An Online Growth Mindset Intervention in a Sample of Rural Adolescent Girls

Background. Students living in rural areas of the United States exhibit lower levels of educational attainment than their suburban counterparts. Innovative interventions are needed to close this educational gap. Aims. We investigated whether an online growth mindset intervention could be leveraged to promote academic outcomes. Sample. We tested the mindset intervention in a sample of 222 10th-grade adolescent girls (M age=15.2; 38% White, 25% Black, 29% Hispanic) from four rural, low-income high schools in Southeastern United States. Methods. We conducted a randomized controlled trial to test the efficacy of the growth mindset intervention, relative to a sexual health programme. We used random sampling and allocation procedures to assign girls to either the mindset intervention (n-115) or an attention-matched control programme (n-107). We assessed participants at pre-test, immediate post-test, and 4-month follow up. Results. Relative to the control condition, students assigned to the mindset intervention reported stronger growth mindsets at immediate post-test and 4-month follow up. Although the intervention did not have a total effect on academic attitudes or grades, it indirectly increased motivation to learn, learning efficacy and grades via the shifts in growth mindsets. Conclusions. Results indicate that this intervention is a promising method to encourage growth mindsets in rural adolescent girls

Randomized Trial of a Single-Session Growth Mind-Set Intervention for Rural Adolescents’ Internalizing and Externalizing Problems

Objective. Adolescents living in rural regions of the United States face substantial barriers to accessing mental health services, creating needs for more accessible, non-stigmatizing, briefer interventions. Research suggests that single-session “growth mindset” interventions (GM-SSIs)—which teach the belief that personal traits are malleable through effort—may reduce internalizing and externalizing problems in adolescents. However, GM-SSIs have not been evaluated among rural youth, and their effects on internalizing and externalizing problems have not been assessed within a single trial, rendering their relative benefits for different problem types unclear. We examined whether a computerized GM-SSI could reduce depressive symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and conduct problems in adolescent girls from rural areas of the U.S. Method. Tenth-grade girls (N=222, M age=15.2, 38% white, 25% Black, 29% Hispanic) from four rural, low-income high schools in the Southeastern United States were randomized to receive a 45-minute GM-SSI or a computer-based, active control program, teaching healthy sexual behaviors. Girls self-reported depression symptoms, social anxiety symptoms, and conduct problem behaviors at baseline and four-month follow-up. Results. Relative to girls in the control group, girls receiving the GM-SSI reported modest but significantly greater reductions in depressive symptoms (d=.23) and likelihood of reporting elevated depressive symptoms (d=.29) from baseline to follow-up. GM-SSI effects were nonsignificant for social anxiety symptoms, although a small effect size emerged in the hypothesized direction (d=.21), and nonsignificant for change in conduct problems (d=.01). Conclusions. A free-of-charge, 45-minute GM-SSI may help reduce internalizing distress, especially depression—but not conduct problems—in rural adolescent girls

The Right to a Safe and Healthy Birth

The right to a safe and healthy birth is included in the declaration of human rights- the intrinsic allowances that humans are obligated to be protected by on a global scale. These rights, however, for some pregnant women have been submersed by lack of transportation, education and skilled birth attendants. Financial constraints and difficulty in obtaining adequate healthcare are also issues of concern. A review of literature pertaining to three different countries, the United States, China and India will be examined in light of safe and healthy birthing techniques for women worldwide. These countries were chosen due to their diverse injustice issues as it pertains to birthing rights. Education and advocacy efforts in relation to reproductive rights on a global scale will be discussed. Review of the literature not only reveals grave injustices for women and children but it also illuminates ways in which individuals can get involved to help promote the right to a safe and healthy birth. Several movements will be highlighted in order to provide the audience with practical advocacy, education, and relief effort implementations

Ursinus College Bulletin, Summer 1984

Business at Ursinus • California, here they come! • Ursinus who\u27s who of Olympic field hockey • Hopeful • Helpful • Marketing of Ursinus • What you can do to help • Commencement: Leaving the garden of Eden • Faculty: Of cowboys and cactuses • Upperclass confidence: It comes with age • Staying out of the kitchen: West Indies style • Like father, like son, for better profit • Sweet & Sour poems: The farm family; Safely home • Two professors retire • Social spring for five groups • Alumna leaves $370,000 • Parents\u27 Committee meets • Richter head of CICU • Press holds third contest • Penn program accepts student • Alumnus finds hope, survives in Beirut • Four named to positions on college staff • Meistersingers tour the east • Two elected to Board of Directors • Special games at Ursinus • Society taps thirteen from Ursinus • Cogger named • Parsons elected • Lacrosse team tops • Softball team wins • Basketball coach appointed • News notes • Marriages • Births • Deaths • The tree goes onhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/new_bulletin/1038/thumbnail.jp

Ursinus College Bulletin, Summer 1984 Special Issue

Donald Lawrence Helfferich, 1898-1984 • Donald L. Helfferich: A reflection • Life of Donald L. Helfferich: A chronology • Major speeches • From the President • I am essentially a lazy man... • Tributes: He transformed Ursinus in all its parts • A legend in his own time • A very generous and thoughtful manhttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/new_bulletin/1039/thumbnail.jp

Experimentally measured susceptibility to peer influence and adolescent sexual behavior trajectories: A preliminary study.

A performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility was examined as a moderator of the longitudinal association between peer norms and trajectories of adolescents' number of sexual intercourse partners. Seventy-one 9th grade adolescents (52% female) participated in an experimental “chat room” paradigm involving “e-confederates” who endorsed sexual risk behaviors. Changes in participants' responses to risk scenarios before versus during the “chat room” were used as a performance-based measure of peer influence susceptibility. Participants reported their perceptions of popular peers' number of sexual intercourse partner sat baseline, and self-reported their number of sexual intercourse partners at baseline and 6, 12, and 18 months later. Susceptibility was examined as a moderator of the longitudinal association between perceptions of popular peers' number of sexual intercourse partners and trajectories of adolescents' own numbers of partners. High perceptions of the number of popular peers' sexual intercourse partners combined with high peer influence susceptibility predicted steeper longitudinal trajectories of adolescents' number of partners. Results provide novel preliminary evidence regarding the importance of peer influence susceptibility in adolescents' development of sexual behaviors

Adolescents misperceive and are influenced by high-status peers’ health risk, deviant, and adaptive behavior.

Most peer influence research examines socialization between adolescents and their best friends. Yet, adolescents also are influenced by popular peers, perhaps due to misperceptions of social norms. This research examined the extent to which out-group and in-group adolescents misperceive the frequencies of peers' deviant, health risk, and adaptive behaviors in different reputation-based peer crowds (Study 1) and the prospective associations between perceptions of high status peers' and adolescents' own substance use over 2.5 years (Study 2). Study 1 examined 235 adolescents' reported deviant (vandalism, theft), health risk (substance use, sexual risk), and adaptive (exercise, studying) behavior, and their perceptions of Jocks', Populars', Burnouts', and Brains' engagement in the same behaviors. Peer nominations identified adolescents in each peer crowd. Jocks and Populars were rated as higher status than Brains and Burnouts. Results indicated that peer crowd stereotypes are caricatures. Misperceptions of high status crowds were dramatic, but for many behaviors, no differences between Populars'/Jocks' and others' actual reported behaviors were revealed. Study 2 assessed 166 adolescents' substance use and their perceptions of popular peers' (i.e., peers high in peer perceived popularity) substance use. Parallel process latent growth analyses revealed that higher perceptions of popular peers' substance use in Grade 9 (intercept) significantly predicted steeper increases in adolescents' own substance use from Grade 9 to 11 (slope). Results from both studies, utilizing different methods, offer evidence to suggest that adolescents misperceive high status peers' risk behaviors, and these misperceptions may predict adolescents' own risk behavior engagement

Wavelet analysis of epileptic spikes

Interictal spikes and sharp waves in human EEG are characteristic signatures of epilepsy. These potentials originate as a result of synchronous, pathological discharge of many neurons. The reliable detection of such potentials has been the long standing problem in EEG analysis, especially after long-term monitoring became common in investigation of epileptic patients. The traditional definition of a spike is based on its amplitude, duration, sharpness, and emergence from its background. However, spike detection systems built solely around this definition are not reliable due to the presence of numerous transients and artifacts. We use wavelet transform to analyze the properties of EEG manifestations of epilepsy. We demonstrate that the behavior of wavelet transform of epileptic spikes across scales can constitute the foundation of a relatively simple yet effective detection algorithm.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figure