A prospective three generational study of fathers’ constructive parenting: Influences from family of origin, adolescent adjustment, and offspring temperament.

This prospective, intergenerational study considered multiple influences on 102 fathers’ constructive parenting of 181 children. Fathers in the 2nd generation (G2) were recruited as boys on the basis of neighborhood risk for delinquency and assessed through early adulthood. The fathers’ parents (G1) and the G2 mothers of G3 also participated. A multiagent, multimethod approach was used to measure G1 and G2 constructive parenting (monitoring, discipline, warmth, and involvement), G2 positive adolescent adjustment, and problem behavior in all 3 generations, including G3 difficult temperament and externalizing problems in early and middle childhood, respectively. Path modeling supported direct transmission of G1 constructive parenting of G2 in late childhood to G2 constructive parenting of G3 in middle childhood. Of note, G1 parenting indirectly influenced G2 parenting through G2 positive adjustment but not through G2 adolescent antisocial behavior. G1 parenting influenced G2 parenting in both early and middle childhood of G3. G2 parenting influenced G3 problem behavior but not vice versa. Intergenerational continuities in parenting persisted, even when additional influences were considered. Transmission pathways are not limited to life-course adversity. Rather, constructive parenting is maintained, in part, by engendering positive adjustment in offspring. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

How does processing affect storage in working memory tasks? Evidence for both domain-general and domain-specific effects.

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 37(3) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition (see record 2011-08992-004). Chen and Cowan (2009) is correctly cited in the body of the article but the reference at the end of the article is incorrect. The correct reference is in the correction.] Two studies that examine whether the forgetting caused by the processing demands of working memory tasks is domain-general or domain-specific are presented. In each, separate groups of adult participants were asked to carry out either verbal or nonverbal operations on exactly the same processing materials while maintaining verbal storage items. The imposition of verbal processing tended to produce greater forgetting even though verbal processing operations took no longer to complete than did nonverbal processing operations. However, nonverbal processing did cause forgetting relative to baseline control conditions, and evidence from the timing of individuals' processing responses suggests that individuals in both processing groups slowed their responses in order to “refresh” the memoranda. Taken together the data suggest that processing has a domain-general effect on working memory performance by impeding refreshment of memoranda but can also cause effects that appear domain-specific and that result from either blocking of rehearsal or interference. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

“Teacher effects” in early literacy development: Evidence from a study of twins.

It is often assumed that differences in teacher characteristics are a major source of variability in children's educational achievements. We examine this assumption for early literacy achievement by calculating the correlations between pairs of twin children who either shared or did not share a teacher in kindergarten, Grade 1, and Grade 2. Teacher effects—or, more strictly, classroom effects—would show up as higher correlations for same-class than for different-class twin pairs. Same-class correlations were generally higher than different-class correlations, though not significantly so on most occasions. On the basis of the results, we estimate that the maximum variance accounted for by being assigned to the same or different classrooms is 8%. This is an upper-bound figure for a teacher effect because factors other than teachers may contribute to variation attributable to classroom assignment. We discuss the limitations of the study and draw out some of its educational implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The perennial debate: Nature, nurture, or choice? Black and White Americans' explanations for individual differences.

The authors examine 3 common explanations for human characteristics: genes, the environment, and choice. A representative sample of White and Black Americans indicated how much they believed each factor influenced individual differences in athleticism, nurturance, drive to succeed, math ability, tendency toward violence, intelligence, and sexual orientation. Results show that across traits (a) Black respondents generally favored choice and rejected genetic explanations, whereas White respondents indicated less causal consistency; (b) although a sizable subset of respondents endorsed just 1 factor, most reported multiple factors as at least partly influential; and (c) among White respondents, greater endorsement of genetic explanations was associated with less acceptance of choice and the environment, although among Black respondents a negative relationship held only between genes and choice. The social relevance of these findings is discussed within the context of the attribution, essentialism, and lay theory literature. The results underscore the need to consider more complex and nuanced issues than are implied by the simplistic, unidimensional character of the nature–nurture and determinism–free will debates—perennial controversies that have significance in the current genomic era. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of methylphenidate in the classroom: What dosage, for which children, for what problems?

In this study the authors conducted single-case analyses of the dosage and time-course effects of methylphenidate (MPH; Ritalin) on disruptive classroom behavior, math and reading performance, and social engagement. Clear individual differences were demonstrated (a) across children (aged 7 yrs) with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); (b) across academic, behavioral, and social domains of functioning; (c) for dose-response effects; and (d) in the onset and duration of effects. These results are in contrast to the majority of group studies that suggest a generally positive and linear dose-response effect for MPH across both children and domains of functioning. No particular dose-response relationship between disruptive behavior and academic performance was indicated. However, an increasing dosage of MPH was associated with increasing social withdrawal for 2 of the 3 participants. Implications for school-based medication evaluations and for designing optimal comprehensive interventions for children who receive MPH are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Can we trust parent reports in research on cultural and ethnic differences in child psychopathology? Using the bicultural family design to test parental culture effects.

Research comparing cultural and ethnic groups on child psychopathology has relied heavily on parent reports. But don't parents' own cultural backgrounds bias their reports, undermining valid assessment of actual child behavior? The question is hard to address because parent and child culture tend to be confounded. To solve this problem, we assembled an unusual but heuristically valuable sample: 50 bicultural families, each with an ethnic Thai parent reared in Thailand and a Caucasian parent reared in the U.S. Parents in each pair independently completed standardized problem checklists on the same child in their family. Across all 10 empirically derived problem syndromes, no parental culture effect was either significant or larger than "small," by Cohen's (1988) standards; across all 140 specific problems, the mean percent of variance accounted for by parent culture was less than 1%. Results do not point to a biasing effect of parental culture. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“Learned predictiveness effects in humans: A function of learning, performance, or both?”: Correction.

Reports an error in Learned predictiveness effects in humans: A function of learning, performance, or both by M. E. Le Pelley, M. B. Suret and T. Beesley (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 2009[Jul], Vol 35[3], 312-327). In the article “Learned predictiveness effects in humans: A function of learning, performance, or both?” by M. E. Le Pelley, M. B. Suret, and T. Beesley (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 35, 312–327), an incorrect equation was printed. The correct version of Equation 2 is: Δαp > 0 if |λ - Vp| VQ| and Δαp Vp| > |λ - VQ|. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2009-10283-002.) Many previous studies of animal and human learning indicate a processing advantage for cues previously experienced as good predictors of outcomes over those experienced as poorer predictors. Four studies of human associative learning investigated whether learned predictiveness acts at the level of learning (modulating the rate at which cue–outcome associations form), performance (modulating the strength of behavioral responses), or both. In Experiments 1–3, it was found that retrospectively altering the learned predictiveness of cues influenced responding to those cues, demonstrating that learned predictiveness influences performance. Experiment 4 indicates that learned predictiveness also influences learning by demonstrating that the learned predictiveness of a cue affects the acquisition of an association between a novel cue and the outcome with which it is paired. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mothers’ and fathers’ attributions for adolescent behavior: An examination in families of depressed, subdiagnostic, and nondepressed youth.

This study examined whether parents of adolescents experiencing depressive symptoms or disorder make more negative and fewer positive attributions for their adolescents’ behavior than do parents of nondepressed adolescents, and whether parental attributions for adolescents’ behavior contribute to parenting behavior, above and beyond the adolescents’ behavior. Parents and adolescents (76 girls and 48 boys) participated in videotaped problem-solving interactions (PSIs). Each parent subsequently watched the videotape and offered attributions for their adolescent’s behavior. In addition, parent and adolescent behavior during the PSIs was coded. Mothers and fathers in families of nondepressed adolescents made significantly fewer negative attributions for their children’s behavior than did parents in families of adolescents with diagnostic or subdiagnostic levels of depressive symptoms. Moreover, mothers’ and fathers’ negative attributions were related to greater levels of observed aggressive behavior and lower levels of observed facilitative behavior during the PSIs controlling for both demographic characteristics and the relative level of adolescent aggressive and facilitative behavior during the PSI. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The work–family interface in the United States and Singapore: Conflict across cultures.

This article examines the work–family interface in a cross-cultural comparison between two nationally representative samples from the United States (n = 1,860) and Singapore (n = 1,035) with emphasis on work–family conflict. Family-to-work conflict was negatively related to marital satisfaction in both Singapore and the United States, although the effect was stronger in the United States. Similarly, family-to-work conflict was positively related to job satisfaction in the United States but was negatively related in Singapore. As expected, schedule flexibility was negatively related to depression in the United States, but in Singapore the relationship was positive. These findings suggest that theoretical relationships in the work–family interface developed in the more culturally individualistic West may need to be adapted when studying populations in the more collectivist East. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The association between adolescents’ depressive symptoms, maternal negative affect, and family relationships in Hong Kong: Cross-sectional and longitudinal findings.

This study investigated the bidirectional relationships of adolescents’ and maternal mood, and the moderating effect by gender and perceived family relationships on these relationships. Data were obtained from 626 adolescent-mother dyads and follow-up data were collected one year later from a subset. Adolescents reported their depressive symptoms, and their mothers reported their negative affect. Adolescents described their perception of family relationships. Maternal negative affect and adolescents’ depressive symptoms were significantly correlated at baseline. This association was moderated by gender and family relationships. The association was stronger in mother-daughter compared to mother-son dyads. In families where relationships were reported to be poor, adolescent depressive symptoms were uniformly high, regardless of maternal negative affect. However, in families where relationships were good, maternal negative affect was associated with higher adolescents’ depressive symptoms. In longitudinal analyses, adolescents’ mood at baseline was found to relate to maternal negative affect at follow-up. Family relationships at baseline were also associated with adolescents’ depressive symptoms at follow-up. However, there was no prediction from maternal negative affect at baseline to adolescents’ depressive symptoms at follow-up. Gender and quality of family relationships did not moderate the longitudinal relationships between adolescents’ depressive symptoms and maternal negative affect in either direction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The effects of intersensory redundancy on attention and memory: Infants’ long-term memory for orientation in audiovisual events.

This research examined the effects of bimodal audiovisual and unimodal visual stimulation on infants’ memory for the visual orientation of a moving toy hammer following a 5-min, 2-week, or 1-month retention interval. According to the intersensory redundancy hypothesis (L. E. Bahrick & R. Lickliter, 2000; L. E. Bahrick, R. Lickliter, & R. Flom, 2004) detection of and memory for nonredundantly specified properties, including the visual orientation of an event, are facilitated in unimodal stimulation and attenuated in bimodal stimulation in early development. Later in development, however, nonredundantly specified properties can be perceived and remembered in both multimodal and unimodal stimulation. The current study extended tests of these predictions to the domain of memory in infants of 3, 5, and 9 months of age. Consistent with predictions of the intersensory redundancy hypothesis, in unimodal stimulation, memory for visual orientation emerged by 5 months and remained stable across age, whereas in bimodal stimulation, memory did not emerge until 9 months of age. Memory for orientation was evident even after a 1-month delay and was expressed as a shifting preference, from novelty to null to familiarity, across increasing retention time, consistent with Bahrick and colleagues’ four-phase model of attention. Together, these findings indicate that infant memory for nonredundantly specified properties of events is a consequence of selective attention to those event properties and is facilitated in unimodal stimulation. Memory for nonredundantly specified properties thus emerges in unimodal stimulation, is later extended to bimodal stimulation, and lasts across a period of at least 1 month. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learned predictiveness effects in humans: A function of learning, performance, or both?

[Correction Notice: An erratum for this article was reported in Vol 36(1) of Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes (see record 2010-02315-003). In the article “Learned predictiveness effects in humans: A function of learning, performance, or both?” by M. E. Le Pelley, M. B. Suret, and T. Beesley (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Animal Behavior Processes, 35, 312–327), an incorrect equation was printed. The correct version of Equation 2 is: Δαp > 0 if |λ - Vp| VQ| and Δαp Vp| > |λ - VQ|.] Many previous studies of animal and human learning indicate a processing advantage for cues previously experienced as good predictors of outcomes over those experienced as poorer predictors. Four studies of human associative learning investigated whether learned predictiveness acts at the level of learning (modulating the rate at which cue–outcome associations form), performance (modulating the strength of behavioral responses), or both. In Experiments 1–3, it was found that retrospectively altering the learned predictiveness of cues influenced responding to those cues, demonstrating that learned predictiveness influences performance. Experiment 4 indicates that learned predictiveness also influences learning by demonstrating that the learned predictiveness of a cue affects the acquisition of an association between a novel cue and the outcome with which it is paired. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Value attainment: An explanation for the negative effects of work–family conflict on job and life satisfaction.

Perceptions of work interfering with family life and family issues interfering with work are examined as 2 distinct constructs representing work–family conflict. Experienced work–family conflict is argued to reduce one's value attainment which, in turn, lowers both job and life satisfaction. This study examines value attainment as a mediating variable in the work–family conflict and satisfaction relationship. Responses from 270 hotel managers indicate that value attainment either partially or fully mediates the relationship between work interference with family and family interference with work and both job and life satisfaction. Value attainment is argued to be a meaningful explanatory variable for the negative relationship between work–family conflict and job–life satisfaction. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work pressure, workplace social resources, and work–family conflict: The tale of two sectors.

Although research has extensively examined work–family issues in the private sector, little is known about sector-related differences. Here, we used data from the 2002 National Study of the Changing Workforce and multiple-group structural equation modeling to compare the levels and mechanisms through which work pressure and 3 workplace social resources (i.e., work–family culture, supervisor support, and coworker support) are related to work–family conflict in the public and private sectors. First, work–family culture affected work–family conflict directly in the private sector and indirectly, through reduced work pressure, in the public sector. Moreover, work–family culture had a much stronger impact on supervisor support in the private sector. Second, public sector employees perceived higher levels of supervisor and organizational support while experiencing higher levels of work pressure. The study illustrates the necessity of differentiating between the 2 sectors of employment when studying work–family relationships. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The association between parent–child conflict and adolescent conduct problems over time: Results from a longitudinal adoption study.

A handful of prior adoption studies have confirmed that the cross-sectional relationship between child conduct problems and parent–child conflict at least partially originates in the shared environment. However, as the direction of causation between parenting and delinquency remains unclear, this relationship could be better explained by the adolescent's propensity to elicit conflictive parenting, a phenomenon referred to as an evocative gene–environment correlation. In the current study, the authors thus examined the prospective relationship between conduct problems and parent–child conflict in a sample of adoptive families. Participants included 672 adolescents in 405 adoptive families assessed at 2 time points roughly 4 years apart. Results indicated that parent–child conflict predicts the development of conduct problems, whereas conduct problems do not predict increases in parent–child conflict. Such findings suggest that evocative gene–environment correlations are highly unlikely to be an explanation of prior shared environmental effects during adolescence. Moreover, because the adolescents in this study do not share genes with their adoptive parents, the association between conduct problems and parent–child conflict is indicative of shared environmental mediation in particular. Implications of the findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Work–family conflict in work groups: Social information processing, support, and demographic dissimilarity.

We used social information processing theory to examine the effect of work–family conflict (WFC) at the work group level on individuals’ experience of WFC. Consistent with hypotheses, results suggest that WFC at the work group level influences individual WFC over and above the shared work environment and job demands. It was also observed that work group support and demographic dissimilarity moderate this relationship. Moderator analyses suggest that work group social support buffers WFC for individuals but is also associated with a stronger effect of work group WFC on individuals’ WFC. Moreover, the work group effect on individuals’ WFC was shown to be stronger for individuals who were demographically dissimilar to the work group in terms of sex and number of dependents. The interpretations and implications of these findings are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The impact of family and community violence on children’s depression trajectories: Examining the interactions of violence exposure, family social support, and gender.

This longitudinal study used multilevel modeling to examine the relationships between witnessing intimate partner violence (IPV), community and school violence exposure (CSVE), family social support, gender, and depression over 2 years within a sample of 100 school-aged children. We found significant between-child differences in both the initial levels of depression and the trajectories of depression; depression over time was positively associated with change in witnessing IPV and CSVE and negatively associated with change in support. Two significant 3-way interactions were found: Gender and initial support, as well as gender and initial witnessing IPV, both significantly moderated the effect of change in witnessing IPV on the children’s depression over time. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Is the breast best for children with a family history of atopy? The relation between way of feeding and early childhood morbidity

BACKGROUND: Previous studies reported that breast-feeding protects children against a variety of diseases, but these studies were generally conducted on "high-risk" or hospitalized children. This paper describes the results of our study on the effects of breast-feeding on rate of illness in normal children with a family history of atopy. METHODS: A historic cohort approach of 794 children with a family history of atopy was used to assess the effects of breast-feeding on illness rates. Family history of atopy was based on allergic diseases in family members as registered by the family physician. Illness data from birth onwards were available from the Continuous Morbidity Registration of the Department of Family Medicine. Information on breast-feeding was collected by postal questionnaire. We then compared rates of illness between children with a family history of atopy who were and who were not breast-fed. RESULTS: Breast-feeding was related to lower levels of childhood illness both in the first and the first three years of life. In the first year of life they had fewer episodes of gastroenteritis, lower respiratory tract infections, and digestive tract disorders. Over the next three years of life they had fewer respiratory tract infections and skin infections. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest a protective effect of breast-feeding among children with a family history of atopy that is not confined to the period of breast-feeding but continues during the first three years of life. Breast-feeding should be promoted in children with a family history of atopy.     

Spurious? Name similarity effects (implicit egotism) in marriage, job, and moving decisions.

Three articles published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology have shown that a disproportionate share of people choose spouses, places to live, and occupations with names similar to their own. These findings, interpreted as evidence of implicit egotism, are included in most modern social psychology textbooks and many university courses. The current article successfully replicates the original findings but shows that they are most likely caused by a combination of cohort, geographic, and ethnic confounds as well as reverse causality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Change in job strain and progression of atherosclerosis: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study: Correction to Rosenstr?m et al. (2011).

Reports an error in Change in job strain and progression of atherosclerosis: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study by Tom Rosenstr?m, Mirka Hintsanen, Mika Kivim?ki, Markus Jokela, Markus Juonala, Jorma S. Viikari, Olli T. Raitakari and Liisa Keltikangas-J?rvinen (Journal of Occupational Health Psychology, 2011[Jan], Vol 16[1], 139-150). The order of authorship was listed incorrectly. The correct order is listed in the correction. (The following abstract of the original article appeared in record 2011-01470-011.) Evidence of the association between job strain, that is, a combination of high psychological demands and low job control, and markers of atherosclerosis is mixed, but few studies with repeat measures are available. The purpose of this study was to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between job strain and atherosclerosis. The participants were 335 men and 374 women from the prospective Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study (mean age 38.5 years). Two sequential measurements of job strain and carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) were analyzed. No cross-sectional or longitudinal association between job strain and IMT was observed in women. In men, a cross-sectional association was found in 2001, but not in 2007. No dose-response effect was visible, nor a simple association between progression of job strain and progression of IMT. Instead, a more complex pattern of correlation was found in men with large decreases in job strain being associated with slower progression of IMT and combined decreases in job control and demands (a change toward passive jobs) being associated with greater IMT progression. These data suggest that temporal changes in job demands and control are associated with IMT in men via multiple mechanisms. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)