The Effects of Using Different Procedures to Score Maze Measures

The purpose of this study was to examine how different scoring procedures affect interpretation of maze curriculum‐based measurements. Fall and spring data were collected from 199 students receiving supplemental reading instruction. Maze probes were scored first by counting all correct maze choices, followed by four scoring variations designed to reduce the effect of random guessing. Pearson's r correlation coefficients were calculated among scoring procedures and between maze scores and a standardized measure of reading. In addition, t tests were conducted to compare fall to spring growth for each scoring procedure. Results indicated that scores derived from the different procedures are highly correlated, demonstrate criterion‐related validity, and show fall‐to‐spring growth. Educators working with struggling readers may use any of the five scoring procedures to obtain technically sound scores.     

An Application of an Innovative Cost-Benefit Analysis Tool for Determining the Implementation Costs and Public Safety Benefits of SORNA with Educational Implications for Criminology and Criminal Justice

Sex offending is a considerable public health and criminal justice system concern. While the research is fairly mixed at best with most pointing toward a general lack of an appreciable deterrent benefit for these polices, no prior evaluation has made a rigorous attempt to determine and define the vast array of implementation costs and public safety benefits of these policies, specifically the Sex Offender and Registration and Notification Act (SORNA). As such, our proposed research strategy involves the development and application of an innovative Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) tool. The results from this innovative and dynamic CBA tool with hypothetical data suggests that the 10-year financial benefit for SORNA ranges from $1.01 to $3.91 for every dollar spent when considering the reduction in sex crime specifically, and any crime more generally. This tool holds promise as a mechanism for generating jurisdiction/site-specific cost-benefit analyses. Policy implications are also discussed.     

The Development and Validation of the eHealth Competency Scale: A Measurement of Self-Efficacy,Knowledge, Usage,and Motivation

The purpose of this study is to construct and validate a scale of electronic health (e-health) communication competence. Based on a comprehensive review of e-health literature, this scale was constructed using two studies to gather data and validate the scale; four dimensions emerged in the final measurement: e-health self-efficacy, knowledge, usage, and motivation. Results suggest the e-health competence scale is useful for researchers to develop online health interventions and other domains of computer-mediated communication.     

School psychology students' perceptions of their practicum experiences

We surveyed a national sample of 139 school psychology students to better understand their perceptions of their practicum experiences. Specifically, we examined the students' reports of the types of activities in which they engage during practicum experiences and their perceptions of their school‐based supervisors' activities. This information is potentially important as school psychology engages in a paradigm shift. Although most school psychology programs may teach students the proposed new and expanded roles, it is unclear whether field‐based experiences are congruent with such university‐based training. Results indicate that students spent the majority of their practicum time in assessment‐related activities. They were generally satisfied with their practicum experience and supervisor, although many knew little about the range of their supervisor's activities. Most field‐based practicum supervisors appeared to provide limited modeling of new and expanded roles. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 43: 727–736, 2006.     

Childbirth education for multiple pregnancy: part 1: prenatal considerations

Women with a multiple pregnancy have unique learning needs in preparing for birth. This paper explores the issues relevant to women with a multiple pregnancy to support a positive birth experience. One of the foundations of childbirth education and nursing care is to provide the individual woman and her family with knowledge regarding the birth process, what to expect, and how to cope with labor and birth. Education also focuses on caring for the newborns after birth and how to manage in the early days at home. However, traditional childbirth education classes, which meet in a series of evenings or Saturdays, may not meet the needs of women with a multiple pregnancy. In addition, because of the differences in care that exist for women with a multiple pregnancy, new paradigms for childbirth education are needed to meet the learning needs of these families. The purpose of this paper is to provide information to the childbirth educator on the differences in care women with a multiple pregnancy can expect and to suggest strategies to meet the childbirth education needs of these families.     

A Complex Systems Network Approach to Quantifying Peer Effects: Evidence From Ghanaian Preprimary Classrooms

Research on classroom peer effects has focused nearly exclusively on high-income countries and on academic skills. Little is known about peer effects in low-income countries and whether effects differ under different educational environments (e.g., teacher-directed versus child-centered, conditions of concentrated advantage or disadvantage). Based on a data set of Ghanaian preprimary classrooms in the Greater Accra Region collected in the 2015–2016 school year, we use complex system networks with multilevel modeling to study the presence and magnitude of peer effects. Results corroborated small statistically significant effects on academic and nonacademic skills (d = .06–.10). Peer effects on literacy were larger for children in public schools, who are relatively more disadvantaged than their private school counterparts. Teacher-directivity intensity did not moderate peer effects.     

Trajectories of perinatal depressive symptoms in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic

This study sought to advance understanding of the potential long-term consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic for child development by characterizing trajectories of maternal perinatal depression, a common and significant risk factor for adverse child outcomes. Data came from 393 women (86% White, 8% Latina; mean age = 33.51 years) recruited during pregnancy (n = 247; mean gestational age = 22.94 weeks) or during the first year postpartum (n = 146; mean child age = 4.50 months; 55% female). Rates of depression appear elevated, relative to published reports and to a pre-pandemic comparison group (N = 155). This study also provides evidence for subgroups of individuals who differ in their depressive symptom trajectories over the perinatal period. Subgroup membership was related to differences in maternal social support, but not to child birth outcomes.     

Barriers to the Success of Affirmative Consent Initiatives: An Application of the Social Ecological Model

ABSTRACT

In response to evidence that one in five college women are sexually assaulted, institutions of higher education have started adopting affirmative consent policies. Affirmative consent must be voluntarily and explicitly communicated—verbally or nonverbally. A recently published article highlighted barriers to the success of affirmative consent initiatives at the intrapersonal level. To extend this discussion, we identified barriers at each level of the Social Ecological Model. In our commentary, we discuss social determinants that are particularly relevant for campus sexual assault. There are elements in young people's micro-, meso-, exo-, and macrosystems that hinder their adoption of affirmative consent practices. We focus on gender as an aspect of the macrosystem that is a formidable barrier to the success of affirmative consent initiatives, influencing each of the other levels. Finally, we discuss how sexuality education might begin to address the social determinants of sexual assault.     

Sequential Associations Between Caregiver Talk and Child Play in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

This study examined sequential associations between child play and caregiver talk in 98 caregiver–child dyads (M_{mental age} = 14 months). Fifty dyads included a child with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Analyses revealed sequential associations between child play and caregiver follow‐in (FI) utterances (utterances related to the child's attentional focus) were stronger in the ASD as compared to the typically developing (TD) group. FI utterances were more likely to elicit functional play than caregiver‐focused utterances, and more so in the ASD group. Across groups, FI directives were more likely to elicit functional play than FI comments. These findings have important implications for research involving caregiver–child play as an early intervention context for children with ASD.     

Web Sites that Address Gestational Diabetes and Perinatal Obesity

Obesity contributes to multiple health problems during pregnancy and predisposes a woman to develop gestational diabetes. This column reviews the currently best Web sites that address gestational diabetes and obesity during the perinatal period.