An item response theory analysis of the Dissociative Experiences Scale II: examining psychometric properties and longitudinal stability among Japanese adults.

Background: The Dissociative Experiences Scale (DES-II) is widely used globally. However, psychometric properties of the scale have not been adequately examined. The present study aimed to examine the psychometric properties and longitudinal stability of the DES-II.

Teacher stress in social interactions in the light of polyvagal theory. An ambulatory assessment approach to teachers' heart rate and heart rate variability.

Background: Teaching is a genuinely social and highly demanding task. Drawing on Porges' phylogenetic polyvagal theory with three evolved systems and three associated behavioral responses (social engagement, mobilization, and immobilization), we investigated teachers' heart rate and heart rate variability in social interactions using ambulatory assessments.

Methods: We continuously measured heart rate and heart rate variability of 42 apparently healthy teachers on a work and leisure day with ambulatory electrocardiogram.

Autism-spectrum quotient mediates the relationship between clinical symptoms and quality of life in schizophrenia.

Background: Social dysfunctions can affect the quality of life (QOL) of patients with schizophrenia. The autism-spectrum quotient (AQ) is a widely used measure of innate autistic traits. However, in patients with schizophrenia, the score may represent the severity of autism-like social dysfunctions as a consequence of symptoms.

Profiles of Primary School Children's Sports Participation and Their Motor Competencies.

Background/objectives: Children participate in various organized and informal physical activities (PAs) in their leisure time, presenting diverse objectives and environments for motor and social development. However, current research often focuses on specific, mostly organized activities, overlooking the complexity of participation across different settings. This study aimed to (1) identify groups of children with similar characteristics based on their participation in five organized and informal sports activities and (2) examine how the groups differ regarding gender, age, BMI, motor competencies (MCs), and attendance in institutionalized care at school.

Degree of twist in the Achilles tendon interacts with its length and thickness in affecting local strain magnitude: a finite element analysis.

Introduction: The relationship between the twisting of the three subtendons of the Achilles tendon (AT) and local strain has received attention in recent years. The present study aimed to elucidate how the degree of twist in the AT affects strain using finite element (FE) analysis, while also considering other geometries (e.g.

Feasibility study of the e-learning version of the "Journey of the Brave:" a universal anxiety-prevention program based on cognitive behavioral therapy.

Background: School-based cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) programs could contribute toward preventing anxiety disorders in children. However, setting aside class time for such programs is difficult. Internet-based CBT (I-CBT) is an efficient way to provide CBT.

The Key Role of Gestures in Spatial Tasks for Students With Intellectual Disability.

The gestures produced by children with intellectual disability (ID) in spatial tasks are rarely considered, although they have a supporting role in the formation of thought. In this research study, we analyzed the number of gestures, the type of gestures, and their role in the expression of knowledge of students with ID. Twenty students (12-17 years old) with ID and 40 students with typical development (TD) matched on visual-spatial level (n = 20) and on language level (n = 20) participated in the research.

A scoping review of universal school-based resilience programs for adolescents.

Resilience, broadly defined as effective adaptation to stress, adversity, or change, is an important capacity to foster in adolescence. To date, there has been little review of the literature on universal school-based resilience programs for teens. The current scoping review had three aims.

Female flowers with short ovaries in 'Lemon' cucumber (Cucumis sativus) plants and their progeny carrying the mm genotype (CS-ACS2 genes with c.97G > T mutations): a novel trimonoecious phenotype.

Analysis of the sex expression in 10 'Lemon' (mmff) cucumber plants (Cucumis sativus L.), known to be andromonoecious, revealed that 3 plants produced female flowers with short ovaries, resembling bisexual flowers, after producing male and bisexual flowers. To investigate the heredity pattern governing these aberrant female flowers with short ovaries, F hybrid plants (MmFf) were generated through a cross between 'Dokanari-sennari' (MMFF) and 'Lemon' (mmff), and #4 (mmff) and #45 (mmFF) were meticulously selected from a pool of 45 F segregants.

Exploring Metalinguistic Awareness in School-Aged Autistic Children: Insights from Grammatical Judgment.

Metalinguistic awareness, the ability to manipulate and reflect upon language, remains largely unexplored in the autistic population. To address this gap, this observational cross-sectional study examines the metalinguistic abilities of school-aged autistic children in comparison to neurotypical peers in a novel tablet-based Grammatical Judgment Task (GJT) of reduced linguistic complexity engaging two kinds of metacognitive resources. Children had to judge non-verbally whether pre-recorded sentences were grammatically correct or not, following the traditional GJT paradigm assessing metamorphosyntactic skills.

Determinants of Engagement in Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Club Sports among University Students: A Large-Scale Study.

Various socio-demographic, environmental, and lifestyle-related factors have been reported to be associated with physical activity (PA) habits. However, there exist insufficient data comparing different forms of engagement in PA, sports, and exercise. This study aimed to investigate potential factors associated with the engagement in leisure-time PA (LPA) and club sports (CSs) in a large sample of college/university students.

Demonstrating consensus in argumentative settings: Co-constructions in children's peer discussions.

'Taking part' in conversations requires different activities from the interactants depending on the kind of conversation. This article investigates co-constructions in oral peer group discussions of elementary school children from grades 2 to 6 (7-12 years old). Although dissent is the starting point of argumentations, negotiating processes in oral argumentations are often co-constructed by two or more speakers on different levels, including consensual contexts.

Relations between teacher-child interaction quality and children's playfulness.

Adults' behaviour in interactions with children is assumed to influence children's playfulness. However, little is known about how the quality of teacher-child interaction in early childhood education and care affects the development of children's playfulness, although the interaction quality has been identified as a strong predictor of children's development in various domains. The present study examined cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between children's multidimensional playfulness and the quality of teacher-child interactions.

Increasing adolescents' physical activity levels through a comprehensive school-based physical activity program: study protocol of the cluster randomized controlled trial Active School.

Background: The positive effects of regular physical activity on children and adolescents' physical and mental health are well-established. Despite these health benefits, most Swiss adolescents do not meet WHO's recommended level of physical activity, which includes a daily minimum of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity. Due to their inclusivity, schools are identified as a key setting to promote physical activity.

Dimensionality of instructional quality in physical education. Obtaining students' perceptions using bifactor exploratory structural equation modeling and multilevel confirmatory factor analysis.

Background: In research on instructional quality, the generic model of the three basic dimensions is an established framework, which postulates that the three dimensions of classroom management, student support and cognitive activation represent quality characteristics of instruction that can be generalized across subjects. However, there are hardly any studies that examine if the three basic dimensions model could represent a suitable approach to measure instructional quality in physical education. Based on an extended model of the basic dimensions, a measurement model of instructional quality for physical education is presented, which integrates different theoretical approaches from the fields of educational and psychological research as well as different subfields of sports science in order to test the factorial structure of the corresponding measurement model.

Food for thought: the enhanced recall of metaphorical food sentences independent of hunger.

Metaphorical sentences are assumed to be related to more costly processes than their literal counterparts. However, given their frequent use in our daily lives, metaphorical sentences "must come with a benefit" (Noveck et al. Metaphor Symb 16:109-121.

Comparing competing characterizations suggests there might be more than one type of interest.

Although there is general consensus concerning the importance and function of interest in our daily lives, there is little agreement about its nature. Four studies of increasing ecological validity (total N = 993) were carried out to compare two different characterizations of interest in terms of the key appraisals involved. The findings indicate that while a two-appraisal model is suitable to explain the interest we can feel towards simple stimuli, a more complex model may better capture the nature of interest in the real world.

Teachers' Heart Rate Variability and Behavioral Reactions in Aggressive Interactions: Teachers Can Downregulate Their Physiological Arousal, and Progesterone Favors Social Integrative Teacher Responses.

Aggressive student behavior is considered one of the main risk factors for teacher stress. The present study investigated teachers' physiological and behavioral reactions when facing aggressive student behavior and examined which resources favor adaptive teacher reactions. The sample included 42 teachers.

Policies and opportunities for physical activity engagement in Austrian schools: a census survey.

Background: Compelling evidence suggests that schools' infrastructure and policy represent potential predictors of health and physical activity (PA) in children and adolescents. However, the translation of these findings into practice has not been examined. This study investigated the activity friendliness of Austrian schools.

Development of Playfulness in Children with Low Executive Functions: The Role of Parental Playfulness and Parental Playtime with Their Child.

Children with low executive functions (EFs) are described as having lower levels of playfulness, the quality of children's play, compared to children with EFs within the normal range. However, how playfulness in children with low EFs develops over time remains unclear. Additionally, little is known about how parental playfulness and parental playtime with their child affect these developmental trajectories in children with low EFs.

Longitudinal effects of basic psychological need support on the development of intrinsic motivation and perceived competence in physical education. A multilevel study.

Background: Grounded in self-determination theory, this article deals with a multidimensional measurement of the support of the basic psychological needs and the individual and combined effects on the development of intrinsic motivation and perceived competence in physical education. In addition to the supportive teacher behaviors of autonomy support, competence support and relatedness support, peer relatedness support is examined as an additional factor.

Methods: A total of 1,047 students from 72 classes from various German-speaking Swiss cantons took part in the study.

The effect of approach and avoidance motivation on self-perception.

This work addresses the link between motivation and self-perception by systematically studying visual self-representations. We propose that the way individuals perceive themselves may be associated with dispositional and situationally induced approach and avoidance motivation. First, we investigate how dispositional differences in approach/avoidance motivation and self-esteem relate to self-perception.

Machine learning judged neutral facial expressions as key factors for a "good therapist" within the first five minutes: An experiment to simulate online video counselling.

Objective: Machine learning models were employed to discern patients' impressions from the therapists' facial expressions during a virtual online video counselling session.

Methods: Eight therapists simulated an online video counselling session for the same patient. The facial emotions of the therapists were extracted from the session videos; we then utilized a random forest model to determine the therapist's impression as perceived by the patients.