Migrants With Schizophrenia in Forensic Psychiatric Hospitals Benefit From High-Intensity Second Language Programs

Background: As a result of migration, an increasing number of patients in forensic psychiatric hospitals show poor skills in the national language, which can affect their treatment. Improving the second language (L2) of inpatients with schizophrenia may help to enable effective psychotherapy and thus reduce the risk of criminal recidivism and facilitate reintegration into society, for example because of a language-related higher degree of social functioning. For this purpose, a Hessian forensic psychiatric hospital established a ward specialized in L2 acquisition. The ward accommodates up to 21 patients with schizophrenia, who attend an L2 program consisting of 800–900 lessons within 1 year.Aims: The study aimed to evaluate whether patients on the specialized ward (experimental group) achieve at least Common European Framework of Reference (CEFR) level A2 in the L2 program. Additionally, it examined whether language acquisition is better among participants in the experimental group than among those on regular wards (control group).Methods: Achievements in the L2 were assessed by an L2 test 3 times: at the beginning of the program, after 6 months, and after 1 year. The impact of intelligence on achievements in L2 was evaluated using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices.Results: The experimental group showed significantly better improvement than the control group. Literacy was a significant predictor of improvement in the L2. The majority of the experimental group reached at least CEFR level A2 after 1 year.Conclusions: High-intensity L2 programs are an effective way to improve the L2 of inpatients with schizophrenia in forensic psychiatric hospitals.

Understanding of comical texts in people with different types of attitudes towards humour

This study aimed to test a hypothesis about the correlation between levels of gelotophobia, gelotophilia, and katagelasticism and understanding of Internet memes as a specific form of humour. Participants were 45 native speakers of Russian (aged 18 – 30; 73,3 % female). The levels of Internet memes understanding were assessed independently by two judges with the use of criteria based on the results of a series of semi-structured in-depth interviews. Gelotophobia, gelotophilia, and katagelasticism were assessed with PhoPhiKat <30> questionnaire. J. Raven’s “Standard Progressive Matrices” test was used to control the level of psychometric intelligence. Concordance of judges’ scores for the understanding of memes was assessed with Kendall’s W and ranged from 0.71 to 0.84. Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient was used to test the main hypothesis. We found no correlation between the scores for gelotophobia, gelotophilia, and katagelasticism and understanding of Internet memes. Presumably, the type of attitude towards humour does not play a significant role in the understanding of comical texts. The qualitative content analysis of the interview protocols revealed some specific features of cognitive mechanisms of Internet memes understanding. Namely, successful participants with higher levels of understanding of Internet memes reflected more on their thinking process than those with lower levels of understanding of Internet memes, easily switched from an abstract level of reasoning to a concrete one, and tended to consistently develop detailed mental representations of the memes.

Brain Functional Correlates of Intelligence Score in ADHD Based on EEG

It has been shown that intelligence as a general mental ability is related to structure and function of the brain regions. However, specificity of this regional dependencies to the intelligence scores in the typical and atypical developed individuals needs to be well understood. In this study, we hypothesized that neural correlates of IQ should not have a fixed pattern rather it must follow a dynamic pattern to compensate the functional deficits caused by a neurodevelopmental disorder. Therefore, EEG correlates of normal IQ in various subtypes of attention deficit hyperactive disorder (ADHD) were compared to a group of healthy controls. Sixty-three ADHD subjects comprising of combined, inattentive, and hyperactive individuals diagnosed by a psychiatrist using structural clinical interview for DSM-V, and 46 healthy controls with similar normal IQ scores were recruited in this study. The subjects’ EEG data were then recorded during an eye-closed resting condition. The subjects’ intelligence level was measured by the Raven’s standard progressive matrices. Then, association between IQ and power of EEG signal were computed in the conventional frequency bands. Subsequently, topographical representations of these associations were compared between the groups. Our results demonstrated that association between IQ score and EEG power is not the same in various ADHD subtypes, and healthy controls. This finding suggests a compensatory mechanism in ADHD individuals for changing the regional oscillatory pattern to maintain the IQ within a normal range.

Psychometric properties of the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in a Portuguese sample

Objective: Psychometric properties of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices in a Portuguese community sample were investigated. Method: The sample consists of 522 people (250 men and 272 women), aged between 12 and 95 years. All participants completed an informed consent form and a battery of neuropsychological tests, including Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM), Rey 15-Item Memory Test, Zung Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, and Rey Complex Figure Test. Results: The average in RSPM was 41.18 (SD = 12.03). The results showed that all sociodemographic variables (age, sex, education, profession, regions, and place of residence) significantly influenced RSPM scores. The reliability and temporal stability of RSPM were adequate. Conclusions: This study suggests that RSPM is an instrument with potential for use among the Portuguese population.

Correlates of Creativity: An Association Between Creativity, Personality, and Intelligence

The present study aimed to explore the association between creativity, intelligence, and personality. Sixty dextral healthy volunteers in the age range of 20-40 years were recruited for the study and administered tests for fluid intelligence (Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices), personality (Big Five NEO-FFI), and divergent thinking (Wallach &amp; Kogan Creativity Test). Findings revealed that intelligence and openness to experience were significantly and positively correlated with fluency, flexibility, and originality dimensions of creativity. The multiple regression analysis suggested openness and fluid intelligence as significant predictors for creativity which entails that individuals who are more open to new experiences continue integrating new and diverse information to their subsisting repertoire of experiences, when intelligently assimilated with contextual and emotional stimuli could provide more varied and novel responses to divergent thinking tasks.

Metacognitive Awareness Scale, Domain Specific (MCAS-DS): Assessing Metacognitive Awareness During Raven’s Progressive Matrices

Metacognition, the cognition about cognition, is closely linked to intelligence and therefore understanding the metacognitive processes underlying intelligence test performance, specifically on Raven’s Progressive Matrices, could help advance the knowledge about intelligence. The measurement of metacognition, is often done using domain-general offline questionnaires or domain-specific online think-aloud protocols. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between metacognitive awareness and intelligence via the design and use of a novel Meta-Cognitive Awareness Scale – Domain Specific (MCAS-DS) that encourages reflection of task strategy processes. This domain-specific scale was first constructed to measure participants’ awareness of their own metacognition linked to Raven’s Progressive Matrices (SPM). Following discriminatory index and Exploratory Factor Analysis, a 15-item scale was derived. Exploratory Factor Analysis showed five factors: Awareness of Engagement in Self-Monitoring, Awareness of Own Ability, Awareness of Responding Speed/Time, Awareness of Alternative Solutions and Awareness of Requisite Problem-Solving Resources. The intelligence level of ninety-eight adults was then estimated using Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices. Participants also completed the MCAS-DS, and further items that examined their test-taking behavior and Confidence level. Metacognitive awareness was positively correlated to standardized IQ scores derived from the SPM whilst Over-Confidence derived using the Confidence level measure was negatively correlated to SPM. Despite some limitations, this study shows promise for elucidating the relationship between metacognitive awareness and intelligence using the task-specific scale.

Exploring the Psychological Risk Factors in Children with Epilepsy

There are many factors that aggravate the clinical picture of children diagnosed with epilepsy. Through this study we will explore risk factors related to disease characteristics, cognitive impairments, intelligence and behavioral problems in children with epilepsy. Methods: Based on the medical data of children diagnosed with epilepsy being treated at the Pediatric Neurology Unit, University Hospital of Pristina, and the “Hope” Psychological Outpatient Center in Kosovo, about 100 epileptic children, 55 female and 45 male, aged between 6 and 11 years of school age were administered the Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA), Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (IQ), and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) tests. Results: Children participating in the study reveals a predomination of the generalized epilepsy, which continue to be treated with anti-epileptics for more than 3 years. From them 67% did not show the presence of another co-neurological deficit. Neurological tests show evidences of moderate EEG changes in some children and MRI registrations in 65% of children are unchanged and continue to be treated with 1 or 2 antiepileptic drugs for being under control. Intelligence, cognitive and behavioral problems in cases where they were associated with a number of neuropsychological characteristics increase the risk of a disease aggravation and compromise their overall development. Discussion: We can imply that based on the severity of these concomitant factors of the epileptic conditions, they will constitute a high-risk factor for cognitive problems, low intelligence and the emergence of a number of internalizing and externalizing problems of the child with epilepsy. Conclusions: As a risk factor that increases the level of difficulty of epileptic children in some contexts, including general functioning, school, family and social context, the presence of neurobiological and neuropsychological factors such as issues in internalizing and externalizing behaviors, problems in the cognitive field and the IQ are seen, which is also expected to affect the overall development of children’s quality of life.

The Impact of Cognitive Impairment in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

The focus of the present study is to identify the most compromised aspects of cognitive impairment and how children with intellectual disabilities cope with them. A sample of 53 school aged children with intellectual disabilities (N = 24) female and (N = 29) male from 5 to 11 years old. Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA) and Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices (IQ) to children with intellectual disabilities were used for conducting research. Generally, children with intellectual disabilities experience high and moderate levels of cognitive impairments and a low IQ. There is a significant positive relationship between age and IQ among girls and boys. In addition to cognitive impairment, a positive relation between impaired cognitive function, a high level of global disability in children with intellectual disabilities and a poor executive and memory functions were associated with difficulties in daily life activities. IQ is also a significant index of cognitive impairment and how children interact with others. Cognitive impairment is a major cause of low adoption with the environment and a significant factor that affects rehabilitation outcomes. Yet, there have been a limited number of studies that have evaluated the psychometric MoCA in children with severe intellectual disabilities, but it is necessary to identify possible difficulties in children with ID related to cognitive functions in young patients with mild to moderate impairment.

Adaptive Behavior in Children with Intellectual Disabilities

Children with intellectual disabilities experience deficits in all the areas of adaptive function and some other aspects, unfortunately little is known about the independent functioning among gender and age related to these impairments in this type of neurogenetic disorders as intellectual disabilities. Adaptive behavior is essential for an optimal functioning in these categories. 53 participants aged between 5 and 11 in school years have been administered the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Montreal Cognitive Assessment scale (MoCA) and Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (IQ). Motor abilities are the area that is more affected in children with intellectual disabilities with a significant impairment appeared at an early age, which remain low even in the following years. These differences are potentially oriented by the etiologies related to the disorder. Adaptive behavior is an important area of challenge for children with intellectual disabilities throughout their development. Daily living skills and competencies are also a significant strength in relation to other areas of adaptive functioning.