Gender Differences in the Effect of Type, Level and Amount of Information on Attention Ability among Saudi High School Students

Boredom has been considered as a significant and prevalent among students in the classroom. Research indicates the necessity to tackle the negative consequences of these important and pervasive academic emotions. Despite the plethora of studies investigating the psychological effect on attention ability, far fewer have considered gender as a moderator of the effect of information characteristics on students’ attention ability. Thus, the purpose of this study is to look at gender disparities in the impact of type, level, and amount of information on students' attention capacity. Based on the Guilford structure-of-intellect (SI) model, forty tests were designed and validated to gather and analyse the data. The participants of the study were 60 high school students (level 10 and 11) from the Al-Qunfudah district. An equal number of male and female participants were selected randomly. Type of information represented in semantic and symbolic, the level of information represented in units, cases, relations, while the amount of information was represented in (5,7,9) based on Miller model. Data was collected using newly developed and verified tests. Independent t-test studies revealed no significant variations in the type, level, and amount of information on students' attention skills among male and female students. Several discussions were drawn in light of the findings. Suggestions and recommendations were presented.

Does Use of Books and Electronic Media Associate to Joint Attention Skills and Temperament during the First Year of Life?

Several researchers have found that media exposure through books or electronic media contribute to preschoolers’ development. However, research with behavioral measures and during the first years of life have not been carried out in Latin American contexts. The aim of the following research was to evaluate the relations between media exposure through electronic media and books with joint attention skills and temperament (i.e., effortful control, surgency and negative affect) during the first year of life. A free play session was carried out, where the number of mother-infant interaction behaviors were assessed. Findings state that only the amount and the frequency of the use of books at home between caregivers and infants were positively associated with the behaviors of joint attention and surgency. Conclusion denotes that books would probably be associated with more infant interactions and higher SES, mediating in the promotion of cognitive development from the first months of life.

Videogame exposure positively associates with selective attention in a cross-sectional sample of young children

There is growing interest in how exposure to videogames is associated with young children’s development. While videogames may displace time from developmentally important activities and have been related to lower reading skills, work in older children and adolescents has suggested that experience with attention-demanding/fast-reaction games positively associates with attention and visuomotor skills. In the current study, we assessed 154 children aged 4–7 years (77 male; mean age 5.38) whose parents reported average daily weekday recreational videogame time, including information about which videogames were played. We investigated associations between videogame exposure and children’s sustained, selective, and executive attention skills. We found that videogame time was significantly positively associated only with selective attention. Longitudinal studies are needed to elucidate the directional association between time spent playing recreational videogames and attention skills.

Interaction of Impulsivity, Attention, and Intelligence in Early Adolescents Born Preterm without Sequelae

There is insufficient evidence on the intellectual and attentional profile of adolescents born prematurely. Aim: to identify maladjustment in intellectual and attention skills at the beginning of secondary school. Method: 69 premature 12-year-old adolescents were evaluated with the WISC, d2 Test of Attention, and Test of Perception of Differences-Revised (CARAS-R). Results: adolescents present intellectual and attention abilities in the normal range. However, all premature adolescents show difficulties in impulse control and female adolescents are better in processing speed. Depending on the category of prematurity, differences in attention skills are evident. Conclusion: adolescents born prematurely without associated sequelae have significantly lower performance in the same areas than the normative group. This could affect the cognitive control of their behavior and academic performance in the medium and long term. Great prematurity could interfere with attention skills and self-control even at the age of 12, especially in males.

Effects of a Mentor Program for Coaches on the Coach-Athlete Relationship

The present study was designed to explore the effects of a one-year coach education program on coaches’ perceptions of their communication skills and co-orientation of their coach-athlete relationships. The study was designed with an experimental group and a control group. The experiment group consisted of 66 coaches (and 295 athletes) who received formal mentoring and the control group consisted of 41 coaches (and 148 athletes) who did not receive any mentoring. Data were analysed using structural equation modelling with autoregressive cross-lagged analysis. Results from the self-reported questionnaire at pre-test and post-test showed that the reciprocity of the coach-athlete relationships was not statistically significant. However, coaches’ experience of change in attention skills from the pre-test to the post-test positively predicted changes in their own perception of the coach-athlete relationship, whereas this association was not significant in the athletes’ perceptions. Moreover, the coach education programme increased coaches’ perception of their relational bonds with their athletes, but this increase did not correspond with an increase in athletes’ perception of the relational bonds with their coach. Practical implications and suggestions for further research are discussed in light of these findings.

Importance of Attention in Sensory Processing and Social Functioning in Young Adults With and Without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Date Presented Accepted for AOTA INSPIRE 2021 but unable to be presented due to online event limitations. Statistical modeling analysis reveal that attention skills mediate the relationship between brain measures of sensory processing (measured by electroencephalography) and behavioral sensory processing in young adults with and without autism. Thus, attention abilities facilitate brain mechanisms to better process sensory stimuli to perform everyday sensory processing activities and social skills. Results suggest that therapy emphasizing attention skills in autism can modify sensory and social participation. Primary Author and Speaker: Jewel Elias Crasta Additional Authors and Speakers: Patricia Davies Contributing Authors: William J. Gavin

Socio-economic Status and Attention Ability as Predictors of Early Geometry Skills of 60-72-Month-Old Children

The aims of this study are investigating the attention ability and geometry skills of 60-72-month-old children according to the socio-economic status and determining whether the attention ability significantly predicts the geometry skill when the socio-economic status is controlled. The accessible population of the research in the relational screening model consisted of 60-72-month-old children studying in Afyonkarahisar kindergartens and nursery classes in the 2018-2019 academic year. The sample of the study was randomly selected 310 children among 60-72-month-old children attending high, medium and low socio-economic status schools, volunteering to participate in the study. The "General Information Form" was used to collect data on children and their families in the study while the " Attention Gathering Skills Test for Five-year Old Children FTF-K" developed by Raatz and Möhling in 1971 and adapted by Gözüm (2017) to determine the attention status of children, and the "Early Geometry Skill Test” developed by Sezer (2015) to measure children's geometry skills were used. Chi-Square, One-Way ANOVA and Hierarchical Regression tests were used to analyze the data obtained from the research. In the light of the findings, it was found out that children's attention skills and early geometry skills differed according to socio-economic status and when the socio-economic status was controlled, attention ability was a positive and significant predictor of early geometry skills of 60-72-month-old children.