When memorized instances compete with rules: the case of number-noun agreement in written French.

It is claimed by Totereau, Thévenin & Fayol (1997) that French children understand the rule for spelling the plural inflection very early on. However, no evidence contradicts the alternative that they learn the spelling of a word's singular and plural forms by treating the two forms as entirely different words. We tested this by asking French first and second graders (85 six-year-old and 89 seven-year-old children, respectively) to read and write rare words, either in just the singular or in just the plural, and then testing their spelling.

Prevention and treatment of postnatal depression.

Postnatal depression is a common condition that may have a significant negative impact on both infant and mother, often remaining undiagnosed and untreated. Development of effective means of detection, prevention and treatment of postnatal depression is a major health challenge. The objective of this article is to critically review pharmacological, psychological and psychosocial approaches of prevention and treatment for postnatal depression.

Borderline personality organization and psychopathic traits in nonclinical adolescents: relationships of identity diffusion, primitive defense mechanisms and reality testing with callousness and impulsivity traits.

Although psychotherapeutic observation and empirical data suggest a link between borderline and antisocial personality disorder or traits in adolescents, there is no study on the relationships of borderline personality organization (BPO) and psychopathic traits in adolescents. The aim of this study was to explore the relationship of structural criteria of (BPO) as assessed by the French version of the Borderline Personality Inventory (BPI), with psychopathic traits, as assessed by the French version of the Levenson Self-Report Psychopathy Scale (LSRP), in a nonclinical sample of 243 adolescents. Significant correlations were found between the BPI scales of identity diffusion, primitive defense mechanisms, impaired reality testing, and psychopathic traits of callousness and impulsivity, suggesting that BPO may contribute to psychopathic traits in nonforensic, nonclinical adolescents.

Effects of age, education, and sex on response bias in a recognition task.

This study examined age-related differences in decision criteria and the extent to which inconsistencies in earlier findings could be due to sampling artifacts, especially the underlying effects of educational level and sex. Male and female participants (N = 3,059) from 4 age groups (32, 42, 52, and 62 years) and a wide range of educational levels performed a word recognition task. Response bias was assessed with a nonparametric index derived from signal detection theory.

Sleep, age, and shiftwork experience.

The effects of age and shiftwork experience (never, past, present) on sleep were studied in a sample of 3236 wage earners and retired workers by means of a questionnaire. The sample was composed of 32-, 42-, 52-, and 62-year-old subjects, and included both sexes and various occupational statuses. Age resulted in a continuously increasing frequency of sleep disturbances and hypnotic use, except for difficulty getting back to sleep and early awakening, which peaked at 52 years and then decreased at 62 years, thus suggesting a 'retirement effect'.

Effects of age, working hours, and job content on sleep: a pilot study.

The effects of age, shiftwork with changing schedules, and job stress on self-reported sleep quality were studied in 2767 wage earners aged 32, 42, and 52, by means of a questionnaire. Greater age was associated with poorer sleep quality, as was shiftwork for the 32- and 42-year-olds but not for the 52-year-olds, suggesting a selection effect between the ages of 42 and 52. More than specific job demands, it was perceived job difficulty that was related to sleep dissatisfaction.