Serial-order short-term memory predicts vocabulary development: Evidence from a longitudinal study.

Serial-order short-term memory (STM), as opposed to item STM, has been shown to be very consistently associated with lexical learning abilities in cross-sectional study designs. This study investigated longitudinal predictions between serial-order STM and vocabulary development. Tasks maximizing the temporary retention of either serial-order or item information were administered to kindergarten children aged 4 and 5. At age 4, age 5, and from age 4 to age 5, serial-order STM capacities, but not item STM capacities, were specifically associated with vocabulary development. Moreover, the increase of serial-order STM capacity from age 4 to age 5 predicted the increase of vocabulary knowledge over the same time period. These results support a theoretical position that assumes an important role for serial-order STM capacities in vocabulary acquisition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Contributions of family relationships and child temperaments to longitudinal variations in sibling relationship quality and sibling relationship styles.

Seventy-one families participated in a longitudinal study of family processes and variations in sibling relationship quality. Family cohesion and expressiveness, father–child relationship quality, fathers' differential treatment of siblings, and child temperaments were associated with positive and negative dimensions of sibling relationship quality across the longitudinal assessments, which spanned 5 years. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A short-term longitudinal study of memorial development during early grade school.

Analyzed the overt-rehearsal and free-recall memorial performance of 18 children longitudinally in 2 experimental testing sessions initially conducted when Ss were 7 yrs old and again 2 yrs later when they were 9 yrs old. Measures of short- and long-term memory recall and 2 measures of input processing, rehearsal frequency, and rehearsal-set size were obtained for both sessions. Results show that mean performance levels were consistent with past cross-sectional research; significant increases between age levels were exhibited by all variables except short-term memory. Stability coefficients showed all memorial characteristics observed to be stable during the developmental period sampled. At both developmental levels, correlational evidence supported the hypothesis that long-term memory recall is related to rehearsal-set size and not rehearsal frequency. For short-term memory recall, however, reverse relationships with the 2 rehearsal variables were apparent in the 2nd testing session. (13 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Attention and reaction to distress in infancy: A longitudinal study.

The primary aim of this study was to verify whether early individual differences in look duration are related to general mechanisms of the infant nervous system that draw together attention and emotion. Thirty-one infants were observed at 3, 5, and 11 months of age. Facial expressions of pain and distress were observed by means of C. Izard's (1979) Maximally Discriminative Facial Movement Coding System 90 s after routine pediatric vaccinations. Several measures of visual attention were taken experimentally in a separate testing session. Significant correlations between measures of attention and duration of facial expressions of pain and distress were found at each age level. Infants who showed pain or distress for a shorter time period also paid attention for a shorter time period and vice versa. The main conclusion is that individual differences combining control of both pain and attention can be identified from early infancy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bulimia and interpersonal relationships: A longitudinal study.

We assessed changes in bulimia in female college students and changes in the relation between bulimia and interpersonal relationships with women and men. A measure of bulimia (BULIT) of M. C. Smith and M. H. Thelen (see record 1985-02946-001) was taken at Time 1, after a 7-month interval (Time 2), and again after a 12-month interval (Time 3). Measures of interpersonal relationships with women and men were taken at Time 2 and Time 3. Three groups were constituted on the basis of BULIT scores at Time 1: bulimic, subclinical bulimic (Ss who tested just under the cutoff for bulimia), and normal. Ss who tested bulimic or normal at Time 1 tended to continue to do so. In contrast, the subclinical bulimic group endorsed less bulimic symptomatology over time. There were strong negative correlations between the BULIT and ratings of interpersonal relationships with men. The subclinical bulimics showed the greatest improvement over time in ratings of their relationships with men. Counselors may need to consider severity of bulimia and relationship issues during treatment planning. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Childhood personality influences on social-cognitive development: a longitudinal study

The relation of childhood personality to the development of friendship understanding and moral judgment in adolescence was considered in a longitudinal study. Personality at age 7, assessed with the California Child Q-Set, was characterized in terms of ego-resiliency and ego-control. IQ and social class were also measured. Friendship understanding was assessed when the participants were ages 7, 9, 12, 15, and 19, and moral judgment was elicited when the participants were 12, 15, and 19. Ego-resiliency was found to predict social-cognitive development in adolescence, even after the effects of IQ and childhood measures of social-cognitive development were controlled for. Analyses indicate that the effects of ego-resiliency on social-cognitive development are largely unmediated by the ability to focus attention or by social participation.     

Prosocial development: A longitudinal study.

Examined, using a longitudinal methodology, (1) the development of prosocial moral judgment and (2) the relation between prosocial moral judgment and both prohibition-oriented moral judgment and maternal childrearing practices. Three samples were tested: 33 82–99 mo olds were interviewed 3 times; 16 49–67 mo olds were interviewed twice; and 30 2nd graders were interviewed once. From preschool to elementary school years, needs-oriented (empathic) reasoning increased in frequency of use, whereas hedonistic reasoning decreased. Significant changes continued from the preschool years to 2nd grade, although change could be noted even before entry into school (over a 1-yr period from ages 4–5 to 5–6 yrs). The relation between level of prosocial reasoning and prohibition-oriented reasoning was low to moderate, depending on the measures that were intercorrelated. Level of reasoning was related to nonauthoritarian, nonpunitive maternal practices, but the role of empathic, supportive maternal practices appeared to change with age. (26 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The quality of sibling relationships and the development of social competence and behavioral control in aggressive children.

To understand the relations between sibling interactions and the social adjustment of children with behavior problems, 53 aggressive 1st- and 2nd-grade children, their mothers, and their siblings were interviewed about positive and negative aspects of the sibling relationship. When conflict and warmth were considered together, 3 types of sibling dyads emerged: conflictual ( high levels of conflict, low levels of warmth ), involved ( moderate levels of conflict and warmth ), and supportive ( low levels of conflict, high levels of warmth ) . On most measures of social adjustment at school, children in involved sibling relationships showed better adjustment than did children in conflictual relationships. Results are discussed in terms of a developmental model for at-risk children in which some sibling relationships may foster the development of social skills in addition to providing emotional support, which may enhance adjustment at school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Genetic mediation of the home environment during infancy: A sibling adoption study of the HOME.

Recent research has demonstrated that measures of the environment show genetic mediation. This study examined resemblance of 105 nonadoptive and 85 adoptive sibling pairs from the Colorado Adoption Project on an objective measure of the environment (Home Observation for Measurement of the Environment [HOME]). Each sibling's home environment was assessed at 12 and 24 mo of age. Nonadoptive sibling correlations were greater than those for adoptive sibling pairs at both ages, suggesting genetic contributions on the HOME. In addition, the possibility was explored that bivariate associations between environment and outcome measures may be mediated genetically by using the HOME and N. Bayley's Mental Development Index (MDI). Phenotypic and cross-sibling correlations were greater for nonadoptive siblings than for adoptive pairs at age 2, suggesting genetic mediation of the HOME–MDI association. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms: A short-term, four-wave longitudinal study.

Perfectionistic concerns (i.e., negative reactions to failures, concerns over others' criticism and expectations, and nagging self-doubts) are a putative risk factor for depressive symptoms. This study proposes and supports the existential model of perfectionism and depressive symptoms (EMPDS), a conceptual model aimed at explaining why perfectionistic concerns confer risk for depressive symptoms. According to the EMPDS, perfectionistic concerns confer risk for depressive symptoms both through catastrophic interpretations that magnify relatively minor setbacks into seemingly major obstacles and through negative views of life experiences as unacceptable, dissatisfying, and meaningless. This investigation tests the EMPDS in a sample of 240 undergraduates studied using a 4-wave, 4-week longitudinal design. Hypotheses derived from the EMPDS were largely supported, with bootstrap tests of mediation suggesting that the indirect effect of perfectionistic concerns on depressive symptoms through catastrophic thinking and difficulty accepting the past is significant. Results indicated perfectionistic concerns are more an antecedent of, rather than a complication of, catastrophic thinking, difficulty accepting the past, and depressive symptoms. Consistent (but imperfect) support for the incremental validity of the EMPDS beyond either perfectionistic strivings or neuroticism was also observed. Overall, this investigation suggests persons high in perfectionistic concerns not only tend to catastrophize their life experiences but also struggle to accept their life experiences and to negotiate a sense of purpose, direction, and coherence in their lives. With both a catastrophic view of their present and a dark view of their past, this investigation also suggests persons high in perfectionistic concerns are at risk for depressive symptoms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

State dependence and trait stability of perfectionism: A short-term longitudinal study.

The authors examined state dependency on depression, trait stability, and state-trait characteristics of perfectionism in a short-term longitudinal study of university students. Relative stability of perfectionism was assessed with test-retest correlations across 3 time points, and results showed higher rank order and relative stability for perfectionism scores compared with depression scores. Regression and path analyses to disentangle directions of effects revealed that initial maladaptive perfectionism scores remained robust predictors of later perfectionism scores, even after the authors controlled for prior and concurrent depression and other dimensions of perfectionism. Perfectionism proved to be quite stable and was a significant predictor of later depression. Perfectionism was also not meaningfully altered by state changes in depression. The overall findings indicate that perfectionism appears to have substantial relative stability, and perfectionistic discrepancy in particular is a clear vulnerability factor for depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A short-term longitudinal study of impulsivity and antisocial behavior.

Analyzes the relationships between impulsivity and antisocial behavior in a noninstitutionalized sample, taking into account the multidimensional nature of impulsivity and the diversity of types of antisocial behavior. Data were obtained in 1989 and 1990 from 1,226 adolescents aged 12–18 yrs as part of a longitudinal study of risk factors for drug abuse and delinquency. The patterns of stability or change of the various dimensions of antisocial behavior (rule breaking, vandalism, theft, aggression, and drug taking) in relation to impulsivity were investigated. The results support that self-report measures of impulsivity are closely correlated with antisocial behavior among adolescents. The longitudinally-oriented analysis of this work also shows that impulsivity is associated with a future increase in antisocial behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prosocial development in middle childhood: A longitudinal study.

Examined change in prosocial moral judgment over a 7-year period; determined whether there are gender differences in the development of prosocial moral judgment; and examined the interrelations of moral judgment, affect (empathy), and behavior in middle childhood. Participants were two groups of children who have been followed for 5 and 7 years and two groups of children interviewed for the first time at either ages 9–10 or 11–22. Hedonistic reasoning decreased with age; simple needs-oriented moral judgments increased with age and then leveled off; most other more sophisticated types of reasoning increased in a linear fashion with age. Modes of reasoning that most explicitly reflect role taking or empathy increased in use with age for girls but not for boys. Empathy was positively related to needs-oriented judgments and to higher-level prosocial reasoning and was negatively related to hedonistic reasoning (depending on the age of the children). Empathy was positively related to donating at 11–22 years of age but not at 9–20 years of age. Relations between behavior and reasoning varied depending on the structure and costs of a specific behavior. The results are discussed in relation to theory and research concerning developmental change in moral reasoning and possible mediators of prosocial development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Prosocial development in early adulthood: A longitudinal study.

Consistency of measures of a prosocial personality and prosocial moral judgment over time, and the interrelations among them, were examined. Participants' and friends' reports of prosocial characteristics were obtained at ages 21-22, 23-24, and 25-26 yrs. In addition, participants' prosocial judgment was assessed with interviews and with an objective measure of prosocial moral reasoning at several ages. Reports of prosocial behavior and empathy-related responding in childhood and observations of prosocial behavior in preschool also were obtained. There was interindividual consistency in prosocial dispositions, and prosocial dispositions in adulthood related to empathy/sympathy and prosocial behavior at much younger ages. Interview and objective measures of moral reasoning were substantially interrelated in late adolescence/early adulthood and correlated with participants' and friends' reports of a prosocial disposition. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Nonsyndromal craniosynostosis: longitudinal outcome following cranio-orbital reconstruction in infancy

This paper presents a prospective longitudinal outcome study on patients with nonsyndromal craniosynostosis who were treated with the contemporary craniofacial surgical techniques of suture release, cranial decompression, and cranial and orbital reconstruction and reshaping in infancy. Diagnosis, surgical treatment, and long-term results and complications are reviewed. Preoperative and long-term postoperative intracranial volumes in these patients were evaluated and compared with age and gender match controls throughout the period of the study. From July 1, 1990, to July 1, 1994, 25 patients with isolated nonsyndromal craniosynostosis underwent surgery of the deformity. Eight patients were excluded from the study based on incomplete postoperative computed tomography (CT) records. Of the 17 patients with long-term computerized records, 11 were boys and 6 were girls. The nonsyndromal craniosynostosis patients in this study include six with bilateral coronal craniosynostosis, six with unilateral coronal craniosynostosis, four with sagittal craniosynostosis, and one with metopic craniosynostosis. The average age at the time of surgery for all patients was 9 months, and the average age at the time of the latest follow-up CT scan for all patients in the study was 3.5 years. There were no perioperative complications in this series of patients including no bleeding, no infection, no wound healing complications, and no mortality. Bony fixation included a combination of wire osteosynthesis and rigid microfixation. All patients had only one surgical procedure for the correction of their deformity. Evaluation of both preoperative and long-term postoperative intracranial volume measurements in this series of patients revealed that these volume measurements were comparable with the gender match control groups at all ages throughout the study. The significance of these findings for this longitudinal outcome study is discussed.     

Emotional labor, strain, and performance: Testing reciprocal relationships in a longitudinal panel study.

Models of emotional labor suggest that emotional labor leads to strain and affects job performance. Although the link between emotional labor, strain, and performance has been well documented in cross-sectional field studies, not much is known about the causal direction of relationships between emotional labor, strain, and performance. Goal of the present study was therefore to test the direction of effects in a two-wave longitudinal panel study using a sample of 151 trainee teachers. Longitudinal lagged effects were tested using structural equation modeling. Results revealed that the emotional labor strategy of surface acting led to increases in subsequent strain while deep acting led to increases in job performance. In contrast, there was no indication of reverse causation: Neither strain nor job performance had a significant lagged effect on subsequent surface or deep acting. Overall, results support models of emotional labor suggesting that surface and deep acting causally precede individual and organizational well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The development of epistemological beliefs among secondary students: A longitudinal study.

This article is the continuation of M. Schommer's (1993) study, in which the development of secondary students' beliefs about the nature of knowledge and learning, or epistemological beliefs, was examined. High school students (N?=?69) completed an epistemological questionnaire as freshmen in 1992 and as seniors in 1995. Repeated-measures analyses revealed that their beliefs in fixed ability to learn, simple knowledge, quick learning, and certain knowledge changed as they neared the end of their 4th year in high school. In addition, the less students believed in quick learning, the better grade point average they earned. These results are consistent with a cross-sectional study (M. Schommer, 1993) establishing substantial differences in students' epistemological beliefs across the high school years and thus strengthen the case that there is development of epistemological beliefs related to learning during high school. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preventive effects of Lamaze training for first-time parents: A short-term longitudinal study.

Evaluated whether Lamaze Childbirth Preparation prevents negative effects on the marital relationship typically experienced by 1st-time parents. 39 couples who participated in Lamaze training and 37 couples who did not completed questionnaires 3 mo before birth, 1 wk after birth, and 9–20 wks after birth. Results indicate that the Lamaze group reported approximately the same levels of marital satisfaction, state anxiety, and birth-related problems, whereas the non-Lamaze couples showed sharp decreases in marital satisfaction and increases in anxiety and postbirth problems. The potential preventive value of Lamaze training for couples is discussed. (11 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Bidirectional relations of religious orientation and depressive symptoms in adolescents: A short-term longitudinal study.

Religious orientation can be divided into intrinsic and extrinsic: intrinsically oriented individuals “live their religion,” whereas extrinsically oriented individuals practice religion mainly to gain external benefits. In adults, depression has been found to correlate negatively with intrinsic religious orientation and positively with extrinsic orientation. Studies of the relation between religiosity and depression typically have not been longitudinal, conducted with adolescents, controlled for the influence of other factors associated with depression (i.e., negative cognitions), or examined the reverse relation of depression predicting religious orientation. Our 4-month longitudinal study of 273 ninth-grade students addressed these issues. Results showed that higher intrinsic religious orientation measured at baseline significantly predicted lower self-reported depressive symptoms 4 months later, controlling for initial level of depressive symptoms and cognitive style; in contrast, extrinsic orientation and the interaction between religious orientation and life events did not significantly predict later depressive symptoms. Self-reported depressive symptoms, however, did not predict either intrinsic or extrinsic religious orientation 4 months later. Factors contributing to different findings for adolescents versus adults in the relation between extrinsic religious orientation and depression are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)