Matthew J. Davis

Dimensions of acculturation: Associations with health risk behaviors among college students from immigrant families.

In the present study, we examined a bidimensional model of acculturation (which includes both heritage and U.S. practices, values, and identifications) in relation to hazardous alcohol use, illicit drug use, unsafe sexual behavior, and impaired driving. A sample of 3,251 first- and second-generation immigrant students from 30 U.S. colleges and universities completed measures of behavioral acculturation; cultural values (individualism, collectivism, and self-construal); ethnic and U.S. identity; and patterns of alcohol and drug use, engagement in potentially unsafe sexual activities, and driving while (or riding with a driver who was) intoxicated. Results indicate that heritage practices and collectivist values were generally protective against health risk behaviors, with collectivist values most strongly and consistently protective. Nonetheless, heritage identifications were positively associated with sexual risk taking for Hispanics. U.S. practices, values, and identifications were not consistently related to risk behavior participation. Results are discussed in terms of bidimensional approaches to acculturation, the immigrant paradox, and implications for counseling practice.

Pronoun Use Reflects Standings in Social Hierarchies

Five studies explored the ways relative rank is revealed among individuals in small groups through their natural use of pronouns. In Experiment 1, four-person groups worked on a decision-making task with randomly assigned leadership status. In Studies 2 and 3, two-person groups either worked on a task or chatted informally in a get-to-know-you session. Study 4 was a naturalistic study of incoming and outgoing e-mail of 9 participants who provided information on their correspondents’ relative status. The last study examined 40 letters written by soldiers in the regime of Saddam Hussein. Computerized text analyses across the five studies found that people with higher status consistently used fewer first-person singular, and more first-person plural and second-person singular pronouns. Natural language use during group interaction suggests that status is associated with attentional biases, such that higher rank is linked with other-focus whereas lower rank is linked with self-focus.

The Effects of an Intensive Shared Book-Reading Intervention for Preschool Children at Risk for Vocabulary Delay

This study examined the effects of an intensive shared book-reading intervention on the vocabulary development of preschool children who were at risk for vocabulary delay. The participants were 125 children, who the researchers stratified by classroom and randomly assigned to one of two shared book-reading conditions (i.e., the experimental, Words of Oral Reading and Language Development [WORLD] intervention; or typical practice). Results on researcher-developed measures showed statistically and practically significant effects for the WORLD intervention with no differential effects for children with higher versus lower entry-level vocabulary knowledge. The researchers detected no statistically significant differences on standardized measures. Results suggest that a combination of instructional factors may be necessary to enhance the efficacy of shared book reading for children with early vocabulary difficulties.

Developing Low-Income Preschoolers’ Social Studies and Science Vocabulary Knowledge Through Content-Focused Shared Book Reading

Abstract This study evaluated the effects of integrating science and social studies vocabulary instruction into shared book reading with low-income preschool children. Twenty-one preschool teachers and 148 children from their classrooms were randomly assigned at the class level to either the Words of Oral Reading and Language Development (WORLD) intervention or a practice-as-usual condition. Children were screened and selected to approximate three vocabulary levels (15th, 30th, and 50th). WORLD teachers implemented the intervention in small groups of 5 to 6 students, 5 days per week, 20 minutes per session, for 18 weeks. Findings from multilevel models indicated statistically and practically significant effects of the WORLD intervention on standardized measures of receptive vocabulary (δT = 0.93) and on researcher-developed measures of expressive (δT = 1.01) and receptive vocabulary (δT = 1.41). The WORLD intervention had an overall main effect, regardless of entry-level vocabulary, a finding that speaks to its potential applicability in preschool classrooms.

Systematic definition of protein constituents along the major polarization axis reveals an adaptive reuse of the polarization machinery in pheromone-treated budding yeast.

Polarizing cells extensively restructure cellular components in a spatially and temporally coupled manner along the major axis of cellular extension. Budding yeast are a useful model of polarized growth, helping to define many molecular components of this conserved process. Besides budding, yeast cells also differentiate upon treatment with pheromone from the opposite mating type, forming a mating projection (the ‘shmoo’) by directional restructuring of the cytoskeleton, localized vesicular transport and overall reorganization of the cytosol. To characterize the proteomic localization changes accompanying polarized growth, we developed and implemented a novel cell microarray-based imaging assay for measuring the spatial redistribution of a large fraction of the yeast proteome, and applied this assay to identify proteins localized along the mating projection following pheromone treatment. We further trained a machine learning algorithm to refine the cell imaging screen, identifying additional shmoo-localized proteins. In all, we identified 74 proteins that specifically localize to the mating projection, including previously uncharacterized proteins (Ycr043c, Ydr348c, Yer071c, Ymr295c, and Yor304c-a) and known polarization complexes such as the exocyst. Functional analysis of these proteins, coupled with quantitative analysis of individual organelle movements during shmoo formation, suggests a model in which the basic machinery for cell polarization is generally conserved between processes forming the bud and the shmoo, with a distinct subset of proteins used only for shmoo formation. The net effect is a defined ordering of major organelles along the polarization axis, with specific proteins implicated at the proximal growth tip.

Social problem-solving abilities, relationship satisfaction and depression among family caregivers of stroke survivors

Primary objective: To examine the prospective relation of caregiver problem-solving abilities and relationship satisfaction to caregiver depression 1 month following care recipient discharge from an inpatient stroke rehabilitation facility. Research design: Correlational, prospective design. Methods and procedures: Participants included 39 women (average age = 51.47, SD = 20.59) and four men (average age = 42.50, SD = 5.57) assuming caregiver roles for persons discharged from stroke rehabilitation. Main outcome measure: The Beck Depression Inventory was the outcome measure at discharge and 1 month later. Results: Caregivers experienced a significant decrease in depression scores between the discharge and 1-month assessments. Lower relationship satisfaction and dysfunctional problem-solving abilities were independently and significantly predictive of depression scores at discharge. Dysfunctional problem-solving abilities were indirectly predictive of depression 1 month later. Conclusions: Dysfunctional problem-solving abilities and low relationship satisfaction are associated with caregiver depression, but dysfunctional problem-solving abilities maintain an indirect association with depression over 1 month. Implications of these findings for developing problem-solving training programmes for caregivers post-discharge are discussed.

Using Knowledge Networks to Develop Preschoolers’ Content Vocabulary

Research shows that children accrue vocabulary knowledge by understanding relationships between new words and their connected concepts. This article describes three research-based principles that preschool teachers can use to design shared book reading lessons that accelerate content vocabulary knowledge by helping young children to talk about important connections between words and related science and social studies concepts. These three principles guide teachers in building networks of content vocabulary knowledge in preschool children by making connections between words and world knowledge via informational and narrative texts.

The Effects of Unemployment and Poverty on Sexual Appetite and Sexual Risk in Emerging and Young Adults

Since the economic recession was declared in December 2007, the rate of unemployed citizens has continued to rise, leading to a loss of over 7 million jobs. Emerging and young adults may be particularly vulnerable to the effects of unemployment and poverty because this developmental time period has been described as a time in which an individual is experiencing extensive identity exploration. One area of psychosocial functioning, sexual addiction, has received less attention in regard to unemployment and poverty, particularly among emerging and young adults. To examine these relationships, the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth 1997 (NLSY97) was used with a sample of 2,362 participants aged 21–27. Structural equation modeling results found that individuals with higher poverty were more likely to have sex more frequently with multiple partners and decreased birth control use, including condoms. It was also found that when divided into regular and irregular workers, group differences emerged between the genders showing that irregular workers potentially have greater sexual appetite and sexual risk. The results highlight important relationships that must be further explored to better understand how emerging and young adults are affected by poverty and unemployment.

An Examination of Preschool Teachers' Shared Book Reading Practices in Spanish: Before and After Instructional Guidance

Shared book reading is a prominent practice in preschools; however, limited research has examined this practice in classrooms with English language learners (ELLs). This study investigated the shared book reading practices of seven preschool teachers of Spanish-speaking ELLs to describe their vocabulary instructional practices before and after receiving instructional guidance (i.e., curriculum implementation, distributed professional development, and instructional cues). Teachers implemented 75 fifteen-min daily structured shared book reading vocabulary sessions for 15 weeks. In addition, they participated in professional development prior to and at two points during the curriculum implementation. To document instructional practices, teachers were observed three times: without and with an instructional cue prior to curriculum implementation and once with a cue at postintervention. Because some preschool teachers may require more intensive guidance than others to improve vocabulary instruction, professional development models must adjust and distribute support more responsively. Implications for future practice and research are discussed.

Exploring the Underlying Factor Structure of the Parent Reading Belief Inventory (PRBI): Some Caveats

Research Findings: The present study explored the underlying factor structure proposed a priori by the developer of the Parent Reading Belief Inventory (PRBI: B. D. DeBaryshe, 1995) using a local independent sample. The PRBI was developed to assess maternal beliefs about reading aloud to children and was designed to measure attitudes, perceptions, and values about how children learn, the content of what they learn, as well as parental teaching efficacy. The PRBI is purported to have 7 underlying subscales and a total score. Analyses showed internal consistency estimates that were similar to those reported by the authors of the PRBI. Using confirmatory factor analysis, we found good fit for only 2 of the 7 dimensions (Reading Instruction and Resources) and poor fit for overall models for the entire PRBI scale when modeled using a 2nd-order factor, correlated factors, or a single general factor. Practice or Policy: Limitations and future research are discussed.