Linda C. Caterino

Conjoint Retention of Maps and Related Discourse.

Abstract Two experiments used fifth-grade students to test the hypothesis that conjointly presented verbal/spatial information facilitates retrieval from either stimulus format. In Experiment 1, subjects wrote either a geographical description or sensible narrative about a simple reference map. As predicted by conjoint retention, the narrative writers remembered significantly more of the map than their geographic counterparts. In Experiment 2, subjects either wrote or drew a rendition of the map or of a normed geographic description of its content. Subjects then listened to a short story about events occurring in the map space while they studied their rendition. Regardless of whether they wrote or drew, learners who viewed the map itself recalled significantly more discourse events, and event recall was dependent on whether the subject reported remembering associated geographic features and was able to produce the features on the test. These results support the notion of conjoint retention which assumes that related verbal/spatial arrays are stored in a fashion which allows separate use of both formats during retrieval.

Addressing the sexuality and sex education of individuals with autism spectrum disorders

This paper addresses the need for sexuality education for individuals with autism spectrum disorders. It provides a brief overview of autism and Asperger’s Syndrome as well as a summary of the existing literature regarding the sexuality of this population. The existing research suggests that there is a high frequency of sexual behaviors among individuals with these disorders. A number of these behaviors may become problematic for caregivers and service providers because they violate societal norms regarding appropriate interpersonal behavior and may jeopardize the inclusion of this group in educational and community settings. The existing sex education programs for individuals with ASD are reviewed, highlighting the major components of programs tailored to this population.

PERSONALITY CHARACTERISTICS AND DURATION OF ATA TAEKWONDO TRAINING

Students in ATA Taekwondo schools were administered the 16 Personality Factor Questionnaire. The students were divided into two groups of 15 persons each based on 0–1.4 yr. vs 1.5 + yr. spent in formal Taekwondo training. From the 16 PF, scores on two second-order and one derived factor were calculated for Anxiety, Independence, and Leadership. The groups having longer Taekwondo training times scored significantly lower on Anxiety and higher on Independence. Although Leadership scores were higher for the longer trained group they were not statistically significant.

RELATING SCALES ON THE CHILDREN'S PERSONALITY QUESTIONNAIRE TO TRAINING TIME AND BELT RANK IN ATA TAEKWONDO

72 boys attending ATA Taekwondo schools were administered the Childrens Personality Questionnaire. Primary factors D(+), F(+), I(–), and N(+) were significantly correlated with belt rank in Taekwondo. Canonical analysis indicted that Factors F(+) and I(–) were predictively associated with increases in belt rank.

Development and validation of a scale to assess the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder in young adults.

In this study, the authors describe the development and subsequent validation of an attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) scale for young adults. The authors constructed 2 parallel forms of the scale to assess items that relate directly to DSM-IV criteria. Each form comprised Inattention, Hyperactivity, and Impulsivity subscales. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted to assess the dimensionality of the scale, and the hypothesized structure was confirmed. In addition, the measures obtained show that the scale possesses satisfactory reliability with regard to the level of internal consistency, and there was equivalence between the 2 parallel forms. Furthermore, the relevance of the scales content and its relationship to other variables was adequate. In sum, sufficient evidence is provided regarding the validity of the measures obtained with the ADHD scale, thus illustrating that the scale could be a useful tool to assess the symptoms of ADHD in a sample of young adults from the United States.

Structure of the Woodcock-Johnson III cognitive tests in a referral sample of elementary school students.

The structure of the Woodcock-Johnson Cognitive Battery-Third Edition (WJ Cog) has been extensively explored via confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) with its normative sample, but there has been little research to verify that the same structure holds for students referred for special education services. Likewise, research on the structure of the WJ Cog with exploratory factor analysis (EFA) methods has been rare. Consequently, this study applied both EFA and CFA methods to the scores of 529 elementary school students referred for special education services (95.5% eligible) on the 14 tests of the WJ Cog extended battery. EFA results suggested only 2 or 3 factors, whereas CFA results favored the theoretical 7 factors posited by McGrew and Woodcock. In this theoretical model, a strong general factor accounted for 27% of the total variance and 57% of the common variance, whereas the 7 group factors combined accounted for 21% of the total variance and 43% of the common variance. Reliability, as quantified by ωH, was good for the general factor, marginal for the Gs factor, and poor for the other group factors. Nine of the 14 WJ Cog tests displayed uniqueness values that exceeded their communality. On the basis of this evidence from a referral sample, interpretation of the WJ Cog should be restricted to the Gs and g factors: the Gs factor because it exhibited considerable independence and precision of measurement and the g factor because it has emerged in all investigations of the WJ Cog.

On connecting connected discourse: A comment on methodology

College subjects learned three 67-word narrative paragraphs under either serial or intact presentation modes. Subjects were also instructed to read for verbatim or substance content. Control subjects received no instructions. Leaners receiving intact presentation recalled significantly more of the paragraphs read. In addition, an analysis of words recalled in order indicated that subjects are able to employ a strategy set only if the discourse is presented as an intact unit. The data suggest that learning discourse in a serial manner may yield results quite different from those obtained with intact presentation.

Is the Recall of Verbal–Spatial Information From Working Memory Affected by Symptoms of ADHD?

Ojective: The Kulhavy model for text learning using organized spatial displays proposes that learning will be increased when participants view visual images prior to related text. In contrast to previous studies, this study also included students who exhibited symptoms of ADHD. Method: Participants were presented with either a map-text or text-map condition. Results: The map-text condition led to a significantly higher performance than the text-map condition, overall. However, students who endorsed more symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity–impulsivity scored more poorly when asked to recall text facts, text features, and map features and were less able to correctly place map features on a reconstructed map than were students who endorsed fewer symptoms. Conclusion: The results of the study support the Kulhavy model for typical students; however, the benefit of viewing a display prior to text was not seen for students with ADHD symptoms, thus supporting previous studies that have demonstrated that ADHD appears to negatively affect operations that occur in working memory.

Psychologically Based Therapies to Improve Lung Functioning in Students with Asthma.

Asthma is a common, chronic respiratory disease that can be costly to both society and the individual. In addition to increased absenteeism, children with asthma may also be at a greater risk for developing comorbid anxiety and depression. Various complementary psychological treatments have been effective at reducing both asthmatic symptoms and psychological distress. Although the research in the area of mind-body treatments as it pertains specifically to persons with asthma is still developing, this article will describe several promising alternative treatment methods, many of which have already been, or could be easily be applied for use in a school setting.

Cross-cultural and gender differences in ADHD among young adults

Objective: This study explored the effect of cultural and gender differences in ADHD among Spanish, African American, Hispanic American, and European American young adults. Method: Structural equivalence between the four groups was examined by Tucker’s phi coefficient. A MANCOVA was carried out with cultural groups and gender as factors and age as covariate. Results: Structural equivalence was observed across all groups, and no differential item functioning was found. No significant effect was found for gender, although, with the exception of the Hispanic group, males scored higher than females. Furthermore, small, though significant, cultural differences were found. The lowest levels of ADHD were observed in the European American group and the highest in the Hispanic American group. ADHD symptoms, notably inattention, showed some decline with age. Conclusion: Findings extend existing data and suggest a relationship between culture and the development of ADHD, which might be mediated by parenting style.