A Qualitative Investigation of Fifth- and Sixth-grade Students’ Attitudes towards Intellectual Disability

Research suggests that attitudes of typically developing children towards intellectual disability (ID) play an important role in the social integration and acceptance of children with IDs. To date, however, few studies have investigated children’s attitudes towards ID. The primary objective of this study was to examine the cognitive, affective, and behavioural components of children’s attitudes towards ID. Thirty-nine (14 boys, 25 girls) fifth- and sixth-grade elementary school students participated in the study. Seven focus groups were created in five different schools. Results suggested that inaccurate beliefs and negative emotions regarding ID may contribute to social and school integration problems experienced by children with IDs. The findings of the present study could be useful for the development of education and awareness programs that promote the development of more positive attitudes towards ID.     

Validity and reliability of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory among Turkish adolescents

The study aimed to test the validity and reliability of the Very Short form of the Physical Self-Inventory (PSI-VS) among a sample of 635 Turkish adolescents. These adolescents have completed the 12 original items of the PSI-VS, plus a positively worded reformulation of the single reverse-keyed item of the physical attractiveness subscale. A series of confirmatory factor analyses was used to examine the psychometric properties of the original and modified versions of the PSI-VS. Findings revealed superior psychometric properties with the modified version than with the original set of items. The modified version was thus subsequently used to examine its factor structure invariance across sexes, age groups and sport practice involvement. Results not only report that this version was fully invariant across, but also that latent means were significantly different across sexes and sport practice involvement. In sum, the Turkish modified version of the PSI-VS presents acceptable psychometric properties and may be used to repeatedly and/or intensively assess participants’ physical self-perceptions in the context of sport and exercise interventions.     

Handwriting in signing deaf middle-school students and relationship with text composition and spelling

We set out to (i) assess the handwriting skills of signing deaf students, and (ii) examine the extent to which their text composition and spelling performances are linked to their handwriting efficiency. We asked 15 prelingually and profoundly deaf middle-school students (M = 15.18 years), all sign-language users, and a group of hearing students matched on chronological age (M = 15.32 years) to write the letters of the alphabet and their firstname and surname from memory as a handwriting assessment, and to compose a text describing their bedroom. Results showed that even though the deaf students formed legible letters in both handwriting tasks, they spent more time producing the alphabet letters, and composed shorter texts that were less fluent and contained more phonologically inaccurate spelling errors. Analysis of correlations between handwriting and text production (including spelling) measures revealed strong and significant relationships for the deaf students. This study showed that handwriting difficulties, in terms of executing the letters of their firstname and surname, as well as retrieving the letters of the alphabet from memory, persist in 15-year-old signing deaf students, and represent a constraint during text production, impairing spelling as well as text content richness and word fluency.     

Longitudinal Trajectories,Social and Individual Antecedents,and Outcomes of Problematic Internet Use Among Late Adolescents

Given the detrimental effects associated with problematic internet use (PIU) and the need to better understand its nature and evolution, the present study examined the development of PIU in a sample of 1,750 adolescents (aged 16–19) from Finland over a 3-year period. We documented the social (loneliness, perceived maternal and paternal behaviors) and individual (sex) antecedents, as well as the outcome implications (depressive symptoms, substance use, academic achievement) of PIU trajectories. Outcomes also predicted PIU trajectories. Latent curve modeling revealed an initially moderate, and subsequently decreasing trajectory of PIU. PIU was predicted by loneliness, paternal neglect, maternal care, depressive symptoms, and being male. In turn, PIU trajectories predicted increases in depressive symptoms and substance use, but decreases in academic achievement.     

Social capital and geography of learning: Roles in accelerating the spread of integrated pest management

This paper aims to show the relevance of spatial proximity and social capital in accelerating the spread of agricultural technologies such as integrated pest management (IPM). The research was done in response to the problem of slow diffusion of agricultural technologies. Both quantitative and qualitative methods were used in investigating the process of sharing and learning of IPM. Results show that social capital in terms of kin networks and spatial proximity such as found among farm neighbours are essential in the learning process and hence, diffusion of IPM among Filipino farmers. Kin networks and farm location are then important considerations in sampling participants strategically for the long-season IPM farmer field schools (FFS).     

An Observational Study of Social Communication Skills in Eight Preschoolers with and Without Hearing Loss During Cooperative Play

Early peer relationships and interactions influence social acceptance and a child’s ability to form social relationships later in life (Ladd 2005). Although it has been reported that some children with profound hearing loss who have experienced the oral approach since diagnosis display language skills similar to children with typical hearing (DeLuzio and Girolametto 2011), many may still be excluded socially and have subtle communication differences that impact friendships. More information is needed about how differences and similarities are manifested in young children with hearing loss. This investigation observed the frequency of three social communicative behaviors displayed by eight preschoolers with and without hearing loss as they played in dyads during unstructured table activities. The results revealed that the children with hearing loss produced about a quarter as many initiated verbal comments; however, they engaged in more verbal and play turns than their playmates with typical hearing. Implications for teaching young children with hearing loss in inclusive preschool settings are discussed.