Exploring the impact of temporally contiguous action effect on action control performance in typical development and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Previous work shows a reinforcing impact of action effect on behavior, independent of other reinforces such as positive outcomes or task success. Action-effect temporal contiguity plays an important role in such a reinforcing effect, possibly indicating a motor-based evaluation of their causal relationship. In the present study, we aimed to negate the reinforcing impact of an immediate action effect with task success by designing a task where red and green circle stimuli rapidly descended on the screen. Participants were instructed to respond only when a specific sequence of colored stimuli matched a predefined response rule. The temporal contiguity between the response and a perceptual effect was manipulated. We initially hypothesized an increased action tendency resulting in higher false alarm rates in the immediate (compared to 400 ms lag) action-effect condition. We also expected this pattern to be more pronounced in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder compared to typically developing individuals. Contrary to our expectations, results from three experiments showed a consistent pattern of a lower false alarm rate in the immediate compared to the 400 ms lag effect condition across both attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and typically developing groups. Additionally, while action-effect temporal contiguity did not significantly alter the overall rate of misses, we observed earlier improvements in both misses and false alarms in the immediate condition during the first blocks. Possible explanations for the complex impact of action effect on action tendency and action control are discussed. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Child-parent agreement on the SDQ: The role of child-parent attachment and parental feelings.

OBJECTIVES: Children and their parents often provide divergent reports regarding their mental health on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). These discrepancies may impede the diagnostic processes. The present study aimed to explore how a child's attachment to the parent and parental feelings may explain some of the variability between parent's and children's reports on the SDQ. METHODS: Data were collected using self-report questionnaires from 277 children and their parents (n = 421) who were referred to a public mental health clinic. This information was classified into clinical categories (normal and abnormal) and analyzed using multinomial logistic regression. RESULTS: The agreement rates between children and parents on the normality of children were high in general and across gender and age. Insecure attachment to parents positively and significantly predicted the agreement of child and parent reporting abnormality and disagreement when parents reported normality and children reported abnormality. Parental anger positively and significantly predicted disagreement in reports in which parents reported abnormal anger and children reported normal anger. CONCLUSIONS: These findings highlight the importance of assessing informant variability in association with emotional and relationship variables as clinically meaningful information for a clinical diagnosis.

Art Therapy for Children in Short-Term Hospitalization.

Pediatric hospitalization is known to be associated with adverse developmental and psychosocial outcomes for young patients. Art therapy is a direct means of addressing the emotional world of the hospitalized child. However, the hospital setting sometimes requires adaptations of this practice to a short-term mode. To explore the characteristics of the adjusted short-term art therapy mode, 10 experienced art therapists who work with hospitalized children were interviewed. Results highlighted the unique aspects of working with children who enter short-term hospitalization, addressing the unknown but most likely brief duration of art therapy and the issues involved, such as the need to use problem-focused strategies, the diffused therapeutic space, interaction with a multidisciplinary staff, and parent's presence during the therapy session. Integrating the principles of art therapy with the principles of short-term therapy, this paper explores a model for carrying out short-term art therapy with children undergoing short hospitalization.

Children and Adolescents' Mental Health Following COVID-19: The Possible Role of Difficulty in Emotional Regulation.

The COVID-19 pandemic has shattered routines throughout the world, creating closures and social isolation. Preliminary studies conducted during the pandemic have shown that children and adolescents are mainly affected by social distancing and the lack of a supportive framework. The purpose of the present study was to compare mental health symptoms of 430 children and adolescents who sought mental health services in the community before vs. during the pandemic. The study examined children's perceived burden of the pandemic, reports of emotional and behavioral problems (SDQ) anxiety (SCARED), depressed moods (SMFQ-C), and difficulty in emotional regulation (DERS), as well as intervening variables such as age and gender. Furthermore, the effect of difficulty in emotional regulation on children's mental health symptoms was explored. Findings indicate an increase in all mental health symptoms excluding anxiety, during the pandemic. Boys reported more difficulty in emotional regulation during the pandemic than before, and girls reported more emotional and behavioral problems. Children reported an increase in emotional and behavioral problems and adolescents in peer relationship problems. Difficulty in emotional regulation predicted all mental health symptoms in both samples, more so in girls and adolescents. These initial findings support the need for further studies to examine the long-term mental health effects of COVID-19 pandemic on children and adolescents.

Online and Academic Procrastination in Students With Learning Disabilities: The Impact of Academic Stress and Self-Efficacy.

The steady growth in the number of college students with learning disabilities (LD) increases the need to investigate their unique characteristics and behaviors in academia. The present study examined the differences in academic and online procrastination, academic stress, and academic self-efficacy between college students with and without LD. In addition, the relationship between these variables was examined. It was assumed that the difficulties experienced by college students with LD would lead them to increased levels of academic stress, and academic and online procrastination. The results showed significant differences in the levels of all variables except online procrastination between students with (n = 77) and without (n = 98) LD. Further analysis indicated that academic stress and academic self-efficacy mediated the link between LD and academic and online procrastination. These findings support the notion that during higher education, students with LD experience more difficulties than students without LD, which at times will lead them to increased levels of procrastination. However, further studies are needed to understand the nature of online procrastination in students with LD in higher education.

Exploring the Unique Professional Identity of Hospital Teachers.

Teachers' professional identity is a key factor in their motivation, effectiveness, and job satisfaction. The present study examined hospital teachers perceived professional identity based on their work experience in a unique educational environment. Thirty-seven hospital teachers reflected on their professional identity and other personal and professional aspects of their work experience in semi-structured interviews. Hospital teachers reported a multilayer professional identity and described their work environment and teaching as complex, different from teaching in the regular school, and satisfying. Scientifically clarifying their unique professional identity is important for the development of this unique profession and for enhancing their professional confidence and well-being.

Gender differences in implicit exposure to cyber-pornography.

Cyber-pornography consumption has become a widespread behavioral habit, with potential diverse outcomes for the user. Previous studies have repeatedly found that males are exposed to cyber-pornography more than females, when they are asked about it explicitly. However, perceived social acceptance of cyber-pornography consumption may dramatically bias such explicit reports. The current study aimed at better understanding gender differences in exposure to cyber-pornography using both explicit self-report measures and a new measure developed to examine exposure to cyber-pornography indirectly. The findings demonstrated gender differences in exposure to cyber-pornography in both measures. Women tended to understate the extent of their exposure. Interestingly, men showed the opposite tendency. Lastly, perceived social acceptance mediated the relationship between gender and explicit report bias. We discuss the conclusions of the current study in relation to previous theories and findings, as well as the importance of using indirect measures to study socially controversial topics such as cyber-pornography.

Teaching Emotional Intelligence: An Academic Course for Hospital Teachers.

Hospital teachers work in a unique educational milieu that serves hospitalized children. In order to meet these children's educational needs, teachers are expected to display high emotional abilities that will allow them to be creative, flexible and innovative, and able to work in distressing situations. For this reason a 30-hour Emotional Intelligence academic course for hospital teachers was developed and conducted, based on the revised theoretical framework of Mayer, Caruso & Salovey (2016). This mixed methods research study examined 50 hospital teachers who participated in this 10-week course, using a pre- and post-questionnaire, focus groups, semi-structured interviews and a final paper with a reflective summary. All training materials and examples were geared towards working with hospitalized children. Findings indicated an overall increase in the ability of hospital teachers to identify, understand and regulate their emotions from the beginning to the end of the training. Further results indicated that teachers felt the course increased their emotional self-awareness and understanding of emotions, as well as empathic feelings towards their students. In addition, they felt that the course was too short, and that they needed more practice in order to master these emotional abilities. This research contributes to the growing literature on the importance of Emotional Intelligence skills in teachers, and specifically in teachers who work in hospitals and other special education settings.

Active and passive procrastination in terms of temperament and character.

BACKGROUND: While passive procrastination is usually associated with distress and dysfunction active procrastination may be an effective coping style. To test this possibility, we examined passive and active procrastination in terms of temperament, character, and emotional intelligence (EI), as well as by a short-term longitudinal study. METHODS: Adult community volunteers (N = 126) self-reported twice in an online short-term longitudinal study. At baseline on active and passive procrastination, as well as on the temperament and character inventory of personality (TCI-140) and EI. At first testing, they were asked to freely describe three personal goals and to make action plans to achieve each within the next two weeks. Two weeks later they reported on progress on their personal goals (PPG). RESULTS: PPG correlated positively with active procrastination and negatively with passive procrastination. Dividing the participants into median splits on active and passive procrastination resulted in four groups: Active, Passive, Active-Passive, and Non-Procrastinators. Analysis of variance showed that active procrastinators had an advantage in temperament and character traits as well as EI. Active procrastinators were also higher than the other groups on personality profiles i.e. combinations of traits; dependable temperament and well-developed character. CONCLUSIONS: Active procrastination can be an adaptive and productive coping style. It is associated with dependable temperament, well-developed character, and high emotional intelligence and predicts meeting personal goals.

General and Life-Domain Procrastination in Highly Educated Adults in Israel.

Procrastination is usually perceived as a general behavioral tendency, and was studied mostly in college students in academic settings. Recently there is a growing body of literature to support the study of procrastination in older adults and in different life-domains. Based on these advances in the literature, the present study examined procrastination in 430 highly educated adults in Israel. Findings showed that respondents reported significantly higher procrastination in maintaining health behaviors and spending leisure time rather in other life-domains. Forty percent of participants reported high procrastination in health behaviors, while only 9.5% reported this level of procrastination in parenting and 1% in the general tendency to procrastinate. Further findings suggested that 25% of respondents reported high procrastination in four or more life-domains, and 40%-in one to three life-domains. The general tendency to procrastinate was moderately associated with procrastination in finance, education, and career life-domains and weekly with other life-domains. Fourteen percent of participants reported that procrastination influenced their life the most in health behaviors, 12% in career and education and 11% in romance and family life. These initial findings contribute to the overall perspective of life-domain specificity of procrastination in adults, and emphasize the importance to further study and develop a life-span perspective.

Causes for procrastination in a unique educational workplace.

Teachers in hospitals are a unique phenomenon. Their students are sick, hospitalized children with a range of physical, emotional, and cognitive needs. Teachers are expected to be dynamic, flexible, creative, open-minded, and efficient to function in the most appropriate manner. However, a recent study showed that these teachers tend to procrastinate on some of the most common tasks that teachers perform on a daily basis in the regular school system. The present study was an initial investigation into the reasons for procrastination in teachers who work in two hospitals in Israel. Thirty-two teachers were interviewed. The findings indicated that the primary reason for procrastination among teachers in the hospital was professional role ambiguity, with emotional factors and situational determinants which were identified. Future research should further explore reasons for procrastination in the workplace, in general, and its association with professional role ambiguity specifically.

Decisional, general and online procrastination: Understanding the moderating role of negative affect in the case of computer professionals.

Following the development of the internet as an essential tool for communication at home and at work, the concept of online procrastination was introduced to the literature. The present study examined the relationships between online procrastination and two well-established forms of procrastination, namely decisional and general procrastination; as well as the moderating effect of negative affect on these relationships. The sample consisted of 236 computer professionals from Israel who filled self-reported questionnaires on procrastination and negative feelings. To examine the relationships between our variables, we used multiple linear regression and moderation analyses. The findings indicated that higher levels of general and decisional procrastination were associated with higher levels of online procrastination. Higher levels of negative affect were also associated with online procrastination. Moreover, negative affect moderated the effect of general and decisional procrastination on online procrastination, and for participants with higher levels of negative affect, this effect was stronger. These findings suggest that both a personality-based tendency to procrastinate and the tendency to delay decision making may affect online behavior and that negative affect strengthens these tendencies. Future studies will need to further explore online procrastination and examine the personality and situational variables that contribute to it.

Academic procrastination and feelings toward procrastination in LD and non-LD students: Preliminary insights for future intervention.

Academic procrastination is a prevalent behavior that negatively influences students' performance and well-being. The growing number of students with learning disabilities (LD) in higher education communities leads to the need to study and address academic procrastination in this unique population of students and to develop ways to prevent and intervene. The present study examined the difference in academic procrastination between LD, non-LD, and supported LD college students in Israel. Findings indicated a significant difference between the three groups, both in academic procrastination and in the desire to change this behavior. Interestingly, supported LD students were similar to non-LD students in all parameters of academic procrastination; however, they expressed less desire to change this behavior than unsupported LD students. These findings highlight the effect of general academic support on academic procrastination in LD students. Future studies will need to further explore the specific elements of support that most contribute to the reduction of academic procrastination in LD students. Specific support programs for academic procrastination in LD students who take into account the findings of these future studies can then be developed and studied.

Academic interventions for academic procrastination: A review of the literature.

Procrastination is a widespread phenomenon in academic settings. It has been studied from many different theoretical angles, and a variety of causes and consequences have been suggested. Recent studies support the notion that academic procrastination can be seen from a situational perspective and as a failure in learning self-regulation. It suggests that interventions should address situational as well as deficits in self-regulation to help students overcome their procrastinating tendencies. The present review examined the recent literature on causes and consequences of academic procrastination and the limited number of studies of academic interventions for academic procrastination. Findings of this review strengthen the need to further study the topic of academic interventions for academic procrastination and to develop effective interventions. At the end of this review, several suggestions for the development of academic interventions are outlined.

Academic procrastination, emotional intelligence, academic self-efficacy, and GPA: a comparison between students with and without learning disabilities.

Academic procrastination has been seen as an impediment to students' academic success. Research findings suggest that it is related to lower levels of self-regulated learning and academic self-efficacy and associated with higher levels of anxiety, stress, and illness. Emotional intelligence (EI) is the ability to assess, regulate, and utilize emotions and has been found to be associated with academic self-efficacy and a variety of better outcomes, including academic performance. Students with learning disabilities (LD) are well acquainted with academic difficulty and maladaptive academic behavior. In comparison to students without LD, they exhibit high levels of learned helplessness, including diminished persistence, lower academic expectations, and negative affect. This study examined the relationships among academic procrastination, EI, and academic performance as mediated by academic self-efficacy in 287 LD and non-LD students. Results indicated that the indirect effect of EI on academic procrastination and GPA was stronger in LD students than in non-LD students. In addition, results indicated that LD students scored lower than non-LD students on both EI and academic self-efficacy and higher on academic procrastination. No difference was found in GPA.