Pilot study of a Web-based acceptance and commitment therapy intervention for university students to reduce academic procrastination

Objective: This pilot study pursued two aims. The first was to investigate the feasibility and acceptability of a Web-based acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) intervention to reduce academic procrastination among university students. The second aim was to test the effectiveness of the intervention on procrastination and committed actions. Participants: The sample was comprised of Canadian university students (n?=?36) that participated in the intervention between September 2016 and April 2017. Methods: The study relied on a prepost research design. Results: The intervention appears feasible, acceptable, and valuable to students. A significant reduction in procrastination and a significant improvement in committed actions were found between pre and postintervention. The effect sizes for these results were medium. Conclusions: Results provide preliminary support for the feasibility and effectiveness of a Web-based ACT intervention for academic procrastination. Results also highlight some aspects that need to be improved for further development.     

Symposium: Neuroergonomics, technology, and cognition

This symposium describes collaborative research on neuroergonomics, technology, and cognition being conducted at George Mason University and the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) as part of the Center of Excellence in Neuroergonomics, Technology, and Cognition (CENTEC). Six presentations describe the latest developments in neuroergonomics research conducted by CENTEC scientists. The individual papers cover studies of: (1) adaptive learning systems; (2) neurobehavioral synchronicity during team performance; (3) genetics and individual differences in decision making; (4) vigilance and mindlessness; (5) interruptions and multi-tasking; and (6) development of a simulation capability that integrates measures across these domains and levels of analysis.     

Development of Sexual Expectancies among Adolescents: Contributions by Parents,Peers and the Media

To expand the scant research on sexual expectancies development among non–sexually active adolescents, we examined the relationship between adolescents' exposure to four socializing agents—mother/female guardian, father/male guardian, peers, and television programs with high sexual content—and their endorsement of four sexual expectancies: social benefit, pleasure, social risk, and health risk. Data are from Waves 2 and 3 of a three-wave annual longitudinal study conducted among California adolescents, the majority of whom were not sexually active (N = 914, 84%). Structural equation models were conducted to examine cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between the socializing agents and the sexual expectancies. Cross-sectional results indicate associations between peer sexual communication and social benefit, pleasure, and social risk expectancies. A positive association was found between exposure to music videos and social benefit expectancies, and a negative association was found between exposure to music videos and health risk expectancies. Longitudinal results suggest that communication with peers positively predicted pleasure expectancies and negatively predicted social risk expectancies. No other socializing agents were associated with any sexual expectancies. An invariance test found that significant correlations were similar across the different age groups. Results suggest that efforts to support positive sexual decision making among non–sexually active adolescents should target peer sexual communication.     

Evaluating multi-regional population projections with Taylor’s law of mean–variance scaling and its generalisation

Organisations that develop demographic projections usually propose several variants with different demographic assumptions. Existing criteria for selecting a preferred projection are mostly based on retrospective comparisons with observations, and a prospective approach is needed. In this work, we use the mean–variance scaling (spatial variance function) of human population densities to select among alternative demographic projections. We test against observed and projected Norwegian county population density using two spatial variance functions, Taylor’s law (TL) and its quadratic generalisation, and compare each function’s parameters between the historical data and six demographic projections, at two different time scales (long term: 1978–2010 vs. 2011–2040; and short term: 2006–2010 vs. 2011–2015). We find that short-term projections selected by TL agree more accurately than the other projections with the recent county density data and reflect the current high rate of international migration to and from Norway. The variance function method implemented here provides an empirical test of an ex ante approach to evaluating short-term human population projections.     

Modeling the Effects of Genetic Factors on Late-Onset Diseases in Cohort Studies

Many late-onset diseases are caused by what appears to be a combination of a genetic predisposition to disease and environmental factors. The use of existing cohort studies provides an opportunity to infer genetic predisposition to disease on a representative sample of a study population, now that many such studies are gathering genetic information on the participants. One feature to using existing cohorts is that subjects may be censored due to death prior to genetic sampling, thereby adding a layer of complexity to the analysis. We develop a statistical framework to infer parameters of a latent variables model for disease onset. The latent variables model describes the role of genetic and modifiable risk factors on the onset ages of multiple diseases, and accounts for right-censoring of disease onset ages. The framework also allows for missing genetic information by inferring a subject's unknown genotype through appropriately incorporated covariate information. The model is applied to data gathered in the Framingham Heart Study for measuring the effect of different Apo-E genotypes on the occurrence of various cardiovascular disease events.     

Models of the Aging Self

Older adults are faced with numerous physical, psychological, and social role changes that challenge their sense of self and capacity to live happily. In addition, they are inundated by our youth-oriented culture with negative ageist stereotypes. Nevertheless, most older adults live happy, fulfilling lives. In this article, we review theories of the aging individual that address this apparent paradox. These theories can be largely divided into those that emphasize control and goal attainment, and those that emphasize the self's organizational capacity. Of the self-oriented theories, we will highlight Whitbourne's (1996) identity process perspective, which is specific to the aging process and attempts to explain the self's unique capacity to remain stable yet change over time.     

An Iterative Choice Approach to Valuing Clean Lakes,Rivers, and Streams

This article introduces an iterative choice procedure for valuing inland water quality. This approach breaks up the valuation into a series of component tasks. The water quality ladder approach is not valid empirically. Consequently, respondents in Colorado and North Carolina assessed the value of making water quality rated good by EPA, which has a value of $22.40 per additional percent improvement. Nonuse and probabilistic use are highly valued. The results also indicate how water quality valuations differ for aquatic environment, edible fish, and swimming, as well as for water that is cloudy, smelly, or polluted by toxics. Minorities are particularly likely to rely upon monitorable water quality attributes.     

Family Size and College Aspirations: A Note on Catholic-Protestant Differences

Data from a study of college aspirations among 40,000 Minnesota adolescents indicate that the relationship of family size to aspirations is somewhat higher among Protestants than Catholics. Overall aspirational differences between religious groups are minor. Further analysis suggests that these differences are probably not a function of financial capacities but rather of more basic socialization practices. The data are used to illustrate an alternative approach in analyzing the relevance of religion to contemporary society: examining processual differences between religious groups rather than concentrating only on outcomes–such as net differences in aspirations. The paper concludes by speculating that social process may be critical in distinguishing Protestants from Catholics but has generally been neglected in contemporary research on religion.