1972 Revision of the Stanford-Binet: A farewell to the mental age

Inspection of the 1972 revised norms for the Stanford-Binet demonstrate that the average mental age for a particular CA no longer numerically corresponds to that CA. Thus, mental ages derived from the test cannot any longer be interpreted as mental ages. A table of test ages based on the 1972 norms is provided.     

Behavioral and emotional strength-based assessment of Finnish elementary students: psychometrics of the BERS-2

When rating scales are used in different countries, thorough investigation of the psychometric properties is needed. We examined the internal structure of the Finnish translated Behavioral and Emotional Rating Scale-2 (BERS-2) using Rasch and confirmatory factor analysis approaches with a sample of youth, parents, and teachers. The results suggested that the Finnish translated BERS-2 has acceptable measurement properties and is suitable for use in Finnish schools. Results highlighted the issue that there is a need to consider cross-cultural aspects when introducing new measures in another culture. Directions for future research are also discussed in light of present findings.     

Hemoglobin, growth, and attention of infants in southern Ethiopia

Male and female infants from rural Ethiopia were tested to investigate relations among hemoglobin (Hb), anthropometry, and attention. A longitudinal design was used to examine differences in attention performance from 6 (M = 24.9 weeks, n = 89) to 9 months of age (M = 40.6 weeks, n = 85), differences hypothesized to be related to changes in iron status and growth delays. Stunting (length‐for‐age z scores < ?2.0) and attention performance, t(30) = ?2.42, p = .022, worsened over time. Growth and Hb predicted attention at 9 months, R² = .15, p < .05, but not at 6. The study contributes to the knowledge base concerning the relations among Hb, early growth, and attention.     

The British University Grants Committee 1919–83: Changing relationships with government and the universities

Since its creation in 1919 the University Grants Committee (UGC) has been seen in Britain and many other countries as a model piece of machinery for channelling funds from Government to universities. Over these 60 years there have been many changes and fluctuations in its relationships both with Government and universities, and its effectiveness has varied, depending on the circumstances of the period.Up till World War II the UGC achieved its purpose of serving as a buffer or shock absorber (UGC, 1968). These metaphors picture a largely reactive body responding to initiatives either by Government or the universities. After the Second World War there were calls for the UGC to play a more positive role in university development and national planning and its terms of reference were changed. The UGC's response to this change has been variable and only in the period post 1979 has it consistently played the broader role envisaged for it in 1946 although its rhetoric claimed this role for it in the 1960s. This more active role in the 1980s has brought mixed reactions: more respect from the Government but more criticism from the universities.Insofar as this criticism relates to the processes used by the UGC during its selective retrenchment activities (1981–83), these could be improved by a strengthened UGC; insofar as the criticisms relate to the basic idea of a committee composed primarily of academics apparently aiding and abetting a Government's policy to cut back higher education, the future viability of the UGC idea itself is called into question.Another variable in the UGC's future is connected with the recently created National Advisory Board for Local Authority Higher Education (NAB). Discussions have ranged widely over the future options for the coordination of higher education: a merger of the two bodies, their separate development or creation of an overarching body over both sectors and their respective agencies. For the moment, however, the continued existence of the UGC represents an extraordinary example of institutional longevity over a period when immense changes have occurred in British society, the machinery of Government, and the British education system.     

Development of angle concepts by progressive abstraction and generalisation

This paper presents a new theory of the development of angle concepts. It is proposed that children progressively recognise deeper and deeper similarities between their physical angle experiences and classify them firstly into specific situations, then into more general contexts, and finally into abstract domains. An angle concept is abstracted from each class at each stage of development. We call the most general angle concept the standard angle concept. To investigate the role of the standard abstract angle concept in conceptual development, 192 children from Grades 2 to 8 were tested to find how they used it in modelling 9 physical angle situations and in expressing similarities between them. It was found that the standard angle concept first develops in situations where both arms of the angle are visible. Even at Grade 8, there are still significant proportions of students who do not use standard angles to represent turning and sloping situations. Implications for theory and practice are explored.This revised version was published online in September 2005 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Examining the developmental trajectories of adolescent sexual offenders

The aim of the current study was to assess the validity of the sex-plus versus sex-only categorization method for distinguishing between different types of adolescent sex offenders (ASOs; Butler & Seto, 2002). It is hypothesized that this categorization method has utility when attempting to distinguish between generalist and specialist ASOs (Seto & Pullman, 2014). Additionally, further classification of ASOs was attempted using a well known juvenile delinquency classification scheme, early-onset versus late-onset offenders (Moffitt, 1993). The current study was an archival analysis of clinical files from a sample of 158 male ASOs seen for clinical assessment at a Metropolitan Family Court Clinic. Results indicate that sex-plus offenders are more antisocial, exhibit more psychiatric issues, and have greater deficits in general social skills compared to sex-only offenders. Conversely, sex-only offenders were found to have more atypical sexual interests, and were more likely to have greater deficits in romantic relationships compared to sex-plus offenders. Due to a power related limitation, little support was found for the use of the early-onset versus late-onset classification scheme with ASOs. Overall, these results provide further support to the validity of a sex-only versus sex-plus distinction. Given these results mirror those found in the generalist/specialist literature regarding the etiology of ASOs, sex-only and sex-plus offenders may indeed have different etiological pathways: sex-plus offenders are more driven by general antisociality factors, as the generalist perspective suggests, and sex-only offenders are more driven by special factors, as the specialist explanations suggest.     

Body Dissatisfaction in College Women: Identification of Risk and Protective Factors to Guide College Counseling Practices

This study attempted to identify risk factors that are implicated in the body dissatisfaction of college women and the factors that may facilitate effective prevention and treatment efforts. Data collected from 215 female college students indicated that participants with (a) greater physical self‐concept, (b) less drive for thinness, and (c) greater social self‐esteem manifested less body dissatisfaction.