Andrew Downs

College and Career Readiness Assessment: Validation of the Key Cognitive Strategies Framework.

In this study, the authors examined the psychometric properties of the key cognitive strategies (KCS) within the CollegeCareerReady™ School Diagnostic, a self-report measure of critical thinking skills intended for high school students. Using a cross-validation approach, an exploratory factor analysis was conducted with a randomly selected portion of the sample (n = 516) and resulted in five reliable factors: (a) problem formulation, (b) research, (c) interpretation, (d) communication, and (e) precision/accuracy. A confirmatory factor analysis was conducted with the remaining sample (n = 808). Goodness-of-fit indices indicated acceptable model fit. The five-factor solution is consistent with earlier validity studies of the KCS framework. Implications for use by high school personnel in evaluation of instructional programs and as a value-added assessment are discussed.

Accelerometer-Measured Versus Self-reported Physical Activity in College Students: Implications for Research and Practice

Abstract Objective: To determine the level of moderate–vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA) assessed via self-report and accelerometer in the college population, and to examine intrapersonal and contextual variables associated with physical activity (PA). Participants: Participants were 77 college students at a university in the northwest sampled between January 2011 and December 2011. Methods: Participants completed a validated self-report measure of PA and measures of athletic identity and benefits and barriers to exercise. Participants’ PA levels were assessed for 2 weeks via accelerometry. Results: Participants’ estimations of their time spent engaged in MVPA were significantly higher when measured via self-report versus accelerometry. Stronger athletic identity, perceived social benefits and barriers, and time-effort barriers were related to PA levels. Conclusions: Estimation of college students’ level of PA may require interpretation of data from different measurement methods, as self-report and accelerometry generate different estimations of PA in college students who may be even less active than previously believed.

Psychometric Properties of the Emotion Understanding Assessment With Spanish- and English-Speaking Preschoolers Attending Head Start

The Emotion Understanding Assessment (EUA) is based on a theoretical model of recognizing emotion expressions and reasoning about situation-based, desire-based, and belief-based emotions. While research has noted that emotion understanding predicts current and future social and academic functioning, little is known about the psychometric properties of the EUA. This research sought to test the EUA factor structure and measurement invariance across gender, across language (English and Spanish speakers), and over time (24 weeks) in 281 preschoolers attending Head Start. Results indicated that a two-factor model of emotion expression recognition and emotional perspective taking of the EUA fit the data for the total sample, for each group (gender and language), and at each time point. Furthermore, configural and scalar invariance of the EUA was demonstrated across gender, language, and time. These results offer support that the EUA is assessing emotion expression recognition and emotional perspective taking constructs equivalently in boy, girls, Spanish and English speakers, and over time. Examination of latent means across groups and time indicate no differences in emotion understanding based on gender or language or over the 24-week time frame in this sample of preschoolers attending Head Start.

Does facial expression recognition provide a toehold for the development of emotion understanding

The authors explored predictions from basic emotion theory (BET) that facial emotion expression recognition skills are insular with respect to their own development, and yet foundational to the development of emotional perspective-taking skills. Participants included 417 preschool children for whom estimates of these 2 emotion understanding variables and receptive language skills were obtained at 2 time points, separated by 24 weeks. Path results for autoregressive cross-lagged structural equation models revealed support for the BET predictions for younger preschoolers (ages 36 to 48 months). In contrast, results for older preschoolers (ages 49 to 67 months) revealed bidirectional influences between receptive language and emotion understanding consistent with constructionist theories of emotion. Findings support a hybrid model in which associations between receptive language and emotion understanding skills are initially nonsignificant and become significant over time. The implications of emotion expression recognition as an early toehold for the development of more advanced emotion understanding skills are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record

Use of the Teacher Version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire with German and American Preschoolers

Research Findings: The present study evaluated the utility of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ) as a teacher-report measure of internalizing and externalizing problems in preschool-age children. Participants included preschoolers drawn from Germany and the United States, with the American sample composed of both English-speaking and Spanish-speaking children. In some respects the SDQ demonstrated adequate reliability and validity across these 3 culturally and linguistically divergent samples, but some problems were noted with the internal consistency of the subscales and the clinical cutoff scores. Practice or Policy: The findings generally support the potential usefulness of the SDQ as a psychopathology screening instrument within culturally and linguistically diverse preschool settings. However, normative studies need to be conducted with preschool samples so that the SDQ cutoff scores used to identify clinically significant emotional and behavioral problems can be appropriately adjusted for age, gender, and culture.

Social values and preschool behavioral adjustment: A comparative investigation of Latino and European American preschool children.

The present article explored relationships between social values (cooperative, individualistic, and competitive) and the behavioral adjustment of Latino and European American preschoolers within the preschool setting. Of interest was whether relationships between social values and behavioral adjustment differed as a function of cultural background. Assessments of social values and teacher reports of child behavioral adjustment were obtained for 254 preschoolers from collectivist (Spanish-speaking Latino Americans), individualist (English-speaking European Americans), and mixed cultural backgrounds (English-Speaking Latino Americans). Cooperative values were more prevalent among collectivist background children, but did not predict behavioral adjustment. Individualistic values did not differ across groups, but predicted better behavioral adjustment for individualist children. Competitive values did not differ across groups, but predicted positive behavioral adjustment for collectivist children and negative behavioral adjustment for individualist children. These findings suggest that a competitive social orientation constitutes a resilience factor for children from collectivist cultural backgrounds and a risk factor for children from individualist cultural backgrounds, and that a cooperative social orientation is undervalued within school settings. Discussion focuses on facilitating the behavioral adjustment of children by raising teacher awareness of collectivist social values and, selectively, fostering or encouraging competitive social values. In sum, the results support the notion that the functionality and meaning of social values differ across social and cultural contexts.

Development and initial validation of the Symptoms and Assets Screening Scale

Abstract Objective: To develop and test a screening measure of mental health symptoms and well-being in college students, the Symptoms and Assets Screening Scale (SASS). Participants: Participants were 758 college students at 2 universities in the Northwest sampled between October 2009 and April 2011. Methods: Participants completed the SASS, as well as measures of depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, substance problems, and eating problems in 1 session. A subset of participants (n = 259) completed the SASS 1 to 2 weeks later to allow an examination of test–retest stability. Results: The SASS demonstrated good reliability and validity and appears to assess similar constructs as well-established measures in college students. Fifty-nine percent of the sample reported having problems with their thoughts, behaviors, or emotions, whereas only 9.7% reported currently receiving treatment. Conclusions: The SASS is a brief instrument that has the potential to effectively screen for the most prevalent mental health problems in college students.

Training New Instructors to Implement Discrete Trial Teaching Strategies With Children With Autism in a Community-Based Intervention Program

The effects of training and supervision on instructor knowledge and performance of discrete trial teaching (DTT) within three domains (DTT Technical Skills; Work Session Preparation/Conclusion; and Student Engagement/Management) were examined in this study. Eight undergraduate student instructors received an 8-hr training in DTT and support skills accompanied by a pre- and post-test of knowledge. The instructors then taught a variety of skills to six students with autism in a community-based preschool, where instructor competence was tracked and performance feedback provided using the Discrete Trial Teaching Competency Checklist for Instructors. Competence in all three domains improved over time with performance feedback. However, significant variability was observed within and between instructors, and performance in some areas remained below optimal levels even with regular supervision and performance feedback. Implications for training and supervising instructors to implement DTT with children with autism in community-based settings are discussed.

The social values development of preschoolers: An investigation of the joint impact hypothesis.

We investigated the role of sociocultural (between-groups) and individual (within-group) factors on the development of preschoolers’ resource-allocation preferences. We tested claims of the joint impact hypothesis of social values development that social−emotional understanding skills would predict the transition from simpler (individualistic allocations) to more complex (cooperative, competitive allocations) social values and that cultural background would determine which values emerged. American children ages 37–67 months from Spanish-speaking Latino (n = 134), English-speaking Latino (n = 50), and English-speaking Caucasian (n = 98) backgrounds twice completed a resource-allocation task and a social−emotional understanding assessment, separated by 6 months. Contrary to predictions, results revealed that for no group were complex choice allocations more common at Time 2 than at Time 1. Moreover, for the Caucasian group, social−emotional understanding did not predict time-dependent choice allocation behavior. For Latinos, however, results revealed differential social values development according to language background. For Spanish-speaking Latinos, higher social−emotional understanding scores predicted emergent cooperative choices, and for English-speaking Latinos, higher scores predicted emergent competitive choices. Findings are consistent with differential socialization wherein social−emotional understanding skills facilitate the development of culturally mainstream values for more acculturated Latinos and ethnic cultural values for less acculturated Latinos.

Cultures of Diversity: Considering Scientific and Humanistic Understandings in Introductory Psychology.

Teachers of psychology tend to agree that learning about diversity is an important goal for undergraduate psychology courses. There is significantly less agreement about what aspects of diversity psychology students should understand. The current research proposes and investigates two potentially distinct ways students might understand diversity: more scientific understandings of topical knowledge related to nature and nurture and more humanistic understandings related to multicultural awareness and sensitivity. Drawing on standardized surveys and open-ended responses to diversity questions from the beginning and end of introductory psychology courses, results indicate that students’ topical knowledge of diversity is not strongly associated with multicultural sensitivity. These results emphasize the importance of clarifying the meanings of addressing diversity as a course goal and are discussed in relation to the multiple challenges of teaching about diversity in psychology courses.