The role of acquaintanceship in the perception of child behaviour problems

The role of acquaintanceship with the child on reports of child behaviour by different informants was examined within the framework of a general theory of personality judgment. Mothers of referred children and group-care workers rated videotaped behaviour samples of a well known and an unknown child in the clinic. Independent observers also rated the videotapes. In line with the acquaintanceship hypothesis, mothers were found to perceive more behaviour problems than independent observers when rating well known children but not unknown children. Contrary to the acquaintanceship hypothesis, however, the group-care workers in our study reported more behaviour problems than the other informants regardless of their acquaintance with the children. The clinical and methodological implications of these findings are discussed

Psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS).

BackgroundThe Evidence-Based Practice Attitude Scale (EBPAS) was developed in the United States to assess attitudes of mental health and welfare professionals toward evidence-based interventions. Although the EBPAS has been translated in different languages and is being used in several countries, all research on the psychometric properties of the EBPAS within youth care has been carried out in the United States. The purpose of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Dutch version of the EBPAS.MethodsAfter translation into Dutch, the Dutch version of the EBPAS was examined in a diverse sample of 270 youth care professionals working in five institutions in the Netherlands. We examined the factor structure with both exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and the internal consistency reliability. We also conducted multiple linear regression analyses to examine the association of EBPAS scores with professionals' characteristics. It was hypothesized that responses to the EBPAS items could be explained by one general factor plus four specific factors, good to excellent internal consistency reliability would be found, and EBPAS scores would vary by age, sex, and educational level.ResultsThe exploratory factor analysis suggested a four-factor solution according to the hypothesized dimensions: Requirements, Appeal, Openness, and Divergence. Cronbach's alphas ranged from 0.67 to 0.89, and the overall scale alpha was 0.72. The confirmatory factor analyses confirmed the factor structure and suggested that the lower order EBPAS factors are indicators of a higher order construct. However, Divergence was not significantly correlated with any of the subscales or the total score. The confirmatory bifactor analysis endorsed that variance was explained both by a general attitude towards evidence-based interventions and by four specific factors. The regression analyses showed an association between EBPAS scores and youth care professionals' age, sex, and educational level.ConclusionsThe present study provides strong support for a structure with a general factor plus four specific factors and internal consistency reliability of the Dutch version of the EBPAS in a diverse sample of youth care professionals. Hence, the factor structure and reliability of the original version of the EBPAS seem generalizable to the Dutch version of the EBPAS

Addition of serum-containing medium to cerebrospinal fluid prevents cellular loss over time

Immediately after sampling, leukocyte counts in native cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) start to decrease rapidly. As the time lapse between CSF collection to analysis is not routinely registered, the clinical significance of decreasing cell counts in native CSF is not known. Earlier data suggest that addition of serum-containing medium to CSF directly after sampling prevents this rapid decrease in leukocyte counts and, thus, may improve the accuracy of CSF cell counting and cell characterization. Here, we prospectively examined the effect of storage time after lumbar puncture on counts of leukocytes and their major subsets in both native CSF and after immediate addition of serum-containing medium, measured by flow cytometry and microscopy. We collected CSF samples of 69 patients in tubes with and tubes without serum-containing medium and determined counts of leukocytes and subsets at 30 minutes, 1 hour, and 5 hours after sampling. Compared to cell counts at 30 minutes, no significant decrease in cell number was observed in CSF with serum-containing medium 1 and 5 hours after sampling, except for the granulocytes at 1 hour. In native CSF, approximately 50% of leukocytes and all their subsets were lost after 1 hour, both in flow cytometric and microscopic counting. In 6/7 (86%) samples with mild pleocytosis (5–15 × 106 leukocytes/l), native CSF at 1 hour was incorrectly diagnosed as normocellular. In conclusion, addition of serum-containing medium to CSF directly after sampling prevents cell loss and allows longer preservation of CSF cells prior to analysis, both for microscopic and flow cytometric enumeration. We suggest that this protocol results in more accurate CSF cell counts and may prevent incorrect conclusions based on underestimated CSF cell counts

Cognitive Control and Individual Differences in Economic Ultimatum Decision-Making

Much publicity has been given to the fact that people's economic decisions often deviate from the rational predictions of standard economic models. In the classic ultimatum game, for example, most people turn down financial gains by rejecting unequal monetary splits. The present study points to neglected individual differences in this debate. After participants played the ultimatum game we tested for individual differences in cognitive control capacity of the most and least economic responders. The key finding was that people who were higher in cognitive control, as measured by behavioral (Go/No-Go performance) and neural (No-Go N2 amplitude) markers, did tend to behave more in line with the standard models and showed increased acceptance of unequal splits. Hence, the cognitively highest scoring decision-makers were more likely to maximize their monetary payoffs and adhere to the standard economic predictions. Findings question popular claims with respect to the rejection of standard economic models and the irrationality of human economic decision-making

Children’s coping with in vivo peer rejection: An experimental investigation

We examined children's behavioral coping in response to an in vivo peer rejection manipulation. Participants (N=186) ranging between 10 and 13 years of age, played a computer game based on the television show Survivor and were randomized to either peer rejection (i.e., being voted out of the game) or non-rejection control. During a five-min. post-feedback waiting period children's use of several behavioral coping strategies was assessed. Rejection elicited a marked shift toward more negative affect, but higher levels of perceived social competence attenuated the negative mood shift. Children higher in depressive symptoms were more likely to engage in passive and avoidant coping behavior. Types of coping were largely unaffected by gender and perceived social competence. Implications are discussed. © 2006 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

The national burden of road traffic injuries in Thailand

Background: This study quantifies the burden of road traffic injuries (RTIs) in Thailand in 2004, incorporating new Thai data on mortality and the frequency and severity of long-term disability

Incident type 2 diabetes attributable to suboptimal diet in 184 countries

The global burden of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes (T2D) is not well established. This risk assessment model estimated T2D incidence among adults attributable to direct and body weight-mediated effects of 11 dietary factors in 184 countries in 1990 and 2018. In 2018, suboptimal intake of these dietary factors was estimated to be attributable to 14.1 million (95% uncertainty interval (UI), 13.814.4 million) incident T2D cases, representing 70.3% (68.871.8%) of new cases globally. Largest T2D burdens were attributable to insufficient whole-grain intake (26.1% (25.027.1%)), excess refined rice and wheat intake (24.6% (22.327.2%)) and excess processed meat intake (20.3% (18.323.5%)). Across regions, highest proportional burdens were in central and eastern Europe and central Asia (85.6% (83.487.7%)) and Latin America and the Caribbean (81.8% (80.183.4%)); and lowest proportional burdens were in South Asia (55.4% (52.160.7%)). Proportions of diet-attributable T2D were generally larger in men than in women and were inversely correlated with age. Diet-attributable T2D was generally larger among urban versus rural residents and higher versus lower educated individuals, except in high-income countries, central and eastern Europe and central Asia, where burdens were larger in rural residents and in lower educated individuals. Compared with 1990, global diet-attributable T2D increased by 2.6 absolute percentage points (8.6 million more cases) in 2018, with variation in these trends by world region and dietary factor. These findings inform nutritional priorities and clinical and public health planning to improve dietary quality and reduce T2D globally. (c) 2023, The Author(s)

Children's and adolescents' rising animal-source food intakes in 1990-2018 were impacted by age, region, parental education and urbanicity

Animal-source foods (ASF) provide nutrition for children and adolescents physical and cognitive development. Here, we use data from the Global Dietary Database and Bayesian hierarchical models to quantify global, regional and national ASF intakes between 1990 and 2018 by age group across 185 countries, representing 93% of the worlds child population. Mean ASF intake was 1.9 servings per day, representing 16% of children consuming at least three daily servings. Intake was similar between boys and girls, but higher among urban children with educated parents. Consumption varied by age from 0.6 at <1 year to 2.5 servings per day at 1519 years. Between 1990 and 2018, mean ASF intake increased by 0.5 servings per week, with increases in all regions except sub-Saharan Africa. In 2018, total ASF consumption was highest in Russia, Brazil, Mexico and Turkey, and lowest in Uganda, India, Kenya and Bangladesh. These findings can inform policy to address malnutrition through targeted ASF consumption programmes. (c) 2023, The Author(s)