Preschool outcomes of children of depressed mothers: role of maternal behavior,contextual risk,and children's brain activity

Children of depressed mothers are at risk for behavioral and emotional problems. Infants of depressed mothers exhibit behavioral disturbances and atypical frontal brain activity. The mechanisms by which children develop such vulnerabilities are not clear. Three-year-old children of mothers with (N = 65) and without (N = 59) a history of depression were assessed in terms of behavior problems and brain electrical activity. Children of mothers with chronic depression exhibited lower frontal and parietal brain activation compared with children of mothers without depression and those whose depression remitted. Depressed mothers reported higher contextual risk (e.g., marital discord and stress) and their children had more behavior problems. Children's frontal brain activation and contextual risk level mediated the relation between maternal depression and child behavior problems.     

Speech patterning of natural discourse of well and depressed mothers and their young children

The speech behavior of 14 depressed and 18 nondepressed mothers during conversations with their 3-year-old children was examined in this study. Given the general motor retardation, reduced energy level, and social withdrawal of depressed individuals, the speech patterns of depressed mothers were predicted to differ from the speech patterns of well mothers. Depressed mothers vocalized less often and responded less quickly to the cessation of their children's speech than healthy mothers. However, in a mildly stressful situation (awaiting a doctor's visit) the depressed mothers, but not the healthy mothers, significantly increased their level of speech productivity. Children of the depressed mothers spoke less than children of healthy women, particularly while sitting and eating lunch with their mothers. The observed difference in the mothers' behaviors was interpreted as an indication that the 2 groups of children are exposed to very different patterns of socialization. The offspring of depressed women are being taught both to keep social interaction to a minimum and to be overreactive to even mild stresses. The differences in the children's behavior may indicate that already these 3-year-old children have learned to keep their interactions with their mother to a minimum. This manner of adaptation may have negative effects on the child's continued social, emotional, and cognitive development.     

研究生"郁闷"心理解析

“郁闷”是研究生不容忽视的心理现象,站在学生的角度从“大锅烩”课堂、导师与研究生的关系、对“研究”的迷茫、论文发表的疑问、就业难的思考、经济和情感的困惑几方面分析在校研究生“郁闷”心理的来源、成因,提出克服“郁闷”心理的建议。     

台湾综艺节目“误读大陆”原因浅析

随着两岸关系的发展,两岸媒体间的交流也越来越多,台湾电视综艺节目中关于大陆的话题和大陆形象的塑造也成为人们关注的热点,研究发现,台湾电视综艺节目中存在不少对大陆的误读的现象,本文结合台湾的政治经济文化生活,从媒体自身的生存与运作规律、民众的收视心理和社会文化以及两岸之间的交流困境等不同角度探讨了这种误读现象出现的原因,以期能对两岸节目的交流和大陆对台传播等方面有所启示。     

略论"即使"类连词的源与流——兼及该类连词的归类问题

“即使”类连词的发展趋势呈枣核形,其核心语素的虚化途径有两条:(一)由实词直接虚化而来;(二)由副词进一步语法化而来。宏观地看,该类连词的单音节形式多为同源词,复音节形式的内部复合关系较单纯,它们与假设、转折连词存在兼类关系。这类连词可统称为纵予连词。     

寓差异教育于音乐活动之中促进幼儿主动发展

教育必须充分尊重受教育者的个性、能力等差异,实施差异教育.作为艺术领域中的"音乐教育"也不例外.在幼儿园的集体音乐活动中,差异教育不等同于个别教育,它从参加活动的每个儿童的个别特点出发,对那些有可能超出一般活动要求的儿童,以及那些对一般活动感到困难的儿童,都应给予特殊的活动设计.换言之,要为有余力的儿童提供发挥余力的机会,也要为力所不及的儿童提供补偿的机会.活动形式一般以小班化的分组形式,按幼儿能力、兴趣分层分组开展音乐活动.     

《天天向上》节目中的幽默语言特点

《天天向上》是家喻户晓的幽默真人秀节目,其中的语言不仅搞笑而且有内涵,深得广大观众喜爱,主持人更是特点鲜明,配合默契,共同创造了一档收视率很高的电视节目。     

Developmental trajectories of disruptive behavior problems in preschool children of adolescent mothers

Using hierarchical linear modeling (HLM), we analyzed individual developmental trajectories of disruptive behavior problems between ages 3.5 to 6.0 years for 183 children of adolescent mothers. We examined how the level of problem behavior (intercept) and the rate of change over time (slope) are influenced by child's sex, mother's depression/anxiety symptoms, and mother's use of negative control for regulating child behavior. On average, disruptive behavior decreased from age 3.5 to 6.0. Child sex and maternal depression/anxiety related to the level of behavior problems but not to the rate of change. Boys and children of more depressed/anxious mothers exhibited higher levels of disruptive behavior. Maternal negative control was associated with both level of disruptive behavior and rate of change, and negative control mediated the effects of maternal depression/anxiety. Greater negative control corresponded to higher levels of behavior problems and no reduction in their display over time. Child race moderated effects of negative control.     

Variables that influence the environmental behavior of adults

This study focuses on understanding the factors that encourage adults’ environmental behavior. This mixed approach methodology study used 10 Likert type questionnaires to collect data about nine cognitive and affective components that might influence environmental behavior. The qualitative data was collected through open questions and interviews. The main sample included 656 participants from amongst Israel’s working population. The questionnaires were found both reliable and valid. Most of the explored cognitive and affective aspects appeared to act as predictors of environmental behavior. The study indicates that environmental behavior is driven by ‘egoistic’ concerns rather than by altruistic views and motivations.     

A randomized controlled trial of a home-visiting intervention aimed at preventing relationship problems in depressed mothers and their infants

This study examined the effect of a mother–baby intervention on the quality of mother–child interaction, infant–mother attachment security, and infant socioemotional functioning in a group of depressed mothers with infants aged 1–12 months. A randomized controlled trial compared an experimental group ( n = 35) receiving the intervention (8–10 home visits) with a control group ( n = 36) receiving parenting support by telephone. There were assessments pre, post, and follow-up after 6 months. The intervention had positive effects on the quality of mother–infant interaction. Infants in the experimental group had higher scores for attachment security and for one aspect of socioemotional functioning, namely, competence. The intervention proved successful in preventing deterioration of the quality of mother–child interaction.     

Understanding Category Members as "the Same Sort of Thing": Explicit Categorization in Ten-Month Infants

Although it is often acknowledged that classification exists in the first year of life, it has been suggested that infants are capable only of implicit categorization, recognizing that something is or is not familiar. In contrast, older children are thought to compare the stimuli or objects they categorize and to explicitly equate different category members. 2 habituation experiments were conducted in an attempt to determine whether 10-month-old infants are capable of explicit categorization. The approach taken was to insert nonmembers into the familiarization sequence in a categorization task. The nonmembers were designed so as to have a predictable effect on infants' performance whether or not these stimuli were included as infants processed the categorical information. The results suggest that infants do explicitly equate category members. Infants appeared to disregard the nonmembers in the familiarization sequence, basing their categorization response instead on the set of instances that were "the same sort of thing."     

Efforts to control by children and adults with the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern.

Glass and his colleagues have suggested that the type A coronary-prone behavior pattern, which is characterized by competitiveness, aggressiveness, and impatience, is a response style aimed at maintaining and asserting control over poentially uncontrollable events. The present investigation examined the initial reactions of type A and type B boys and men to uncontrollable events. Children and adults pressed a button to earn nickels on one of the following schedules of reinforcement: a variable ratio of 7 or a fixed ratio of 7. The variable ratio schedule was assumed to appear less controllable than the fixed ratio schedule. The task was either of high or low salience (prominence). Results replicated previous research that type A's initially respond to highly salient uncontrollable events with more vigorous efforts to assert control than type B's. More importantly, the findings provided the first evidence that (1) the initial response to loss of control of type A and type B boys parallels that of their adult counterparts; and (2) the boys' response to the salience of the task is similar to that of their adult counterparts. Implications of the children's responses to uncontrollable events for the maintenance of type A behavior into adulthood and for the etiology of heart disease are discussed.     

色彩"缤纷"--谈英语中一些颜色词的习惯用法

英语中表述颜色的词,在使用时有其特定的意义."Red"的惯用法有5项,表示"发怒、警报"等."Yellow"有2项,表示"胆小、庸俗小报"."Green"有3项,表示"幼稚、妒嫉"等."Blue"有3项,表示"忧郁、不正派"北等."Purple"有2项,表示"贵族或皇室、生气的脸色"."Black"有6项,含义最为丰富.表示"写得明明白白、伤感"等."White"有5项,表示"面色惨白、懦弱"等."Brown"有2项,表示"深入思考、做事尽善尽美".要研究这些用法的含义.     

Proximate regulation by mothers: a demonstration of how differing styles affect young children's behavior

An earlier observational study of mothers and toddlers in the supermarket revealed differential success of 2 styles of maternal behavior. A proactive style of preempting opportunities for misbehavior, in contrast to a reactive style of responding only after misbehavior occurred, was correlated with a lower incidence of undesirable child acts. Here, the 2 styles were studied in the laboratory to explore their function further. In an analog of the supermarket situation, mothers behaved proactively and reactively in trials in which the task was to prevent their 2- or 3-year-old children from playing with desirable toys. Children responded to proactive behavior by engaging in acceptable behaviors longer and by violating fewer rules. The 2-year-old children were less able to comply with the rules. The data illustrate the role parents play in promoting and supporting the development of compliance and self-regulation in children.     

Learning to look in the right place: a comparison of attentional behavior in deaf children with deaf and hearing mothers

Eleven 18-month-old children with profound prelingual hearing loss were video-recorded in a free-play session with their mothers. Five of the mothers were profoundly deaf and fluent users of British Sign Language (BSL) or Auslan. The other six were hearing and had enrolled in a signing program. Ten-minute segments from each session were analyzed to determine the number of switches in attention shown by each child. Switches in attention were subdivided into three categories: spontaneous (where the child spontaneously looked to the mother); responsive (where the child responded to some maternal action such as moving an object); and elicited (where the mother made a direct attempt to gain the child's attention. Failed attempts to gain attention were also noted. A comparison of deaf and hearing mothers revealed no difference in the proportion of spontaneous or responsive switches in attention shown by their children. Responsive switches were by far the most frequent category for both groups, but these most commonly focused on objects and did not provide an opportunity for maternal signing. Successful perception of signing typically followed from spontaneous or elicited attentional switches. Deaf mothers were generally more insistent on their children turning to look at them, and they were more successful in eliciting attentional switches although they also had more failed attempts. These overall differences between the two groups were overshadowed by large individual differences within the groups. Within the sample there were both deaf and hearing mothers who achieved successful signed communication with their children.     

Conversational styles of mothers with different value priorities: Comparing Estonian mothers in Estonia and Sweden

The present study’s aim was to compare the conversational style and value preferences of mothers in Estonian families living in Estonia and Sweden. Early adolescent children (10 to 13 years old) and their mothers were videotaped at their homes during mealtime. All regulatory utterances were identified, and differentiated into two groups depending on whether their aim was to control behavior or elicit talk. Attempting to link the hypothesized socio-cultural variation in regulatory speech to a broader belief system, a number of questionnaire items on values from the Schwartz’s Value Survey (Schwartz & Bilsky, 1987) were administered to the mothers. As expected, the analyses revealed differences in the conversational intentions of the Estonian-speaking mothers living in two different countries. Mothers in Estonia were significantly more concerned with controlling early adolescents’ behavior than mothers in Sweden. Responses to value items supported the real-life findings, showing that mothers in Sweden valued significantly higher the value domains of Achievement and Self-direction than mothers in Estonia.     

高校大学生网络使用与满足行为研究

本文试图通过对大学生网络使用动机、满足程度、影响效应以及再使用行为进行分析,力求寻找出学生成长、网络影响和教育效果联动关系,探索出符合学生心理特点和使用需求的教育方式。     

Acoustic Characteristics of Naturally Occurring Cries of Infants with Colic

Although infantile colic has long been defined by a perceived excessive amount of crying, acoustic attributes of the cry sound may also contribute to perceptions that this early social behavior is excessive or problematic. From an original sample of 76 infants (38 infants referred to physicians for problematic crying, or colic, and 38 pair-matched comparison infants), 48 infants who produced naturally occurring cry bouts both before and after an evening feeding were studied: 11 infants with Wessel's colic, 15 infants with non-Wessel's colic, and 22 comparison infants. Standard and vociferous cry segments were selected from up to 2 min of tape-recorded crying for spectrum analysis. Vociferous cry segments had a longer duration, a higher fundamental frequency, and a greater percentage of dysphonation than did standard segments. No differences between infant groups were found in cries before feeding. After feeding, infants who were problematic criers, independent of Wessel's criteria, showed a greater percentage of dysphonation in the vociferous cry segment than did comparison infants. This finding resulted from a decrease in dysphonation in the cries of comparison infants after feeding and an increase in those of infants with non-Wessel's colic. The dominant frequency also increased after feeding in the vociferous cries of infants with Wessel's colic, resulting in these infants having higher-pitched cries after feeding than infants in the other 2 groups. Results indicate that infants who are perceived to have problematic crying have objectively different acoustic features in their cry sounds that are particularly aversive, and that complaints about excessive crying cannot be accounted for simply on the basis of reporting bias in overly concerned or emotionally labile parents.     

The effects of personality types and communication/behavior styles of single parent mothers on their male children

Problems confronting single mothers in their relationships with their sons is challenging. Among the factors affecting this relationship are the dualities relating to personality types as described by the Myer-Briggs Type Indicator and the Communication/Behavioral Styles as described by the Gregorc Style Delineator. These instruments and their findings are discussed in the paper.The paper also looks at the problem that can arise in a relationship caused by the dynamics in different personality types and communication/behavior styles. Specific emphasis is given to the single mother-son relationship. Such dynamics as the effects of strong dominant types or styles on the relationship, differences and similarities in types and styles, the effects of the lack of significant male models in a child's life are also discussed.     

Developmental Attainment of Infants and Young Children with Down Syndrome

INFANTS and young children with Down syndrome who were living at home and attending exemplary early intervention programs were assessed by trained examiners in the five domains of the Battelle Developmental Inventory. Data was compared to the 50th percentile attainment and found that infants and young children with Down syndrome are more similar to other children in Personal Social and Adaptive Domains and less similar in Communication and Cognitive Domains. These differences begin to show more dramatically as the child reaches the age of 36 months. The older the child the greater the measured differences. Documenting and understanding this uneven developmental path is significant in program planning.