelling both socially and academically, vocational students benefited from doing well either socially or academically, but not in combination. The implications of these findings were discussed
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