Welcome to the era of vague news: a study of the demands of statistical and mathematical products in the COVID-19 pandemic media

Educational Studies in Mathematics - In this article, we report on a typology of the demands of statistical and mathematical products (StaMPs) embedded in media items related to the COVID-19...     

Adolescent sexual risk behaviors and school‐based sexually transmitted infection/HIV prevention

Many adolescents are susceptible to negative outcomes associated with sexual behavior. This is particularly true for those who initiate sexual intercourse at an early age, have many sex partners, or engage in unprotected sex because these behaviors put one at risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. This article reviews the various demographic, social‐contextual, and intrapersonal factors linked to sexual risk behaviors. Successful STI/HIV prevention programs must consider developmental and gender issues, as well as cultural norms and values, to effectively meet the prevention needs of all adolescents. We discuss the characteristics of effective intervention programs and provide the names and key features of empirically validated, school‐based STI/HIV prevention programs. In addition, we recommend specific roles for school psychologists in STI/HIV prevention efforts. Finally, other resources are provided to assist practitioners in their continuing review of STI/HIV prevention education. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Statistical Tools and Statistical Literacy: The Case of The Average

This article is intended to serve as a starting point for a dialogue regarding the goals of teaching students about averages and how to assess their emerging knowledge.     

Visual Attention to and Comprehension of Television in Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disordered and Normal Boys

This study examined the effects of distracters on the television viewing of diagnosed ADHD (n = 19) and normal (n = 20) boys who ranged in age from 6 to 12 years. Subjects were videotaped watching four 7-min segments of "3-2-1 Contact," once in the presence and once in the absence of highly appealing toys. The results indicated that, while in the presence of toys, ADHD boys spent one-half as much time as control boys attending to the television. However, when toys were absent, there were no significant differences in visual attention between ADHD and normal boys. The effect of the toy manipulation was most dramatic with younger children of both groups. Recall of didactic content by ADHD boys and normal subjects did not differ significantly, even when the attention of ADHD boys was reduced. These findings suggest that ADHD children, like their normal counterparts, are active and strategic viewers of television.     

Exposure to Violence Across the Social Ecosystem and the Development of Aggression: A Test of Ecological Theory in the Israeli–Palestinian Conflict

Bronfenbrenner’s (1979) ecological model proposes that events in higher order social ecosystems should influence human development through their impact on events in lower order social ecosystems. This proposition was tested with respect to ecological violence and the development of children’s aggression via analyses of 3 waves of data (1 wave yearly for 3 years) from 3 age cohorts (starting ages: 8, 11, and 14) representing three populations in the Middle East: Palestinians (N = 600), Israeli Jews (N = 451), and Israeli Arabs (N = 450). Results supported a hypothesized model in which ethnopolitical violence increases community, family, and school violence and children’s aggression. Findings are discussed with respect to ecological and observational learning perspectives on the development of aggressive behavior.     

The Earlier the Better? Individual Participant Data and Traditional Meta-analysis of Age Effects of Parenting Interventions

Strong arguments have been made for early intervention for child problems, stating that early is more effective than later, as the brain is more malleable, and costs are lower. However, there is scant evidence from trials to support this hypothesis, which we therefore tested in two well-powered, state-of-the-art meta-analyses with complementary strengths: (a) Individual participant data (IPD) meta-analysis of European trials of Incredible Years parenting intervention (k = 13, n = 1696; age = 2–11); (b) Larger, trial-level robust variance estimation meta-analysis of a wider range of parenting programs (k = 156, n = 13,378, M_age = 2–10) for reducing disruptive behavior. Both analyses found no evidence that intervention earlier in childhood was more effective; programs targeted at a narrower age range were no more effective than general ones.     

Acculturation, well-being and classroom behaviour among white British and British Asian primary-school children in the south–east of England: Validating a child-friendly measure of acculturation attitudes

Using a sample of white British and British Asian primary-school children (N = 386, aged 5–11 years), we measured acculturation attitudes (own and perceived outgroup), correlated constructs (ingroup and outgroup affect and identification) and relevant outcomes (self-esteem, classroom demeanour) in a structured interview to validate a customised, child-friendly measure of acculturation attitudes based on Berry's framework. Scale items measuring desire for culture maintenance and intergroup contact loaded onto the predicted factors, were internally reliable and showed concurrent validity with affect and identification. The predictive utility of measures was demonstrated in associations between children's acculturation attitudes (or perceived discrepancies with those of the outgroup) and outcomes such as self-esteem and teacher ratings of emotional symptoms.