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The purpose of this study was to estimate the longitudinal and reciprocal predictive relations between children’s social skills, measured by an adaptation of the frequently used Social Skills Rating Scale, and their standardized academic achievement. A large nationally representative sample of elementary school students were assessed at least annually from kindergarten through fifth grade in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010–2011 ( n = 7963). Structural equation modeling was used to test a panel model of teacher-rated interpersonal and self-control skills and children’s scores on standardized reading, math, and science achievement tests. Reciprocal relations between children’s social skills and achievement were supported throughout elementary school, with achievement showing a stronger and consistent pattern of influence on children’s subsequent social skills.

A large body of prior work shows that cognitive abilities and basic academic skills explain individual differences in performance on reading, writing, and math achievement measures. However, this research focuses exclusively on the average relations between cognitive and achievement scores without consideration of whether effects vary at different thresholds of academic performance. To address this limitation, we employed unconditional quantile regression to explore the effects of cognitive abilities and basic and intermediate academic skills on advanced achievement outcomes as a function of reading, writing, or math skill level in a large nationally representative sample of youth and adolescent children (N = 3891). Quantile regression is a methodological technique that allows for a more nuanced examination of whether differential effects along the distribution of an outcome skill exist, which often goes undetected when employing more conventional regression methods that focus on mean effects. Findings from this exploratory study generally showed that cognitive abilities and basic and intermediate academic skills had a pattern of differential effects depending on achievement level, with stronger effects often observed when performance on the academic outcome measure was lower. This exploratory study provides an illustrative example of unconditional quantile regression and how it can be interpreted and applied within an area of relevance to pediatric neuropsychology.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created unique challenges for family caregivers of children with developmental disabilities (DD). The purpose of this study was to conduct a 6-month follow-up on the experiences of caregiver burden and psychological distress among caregivers of children with autism (ASD) and/or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during COVID-19 pandemic, compare their experiences to caregivers of children without DD, and test the interaction between opportunities for self-care and caregiver burden and psychological distress. Results indicated caregivers of children with ASD/ADHD continued to report significantly higher levels of psychological distress and caregiver burden compared to caregivers of children without DD. Counter to study hypotheses decreased opportunities to engage in self-care as a result of the pandemic predicted higher levels of psychological distress and caregiver burden for caregivers of children without DD, whereas only caregiver burden was moderated by self-care for caregivers of children with ASD/ADHD. Overall, the COVID-19 pandemic is continuing to negatively impact the psychological health of family caregivers of school-age children. In general, greater challenges are presented for caregivers of children with ASD/ADHD, but they seem to be more resilient to some COVID-19 challenges than caregivers of children without DD.

Individually administered intelligence measures are commonly used in diagnostic work, but there is a continuing need for research investigating possible test bias among these measures. One current intelligence measure, the Differential Ability Scales, Second Edition (DAS-II), is a test with growing popularity. The issue of test bias, however, has not been thoroughly investigated with the DAS-II. The current study investigated whether the DAS-II demonstrates systematic construct bias when used with children from three racial and ethnic groups—African American, Asian, and Hispanic—when compared to non-Hispanic Caucasian children. Multi-group confirmatory factor analyses with data from the DAS-II standardization sample were used to assess whether the constructs and measurement of constructs were invariant across groups. Results indicate cross-group internal structure validity in the DAS-II, and thus a lack of construct bias. Minor differences were found, but these differences do not affect the calculation of composite scores on the DAS-II and thus would not result in unfair scoring for the groups involved. Results of this study support the appropriateness of the DAS-II for clinical use with these racial and ethnic groups.

Approximately half of students who are deaf or hard of hearing (DHH) have a co-occurring disability. Although assessing as well as diagnosing learning disabilities (LDs) is particularly difficult in this population, it is important to properly identify students who may be eligible for academic interventions or accommodations. This study analyzed national samples of students who are (a) classified with an LD, (b) DHH, and (c) DHH and classified with an LD. The three samples were compared in terms of their performance on a standardized measure of academic achievement. The results of our exploratory analyses suggest that math calculation skills and classroom grades are useful in classifying students who are DHH with an LD. We discuss the implications of these findings, limitations to the dataset, and areas for further research.

Successfully obtaining employment is a pivotal developmental milestone for many young adults, yet for some, is beyond reach. Despite advances in accessibility legislation and academic attainment, deaf young adults in the United States continue to face underemployment and underpayment. The purpose of this study is to investigate the role of autonomy in the developmental process for deaf adolescents as they navigate the transition from adolescence to early adulthood and enter the workforce. A secondary analysis of a large-scale dataset, the second National Longitudinal Transition Study (NLTS2), was conducted to test a longitudinal model of how parental beliefs and attitudes contribute to autonomy development, and in turn, how autonomous orientations and actions exhibited by deaf youths contribute to employment outcomes. The findings indicate that autonomy plays a significant role in the transition towards sustainable employment for deaf young adults. Parental expectations emerged as important antecedents of autonomy development for deaf adolescents, contributing both to autonomous motivations and independent functioning. Deaf adolescents’ autonomy is linked to employment opportunities with greater opportunities for advancement and higher income, and thus offers the field a potential avenue for strengthening pathways towards sustainable employment for deaf individuals.

Research published in Intelligence showed that the number of factors measured by individual intelligence tests has increased dramatically over time (Frazier & Youngstrom, 2007). When “gold standard” methods (parallel analysis based on principal components analysis, PA-PCA, and minimum average partial, MAP) were applied to these same tests fewer factors emerged, leading the authors to conclude that tests were inappropriately overfactored, and that modern tests are measuring far fewer underlying constructs than they are intended to measure. The article was influential, with the findings cited commonly and used to guide subsequent analyses. Here, we tested a key assumption of Frazier and Youngstrom and subsequent research that has used these methods: whether MAP and PA-PCA are accurate in recovering the correct number of factors with cognitive-test-like data. MAP and PA-PCA were compared to other exploratory and confirmatory factor analytic techniques in their ability to recover the correct number of factors in simulated data. Data conformed to common values found in intelligence literature, and varied based on the number of tests per factor, magnitude of factor loadings and factor correlations, and sample size. Results showed that MAP and PA-PCA, in fact, underfactored under many realistic data conditions, meaning that they recovered too few factors. Confirmatory methods were more accurate. Among exploratory methods PA based on principal axis factoring (not principal components analysis) was most accurate, although all methods underfactored with few tests per factor and high factor correlations. These findings suggest that PA-PCA and MAP are not “gold standard” methods for determining the number of factors underlying intelligence data and that other methods are more accurate. We argue for the importance of formal and informal theory in factor analytic investigations of intelligence tests.

The purpose of this study was to examine the applicability of Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory across six intelligence tests to better understand the cognitive abilities at a broad construct level, as opposed to narrow test level. Nearly 4000 youth aged 6 to 18 were drawn from seven tests' standardization and linking samples and missing data techniques were used to complete cross-battery analyses. Cross-battery confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated support for a CHC model when the Differential Abilities Scale, Second Edition, Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Third, Fourth, and Fifth Editions, and Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Cognitive Abilities were analyzed simultaneously. All but one of the 66 subtests mapped on the CHC broad abilities in accordance with prior CHC classifications. Results also indicated overall intelligence (g) and fluid reasoning (Gf) were statistically indistinguishable. Findings provide further support that the CHC taxonomy is useful for intelligence test classification, interpretation, and development.

Self-regulation is a well-known construct in educational and psychological research, as it is often related to academic success and well-being. Drawing from criticisms of a lack of context applied to the investigation of this construct, the current study examined the multi-dimensional role of social support (teachers, parents, peers) and coping skills as predictors of self-regulated learning among a diverse sample of urban youth ( N = 229). Based on a cross-sectional and longitudinal design, structural equation modeling was used to test two models. Social support predicted self-regulated learning at Time 1 and Time 2 after controlling for grades. Results further indicated that coping skills did not predict self-regulated learning in either model. The implications for practice, limitations of the study, and future directions for research are discussed.

With an age range from 3 to 13 years, the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children–Second Edition (KABC-II) offers an appealing option for the assessment of cognitive abilities for children. Although independent research has provided evidence of the construct validity of the KABC-II for school-age children, previous studies have rarely included an examination of preschool-age children. This study used confirmatory factor analysis to investigate the structure of the KABC-II in preschool children in relation to the Cattell-Horn-Carroll (CHC) theory of intelligence. By examining competing models based on CHC theory, this study found that the constructs measured by the KABC-II subtests matched those specified within the manual, for children ages 4 through 5. In addition, these results suggested that Gf and Gv are in fact distinct broad abilities for this age group. These findings provide support for differentiated cognitive abilities within young children.

Social skills function as a vehicle by which we negotiate important relationships and navigate the transition from childhood into the educational and professional experiences of early adulthood. Yet, for individuals who are deaf, access to these opportunities may vary depending on their preferred language modality, family language use, and educational contexts. Drawing upon available data in the National Longitudinal Transition Survey 2 (NLTS2) and controlling for demographic covariates, we examine the predictive role of social skills in high school on postsecondary education, employment, independent living, and self-beliefs. Parents’ ratings of social skills in their children who are deaf (from the first wave, when students were in high school) strongly positively predicted graduation from postsecondary settings up to ten years later, but did not predict employment or independent living outcomes.

Parent involvement and parent expectations are important factors in successful academic and career outcomes for students who are d/Deaf or hard of hearing. Parental roles are particularly important during the transition planning process for students with disabilities. Results are presented from an exploratory study of 56 parents that measured their involvement, perceptions, and expectations during the transition process. Parents positively rated their experiences with the individualized education program (IEP) process and held high expectations for both their child's educational attainment and employment. However, differences in expectations and perceptions emerged among parents whose children had co-occurring disabilities. Future directions for research and practice are discussed, including the implications of the demographics of the study sample and the relationship between parental demographics and parents' expectations for their children.

Previous research suggests that students' social skills and achievement are interrelated, and some findings support bi-directional effects between the two constructs. The purpose of this research study was to estimate the possible longitudinal and reciprocal effects of social skills and achievement for kindergarten through eighth grade students. Data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study program were analyzed; teachers' ratings of students' social skills and students' standardized math and reading achievement performance were collected 4 and 5 times, respectively. Latent variable structural equation modeling was used to test a panel model of reciprocal, longitudinal effects of social skills and achievement. The results suggest that the effects of students' social skills and achievement are bi-directional, but the effects of students' achievement on their later social skills are stronger than the effects of social skills on achievement. The significant effects of students' social skills on their later achievement are mostly indirect. These findings suggest that the future social skills of students who struggle academically may be of particular concern to educators, and intervention and prevention efforts aimed to address both social and achievement skills may help remediate the other skill in the future.

To evaluate the efficacy of non-pharmacological interventions for antipsychotic-associated weight gain.Systematic literature search and meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials comparing behavioral interventions with control groups to ameliorate antipsychotic-associated weight gain.Across 17 studies (n=810, mean age: 38.8 years, 52.7% male, 40.8% White, 85.6% with schizophrenia-spectrum disorders), non-pharmacological interventions led to a significant reduction in weight (-3.12 kg; CI: -4.03, -2.21, p0.0001) and body mass index (BMI) (-0.94 kg/m²; CI: -1.45, -0.43, p=0.0003) compared with control groups. Intervention benefits extended to all secondary outcomes, except for high density-lipoprotein-cholesterol and systolic blood pressure. Compared to controls, intervention patients experienced significant decreases in waist circumference (WMD=-3.58 cm, CI: -5.51, -1.66, p=0.03), percent body fat (WMD=-2.82%, CI: -5.35, -0.30, p=0.03), glucose (WMD=-5.79 mg/dL, CI: -9.73, -1.86, p=0.004), insulin (WMD=-4.93 uIU/mL, CI: -7.64, -2.23, p=0.0004), total cholesterol (WMD=-20.98 mg/dL, CI: -33.78, -8.19; p=0.001), low density-lipoprotein-cholesterol (WMD=-22.06 mg/dL, CI: -37.80, -6.32, p=0.006) and triglycerides (WMD=-61.68 mg/dL, CI: -92.77, -30.59, p=0.0001), and less weight gain7% (29.7% vs. 61.3%; RR=-0.52, CI: -0.35, -0.78, p=0.002; number-needed-to-treat=4). Up to 12 months after the intervention ended (mean=3.6 months), benefits endured regarding weight (WMD=-3.48 kg, CI: -6.37, -0.58, p=0.02), but not BMI (p=0.40). Subgroup analyses showed superiority of non-pharmacological interventions irrespective of treatment duration, individual or group, cognitive behavioral or nutritional interventions, or prevention versus intervention trials. However, weight and BMI were significantly improved only in outpatient trials (p0.0001), but not in inpatient or mixed samples (p=0.09-0.96).Behavioral interventions effectively prevented and reduced antipsychotic-associated weight gain and cardiometabolic perturbations, at least in outpatients agreeing to participate in trials aimed at improving physical health. Effective treatments ranged from nutritional interventions to cognitive behavioral therapy.