Early motor development and later language and reading skills in children at risk of familial dyslexia.

Relationships between early motor development and language and reading skills were studied in 154 children, of whom 75 had familial risk of dyslexia (37 females, 38 males; at-risk group) and 79 constituted a control group (32 females, 47 males). Motor development was assessed by a structured parental questionnaire during the child's first year of life. Vocabulary and inflectional morphology skills were used as early indicators of language skills at 3 years 6 months and 5 years or 5 years 6 months of age, and reading speed was used as a later indicator of reading skills at 7 years of age. The same subgroups as in our earlier study (in which the cluster analysis was described) were used in th…

Personality Antecedents of Career Orientation and Stability among Women Compared to Men

Abstract The study was part of the Jyvaskyla Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development in which 151 women and 160 men were followed from age 8 through age 36. Data were collected at ages 8, 14, 27, and 36 using teacher ratings, interviews, and personality inventories. The participants' career paths are defined in terms of “career orientation,” which is a composite score made up of four indicators: occupational status, education, present work situation, and career stability. In accordance with our hypotheses, the results for both sexes showed that high career orientation was explained by personality characteristics indicating high self-control of emotions (constructiveness, st…

Outcomes of primary teacher education in Finland : an exit survey

Seven final year cohorts of Finnish pre-service primary teachers (N = 384) were given an exit survey, which measured their estimated attainment of knowledge and experience in the 10 domains of professional activity considered critical for new teachers in the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and Support Consortium (INTASC) standards. The results indicated that the profile of the graduates was uneven, showing low levels of satisfaction in the fields of special education and cooperation but high levels of satisfaction in the fields of reflective practice and planning. The satisfaction with the estimated knowledge and experience achieved was divided into three components of pedagogic, instruct…

Resurssien ja toimivaltuuksien puute eettisen kuormittuneisuuden riskitekijänä kaupunkiorganisaation sosiaali- ja terveyspalveluissa

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin eettisen organisaatiokulttuurin toteutettavuuden hyveen yhteyttä eettiseen kuormittuneisuuteen (eettisistä dilemmoista johtuva stressi) sosiaali- ja terveyspalvelujen henkilöstöllä. Ilmiöitä ja niiden välisiä yhteyksiä tutkittiin sekä työyksikköjen jaettuina kokemuksina että työntekijöiden yksilöllisinä kokemuksina. Toteutettavuuden hyve kuvaa sitä, missä määrin organisaatio tarjoaa työntekijöilleen riittävät resurssit ja toimivaltuudet eettisesti kestävän työn tekemiseen. Tutkimukseen osallistui kaupunkiorganisaation sosiaali- ja terveyspalvelujen 1 243 työntekijää 142 työyksiköstä. Aineisto analysoitiin monitasomallinnuksella, joka huomioi sekä työyksiköiden vä…

The role of parenting styles and teacher interactional styles in children's reading and spelling development.

Abstract This study examined the associations between parenting styles, teacher interactional styles, and children's reading and spelling skills. The sample consisted of 864 Finnish-speaking children and their parents (864 mothers, 864 fathers) and teachers ( N  = 123). Children's risk for reading disabilities and reader status were assessed in kindergarten. Children were also tested on reading and spelling skills in Grades 1 and 2. Parenting styles and teacher interactional styles were measured using parents' and teachers' self-reports in Grade 1. First, the results indicated that both an authoritative parenting style and authoritative teacher interactional style positively predicted child…

The Psychobiosocial States (PBS-S) Scale

Abstract. This study examined the factor structure and reliability of the Psychobiosocial States (PBS-S) scale in the assessment of situational performance-related experiences. We administered the scale to 483 Finnish athletes before a practice session to assess the intensity and perceived impact of their performance-related feeling states. The hypothesized two-factor structure indicating functional effects (10 items) and dysfunctional effects (10 items) toward performance was examined via exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). Regarding the intensity and perceived impact dimensions of reported states, ESEM and CFA showed a good fit for a tw…

Practice effects on visuomotor and problem-solving tests by children.

Practice effects on a visuomotor test (the Developmental Test of Visuo-Motor Integration), a timed visual discrimination test (the Underlining Test), and two problem-solving tests (the Porteus Mazes Test and the Tower of Hanoi Test) were analyzed. Children of two age groups ( Ms: 7.7 and 11.6 yr.) were chosen to study the effect of age on practice effects. The tests were repeated nine times with test-retest intervals of 2 mo. The Developmental Test of Visuo-Motor Integration showed no practice effects, while the Porteus Mazes Test, the Underlining Test, and the Tower of Hanoi Test showed significant practice effects. Practice effects were larger for the older age group on all the tests, ex…

Safety self-efficacy and internal locus of control as mediators of safety motivation – Randomized controlled trial (RCT) study

Abstract Behavioral factors play a fundamental role in preventing occupational injuries and accidents. Previous studies have shown that engagement in safety behavior is influenced by workers’ safety motivation. However, understanding of the cognitive factors that contribute to safety motivation is lacking. In this study, we examine internal safety locus of control and safety self-efficacy as mediators of the effects of a safety intervention on safety motivation. In 2016, 464 students from eight vocational schools participated in a school-based cluster randomized, controlled intervention study conducted in Finland. In the multiple mediation model investigated using structural equation modeli…

Testing the direct and moderator effects of the stressor-detachment model over one year : A latent change perspective

ABSTRACTTo test the direct and moderator effects of the stressor–detachment model from a long-term perspective, we investigated whether workload and detachment are related to changes in exhaustion and sleep difficulties over one year. We also examined whether detachment attenuates the relationship between high workload and these outcomes both cross-sectionally and over time. Questionnaire data with 1722 respondents at Time 1 and 1182 respondents at Time 2 were collected. We used a latent change score approach to analyse the data in order to identify intra-individual change among the studied constructs. Our results showed that high workload and low detachment at baseline were related to an i…

The associations of indoor environment and psychosocial factors on the subjective evaluation of Indoor Air Quality among lower secondary school students: a multilevel analysis

Subjective evaluation of Indoor Air Quality (subjective IAQ) reflects both building-related and psychosocial factors, but their associations have rarely been studied other than on the individual level in occupational settings and their interactions have not been assessed. Therefore, we studied whether schools' observed indoor air problems and psychosocial factors are associated with subjective IAQ and their potential interactions. The analysis was performed with a nationwide sample (N = 195 schools/26946 students) using multilevel modeling. Two datasets were merged: (i) survey data from students, including information on schools' psychosocial environment and subjective IAQ, and (ii) data fr…

Corrigendum to ‘Sleep and sleepiness in shift-working tram drivers’[Applied Ergonomics Sleep and sleepiness in shift-working tram drivers 88 (2020) 103153]

Perceived motor competence in early childhood predicts perceived and actual motor competence in middle childhood

The study aims were to (1) identify perceived motor competence (PMC) and actual motor competence (AMC) profiles in children at two time points (early and middle childhood) 3 years apart, (2) explore transitions between the profiles from T1 to T2, and (3) investigate how PMC-AMC profiles at T1 differ in their mean values for AMC and PMC variables at T2. PMC was assessed by the pictorial scale of Perceived Movement Skill Competence for young children (PMSC). At T1, AMC was measured with Test of Gross Motor Development–third version (TGMD-3), and at T2, a shortened TGMD-3 was used. To identify the PMC-AMC profiles using latent profile analysis, the Mplus statistical package (version 8.7) was u…

Internal Consistency and Stability of the CANTAB Neuropsychological Test Battery in Children

The Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) is a computerassessed test battery widely use in different populations. The internal consistency and one-year stability of CANTAB tests were examined in school-aged children. Two hundred-thirty children (57% girls) from 5 schools in the Jyväskylä school district in Finland participated in the study in spring 2011. The children completed the following CANTAB tests: a) visual memory (Pattern Recognition Memory [PRM] and Spatial Recognition Memory [SRM]), b) executive function (Spatial Span [SSP], Stockings of Cambridge [SOC], and Intra-Extra Dimensional Set Shift [IED]), and c) attention (Reaction Time [RTI] and Rapid Visual Inf…

Shared Genetic and Environmental Effects on Strength and Power in Older Female Twins

Purpose: This study examined the relative contribution of genetic and environmental effects on maximal leg extensor power and also investigated whether leg extensor power and maximum voluntary isometric knee extensor strength share a genetic component. Methods: Muscle functions were measured as part of the Finnish Twin Study on Aging in 101 monozygotic (MZ) and 116 dizygotic (DZ) female twin pairs aged 63–76 yr. Leg extensor power was measured using the Nottingham Leg Extensor Power Rig and maximum voluntary isometric knee extensor strength using an adjustable dynamometer chair. The analyses were carried out using the maximum likelihood method in Mx-program on the raw data set. Results: A b…

Contribution of genetic and environmental factors to individual differences in maximal walking speed with and without second task in older women

Background. Among older people, distraction while walking may increase the risk of falls. Factors underlying individual differences in dual tasking are not fully understood. Our aim was to study the effect of a second task on maximal walking speed and to examine whether individual differences in walking speed measured with and without a second task are accounted for by genetic and environmental influences shared across tasks or specific to each task. Methods. The data were collected from the 101 monozygotic and 116 dizygotic twin pairs aged 63–76 years recruited from the Finnish Twin Cohort. Maximal walking speed (MWS) over 10 m was measured on a laboratory corridor and timed with photocell…

Associations of Leisure-Time Physical Activity Trajectories with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption from Childhood to Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

A physically active lifestyle and a diet rich in vegetables and fruits have a central role in promoting health. This study examined the associations between leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) trajectories and fruit and vegetable consumption (FVC) from childhood to middle age. The data were drawn from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study with six age cohorts. Participants were 9 to 18 years (n = 3536

Effects of alertness management training on sleepiness among long-haul truck drivers : a randomized controlled trial

Education is a frequently recommended remedy for driver sleepiness in occupational settings, although not many studies have examined its usefulness. To date, there are no previous on-road randomized controlled trials investigating the benefits of training on sleepiness among employees working in road transport. To examine the effects of an educational intervention on long-haul truck drivers' sleepiness at the wheel, amount of sleep between work shifts, and use of efficient sleepiness countermeasures (SCM) in association with night and non-night shift, a total of 53 truck drivers operating from southern Finland were allocated into an intervention and a control group using a stratified random…

Modeling the early paths of phonological awareness and factors suopporting its development in children with and without familiar risk of dyslexia

The development of phonological awareness (PA) before school age was modeled in association with the development of vocabulary and letter knowledge, home literacy environment (HLE), children's reading interest, and beginning reading skill in children with and without familial risk of dyslexia. A total of 186 children were followed from birth to the age of 6.5 years. Of these children, about half had a familial background of reading difficulties (the at-risk group), and the other half came from families without such background (the control group). The data from several measures and assessment time points were analyzed within an SEM framework, and a latent analysis of growth curves was employ…

Does mindfulness-, acceptance-, and value-based intervention alleviate burnout? : A person-centered approach

This study investigated individual differences in changes in burnout symptoms during a brief mindfulness-, acceptance-, and value-based intervention. It also studied whether the changes in burnout were simultaneous with the changes in mindfulness skills. The role of practices and learning experiences in these changes were investigated. The participants were employees of various occupations (n = 105, 80% women, Mage = 48 years). Latent profile analysis was used to investigate the associations between burnout and mindfulness skills during the intervention and a 4-month follow-up period. Six distinct profiles were found that differed in levels and changes of both burnout and mindfulness skills…

The development of school and sports task values among adolescent athletes : The role of gender

AbstractSuccessfully integrating elite sports with education requires motivation to commit oneself to both domains. This study examines the development of and gender differences in adolescent athletes’ task values for school and sports across the upper secondary school years. A total of 391 adolescents (aged 15–16 at the beginning of the study) were followed four times during sports upper secondary school. The participating student athletes were recruited from six sports upper secondary schools in Finland, which offer equal competitive sport opportunities for both genders. The results showed that school- and sports- task values are strongly related to each other. Males valued school less th…

Children's engagement during digital game-based learning of reading: The effects of time, rewards, and challenge

This study investigated the effects of two game features (the level of challenge and the reward system) on first and second graders' engagement during digital game-based learning of reading. We were particularly interested in determining how well these features managed to maintain children's engagement over the 8-week training period. The children (N = 138) used GraphoGame, a web-based game training letter-sound connections, at home under the supervision of parents. Data regarding the children's gaming and engagement were stored on the GraphoGame online server. A 2 x 2 factorial design was used to investigate the effects of the level of challenge (high challenge vs. high success) and the pr…

The Co-developmental Dynamic of Sport and School Burnout among Student-Athletes : The Role of Achievement Goals

Student‐athletes who strive for success in high‐level sports while pursuing upper secondary education may be prone to sport and school burnout. This study examined the co‐developmental dynamic of sport and school burnout in Finnish adolescent student‐athletes (Ntime 1 = 391; Ntime 2 = 373) across the first year of upper secondary school using cross‐lagged structural equation modeling (SEM). Furthermore, we used sport and school‐related achievement goals as predictors of sport and school burnout, namely sport and school‐related exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy. The results showed that burnout dimensions in a particular domain were substantially stable within the same domain d…

Sukupuoli ja valmennustyyli vaikuttavat opiskelevien urheilijoiden urapolkuihin

Huipulle tähtäävän urheilun ja opiskelun yhdistäminen onnistuu lukiossa paremmin naisilta kuin miehiltä. Valmentajan merkitys kaksoisuran tukijana on tärkeä. nonPeerReviewed

Do low burnout and high work engagement always go hand in hand? Investigation of the energy and identification dimensions in longitudinal data

The aim of the present 2-year follow-up study among young managers (N=433) was to investigate the intraindividual developmental patterns of burnout and work engagement as well as their interconnections. More specifically, we examined the interconnectedness of the varying patterns (i.e., latent classes) of exhaustion and vigor (i.e., the energy dimension) and cynicism and dedication (i.e., the identification dimension) across time. The latent class solutions supported by the growth mixture modeling indicated four latent classes for exhaustion and five for vigor. In addition, four latent classes were found for cynicism and six for dedication. Cynicism and dedication represented opposites with…

Genetic effects in common on maximal walking speed and muscle performance in older women

The purpose was to examine whether maximal walking speed, maximal isometric knee extensor strength, and leg extensor power share genetic or environmental effects in common. The data was collected from 103 monozygotic and 114 dizygotic female twin pairs aged 63–76 years. Maximal walking speed over 10 m was measured in the laboratory corridor using photocells for timing. Isometric knee extensor strength and leg extensor power were measured using an adjustable dynamometer. The genetic models showed that strength, power, and walking speed had a genetic effect in common which accounted for 52% of the variance in strength, 36% in power, and 34% in walking speed. Strength and power had a non-share…

Task-oriented reading efficiency : interplay of general cognitive ability, task demands, strategies and reading fluency

AbstractThe associations among readers’ cognitive skills (general cognitive ability, reading skills, and attentional functioning), task demands (easy versus difficult questions), and process measures (total fixation time on relevant and irrelevant paragraphs) was investigated to explain task-oriented reading accuracy and efficiency (number of scores in a given time unit). Structural equation modeling was applied to a large dataset collected with sixth-grade students, which included samples of dysfluent readers and those with attention difficulties. The results are in line with previous findings regarding the dominant role of general cognitive ability in the accuracy of task-oriented reading…

Kirjojen lukeminen tukee luetun ymmärtämisen kehitystä

Tässä artikkelissa esittelemme keskeiset havainnot tutkimuksesta (Torppa ym., 2020), jossa tarkasteltiin vapaa-ajan lukemisen ja lukutaidon kehityksen suhdetta. Kysyimme, ennustaako lukutaito lukemisen määrää vai ennustaako myös lukemisen määrä lukutaitoa. Tutkimuksessa mitattiin lasten (n = 2 525) lukusujuvuutta ja luetun ymmärtämisen taitoa luokilla 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7 ja 9. Vapaa-ajan lukemisen määrää mitattiin samoissa aikapisteissä kyselyillä. Luokilla 1–4 lasten vanhemmat vastasivat lukemisen määrää koskeviin kysymyksiin, ja luokilla 6–9 lapset vastasivat kyselyyn itse. Tutkimuksessa havaittiin, että lukutaito ennustaa lukemisen määrää erityisesti varhaisilla luokilla, kun lukutaito on v…

Physical activity, heart rate variability-based stress and recovery, and subjective stress during a 9-month study period.

The aim of this study was to investigate the association between physical activity (PA) and objective heart rate variability (HRV)-based stress and recovery with subjective stress in a longitudinal setting. Working-age participants (n = 221; 185 women, 36 men) were overweight (body mass index, 25.3–40.1 kg/m2) and psychologically distressed (≥3/12 points on the General Health Questionnaire). Objective stress and recovery were based on HRV recordings over 1–3 work days. Subjective stress was assessed with the Perceived Stress Scale and PA level with a questionnaire. Data were collected at three time points: baseline, 10 weeks post intervention, and at the 36-week follow-up. We adopted a late…

How does early developmental assessment predict academic and attentional-behavioural skills at group and individual levels?

The main aim of the study was to explore the ability of a brief developmental assessment to predict teacher-rated learning and attentional and behavioural skills in the first grade of school at both the group and individual levels. A sample of 394 children (181 males, 213 females) aged 4 years were followed to the age of 6 years, and 283 of the children (145 males, 138 females; mean age 7 y 11 mo) were followed further to the first grade (age 7 y) at school. The children were administered a brief but comprehensive developmental assessment (Lene - a neurodevelopmental screening method) at their local child health-care centres at ages 4 and 6 years. In the first grade, teachers completed a de…

Dynamic Family System Trajectories From Pregnancy to Child's First Year

According to family systems theory, families consist of hierarchically ordered parts, from basic dyadic relations to marital and parental subsystems (Minuchin, 1985). In the transition to parenthood, family relationships change as the family system adapts to the new situation. Thechanges,suchasimprovementsanddeclines in relationship quality, are different and unique, depending on how emotions and responsibili- ties are shared in the family. For instance, fam- ilies with well-functioning relationships during pregnancy tend also to fare well in the postpar- tum period, whereas families with problematic relationships often experience further decline in their relationship quality across the tra…

Validity of the Finnish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA)

The aim of the present study was to validate the Finnish version of the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA) using data from 1,688 Finnish parents (91\% mothers) living in Finland with at least one child living at home. Confirmatory factor analyses supported the theoretical four-factor structure of the PBA – emotional exhaustion in one’s parental role, contrast with previous parental self, feelings of being fed up with one’s parental role, and emotional distancing from one’s children. Internal consistency for the total scale was excellent (Cronbach’s alpha ≥ 0.90) and for the subscales from acceptable (alpha ≥ 0.70) to excellent. The results further demonstrated strict factorial invariance of …

The role of individual and parental expectations in student-athletes’ career adaptability profiles

To support holistic development, adolescent student-athletes are encouraged to integrate sport with education/academics (i.e., dual careers). Career adaptability, as a psychological resource, may help youth athletes cope with transitions and successfully manage their careers. Individuals with a plan and higher expectations for the future demonstrate higher career adaptability and are better prepared for the future. In the present study, we examined what kinds of distinct career adaptability profiles could be identified among youth athletes in Finland at the transition stage to a sports high school (i.e., specialized school for athletes). Moreover, we investigated whether youth athletes’ suc…

Distinct trajectories of physical activity and related factors during the life course in the general population: a systematic review

Background In recent years, researchers have begun applying a trajectory approach to identify homogeneous subgroups of physical activity (PA) in heterogeneous populations. This study systematically reviewed the articles identifying longitudinal PA trajectory classes and the related factors (e.g., determinants, predictors, and outcomes) in the general population during different life phases. Methods The included studies used finite mixture models for identifying trajectories of PA, exercise, or sport participation. Three electronic databases, PubMed (Medline), Web of Science, and CINAHL, were searched from the year 2000 to 13 February 2018. The study was conducted according to the PRISMA rec…

Changes in personal work goals in relation to the psychosocial work environment: A two-year follow-up study

Associations between changes in the psychosocial work environment and changes in personal work goals were investigated in a two-wave, two-year longitudinal study. Psychosocial work environment was studied within the context of the Effort–Reward Imbalance model (ERI; Siegrist, 1996). The participants consisted of 423 young Finnish managers. Their most important personal work goals were categorized into seven content categories of competence, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, and finance at both measurement times. There were differences, especially in changes in the career opportunities factor of reward, between participants whose goals changed during the study.…

L2 English vocabulary breadth and knowledge of derivational morphology : One or two constructs?

Derivational morphology (DM) and how it can be assessed have been investigated relatively rarely in language learning and testing research. The goal of this study is to add to the understanding of the nature of DM knowledge, exploring whether and how it is separable from vocabulary breadth. Eight L2 (second or foreign language) English DM knowledge measures and three measures of the size of the English vocabulary were administered to 120 learners. We conducted two confirmatory factor analyses, one with one underlying factor and the other treating vocabulary breadth and DM as separate. As neither model had a satisfactory fit without introducing a residual covariance to the two-factor model,…

Predictors of stigmatizing attitudes towards people with mental disorders in a general population in Finland

For planning effective and well-targeted initiatives to reduce stigma, we need to identify which factors are associated with stigmatizing of people with mental disorders.This study examined how well a combination of variables predicts stigmatizing attitudes and discrimination in a general population.A survey questionnaire was sent to 10,000 persons aged 15-80 years residing in western Finland. Attitudes were measured using a scale consisting of negative stereotypes about people with depression and stereotypical beliefs connected with mental problems, while discrimination was measured by a social distance scale. Predictors included demographic variables, mental health resources, personal exp…

Finnish students’ enjoyment and anxiety levels during fitness testing classes

Background: Fitness testing is a commonly applied learning and teaching practice implemented in both secondary and elementary school physical education (PE). Many teachers believe that by using a variety of different tests, they are able to provide students with feedback regarding their fitness status, and furthermore, increase students’ willingness to be physically active later in their lives. However, empirical evidence concerning students’ affective responses during fitness testing classes is limited. Purpose: The primary aim of the study was to investigate whether students’ perceptions of enjoyment and anxiety differed between two different types of fitness testing classes and PE in gen…

Psychometric properties of the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10) and problematic gaming behavior among Finnish vocational school students.

This study was conducted to investigate the psychometric properties of the Finnish version of the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGDT-10), identify the proportion displaying problematic gaming behavior (PGB) among Finnish vocational school students, and characterize the relationships between sociodemographic factors and gaming characteristics predicting PGB in this population. This cross-sectional study involving 773 students (mean age 17.5 years). Socio-demographic and gaming behavior characteristics were established using a web-based survey. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) showed that the IGDT-10 test has appropriate psychometric properties. The proportion of students exhibiting PGB …

Longitudinal Stability of Reading Difficulties : Examining the Effects of Measurement Error, Cut-Offs, and Buffer Zones in Identification

This study examined the stability of reading difficulties (RD) from grades 2 to 6 and focused on the effects of measurement error and cut-off selection in the identification of RD and its stability with the use of simulations. It addressed methodological limitations of prior studies by (a) applying a model-based simulation analysis to examine the effects of measurement error and cut-offs in the identification of RD, (b) analyzing a non-English and larger sample, and (c) examining RD in both reading fluency and reading comprehension. Reading fluency and reading comprehension of 1,432 Finnish-speaking children were assessed in grades 2 and 6. In addition to the use of single cut-off points on…

The Relation Between Finnish Conscripts’ Reading Difficulties (Rd), Cognitive Abilities And The Length Of Service Period

Abstract In this study, the existence of reading difficulties (RD) among young adults and the relation between RD, cognitive abilities and length of service period were examined. The aim was to study the manifestation of reading difficulties with young adult males, the connection between different cognitive abilities and reading comprehension and decoding skills, and to determine whether the membership of different reading skills groups was related to the length of the service period, which is partly dependent on the scores of cognitive assessment in military service, Basic Test 1. The participants in this study (N=1399) were Finnish adolescents (mean age 20 years, sd .61) participating in …

Leisure Reading (But Not Any Kind) and Reading Comprehension Support Each Other—A Longitudinal Study Across Grades 1 and 9

This study examines associations between leisure reading and reading skills in data of 2,525 students followed from age 7 to 16. As a step further from traditional cross-lagged analysis, a random intercept cross-lagged panel model was used to identify within-person associations of leisure reading (books, magazines, newspapers, and digital reading), reading fluency, and reading comprehension. In Grades 1-3 poorer comprehension and fluency predicted less leisure reading. In later grades more frequent leisure reading, particularly of books, predicted better reading comprehension. Negative associations were found between digital reading and reading skills. The findings specify earlier findings …

Personality Types and Applicant Reactions in Real-life Selection

The study aimed to determine if an applicant's personality type is associated with his/her reactions (fairness perceptions, face validity perceptions, and predictive validity perceptions) to the selection process. The participants (N = 258) were real-life applicants for admission to a vocational school. A person-centered approach was applied to find subgroups with similar personality profiles. Latent profile analysis found four personality types: Resilient (45%), Overcontrolled (13%), Undercontrolled (10%), and Bohemian (32%). The Resilient and Bohemian personality types had more favorable perceptions of test fairness than the Overcontrolled type. Personality type did not affect face validi…

Mismatch negativity (MMN) elicited by duration deviations in children with reading disorder, attention deficit or both.

According to several studies auditory discrimination as measured by mismatch negativity (MMN) is compromised in participants with reading disorder. However, studies on duration discrimination have produced conflicting findings [Baldeweg, T., Richardson, A., Watkins, S., Foale, C., & Gruzelier, J., 1999. Impaired auditory frequency discrimination in dyslexia detected with mismatch evoked potentials. Annals of Neurology, 4, 1-9; Corbera, S., Escera, C., & Artigas, J., 2006. Impaired duration mismatch negativity in developmental dyslexia. Neuroreport, 17, 1051-1055]. Auditory sensitivity has not been as actively investigated among children with attention deficit, although attention problems of…

Is Autonomy Always Beneficial for Work Engagement? A Six-year Four-Wave Follow-Up Study.

Work engagement is expected to result from job resources such as autonomy. However, previous results have yielded that the autonomy–work engagement relationship is not always particularly strong. Whereas previous longitudinal studies have examined this relationship as an average at a specific point in time, this study examined whether this relationship is different within individuals from one time to another over the years. Furthermore, experiences of work engagement are expected to affect how employees benefit from autonomy, but no studies have so far investigated whether the initial level of work engagement affects the autonomy–work engagement relationship. This study aimed to first ident…

Heritability of Intraocular Pressure in Older Female Twins

Purpose To examine the heritability of intraocular pressure (IOP) among older women not diagnosed as having glaucoma. Design Cross-sectional twin study. Participants 94 monozygotic (MZ) and 96 dizygotic (DZ) female twin pairs aged 63–76 years and not diagnosed as having glaucoma. Methods Intraocular pressure was measured using a noncontact tonometer. The contributions of genetic and environmental factors to individual differences in IOP were estimated by applying an independent pathway model to twin data. Main Outcome Measures Contribution of genetic and environmental effects to the variation in IOP among MZ and DZ twins. Results Mean IOP of the study population was 14.1 mmHg (± standard de…

Does a Mindfulness-, Acceptance-, and Value-Based Intervention for Burnout Have Long-Term Effects on Different Levels of Subjective Well-Being?

This study investigated whether beneficial intervention effects on burnout and mindfulness skills diffuse and facilitate the long-term development of different levels of subjective well-being: experiential (perceived stress), eudaimonic (psychological and social well-being), and evaluative (life satisfaction). Participants were Finnish employees with notable burnout (n = 105, 80% women). The study utilized individual profiles of burnout and mindfulness skills identified in a previous study (Kinnunen, Puolakanaho, Tolvanen, Mäkikangas, & Lappalainen, 2019). The profiles were based on levels and changes in burnout and mindfulness skills during an 8-week intervention and 4-month follow-up. In …

Continuity From Prelinguistic Communication to Later Language Ability: A Follow-Up Study From Infancy to Early School Age.

Purpose This longitudinal study examined the development of prelinguistic skills and the continuity of communication and language from the prelinguistic stage to school age. Method Prelinguistic communication of 427 Finnish children was followed repeatedly from 6 to 18 months of age ( n = 203–322 at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months), and its associations with language ability at ages 2;0 ( n = 104), 3;0 ( n = 112), 4;7 ( n = 253), 5;3 ( n = 102), and 7;9 ( n = 236) were examined using latent growth curve modeling. Results Prelinguistic development across several skills emerged as a rather stable intraindividual characteristic during the first 2 years of life. Continuity from prelinguistic …

Identifying Coping Profiles and Profile Differences in Role Engagement and Subjective Well-Being

Coping strategies are not necessarily mutually exclusive and can be used simultaneously, a fact which has rarely been examined in coping research. We examined what kinds of coping profiles could be found in data concerning Finnish health care and service employees (n = 2756). We also studied whether role engagement (family-to-work-enrichment, work-to-family-enrichment, emotional energy at work, and work engagement) and subjective well-being (life, parental, and marital satisfaction, and psychological distress) differ between coping profiles. The data were analyzed through latent profile (LPA) and covariance analyses (Ancovas). LPA revealed seven distinct coping profiles: two active groups,…

Students’ school‐level symptoms mediate the relationship between a school’s observed moisture problems and students’ subjective perceptions of indoor air quality

Moisture damage can influence the subjective assessment of indoor air quality (subjective IAQ) in various ways. We studied whether the frequency of symptoms reported across students at school level mediates the relationship between observed mold and dampness in a school building and students’ subjective IAQ. To answer this research question, we tested a multilevel path model. The analyzed data was created by merging two nationwide data sets: 1) survey data from students, including information on subjective IAQ (N = 24,786 students); 2) data from schools, including information on mold and dampness in a school building (N = 222). After the background variables were adjusted, schools’ observed…

Accumulation of sleep loss among shift-working truck drivers

Sleep loss is known to contribute to road traffic accidents. Professional drivers are vulnerable to curtailment of sleep due to long driving bouts and shift work. To fill in the gap in the literature related to the buildup of sleep loss in irregular shift systems, we recorded the sleep and working hours of 47 shift-working long-haul truck drivers during a two-week period. Sleep (time in bed) was verified by actigraphy and sleep logs. Sleepiness was measured using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Individual sleep need was based on self-assessments. We examined the accumulated sleep versus self-reported sleep need across the study period, using midnights as points of observation, and th…

Eettinen kuormittuneisuus ja sen yhteydet eettiseen organisaatiokulttuuriin kaupunkiorganisaatiossa, suunnittelutoimistossa ja pankissa

The study investigated inter-organisational differences in employees’ ethical strain and their evaluations of the ethical culture of their organisations. The second aim was to investigate associations between the ethical culture of organisations and employees’ experiences of ethical strain. Altogether 3894 employees responded to a web-based questionnaire in May 2011. Ethical strain was assessed by measuring the prevalence of ethical dilemmas (2 items) and the stress related to them (2 items). Ethical culture was measured using the 58-item Corporate Ethical Virtues scale (Kaptein 2008). Ethical strain was found to be highest among employees working in social and health services. Employees in…

Motivationaaliset ulottuvuudet tutkivassa nettilukemisessa

Tutkimuksessa tarkasteltiin kuudesluokkalaisten nettilukemisen motivationaalisia ulottuvuuksia ja niiden yhteyttä tutkivan nettilukemisen tehtävässä menestymiseen. Tutkimukseen osallistui 426 kuudesluokkalaista oppilasta. Nettilukemisen motivationaalisia ulottuvuuksia mitattiin Yhdysvalloissa validoidulla mittarilla. Tutkivan nettilukemisen taitoja arvioitiin verkkopohjaisella tehtävällä, jossa oppilaat tutkivat energiajuomien terveysvaikutuksia. Tehtävä mittasi oppilaiden tiedonhakutaitoja, arviointitaitoja, taitoa laatia synteesi usean nettitekstin pohjalta sekä taitoja muodostaa ja kommunikoida perusteltu kanta tutkimastaan asiasta. Konfirmatorisessa faktorianalyysissä havaittiin neljä n…

Latent Profile Approach to Duration of Stalking

Stalking behavior and victim-stalker relationship are often the principal known factors in a stalking case. Thus, they are of great importance when trying to identify factors contributing to stalking duration. The present study aims to identify distinct subgroups of stalking victims based on measures of behavioral stalking dimensions. These victim subgroups, stalking dimensions, and victim-stalker relationship are examined in relation to stalking duration. Using a sample of 137 university students, latent profile analysis (LPA) revealed five distinct victim subgroups based on stalker behavior dimensions: surveillance, low-profile, social lurker, wide scope, and baseline stalkers. The subgro…

Development of math anxiety and its longitudinal relationships with arithmetic achievement among primary school children

Abstract The aim of this study is to examine the development of two separable aspects of math anxiety, anxiety about math-related situations and anxiety about failure in math, and their cross-lagged relationship with arithmetic achievement. The mean level of anxiety about math-related situations decreased among second, third, and fourth graders, and the level of anxiety about failure in math declined among third, fourth, and fifth graders. The rank-order of individuals was more stable in arithmetic achievement than in either aspect of math anxiety. Arithmetic achievement predicted later anxiety about failure in math, but neither aspect of math anxiety predicted later achievement. The result…

Leisure Reading (But Not Any Kind) and Reading Comprehension Support Each Other : A Longitudinal Study Across Grades 1 and 9

This study examines associations between leisure reading and reading skills in data of 2,525 students followed from age 7 to 16. As a step further from traditional cross‐lagged analysis, a random intercept cross‐lagged panel model was used to identify within‐person associations of leisure reading (books, magazines, newspapers, and digital reading), reading fluency, and reading comprehension. In Grades 1–3 poorer comprehension and fluency predicted less leisure reading. In later grades more frequent leisure reading, particularly of books, predicted better reading comprehension. Negative associations were found between digital reading and reading skills. The findings specify earlier findings …

Maternal pre- and postnatal mental health trajectories and child mental health and development

Pregnancy and early motherhood involve uncertainty and change, which can evoke mental health problems. We identified maternal mental health trajectories in pre- and postnatal period, and examined their association with later child mental health and development. Finnish mothers reported psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire [GHQ-36]) and depressive (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-13]) symptoms in pregnancy (T1; N = 788) and two months (T2; N = 657) and 12 months (T3; N = 545) postpartum. Both parents accounted their child’s mental health (Behavior Assessment System for Children [BASC]) and social (Social Skills Rating System [SSRS], Child Behavior Scale [CBS]) and cognitive d…

The Co-developmental Dynamic of Sport and School Burnout among Student-Athletes : The Role of Achievement Goals

Student-athletes who strive for success in high-level sports while pursuing upper secondary education may be prone to sport and school burnout. This study examined the co-developmental dynamic of sport and school burnout in Finnish adolescent student-athletes (Ntime 1  = 391; Ntime 2  = 373) across the first year of upper secondary school using cross-lagged structural equation modeling (SEM). Furthermore, we used sport and school-related achievement goals as predictors of sport and school burnout, namely sport and school-related exhaustion, cynicism, and feelings of inadequacy. The results showed that burnout dimensions in a particular domain were substantially stable within the same domain…

The Role of Resilience in Student-Athletes’ Sport and School Burnout and Dropout : A Longitudinal Person-oriented Study

Although it has been shown that student‐athletes who pursue upper secondary school alongside with an athletic career may be prone to sport and school burnout, the concrete life changes resulting from burning out, such as dropping out of sport or school, have not been investigated. Moreover, it is unknown why some student‐athletes do not burnout. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether there are different kinds of profiles—based on the level and development of sport and school burnout symptoms across upper secondary school—that can be identified among student‐athletes and how resilience and the likelihood of dropping out from sport or school differ between the profiles. The s…

Physical activity and sleep profiles in Finnish men and women

Background. Physical activity (PA) and sleep are related to cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and their risk factors. The interrelationship between these behaviors has been studied, but there remain questions regarding the association of different types of PA, such as occupational, commuting, and leisure time to sleep, including quality, duration and sufficiency. It is also unclear to what extent sleep affects peoples’ PA levels and patterns. Our aim is to investigate the interrelationship between PA and sleep behaviors in the Finnish population, including employment status and gender. Methods. The study comprised population based data from the FINRISK 2012 Study. A stratified, random sample of…

Dynamic properties of successful plural leadership configuration: An exploratory process-study

Our article introduces an exploratory process study of successful plural leadership configuration in searching for alternative solutions to wicked problems. The study was executed within four educational organisations that solved challenging wicked problems arising from today’s changing contexts. We argue that plural leadership configuration is a dynamic process when people in diverse organisational positions, roles, and levels design profitable endeavours through their ideas and activities, bring about desirable outcomes within diverse conditions and outline the future. We searched for potential systemic patterns, characteristics, and structure within this dynamic process. To find these p…

Modeling the Early Paths of Phonological Awareness and Factors Supporting its Development in Children With and Without Familial Risk of Dyslexia

The development of phonological awareness (PA) before school age was modeled in association with the development of vocabulary and letter knowledge, home literacy environment (HLE), children's reading interest, and beginning reading skill in children with and without familial risk of dyslexia. A total of 186 children were followed from birth to the age of 6.5 years. Of these children, about half had a familial background of reading difficulties (the at-risk group), and the other half came from families without such background (the control group). The data from several measures and assessment time points were analyzed within an SEM framework, and a latent analysis of growth curves was employ…

Association between vigor and exhaustion during the workweek: a person-centered approach to daily assessments.

The purpose of this quantitative diary study was to investigate daily vigor and exhaustion using a person-centered approach. The study also investigated whether and how experiences of vigor and exhaustion relate to a state of being recovered. A total of 256 Finnish employees filled in a diary questionnaire during five consecutive workdays. Vigor and exhaustion showed strong negative interdependence within and between days. However, by applying a person-centered analysis, we were able to differentiate three groups with meaningful variation in vigor and exhaustion. The groups were labeled as Constantly vigorous (n = 179), Concurrently vigorous and exhausted (n = 30) and Constantly exhausted (…

Sleep and sleepiness in shift-working tram drivers

Driver sleepiness contributes to traffic accidents. However, sleepiness in urban public transport remains an understudied subject. To fill this gap, we examined the sleepiness, sleep, and on-duty sleepiness countermeasures (SCMs) in 23 tram drivers working morning, day, and evening shifts for three weeks. Sleepiness was measured using Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Nocturnal total sleep time (TST) was measured with wrist actigraphy. SCMs and naps were self-reported with a smartphone application. Caffeine and napping were considered effective SCMs. Severe sleepiness (KSS >= 7) was observed in 22% of shifts with no differences between shift types. Rest breaks were associated with slight r…

Academic skills in children with early-onset type 1 diabetes: the effects of diabetes-related risk factors

Aim  The study aimed to assess the effects of diabetes-related risk factors, especially severe hypoglycaemia, on the academic skills of children with early-onset type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM). Method  The study comprised 63 children with T1DM (31 females, 32 males; mean age 9y 11mo, SD 4mo) and 92 comparison children without diabetes (40 females, 52 males; mean age 9y 9mo, SD 3mo). Children were included if T1DM had been diagnosed before the age of 5 years and if they were aged between 9 and 10 years at the time of study. Children were not included if their native language was not Finnish and if they had a diagnosed neurological disorder that affected their cognitive development. Among th…

Literacy skills seem to fuel literacy enjoyment, rather than vice versa

Children who like to read and write tend to be better at it. This association is typically interpreted as enjoyment impacting engagement in literacy activities, which boosts literacy skills. We fitted direction-of-causation models to partial data of 3690 Finnish twins aged 12. Literacy skills were rated by the twins' teachers and literacy enjoyment by the twins themselves. A bivariate twin model showed substantial genetic influences on literacy skills (70%) and literacy enjoyment (35%). In both skills and enjoyment, shared-environmental influences explained about 20% in each. The best-fitting direction-of-causation model showed that skills impacted enjoyment, while the influence in the othe…

Teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy on implementing inclusive education in Japan and Finland: A comparative study using multi-group structural equation modelling

Abstract This study aims to explore relationships between teachers' attitudes, self-efficacy, and background variables regarding inclusive education by using a sample of 359 Japanese and 872 Finnish teachers. A multi-group structural equation modelling was conducted to find similarities and differences in how the background variables predict teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy. Experience in teaching students with disabilities had a positive effect on teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy in both countries. However, teachers' teaching career and the amount of inclusive education training affected them differently in Japan and Finland. The findings could be used to improve inclusive educat…

Accumulation of sleep loss among shift-working truck drivers.

Sleep loss is known to contribute to road traffic accidents. Professional drivers are vulnerable to curtailment of sleep due to long driving bouts and shift work. To fill in the gap in the literature related to the buildup of sleep loss in irregular shift systems, we recorded the sleep and working hours of 47 shift-working long-haul truck drivers during a two-week period. Sleep (time in bed) was verified by actigraphy and sleep logs. Sleepiness was measured using the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS). Individual sleep need was based on self-assessments. We examined the accumulated sleep versus self-reported sleep need across the study period, using midnights as points of observation, and th…

Sosioekonominen tausta, motivaatio ja minäpystyvyys luonnontieteiden osaamisen selittäjinä tytöillä ja pojilla

Development of need for recovery from work over one year: A person-centered approach

This longitudinal questionnaire study conducted among 274 Finnish employees (57% women, average age 45.9 years) in a variety of jobs aimed at identifying groups of employees who share similar mean levels and changes in need for recovery and finding out whether factors regarded as antecedents of need for recovery distinguish between the different groups of need for recovery across one year. Using mixture modeling eight groups of need for recovery were identified. The individuals identified as closely resembling each other with respect to need for recovery and its change across one year were considered to belong to the same need for recovery group. Five of these groups indicated stable (low, …

A person-oriented approach to diary data. Children’s temperamental negative emotionality increases susceptibility to emotion transmission in father-child dyads

The notion that some individuals are more prone to emotion transmission than others has prompted the need for a person-oriented approach to emotion transmission in parent-child dyads. The present study applied a person-oriented analysis to examine the patterns of emotion transmission that can be identified in the diary data of father-child dyads, and the extent to which children with high levels of temperamental negative emotionality are particularly susceptible to emotion transmission within the family. Mothers of 149 first grade children (age 6 to 7) completed questionnaires concerning their child’s temperament. Mothers and fathers maintained diary questionnaires (for a total of 7 days) c…

Burnout-related ill-being at work : Associations between mindfulness and acceptance skills, worksite factors, and experienced well-being in life

The aim of this paper was to investigate the associations between mindfulness and acceptance (MAA) skills and burnout-related ill-being at work (ILLB) after eliminating the impact of worksite (WS) and general well-being in life (WELLB) factors. The results were derived from data on employees (n = 168) of varying professional backgrounds, who experienced relatively high levels of burnout. Analyses were conducted using structural equation modelling (SEM) and the Cholesky decomposition method, since these allow for the investigation of multiple measures and multiple factors in relation to one another. In relation to ill-being at work, the analyses revealed a general MAA factor as well as a spe…

Repeated assessment of the Tower of Hanoi test: reliability and age effects.

The purpose of this research was to analyze the effects of repeating an executive function test. Three versions of the Tower of Hanoi (TOH) test were repeated three times each, with test-retest intervals of 2 months. Two groups of children participated in the research (7.7 and 11.6 years, n = 22 and n = 28). Repeating the assessment improved the performance and decreased the total performance time in both of the groups. The older participants improved their performance faster than the younger ones. The reliability of all the scores, besides the error scores, seemed to be satisfactory after the first few assessments. The stability of the scores was maintained through all the assessments. Th…

Positive Teacher Affect and Maternal Support Facilitate Adjustment After the Transition to First Grade

This longitudinal study, conducted among a sample of Finnish primary-school children, examined the proposition that a single high-quality relationship (either with a teacher or a parent) can buffer against adjustment problems. Teachers rated the externalizing problems and prosocial behaviors of 378 children in Grade 1 and again in Grade 2. Relationship measures gathered in Grade 1 included teacher reports of positive affect for the child and mother reports of support for the child. The results supported our proposition by showing that for child adjustment after the transition to primary school it was critical to have at least one high-quality relationship either with a teacher or a parent. …

Is There Hope for First Graders at the Lowest Percentiles? : The Roles of Self-Efficacy, Task Avoidance, and Support in the Development of Reading Fluency

Self-efficacious children are expected to be more task-focused in challenging achievement situations and consequently have better chances of overcoming learning difficulties than children who have lower self-efficacy. The present study investigates this presumption with Finnish-speaking first graders struggling with reading acquisition ( N = 285). The development of the children’s reading fluency, self-efficacy, and task avoidance was followed from the middle of Grade 1 to the end of Grade 2, and a 6-week mobile game-based intervention was administered to those who exhibited the greatest risk for reading disabilities (≤ 5th percentile). Exploratory structural equation modeling was used to …

Social strategies during university studies predict early career work burnout and engagement: 18-year longitudinal study

Abstract This longitudinal study spanning 18 years examined the role of social strategies in early career adaptation. The aim was to find out whether individuals' social strategies measured during their university studies had an impact on work burnout and work engagement measured 10–18 years later. A sample of 292 university students completed the SAQ questionnaire three times while at university and the work burnout inventory three times and the work engagement inventory twice during their early career. According to the results, the higher the initial level of social optimism and the more it increased during university studies, and the lower the initial levels of social withdrawal and soci…

Introducing the DYNAMICS framework of moment-to-moment development in achievement motivation

This article introduces a new theoretical and psychometric framework describing moment-to-moment development and inter-dependencies of achievement motivation in terms of the situated expectancy-value theory, by introducing dynamical systems concepts into this line of research. As a first empirical example of a study using this framework, we examined whether task values, costs, and success expectancies measured in a learning situation (time point t) predicted themselves and each other at the next situation (t + 1; 27 min later) within a weekly university lecture. Situational task values, expectancies, and costs were assessed using the experience sampling method in 155 university teacher trai…

Objectively assessed vigorous physical activity and motor coordination are associated in 11‐year old children

This cross‐sectional study examined the associations between gender, sports club (SC) participation, physical activity (PA), motor coordination (MQ) and object control skill (TC). 11 year‐old children (n = 477) wore accelerometers during seven consecutive days for the analysis of moderate PA (MPA) and vigorous PA (VPA). To detect motor competence (MC), children's motor coordination was measured using the KTK (MQ), and object control skill with throw‐and‐catch task (TC). Sports club (SC) status was obtained by a questionnaire. Boys had higher levels of MPA (F = 50.45, P<0.001) and VPA (F = 11.13, P = 0.001), and were better in TC (F = 39.83, P < 0.001) than girls. SC participants outperforme…

Students' school‐level symptoms mediate the relationship between a school's observed moisture problems and students’ subjective perceptions of indoor air quality

Moisture damage can influence the subjective assessment of indoor air quality (subjective IAQ) in various ways. We studied whether the frequency of symptoms reported across students at school level mediates the relationship between observed mold and dampness in a school building and students' subjective IAQ. To answer this research question, we tested a multilevel path model. The analyzed data were created by merging two nationwide data sets: (a) survey data from students, including information on subjective IAQ (N = 24,786 students); (b) data from schools, including information on mold and dampness in a school building (N = 222). After the background variables were adjusted, schools' obser…

The role of self-esteem on fear of childbirth and birth experience

Objective: Fear of childbirth (FOC), also referred to as tokophobia, can have detrimental consequences for a woman’s well-being during pregnancy and for their subjective birth experience. However, it is unknown what role self-esteem plays in the relationship between FOC and the experience of childbirth. This study investigates the relation between FOC and the birth experience, and the role of selfesteem in that relation. Methods: We studied 125 nulliparous and parous Finnish women from their third trimester of pregnancy to 4–8 weeks postpartum. Path analysis with MLR estimation was conducted using MPlus to predict the childbirth experience according to prior self-esteem and fear of childbir…

The self-reported stress and stressors in tram and long-haul truck drivers

Work stress may compromise professional drivers’ health and driving capacity. Differences between driver groups in terms of on-duty stress are understudied. Therefore, we examined self-reported stress (Stockholm University Stress Scale) of shift-working tram and long-haul truck drivers (n = 75) across 2–3 weeks. Furthermore, stressors were self-reported retrospectively and categorised as related to the job, driving conditions, personal, or other causes. Stress levels were generally low, but moderate to high stress (≥6) was more frequently reported among the tram drivers. Stressors related to the job (54%) and driving conditions (19% of all shifts) were frequently reported among the tram and…

Adolescents' school-related self-concept mediates motor skills and psychosocial well-being.

Background The health benefits of exercise participation and physical activity for mental health and psychosocial well-being (PSWB) have been shown in several studies. However, one important background factor, that is, motor skills (MSs), has largely been ignored. In addition, most of the existing research focuses on poor MSs, that is, poor MSs are often connected to poorer PSWB. The mechanism linking MSs and PSWB is unclear. However, a preliminary suggestion has been made that self-worth or self-perceptions might mediate the association between MSs and PSWB. Aim We investigated whether the self-concepts (SCs) of school-related physical education (SCPE), reading (SCR), and mathematics (SCM)…

Verbal and academic skills in children with early-onset type 1 diabetes

Aim  Basic verbal and academic skills can be adversely affected by early-onset diabetes, although these skills have been studied less than other cognitive functions. This study aimed to explore the mechanism of learning deficits in children with diabetes by assessing basic verbal and academic skills in children with early-onset diabetes and in comparison children. In addition, the incidence of dyslexia (≤10th centile in reading speed or reading–spelling accuracy) was studied. Method  The performance of 51 children with early-onset diabetes (25 females, 26 males; mean age 9y 11mo, SD 4mo; range 9–10y) was compared with that of 92 children without diabetes (40 females, 52 males; mean age 9y 1…

Individuality in the Early Number Skill Components Underlying Basic Arithmetic Skills

Early number skills underlie success in basic arithmetic. However, very little is known about the skill profiles among children in preprimary education and how the potential profiles are related to arithmetic development. This longitudinal study of 440 Finnish children in preprimary education (mean age: 75 months) modeled latent performancelevel profile groups for the early number skill components that are proposed to be key predictors of arithmetic (symbolic number comparison, mapping, and verbal counting skills). Based on three assessment time points (September, January, and May), four profile groups were found: the poorest-performing (6%), low-performing (16%), nearaverage-performing (33…

Los directivos vinculados psicológicamente en el trabajo no son adictos al mismo: datos de un análisis longitudinal centrado en la persona

The aims of this two-year follow-up study among Finnish managers (n = 463) were twofold: first, to investigate the relation between work engagement and workaholism by utilizing both variable- and person-centered approaches and second, to explore whether and how experiences of work engagement and workaholism relate to job change during the study period. The variable-centered analysis based on Structural Equation Modelling revealed that the latent factors of work engagement and workaholism did not correlate with each other, thereby suggesting that they are independent constructs. The person-centered inspection with Growth Mixture Modelling indicated four work engagement-workaholism classes: 1…

A psychological flexibility -based intervention for burnout : A randomized controlled trial

A novel eight-week program based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) principles was created to alleviate burnout-related ill-being and to enhance well-being. This randomized controlled trial investigated the effectiveness of the program and explored whether changes in psychological flexibility mediated the results of the intervention. The program consisted of structured weekly face-to-face group meetings and daily practices provided via a website. Employees from varying professional backgrounds with burnout (mean age = 47 years, 79% female), who all received usual treatment, 1 were randomized into control (TAU, n = 80, receiving no other support) and ACT + TAU intervention (n = 88, r…

The family-oriented Open Dialogue approach in the treatment of first-episode psychosis : nineteen–year outcomes

Open Dialogue (OD) is a family-oriented early intervention approach which has demonstrated good outcomes in the treatment of first-episode psychosis (FEP). Nevertheless, more evidence is needed. In this register-based cohort study the long-term outcomes of OD were evaluated through a comparison with a control group over a period of approximately 19 years. We examined the mortality, the need for psychiatric treatment, and the granting of disability allowances. Data were obtained from Finnish national registers regarding all OD patients whose treatment for FEP commenced within the time of the original interventions (total N = 108). The control group consisted of all Finnish FEP patients who h…

Parental ability attributions regarding children's academic performance: Person-oriented approach on longitudinal data

The aim of this study was to identify subgroups of mothers and fathers who differ according to the patterns of causal attribution to ability for their children's academic success and failure across early school years. Moreover, the extent to which the mother and father of the same child share the same attribution pattern, and how the attribution patterns are associated with the parents' level of education, children's sex and children's academic performance was investigated. A total of 1721 mothers and 1198 fathers filled out a questionnaire concerning their child-related ability attributions when the children were in Grades 1–3. Five different attribution patterns were identified with laten…

Do epigenetic clocks provide explanations for sex differences in lifespan? A cross-sectional twin study

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe sex gap in life expectancy has been narrowing in Finland over the past four to five decades; however, on average, women still live longer than men. Epigenetic clocks are markers for biological aging that predict lifespan. In this study, we examined the mediating role of lifestyle factors on the association between sex and biological aging in younger and older adults.MethodsOur sample included same-sex younger and older twins (21-42-y, n = 1110; 50-76-y, n = 763) and younger opposite-sex twins (21-30-y, n = 302). Blood-based DNA methylation (DNAm) was used to compute epigenetic age acceleration by four epigenetic clocks as a measure of biological aging. Path modelling w…

Assessment of students’ agency in Finnish and Spanish university courses: Analysis of measurement invariance

This study reports on the measurement invariance of the Agency of University Students Scale in data consisting of Finnish and Spanish university students (n = 645) and presents cross-national findings on student agency assessment. Multigroup confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the metric invariance for 10 factors, which allows comparisons of covariance structures and correlation analyses, and can, for example, be used to examine background factor effects on agency across groups. At least partial scalar invariance was confirmed for six factors, allowing comparisons of mean values between Finnish and Spanish students. Differences were found in the experiences of personal and relational res…

Within-students variability in learning experiences, and teachers' perceptions of students' task-focus

In order to advance our understanding of educational processes, we present a tutorial of intraindividual variability. An adaptive educational process is characterised by stable (less variability), and a maladaptive process is characterised by instable (more variability) learning experiences from one learning situation to the next. We outline step by step how we specify a multilevel structural equation model of state, trait and individual differences in intraindividual variability constructs, which can be appropriately fitted to intraindividual data (e.g., time-points nested in persons, intensive longitudinal data). In total 285 primary school students’ (Years 5 and 6) completed the Learning…

Effects of Multidomain Risk Accumulation on Cognitive, Academic, and Behavioural Outcomes

This longitudinal study examined the predictive associations between cumulative multidomain risk factors and cognitive (IQ), academic (reading fluency), and social adaptive outcomes at 8 to 9 years among 190 children with or without familial risk for dyslexia. Other risk factors included parental and neurocognitive risks assessed when the children were 1 to 6 years of age. Risks accumulated more among children with familial risk for dyslexia than among children without familial risk. A higher number of risks was associated with poorer performance in all outcome measures as postulated by the cumulative risk model. However, when the effects of individual risk variables were controlled for at …

Paternal mental health trajectory classes and early fathering experiences

A father’s mental health is important for family well-being, but research is scarce on paternal symptoms during the transition to fatherhood. This study identified fathers’ latent mental health trajectory classes from the pre- to postnatal period and examined their associations with early fathering experiences. It further analysed, whether a family’s infertility history was associated with mental health trajectory classes and moderated their effects on fathering experiences. Finnish fathers ( N = 773) reported psychological distress (General Health Questionnaire; GHQ-36) and depressive symptoms (Beck Depression Inventory; BDI-13) in pregnancy (T1), and at 2 months (T2) and 12 months (T3) p…

A job resources-based intervention to boost work engagement and team innovativeness during organizational restructuring

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to investigate the effectiveness of a job resources-based intervention aimed at proactively increasing work engagement and team innovativeness during organizational restructuring using a person-centered approach. Design/methodology/approach The intervention was conducted in two organizations: two departments served as participants (n=82) and two as controls (n=52). The aim was to first identify sub-groups of employees with different developmental patterns of work engagement, and then to determine whether these sub-groups benefited differently from the intervention with respect to team innovativeness and work engagement. Findings Latent profile analysis …

Emotional Intelligence and Psychobiosocial States: Mediating Effects of Intra-Team Communication and Role Ambiguity

Emotional intelligence is an important variable related to the interaction and functioning of sports teams. The present study examined the relationship between players’ trait emotional intelligence and functional and dysfunctional psychobiosocial states. In particular, we examined the mediating effects of intra-team communication efficacy and role ambiguity in this relationship. The participants were 291 (174 men and 117 women) Italian players involved in various team sports (i.e., futsal, soccer, volleyball, handball, and rugby). They completed a multi-section questionnaire assessing the study variables during the early/middle part of their competitive seasons. Structural equation modeling…

Burnout, work engagement and workaholism among highly educated employees: Profiles, antecedents and outcomes

The present study examined the longitudinal profiles of burnout, engagement and workaholism among highly educated employees. First, the latent profile modeling indicated two latent classes: Engaged and Exhausted-Workaholic. Second, the results revealed that employees with the Engaged profile experienced high levels of energy and dedication, whereas employees with the Exhausted-Workaholic profile experienced exhaustion, cynicism and workaholism. Social pessimism in the transition from high education to work predicted poor subjective well-being at work. Further, workaholism decreased during the career among members of the Exhausted-Workaholic profile suggesting positive direction during caree…

Meeting the WHO 24-h guidelines among 2–6-year-old children by family socioeconomic status before and during the COVID-19 pandemic : a repeated cross-sectional study

Background The World Health Organization (WHO) has developed guidelines for 24-h physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour and sleep for young children. Lower socioeconomic status (SES) has been linked to a lower likelihood of meeting these guidelines. The outbreak of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) raised concerns about young children’s opportunities to meet the guidelines. The study focused on the prevalence of meeting the WHO’s 24-h guidelines on screen time (ST), PA and sleep among 2–6-year-old children, in association with family SES, before COVID-19 outbreak in 2019, and during the pandemic in 2020 and 2021 in Finland. Methods Data were collected at three timepoints by an o…

Psychological distress of children with early-onset type 1 diabetes and their mothers' well-being

Aim Few studies have focused on the psychological adjustment of pre-adolescent children with type 1 diabetes. This study examined psychosocial functioning in nine- and 10-year-old children with early-onset type 1 diabetes, and their mothers, and associations between psychosocial functioning and diabetes management. Methods The mothers of 63 children with early-onset diabetes and 86 healthy children evaluated their own psychosocial functioning, and their child's, with standardised rating scales. We used general linear models to analyse the children's behaviour problems and the mothers' well-being. Associations between the children's behaviour problems, diabetes-related measures and the mothe…

Associations of physical activity, fitness, and body composition with heart rate variability–based indicators of stress and recovery on workdays: a cross-sectional study

Background. The purpose of this study was to investigate how physical activity (PA), cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), and body composition are associated with heart rate variability (HRV)-based indicators of stress and recovery on workdays. Additionally, we evaluated the association of objectively measured stress with self-reported burnout symptoms. Methods. Participants of this cross-sectional study were 81 healthy males (age range 26–40 y). Stress and recovery on workdays were measured objectively based on HRV recordings. CRF and anthropometry were assessed in laboratory conditions. The level of PA was based on a detailed PA interview (MET index [MET-h/d]) and self-reported activity class…

Two-year group treatment for children with learning difficulties: assessing effects of treatment duration and pretreatment characteristics.

The results of a 2-year treatment study of children with learning problems are reported. During the first treatment year, half of the children participated in a multifaceted neurocognitive treatment and the other half in a treatment that provided supervision of school tasks and peer group support. During the second treatment year, all children participated in the neurocognitive treatment. The participants were 74 Chilean children 6 to 11 years old. The issues under investigation were the effect of treatment duration, and the relationship between pretreatment neurocognitive and behavioral characteristics and academic treatment outcome. The results indicated that significant gains occurred d…

Flexibility in weight management.

The purpose of the study was to investigate the relationships between changes in flexible vs. rigid restraints of eating during weight management, as well as how changes in the cognitive restraint of eating were related to psychological well-being and flexibility. The data includes information on 49 overweight persons who participated in a weight loss and maintenance (WLM) intervention and a follow-up assessment after 8-9 months. An increase in flexible cognitive restraint during the weight loss intervention was related to better weight loss maintenance and well-being. The more flexible restraint increased during the WLM intervention, the more psychological distress decreased. Moreover, lar…

The Associations between Ethical Organizational Culture, Burnout, and Engagement: A Multilevel Study

Purpose – Ethical culture is a specific form of organizational culture (including values and systems that can promote ethical behavior), and as such a socially constructed phenomenon. However, no previous studies have investigated the degree to which employees’ perceptions of their organization’s ethical culture are shared within work units (departments), which was the first aim of this study. In addition, we studied the associations between ethical culture and occupational well-being (i.e., burnout and work engagement) at both the individual and workunit levels. Design/methodology/approach – The questionnaire data was gathered from 2,146 respondents with various occupations in 245 differen…

Latent growth mixture modeling : a simulation study

The role of parental affection and psychological control in adolescent athletes' symptoms of school and sport burnout during the transition to upper secondary school.

Abstract Introduction The transition from compulsory school to upper secondary school is a challenging period for adolescents. Especially challenging it can be for adolescents who aim to integrate two domains of achievement, such as an athletic career and academic education. The pressure from two intertwined achievement domains may make student-athletes vulnerable to symptoms of burnout. The study examined the role of mothers' and fathers’ affection and psychological control as possible risk or protective factors in the symptoms of school and sport burnout among 15–16 year olds adolescent athletes in Finland. Methods The adolescents’ (n = 391) burnout symptoms in the two domains were measur…

Reading Difficulties Identification : A Comparison of Neural Networks, Linear, and Mixture Models

Purpose We aim to identify the most accurate model for predicting adolescent (Grade 9) reading difficulties (RD) in reading fluency and reading comprehension using 17 kindergarten-age variables. Three models (neural networks, linear, and mixture) were compared based on their accuracy in predicting RD. We also examined whether the same or a different set of kindergarten-age factors emerge as the strongest predictors of reading fluency and comprehension difficulties across the models. Method RD were identified in a Finnish sample (N ≈ 2,000) based on Grade 9 difficulties in reading fluency and reading comprehension. The predictors assessed in kindergarten included gender, parental factors (e.…

Assessing reading and online research comprehension: Do difficulties in attention and executive function matter?

This study evaluated the relation between sixth graders' (N = 426) teacher-rated difficulties in attention and executive function (EF) and their comprehension skills. Reading comprehension was assessed with a multiple-choice task and online research and comprehension (ORC) with a problem-solving task. The analyses were controlled for gender, reading fluency and nonverbal reasoning. To investigate differences in students' performance between the tasks, comprehension skills in the multiple-choice task were also controlled for in the ORC task. Structural equation models showed that teacher-rated attention and EF difficulties were related to students' performance more in the problem-solving tas…

Predicting word-level reading fluency outcomes in three contrastive groups: Remedial and computer-assisted remedial reading intervention, and mainstream instruction

Abstract The aim of the longitudinal intervention study was to build a model of predictive values of reading fluency in three contrastive reading groups: remedial and computer-assisted remedial reading intervention, and mainstream instruction, to identify the most effective type of intervention for children with different profiles of compromised pre-reading skills. The participants were 7-year-old Finnish school beginners ( N  = 166). Two remedial interventions took place in four weekly sessions of 45 min over a period of 28 weeks in Grade 1. For a child with deficits in the core pre-reading skills (letter knowledge, phonological awareness or rapid automatized naming), the computer-assisted…

Development and validation of the Brief Parental Burnout Scale (BPBS).

Since parental burnout can have detrimental consequences for parents, couples, and children, easy-to-use, reliable, and valid practical tools for the early detection of parental burnout are required. We developed and validated a brief scale to identify burned-out parents and parents at burnout risk. In Study 1, we developed the 5-item Brief Parental Burnout scale (BPBs) based on the gold standard measure of parental burnout, the Parental Burnout Assessment (PBA). We applied Item Response Theory Graded Response Model (GRM) analyses on the data of 1,725 Finnish parents. Compared against the PBA total score, the five selected items showed both high sensitivity and specificity in screening pare…

Investigating occupational well-being and leadership from a person-centred longitudinal approach: congruence of well-being and perceived leadership

The overall objective of this longitudinal study was to investigate the association between perceived leadership and employee well-being from a person-centred approach utilizing the principles of the conservation of resources theory (Hobfoll, S. E. (1989). Conservation of resources: A new attempt at conceptualizing stress. American Psychologist, 44, 513–524; Hobfoll, S. E. (2002). Social and psychological resources and adaptation. Review of General Psychology, 6, 307–324). First, we aimed to identify latent classes (i.e., subgroups) of employees that demonstrated similar mean levels of stability and change in occupational well-being (i.e., vigour and emotional exhaustion) across a mean time…

Within-student variability in learning experiences, and teachers’ perceptions of students’ task-focus

In order to advance models of educational processes (intraindividual, intensive longitudinal), we propose a model in which we specify state and trait constructs, and an intraindividual variability construct. In our ecological momentary assessment study, we investigated how trait-level and intraindividual variability of students’ learning experiences (intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, task difficulty, effort exertion, help-seeking and competence evaluations) converged with teacher-reported student task-focus. 285 primary school students’ (Years 5 and 6) completed the Learning Experience Questionnaire using handheld computers, on average 13.6 learning episodes during one week (SD = 4.6; Ran…

Computer-Assisted Remedial Reading Intervention for School Beginners at Risk for Reading Disability

The aim of the longitudinal study was to investigate whether a computer application designed for remedial reading training can enhance letter knowledge, reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling of at-risk children. The participants, 7-year-old Finnish school beginners (N = 166), were assigned to 1 of 3 groups: (a) regular remedial reading intervention (n = 25), (b) computer-assessed reading intervention (n = 25), and (c) mainstream reading instruction (n = 116). Based on the results, computer-assisted remedial reading intervention was highly beneficial, whereas regular type of intervention was less successful. The results indicated that at-risk children require computer-based letter–name and…

Changes in goal-related affects: Decrease burnout during a group psychotherapy intervention.

The study examined the role played by changes in employees' goal-related affects in decreasing burnout during a group intervention. 62 white-collar employees, suffering from severe burnout, were randomized into 10-month group intervention programmes consisting of 16 intensive 1-day sessions every second week. The participants appraised their work and interpersonal goals according to their positive and negative affects weekly for 54 weeks. During the pre- and postintervention and follow-up (6 months later) measurements, the participants filled out a burnout measurement. The results, analysed by multilevel modelling, showed that a decrease in the negative affects and an increase in the positi…

Leisure-Time and Occupational Physical Activity Associates Differently with Epigenetic Aging

Supplemental digital content is available in the text.

Associations Between Toddler-Age Communication and Kindergarten-Age Self-Regulatory Skills

Purpose In this study, the authors aimed at gaining understanding on the associations of different types of early language and communication profiles with later self-regulation skills by using longitudinal data from toddler age to kindergarten age. Method Children with early language profiles representing expressive delay, broad delay (i.e., expressive, social, and/or symbolic), and typical language development were compared in domains of kindergarten-age executive and regulative skills (attentional/executive functions, regulation of emotions and behavioral activity, and social skills) assessed with parental questionnaires. Results Children with delay in toddler-age language development de…

Coach-created motivational climate and athletes’ adaptation to psychological stress : Temporal motivation-emotion interplay

This two-wave study investigated the temporal interplay between motivation and the intensity and reported impact of athletes’ emotions in training settings. In total, 217 athletes completed self-report measures of motivational climate, motivation regulations, emotional states (i.e., pleasant states, anger, and anxiety) experienced before practice at two time points during a 3-month period. Latent change score modeling revealed significantly negative paths from task-involving climate at time 1 to the latent change in the intensity of dysfunctional anxiety and anger, and significantly positive paths from ego-involving climate at time 1 to the latent change in dysfunctional anger (i.e., intens…

Psychometric evaluation of the Finnish version of the impact on participation and autonomy questionnaire in persons with multiple sclerosis

Objective: The objective of this study was to evaluate the psychometric properties of the impact on participation and autonomy (IPA) questionnaire. The Finnish version of IPA (IPAFin) was translated into Finnish using the protocol for linguistic validation for patient-reported outcomes instruments. Methods: A total of 194 persons with multiple sclerosis (MS) (mean age 50 years SD 9, 72% female) with moderate to severe disability participated in this study. A confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to confirm the four factor structure of the IPAFin. The work and educational opportunities domain was excluded from analysis, because it was only applicable to 51 persons. Internal consistency…

Do Epigenetic Clocks Provide Explanations for Sex Differences in Life Span? A Cross-Sectional Twin Study

Abstract Background The sex gap in life expectancy has been narrowing in Finland over the past 4–5 decades; however, on average, women still live longer than men. Epigenetic clocks are markers for biological aging which predict life span. In this study, we examined the mediating role of lifestyle factors on the association between sex and biological aging in younger and older adults. Methods Our sample consists of younger and older twins (21‒42 years, n = 1 477; 50‒76 years, n = 763) including 151 complete younger opposite-sex twin pairs (21‒30 years). Blood-based DNA methylation was used to compute epigenetic age acceleration by 4 epigenetic clocks as a measure of biological aging. Path mo…

Leisure-time physical activity from adolescence to late middle age and its associations with the COVID-19 pandemic : A 45-year follow-up

We aimed to investigate the association of self-reported leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) over a 45-years from adolescence to late middle age mediated by LTPA in early middle age. We also explored whether LTPA in adolescence and early middle age was associated with change in LTPA during the COVID-19 pandemic. We constructed a path model employing questionnaire data from three LTPA measurements (1976, 2001, 2021) including duplicated assessment for pre- and during COVID-19 in 2021. The direct and indirect associations between LTPA in adolescence, early middle and late middle age were investigated, as well as the impact of previous LTPA on change in late middle age LTPA due to the pandem…

Developmental trajectories of early communication skills.

Purpose This study focused on developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills and their connections to later parent-reported language difficulties. Method The participants represent a subset of a community-based sample of 508 children. Data include parent reports of prelinguistic communication skills at 12, 15, 18, and 21 months and language difficulties at age 4;7 (years;months). The authors used latent profile analysis to identify groups of children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills ( n = 271). The relations among these groups and follow-up data of parent-reported concerns of language development ( n = 187), as well as the ro…

Early Cognitive Profiles Predicting Reading and Arithmetic Skills in Grades 1 and 7

The aim of this study was to investigate cognitive profiles composed of skills predicting the overlap between reading and arithmetic in kindergarten (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming, and counting sequence knowledge) and the relation of these profiles to reading and arithmetic skills at Grades 1 and 7. A total of four distinct cognitive profiles were identified in an unselected sample of 1,710 children aged 5–6 years: (1) high linguistic and high counting skills (39.2%), (2) low linguistic and low counting skills (25.4%), (3) high counting skills in relation to linguistic skills (15.3%), and (4) low counting skills in relation to linguistic skills (20.1%). …

Heritability of maximal isometric muscle strength in older female twins.

The purpose of the present study was to examine genetic and environmental effects on maximal isometric handgrip, knee extension, and ankle plantar flexion strength. In addition, we wanted to investigate whether the strength of these three muscle groups shares a genetic component or whether the genetic effect is specific for each muscle group. Muscle strength was measured as part of the Finnish Twin Study on Aging in 97 monozygotic (MZ) and 102 dizygotic (DZ) female twin pairs, aged 63-76 yr. The MZ and DZ individuals did not differ from each other in age, body height, weight, or self-related health. The age-adjusted pairwise (intraclass) correlations of the MZ and DZ twins were, respective…

Young Consumers’ Boycotting Profiles in the UK and Finland : A Comparative Analysis

This study uses latent profile analysis to identify boycotting subgroups within Finland and the UK and to explore their potential differences across countries. These subgroups are based on how young British and Finnish consumers assess that reference groups and their personal experiences have influenced their boycotting decisions. This study is based on comparative data obtained from the UK (n = 1,236) and Finland (n = 1,219). We identified four boycotting profiles: unlikely to be influenced, influenced by personal things, likely to be influenced, and moderately likely to be influenced. Our findings are especially relevant to consumer researchers, brands, and companies. peerReviewed

Psychological flexibility mediates change in intuitive eating regulation in acceptance and commitment therapy interventions

AbstractObjectiveDespite the promising results related to intuitive eating, few studies have attempted to explain the processes encouraging this adaptive eating behaviour. The focus of the present study was on exploring mechanisms of change in intuitive eating and weight in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) interventions. Mediation provides important information regarding the treatment processes and theoretical models related to specific treatment approaches. The study investigates whether psychological flexibility, mindfulness skills and sense of coherence mediated the interventions’ effect on intuitive eating and weight.DesignSecondary analysis of a randomized control trial. Mediati…

Predictors of Participation and Autonomy in People With Multiple Sclerosis.

Abstract Importance: Because multiple sclerosis (MS) affects many life areas, it is important to know how participation and autonomy are associated with the perceived impact of MS on everyday life. Objective: To investigate how perceived quality of life, disease impact, gender, and disease severity predict participation and autonomy in people with MS. Design: Cross-sectional study in which structural equation modeling was used to evaluate relationships between measured variables. Settings: Outpatient clinics in three areas and one inpatient rehabilitation center in Finland. Participants: Convenience sample of 194 people with MS. Outcomes and Measures: Participants completed the Impact on Pa…

Burnout during a long-term rehabilitation: comparing low burnout, high burnout - benefited, and high burnout - not benefited trajectories.

To focus rehabilitation activities among burnout clients more effectively, it is important to investigate who benefits from burnout interventions. This study (N=85) aimed at identifying burnout trajectories in terms of benefit, that is, subgroups of clients who share similar mean levels and changes in burnout during a one-year rehabilitation intervention (17 days in total) with a six-month follow-up. After identifying the burnout trajectories, the relations of the trajectories with factors describing the clients, antecedents, and consequences of burnout during the one-year intervention were examined. Three burnout trajectories were identified by growth mixture modeling: (a) low burnout (n=3…

A Mobile Diary Method for Studying Children’s and Adolescents’ Emotions : A Pilot Study

Researching children’s and adolescents’ emotions from their own perspectives possesses special requirements for the data collection tools used. In this study, children’s and early adolescents’ emotions were investigated using a mobile diary method. The article describes and evaluates this data collection method and presents empirical results on fluctuation in the emotions of children and adolescents (n = 60, aged 7–14 years). The data, in the form of short text messages, were collected over one week. Every evening, children received seven questions on their emotions. Multilevel modeling was used to analyze the data. The results illustrate the potential of the mobile diary method with childr…

Development of sense of coherence during two group interventions

Burnout is a serious occupational hazard. This study investigated the possibility to develop an effective salutogenic group intervention among employees suffering from severe burnout symptoms. Participants consisted of employees aged 31 to 59 years working in different public service occupations, such as police officers, tax officers, (and other public service officers), and assigned to three different groups: analytic (N = 25), psychodramatic (N = 24) and controls (N = 28). The intervention comprised 16 separate days over a nine-month period. Changes in sense of coherence (SOC) were measured four times with the 13-item Orientation to Life Questionnaire during the intervention and at six-mo…

Literacy Skills and Online Research and Comprehension : Struggling Readers Face Difficulties

The present study evaluated the extent to which literacy skills (reading fluency, written spelling, and reading comprehension), together with nonverbal reasoning, prior knowledge, and gender, are related to students’ online research and comprehension (ORC) performance. The ORC skills of 426 sixth graders were measured using a Finnish adaptation of the Online Research and Comprehension Assessment. Results of a structural equation model showed that these ORC skills were divided into six highly correlated factors, and that they formed a common factor in ORC. Altogether, these predictor variables explained 57% of the variance in ORC. Reading comprehension, along with gender, was the strongest p…

Psychiatric Problems in Adolescence Mediate the Association Between Childhood Learning Disabilities and Later Well-Being

This follow-up study investigated the associations of childhood learning disabilities (LDs) with adult-age anxiety, depression, and unemployment. Psychosocial problems in childhood and psychiatric diagnoses and lack of education in adolescence were studied as potential mediators, and gender and mother’s education were studied as potential moderators of these associations. Data on childhood clinical neuropsychological assessments and lifelong register data on individuals with childhood LD ( n = 430; 301 [70%] males; 20–39 years of age) and matched controls ( n = 2,149) were applied. Mediation analyses were performed using structural equation modeling. Childhood LDs exerted a significant, bu…

Literacy skills and online research and comprehension: struggling readers face difficulties online

The present study evaluated the extent to which literacy skills (reading fluency, written spelling, and reading comprehension), together with nonverbal reasoning, prior knowledge, and gender, are related to students’ online research and comprehension (ORC) performance. The ORC skills of 426 sixth graders were measured using a Finnish adaptation of the Online Research and Comprehension Assessment. Results of a structural equation model showed that these ORC skills were divided into six highly correlated factors, and that they formed a common factor in ORC. Altogether, these predictor variables explained 57% of the variance in ORC. Reading comprehension, along with gender, was the strongest p…

Personal stigma and use of mental health services among people with depression in a general population in Finland

Abstract Background A minority of people suffering from depression seek professional help for themselves. Stigmatizing attitudes are assumed to be one of the major barriers to help seeking but there is only limited evidence of this in large general population data sets. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between mental health attitude statements and depression and their links to actual use of mental health services among those with depression. Methods We used a large cross-sectional data set from a Finnish population survey (N = 5160). Attitudes were measured by scales which measured the belief that people with depression are responsible for their illness and their recove…

Achievement strategies during university studies predict early career burnout and engagement

To examine whether individuals’ achievement strategies measured during university studies would have an impact on work burnout and work engagement measured 10, 14 and 17 years later, 292 university students completed the SAQ strategy questionnaire three times while at university, and the work burnout inventory three times and work engagement inventory twice during their early career. The results showed that optimism increased during university, while task-avoidance did not change. Moreover, high and increasing optimism during university predicted a high level of work engagement and low level of burnout 10, 14 and 17 years later. By contrast, a high level of task-avoidance during university …

Valmennustyyleillä ja sukupuolella keskeinen rooli urheilijan kaksoisuramotivaatiossa

Multilevel Latent Profile Analysis With Covariates : Identifying Job Characteristics Profiles in Hierarchical Data as an Example

Latent profile analysis (LPA) is a person-centered method commonly used in organizational research to identify homogeneous subpopulations of employees within a heterogeneous population. However, in the case of nested data structures, such as employees nested in work departments, multilevel techniques are needed. Multilevel LPA (MLPA) enables adequate modeling of subpopulations in hierarchical data sets. MLPA enables investigation of variability in the proportions of Level 1 profiles across Level 2 units, and of Level 2 latent classes based on the proportions of Level 1 latent profiles and Level 1 ratings, and the extent to which covariates drawn from the different hierarchical levels of the…

Personality profiles and health: Longitudinal evidence among Finnish adults

Kinnunen, M.-L., Metsapelto, R. L., Feldt, T., Kokko, K., Tolvanen, A., Kinnunen, U., Leppanen, E. & Pulkkinen, L. (2012). Personality profiles and health: Longitudinal evidence among Finnish adults. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 512–522. This study investigates the associations of longitudinal Big Five personality profiles with long-term health in 304 adults (53% males). Personality traits (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness, Conscientiousness, Agreeableness) were assessed at ages 33, 42, and 50. Subjective (self-rated health, symptoms, psychological distress) and objective (body mass index, waist-to-hip ratio, blood pressure, cholesterol, triglycerides) indicators of health were…

Contribution of genetic and environmental effects to postural balance in older female twins

The aim of the present study was to determine the relative roles of genetic and environmental influences on postural balance in older women. The participants were 97 monozygotic (MZ) and 102 dizygotic (DZ) female twins, aged 64–76 yr. Postural sway was measured during side-by-side stance with eyes open and eyes closed, and during semitandem stance with eyes open on a force platform. Sway data were condensed into four first-order and one second-order latent factors. The second-order factor, named balance, incorporates sway data from multiple tests and thus best describes the phenotype of postural balance. The contribution of genetic and environmental influences on the variability of the lat…

The role of resilience in student-athletes' sport and school burnout and dropout: A longitudinal person-oriented study.

Although it has been shown that student-athletes who pursue upper secondary school alongside with an athletic career may be prone to sport and school burnout, the concrete life changes resulting from burning out, such as dropping out of sport or school, have not been investigated. Moreover, it is unknown why some student-athletes do not burnout. The purpose of the present study was to examine whether there are different kinds of profiles-based on the level and development of sport and school burnout symptoms across upper secondary school-that can be identified among student-athletes and how resilience and the likelihood of dropping out from sport or school differ between the profiles. The s…

Teachers adapt their instruction according to students’ academic performance

This study examined the extent to which a student’s academic performance in first grade contributes to the active instruction given by a teacher to a particular student. To investigate this, 105 first graders were tested in mathematics and reading in the fall and spring of their first school year. At the same time points, their teachers filled in a questionnaire on five successive days on the active instruction they have given a particular student. The results showed that the poorer the performance in reading a student showed in fall, the more active instruction teachers reported giving a student in spring. Moreover, the poorer the performance in mathematics a student showed in fall, the mo…

Web-Based Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for Depressive Symptoms With Minimal Support : A Randomized Controlled Trial

Low-intensity interventions for people suffering from depressive symptoms are highly desirable. The aim of the present study was to investigate the outcomes of a web-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT)–based intervention without face-to-face contact for people suffering from depressive symptoms. Participants ( N = 39) with depressive symptoms were randomly assigned to an Internet-delivered acceptance and commitment therapy (iACT) intervention or a waiting list control condition (WLC). Participants were evaluated with standardized self-reporting measures (Beck Depression Inventory [BDI-II], Symptom Checklist–90 [SCL-90], Acceptance and Action Questionnaire [AAQ-2], Five Facet Mind…

The relationships among motivational climate, perceived competence, physical performance, and affects during physical education fitness testing lessons

Despite the prominence of fitness testing in school physical education (PE), there is a sparsity of research examining the antecedents of students’ affective experiences during fitness testing lessons. This study aimed to investigate the associations among task- and ego-involving motivational climates, perceived physical competence, physical performance, enjoyment, and anxiety during two different types of PE fitness testing lessons. Altogether, 645 Finnish students from Grade 5 (50% boys, Mage = 11.2, SD = 0.36) and Grade 8 (47% boys, Mage = 14.2, SD = 0.35) participated in two fitness testing lessons with different content (lesson 1: 20-meter shuttle run test and a test of flexibility; l…

An online guided ACT intervention for enhancing the psychological wellbeing of university students: A randomized controlled clinical trial.

Stress, anxiety and depression are relatively common problems among university students. This study examined whether an online psychological intervention aiming at enhancing the wellbeing of university students could be an effective and practical alternative for meeting the needs of a university population. University students (N = 68; 85% female; 19-32 years old) were randomly assigned to either a guided seven-week online Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (iACT) intervention or a waiting list control condition (WLC). A between-groups pre-post (iACT vs WLC) design with 12-month follow-up for the iACT participants was conducted. The intervention participants were offered two face-to-face mee…

Trajectories of reading development: A follow-up from birth to school age of children with and without risk for dyslexia

In order to understand why some children are vulnerable to difficulties in their language development and their acquisition of reading skill, the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia followed 200 Finnish children from birth to school age. Half of these children had a family history of reading problems and were considered at risk for dyslexia; the other half were not at risk. A novel analysis, mixture modeling, revealed four subgroups with differential developmental trajectories to early reading. The subgroups who showed either a “dysfluent trajectory” (n = 12; 11 at risk vs. 1 control) or a “declining trajectory” (n = 35; 24 vs. 11) contained more children with familial risk for dyslexi…

Associations Between Trajectories of Leisure-Time Physical Activity and Television Viewing Time Across Adulthood: The Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study.

Background: The purpose of this study was to examine trajectories of leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) and television-viewing (TV) time and their associations in adults over 10 years. Methods: The sample comprised 2934 participants (men, 46.0%) aged 24–39 years in 2001 and they were followed up for 10 years. LTPA and TV time were assessed using self-report questionnaires in 2001, 2007, and 2011. Longitudinal LTPA and TV-time trajectories and their interactions were analyzed with mixture modeling. Results: Three LTPA (persistently highly active, 15.8%; persistently moderately active, 60.8%; and persistently low active, 23.5%) and 4 TV time (consistently low, 38.6%; consistently moderate,…

The Association between Loneliness, Mental Well-Being, and Self-Esteem among Adolescents in Four Nordic Countries

Positive mental health is central to adolescent well-being. The present study examines the prevalence of loneliness and positive mental health indicators (mental well-being and self-esteem) in four Nordic countries and associations between loneliness, mental well-being, and high self-esteem. This study is based on data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) study which was conducted in 2018 in Denmark, Finland, Iceland, and Sweden. Participants were 5883 15-year-old boys and girls. To examine the associations between loneliness, mental well-being, and self-esteem, structural equation modeling (SEM) was applied. In the comparison of Nordic countries, the prevalence of lonel…

Measuring higher-order cognitive skills with multiple choice questions:potentials and pitfalls of Finnish teacher education entrance

This mixed methods study examines the structure of the multiple-choice exam for student selection in Finnish teacher education. Through qualitative content analysis, we categorized multiple-choice ques-tions into items that assessed lower-and higher-order cognitive processes based on the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded four factors that represented lower-and higher-order cognitive processing skills and comprehension of empirical and theoretical items. These were associated with matriculation examination grades, especially with the average grade and the mother tongue grade. When developing future multiple-choice exams for admissions, we recommen…

From Intense to Leisurely Study Days : A Diary Study of Daily Wellbeing among Students in Higher Education

This mobile diary study examined day-to-day variability during one study week among university students and study-related associated factors promoting and impairing their well-being. Specifically, we explored (1) what factors university students consider as promoting and as impairing their daily wellbeing, (2) what types of daily study profiles for students can be identified based on study hours, study motivation, and academic stress, and (3) how the factors promoting and impairing students’ daily wellbeing are related to these daily study profiles. The study utilized one-week mobile diary data collected from 86 university students studying in a Finnish university (a total of 602 measuremen…

Reading development subtypes and their early characteristics.

The present findings are drawn from the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia (JLD), in which approximately 100 children with familial risk of dyslexia and 100 control children have been followed from birth. In this paper we report data on the reading development of the JLD children and their classmates, a total of 1,750 children from four measurement points during the first two school years. In the total sample, we examined whether heterogeneous developmental paths can be identified based on profiles of word recognition and reading comprehension. Secondly, we studied what kind of early language and literacy skill profiles and reading experiences characterize the children with differing …

Employment trajectories until midlife associate with early social role investments and current work-related well-being

Applying social investment theory (SIT), we examined whether employment trajectories until midlife, with differential investments in education and employment, are associated with social investments during early life and with work-related well-being in midlife, with a special reference to potential differences between self-employment and paid work. In the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966 (n = 6496; 2963 men, 3533 women), life-history calendars from age 16 to 45 were used to determine the respondents’ yearly employment statuses (student, full-time employee, part-time employee, self-employed, unemployed, on parental leave, on sabbatical leave or otherwise not working). Latent class analysis …

sj-docx-1-ltj-10.1177_02655322221114015 – Supplemental material for L2 English vocabulary breadth and knowledge of derivational morphology: One or two constructs?

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-ltj-10.1177_02655322221114015 for L2 English vocabulary breadth and knowledge of derivational morphology: One or two constructs? by Dmitri Leontjev, Ari Huhta and Asko Tolvanen in Language Testing

Very early phonological and language skills: estimating individual risk of reading disability

Background: Analyses from the JyvaskylaLongitudinal Study of Dyslexia project show that the key childhood predictors (phonological awareness, short-term memory, rapid naming, expressive vocabu- lary, pseudoword repetition, and letter naming) of dyslexia differentiate the group with reading disability (n ¼ 46) and the group without reading problems (n ¼ 152) at the end of the 2nd grade. These measures were employed at the ages of 3.5, 4.5 and 5.5 years and information regarding the familial risk of dyslexia was used to find the most sensitive indices of an individual child's risk for reading disabil- ity. Methods: Age-specific and across-age logistic regression models were constructed to pro…

Effects of cumulative sleep restriction on self-perceptions while multitasking

Summary This study addressed a rarely studied question of self-perceptions of performance and overall functional state during cumulative sleep restriction and the ensuing recovery period. Twenty healthy male volunteers, aged 19–29 years, were divided into a sleep restriction group (n = 13) and a control group (n = 7). On the first 2 nights, the sleep restriction group had an 8-h sleep opportunity that was restricted to 4 h for the next 5 nights, and then restored to 8 h for the last 2 nights. The control group had an 8-h sleep opportunity each night. Each day participants accomplished 50-min multitask sessions and gave self-ratings in their connection. Similar to our previous findings on mu…

Event-related potentials in newborns with and without familial risk for dyslexia: principal component analysis reveals differences between the groups

Differences revealed by factor scores extracted by principal component analysis (PCA) from event-related potential (ERP) data of newborns with and without familial risk for dyslexia were examined and compared to results obtained by using original averaged ERPs. ERPs to consonant-vowel syllables (synthetic /ba/, /da/, /ga/; and natural /paa/, /taa/, /kaa/) were recorded from 26 at-risk and 23 control 1-7 day-old infants. The stimuli were presented equiprobably and with interstimulus intervals varying at random from 3,910 to 7,285 ms. Statistically significant between-group differences were found to be relatively similar irrespective of the methods of analysis (original ERPs vs. factor scores…

Dampness and student-reported social climate: two multilevel mediation models.

Background Little previous research has analysed the relationship between schools' indoor air problems and schools' social climate. In this study, we analysed a) whether observed mould and dampness in a school building relates to students' perceptions of school climate (i.e. teacher-student relationships and class spirit) and b) whether reported subjective indoor air quality (IAQ) at the school level mediates this relationship. Methods The data analysed was created by merging two nationwide data sets: survey data from students, including information on subjective IAQ (N = 25,101 students), and data from schools, including information on mould and dampness in school buildings (N = 222). The …

Online Research and Comprehension Performance Profiles Among Sixth-Grade Students, Including Those with Reading Difficulties and/or Attention and Executive Function Difficulties

This study identified online research and comprehension (ORC) performance profiles of 436 sixth-grade students (206 girls) aged 12–13 years. We included learner groups with different learning-related difficulties and explored how students’ reading habits were represented in various performance profiles. First, students’ ORC performance was examined with a validated web-based assessment measuring their skills in locating, evaluating, synthesizing, and communicating information. Second, reading fluency and teacher-rated attention and executive function (EF) difficulty scores were used to form learner groups: (1) students with reading difficulties, (2) students with attention and EF difficulti…

Relationships between personality traits and values in middle aged men and women

The present study analyzed the relations between the Big Five personality traits (neuroticism, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, and openness to experience) and 14 values (societal concern, tolerance, protecting nature, caring, dependability, autonomy of thought, autonomy of action, stimulation, hedonism, achievement, tradition, security, conformity, and power) in middle-aged women and men. The 50-year-old participants (women n = 107 and men n = 105) were drawn from the ongoing Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personality and Social Development. The personality traits were assessed using the 60-item NEO Five Factor Inventory. Values were measured using the 46-item versi…

A scalable school‐based intervention to increase early adolescents' motor competence and health‐related fitness

Schools are key settings for the promotion of students' physical activity, fitness, and motor competence. The purpose of our study was to investigate the efficacy of a 5-month-long intervention program that aimed to increase students' motor competence and health-related fitness during school days. We conducted a quasi-experimental study with 325 Finnish Grade 5 (Mage = 11.26, SD = 0.33) students from five schools. Two schools were allocated to the intervention group and three schools to the control group. The intervention consisted of three components: (a) weekly 20 min session during regular PE lessons, (b) weekly 20 min session during recess, and (c) daily 5-minute-long classroom activity…

Predicting athletes’ functional and dysfunctional emotions: The role of the motivational climate and motivation regulations

This study examined the relationships between perceptions of the motivational climate, motivation regulations, and the intensity and functionality levels of athletes' pleasant and unpleasant emotional states. Specifically, we examined the hypothesised mediational role of motivation regulations in the climate-emotion relationship. We also tested a sequence in which emotions were assumed to be predicted by the motivational climate dimensions and then served as antecedents to variability in motivation regulations. Participants (N = 494) completed a multi-section questionnaire assessing targeted variables. Structural equation modelling (SEM) revealed that a perceived task-involving climate was …

Problematic gaming is associated with some health-related behaviors among Finnish vocational school students

The objective of this work was to examine the connections between problematic digital gaming and various health-related behavior characteristics in a population of vocational school students. Data collection was performed (N = 1335) via an online survey in vocational school units in northern Finland. The survey incorporated the Internet Gaming Disorder Test (IGD10) as well as self-reported measures including questions on socio-demographics, information on the living arrangements of participants, gaming habits, and health-related behaviors. Eightyfour percent (n = 773) of the respondents (an average age of 17.5 years [SD = 4.4]) played digital games regularly. Male gender, daily game use, ha…

Capturing daily family dynamics via text messages: development of the mobile diary

In this paper we introduce a new tool, the mobile phone, for use in diary research. We demonstrate, with reference to two family studies conducted in Finland, how daily family dynamics can be captured by using the mobile diary. In both studies family members sent text messages (SMSs) in answer to structured diary questions three times a day over a one-week period. The participants kept also paper-and-pencil diaries. Two mobile diary items measuring mood (stressfulness and feelings of competence) both at home and at work are reported here as examples. For both items we found statistically significant daily and weekly variation as well as individual fluctuation. The data gathered by the mobil…

Parents' role in adolescents' educational expectations

The present study examined the extent to which mothers' and fathers' expectations for their offspring's future education, their level of education, and adolescents' academic achievement predict adolescents' educational expectations. To investigate this, 230 adolescents were examined twice while they were in comprehensive school (in the 7th and 9th grades). Their parents also filled in questionnaires at the same time points. The results showed that high parental expectations concerning their offspring's future education predicted high educational expectations among adolescents and they became more similar in the 9th grade compared to 7th grade. Parents' high level of education predicted both…

Values and Personal Life Investment in Middle-Age: Measures and Relations

The present study analyzed the factor structure of Schwartz Value Survey (SVS; 46 items) and the personal life investment (PLI; 10 items) scale, as well as the mutual relations between these two measures. The 50-year-old participants (n = 217–224) were drawn from the ongoing Finnish Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Personal and Social Development. For the SVS, the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) supported the 14-factor structure: achievement, tradition, stimulation, hedonism, security, conformity, power, universalism (with sub-factors of societal concern, tolerance and protecting nature), benevolence (with sub-factors of caring and dependability) and self-direction (with sub-factors of au…

Self-regulatory efficacy and sources of efficacy in elementary school pupils: Self-regulatory experiences in a population sample and pupils with attention and executive function difficulties

In this study, we examined self-regulatory efficacy and sources of self-efficacy (mastery experiences, vicarious experiences, social persuasion and physiological/emotional states) and the relationships between self-efficacy and its sources among elementary school pupils. Two groups were compared: a population sample (PS, N = 1284) and pupils with difficulties in attention and executive functions (AED, N = 61). Data gathered from self-report questionnaires indicated that pupils in the PS group had more positive efficacy beliefs and mastery experiences and fewer negative physiological/emotional states than the AED group. Analyses showed strong connections between sources and self-regulatory e…

Reading comprehension, word reading and spelling as predictors of school achievement and choice of secondary education

Abstract The main aim of this study was to find out what kind of factor model of written language skills could be created on the basis of tests of reading accuracy and fluency, spelling and reading comprehension, and how the written language skills factor and school achievement predict choice of secondary education and what effects gender, special education support and socio-economic background have on this prediction. Altogether 1700 students were assessed with two word-level reading tests and word- and pseudo-word-spelling tests and by a reading comprehension test. Remaining data were elicited with a questionnaire. The findings showed that a latent written language skills factor could be …

Covariation between reading and arithmetic skills from grade 1 to grade 7

This study examined the extent to which reading and arithmetic skills show covariation at Grade 1 and at Grade 7, to what extent this covariation is time-invariant or time-specific, and to what extent different antecedents will predict these time-invariant and time-specific portions of the covariation. The reading and arithmetic skills of a total of 1335 Finnish children were assessed at the end of Grade 1 and then again at the end of Grade 7. Phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automatized naming (RAN), counting, and parental education levels were measured in kindergarten; working memory at Grade 1 and nonverbal reasoning at Grade 3. The results showed that reading and arithmet…

The frequency of parents’ reading-related activities at home and children's reading skills during kindergarten and Grade 1

Abstract This longitudinal study investigated the associations between the frequency of parents’ reading-related activities at home and their children's reading-related skills during the transition from kindergarten to Grade 1. Longitudinal data were obtained for 1436 Finnish children (5- to 6-year-olds at baseline) and their mothers and fathers. 684 girls and 752 boys participating in the study represented four Finnish municipalities. The reading skills of the children were measured four times: at the beginning and at the end of their kindergarten year, and at the beginning and at the end of Grade 1. In kindergarten, decoding tests were administered individually. In Grade 1, group tests in…

Multiple mini-interviews as a selection tool for initial teacher education admissions

This study investigates the reliability of multiple mini interviews (MMIs) to select students for classroom and special education teacher programs (n = 418) using intraclass correlations and cross-classified multilevel modeling. The results indicated mostly small effects of clustering of applicants to different interviewers and five-station circuits. The largest variance components in the MMI total score were for applicants (63.3%) and measurement error (20.6%), while the variance component for the interviewer was relatively small (11.6–14.4%). The applicants' and interviewers' perceptions were positive. This study provides evidence for the use of MMIs as a reliable tool for initial teacher…

Maternal teaching of reading and children's reading skills in Grade 1: Patterns and predictors of positive and negative associations

Abstract The main aim of the study was to identify subgroups of children based on the associations between the reported frequency of maternal teaching of reading and children's reading skills, and whether these subgroups differ with respect to mother-related (i.e., education, controlling behavior, and emotions in homework situations) and child-related (i.e., reading habits and gender) background factors. Data were gathered from 1460 mother–child dyads. The reading skills of 6- to 7-year-old Finnish-speaking children were measured at the beginning and at the end of Grade 1. Information from mothers was gathered by questionnaires. Regression Mixture Modeling identified four latent subgroups o…

Accentuating the Positive, Eliminating the Negative? Relationship Maintenance as a Predictor of Two-Dimensional Relationship Quality

In this study, relationship maintenance and its connections with positive and negative relationship quality were examined among Finnish parents (N = 177 women and 153 men; i.e., partners from 150 couples and 27 women and 3 men whose partner did not participate in the study). Relationship maintenance was measured using Stafford, Dainton, and Haas's (2000) version of the RMSM and two-dimensional relationship quality using Fincham and Linfield's (1997) PANQIMS. Structural equation modeling was utilized to analyze paired data. Women were found to report more relationship maintenance behaviors than their partners. The results showed further that relationship maintenance was connected with both p…

Associations Between Student‐Athletes’ Self‐Esteem and Career Adaptability Across the High School Years

The key challenges in sustainable elite sports concern young athletes´ holistic development. Consequently, preparation for dual careers has been recommended to enhance athletes’ well-being and equip them for life after sports. The aim of this study was to examine the developmental associations between self-esteem and career adaptability among adolescent athletes across the high school years and investigate the role of gender in these developmental trajectories. A total of 391 student-athletes were followed up four times from the beginning of high school (T1) to its end (T4) using the Dual Career Form of the Career Adapt-Abilities Scale and the Self-Esteem Questionnaire. The results indicate…

Students’ agency profiles in relation to student-perceived teaching practices in university courses

This study addresses the gap in our understanding of the role of pedagogy in agency construction among higher education students. In the present study, profiles of students’ agency experiences were identified and analysed with respect to the students’ perceptions of teaching practices in their courses (i.e., student-centred learning activities, forms of instruction, and student-teacher roles). The Agency of University Students (AUS) Scale (Jääskelä et al., 2017) was used to assess the students’ experiences of their personal, relational, and participatory resources of agency. Agency profiles were found to be associated with students’ perceptions of teaching practices in the courses. The find…

Improvements in Mindfulness Facets Mediate the Alleviation of Burnout Dimensions

Abstract Objectives While interventions using mindfulness have been effective in treating burnout, the mechanisms of change need more research. This study investigated which of five mindfulness facets (observing, describing, acting with awareness, non-judging, and non-reacting) mediated the intervention effects on three burnout dimensions (exhaustion, cynicism, and reduced professional efficacy) during an 8-week mindfulness-, acceptance-, and value-based (MAV) intervention and a 10-month follow-up. Methods The participants were a heterogeneous sample of employees suffering from burnout (n = 202, 80% women, mean age = 47.5 years). Latent change score modeling was conducted for each combinati…

Passing the test of motherhood? Self‐esteem development and birth experience in the transition to motherhood : A longitudinal mixed methods study in Finland

Aims To investigate women's childbirth experiences and their relation to self-esteem development in the postpartum year. Design A mixed methods study. Methods Women (N = 125) completed survey questionnaires regarding their self-esteem and childbirth experiences at three time points in 2020–2021: third trimester of pregnancy (T1), 4–8 weeks postpartum (T2) and 1 year postpartum (T3). The survey results were analysed using qualitative thematic and quantitative path analyses with latent change factors. The open-ended answers of the women who demonstrated a change in self-esteem between T2 and T3 were then compared. The STROBE checklist was used as the reporting guideline. Results The quantitat…

The role of adolescent lifestyle habits in biological aging: A prospective twin study

Adolescence is a stage of fast growth and development. Exposures during puberty can have long-term effects on health in later life. This study aims to investigate the role of adolescent lifestyle in biological aging.The study participants originated from the longitudinal FinnTwin12 study (n = 5114). Adolescent lifestyle-related factors, including body mass index (BMI), leisure-time physical activity, smoking, and alcohol use, were based on self-reports and measured at ages 12, 14, and 17 years. For a subsample, blood-based DNA methylation (DNAm) was used to assess biological aging with six epigenetic aging measures in young adulthood (21-25 years, n = 824). A latent class analysis was condu…

Reading Skills, Social Competence, and Physiological Stress in the First Grade

AbstractAn awareness of school-related antecedents of children’s physiological stress at the beginning of school helps educators to prevent and mitigate children’s stress, the one of the major obstacles to their well-being and academic progress. We aimed to study the effect of reading skills and social competence on first-grade students’ salivary cortisol levels in natural settings. Based on previous results of the effects of everyday situations on children’s stress according to gender, we expected that both academic and social skills would affect girls’ physiological stress more, compared to boys. Our sample consisted of 277 students (7–8 years old, 50.2% girls). We used the highest saliva…

Physical activity, use of alcohol and smoking in middle-aged and aging men. A longitudinal study among Finnish male former athletes and controls

It is not known whether decrease in physical activity (PA) is associated with binge drinking among former athletes. The purpose of this study was to investigate the reciprocal associations between PA and use of alcohol among former athletes and controls at four time points. Furthermore, we examined whether there were longitudinal latent profiles related to use of alcohol, smoking and PA during the follow-up. Finnish male former elite athletes (n = 1633) and matched controls (n = 1099) questionnaire-reported their PA, alcohol consumption and smoking at four time points in 1985, 1995, 2001 and 2008. Former athletes were more physically active and smoked less than controls, but in all profiles…

Developmental links of very early phonological and language skills to second grade reading outcomes: strong to accuracy but only minor to fluency.

The authors examined second grade reading accuracy and fluency and their associations via letter knowledge to phonological and language predictors assessed at 3.5, 4.5, and 5.5 years in children in the Jyväskylä Longitudinal Study of Dyslexia. Structural equation modeling showed that a developmentally highly stable factor (early phonological and language processing [EPLP]) behind key dyslexia predictors (i.e., phonological awareness, short-term memory, rapid naming, vocabulary, and pseudoword repetition) could already be identified at 3.5 years. EPLP was significantly associated with reading and spelling accuracy and by age with letter knowledge. However, EPLP had only a minor link with re…

Applicant reactions and faking in real-life personnel selection

Honkaniemi, L., Tolvanen, A. & Feldt, T. (2011). Applicant reactions and faking in real-life personnel selection. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 52, 376–381. Faking may affect hiring decisions in personnel selection. All the antecedents of faking are still not known. The present study investigates the association between applicants’ reactions about the selection procedure and their tendency to fake. The subjects (N = 180) were real-life applicants for a fire and rescue personnel school. After completing the selection process, the applicants filled out a questionnaire about their test reactions (Chan, Schmitt, Sacco & DeSohon, 1998b) and a faking scale, the Balanced Inventory of Desirabl…

Teachers' self-efficacy and the sources of efficacy: A cross-cultural investigation in Japan and Finland

The study explores the extent and sources of Teachers’ Self-Efficacy (TSE) for inclusive practices among 261 Japanese and 1123 Finnish teachers. Measurement invariance was tested to ensure the chosen scales’ cross-cultural validity. In both countries, mastery experience was identified as the strongest of the four sources contributing uniquely to TSE. However, the two groups differed in how verbal persuasion predicted TSE. The findings indicate that the effects of the four sources on TSE depend strongly on sociocultural context, and that, in Japan, other sources may exert a powerful influence. Practical implications are discussed, with particular regard to teacher training programs. peerRevi…

Multilevel Latent Profile Analysis With Covariates : Identifying Job Characteristics Profiles in Hierarchical Data as an Example

Latent profile analysis (LPA) is a person-centered method commonly used in organizational research to identify homogeneous subpopulations of employees within a heterogeneous population. However, in the case of nested data structures, such as employees nested in work departments, multilevel techniques are needed. Multilevel LPA (MLPA) enables adequate modeling of subpopulations in hierarchical data sets. MLPA enables investigation of variability in the proportions of Level 1 profiles across Level 2 units, and of Level 2 latent classes based on the proportions of Level 1 latent profiles and Level 1 ratings, and the extent to which covariates drawn from the different hierarchical levels of th…

Long-Term Intervention Effects of Spelling Development for Children With Compromised Preliteracy Skills

The aim of this longitudinal study was to build a model of the predictive values (poor phonological awareness, low letter knowledge, and slow naming speed) of spelling in 3 contrasting reading groups: a regular and a computer-assisted remedial intervention and mainstream instruction. The participants were 7-year-old Finnish school beginners (N = 166). The interventions took place in 4 weekly sessions of 45 min each over a period of 28 weeks in groups of 5 during Grade 1. We compared postintervention spelling development across the groups. The children who received systematic phonics-based training via the computer-assisted intervention reached the postinstruction level of the mainstream gro…

Rapid serial naming: relations between different stimuli and neuropsychological factors.

We report two studies on rapid serial naming (RSN). Study 1 addressed the relations among RSN tasks comprising different stimuli. Separate components for RSN of alphanumeric and non-alphanumeric stimuli, as well as for tasks in which the stimuli alternated between categories were identified. In Study 2, phonological skills, processing speed, motor dexterity, and verbal fluency were found to explain RSN performance. The studies indicate: (1) that RSN tasks vary in their properties according to the stimuli used and according to the way the tasks are arranged, and (2) that RSN tasks are multi-componented.

Development of silent reading fluency and reading comprehension across grades 1 to 9 : unidirectional or bidirectional effects between the two skills?

Purpose This study examines the developmental interplay between silent reading fluency and reading comprehension from Grade 1 to Grade 9 (age 7 to 15) in a large Finnish sample (N = 2,518). Of particular interest was whether the associations are bidirectional or unidirectional. Methods Children’s silent reading fluency and reading comprehension skills were assessed using group-administered tests, at seven time points, in Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, and 9. A random intercept cross-lagged panel model with latent factors was used to identify between- and within-person associations between silent reading fluency and reading comprehension. The use of latent factors allowed for the controlling of me…

Timing of Early Maternal Mental Health and Child Cortisol Regulation

Maternal mental health problems can negatively impact children's physiological stress regulation. Yet, little is known of their long-term effects, especially related to the timing of maternal symptoms. We examined how maternal mental health problems during pregnancy versus in the early postpartum period predict children's cortisol levels and diurnal patterns at 10–12 years. Participants were a selection (N = 102) of an original sample of 805 Finnish families, who were followed from the second trimester of pregnancy (T1) to child's age of 2 months (T2) and 12 months (T3), and again at child's age of 10–12 years (T4). Based on the timing of psychological distress and depressive symptoms (T1–T…

Sympathetic nervous system synchrony: An exploratory study of its relationship with the therapeutic alliance and outcome in couple therapy.

In previous research, we found that sympathetic nervous system synchrony, measured via electrodermal activity (EDA), occurs between participants at the start of couple therapy. The aim now was to test whether this synchrony changes during the therapy process, and how any changes may be related to clients' and therapists' evaluations of the working alliance, and the outcome of therapy. Twelve different couple therapy processes were analyzed (24 clients, plus 10 therapists, working in pairs; hence, 4 persons per session) using EDA concordance indices and questionnaires (Outcome Rating Scale, Session Rating Scale, and Clinical Outcomes in Routine Evaluation-Outcome Measure). EDA synchrony betw…

Children's help seeking and impulsivity

Abstract The aim of the present study was to analyze the relationship between students' (100 children aged 8 to 12) help-seeking behavior and impulsivity. Help-seeking behavior was evaluated using a naturalistic experimental paradigm in which children were placed in a problem-solving situation and had the opportunity to seek help from the experimenter, if needed. Impulsivity was analyzed using the Hyperactivity–Impulsivity Scale from the Teacher Rating Form of the Multidimensional Peer Nomination Inventory (TR-MPNI), Circle Tracing Task (CTT), Matching Familiar Figures (MFF), and Impulsiveness and Venturesomeness scales from the Eysenck Junior I 6 questionnaire. Structural equation modeling…

Social support as a mediator between problem behaviour and gambling: a cross-sectional study among 14–16-year-old Finnish adolescents

Background: During the adolescent period, risktaking behaviour increases. These behaviours can compromise the successful transition from adolescence to adulthood. The purpose of this study was to examine social support as a mediator of the relation between problem behaviour and gambling frequency among Finnish adolescents. Methods: Data were obtained from the national School Health Promotion Study (SHPS) from the years 2010 and 2011 (N=102 545). Adolescents were classified in the most homogeneous groups based on their problem behaviour via latent class analysis.Results: Path analysis indicated that social support was negatively associated with problem behaviour, and problem behaviour and so…

Sports club participation impact on motor competences, dispositional goal orientations, and perceptions of school-based physical education among Finnish third-grade children

Across the world, youth sports clubs are prominent and the main opportunity for engaging children and youth in physical activities. The primary purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of sports club participation on actual and perceived motor competences, achievement goal perspectives, and perceptions of school physical education among Finnish third-grade children. Participants were 114 girls and 100 boys (N = 214). All children were 10-years-old, or they would turn 10-years-old during the year of data collection. The participants, based on their involvement or non-involvement in their local sports clubs, fit into four subgroups. The subgroupings were ‘never’ participated in a s…

Couple therapy for depression in a naturalistic setting in Finland: a 2-year randomized trial

The dialogical and narrative processes in couple therapy (CT) for depressions project was conducted to develop therapy for depression and to investigate the effectiveness of CT in everyday clinical practice; thus aiming at high external validity. Patients with moderate or major depression were randomized to a CT group (n = 29) and a control group (n = 22). The CT group needed significantly fewer therapy sessions. There were significant differences in favour of the CT group in terms of general mental health (symptom check list), Hamilton depression rating scale, global assessment of functioning and decreasing alcohol use. As regards depressive symptoms using the Beck depression inventory, 79…

A new approach for estimating a nonlinear growth component in multilevel modeling

This study presents a new approach to estimation of a nonlinear growth curve component with fixed and random effects in multilevel modeling. This approach can be used to estimate change in longitudinal data, such as day-of-the-week fluctuation. The motivation of the new approach is to avoid spurious estimates in a random coefficient regression model due to the synchronized periodical effect (e.g., day-of-the-week fluctuation) appearing both in independent and dependent variables. First, the new approach is introduced. Second, a Monte Carlo simulation study is carried out to examine the functioning of the proposed new approach in the case of small sample sizes. Third, the use of the approac…

Stability and change model of job resources and work engagement: A seven-year three-wave follow-up study

Using the stability and change model, conservation of resources theory and the job demands-resources model, this study aimed to determine: (1) the extent to which work engagement and job resources can be explained by a component reflecting stability and a component reflecting change in these constructs, and (2) the strength and direction of the relationship between work engagement and job resources when their stable components are controlled for. The study was carried out among 1,964 Finnish dentists over a seven-year time period (2003–2010), using a three-wave dataset. Some of the dentists had changed jobs during the follow-up, and therefore the research questions were validated among grou…

Genetic and environmental contribution to postural balance of older women in single and dual task situations

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of a second task on postural balance and to determine the role of genetic influences on postural balance when dual tasking among 206 monozygotic and 227 dizygotic female twins, aged 63–76 years. Balance was measured as medio-lateral and antero-posterior velocity of the centre of pressure (COP) (mm/s) and velocity moment (mm2/s) while standing on a force platform. Doing an arithmetic task increased movement of the COP while the hand motor task had no effect on movement of the COP. The genetic contribution to balance in the single task situation was minor (14%, 95% confidence interval, CI: 11–35%) whereas in the dual task sit…

Los directivos vinculados psicol&oacute;gicamente en el trabajo no son adictos al mismo:datos de un an&aacute;lisis longitudinal centrado en la persona

The aims of this two-year follow-up study among Finnish managers (n = 463) were twofold: first, to investigate the relation between work engagement and workaholism by utilizing both variable- and person-centered approaches and second, to explore whether and how experiences of work engagement and workaholism relate to job change during the study period. The variable-centered analysis based on Structural Equation Modelling revealed that the latent factors of work engagement and workaholism did not correlate with each other, thereby suggesting that they are independent constructs. The person centered inspection with Growth Mixture Modelling indicated four work engagement-workaholism classes: 1…

The self-reported causes of sleepiness in shift-working tram and truck drivers

Identifying the causes of sleepiness in various safety-critical work environments is neces-sary for implementing more efficient fatigue management strategies. In transportation, little is known about drivers' own perceptions of these causes. Therefore, we instructed shift-working tram (n = 23) and long-haul truck drivers (n = 52) to report at the end of their shifts what made them sleepy if they felt so. These self-reports, measured on-duty sleepiness, and sleep amounts were recorded on every shift over a period of 2-3 weeks per driver. The causes of sleepiness were queried with smartphone applications and sleep logs. Sleepiness was measured with the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and sl…

The role of social support in the association between gambling, poor health and health risk-taking

Aims: Studies have shown that gambling is associated with poor health and health risk-taking behaviour. However, little is known about those factors that can influence the association between gambling, health risk-taking and health. Using a population-based School Health Promotion Study of eighth- and ninth-grade Finnish boys and girls ( N = 62,956), we investigated the relationships between gambling frequency, health risk-taking and poor health as well as whether social support from parents, friends and school staff could mediate these associations. Methods: Path analysis was used to discover direct and indirect effects of health, health risk-taking and gambling. Results: Social support f…

Psychological Detachment as a Mediator Between Successive Days Job Stress and Negative Affect of Teachers

The study investigated the mediating role of teachers' psychological detachment between successive days' job stress and negative affect. Fifty-seven Finnish teachers answered to a mobile diary four times a day on two successive workdays assessing their negative affect, three times a day assessing their job stress and once a day after work assessing their psychological detachment from work. Two-level modeling on both the between individual level and within day level was used to test the mediational model. The data supported the mediational model where teachers' job stress hinders their psychological detachment, which again increases their negative affect and job stress on the subsequent day.…

Children with differing developmental trajectories of prelinguistic communication skills: language and working memory at age 5.

Purpose In this article, the authors examine the developmental continuity from prelinguistic communication to kindergarten age in language and working memory capacity. Method Following work outlining 6 groups of children with different trajectories of early communication development (ECD; Määttä, Laakso, Tolvanen, Ahonen, &amp; Aro, 2012), the authors examined their later development by psychometric assessment. Ninety-one children first assessed at ages 12–21 months completed a battery of language and working memory tests at age 5;3 (years;months). Results Two of the ECD groups previously identified as being at risk for language difficulties continued to show weaker performance at follow-u…

Developmental profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension from grades 1 to 9 and their early identification.

This study examined developmental profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension in Grades 1 to 9 (ages 7 to 15) in a large Finnish sample (N = 2,518). In addition, early predictors of the profiles were analyzed with respect to kindergarten cognitive skills (phonological awareness, letter knowledge, rapid automized naming [RAN], number counting, word reading, vocabulary, and listening comprehension), parental factors (level of education, reading difficulties), and gender. Four different profiles of reading fluency and reading comprehension development were identified using latent profile analysis. These comprised one profile with persistent reading difficulties across the grades, one…

Psychosocial Problems, Indoor Air-Related Symptoms, and Perceived Indoor Air Quality among Students in Schools without Indoor Air Problems: A Longitudinal Study

The effect of students&rsquo

Validation of a New Cognitive Screening Method for Stroke Patients

Objective. Two million adults under fifty years of age have a cerebral stroke every year worldwide. Neuropsychological assessment is the best way to identify poststroke cognitive dysfunction, but it is often time-consuming and can be tiring for the patient, and hospitals vary in their availability of neuropsychological expertise. A valid and reliable cognitive screening method could be advantageous in identifying patients who need comprehensive neuropsychological examination. Our purpose in this study was to validate a newly developed cognitive screening method as an identifier of cognitive dysfunction after stroke in working-aged patients. Methods. We analyzed new cognitive screening metho…

The role of gender and coaching styles in adolescent student-athletes’ motivational orientations in sport and school

AbstractResearch indicates that the dominant discourses of gender are ingrained in dual career (DC) practices critically influencing athletes’ motivation to construct a DC pathway. While it is important to ensure that all athletes have an equal access to construct a DC pathway despite their gender, there is a gap in the literature examining the role that coaches play in gendering of athletes’ DC pathways. The present study longitudinally examined the gender differences in student-athletes’ motivational orientations in sport and academics throughout high school and the role of coaching style in these orientations. The gender differences in coaching styles in terms of student-athletes’ gender…

Back to Basics: The Relative Importance of Transformational and Fair Leadership for Employee Work Engagement and Exhaustion

This study contributes to the literature on the supervisors’ role in employee well-being by drawing on two separate lines of research: transformational leadership and organizational justice. The purpose of the study was to investigate the unique contributions of transformational and fair leadership (justice behaviours of supervisors) on work engagement and exhaustion among employees within the framework of the Job Demands-Resources model (Bakker and Demerouti, 2007). In determining the unique contributions, we additionally acknowledged the role of work characteristics. A questionnaire study was conducted among Finnish municipal employees in a variety of occupations (N = 333, 87% women). The…

The Developmental Dynamics between Interest, Self-concept of Ability, and Academic Performance

Abstract. Only a few studies have examined the direction of associations between academic achievement, interest, and sel f-concept of ability simultaneously by using longitudinal data over several school years. To exam ine the cross-lagged relationships between students’ interest, self-concept of ability, and performance in mathematics and reading, longitudinal data from Grade 1 to Grade 7 of comprehensive school was gathered from 216 students. The results showed that, in both reading and math, performance predicted students’ subsequent self-concept of ability. Some evidence was also found that math performance predicts subsequent interest in mathematics, and that self- concept of math abil…

Does daily distress make parents prone to using psychologically controlling parenting?

The aim of the present study was to investigate whether parental daily distress in terms of negative emotions is associated with the daily variation in parental use of psychological control with their children. Whether parental positive emotions play a role in the use of psychological control was also investigated. The participants were 149 Finnish families with a child between the ages of 6 and 7 years. Parents’ negative and positive emotions, children’s misconduct, and parental use of psychological control when interacting with their children were measured daily using diary questionnaires filled in by the mothers and fathers over 7 successive days in the fall term of the children’s first…

Happy Spouses, Happy Parents? Family Relationships Among Finnish and Dutch Dual Earners

Contains fulltext : 90432.pdf (Publisher’s version ) (Closed access) In this study links between spousal and parent-child relationships among Finnish (n = 157 couples) and Dutch (n = 276 couples) dual earners with young children were examined using paired questionnaire data. Variable-oriented analyses (structural equation modeling with a multigroup procedure) supported the spillover hypothesis, as higher levels of satisfaction in the spousal relationship were related to higher quality in the parent-child relationship and lower parental role restrictions. These connections did not differ by gender or country. With family typological analyses (mixture modeling), 4 family types were identified…

Conflicting personal goals: a risk to occupational well-being?

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the moderating role of goal conflict in the relationship between the contents of managers’ personal work goals and occupational well-being (burnout and work engagement). Eight goal categories (organization, competence, well-being, career-ending, progression, prestige, job change, and employment contract) described the contents of goals. Goal conflict reflected the degree to which a personal work goal was perceived to interfere with other life domains. Design/methodology/approach – The data were drawn from a study directed to Finnish managers in 2009 (n=806). General linear models were conducted to investigate the associations between go…

A four-session acceptance and commitment therapy based intervention for depressive symptoms delivered by masters degree level psychology students: a preliminary study.

Background:Depressive symptoms are one of the main reasons for seeking psychological help. Shorter interventions using briefly trained therapists could offer a solution to the ever-rising need for early and easily applicable psychological treatments.Aims:The current study examines the effectiveness of a four-session Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) based treatment for self-reported depressive symptoms administered by Masters level psychology students.Method:This paper reports the effectiveness of a brief intervention compared to a waiting list control (WLC) group. Participants were randomized into two groups: ACT (n= 28) and waiting list (n= 29). Long-term effects were examined using…

Associations between personality traits and psychological well-being across time in middle adulthood

Associations of personality traits with psychological well-being (PWB) were analyzed across ages 33�50 as part of an ongoing Finnish longitudinal study (initial N = 369). Bivariate latent growth curve analyses indicated that a low initial level of neuroticism (.75) and high extraversion (.55) correlated strongly with a high level of PWB. Moreover, a high level of conscientiousness, openness, and agreeableness also correlated significantly with PWB. The change factor was significant only for openness: the higher the initial level of PWB, the higher the increase in openness from age 33�50. In comparison with emotional well-being, indicated by general life satisfaction, the associations of the…

Continuity of Communication and Language Development (M����tt�� et al., 2016)

Purpose: This longitudinal study examined the development of prelinguistic skills and the continuity of communication and language from the prelinguistic stage to school age. Method: Prelinguistic communication of 427 Finnish children was followed repeatedly from 6 to 18 months of age (n = 203���322 at ages 6, 9, 12, 15, and 18 months), and its associations with language ability at ages 2;0 (n = 104), 3;0 (n = 112), 4;7 (n = 253), 5;3 (n = 102), and 7;9 (n = 236) were examined using latent growth curve modeling. Results: Prelinguistic development across several skills emerged as a rather stable intraindividual characteristic during the first 2 years of life. Continuity from prelinguistic de…

Subjective stress, objective heart rate variability-based stress, and recovery on workdays among overweight and psychologically distressed individuals: a cross-sectional study

Background: The present study aimed to investigate how subjective self-reported stress is associated with objective heart rate variability (HRV)-based stress and recovery on workdays. Another aim was to investigate how physical activity (PA), body composition, and age are associated with subjective stress, objective stress, and recovery. Methods: Working-age participants (n = 221; 185 women, 36 men) in this cross-sectional study were overweight (body mass index, 25.3-40.1 kg/m(2)) and psychologically distressed (>= 3/12 points on the General Health Questionnaire). Objective stress and recovery were based on HRV recordings over 1-3 workdays. Subjective stress was assessed by the Perceived St…

Energy Drink Consumption Among Finnish Adolescents: Prevalence, Associated Background Factors, Individual Resources, and Family Factors.

Objectives: Energy drink consumption among adolescents has become a notable global phenomenon, and has been associated with numerous negative health outcomes. In order to understand the popularity of energy drinks among adolescents, and to target interventions, it is important to identify the determinants underpinning consumption. Methods: The nationally representative data (cross-sectional) were drawn from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children (HBSC) surveys, conducted in 2014 and 2018, each comprising 13- and 15-year-old Finnish adolescents (n = 7405). Results: Weekly energy drink consumption increased among Finnish adolescents between 2014 (18.2%) and 2018 (24.4%), especially amon…

Occupational well-being as a mediator between job insecurity and turnover intention: Findings at the individual and work department levels

This study examined the relationship between job insecurity and turnover intention by applying occupational well-being (exhaustion, vigour) as a mediator. The study was inspired by two theories: the conservation of resources and emotional contagion theories. We investigated the relationships at the individual and work department levels by utilizing Multi-Level Structural Equation Modeling (ML-SEM) with the aim of clarifying whether the mediating mechanism was similar at both levels. In addition, we examined the relationships across the levels (cross-level interactions). Self-report data for the study were obtained from Finnish University staff (N = 2137 individual respondents from 78 work d…

Parental Pre- and Postpartum Mental Health Predicts Child Mental Health and Development

Objective To identify interplay of early maternal and paternal mental health symptoms for predicting child mental health and development. Background Research on family mental health has largely excluded fathers, although the well-being of both parents is likely to be important for child development. In this study, we analyzed (a) intrafamilial dynamics between mothers' and fathers' early mental health symptoms and (b) the importance of separate (mother and father) and joint (additive, hierarchical, and buffering) theoretical models of parental mental health for predicting child mental health and development. Method Finnish mothers and fathers (N = 763), half of whom conceived through assist…

Reading to Learn From Online Information: Modeling the Factor Structure

Identifying the factor structure of online reading to learn is important for the development of theory, assessment, and instruction. Traditional comprehension models have been developed from, and for, offline reading. This study used online reading to determine an optimal factor structure for modeling online research and comprehension among 426 sixth graders (ages 12 and 13). Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to evaluate an assessment of online research and comprehension based on a widely referenced theoretical model. Student performance reflected the theoretical constructs of the model, but several additional constructs appeared, resulting in a six-factor model: (a) locating infor…

Teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy on implementing inclusive education in Japan and Finland : A comparative study using multi-group structural equation modelling

This study aims to explore relationships between teachers' attitudes, self-efficacy, and background variables regarding inclusive education by using a sample of 359 Japanese and 872 Finnish teachers. A multi-group structural equation modelling was conducted to find similarities and differences in how the background variables predict teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy. Experience in teaching students with disabilities had a positive effect on teachers' attitudes and self-efficacy in both countries. However, teachers' teaching career and the amount of inclusive education training affected them differently in Japan and Finland. The findings could be used to improve inclusive education train…

Sense of coherence and work characteristics: A cross-lagged structural equation model among managers

This study investigated the dominance of predictive relationships between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and work characteristics (organizational climate and job control) in cross-lagged longitudinal data with two measurement points and a time lag of 3 years. The sample consisted of 615 (587 men and 28 women) managers, aged between 27 and 64 years. The cross-lagged longitudinal analysis was done by the use of Structural Equation Modelling (SEM) within the framework by LISREL. The results of the chi-square difference tests indicated that the model where SOC at Time 1 predicted work characteristics at Time 2 better accounted for the data than the competitive models. However, the only significant pa…

Comparing Efficacies of Neurocognitive Treatment and Homework Assistance Programs for Children with Learning Difficulties

The purpose of the study was to analyze the relative efficacies of two treatments for children with learning difficulties. The first treatment consisted of multiple training components targeting specific cognitive and behavioral factors; the second treatment provided emotional support and supervision of school tasks. The participants were 94 Chilean schoolchildren (6 to 11 years of age). The efficacies were compared on (a) neurocognitive tests, (b) school achievement tests, and (c) behavior in school and at home. The results indicated that both groups improved on most of the outcome measures. The first group showed best results in parents' rating of home behavior, and the second group in r…

Is work engagement related to healthy cardiac autonomic activity? Evidence from a field study among Finnish women workers

The present study investigated whether work engagement is related to and can explain healthy cardiac autonomic activity as indicated by decreased heart rate (HR; i.e., sympathetic and parasympathetic activity) and increased high-frequency power (HFP) of heart rate variability (i.e., parasympathetic activity). A total of 30 healthy Finnish female cleaning workers underwent an ambulatory monitoring period of two nights and two regular workdays, and mean values of work period HR and HFP were utilized as dependent variables. Correlations revealed that work engagement was, as hypothesized, negatively related to HR and positively to HFP. Furthermore, in hierarchical linear regression analysis, wo…

The early motor milestones in infancy and later motor skills in toddlers: a structural equation model of motor development.

The relationship between the achievement of early motor milestones in infancy and later motor development was studied in 130 children with (N = 66, 35 male/31 female) and without (N = 64, 31 male/35 female) familial risk for dyslexia. A structured parental questionnaire was used to assess motor development in infancy, and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children was used to assess motor skills at age 3.5 years. No differences were found at the group level and therefore the structural equation model was constructed by entering both groups simultaneously. An Early Body Control factor, computed from the infant data, explained 38% of the variance of the Gross Motor Skills factor at the age …

Psychological flexibility and mindfulness explain intuitive eating in overweight adults.

The current study investigated whether mindfulness and psychological flexibility, independently and together, explain intuitive eating. The participants were overweight or obese persons ( N = 306) reporting symptoms of perceived stress and enrolled in a psychological lifestyle intervention study. Participants completed self-report measures of psychological flexibility; mindfulness including the subscales observe, describe, act with awareness, non-react, and non-judgment; and intuitive eating including the subscales unconditional permission to eat, eating for physical reasons, and reliance on hunger/satiety cues. Psychological flexibility and mindfulness were positively associated with intu…

Associations between private speech, behavioral self-regulation, and cognitive abilities

We examined the associations between 5-year-old children’s private speech, behavioural self-regulation, and cognitive abilities. Behavioural self-regulation was assessed using parental and preschool teacher questionnaires. Cognitive abilities (i.e., language, inhibition, planning and fluency, and memory) were assessed with neurocognitive tests, and the effectiveness of private speech (i.e., whether the child performs better when using speech than when not using speech) with the Hammer Task. About 43% of the children used private speech spontaneously, and about 76% performed better on the Hammer Task when they used speech. Associations between behavioural self-regulation and speech effectiv…

Integration of personality constructs: The role of traits and motivation in the willingness to exert effort in academic and social life domains

There has been growing interest in recent years in exploring different types of personality constructs and the nature of inter-relationships between personality variables in predicting outcomes in different life domains. The present study explores how personality traits and autonomous goal motivation predict the willingness to invest effort in academic and social life domains. Using a sample of 4133 upper secondary school students in Germany, multilevel regression analyses yielded three main results. First, both personality traits and motivation were substantially related to the willingness to exert effort. Second, the mediation effect compared to the direct effect was relatively small. Thi…

Assessment of Three-and-a-Half-Year-Old Children's Emerging Phonological Awareness in a Computer Animation Context

Four computer-animated tasks were created to analyze the underlying structure of emerging phonological awareness at 3.5 years of age and to explore the factors that influence children's ( N = 91) performance on the tasks. Our findings indicated that already at this young age, children are able to master tasks demanding identification, blending, and continuation of phonological units when the tasks are presented in a motivating assessment context. In line with earlier research, children showed higher mastery in dealing with words and syllables than in dealing with phonemes. Targets in the initial position of a word were easier for children to identify than those in the final position. Our an…

Life-course leisure-time physical activity trajectories in relation to health-related behaviors in adulthood: the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns study

Background Evidence on whether leisure-time physical activity (LTPA) facilitates individuals’ adoption of multiple healthy behaviors remains scarce. This study investigated the associations of diverse longitudinal LTPA trajectories from childhood to adulthood with diet, screen time, smoking, binge drinking, sleep difficulties, and sleep duration in adulthood. Methods Data were drawn from the Cardiovascular Risk in Young Finns Study. Participants were aged 9–18 years (N = 3553; 51% females) in 1980 and 33–49 years at the latest follow-up in 2011. The LTPA trajectories were identified using a latent profile analysis. Differences in self-reported health-related behaviors across the LTPA trajec…

Towards a physically more active lifestyle based on one’s own values: the results of a randomized controlled trial among physically inactive adults

Background The high prevalence of physical inactivity has led to a search for novel and feasible interventions that will enhance physical activity, especially among the least physically active individuals. This randomized controlled trial aimed to determine the effectiveness of a value-based intervention to promote a physically more active lifestyle among physically inactive adults. The framework of the study was based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Methods Physically inactive participants aged 30 to 50 years (n = 138) were randomly allocated to a feedback (FB, n = 69) or an acceptance- and commitment-based group (ACT + FB, n = 69). Both groups received written feedback about t…

The role of goal pursuit in the interaction between psychosocial work environment and occupational well-being

Abstract The relation of the core components of the Effort–Reward Imbalance model (ERI; Siegrist, 1996 ) to goal pursuit was investigated. Goal pursuit was studied through categories of goal contents – competency, progression, well-being, job change, job security, organization, finance, or no work goal – based on the personal work goals of managers ( Hyvonen, Feldt, Salmela-Aro, Kinnunen, & Makikangas, 2009 ). The study focused on the contribution of the ERI components (effort, reward, effort–reward imbalance, OVC) to goal contents, as well as on the mediating and moderating effects of goal contents between the ERI components and occupational well-being (burnout, work engagement) among youn…

The developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance in kindergarten and elementary school

Besides cognitive factors, children's learning at school may be influenced by more dynamic phenomena, such as motivation and achievement-related task-avoidant behavior. The present study examined the developmental dynamics of task-avoidant behavior and math performance from kindergarten to Grade 4. A total of 225 children were tested for their arithmetic skills in kindergarten and in Grades 1, 2, and 4 of elementary school. Children's task-avoidant behavior in learning situations was rated by their teachers. The results of latent growth curve analyses showed that math performance and task-avoidant behavior develop in tandem: an increase in task-avoidant behavior was related to less improvem…

ACT Internet-based vs face-to-face? A randomized controlled trial of two ways to deliver Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for depressive symptoms: An 18-month follow-up

The aim of the present study was to investigate two interventions based on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for depressive symptoms: A face-to-face treatment (ACT group) was compared to a guided self-help treatment delivered via the Internet consisting of two assessment sessions (pre and post) and an ACT-based Internet program (iACT). Outpatients experiencing at least mild depressive symptoms were randomized to either approach. The iACT treatment group received access to an ACT-based Internet program and supportive web-based contact over a period of 6 weeks. The face-to-face group received ACT-based treatment once a week over the same period of time. In both groups, the results showe…

Patterns of psychological contract and their relationships to employee well-being and in-role performance at work: longitudinal evidence from university employees

AbstractThis study identified patterns of psychological contract (PC) and examined how these patterns were related to employee well-being and in-role performance over time (T1–T3). PC was measured at T1 based on cross-sectional data and well-being and performance longitudinally in two consecutive years (T1−T3) among university employees. Latent profile analysis revealed six different patterns of PC at T1. These were labelled (1) strong and balanced (n = 131), (2) average and balanced (n = 382), (3) employer-focused (n = 79), (4) employee-focused (n = 59), (5) balanced transactional (n = 224) and (6) employee-focused relational (n = 322). The longitudinal findings showed that the employees i…

Indoor air problems and the perceived social climate in schools: A multilevel structural equation analysis

Indoor air problems in schools appear to influence learning outcomes and absence rates. However, previous research has not investigated whether indoor air problems influence the social climate of schools. Therefore, we studied whether indoor air problems observed in schools associate with students' perceptions of the teacher-student relationship and class spirit. The nationwide sample of Finnish schools (N = 194 schools/27153 students) was analyzed using multilevel structural equation modeling. Data on the schools' social climate collected from students were merged with independently collected data on observed indoor air problems from school principals. We found that the teacher-student rel…

Returning to Work after Stroke: Associations with Cognitive Performance, Motivation, Perceived Working Ability and Barriers.

Objective: To investigate post-stroke return-to-work and its associations with cognitive performance, motivation, perceived working ability, and self-perceived barriers to returning to work.Design: Prospective cohort study of a clinical sample.Subjects and methods: Participants were 77 stroke patients younger than age 69 years. Assessment included a cognitive screening method for stroke patients (CoMet), a questionnaire regarding work-related matters, and a question regarding motivation to return to work. A predictive model of return-to-work was built, and how participants managed in their working life was examined.Results: Cognitive performance was significantly connected with returning to…

Quality of life (QOL) of older adult community choral singers in Finland.

ABSTRACTBackground: Enhancing quality of life (QOL) of older adults is an international area of focus. Identifying factors and experiences that contribute to QOL of older adults helps promote optimal levels of functioning. This study examines the relationship between perceived benefits associated with choral singing and QOL among community-dwelling older adults.Methods: One hundred seventeen older adults who sing in community choirs in Jyväskylä, Finland, completed self-report measures of QOL (WHOQOL-Bref), depressive symptoms, and a questionnaire about the benefits of singing in choir. Correlational analyses and linear regression models were used to examine the association between the bene…

Personal stigma and use of mental health services among people with depression in a general population in Finland

Background - A minority of people suffering from depression seek professional help for themselves. Stigmatizing attitudes are assumed to be one of the major barriers to help seeking but there is only limited evidence of this in large general population data sets. The aim of this study was to analyze the associations between mental health attitude statements and depression and their links to actual use of mental health services among those with depression. Methods - We used a large cross-sectional data set from a Finnish population survey (N = 5160). Attitudes were measured by scales which measured the belief that people with depression are responsible for their illness and their recovery an…