Gaze‐Contingent Display Changes as New Window on Analytical and Holistic Face Perception in Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder

The strength of holistic face perception in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was evaluated by applying the gaze‐contingent mask and window technique to a face matching and discrimination task in 6‐ to 14‐year‐old children with (n = 36) and without ASD (n = 47), and by examining fixation patterns. Behavioral results suggested a slower and less efficient face processing in the ASD sample compared with the matched control group. Comparing the moving mask and window conditions revealed a reduced holistic face processing bias in the younger age group but not in the older sample. Preferential viewing patterns revealed both similarities and differences between both participant groups.     

The effects of early sexual abuse on adult risky sexual behaviors among persons with severe mental illness

OBJECTIVE: There were two aims: first, to examine the relationship between prior sexual abuse and three types of adult risky sexual behaviors [(1) ever traded sex for drugs or money, (2) had unprotected sex in the past 6 months, and (3) frequency of unprotected sex in the past 6 months] among persons with severe mental illness (SMI), and second, to examine the potential mediating effects of adult rape, substance use, and PTSD. METHOD: Using a pooled sample of individuals with SMI (N=609), logistic and negative binomial regression analyses were used to investigate the impact of prior sexual abuse on these adult risky sexual behaviors. RESULTS: Childhood sexual abuse was associated with having ever traded sex for money and having engaged in unprotected sex in the past 6 months. However, childhood sexual abuse was inversely associated with the number of times males had unprotected sex in the past 6 months. Results differed between males and females and the impact of potential mediators also varied by gender and type of outcome studied. CONCLUSION: These findings suggest a complex link between childhood sexual abuse and adult risky sexual behaviors in persons with SMI. Clinical assessments of child abuse sequelae should include a variety of indicators and parameters of adult risky sexual behavior, as persons with SMI are at an increased risk of engaging in high-risk sexual behaviors and tend to have a higher exposure to childhood sexual abuse than does the general population.     

Are we meeting the counselling needs of the student community? A needs assessment involving students on a South African campus

The object of the study was to determine the major needs of students at the University of the Western Cape (U.W.C.). A second aim was to determine how students view the nature of the Centre for Student Counselling (C.S.C.). No needs assessments have previously been done on the U.W.C. campus and this lack of knowledge pertaining to the needs of students could have meant a misdirected focus in terms of the provision of counselling services.The study was done with a representative sample of students from all the year groups. Students were asked to fill in a questionnaire consisting of two parts. In Part I a student had to indicate how prevalent he thought a particular set of problems were on campus. In Part II he had to indicate whether he would have referred a friend to the C.S.C. with a particular problem.The results had indicated that problems were predominantly seen to be in the vocational-academic area and that students were more willing to refer fellow students to the C.S.C. with the above-mentioned problems than with problems of a more personal-social nature. Although the results were to be expected, it was emphasized that vocational-academic problems are often used as a smoke-screen and that counsellors should also be aware of underlying social-emotional problems.     

The Role of Students’ Personality Characteristics, Self-Perceived Competence and Learning Conceptions in the Acquisition and Development of Social Communicative Competence: A Longitudinal Study

An important purpose of higher social work education is to guide students to acquire and develop social-communicative competencies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role students’ personality characteristics, self-perceived communicative competence and learning conceptions play in the acquisition and development of social-communicative competencies. We designed and tested a hypothetical model on the student-related variables – self-perceived communicative competence, learning conceptions and reported learning activities regarding communication – in relation to performance scores. We were interested in developmental trends in the above mentioned variables. We also wanted to gain insight into the relationships among the variables. The study was set up according to a longitudinal, within-subjects design in order to study intra-individual changes. One-hundred and twenty-three first-year social-work students participated in this study. Many changes were found in students characteristics, reported deployed learning activities and study results during their first academic year. Except for confidence in “showing sympathy”, which was already relatively high at the beginning of the study, all scores on aspects of students’ self-perceived social-communicative competence increased. Assessment scores on comparable communication tests also increased significantly. Extraversion and emotional stability were the only two personality characteristics, which seemed rather stable. Agreeableness decreased while autonomy increased continuously during the first academic year. It seemed to be possible to set up a model, which may serve as a starting point for further research into the development of social-communicative competence.     

Peer regulation of teenage sexual identities

This article examines the teenage policing of heterosexuality in schools and contributes to debates about teenage sexual moralities and heterosexual male agency. It reports on a qualitative study in England of the collective sexual values of 12‐ to 13‐year‐olds and 14‐ to 15‐year‐olds. Focus group interviews indicated that pupils developed a consensual sexual morality through collusive sex talk. Homophobic and misogynistic views and verbal abuse were found to be key instruments of teenage peer regulation of sexual identities crossing class and ethnic boundaries. We found that the ‘official’ discourse of sex education did not relate to teenage lives. Anxieties about heterosexual masculinity and girls' sexual agency were conveyed by some boys through verbal sexual harassment—a form of behaviour regarded as intimidating yet normal. While white and Asian boys were more conservative in their views about marriage than girls, white and Asian girls struggled to resist heterosexual masculine power through career aspirations, by questioning marriage and being informed about sexual issues.     

Cognitive Load Theory as a Tool for Expertise Development

This special issue is dedicated to recentdevelopments within cognitive load theory (CLT)and identifies some instructional implicationsof the interaction between informationstructures and cognitive architecture. Thepresent article discusses the different studiesin this special issue. An important conclusionis that recent CLT research recognizes thelearners' level of expertise as an importantfactor mediating the relation between cognitivearchitecture, information structures, andlearning outcomes. In this context, we discussthe role of expertise in CLT research and therole of CLT in expertise research. Based onthis discussion, the use of CLT as a tool todevelop expertise is identified as a verypromising approach.     

The firstborn's adjustment to the birth of a sibling: a longitudinal assessment

41 middle-class families were interviewed at 1 month prepartum and 1, 4, 8, and 12 months after the birth of a second child to assess the reaction and adjustment of firstborn children to this event. Family members were also observed in a semistructured play session in order to obtain information concerning changes in familial interaction patterns. A log linear analysis was conducted to fit a hierarchical model to a 2 (child gender) X 2 (infant gender) X 4 (time of measurement relative to birth of infant) X 2 (presence or absence of problematic regressive behavior) X 14 (type of problematic behavior reported) matrix. A model with 2 statistically significant effects was found to fit the observed frequency matrix quite well, goodness-of-fit (GF) chi 2(312, N = 2,296) = 97.47, p less than .99. This model suggests (1) that the type of response displayed by the firstborns varied as a function of time since the birth; that their initial responses were either imitations of the infant or confrontations with the mother or infant, whereas responses at 4 months postpartum were characterized by numerous anxiety behaviors but fewer imitations or confrontations, and later responses were primarily confrontations with the increasingly intrusive and independent infant; and (2) that a greater frequency of problematic behavior was reported by the mothers of same-sex sibling dyads, especially at the 1- and 8-month postpartum assessments. Observational data indicated that mothers dramatically decreased their interactions with the firstborn children over time but that fathers tended to remain relatively stable in their frequencies of interaction.     

Caught between a rock and a hard place: disruptive boys’ views on mainstream and special schools in New South Wales,Australia

Students with disruptive behaviour in the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW) are increasingly being educated in separate ‘behaviour’ schools. There is however surprisingly little research on how students view these settings, or indeed the mainstream schools from which they were excluded. To better understand excluded students’ current and past educational experiences, we interviewed 33 boys, aged between 9 and 16 years of age, who were enrolled in separate special schools for students with disruptive behaviour. Analyses reveal that the majority of participants began disliking school in the early years due to difficulties with schoolwork and teacher conflict. Interestingly, while most indicated that they preferred the behaviour school, more than half still wanted to return to their old school. It is therefore clear that separate special educational settings are not a solution to disruptive behaviour in mainstream schools. Whilst these settings do fulfil a function for some students, the preferences of the majority of boys suggest that ‘mainstream’ school reform is of first-order importance.     

Peer versus staff tutoring in problem-based learning

Effects of student versus staff tutoring on student learning in a problem-based, health sciences curriculum were studied. Academic achievement of 334 tutorial groups guided by staff tutors was compared with achievement of 400 groups guided by student tutors. In addition, students rated their tutor's performance on four behaviors considered critical to facilitating student learning. Overall, students guided by a staff tutor achieved somewhat better. In terms of practical significance, the difference was, however, fairly small. Staff tutors were rated as more knowledgeable and their contributions as more relevant. In addition, they asked stimulating questions to a larger extent. However, an interaction effect was found between the ratings and the year of study: Peer tutors displayed the supportive behaviors more extensively in the first year, whereas staff tutors' ratings were higher as the curriculum advanced. These results were interpreted in terms of the cognitive congruence framework.Parts of this article have been presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Atlanta, GA, April, 1993.