Mother–Child Relationships in U.S. Latinx Families in Middle Childhood: Opportunities and Challenges in the 21st Century

The 21st century has brought unique opportunities and challenges for parents, and this is particularly true for Latinx families, whose children comprise more than one-fourth of the school-age population in the U.S. today. Taking an ecological and strengths-based approach, the current study examined the role of mothers’ cultural assets (familism values, family cohesion) and challenges (economic hardship, ethnic–race-based discrimination) on children’s educational adjustment in middle childhood, as well as the indirect role of mother–child warmth and conflict in these associations. The sample included 173 Latinx mothers and their middle childhood offspring (i.e., 5th graders and younger sisters/brothers in the 1st through 4th grade). Mothers participated in home visits and phone interviews and teachers provided ratings of children’s educational adjustment (academic and socioemotional competence, aggressive/oppositional behaviors). Findings revealed family cohesion was indirectly linked to children’s educational adjustment via mother–child warmth and conflict, particularly for younger siblings. Discussion focuses on the culturally based strengths of Latinx families and highlights potential implications for family-based prevention in middle childhood.

Characteristics and relationship between hyperphagia, anxiety, behavioral challenges and caregiver burden in Prader-Willi syndrome

Objectives Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a rare genetic disorder characterized by maladaptive behaviors, amongst which hyperphagia is a life-long concern for individuals with PWS and their caregivers. The current study examined the contribution of hyperphagia and other factors to caregiver burden across lifespan, in 204 caregivers of individuals with PWS living in the US, using the Zarit Burden Interview (ZBI) and the hyperphagia questionnaire (HQ-CT). Results We found a strong relationship between ZBI and HQ-CT especially in individuals with PWS older than 4 y and showed that HQ-CT scores of individuals with PWS is positively correlated with ZBI scores of their caregivers. The weight status of individuals with PWS was not associated with HQ-CT and ZBI scores, except for obese individuals who had significantly higher HQ-CT scores when compared to normal weight PWS individuals. We looked at PWS symptoms and care-related issues that impacted individuals and caregivers the most. We found that care-related tasks had the biggest negative impact on caregivers of children aged 0–4 y, whereas anxiety, temper tantrums, and oppositional behaviors of older individuals with PWS had the biggest impact on their caregivers concomitant with their high caregiver burden. Finally, we assessed the variability of HQ-CT and ZBI over 6 months in a subgroup of 83 participants. Overall, neither measure differed between 6 months and baseline. Most individual’s absolute HQ-CT score changes were between 0–2 units, whereas absolute ZBI score changes were between 0–6 points. Changes in the caregiver’s or individual’s life had little or no effect on HQ-CT and ZBI scores. Conclusions This study demonstrates a relationship between hyperphagia and caregiver burden and sheds light on predominant symptoms in children and adolescents that likely underly PWS caregiver burden. The stability and relationship between HQ-CT and ZBI support ZBI as an additional outcome measure in PWS clinical trials.

Youth Resisting the Popular Curriculum of Gender and Sexuality

The concept of youth resistance has its roots in the field of sociology of education. Nevertheless, the concept has been taken up in fields such as economy, psychology, and anthropology and among other scholars who seek to understand education, schooling, and the ways in which young people experience everyday life. Although in its origins, resistance theory focused on oppositional behaviors of mostly white, cis, heterosexual young men, it has expanded to account for the ways in which minoritized communities (women, black, indigenous, people of color, LGBTQIA+, disabled, queer, and the multiple intersections of these identities) resist the oppression of mainstream society. In schools, the push and pull of youth resistance is constantly present. Schools have become a place for the maintenance and contestation of many societal expectations, including gendered and sexuality expectations. These societal expectations are taught and reinforced in schools through official or visible curriculum (i.e., the content that students learn in class) and through popular or invisible curriculum—everything else that is learned through interactions with peers, teachers, other adults on campus, and the cultural values they bring into the building with them. Educational spaces are very structured spaces, and youth who challenge norms and rules (even if they are unwritten) may face dire consequences. For that reason, the field scholars looking at LGBTQIA+ youth and resistance have argued that it is necessary to expand the field to look at not only youth culture but the ways in which this culture is performed in schools.

Bullying’s Negative Effect on Academic Achievement

Bullying's a phenomenon that carries great harm for those involved (bully or victim alike) in which academic achievement is harmed as well. However, the strength of such impact is yet to be clarified, existing many possibilities to explore. Or in other words, many variables that can justify such connection - classroom behavior being one example.The goal of the present investigation is to study the impact that bullying (while mediated by the classroom behavior) has on the academic achievement.The sample consisted of 288 children (from 1st year to 4th year’s students); and their teachers (whom reported their classroom behavior). Results showed that the bullying situation itself, didn’t significantly explain the academic achievement of those involved. However, from classroom behavior it was found an indirect effect between bullying and academic achievement. Within classroom behavior, the main contributive dimensions were - victim related, the excessive motor activity; and bully related, oppositional behaviors, excessive motor activity and ADHD index.This results alert to the importance of the educational agents’ attention given to the existing behavior in their classrooms. Not only because of the disruption created in each classroom’s environment, but also as a possible sign of an involvement in the existing bullying dynamics.

Do Adolescents With ADHD Have a Self-Perception Bias for Their ADHD Symptoms and Impairment?

The purpose of this study was to investigate the self-perception bias (SPB) in adolescents with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The SPB was defined as adolescent underestimation of their learning and behavior problems in comparison to parent- or teacher-reports or a standardized achievement test. The sample comprised 74 adolescents, ages 13 to 18 (40 ADHD; 34 comparison). Compared to adolescents without ADHD, adolescents with ADHD underreported their symptoms and impairment when parent-reports, but not teacher-reports were the indicator of performance. Adolescents with ADHD, however, reported more difficulties in all areas of functioning than adolescents without ADHD. In the sample of adolescents with ADHD, self- and parent-reports of learning problems, but not teacher-reports, were significantly associated with adolescent total academic achievement test score. Adolescents with learning problems as measured by the achievement test, and social problems as rated by parents, reported higher levels of these difficulties than adolescents whose functioning was in the average range; however, adolescents with clinical levels of oppositional behaviors, as rated by parents or teachers, did not report elevated levels of these behaviors. Depressive symptoms were associated with a lower SPB. Implications of these findings for psychologists’ use of self-report measures with adolescents with ADHD are discussed.

The Effectiveness of Emotion Regulation Training on Reducing Aggressive and Oppositional Behaviors Among Children Aged 4 to 6 Years

Background: Emotion regulation is necessary for psychological wellbeing and social functioning. The present study aimed to evaluate the effectiveness of emotion regulation skills training on reducing aggressive and oppositional behaviors in children (4-6 years old) in Shiraz, City, Iran during the fall and winter of 2018-19. Methods: This was quasi-experimental study with pre-test & posttest design and controlgroup.The current study's statistical population consisted of 26 children with symptoms of aggressive and oppositional behaviour through the Child Symptom Inventory (CSI-4) and the Seyedi questionnaire for aggression. Among these people, a purposeful sampling method was used to select 26 individuals (13 to a control group and 13 individuals assigned to an experimental group). The experimental group participated in 28, 30-45-minute emotion regulation training sessions from a programme called DECA-P2, whereas the control group received no treatment. A posttest was conducted after the sessions were done. The Child Symptom Inventory-4(CSI-4) and Aggression questionnaire were used to collect the data. Data were analyzed MANCOVA by using SPSS V. 23 software. Results: Results of covariance analysis showed that emotion regulation training with the DECA-P2 approach was effective in reducing aggressive and oppositional behavior among children (P<0.01). Conclusion: Considering the effectiveness of emotion regulation training (the DECA-P2 approach) in reducing the aggressive and oppositional behaviors among children, we recommended that authorities apply this training to reduce children’s maladaptive behaviors and prepare them for the next emotional and social development stages.

Developmental Pathways to Conduct Problems and Serious Forms of Delinquency

This chapter addresses several questions regarding developmental pathways. It considers a parsimonious model of developmental pathways from oppositional behaviors and conduct problems to serious property crime, violence, and homicide. Moreover, the chapter asks what methods are available for identifying pathways, and what their key aspects and limitations are. The chapter explores these questions by first reviewing the defining characteristics of developmental pathways and the methods to identify them. It then studies other key aspects of developmental pathways, including developmental pathways between substance use and delinquency. Finally, this chapter discusses some limitations of developmental pathways as well as the applications of these concepts.

Metaphors for marine conservation and management: The good, the bad, and the inaccurate

A new paper in Marine Policy discusses the importance of effective metaphors for marine conservation and policy. Metaphors are figures of speech that describe something in terms more familiar to listeners, e.g., “a blanket of snow”. Good metaphors help shape understanding of something and can mobilize appropriate action. Poorly-chosen metaphors are, at best, ineffective at mobilizing support for the intended cause, and, at worst, counterproductive because they lead to oppositional behaviors or decrease the credibility of the messenger. To be a good metaphor for marine conservation or management (or any other purpose really), a metaphor must be mapped onto something that is: 1) familiar, 2) appropriately evocative/relatable for a particular culture, and 3) scientifically accurate. Appropriate metaphors are especially important in marine conservation and management because the oceans seem remote to many people, and the scale and scope of threats to ocean ecosystems can be difficult to understand and relate to.

Praise in the classroom

If every time you walked into my classroom I handed you a dol­lar for no apparent reason, you might be initially surprised and happy. You might be curious about what you did to deserve the dollar. Then, as I gave you a dollar each day for the next two weeks, perhaps you would just shrug and say, “Well, she must think I did something to deserve this, and I won’t argue.” As the daily dollar gift continues, you find yourself beginning to count on that dollar for a snack after school or savings toward a bicycle. You don’t ask why I’m giving you this gift, and I don’t tell. Then one day I stop. When we are accustomed to receiving a reward, even if we are not sure we earned it, we can be startled and resentful when it stops. Somehow in our minds, the sudden absence of the expected reward gets interpreted as punishment (Bennett, 1988; Kohn, 1992). We have a conundrum when a motivator (praise and rewards) demotivates. Too easily, the indiscriminate reward of praise cre­ates mini- addictions in our students. The intent here is not to ban praise and rewards from class­rooms, but to use them with judicious, vigilant knowledge of their risks. Three aspects of praise help illuminate some of its risks. 1. Gradations of compliments. Students notice the varying levels of empty praise: “Very good,” “Excellent,” “Good attempt,” “Okay.” And they notice who consistently gets what praise. Substitute feedback that feeds: offer neutral, observational, and encouraging comments. 2. Oppositional behaviors. When we gush praise, thinking we are making students “feel good” and building self- esteem, we can often embarrass them instead. Teasing by classmates can prompt students to make errors to avoid a teacher’s overt praise. Offer mostly observational comments, praise in private, and avoid overstated and overenthusiastic responses to students’ efforts. Competition. Many of us were taught to say things such as “I like the way Angie is sitting” to garner student compliance, espe­cially for younger students.