Validity of alternative approaches for the identification of learning disabilities: operationalizing unexpected underachievement

This article reviews the validity of models based on (a) aptitude-achievement discrepancies, (b) low achievement, (c) intraindividual differences, and (d) response to instruction for the classification and identification of learning disabilities (LD). Models based on aptitude-achievement discrepancies and intraindividual differences showed little evidence of discriminant validity. Low achievement models had stronger discriminant validity but do not adequately assess the most significant component of the LD construct, unexpected underachievement. All three of these status models have limited reliability because of their reliance on a measurement at a single time point. Models that incorporate response to instruction have stronger reliability and validity but cannot represent the sole criterion for LD identification. Hybrid models combining low achievement and response to instruction most clearly capture the LD construct and have the most direct relation to instruction. The assessment of students for LD must reflect a stronger underlying classification that takes into account relations with other developmental disorders as well as the reliability and validity of the underlying classification and resultant identification system.     

LITERACY AND ELDERS: WHAT WE KNOW AND WHAT WE NEED TO KNOW

Little research has been done on the literacy needs and interests of elders. Consequently, many programs of literacy training for elders are based upon inadequate and inaccurate information. The authors review recent literature about literacy and the aged and offer some suggestions for future investigations. They maintain that there is a need for empirical research into the perceptions of reading and writing held by the elderly themselves. Specifically, this research should: (1) assess the reading/writing needs and interests of the elderly; and (2) examine what effect societal expectations of the elderly have on their reading/writing behavior and interests.     

Characterizing and comparing the friendships of anxious-solitary and unsociable preadolescents

Friendships matter for withdrawn youth because the consequences of peer isolation are severe. From a normative sample of 2,437 fifth graders (1,245 females; M age = 10.25), a subset (n = 1,364; 638 female) was classified into 3 groups (anxious-solitary, unsociable, comparison) and followed across a school year. Findings indicated that it was more common for unsociable than anxious-solitary children to have friends, be stably friended, and participate in multiple friendships. For withdrawn as well as nonwithdrawn children, peer rejection predicted friendlessness, but this relation was strongest for anxious-solitary children. The friends of unsociable youth were more accepted by peers than those of anxious-solitary youth. The premise that friendship inhibits peer victimization was substantiated for withdrawn as well as nonwithdrawn youth.     

Haptoglobin Polymorphism and Association with Complications in Ghanaian Type 2 Diabetic Patients

There is scanty information on the role of genetic factors, especially those relating to haptoglobin (Hp) phenotypes in the expression of complications among diabetes mellitus patients in Ghana. In this study, we investigated whether there is any association between Hp phenotypes and diabetic complications and to determine if association of the Hp phenotypes with diabetic complications in Ghanaian diabetics differ from those in Caucasians. A total of 398 participants were randomly recruited into the study. These comprised diabetic patients numbering 290 attending a diabetes Clinic in Ghana and 108 non-diabetic controls from the same community. Analyses of the results indicate that most of the diabetics with complications were of the Hp 2–2 (35%) and Hp 2–1 (23.9%) phenotypes. Fewer diabetics were found to be of the Hp 2–1 M phenotype. The controls were mostly of Hp 1–1 and Hp 2–1 M phenotypes. The odds ratio of having complications in a diabetic with an Hp 2–2 phenotype was 18.27 times greater than that for Hp 0–0. Hp 2–2 phenotype with its poor antioxidant activity may therefore be a useful predictor for the propensity of an individual to develop diabetes complications.     

Cognitive implications of learning to read

This paper explores possible cognitive consequences of the experience of learning to read. Whilst it is written mostly with young learners in Europe and N. America in mind, much may also bear on the experience of learning later in life and in different cultural contexts. The perspective is intentionally broad, recognizing that literacy has complex social and personal significance and arguing that the conditions of learning combine with the degree of technical mastery to affect thinking powers and conceptions of language, of learning, and of authority. Reference is made to existing literature on learning to read, but much of the argument opens up issues for further exploration rather than demonstrating effects with any certainty.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN BIBLE READING AND ATTITUDE TOWARD SUBSTANCE USE AMONG 13-15 YEAR OLDS

The relationship between Bible reading and attitude toward drug use is examined among a sample of 25,888 teenagers, 13-15 year olds, throughout England and Wales. Information about sex, age, personality, belief in God, and church attendance was also considered. The conclusion is that Bible reading makes a small but significant contribution to promoting a negative attitude toward drug use among this age group.