Introducing KiVa school-based antibullying programme to the UK: A preliminary examination of effectiveness and programme cost

This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Sage Publications via the DOI in this record.Bullying is an internationally recognized problem and school-based bullying is particularly pervasive. KiVa is a robustly evidenced school-based antibullying programme developed and evaluated at Turku University, Finland, and subsequently disseminated across Finland. Following a positive UK trial of Unit 2 (for 10- to 12-year-olds), further UK dissemination has taken place. This study presents (a) pupil self-reported levels of victimization and bullying prior to, and after, one year of KiVa implementation (Units 1 and 2) with 7- to 11-year-olds from 41 schools, and (b) programme training and delivery costs. Data from 41 primary schools were analysed using a linear mixed model effects analysis. Results revealed statistically significant reductions in victimization and bullying after one year of programme implementation. Ongoing costs were small, at £2.84 per Key Stage 2 pupil per annum. These promising results highlight the need for further more rigorous evaluation of KiVa in the UK, including the exploration of factors associated with effective implementation, and the importance for educators and policy makers of evaluating both impact and costs when implementing programmes to prevent and reduce bullying.BIG Lottery Wales innovation fun

Effects of caffeine on reaction time are mediated by attentional rather than motor processes

Background Caffeine has a well-established effect on reaction times (RTs) but the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying this are unclear. Methods In the present study, 15 female participants performed an oddball task after ingesting caffeine or a placebo, and electroencephalographic data were obtained. Single-trial P3b latencies locked to the stimulus and to the response were extracted and mediation models were fitted to the data to test whether caffeine’s effect on RTs was mediated by its effect on either type of P3b latencies. Results Stimulus-locked latencies showed clear evidence of mediation, with approximately a third of the effect of caffeine on RTs running through the processes measured by stimulus-locked latencies. Caffeine did not affect response-locked latencies, so could not mediate the effect. Discussion These findings are consistent with caffeine’s effect on RTs being a result of its effect on perceptual-attentional processes, rather than motor processes. The study is the first to apply mediation analysis to single-trial P3b data and this technique holds promise for mental chronometric studies into the effects of psychopharmacological agents. The R code for performing the single trial analysis and mediation analysis are included as supplementary materials

Adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in ASD

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by core symptoms of inattention, impulsivity, and hyperactivity. ADHD has been considered for a long time as a childhood condition, fading as children grew up. Instead, ADHD changes its clinical presentation over the lifespan, but persists in most cases in adulthood with its associated impairment. It is only since 2013, with the release of DSM-5, that it is possible to diagnose ADHD in the presence of ASD. This change was based on studies performed in children, adolescents, and adults that found high comorbidity rates between ASD and ADHD. Studies investigating the co-occurrence of such disorders at a genetic, at structural and functional neuroimaging levels indicate that they share common genetic risk factors, involve similar biological mechanisms, and affect the same brain regions. The co-existence of both disorders causes a significant burden. Individuals with ASD presenting ADHD symptomatology exhibit a more severe phenotype, with more autistic traits, greater impairment in adaptive behavior, and increased risk for developing additional psychiatric conditions. Pharmacotherapeutic treatments for ADHD, such as methylphenidate and atomoxetine, have been studied in individuals with ADHD+ASD, demonstrating efficacy in decreasing the severity of ADHD symptoms, although with lower effect sizes than in people with only ADHD. The diagnosis of ADHD is established clinically and requires the use of rating scales as well as clinical interviews for avoiding the risk of misdiagnosis. The stigma surrounding individuals with ADHD is huge, therefore it is necessary to increase awareness about this disorder among both the public and healthcare professionals, in order to reduce the barriers that patients face to get access to proper diagnosis and treatment