Modeling developmental changes in print tuning in a transparent alphabetic orthography.

The development of print tuning involves the increased specificity and redundancy for orthographic representations. However, it is by no means clear how decoding accuracy and efficiency are related over the years and how it affects reading disability. In the present study, we monitored the development of accuracy and efficiency of decoding in Dutch as a relatively transparent orthography as a function of orthographic complexity and lexical status throughout the primary grades. There was clear evidence that development of decoding accuracy preceded development of decoding efficiency and that a certain threshold of accuracy is needed for decoding efficiency to evolve. Furthermore, it was shown that pseudoword decoding efficiency predicted growth in word decoding efficiency, especially for the higher levels of orthographic complexity. There was also evidence that accuracy precedes efficiency across different profiles of readers and that decoding strength can be defined as a function of orthographic complexity and lexicality.

Fathers' and mothers' attachment representations as predictors of preadolescents' attachment security: A ten-year follow-up of Finnish families.

The question of how mothers' and fathers' representations of attachment correlate ten years later with children's perceptions of attachment relationships was examined in a longitudinal study on Finnish families (N = 42). The parents completed the Adult Attachment Interview (AAI) during the child's first year of life. At 11 years, the children filled out three scales on how secure they perceive the relationship with each parent. Parents' AAI classifications and AAI dimensions based on continuous scales were used as predictors of the preadolescents' attachment security. Regression analyses demonstrated that fathers' but not mothers' State-of-Mind and Experience dimensions predicted preadolescents' security of attachment to father. The discussion focuses on the predictive validity of the classical categorical versus the recently proposed continuous approach and the different roles of parents in transmitting security from one generation to another.

The KiVa antibullying curriculum and outcome: does fidelity matter?

Research on school-based prevention suggests that the success of prevention programs depends on whether they are implemented as intended. In antibullying program evaluations, however, limited attention has been paid to implementation fidelity. The present study fills in this gap by examining the link between the implementation of the KiVa antibullying program and outcome. With a large sample of 7413 students (7-12years) from 417 classrooms within 76 elementary schools, we tested whether the degree of implementation of the student lessons in the KiVa curriculum was related to the effectiveness of the program in reducing bullying problems in classrooms. Results of multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that after nine months of implementation, lesson adherence as well as lesson preparation time (but not duration of lessons) were associated with reductions in victimization at the classroom level. No statistically significant effects, however, were found for classroom-level bullying. The different outcomes for victimization and bullying as well as the importance of documenting program fidelity are discussed.

Going to scale: a nonrandomized nationwide trial of the KiVa antibullying program for grades 1-9.

OBJECTIVE: The effects of school-based antibullying programs have typically been examined on small samples, with number of schools ranging from 1 to 78 (Farrington & Ttofi, 2009). This study investigated the effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program in the beginning of its nationwide implementation in Finland. METHOD: At each time point, the participants included 888 schools with approximately 150,000 students in 11,200 classrooms in Grades 1-9 (8-16 years of age; 51% boys and 49% girls). Victims and bullies were identified with the global questions from the Revised Olweus Bully/Victim Questionnaire (Olweus, 1996), utilizing the criteria suggested by Solberg and Olweus (2003). The program effects were examined by calculating odds ratios based on a cohort-longitudinal design, correcting the standard errors for clustering. RESULTS: During the first 9 months of implementation, the KiVa program reduced both victimization and bullying, with a control/intervention group odds ratio of 1.22 (95% CI [1.19, 1.24]) for victimization and 1.18 (95% CI [1.15, 1.21]) for bullying. CONCLUSIONS: Generalized to the Finnish population of 500,000 students, this would mean a reduction of approximately 7,500 bullies and 12,500 victims.

Bystanders matter: associations between reinforcing, defending, and the frequency of bullying behavior in classrooms.

This study investigated whether the bystanders' behaviors (reinforcing the bully vs. defending the victim) in bullying situations are related to the frequency of bullying in a classroom. The sample consisted of 6,764 primary school children from Grades 3 to 5 (9-11 years of age), who were nested within 385 classrooms in 77 schools. The students filled out Internet-based questionnaires in their schools' computer labs. The results from multilevel models showed that defending the victim was negatively associated with the frequency of bullying in a classroom, whereas the effect of reinforcing the bully was positive and strong. The results suggest that bystander responses influence the frequency of bullying, which makes them suitable targets for antibullying interventions.

A large-scale evaluation of the KiVa antibullying program: grades 4-6.

This study demonstrates the effectiveness of the KiVa antibullying program using a large sample of 8,237 youth from Grades 4-6 (10-12 years). Altogether, 78 schools were randomly assigned to intervention (39 schools, 4,207 students) and control conditions (39 schools, 4,030 students). Multilevel regression analyses revealed that after 9 months of implementation, the intervention had consistent beneficial effects on 7 of the 11 dependent variables, including self- and peer-reported victimization and self-reported bullying. The results indicate that the KiVa program is effective in reducing school bullying and victimization in Grades 4-6. Despite some evidence against school-based interventions, the results suggest that well-conceived school-based programs can reduce victimization.

Teacher attitudes toward dyslexia: effects on teacher expectations and the academic achievement of students with dyslexia.

The present study examined teacher attitudes toward dyslexia and the effects of these attitudes on teacher expectations and the academic achievement of students with dyslexia compared to students without learning disabilities. The attitudes of 30 regular education teachers toward dyslexia were determined using both an implicit measure and an explicit, self-report measure. Achievement scores for 307 students were also obtained. Implicit teacher attitudes toward dyslexia related to teacher ratings of student achievement on a writing task and also to student achievement on standardized tests of spelling but not math for those students with dyslexia. Self-reported attitudes of the teachers toward dyslexia did not relate to any of the outcome measures. Neither the implicit nor the explicit measures of teacher attitudes related to teacher expectations. The results show implicit attitude measures to be a more valuable predictor of the achievement of students with dyslexia than explicit, self-report attitude measures.

Person-group dissimilarity in involvement in bullying and its relation with social status.

This study tested a person-group dissimilarity model for the relation between peer preference on the one hand, and bullying and victimization on the other. This model accounts for both individual and group (i.e., classroom) factors and postulates that children will be rejected by their peers when they display behaviors that deviate from the group norm. We tested the model in a sample of 2,578 early adolescents in 109 middle school classrooms. Multilevel analysis was used to account for our nested data when examining individual and group effects simultaneously in cross-level interaction terms. The results supported our hypotheses based on the dissimilarity model. Classroom norms of behavior appeared to affect the relation between involvement in bullying and peer preference, in that early adolescents who bullied were more likely to be rejected by their peers in a classroom where bullying was non-normative. In classrooms where bullying was normative, adolescents who bullied were less likely to be rejected or were even liked by their peers (i.e., positive scores on peer preference). The same was true for victimization, although victims still had low scores on peer preference even when victimization was normative. Theoretical and practical implications of these results are discussed in terms of directions for future research and intervention in bullying.

Clinical assessment of hemispatial neglect: evaluation of different measures and dimensions.

The multidimensional nature of the neglect syndrome constitutes a challenge for clinical assessments. This study evaluates the sensitivity of different clinical measures to detect neglect and explores ways to evaluate the diversity of the syndrome in a clinical sample. An extensive battery of tests was used to examine aspects of visuospatial, representational, and personal neglect. A total of 31 normal control participants and 34 patients with right hemisphere stroke were examined 16.8 days post-stroke, on average. Of the patients, 24 showed neglect in at least one task. The Random shape cancellation test, Star cancellation, and two line bisection tasks appeared to be the most sensitive tests of visuospatial neglect. Personal neglect and neglect in far space occurred only together with extrapersonal neglect. Besides near space, other spatial aspects of neglect are important to consider in clinical assessments, but standardized methods are needed. In this patient group a minimum of 10 tests were needed to cover various aspects of detection, dissociations, and severity of neglect. A multifactorial approach in clinical testing of neglect is recommended.

Impact of a maximal exercise test on symptoms and activity in chronic fatigue syndrome.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined the effects of exercise on symptoms and activity in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS). METHODS: Twenty CFS patients and 20 neighborhood controls performed an incremental exercise test until exhaustion. Fatigue, muscle pain, minutes spent resting, and the level of physical activity were assessed with a self-observation list. Physical activity was assessed with an actometer as well. Data were obtained 3 days before the maximal exercise test (MET) up to 5 days thereafter. RESULTS: For CFS patients, daily observed fatigue was increased up to 2 days after the exercise test. For controls, self-observed fatigue returned to baseline after 2 h. Both CFS patients and controls spent more minutes resting on the day before and on the day after the MET. For CFS patients, self-observed minutes resting increased on the day of the exercise test. For neither group, a decrease of actometer recorded or self-observed physical activity after exercise was found. CONCLUSION: Fatigue in CFS patients increased after exercise, but the level of actual physical activity remained unchanged.

Anti-bullying intervention: implementation and outcome.

BACKGROUND: The participant role approach represents a view of bullying as a group process in which bystanders often encourage the bullying or silently witness it, while little support is given to the victim (e.g. Salmivalli, Lagerspetz, Björkqvist, Osterman, & Kaukiainen, 1996). There is a discrepancy between students' attitudes (which are often against bullying) and their actual behaviour in bullying situations, and this may be an important factor contributing to the persistence of the problem. AIM: The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of an anti-bullying intervention programme targeting the group as a whole. Class teachers who attended a 1-year training course carried out the interventions in school classes. The present evaluation of the project is based on multi-level modelling, assessing the programme effects after 12 months of intervention, utilizing a cohort longitudinal design with adjacent cohorts (Olweus & Alsaker, 1991) also taking into account the degree of implementation of the programme. SAMPLE: The intervention was implemented in 48 school classes (Grades 4, 5, and 6) from 16 Finnish schools, involving 1,220 children (600 girls and 620 boys). METHOD: The present report is based on questionnaire data collected at two assessment points during the project, assessing the frequencies of bullies and victims, the extent of observed and experienced bullying, students' attitudes and efficacy beliefs related to bullying, and their participant role behaviours (self- and peer-reported). Reports were collected from teachers about the concrete actions taken in order to compare the actual content of the intervention to what had been planned. RESULTS: A positive impact of the intervention programme was found on several outcome variables (e.g. frequencies of bullies and victims, observed and experienced bullying, attitudes and efficacy beliefs, and to some extent, participant role behaviours). The intervention effects were found more often in Grade 4 than in Grade 5, and often only in schools with a high degree of implementation of the programme.