Family status, family constellation, and home environmental variables as predictors of cognitive performance of Mexican American children.

Examined the relative contributions of several family status variables (child and parental language, parental schooling attainment and location, and SES), a family constellation variable (family size), and the Henderson Environmental Learning Process Scale (HELPS) to the prediction of cognitive performance among 140 Mexican-American preschool children (aged 38–71 mo) from low-income backgrounds. Ss were administered the McCarthy Scales of Childrens' Abilities (MSCA). A factor analysis of the family status and constellation variables produced 3 factors. The General Cognitive Index (GCI) of the MSCA was predicted by multiple regression procedures. The 3 status/constellation factors and HELPS served as independent variables. As hypothesized, the best predictor of GCI was HELPS. A Language/Schooling factor made an additional significant contribution to the explained variance. The theoretical and practical implications of including proximal as well as distal background variables in future research on relations between family characteristics and intellectual performance are discussed. (43 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preschoolers' viewing of instructional television.

Investigated the structural relations among viewing behaviors, viewing conditions, background characteristics, and intellectual ability and 107 34–71 mo olds' learning from instructional TV. Ss viewed tapes designed to teach seriation concepts in groups of four, in dyads, or individually. Ss also completed various subtests from tests of intellectual ability (e.g., the Verbal Fluency subtest of the McCarthy Scales of Children's Abilities); Ss' parents completed a family background questionnaire. Instructional outcomes were not affected by treatment condition, so data were pooled for subsequent analyses. A principal components analysis with oblique rotation was used to reduce the number of variables for subsequent testing of a hypothetical model using path analysis. School aptitude made the strongest contribution to learning from the tapes; viewing behavior, parental education, and family constellation also directly contributed to learning. (24 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family environments, language, and intelligence.

Examined the relationship between family environment and children's language and intellectual abilities. 40 1st graders, 20 middle-class and 20 of low socioeconomic status (SES), were administered the Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities and the WISC-R. To measure press for language in the home, an interview was conducted with mothers. Results show the middle SES group scoring significantly higher than the lower SES group on the language and intelligence measures, as well as having stronger presses for language and intellectual development in the home. However, it was found that press variables contributed little to the predictive efficiency of the model. An alternative approach by T. Williams (1974) is suggested for future research. (French summary) (31 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Family and illness predictors of outcome in pediatric brain tumors

Investigated the prediction of cognitive and behavioral outcomes in 63 children with heterogenous brain tumors. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses were used to determine how family-related variables added to the prediction of children's outcome over and above illness measures. The best predictors of children's behavior problems and adaptive behavior were family and demographic variables, whereas the best predictors of achievement were illness and demographic variables. A combination of family and illness variables, however, was the best predictor of intellectual functioning. In addition to identifying specific predictors of cognitive and behavioral outcome in children with brain tumors, these results lend initial support for the inclusion of contextual factors such as family stress, maternal coping, number of parents in the home, and family SES measures in studies of how disease factors affect outcomes in pediatric brain tumor patients.     

Effect of quality of day care environment on children's language development.

Tested the hypothesis that the amount of verbal interaction with caregivers would be a salient index of daycare center quality, in that it would be a particularly important determinant of children's language skill. 166 36–68 mo old children and their parents from 9 daycare centers participated in this study. Quality of the daycare environment, as assessed by observation and items from the Day Care Environment Inventory, was predictive of all 4 measures of intellectual and language development, which included the PPVT and Preschool Language Assessment Instrument, after controlling for family background and current center care experience. The importance of verbal interaction with caregivers was also demonstrated. Ss from centers with high levels of caregiver speech performed better on tests of language development than Ss from centers with a high level of peer speech. The predictive power of other environmental variables was also investigated. (42 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

School, occupation, culture, and family: The impact of parental schooling on the parent–child relationship.

Hypothesized that among the enduring effects of schooling on the individual are certain behavioral dispositions that determine how he/she will behave as a parent. As a result, parental behavior will have important consequences for a child's development of specific cognitive skills, learning strategies, and personality characteristics. In several studies, attempts were made to determine whether parental schooling, parental occupational status, and maternal employment each had a distinct pattern of influences on educationally related aspects of the parent–child relationship. The inquiry was conducted in the context of issues regarding ethnic diversity, individual variability within ethnic groups, and educational and occupational equity, giving particular attention to Chicano families. The findings regarding linkages between parental schooling and the parent–child relationship suggest plausible explanations of the frequent scholastic failure observed among the members of certain ethnic minorities in the US. A broad theoretical model is presented that causally links parental schooling, family interaction processes, and children's scholastic performance. (78 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intergenerational transfer of individual differences in hereditary monarchs: Genetic, role-modeling, cohort, or sociocultural effects?

342 hereditary monarchs were drawn from 14 European nations. Ss, along with their parents, grandparents, and predecessors, were then assessed on the variables of intelligence, morality, eminence, leadership, life span, and reign span. Theoretically significant interaction effects were also operationalized, using such moderator variables as genetic relationship, years of overlap in lives, age difference, difference in reign midpoints, and sex. The intergenerational transfer of intelligence and life span was best explained by genetics, whereas the transfer of morality and eminence was governed by role-modeling processes. The remaining variables were either transferred by more complex mechanisms (leadership) or not transferred at all from one generation to the next (reign span). Results contradict both F. A. Woods's (1906) belief that morality is genetically inherited and F. Galton's (1869) argument that eminence can serve as a nearly equivalent proxy variable for intellectual genius. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Beyond metaphor: The efficacy of early childhood education.

Evidence from model preschool education programs is reviewed to determine what impacts quality programs can have on poor children's intellectual and social competence; evidence from Head Start is reviewed to determine whether preschool programs of national scope have typically produced the same effects as those produced by model programs. Research has shown that both model programs and Head Start have immediate positive impacts on tests of intellectual performance and social competence but that this impact declines over the first few years of public schooling. The evidence of improvement on long-term measures of school performance such as special education placement is substantial for model programs but thin and inconsistent for Head Start. There is limited but provocative evidence that model programs may have positive effects on life success measures such as teen pregnancy, delinquency, welfare use, and employment, but there is virtually no evidence linking Head Start attendance with any of these variables. Benefit–cost studies show that model programs can produce long-term benefits that exceed the value of the original program investment, but it would be premature to argue that Head Start is cost-beneficial. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Covariance Structure Analysis of Employees' Response to Performance Feedback.

This longitudinal study used D. R. Ilgen, C. D. Fisher, and M. S. Taylor's (1979) feedback process model as a theoretical framework to determine whether a sequential chain of cognitive variables mediates an individual's response to performance feedback. One hundred two employees were surveyed 2 weeks after their performance appraisal, and performance was assessed 11 months later at the end of the review cycle. Covariance structure analysis supported the convergent and discriminant validity of the constructs underlying the model and the constellation of structural relationships. A set of cognitive variables was found to completely mediate the relationship between an individual's receipt and response to feedback. Implications for the feedback process and future research are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The biological properties of Rahnella aquatilis strains isolated in different regions

This study examines stress in the parents of adolescents and young adults with an intellectual disability and compares it with stress reported by parents with offspring without an intellectual disability. An initial qualitative pilot study lead the authors to Baine et al's Stress Scale. The Baine et al scale is relatively new and addresses aspects of stress not previously investigated among the parents of people with an intellectual disability, namely, stress from the difficult relationship with health professionals and service providers and negative community attitudes to people with an intellectual disability. Because of the relevance to nurses, particular interest is paid to stress from the relationship parents have with health professionals and service providers. The study found significantly greater stress in the parents of young people with an intellectual disability in all aspects of stress examined, including stress from the individual with the disability, internal family stress, stress from the financial strain of having a family member with a disability, stress from community attitudes and stress perceived from the relationship with health professionals and service providers. These findings are distressing in the light of government and service agency policies of community care and independent living. This paper makes recommendations relevant to nurses and identifies difficulties for parents of young people with an intellectual disability in the implementation of current government policy.     

Risk factors for cognitive impairment in epilepsy.

The literature suggests that seizure disorders are associated with an increased likelihood of intellectual problems, prompting researchers to investigate risk factors of cognitive impairment in epileptic patients. This study examined the contribution of certain variables (age of seizure onset, duration, etiology, seizure location and laterality, sex, handedness, and cerebral speech pattern) to cognitive outcome in patients with medically refractory seizures. Seizure location (temporal or extratemporal), age of onset of seizures, and handedness proved to be the best indicators of general intellectual ability. There was a relatively diverse pattern of relationships when neuropsychological tests of language, visuospatial ability, and memory were considered individually. However, a factor analytic approach revealed a simpler pattern in which location of dysfunction, age at seizure onset, hand preference, cerebral speech dominance, and gender were relevant and independent indicators of verbal and nonverbal ability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

La prediction du risque de decrochage scolaire au secondaire : facteurs personnels, familiaux et scolaires.

Research indicates that students at-risk of dropping out of school have learning difficulties, behaviour problems, and come from low income families. It is likely that a high percentage of students at-risk of dropping out of school cannot be identified. The objective of this multidimensional study is to identify personal, familial and schooling variables associated with students at-risk of school dropout. A sample of 235 students at-risk and 567 students not at-risk of dropping out of school were assessed on several personal, family, and schooling variables. At-risk students differentiated themselves from controls and from dropout students on most of the variables. Logistic regression analysis indicated seven factors better classify at-risk students: depression affect, low family cohesion and organisation, low student involvement, negative teacher attitudes, low performance in mathematics and French. Results showed gender differences. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive outcome in children and adolescents following severe traumatic brain injury: influence of psychosocial, psychiatric, and injury-related variables

Previous studies of childhood traumatic brain injury (TBI) have emphasized injury-related variables rather than psychiatric or psychosocial factors as correlates of cognitive outcomes. We addressed this concern by recruiting a consecutive series (N = 24) of children age 5 through 14 years who suffered a severe TBI, a matched group who sustained a mild TBI, and a second matched group who sustained an orthopedic injury. Standardized intellectual, memory, psychiatric, family functioning, family psychiatric history, neurological, and neuroimaging assessments were conducted at an average of 2 years following injury. Severe TBI, when compared to mild TBI and orthopedic injury, was associated with significant decrements in intellectual and memory function. A principal components analysis of independent variables that showed significant (p < .05) bivariate correlations with the outcome measures yielded a neuropsychiatric factor encompassing severity of TBI indices and postinjury psychiatric disorders and a psychosocial disadvantage factor. Both factors were independently and significantly related to intellectual and memory function outcome. Postinjury psychiatric disorders added significantly to severity indices and family functioning and family psychiatric history added significantly to socioeconomic status in explaining several specific cognitive outcomes. These results may help to define subgroups of children who will require more intensive services following their injuries.     

Predicting the 21/?-year outcome of dysthymic disorder: The roles of childhood adversity and family history of psychopathology.

Follow-up studies of dysthymic disorder (DD) indicate that demographic and clinical variables are not strong predictors of its outcome. The present study extended this literature by examining the relationship between the early home environment and family history of psychopathology and outcome in DD. Eighty-six outpatients with DD were followed up over a 30-month period using structured clinical interviews. A number of measures of childhood adversity and familial psychopathology assessed at baseline predicted outcome, even after controlling for baseline severity and clinical variables. The best predictors included a history of sexual abuse, quality of the patient's relationship with both parents, and higher familial loadings for drug abuse and Cluster A personality disorders. These findings indicated that childhood adversity and familial psychopathology have greater predictive utility for DD than for demographic and clinical variables. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The birth order puzzle.

Studies relating intellectual performance to birth order report conflicting results, some finding intellectual scores to increase, others to decrease with birth order. In contrast, the relationship between intellectual performance and family size is stable and consistently replicable. This birth order puzzle is resolved by means of a confluence model that quantifies the influences upon intellectual growth arising within the family context. At the time of a new birth, 2 opposing influences act upon intellectual growth of the elder sibling: (a) his or her intellectual environment is "diluted" and (b) he or she loses the "lastborn's handicap" and begins serving as an intellectual resource to the younger sibling. Since these opposite effects are not equal in magnitude, the differences in intellectual performance among birth ranks are shown to be age dependent. While elder children may surpass their younger siblings in intellectual performance at some ages, they may be overtaken by them at others. Thus, when age is taken into consideration, the birth order literature loses its chaotic character and an orderly pattern of results emerges. (59 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Parent–child interaction, television violence, and aggression of children.

Summarized and integrated results of 2 large-scale longitudinal studies (L. D. Eron, see PA, Vol 38:2452; Eron et al, in press). The relationship between TV violence and aggression in Ss was corroborated in 2 different geographical areas of the US and was found to hold for both boys and girls. The causal effect is circular, with TV violence affecting S's aggression and aggressive Ss watching more violent TV. Contributing increments to a S's level of overt aggression were popularity, intellectual ability, aggressive fantasy, extent of physical punishment, rejection by parents, and the tendency of parents to endorse attitudes and behaviors often seen in sociopathic individuals. It is shown that it is possible to intervene to attenuate the relationship between TV violence and aggression with simple tuitional procedures that supercede the influence of the parent variables studied. Important intervening variables in the TV violence–aggression relationship are S's identification with aggressive characters and the extent to which S believes TV portrays reality. (23 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of interpersonal stress on the prediction of academic performance.

186 military cadets were administered measures of interpersonal stress (Study 1) and test anxiety (Study 2; the Test Anxiety Scale), and their GPAs and Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) scores were obtained. Results show that interpersonal stress, generated by competing demands for attention, decreased the power of intellectual ability tests (SAT) to predict academic performance (GPA). Stress in relations with parents and faculty reduced academic performance but did not moderate the correlations between the predictor test and the criterion. Findings have implications for selection research by indicating the need to specify the situations in which tests will best predict intellectual performance. Findings also suggest that cognitions associated with different sources of stress play a significant part in determining the impact of stress on performance. (22 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 across parent race/ethnicity, income level, and language.

This study examined the equivalence of the Child Behavior Checklist/1 1/2-5 (CBCL/1 1/2-5) in 682 parents of 2- to 4-year-old children stratified by parent race/ethnicity (African American, Latino, and non-Latino White), family income (low vs. middle-upper), and language version (Spanish vs. English). Externalizing Scale means differed by income and child gender. Internalizing Scale means differed by income and parent race/ethnicity. Differential item analyses showed that few items functioned differently by racial/ethnic, language, and income group. A confirmatory factor analysis demonstrated that the Externalizing Scale provided a good fit with the data across racial/ethnic and income groups. However, model fit was improved for the Internalizing Scale when factor weights were allowed to vary. Findings support the equivalence of the CBCL/1 1/2-5 when used with parents of low-income preschool children from African American and Latino backgrounds, although further study of the factor structure for the Internalizing Scale is recommended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Intellectual development within the family: A new application of the confluence model.

The confluence model relates family configuration to patterns of intellectual development among siblings. Thus far, the model has received strong support in tests predicting aggregate values of large cross-sectional data sets. The present article introduces a new application of the confluence model to the intellectual development of individual children within actual families. By combining previous computer simulation procedures with a nonlinear least squares estimation program, the confluence model was applied to intelligence test data collected by M. C. Outhit (1933) on 51 families of 4 or more children. A 3-parameter model with a single growth constant and separate weights for family environment and last-born handicap was best fitting among the variants of the confluence model examined and explained 51% of the variance in observed mental ages. Results demonstrate that the confluence model can provide an accurate account of the intellectual development of individual children within their families. (33 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effects of age and schooling on the acquisition of elementary quantitative skills.

The influence of school- and age-related variables was examined separately on 2 tasks involving elementary quantitative skills: conservation of number and mental addition. Performance on these tasks was compared by using a cutoff design with 3 groups of kindergarten and Grade 1 children who differed in age but not amount of schooling (grade), in schooling but not age, or in both age and schooling. The effects of age and schooling were distinct. On conservation of number, performance improved as a function of age but not schooling. On mental arithmetic, accuracy improved with schooling rather than age but children's use of various solution procedures (e.g., retrieval, counting) was not influenced by schooling. Thus, in the domain of elementary mathematical skills, the influence of schooling can be very specific, and age-related variables other than schooling play an important role in the development of elementary mathematical skills. Results illustrate the utility of the cutoff design for investigating instructional and developmental influences on cognitive development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)