Paid maternal leave is associated with infant brain function at 3 months of age

The first months of life are critical for establishing neural connections relevant for social and cognitive development. Yet, the United States lacks a national policy of paid family leave during this important period of brain development. This study examined associations between paid leave and infant electroencephalography (EEG) at 3 months in a sociodemographically diverse sample of families from New York City (N = 80; 53 males; 48% Latine; data collection occurred 05/2018–12/2019). Variable-centered regression results indicate that paid leave status was related to differences in EEG power (ps < .02, R²s > .12). Convergent results from person-centered latent profile analyses demonstrate that mothers with paid leave were 7.39 times as likely to have infants with EEG profiles characterized by increased higher-Hz power (95% CI, 1.9–36.9), potentially reflecting more mature patterns of brain activity.     

Vocabulary limitations undermine bilingual children’s reading comprehension despite bilingual cognitive strengths

Reading and Writing - Previous research reported bilingual cognitive strengths in working memory, executive function and novel-word learning skills (Bialystok in Psychol Bull 143:233–262,...     

Genetic Determinism in the Genetics Curriculum

Twenty-first-century biology rejects genetic determinism, yet an exaggerated view of the power of genes in the making of bodies and minds remains a problem. What accounts for such tenacity? This article reports an exploratory study suggesting that the common reliance on Mendelian examples and concepts at the start of teaching in basic genetics is an eliminable source of support for determinism. Undergraduate students who attended a standard ‘Mendelian approach’ university course in introductory genetics on average showed no change in their determinist views about genes. By contrast, students who attended an alternative course which, inspired by the work of a critic of early Mendelism, W. F. R. Weldon (1860–1906), replaced an emphasis on Mendel’s peas with an emphasis on developmental contexts and their role in bringing about phenotypic variability, were less determinist about genes by the end of teaching. Improvements in both the new Weldonian curriculum and the study design are in view for the future.     

THE USE OF THE BASC‐2 FOR THE IDENTIFICATION OF FEMALE ADOLESCENTS AT RISK FOR DEVELOPING AN EATING DISORDER

Eating disorders, disordered eating, and body dissatisfaction prevalence rates are on the rise among adolescent females. The present study examined the potential use of a commonly used social–emotional instrument, the Behavior Assessment System for Children‐Second Edition (BASC‐2), for detecting the presence of possible eating disorders in adolescent females in a school setting. Participants included 65 female adolescents aged 13 to 17 years from Midwestern public middle and high schools. The Eating Disorder Inventory‐Third Edition was used to determine eating disorder risk and level of body dissatisfaction. Those adolescents at risk for developing an eating disorder differed significantly on 12 of the 16 BASC‐2 scales, whereas four of these scales were also in the clinically significant range according to the BASC‐2 normative sample. A common profile of a female adolescent at risk for developing an eating disorder was explored. Implications of the findings and recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Girls in residential care: From child maltreatment to trauma-related symptoms in emerging adulthood

The current study examined the association between child maltreatment and trauma-related symptoms in emerging adulthood – over and above the incidence of such symptoms and conduct problems during adolescence – among a sample of female adolescents in residential care. This study used data from a longitudinal study. The sample was composed of 89 adolescent females who were first interviewed at time of admission in a residential center (M_age = 15.33 years, SD = 1.31) and later in young adulthood (M_age = 19.27, SD = 1.55). At time 1, trauma-related symptoms were assessed with the Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children and conduct problems with a composite measure. At time 2, child maltreatment was assessed retrospectively with the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, and trauma-related symptoms were reassessed with the Trauma Symptom Inventory-2. Results indicated that child maltreatment, especially emotional abuse and neglect, was related to anxious arousal, depression, and anger in emerging adulthood. This study showed that females from our sample often reported different types of maltreatment during childhood and that these traumatic experiences were significantly associated with poor adult psychological functioning.     

Negative video as structure: Emotion,attention, capacity,and memory

This paper uses a limited capacity information processing theory of television viewing to investigate the effects of graphic negative video at four levels of processing (attention, capacity, encoding, and retrieval) and on two dimensions of emotional experience (arousal and valence). Results indicate that the presence of negative video in news stories increases attention, increases the amount of capacity required to process the message, increases the ability to retrieve the story, facilitates recognition of information presented during the negative video and inhibits recognition for information presented before the negative video. Results also indicate that the introduction of negative video increases the self‐reported negative emotional impact of the story — making it more arousing and more negative.     

Responding to Change on TV: How Viewer-Controlled Changes in Content Differ From Programmed Changes in Content

Two experiments explored differences in television viewers' responses to viewer-controlled and producer-controlled content changes. Viewers in both studies could change channels among 4 different newscasts. Orienting, sympathetic activation, cognitive effort, and recognition were compared in the moments following both channel changes (viewer control) and cuts (producer control). Neither channel changes nor cuts elicited orienting. Sympathetic activation was higher following channel changes, while cognitive effort was higher following cuts. In 1 experiment, recognition accuracy was higher after a cut than it was after a channel change. These results inform how the exertion of control over media content alters psychological processing.     

A Way Forward: Nurturing the Imagination at the Intersection of Race,Class, Gender,and Age

Those who are oppressed often find themselves internalizing voices that limit their ability. This article focuses on a population that falls on the non-hegemonic side of the intersection of race, class, gender, and age: Black girls from poor and working-class backgrounds. From my work with youth, I have noticed that internalizing these limiting voices lead to a sense of personal hopelessness. I suggest that Christian educators combat personal hopelessness by nurturing the theological imagination of their youth.     

OTseeker helps library and allied health professionals to find quality evidence efficiently

Background: Research is essential for evidence‐based practice yet many health professionals do not have enough time to find research. Studies relevant to occupational therapists can be particularly difficult to find. Most search engines are broad and return a large number of irrelevant articles. Occupational Therapy Systematic Evaluation of Evidence (OTseeker) is an occupational therapy database available at http://www.otseeker.com . Developed by Australian occupational therapists, the resource aims to increase access to research and support clinical decision making. This discipline‐specific database contains pre‐appraised information from a variety of sources and decreases the time required to locate best evidence. Objectives: The aims of this paper are to: (i) describe how health librarians can use OTseeker to help allied health students, researchers and practitioners, particularly in occupational therapy, to find quality evidence; (ii) provide a teaching resource for health librarians based around the OTseeker evidence database; and (iii) highlight new features contained on the OTseeker database. Methods: A case study is provided which focuses on searching for evidence on the effectiveness of upper limb rehabilitation after stroke using OTseeker. Conclusion: This paper may increase the knowledge, skills and competencies of health librarians, helping them to access evidence‐based databases, and educate other professionals.