Trajectory of Post-traumatic Stress and Depression among Children and Adolescents Following Single-incident trauma

Objective: PTSD-depression has high comorbidity and understanding their relationship is of clinical and theoretical importance. A comprehensive way to understand posttrauma psychopathology is through symptom trajectories. The study aimed to look at the developmental courses of PTSD and depression symptoms in the initial months posttrauma, and their interrelationship in children and adolescents by utilizing advanced group-based trajectory modeling (GBTM). Methods: Two-hundred-and-seventeen children and adolescents aged between eight and 17 exposed to single-event trauma were included in the study. Their PTSD and depression symptoms were measured at two weeks, two months and nine months, with further psychological variables measures at the two-week assessment. Results: The GBTM modeling yielded a three-group model for PTSD and a three-group model for depression. All participants’ PTSD symptoms reduced to non-clinical level by nine months: participants were observed to be resilient (42.4%) or to be able to recover within two months (35.6%), while 21.9% experienced high level PTSD symptoms but recovered in nine months time. The depression trajectories described a chronic non-recovery depression group (20.1%) and two mild symptom groups (45.9%, 34.0%). Further analysis showed high synchronicity between PTSS and depression groups but predictor analysis revealed disparate predictors. Perievent panic (CPP), appraisal (CPTCI), rumination and thought suppression at week two predicted slow recovery from PTSS, while pre-trauma wellbeing (CPAS), post-trauma anxiety (SCAS) and appraisal (CPTCI) predicted chronic depression. Conclusions: Posttrauma depression was more persisting than PTSD symptoms at nine months in the sampled population. Cognitive appraisal may be central to explaining PTSD-depression comorbidity.

“Side by side”: Development of twin relationship dimensions from early to middle childhood and the role of zygosity and parenting

Twin relationships have a significant effect on the twins’ life and their families. In the first comprehensive study of this topic, our purpose was to examine the developmental courses of four dyadic dimensions of twins’ relationships: closeness, dependence, conflict and rivalry, and the impact of zygosity and parenting on their relationships. Parents reported on their twins’ relationships ( N = 1547 mothers and 536 fathers with data from at least one of four measurement points from 3 to 8–9 years of age). The sample included 322 monozygotic twin dyads (sharing virtually 100% of their genes), and 1194 dizygotic twin dyads (sharing 50% of their genetic variance, on average). Our findings indicated that closeness and dependence decreased while rivalry increased through childhood. Dependence and rivalry also presented quadratic change. The twins’ conflict increased only for dizygotic twins. As expected, we found that the twins’ closeness and dependence were highly associated, as did the associations between conflict and rivalry. The mostly nonsignificant associations of closeness with conflict and rivalry reinforced the notion that they are not bi-polar opposites. However, dependence was positively related to the twins’ conflict and rivalry. A zygosity effect was also evident as monozygotic twins had higher levels of closeness and dependence than dizygotic twins through childhood, but there was no significant difference in the levels of their conflict and rivalry. In congruence with family system theories, parental positivity predicted the twins’ closeness and dependence, and parental negativity predicted the twins’ dependence, conflict and rivalry. The results were discussed in light of an evolutionary perspective and the twins’ developmental challenges through childhood.

Compassion protects against vital exhaustion and negative emotionality

We investigated (i) the predictive relationships of compassion with negative emotionality (a marker of susceptibility to stress) and vital exhaustion (a marker of chronic stress response) and (ii) the effect of compassion on the developmental courses of negative emotionality and vital exhaustion over a follow-up from early adulthood to middle age. We used the prospective Young Finns data (n = 1031–1495, aged 20–50). Compassion was evaluated in 1997, 2001, and 2012; and vital exhaustion and negative emotionality in 2001, 2007, and 2012. The predictive paths from compassion to vital exhaustion and negative emotionality were stronger than vice versa: high compassion predicted lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality. The effect of high compassion on lower vital exhaustion and lower negative emotionality was evident from early adulthood to middle age. Overall, high compassion appears to protect against dimensions of stress from early adulthood to middle age, whereas this study found no evidence that dimensions of stress could reduce disposition to feel compassion for others’ distress over a long-term follow-up.

Developmental Courses in Childhood Dysarthria: Longitudinal Analyses of Auditory-Perceptual Parameters

Purpose The aim of this longitudinal study was to describe developmental courses of childhood dysarthria against the background of typical speech motor development by collecting auditory-perceptual data. Method Fourteen children (four girls, 10 boys; 5;1–8;4 [years;months] at Time 1) with neurological conditions (CNC) and 14 typically developing children (CTD) matched for age and gender were assessed at three points in time over an 18-month period. Speech samples were collected using the Bogenhausener Dysarthrie Skalen–Kindliche Dysarthrien (BoDyS-KiD; in English: Bogenhausen Dysarthria Scales–Childhood Dysarthria), a German tool for the assessment of childhood dysarthria, and analyzed by means of nine perceptual scales covering all clinically relevant speech components. Age normalization was performed according to a method published recently. Data from the matched controls were used to estimate whether the gradients of the CNC group's developmental trajectories exceeded those of typical development. Results The children with neurological conditions presented heterogeneous speech profiles with a wide range of severity. At the group level, relatively stable trajectories of the age-normalized dysarthria total score were found over the observation period. The nine perceptual scales showed more or less parallel developments. All patients except two followed the growth curve describing the developmental course of the typically developing children. Conclusions Most children took advantage of the developmental dynamics as they developed parallel to the age norm. With its comprehensive description of the developmental courses of 14 children with neurological conditions, this study may contribute to a more valid, statistically verified clinical assessment of the course of childhood dysarthria.

Analytical Study Of Sport Globalization from Iraqi Central Federation Administrative Bureaus’ Point of View

The importance of the research lies in globalization that affected all aspects of life including sports. The research aimed at building sport globalization scale as well as identifying sport globalization. The researchers used the descriptive on (373) members representing (25) Olympic federation and (22) non-Olympic federation. The data was collected and treated to conclude a sport globalization scale that can be applied to the subjects in addition to that, there are positive and negative effects of sport globalization on the sports community. The researchers recommended the necessity of using the sport globalization scale, holding developmental courses, benefiting from the advantages of globalization, and making similar studies on other subjects.

Policies and Curriculums

College and career readiness is a focal area within the United States for student achievement within the context of global competitiveness. Despite recent efforts to focus on the college and career readiness of America’s students, national data has proven that many students are not prepared for college and need remedial intervention upon entrance into college. This discussion focuses on efforts at community colleges, specifically in the area of literacy, as they work to increase student retention and student success. Recent methods include developmental courses, co-requisite models, and statewide initiatives to determine how to best meet students’ academic needs, while considering faculty voice and administrative and cost efficiency. Community colleges can serve as grounds to determine how various models of remediation work to ensure that college students can be served in the best capacity for their academic needs, excel in their programs of choice, and in turn, be competitive global citizens.

Memory development

Memory and its development are multifaceted. Different forms of long-term memory—non-declarative and declarative—have different developmental courses. Some types of non-declarative memory are apparent early and are relatively developmentally invariant. In contrast, different forms of declarative memory have different trajectories. Semantic memory, our storehouse of world knowledge, begins to develop early and the contents of the knowledge store accumulate over the life course. The other major forms of declarative memory, namely, episodic and autobiographical memory, have a protracted course of development that is related to age-related changes in the basic memory processes of encoding, consolidation, and retrieval, from infancy throughout childhood. In turn, changes in basic memory processes are related to changes in the temporal-cortical network (medial-temporal structures and association cortices) that subserves them.

Unmasking Power in the Discourse of Four-Year Graduation Initiatives

Aim/Purpose: The following questions guided this study: 1) What are the major types of four-year graduation policies and plans being implemented by public four-year colleges and universities? 2) What explicit and implicit messages do leaders convey in constructing four-year graduation policies and plans? 3) What messages might four-year graduation policies and plans send to minoritized student populations? Background: Four-year graduation is a common goal across public institutions; to this end, university leaders often construct a four-year graduation policy or pledge. Scholars have not systematically examined the discourse within these policies to uncover the underlying structural barriers that may hinder minoritized students from achieving this goal. A one-size-fits all approach in policy can inadvertently promote a discourse of individual success or failure. Methodology: In order to view policy as discourse and explore the tensions within the narrative of timely graduation, the authors utilized critical discourse analysis to explore the discourse within four-year graduation plans across 19 public, four-year universities. Contribution: Institutional leaders often attempted to create mutually responsible commitments with students, but our reading of four-year graduation plans suggests that the majority of leaders created a uniform narrative, failing to acknowledge and make provisions for disproportionate impacts on minoritized populations. Findings: Utilizing seven building tasks, we provided descriptive categories of four-year graduation initiatives, followed by interpretation and evaluation of the messaging conveyed by institutional leaders in constructing policies. Findings revealed that many universities often place expectations on students with varying levels of corresponding resources or without the needs of minoritized student populations in mind. Recommendations for Practitioners: The authors offer recommendations about ways that university leaders through policy creation can acknowledge the structural barriers that affect students’ pathways to completion. Recommendation for Researchers: Because of the underlying acceptance behind the problem that drives graduation policy (i.e., students should graduate in four years), a critical approach allows scholars to examine the text of policies in ways that might illuminate the viewpoints that leaders fail to consider. Impact on Society: Four-year graduation initiatives should move beyond inspiring rhetoric to tackle the true structural barriers (e.g. unavailable courses, weak advising, developmental courses as stumbling blocks) for which institutional leaders as the creators of policy should be held accountable. Future Research: Additional studies focusing on the rhetoric of student success initiatives can reveal language centered on dominant ways of knowing.