R. Gibler

Paternal Anxiety in Relation to Toddler Anxiety: The Mediating Role of Maternal Behavior

Despite robust investigations examining the impact of maternal anxiety and parenting behaviors and child anxiety risk, less is understood about the impact of paternal anxiety and parenting behaviors on child anxiety risk, particularly within the broader family context. An Actor Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) was used to examine whether paternal anxiety longitudinally predicted child anxiety risk indirectly through maternal and paternal parenting behaviors, while controlling for maternal anxiety. Both fathers and mothers of 12- to 30-month-olds (n = 94) provided self-report of their anxiety and parenting behaviors. Child inhibited temperament (i.e., anxiety risk) was coded. Two APIMs separately considering encouragement of independence and overprotection were examined. These models revealed no direct relation between parent and child anxiety while controlling for parenting behaviors. Models did suggest that paternal anxiety is indirectly linked with future child anxiety through lower maternal encouragement of independence, but not through maternal overprotection or paternal parenting behaviors.

Fluid reasoning and reading difficulties among children with ADHD

Abstract Background: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) commonly experience difficulties in reading and in fluid reasoning (Gf). According to Cattell’s Investment Theory (1987), Gf is a causal factor in the development of crystallized knowledge (Gc) and academic skills; therefore, the co-occurrence of reading and Gf difficulties within ADHD may not be coincidental. Methods: In the present study with children with both ADHD and reading difficulties (n = 187; 61% male; Mage = 9.2), we utilized mediation analyses to test direct and indirect (through Gc, phonemic awareness, and rapid automatized naming [RAN]) effects of Gf on four basic reading skills: untimed word recognition, untimed phonemic decoding, word reading efficiency, and phonemic decoding efficiency. Results: The direct effect of Gf on all reading skills was nonsignificant; however, significant indirect effects were observed. Specifically, Gf exerted an effect indirectly onto all reading skills through a serial and joint mechanism comprised of Gc and phonemic awareness (i.e., Gf → Gc → phonemic awareness → reading achievement). Gf also exerted an effect indirectly onto untimed word recognition and phonemic decoding through phonemic awareness (i.e., Gf → phonemic awareness → untimed word recognition/untimed phonemic decoding). Conclusion: Results build upon Cattell’s Investment Theory by linking Gf with reading difficulties among children with ADHD, suggesting that such difficulties may arise from weaknesses in Gf and insufficient investment of Gf into reading through Gc and phonemic awareness.

(519) The effect of prior experience with cold pain on pain tolerance in the cold pressor task: the mediating effect of situational catastrophizing

Fibromyalgia (FM) is a common, complex neuromuscular disorder involving chronic widespread muscle pain, tenderness and fatigue. Multi-modal treatment approaches utilizing exercise and pharmacological methods have been found most effective, with a higher efficacy for aerobic exercise. However, information about factors that may preclude exercise maintenance is lacking for this population. In addition to pain-related interference, the transtheoretical model (TTM) and the self-efficacy (SE) for exercise may reveal important motivational barriers that might deter the establishment of exercise maintenance in patients with FM. In this small pilot study (N=22), trauma-exposed female veterans with FM completed an anonymous internet survey classifying participants in exercise stage of change groups. Participants also reported on self-efficacy, FM impact (FI), and type of exercise motivation. While results of the discriminant function analysis (DFA) revealed non-statistically significant relationships, a large effect size was found (1-Wilks’ l=.21), suggesting a potentially strong relationship among self-efficacy, fibromyalgia impact, and exercise stages of change. Furthermore, strong, positive canonical correlations between stages of change and self-efficacy (r=.72) and between stages of change and fibromyalgia impact (r=.70) were revealed. Interestingly, group mean differences showed the precontemplation through action stage groups reported lower SE (M=38.64, SD=17.15) and FI (M=71.21, SD=18.07) compared to the maintenance stage group (SE; M=51.40, SD=9.44, FI; M=84.43, SD=13.01). These findings suggest that higher self-efficacy promotes exercise maintenance, irrespective of the degree of FM impact. Replication of this study with a larger sample size may show statistically significant impacts between these measured relationships. Future research might examine cognitive-based interventions to reduce pain-related interference, along with motivational interviewing-based approaches to enhance self-efficacy for exercise, in order to promote long-term exercise maintenance and overall quality of life among female veterans with FM.