A Hypothetical Learning Progression for Quantifying Phenomena in Science

In this article, we report on a three-pronged effort to create a hypothetical learning progression for quantification in science. First, we drew from history and philosophy of science to define the quantification competency and develop hypothetical levels of the learning progression. More specifically, the quantification competency refers to the ability to analyze phenomena through (a) abstracting relevant measurable variables from phenomena and observations, (b) investigating the mathematical relationships among the variables, and (c) conceptualizing scientific ideas that explain the mathematical relationships. The quantification learning progression contains four levels of increasing sophistication: level 1, holistic observation; level 2, attributes; level 3, measurable variables; and level 4, relational complexity. Second, we analyzed the practices in the Next Generation Science Standards for current, largely tacit, assumptions about how quantification develops (or ought to develop) through K-12 education. While several pieces of evidence support the learning progression, we found that quantification was described inconsistently across practices. Third, we used empirical student data from a field test of items in physical and life sciences to illustrate qualitative differences in student thinking that align with levels in the hypothetical learning progression for quantification. By generating a hypothetical learning progression for quantification, we lay the groundwork for future standards development efforts to include this key practice and provide guidance for curriculum developers and instructors in helping students develop robust scientific understanding.

     

Developing academic talent as a practicing school psychologist: From potential to expertise

In this article, we explore how school psychologists who adopt a talent development perspective can play a larger role in cultivating the talent of academically gifted students. Utilizing the talent development megamodel and Ackerman's model of expertise, we outline how school psychologists can consult with school administrators, teachers, and parents to meet the general and domain-specific academic needs of academically gifted students at home and in school. In addition, we discuss how school psychologists can leverage systems of assessment (e.g., universal screening, continued assessment) to identify academically gifted students across academic talent trajectories as well as provide students with multiple opportunities to exhibit their academic talents. We conclude by highlighting some diversity and multi-cultural considerations that school psychologists should keep in mind while developing academic talent, as well as a policy implication of school psychologists adopting a talent development approach to their work.     

Longitudinal trajectories of self-system processes and depressive symptoms among maltreated and nonmaltreated children

This study used latent growth modeling to investigate longitudinal relationships between self-system processes and depressive symptoms among maltreated (n = 142) and nonmaltreated children (n = 109) aged 6-11 years. On average, self-esteem and self-agency increased and depressive symptoms decreased over time. Multivariate growth modeling indicated that, regardless of gender, physical abuse was negatively related to initial levels of self-esteem, and physical abuse and physical neglect were positively associated with initial levels of depressive symptoms. Emotional maltreatment was predictive of changes in self-esteem and changes in depressive symptoms. Initial levels of self-esteem were negatively associated with initial levels of depressive symptoms. The findings contribute to enhancing our understanding of the developmental processes whereby early maltreatment experiences are linked to later maladjustment.     

Tracing the Cascade of Children’s Insecurity in the Interparental Relationship: The Role of Stage‐Salient Tasks

This study examined whether children’s difficulties with stage‐salient tasks served as an explanatory mechanism in the pathway between their insecurity in the interparental relationship and their disruptive behavior problems. Using a multimethod, multi‐informant design, 201 two‐year‐old children and their mothers participated in 3 annual measurement occasions. Structural equation modeling analyses indicated that coder ratings of children’s insecure responses to interparental conflict from a maternal interview predicted observer ratings of their difficulties with stage‐salient tasks (i.e., emotion regulation, autonomy, resourceful problem solving) 1 year later after controlling for initial stage‐salient task performance. Stage‐salient task difficulties, in turn, predicted experimenter reports of children’s behavior problems 1 year later. Associations remained robust in the broader context of other pathways hypothesized in prevailing developmental cascade models.     

Child compliance/noncompliance and maternal contributors to internalization in maltreating and nonmaltreating dyads

Moral development in maltreated and nonmaltreated children was examined by coding child compliance and noncompliance behaviors in a mother-child interaction during a cleanup situation that followed a semistructured free play. Features of child compliance/noncompliance involve a shift from reliance on external controls to internal mechanisms, thereby reflecting child internalization of the maternal agenda. Differences in maltreating versus comparison mothers' use of control strategies (power-assertive and inductive techniques) and their relations to child internalization were examined. Eighty-nine mother-child dyads participated; approximately half of the children (n = 46) had documented histories of maltreatment and the remaining children (n = 43) were nonmaltreated, demographically similar comparison children. Maltreated children were divided into two subgroups: physically abused and neglected. Compared with nonmaltreated children, abused children were found to exhibit less internalization, whereas neglected children displayed significantly more negative affect. No differences were found between groups for the maternal control strategies. However, maltreated and nonmaltreated groups differed in the maternal variables that predicted child internalization. A lower level of maternal negative affect was linked to child internalization in maltreated children, whereas a lower level of maternal joy predicted internalization for the comparison children. The findings suggest that maltreated children exhibit both behavioral and affective differences in their moral development, with differential effects based on the type of maltreatment. The clinical implications for maltreated children's self and moral development are discussed.     

Dissociation in maltreated versus nonmaltreated preschool-aged children.

OBJECTIVE: Dissociation is linked to the experience of child maltreatment for adults and for school-aged children. The goals of the current paper were: First, to extend existing research and examine the link between child maltreatment and preschool-aged children; and second, to examine which subgroups of maltreated preschoolers are most likely to evidence dissociation. METHOD: A well-validated measure of dissociation in children, The Child Dissociative Checklist (CDC; Putnam, Helmers, & Trickett, 1993), was utilized in a sample of low SES maltreated and nonmaltreated preschoolers (N = 198). A measure of internalizing and externalizing symptoms was also utilized. The maltreated children were assessed for sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, and also for severity, chronicity, and multiple subtypes of maltreatment. RESULTS: The sexually abused, physically abused, and neglected groups each demonstrated more dissociation than did the nonmaltreated group. Dissociation in the clinical (psychopathological) range was associated with physical abuse. Moreover, maltreatment severity, chronicity, multiple subtypes, and internalizing and externalizing symptomatology were each related to dissociation. CONCLUSIONS: Child maltreatment is a factor in dissociation in preschool-aged children as it is in older children and in adults. Sexual abuse, physical abuse, neglect, severity, and chronicity are all implicated. Developmentally sensitive interventions that look beyond comorbidity with behavioral symptoms for dissociative preschool-aged children are needed.     

Self-concept, motivation, and competence among preschoolers from maltreating and comparison families

Maltreated children are at risk for impaired cognitive and school functioning. In this study, the role that home environment, self-concept, and mastery motivation play in this relation was investigated. Thirty-six preschool children and their mothers, representing three family backgrounds (12 low-income maltreating, 12 low-income comparison, 12 middle-income comparison), were assessed in a preschool/home study. Children from maltreating families scored lower than their peers on several measures of cognitive and physical competence and on ratings of motivation. At the same time, these children significantly overrated their physical competence, and self-ratings of competence and acceptance tended to be higher (and less realistic) than those of their low-income peers. An overall difference in developmental quality of the home environment of maltreating families was largely accounted for by socioeconomic status (SES), but the tendency of these homes to be less clean and safe remained significant even after SES was controlled. Various aspects of the home environment were associated with superior task performance, but not with motivation or self-perceptions. Whereas the general home environment may affect competence, relationship factors implicated in maltreatment may be more important in shaping self-concept and motivation.     

Salivary biomarker levels and diurnal variation: associations with medications prescribed to control children's problem behavior

This study examined associations between medications prescribed to control children's problem behaviors and levels of, and diurnal variation in, salivary cortisol (C), testosterone (T), and dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA). Saliva was collected in the morning, midday, and afternoon from 432 children ages 6-13 years. Relative to a no-medication comparison group, children taking (1) antipsychotics had higher DHEA levels and flat C diurnal rhythms, (2) Ritalin or Adderall had flat T diurnal rhythms, (3) Concerta had higher T and DHEA levels, (4) antidepressants had flat DHEA diurnal rhythms, and (5) hypotensives had flat DHEA diurnal rhythms and higher T levels. Medications prescribed to control children's problem behaviors should be monitored in studies of the endocrine correlates and consequences of developmental psychopathology.     

Can Maltreated Children Inhibit True and False Memories for Emotional Information?

The authors examined 284 maltreated and nonmaltreated children's (6- to 12-year-olds) ability to inhibit true and false memories for neutral and emotional information using the Deese/Roediger-McDermott (DRM) paradigm. Children studied either emotional or neutral DRM lists in a control condition or were given directed-remembering or directed-forgetting instructions. The findings indicated that children, regardless of age and maltreatment status, could inhibit the output of true and false emotional information, although they did so less effectively than when they were inhibiting the output of neutral material. Verbal IQ was related to memory, but dissociative symptoms were not related to children's recollective ability. These findings add to the growing literature that shows more similarities among, than differences between, maltreated and nonmaltreated children's basic memory processes.