Working memory in children's math learning and its disruption in dyscalculia

Working memory (WM) plays an essential role in children's mathematical learning. WM influences both the early foundational phases of number knowledge acquisition and subsequent maturation of problem solving skills. The role of individual WM components in mathematical cognition depends not only on problem complexity but also on individual differences in mathematical abilities. Furthermore, the contributions of individual WM components change dynamically over development with visuospatial processes playing an increasingly important role in learning and enhancing mathematical proficiency. Convergent findings from neuroimaging studies are now providing fundamental insights into the link between WM and mathematical cognition, and the mechanisms by which poor WM contributes to learning disabilities. Evidence to date suggests that visuospatial WM is a specific source of vulnerability in children with mathematical learning disabilities and needs to be considered as a key component in cognitive, neurobiological, and developmental models of typical and atypical mathematical skill acquisition.

Arousal dynamics drive vocal production in marmoset monkeys

Vocal production is the result of interacting cognitive and autonomic processes. Despite claims that changes in one interoceptive state (arousal) govern primate vocalizations, we know very little about how it influences their likelihood and timing. In this study we investigated the role of arousal during naturally occurring vocal production in marmoset monkeys. Throughout each session, naturally occurring contact calls are produced more quickly, and with greater probability, during higher levels of arousal, as measured by heart rate. On average, we observed a steady increase in heart rate 23 s before the production of a call. Following call production, there is a sharp and steep cardiac deceleration lasting ∼8 s. The dynamics of cardiac fluctuations around a vocalization cannot be completely predicted by the animal's respiration or movement. Moreover, the timing of vocal production was tightly correlated to the phase of a 0.1-Hz autonomic nervous system rhythm known as the Mayer wave. Finally, a compilation of the state space of arousal dynamics during vocalization illustrated that perturbations to the resting state space increase the likelihood of a call occurring. Together, these data suggest that arousal dynamics are critical for spontaneous primate vocal production, not only as a robust predictor of the likelihood of vocal onset but also as scaffolding on which behavior can unfold.

Transcranial direct current stimulation of the frontal-parietal-temporal area attenuates cue-induced craving for heroin

BACKGROUND

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is an effective approach to modulate brain region functions. We assessed if a single tDCS session over the bilateral frontal-parietal-temporal (FPT) areas would reduce cue induced craving in heroin addicts.

METHODS

Twenty non-treated, long-term heroin-addicted subjects were randomly assigned to receive either real tDCS (1.5 mA, cathodal over bilateral FPT for 20 min) or control tDCS stimulation (turning off the stimulation after 30 s). The participants received heroin cue exposure (containing both injection and inhalation procedures) before and after stimulation and rated their craving after each block of cue presentation.

RESULTS

Stimulation of the bilateral FPT with real tDCS for 20 min reduced craving scores significantly (68 ± 8.4 pre-stimulation vs. 43 ± 7.6 post-stimulation, p = 0.003), while the control stimulation group showed no significant changes. No side effects of tDCS were reported.

CONCLUSIONS

One session of tDCS over bilateral FPT area significantly reduced subjective craving score induced by heroin cues in heroin addicted subjects.

HIV-Related Stigma, Shame, and Avoidant Coping: Risk Factors for Internalizing Symptoms Among Youth Living with HIV?

Youth living with HIV (YLH) are at elevated risk of internalizing symptoms, although there is substantial individual variability in adjustment. We examined perceived HIV-related stigma, shame-proneness, and avoidant coping as risk factors of internalizing symptoms among YLH. Participants (N = 88; ages 12-24) completed self-report measures of these potential risk factors and three domains of internalizing symptoms (depressive, anxiety, and PTSD) during a regularly scheduled HIV clinic visit. Hierarchical regressions were conducted for each internalizing symptoms domain, examining the effects of age, gender, and maternal education (step 1), HIV-related stigma (step 2), shame- and guilt-proneness (step 3), and avoidant coping (step 4). HIV-related stigma, shame-proneness, and avoidant coping were each correlated with greater depressive, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms. Specificity was observed in that shame-proneness, but not guilt-proneness, was associated with greater internalizing symptoms. In multivariable analyses, HIV-related stigma and shame-proneness were each related to greater depressive and PTSD symptoms. Controlling for the effects of HIV-related stigma and shame-proneness, avoidant coping was associated with PTSD symptoms. The current findings highlight the potential importance of HIV-related stigma, shame, and avoidant coping on the adjustment of YLH, as interventions addressing these risk factors could lead to decreased internalizing symptoms among YLH.

Mental health services use among adults with or without mental disorders: Do development stages matter?

BACKGROUND

Mental health services (MHS) use is a complex behaviour that does not only concern individuals with current mental disorder. To date, few studies have examined age-related contextualisation of MHS use. Reasons for seeking help may vary according to development stages in adulthood.

AIMS

This study aimed to determine which predisposing, enabling and need factors, using Andersen's model, were associated with MHS use according to adult development stages among individuals with or without current psychiatric diagnosis.

METHODS

Three age groups were examined: 18- to 29-year-olds (n = 775), 30- to 49-year-olds (n = 1,560) and 50- to 64-year-olds (n = 960). Data were obtained from the Montreal Longitudinal Catchment Area Study. Bivariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted for each age group separately to determine which predisposing, enabling and need factors were associated with MHS use in the past 12 months.

RESULTS

For 18- to 29-year-olds, one enabling factor (Internet search) and two need factors (presence of major depressive disorder and number of stressful events) were positively associated with MHS use. For 30- to 49-year-olds, one predisposing factor (family history of mental disorder), four enabling factors (not currently working or in school, perceiving neighbourhood disorder, social cohesion and Internet searching) and one need factor (major depressive disorder) correlated with help seeking. For 50- to 64-year-olds, two predisposing factors (family history of mental disorder and higher self-perceived stigma), two enabling factors (low satisfaction in personal relationship and Internet searching) and one need factor (alcohol dependence) were associated with MHS use.

CONCLUSIONS

Factors associated with MHS use differ according to adult development stages. Programmes and policies should be based on age-related contextualisation to increase MHS use.

Age-Varying Links Between Violence Exposure and Behavioral, Mental, and Physical Health

PURPOSE

To examine age-varying prevalence rates and health implications of weapon-related violence exposure (WRVE) from adolescence to young adulthood (ages 14-30) using time-varying effect modeling.

METHODS

Data were from the Add Health study, a longitudinal study of adolescents in the United States (N = 5,103) followed into young adulthood across four assessment waves from age 14-30.

RESULTS

WRVE rates varied with age, peaking during mid-to-late adolescence (ages 16-18). Rates were higher for males (vs. females) and African-American youth (vs. white) across nearly all ages. Rates were higher for Hispanic youth (vs. white) during adolescence. WRVE was positively associated with frequent heavy episodic drinking and negatively associated with self-reported general health; these associations were significant during adolescence and early adulthood (ages 15-24). WRVE was positively associated with depressive symptoms. This association remained stable over age and was stronger for females from ages 16-21. The association between violence exposure and decreased general physical health was stronger for white versus African-American youth from ages 15-17, with no significant association observed for African-American youth at any age.

CONCLUSIONS

Despite its severity, WRVE is prevalent among U.S. youth during adolescence and young adulthood, particularly among males and African-Americans during mid-to-late adolescence. The associations between WRVE and health were stronger during adolescence and differed by sex and race/ethnicity. This information may assist in the timing and targeting of intervention efforts aimed at interrupting the effects of violence exposure on youth behavioral, mental, and physical health.

Group parent-child interaction therapy: A randomized control trial for the treatment of conduct problems in young children

OBJECTIVE

Although efficacious interventions exist for childhood conduct problems, a majority of families in need of services do not receive them. To address problems of treatment access and adherence, innovative adaptations of current interventions are needed. This randomized control trial investigated the relative efficacy of a novel format of parent-child interaction therapy (PCIT), a treatment for young children with conduct problems.

METHOD

Eighty-one families with 3- to 6-year-old children (71.6% boys, 85.2% White) with diagnoses of oppositional defiant or conduct disorder were randomized to individual PCIT (n = 42) or the novel format, Group PCIT. Parents completed standardized measures of children's conduct problems, parenting stress, and social support at intake, posttreatment, and 6-month follow-up. Therapist ratings, parent attendance, and homework completion provided measures of treatment adherence. Throughout treatment, parenting skills were assessed using the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System.

RESULTS

Parents in both group and individual PCIT reported significant improvements from intake to posttreatment and follow-up in their children's conduct problems and adaptive functioning, as well as significant decreases in parenting stress. Parents in both treatment conditions also showed significant improvements in their parenting skills. There were no interactions between time and treatment format. Contrary to expectation, parents in Group PCIT did not experience greater social support or treatment adherence.

CONCLUSIONS

Group PCIT was not inferior to individual PCIT and may be a valuable format to reach more families in need of services. Future work should explore the efficiency and sustainability of Group PCIT in community settings. (PsycINFO Database Record

Arguments about the nature of concepts: Symbols, embodiment, and beyond

How are the meanings of words, events, and objects represented and organized in the brain? This question, perhaps more than any other in the field, probes some of the deepest and most foundational puzzles regarding the structure of the mind and brain. Accordingly, it has spawned a field of inquiry that is diverse and multidisciplinary, has led to the discovery of numerous empirical phenomena, and has spurred the development of a wide range of theoretical positions. This special issue brings together the most recent theoretical developments from the leaders in the field, representing a range of viewpoints on issues of fundamental significance to a theory of meaning representation. Here we introduce the special issue by way of pulling out some key themes that cut across the contributions that form this issue and situating those themes in the broader literature. The core issues around which research on conceptual representation can be organized are representational format, representational content, the organization of concepts in the brain, and the processing dynamics that govern interactions between the conceptual system and sensorimotor representations. We highlight areas in which consensus has formed; for those areas in which opinion is divided, we seek to clarify the relation of theory and evidence and to set in relief the bridging assumptions that undergird current discussions.

A Study on Complexity and Uncertainty Perception and Solution Strategies for the Time/Cost Trade-Off Problem

In this article, the Discrete Time/Cost Tradeoff Problem (DTCTP) is revisited in light of a student experiment. Two solution strategies are distilled from the data of 444 participants and are structured by means of five building blocks: focus, activity criticality, ranking, intensity, and action. The impact of complexity and uncertainty on the cost objective is quantified in a large computational experiment. Specific attention is allocated to the influence of the actual and perceived complexity and uncertainty and the cost repercussions when reality and perception do not coincide.

Allocation of Public Goods

Abstract. Seventy-two undergraduates participating in a step-level asymmetric public good dilemma were requested to distribute the provided public good among the group members to achieve different group goals. In line with the hypotheses, economic productivity resulted in equitable allocations, harmony in equal allocations, and social concern in need-based allocations. The results also supported the hypotheses that salience of group goal minimizes influences of self-interest on allocations and that perceived fairness accounts for why people pursuing different group goals differ in their preferences for allocation of public goods.

Stress Physiology in Infancy and Early Childhood: Cortisol Flexibility, Attunement and Coordination

Research on stress physiology in infancy has assumed increasing importance due to its lifelong implications. In this review, we focus on measurement of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) function, in particular, and on complementary autonomic processes. We suggest that the measure of HPA function has been overly exclusive, focusing on individual reactivity to single, pragmatically selected laboratory challenges. We advocate use of multiple, strategically chosen challenges and within-subject designs. By administering one challenge that typically does not provoke reactivity and another that does, it is possible to represent allostatic load in terms of "flexibility," the capacity to titrate response to challenge. We also recommend assessing infant reactivity in the context of the primary caregiver's physiological function. Infant-mother "attunement" is central to developmental psychology, permeating diverse developmental domains with varied consequences. A review of adrenocortical attunement suggests that attunement is a reliable process, manifest across varied populations. However, attunement appears stronger in the context of more highly stressful circumstances, such that administration of multiple, selected challenges may help evaluate the degree to which individuals titrate attunement to challenge and determine the correlates of this differential attunement. Finally, we advocate studying the "coordination" of HPA function with other aspects of stress physiology and variation in the degree of this coordination. The use of multiple stressors is important here because each stress system is differentially sensitive to different types of challenge. Therefore, use of single stressors in between-subject designs impedes full recognition of the role played by each system. Overall, we recommend measure of flexibility, attunement, and coordination in the context of multiple challenges to capture allostasis in environmental and physiological context. The simultaneous use of such inclusive and integrative metrics may yield more reliable findings than has hitherto been the case. The interrelation of these metrics can be understood in the context of the adaptive calibration model..

Fear-relevant illusory correlations in different fears and anxiety disorders: A review of the literature

Fearful individuals often overestimate the relationship between fear-relevant stimuli and aversive consequences. Such fear-relevant illusory correlations (ICs) might be involved in the maintenance of anxiety disorders. In this literature review, we found clear evidence that ICs are present and enhanced in fear of animals. We also revealed some evidence for ICs related to fear of flying, social anxiety, contamination fear, panic disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder, but with considerably less clarity. Fear-relevant ICs seem to be best explained by both a priori expectancies and biased encoding of the experienced associations. Studies to date suggest that one important biased encoding process is the enhanced aversiveness/salience of fear-relevant outcomes. Future studies may improve insight by developing more reliable IC measures and testing the effect of encoding processes on treatment outcomes.

Parental Involvement in Infant Sleep Routines Predicts Differential Sleep Patterns in Children With and Without Anxiety Disorders

This study compared parents' retrospective reports of their involvement in infant settling strategies and their relation to current sleep patterns among children (N = 84, ages 7-11) with generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) and healthy controls. Parents of children with GAD were significantly more likely to report rocking their infants to sleep and putting infants down when they were already asleep than parents of healthy controls, even when accounting for infant health-related factors and parental anxiety. Greater involvement in infant sleep routines also predicted sleep patterns (measured via actigraphy) during childhood, though opposite relationships were observed in the two groups. Early involvement was related to poorer sleep in control children but better sleep for children with GAD even after controlling for current parenting practices. Findings suggest differential effects of early sleep-related parenting for children with and without later anxiety disorders with possible implications for early intervention.

Cumulative social risk exposure in childhood and smoking and excessive alcohol use in adulthood

BACKGROUND

Social inequalities in adult smoking and excessive alcohol intake may be associated with exposure to multiple childhood social risk factors across different domains of risk within the household.

METHODS

We used data from a cross-sectional cohort study of adults (40-75 years) in 1993-97 living in England (N = 19466) to examine the association between clusters of childhood social risks across different domains with adult smoking and excessive alcohol use. Participants reported exposure to six childhood social risk factors, current smoking behaviour and alcohol intake. Factor analysis was used to identify domains of social risk. We created a childhood cumulative domain social risk score (range 0-2) from summing the total number of domains.

RESULTS

Factor analysis identified two domains of childhood social risk within the household: maladaptive family functioning (parental unemployment, substance misuse, physical abuse) and parental separation experiences : maternal separation, divorce, being sent away from home). Compared to those children with risk exposure in no single domain, children with risk exposure in both domains (i.e. maladaptive family functioning, parental separation experiences) had a higher prevalence of adult smoking [men: Prevalence ratio (PR) = 1.74, 95% confidence intervals (CI): 1.35-2.26; women: PR = 1.71 95% CI: 1.34-2.18]. There was a trend association between the number of childhood social risk domains and adult smoking (both sexes: P < 0.001) and excessive alcohol use (men: P <0.008).

CONCLUSIONS

Further work is needed to understand if addressing cumulative risk exposure to maladaptive family functioning and parental separation experiences can reduce social inequalities in adult smoking and excessive alcohol intake.

Crimping the Croupier: Electronic and mechanical automation of table, community and novelty games in Australia

Technological innovation has increased electronic and mechanical automation to traditional games that replace or augment human croupiers, and also change how the games are enjoyed. Little is known about how these automated products may influence people's gambling or entice new players to try these table and community games. Research regarding the characteristics of electronic gaming machines (EGMs) has provided insights into the potential consequences associated with technological enhancements. However, without knowing how these products differ to their traditional counterparts, it is difficult to begin to understand their implications on player expenditures and product safety. An Australian national environmental scan of these electronically and mechanically enhanced table-game and community-game products was conducted to identify the characteristics of these automated products Australia-wide. Based on EGM research (Armstrong & Rockloff, 2015), the "VICES" framework was identified as an appropriate organising principle for surveying the features of automated products. The VICES acronym specifies 5 criteria by which automated products might differ from traditional table-games: (v)isual and auditory enhancements, (i)llusion of control, (c)ognitive complexity, (e)xpedited play, and (s)ocial customisation. The findings suggest that automation provides the potential for the provision of products that intensify gambling engagement with the attendant potential for gambling-related harm. Further research, however, is needed to find if this potential harm is manifest in real-world gambling environments.

Beyond main effects of gene-sets: harsh parenting moderates the association between a dopamine gene-set and child externalizing behavior

BACKGROUND

In a longitudinal cohort study, we investigated the interplay of harsh parenting and genetic variation across a set of functionally related dopamine genes, in association with children's externalizing behavior. This is one of the first studies to employ gene-based and gene-set approaches in tests of Gene by Environment (G × E) effects on complex behavior. This approach can offer an important alternative or complement to candidate gene and genome-wide environmental interaction (GWEI) studies in the search for genetic variation underlying individual differences in behavior.

METHODS

Genetic variants in 12 autosomal dopaminergic genes were available in an ethnically homogenous part of a population-based cohort. Harsh parenting was assessed with maternal (n = 1881) and paternal (n = 1710) reports at age 3. Externalizing behavior was assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) at age 5 (71 ± 3.7 months). We conducted gene-set analyses of the association between variation in dopaminergic genes and externalizing behavior, stratified for harsh parenting.

RESULTS

The association was statistically significant or approached significance for children without harsh parenting experiences, but was absent in the group with harsh parenting. Similarly, significant associations between single genes and externalizing behavior were only found in the group without harsh parenting. Effect sizes in the groups with and without harsh parenting did not differ significantly. Gene-environment interaction tests were conducted for individual genetic variants, resulting in two significant interaction effects (rs1497023 and rs4922132) after correction for multiple testing.

CONCLUSION

Our findings are suggestive of G × E interplay, with associations between dopamine genes and externalizing behavior present in children without harsh parenting, but not in children with harsh parenting experiences. Harsh parenting may overrule the role of genetic factors in externalizing behavior. Gene-based and gene-set analyses offer promising new alternatives to analyses focusing on single candidate polymorphisms when examining the interplay between genetic and environmental factors.

Unreliability as a threat to understanding psychopathology: The cautionary tale of attentional bias

The use of unreliable measures constitutes a threat to our understanding of psychopathology, because advancement of science using both behavioral and biologically oriented measures can only be certain if such measurements are reliable. Two pillars of the National Institute of Mental Health's portfolio-the Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative for psychopathology and the target engagement initiative in clinical trials-cannot succeed without measures that possess the high reliability necessary for tests involving mediation and selection based on individual differences. We focus on the historical lack of reliability of attentional bias measures as an illustration of how reliability can pose a threat to our understanding. Our own data replicate previous findings of poor reliability for traditionally used scores, which suggests a serious problem with the ability to test theories regarding attentional bias. This lack of reliability may also suggest problems with the assumption (in both theory and the formula for the scores) that attentional bias is consistent and stable across time. In contrast, measures accounting for attention as a dynamic process in time show good reliability in our data. The field is sorely in need of research reporting findings and reliability for attentional bias scores using multiple methods, including those focusing on dynamic processes over time. We urge researchers to test and report reliability of all measures, considering findings of low reliability not just as a nuisance but as an opportunity to modify and improve upon the underlying theory. Full assessment of reliability of measures will maximize the possibility that RDoC (and psychological science more generally) will succeed. (PsycINFO Database Record

A National Study of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual (LGB), and Non-LGB Youth Sexual Behavior Online and In-Person

Online and in-person sexual behaviors of cisgender lesbian, gay, queer, bisexual, heterosexual, questioning, unsure, and youth of other sexual identities were examined using data from the Teen Health and Technology study. Data were collected online between August 2010 and January 2011 from 5,078 youth 13-18 years old. Results suggested that, depending on sexual identity, between 4-35 % of youth had sexual conversations and 2-24 % shared sexual photos with someone online in the past year. Among the 22 % of youth who had oral, vaginal, and/or anal sex, between 5-30 % met one of their two most recent sexual partners online. Inconsistent condom use was associated with increased odds of meeting one's most recent partner online for heterosexual adolescent men. For gay and queer adolescent men, having an older partner, a partner with a lifetime history of sexually transmitted infections (STI), and concurrent sex partners were each significantly associated with increased odds of having met one's most recent sex partner online. None of the examined characteristics significantly predicted meeting one's most recent sexual partner online versus in-person for heterosexual; bisexual; or gay, lesbian, and queer women. The Internet is not replacing in-person exploration and expression of one's sexuality and meeting sexual partners online appears to be uncommon in adolescence across sexual identities. Healthy sexuality programming that acknowledges some youth are meeting partners online is warranted, but this should not be a main focal point. Instead, inclusive STI prevention programming that provides skills to reduce risk when engaging in all types of sex is critical.

Older-adult marijuana users and ex-users: Comparisons of sociodemographic characteristics and mental and substance use disorders

BACKGROUND

The increasing numbers of older-adult marijuana users call for better understanding of their mental and substance use disorders (MSUDs).

METHODS

Data came from the 2012-2013 National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions (NESARC-III; N=14,715 respondents aged 50 +). Multinomial logistic regression analysis was used to compare never users, past-year users, and ex-users on past-year and lifetime MSUDs. Binary logistic regression analysis was used to examine the association of marijuana use patterns in the past year and during the peak use period with lifetime MSUDs.

RESULTS

Of the 50+ age group, 3.9% were past-year marijuana users and 21.7% were ex-users. Past-year users did not differ from ex-users with respect to past-year or lifetime mental disorders, but they had higher risks of past-year other drug use (RRR=2.73, 95% CI=1.63-4.55), alcohol use (RRR=2.30, 95% CI=1.78-2.98), and tobacco/nicotine use (RRR=1.87, 95% CI=1.50-2.34) disorders. Among past-year users, the number of joints smoked during the peak use period (OR=1.14, 95% CI=1.04-1.26) and past-year use frequency (OR=2.20, 95% CI=1.37-3.52) were significantly associated with greater odds of lifetime marijuana/other drug use disorder. Among ex-users, the number of joints smoked during the peak use period was significantly associated with any mental (OR=1.05, 95% CI=1.01-1.09) and marijuana and/or other drug use (OR=1.13, 95% CI=1.06-1.21) disorder.

CONCLUSIONS

Older-adult past-year marijuana users and ex-users had similarly high risks for past-year and lifetime mental disorders, but past-year users had a higher risk for substance use disorders. Health/mental health providers should be concerned about the increasing number of older-adult long-term marijuana users with MSUDs.

Children's Intergroup Relations and Attitudes

The existence of warm, intimate, supportive, and egalitarian relationships between members of differing social outgroups is likely, at the societal level, to facilitate cooperation and cohesion, and at the individual level, to promote positive social, educational, and occupational outcomes. The developmental pathway from intergroup contact to intergroup attitudes as it operates among children is not, however, well understood. In our chapter, we review and integrate selected social and developmental science related to intergroup relations and attitudes with the goal of proposing a conceptual model of the pathway from intergroup contact to positive intergroup attitudes among youth.

Constraint is associated with earlier circadian phase and morningness: Confirmation of relationships between personality and circadian phase using a constant routine protocol

Associations among personality, diurnal preference, and circadian phase were investigated using a constant routine laboratory protocol. One hundred and sixty-eight healthy participants aged 18-30 years (Women n = 68) completed either a 30- or 50-hour constant routine under dim-light conditions (<3 lux), during which circadian phase was measured from core body temperature and melatonin. Prior to laboratory admission, self-report measures of personality and diurnal preference were also obtained. The personality trait of Constraint correlated positively with morning diurnal preference and earlier circadian phase, with circadian phase partially mediating the relationship between Constraint and diurnal preference. No other personality variables correlated with circadian phase. Sex was an important covariate in several of the relationships investigated due to lower levels of Constraint and later CBT phase amongst men and was thus controlled for in all relevant analyses. Findings from this highly controlled study are consistent with previous field research in suggesting that earlier circadian phase is associated with the personality trait of Constraint.

Predicting Burglar Characteristics from Crime Scene Behaviour

The aim of the present study was to predict offender characteristics on the basis of crime scene behaviour in urban burglaries. The police files of 633 burglaries in the Finnish Metropolitan Area between 1990 and 2001 were content analysed using a predetermined list of variables. The crime scene behaviour variables were subjected to a principal component analysis. Fourteen factors indicative of different types of burglaries were identified and used to predict the characteristics of the 244 offenders using regression models. Statistically significant predictors of almost all offender characteristics were identified. From a practical point of view, the predictive models could be used in police investigations to narrow down the number of suspects.

LEVEL OF STRESS AMONG PREGNANT WOMEN WITH HEART PROBLEMS

Although its prevalence is comparatively low in pregnant women, heart disease is the most significant cause of maternal mortality. About 2% of pregnancies involve maternal cardiovascular disease and this poses an increased risk to both mother and fetus. In-depth interviews for the convenience of 178 pregnant women with heart disease going through 400 pregnancies associated with medical disorders, which were booked in the high-risk obstetric departments and the antenatal outpatient clinics at all governmental hospitals in Beni-Surf City. The prevalence of heart disease of Pregnancy was 44.5%. The severity level of stress was found in the age group of 25-30 years, obese women, urban areas and women who were in their first trimester, Multigravida and who had a history still birth/birth defects. Statistically significant correlation was found between stress levels and age, education, occupation, income, obesity and residence. There is substantial evidence that heart disease with pregnancy is risk factors for adverse stress outcomes for mothers. More specifically, heart disease with pregnancy is associated with severe level of stress.

The Misfortunes of Moral Enhancement

In Unfit for the Future, Ingmar Persson and Julian Savulescu present a sophisticated argument in defense of the imperative of moral enhancement. They claim that without moral enhancement, the future of humanity is seriously compromised. The possibility of ultimate harm, caused by a dreadful terrorist attack or by a final unpreventable escalation of the present environmental crisis aggravated by the availability of cognitive enhancement, makes moral enhancement a top priority. It may be considered optimistic to think that our present moral capabilities can be successfully improved by means of moral education, moral persuasion, and fear of punishment. So, without moral enhancement, drastic restrictions on human freedom would become the only alternative to prevent those dramatic potential outcomes. In this article, I will try to show that we still have reason to be less pessimistic and that Persson & Savulescu's arguments are fortunately unconvincing.

Teaching Psychology for Sustainability: The Why and How

The behavioral sciences can make vital contributions to environmental sustainability efforts, as relevant basic and applied psychological research has grown considerably over the past dozen years. Recently, conservation biologists, environmental policy makers, and other experts have recognized the importance of engaging with experts on human behavior (i.e., psychologists) in order to effect behavioral change in a sustainable direction. Lagging behind this trend, however, is the curricular integration of psychology and environmental sustainability in most psychology or environmental science/studies programs (ESS). Consequently, most psychology majors are graduating with no background in applying the field to promoting sustainability, and ESS students lack explicit education focused on understanding and changing human behavior. This paper provides an introduction to the rationale for integrating sustainability topics into psychology courses, and psychological concepts into ESS classes, along with some strategies for doing so at the level of individual course units as well as full courses.

Online Health Psychology: Do Students Need it, Use it, like it and Want it?

Health psychology is taught across a range of courses throughout higher education institutions in the UK. This study aimed firstly to produce online teaching material in health psychology, ensuring that students from a range of courses and levels can access appropriate material. The second aim, which is the focus of this report, was to explore students' views on the material, their performance with the material and to explore any student group differences. Results suggested that some students taught through the online medium performed at a higher level in examinations than those taught through ‘traditional lectures’, and performance was correlated with usage of the material for psychology students. Furthermore, students appeared to enjoy the material although there was some reluctance to develop an independent learning style. There was also a noted difference between different student groups in terms of their views on the material and the rewards derived from it. It was apparent that material has to be developed that can both engage and motivate learners, thereby further developing independent learning, and that this may have to be tailored dependent on a number of student factors.

Quality of life, functioning and cognition in bipolar disorder and major depression: A latent profile analysis

This study aimed to identify profiles of functioning and quality of life (QOL) in depression (MDD), bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy adults, as well as the clinical, demographic and cognitive variables associated with each of these profiles. Participants completed the WHODAS 2.0 and WHOQOL-BREF, which were submitted to latent profile analysis. The four cluster solution provided the best fit for our data. Cluster 1 consisted mostly of healthy adults, and had the highest functioning and QOL. Clusters 2 contained older patients with subclinical depressive symptoms and psychiatric comorbidities, whose impairments in QOL and functioning were associated with mood symptoms and several cognitive abilities. Patients with MDD, BDI or BDII with mild to moderate depression, such as those in cluster 3, may benefit more significantly from interventions in cognitive flexibility, inhibition, planning, and sustained attention. Lastly, patients with mood disorders and clinically significant levels of depression, as well as a history of suicide attempts, like those in cluster 4, may benefit from interventions aimed at working memory, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility; that is, the three core executive functions. These findings should be further investigated, and used to guide treatments for patients with mood disorders and different patterns of functional impairment.

Effect of Sleep and Salivary Glucose on Gingivitis in Children

It has been shown that inadequate sleep has deleterious effects on health by suppressing immunity and promoting inflammation. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of sleep and salivary glucose levels on the development of gingivitis in a prospective longitudinal study of Kuwaiti children. Data were collected from 10-y-old children ( N = 6,316) in 2012 and again in 2014. Children were approximately equally distributed from 138 elementary schools representing the 6 governorates of Kuwait. Calibrated examiners conducted oral examination, self-reported sleep evaluation interviews, anthropomorphic measurements, and unstimulated whole saliva sample collection. Salivary glucose levels were measured by a florescent glucose oxidase method; values of salivary glucose ≥1.13 mg/dL were defined as high glucose levels. A multilevel random intercept and slope analysis was conducted to determine the relationship between sleep duration and gingivitis on 3 levels: within schools, among children, and over time. The outcome was the progression of the extent of gingival inflammation in children over time. The main independent variables were the number of daily sleep hours and salivary glucose levels. Other explanatory variables and confounders assessed were governorate, dental caries and restorations, and obesity by waist circumference (adjusted for snacking and sex). Gingivitis increased over time in children who had shorter sleep duration ( P < 0.05). Salivary glucose levels >1.13 mg/dL predicted gingivitis ( P < 0.05). Children who had more decayed or filled teeth had more gingivitis ( P < 0.05). No significant association was found between gingivitis and obesity. The level of gingivitis was different among the 6 governorates of Kuwait. Additionally, there was a strong clustering effect of the observations within schools and among children across time. Longitudinal analysis of 6,316 Kuwaiti children revealed that shorter sleep duration and higher salivary glucose levels were both associated with increased gingival inflammation.

Stereotype-based faultlines and out-group derogation in diverse teams: The moderating roles of task stereotypicality and need for cognition

Alignment of individuals on more than one diversity attribute (i.e., faultlines) may lead to intergroup biases in teams, disrupting the efficiency expectancies. Research has yet to examine if this can be a consequence of a stereotypical consistency between social and information attributes of diversity. The present study tests the hypothesis that, in a team with a stereotype-based faultline (a stereotypical consistency between gender and skills), there is increased out-group derogation compared to a team with a stereotype-inconsistent faultline. Furthermore, the study proposes that tasks can activate stereotypes, and the need for cognition dictates whether stereotypes are applied. The findings confirm the hypothesis and additionally provide evidence that tasks that activate gender stereotypes emphasize out-group derogation, especially for team members with low need for cognition.

Behavioral predispositions to approach or avoid emotional words in schizophrenia

Many data suggest a disjunction between decreased emotional expressions and relatively preserved experience of and ability to assess emotions in schizophrenia. Based in an embodied approach of cognition, several studies have highlighted affective stimulus-response congruency effect in healthy subjects that show a direct link between the perception of emotion and associated motor responses. This study investigated whether the categorization of emotional words involves an automatic sensorimotor simulation of approach and avoidance behaviors. We asked 28 subjects with schizophrenia and 28 controls to execute arm movements of approach or avoidance to categorize emotional words, according to their valence (positive or negative). Controls were faster to respond to a positive stimulus with a movement of approach and a negative stimulus with a movement of avoidance (congruent condition) than to perform the inverted response movements (incongruent condition). However, responses of patients with schizophrenia did not differ according to congruence condition. Our results support the apparent non-involvement of covert sensorimotor simulation of approach and avoidance in the categorization of emotional stimuli by patients with schizophrenia, despite their understanding of the emotional valence of words. This absence of affective stimulus-response compatibility effect would imply a decoupling between emotional and bodily states in patients with schizophrenia.

Linking cognitive and visual perceptual decline in healthy aging: The information degradation hypothesis

Several hypotheses attempt to explain the relation between cognitive and perceptual decline in aging (e.g., common-cause, sensory deprivation, cognitive load on perception, information degradation). Unfortunately, the majority of past studies examining this association have used correlational analyses, not allowing for these hypotheses to be tested sufficiently. This correlational issue is especially relevant for the information degradation hypothesis, which states that degraded perceptual signal inputs, resulting from either age-related neurobiological processes (e.g., retinal degeneration) or experimental manipulations (e.g., reduced visual contrast), lead to errors in perceptual processing, which in turn may affect non-perceptual, higher-order cognitive processes. Even though the majority of studies examining the relation between age-related cognitive and perceptual decline have been correlational, we reviewed several studies demonstrating that visual manipulations affect both younger and older adults' cognitive performance, supporting the information degradation hypothesis and contradicting implications of other hypotheses (e.g., common-cause, sensory deprivation, cognitive load on perception). The reviewed evidence indicates the necessity to further examine the information degradation hypothesis in order to identify mechanisms underlying age-related cognitive decline.

Experience Playing a Musical Instrument and Overnight Sleep Enhance Performance on a Sequential Typing Task

The smooth, coordinated fine motor movements required to play a musical instrument are not only highly valued in our society; they also predict academic success in areas that generalize beyond the motor domain, including reading and math readiness, and verbal abilities. Interestingly, motor skills that overlap with those required to play a musical instrument (e.g., sequential finger tapping) markedly improve (get faster) over a night of sleep, but not after a day spent awake. Here we studied whether individuals who play musical instruments that require fine finger motor skill are better able to learn and consolidate a simple motor skill task compared to those who do not play an instrument, and whether sleep-specific motor skill benefits interact with those imparted by musical experience. We used the motor sequence task (MST), which taps into a core skill learned and used by musicians, namely, the repetition of learned sequences of key presses. Not surprisingly, we found that musicians were faster than non-musicians throughout the learning session, typing more correct sequences per 30-sec trial. In the 12hrs that followed learning we found that sleep and musical experience both led to greater improvement in performance. Surprisingly, musicians retested after a day of wake performed slightly better than non-musicians who had slept between training and retest, suggesting that musicians have the capacity to consolidate a motor skill across waking hours, while non-musicians appear to lack this capacity. These findings suggest that the musically trained brain is optimized for motor skill consolidation across both wake and sleep, and that sleep may simply promote a more effective use of this machinery. In sum, there may be something special about musicians, perhaps a neurophysiological advantage, that leads to both the expected-greater motor speed at learning-and the surprising-greater motor skill improvement over time.

Mediating effects of dietary intake on associations of TV viewing, body mass index and metabolic syndrome in adolescents

Objective

Evidence suggests that TV viewing is associated with body mass index (BMI) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) in adolescents. However, it is unclear whether dietary intake mediates these relationships.

Methods

A cross‐sectional analysis was conducted in adolescents (12–19 years) participating in the 2003–2006 United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. BMI z scores (zBMI) (n = 3,161) and MetS (n = 1,379) were calculated using age‐ and sex‐specific criteria for adolescents. TV viewing (h/day) was measured via a self‐reported questionnaire, and dietary intake was assessed using two 24‐h recalls. Using the MacKinnon method, a series of mediation analyses were conducted examining five dietary mediators (total energy intake, fruit and vegetable intake, discretionary snacks, sugar‐sweetened beverages and diet quality) of the relationships between TV viewing and zBMI and MetS.

Results

Small positive relationships were observed between TV viewing and zBMI (β = 0.99, p < 0.001) and TV viewing and MetS (OR = 1.18, p = 0.046). No dietary element appeared to mediate the relationship between TV viewing and zBMI. However, sugar‐sweetened beverage consumption and fruit and vegetable intake partially mediated the relationship between TV viewing and MetS, explaining 8.7% and 4.1% of the relationship, respectively.

Conclusions

These findings highlight the complexity of the relationships between TV viewing, dietary intake and cardiometabolic health outcomes, and that TV viewing should remain a target for interventions.

Ability–motivation–opportunity enhancing human resource practices and firm performance: Evidence from India

This study investigates the diverse performance outcomes related to the bundles/components of high-performance work systems on the basis of ability–motivation–opportunity model. Using the primary data from 563 employees of 204 firms operating in India (collected during the time period between March, 2012 and January, 2013), the study has indicated that employees’ perceptions regarding the applicability of ability-enhancing, motivation-enhancing, and opportunity-enhancing human resource practices result in enhanced affective commitment and superior firm performance. The results have revealed that affective commitment fully mediates the relationship of opportunity-enhancing human resource practices with firm performance and partially mediates the relationships of ability-enhancing and motivation-enhancing human resource practices with firm performance. The study contributes in unlocking the ‘black box’ related to the high-performance work systems and firm performance relationship by stressing upon the importance of affective commitment as a mediator. Managerial implications and directions for future research are also discussed.

Fidelity of Implementation of a State Antibullying Policy With a Focus on Protected Social Classes

Bullying threatens the mental and educational well-being of students. All states have enacted antibullying laws. This study surveyed 634 educators about the implementation of the North Carolina School Violence Prevention Act, which enumerated social classes protected from bullying: race, national origin, gender, socioeconomic status, sexual orientation, gender identity, appearance, and disability. Results showed that local antibullying policies most often included race as a protected class and least often included sexual orientation and gender identity. More educators had been trained on bullying based on race than any other social class. Students were more often informed that bullying based on race was prohibited and were least often informed about prohibitions regarding sexual orientation and gender identity. Reporting, investigating, and remediating bullying was highest for racial bullying, followed by disability bullying, and was lowest for bullying based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

Answering Unresolved Questions About the Relationship Between Cognitive Ability and Prejudice

Previous research finds that lower cognitive ability predicts greater prejudice. We test two unresolved questions about this association using a heterogeneous set of target groups and data from a representative sample of the United States ( N = 5,914). First, we test “who are the targets of prejudice?” We replicate prior negative associations between cognitive ability and prejudice for groups who are perceived as liberal, unconventional, and having lower levels of choice over group membership. We find the opposite (i.e., positive associations), however, for groups perceived as conservative, conventional, and having higher levels of choice over group membership. Second, we test “who shows intergroup bias?” and find that people with both relatively higher and lower levels of cognitive ability show approximately equal levels of intergroup bias but toward different sets of groups.