Positive Social Behavior Research Articles

Reliability and Validity Assessment of the Observation of Human-Animal Interaction for Research (OHAIRE) Behavior Coding Tool.

The Observation of Human-Animal Interaction for Research (OHAIRE) is a coding tool developed to capture the behavior of children when interacting with social partners and animals in naturalistic settings. The OHAIRE behavioral categories of focus are emotional displays, social communication behaviors toward adults and peers, behaviors directed toward animals or experimental control objects, and interfering behaviors. To date, the OHAIRE has been used by 14 coders to code 2,732 min of video across four studies with a total of 201 participants ages 5 to 18 years (M = 10.1, SD = 2.5). Studies involved animal-assisted intervention with three species (i.e., dogs, horses, and guinea pigs) and three populations (i.e., autism spectrum disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and typically developing children) in a school, a therapeutic horseback riding program, a group therapy program, and the hospital setting. We explored the psychometric properties of the OHAIRE through analyses of its inter-rater reliability, intra-rater reliability, convergent and divergent validity, and internal structure, using data from these four human-animal interaction studies. The average inter-rater reliability was excellent (kappa = 0.81), with good reliability in most of the behavioral categories coded. Intra-rater reliability was consistently excellent (0.87 ≤ kappa ≤0.96). Internal structure analyses with Cronbach's alpha supported the exploratory use of subscales to measure social communication behaviors toward peers (α = 0.638) and adults (α = 0.605), and interactions experimental control objects (α = 0.589), and the use of a subscale to measure interactions with animals (α = 0.773). Correlation analyses with multiple questionnaires showed a convergence between positive emotional display and social behaviors as assessed by the OHAIRE and social skills as assessed by the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) and the Social Communication Questionnaires (SCQ). Little concordance was found between the OHAIRE and the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) or the Aberrant Behavior Checklist-Community (ABC). The OHAIRE shows promise for wider use in the field of Human-Animal Interaction, with a need for generalization across more settings and ages.

Validity of Social Support Scales Utilized Among HIV-Infected and HIV-Affected Populations: A Systematic Review.

Social support enhances self-management and prevention of behaviors and is typically assessed using self-report scales; however, little is known about the validity of these scales in HIV-infected or affected populations. This systematic review aims to identify available validated social support scales used in HIV-infected and HIV-affected populations. A systematic literature search using key search terms was conducted in electronic databases. After rounds abstract screenings, full-text reviews, and data abstraction 17 studies remained, two of which assessed multiple social support scales, which increased number of scales to 19. Most scales assessed positive social support behaviors (n = 18). Most scales assessed perceived social support (n = 14) compared to received social support. Reliability ranged from 0.67 to 0.97. The most common forms of validation reported were content validity and construct validity and the least was criterion-related validity. Future research should seek to build evidence for validation for existing scales used in HIV-infected or HIV-affected populations.

Do child gender and temperament moderate associations between Head Start classroom social-emotional climate and children’s social-emotional competencies?

Little research has examined teachers' classroom social-emotional practices, including how teachers' warmth and their more explicit emotion socialization practices may be associated with children's social-emotional competencies in different but complementary ways. Likewise, there is scant knowledge on how the effects of the classroom climate may vary by child characteristics. We examined the moderating roles of child gender and temperament in the associations between two aspects of the classroom climate, Head Start teachers' warmth and their explicit emotion socialization practices, and preschoolers' (N = 611) social-emotional competencies, including emotion recognition, self-regulation, and positive social behaviors. While no three-way interactions (teachers' warmth and teachers' emotion socialization practices × child gender × temperament) were significantly associated with outcomes, a two-way interaction between teachers' emotion socialization practices and temperament was significant. Specifically, teachers' emotion socialization practices in the fall were associated with greater self-regulation for all children in the spring, including children with more reactive temperaments although effects were most robust for children with the least reactive temperaments. Implications for teacher practices are discussed.

Perceived Parental Acceptance: Rejection and Conflict Styles of Adults

Parents greatly affect their children’s behaviour. Children model everything parents do and incorporate what they see into their own lives. Parenting skills and behaviour play a vital role in development of children’s positive attitude and social behaviour that are essential for healthy living. The way we handles conflict is also significant for a quality living. The present study examined the relationship between perceived parental acceptance-rejection, and conflict styles of adults. For the purpose of the study, a Sample of 250 college teachers (134- male teachers and 116- female teachers) from colleges in and around Dharmapuri were selected systematically. The study adopted survey research design. The Adult Parental Acceptance–Rejection Questionnaire (short form) (Rohner, 1984), and Organizational Conflict Inventory (Rahim, 1983) were used to collect the data. The result revealed significant relationship between perceived parental acceptance-rejection and conflict styles of adults. Males reported significantly more use of competing style of conflict than females. Further, no significant difference was noticed between students from rural and urban in perceived parental acceptance-rejection, and conflict styles. Also, there is no significant difference in perceived parental acceptance-rejection, and conflict styles based on birth order and marital status.

Reproductive health knowledge among college students in Kenya

BackgroundReproductive health knowledge is vital in the growth and development of young people and this impact greatly on their educational and personal outcome as they proceed to adulthood. There has been an increasing occurrence of sexually transmitted infections in institutions of higher learning. The study sought out the strategies used by university students to prevent unplanned pregnancy and determined their knowledge of contraception methods and sexually transmitted infections in Mount Kenya University, main campus.MethodsStratified sampling was employed. After a signed consent was obtained, a self-administered questionnaire was used to collect data. Data were explored, analyzed and percentages used to quantify the level of knowledge. Pearson’s chi-square was used to measure associations between categorical variables and independent t-test used to measure the means and relationships of continuous variables.ResultsCondom use was established as the most prevalent strategy in prevention of unplanned pregnancy at 48.5 and 46.4% in prevention of STI and HIV/AIDS. Almost two thirds (58%) of respondents reported that they were conversant with only one method of contraception, 60% had knowledge of more than two types of STIs, and 62.4% indicated that they were conversant with only hospitals as facilities providing reproductive health services.ConclusionYoung people in college require educational initiatives to sensitize them on STI, methods of contraception and positive social behaviors. There is need to improve the accessibility of reproductive health services through strengthening of services provided at campus health clinics.

Theory of mind and social competence among school-age Latino children

ABSTRACTThe present study examined relations between Theory of Mind (ToM) understanding and social competence among school-age Latino children. Participants included 62 children ages 6–12 years. Picture vocabulary was assessed via a standardized language survey, and ToM assessed via Happé’s [(1994). An advanced test of theory of mind: Understanding of story characters’ thoughts and feelings by able autistic, mentally handicapped and normal children and adults. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 129–154. doi:10.1007/BF021720931994] advanced ToM tasks. Parents and teachers evaluated the child’s social skills using a 23 item social competence inventory consisting of one positive and two forms of negative behaviours: relational aggression and overt hostility. Results indicated that girls scored significantly higher on positive social behaviour compared to boys. Overall, positive associations were found between children’s ToM ability and positive (but not negative) social behaviour. Results and implications about the socioemotional processes underlying ToM development are discussed.

Technological Resources to Prevent Cyberbullying During Adolescence: The Cyberprogram 2.0 Program and the Cooperative Cybereduca 2.0 Videogame.

Bullying and cyberbullying have serious consequences for all those involved, especially the victims, and its prevalence is high throughout all the years of schooling, which emphasizes the importance of prevention. This article describes an intervention proposal, made up of a program (Cyberprogram 2.0 Garaigordobil and Martínez-Valderrey, 2014a) and a videogame (Cooperative Cybereduca 2.0 Garaigordobil and Martínez-Valderrey, 2016b) which aims to prevent and reduce cyberbullying during adolescence and which has been validated experimentally. The proposal has four objectives: (1) To know what bullying and cyberbullying are, to reflect on the people involved in these situations; (2) to become aware of the harm caused by such behaviors and the severe consequences for all involved; (3) to learn guidelines to prevent and deal with these situations: know what to do when one suffers this kind of violence or when observing that someone else is suffering it; and (4) to foster the development of social and emotional factors that inhibit violent behavior (e.g., communication, ethical-moral values, empathy, cooperation…). The proposal is structured around 25 activities to fulfill these goals and it ends with the videogame. The activities are carried out in the classroom, and the online video is the last activity, which represents the end of the intervention program. The videogame (www.cybereduca.com) is a trivial pursuit game with questions and answers related to bullying/cyberbullying. This cybernetic trivial pursuit is organized around a fantasy story, a comic that guides the game. The videogame contains 120 questions about 5 topics: cyberphenomena, computer technology and safety, cybersexuality, consequences of bullying/cyberbullying, and coping with bullying/cyberbullying. To evaluate the effectiveness of the intervention, a quasi-experimental design, with repeated pretest-posttest measures and control groups, was used. During the pretest and posttest stages, 8 assessment instruments were administered. The experimental group randomly received the intervention proposal, which consisted of one weekly 1-h session during the entire school year. The results obtained with the analyses of variance of the data collected before and after the intervention in the experimental and control groups showed that the proposal significantly promoted the following aspects in the experimental group: (1) a decrease in face-to-face bullying and cyberbullying behaviors, in different types of school violence, premeditated and impulsive aggressiveness, and in the use of aggressive conflict-resolution strategies; and (2) an increase of positive social behaviors, self-esteem, cooperative conflict-resolution strategies, and the capacity for empathy. The results provide empirical evidence for the proposal. The importance of implementing programs to prevent bullying in all its forms, from the beginning of schooling and throughout formal education, is discussed.

Teeth clipping, tail docking and toy enrichment affect physiological indicators, behaviour and lesions of weaned pigs after re-location and mixing

Re-location and mixing after weaning increase the risk of aggression in weaned pigs. To quantify the effects of tail docking, teeth clipping and toy enrichment on the growth performances, behaviour, lesions, and physiological indicators of weaned pigs after re-location and mixing, a total of 262 weaned pigs from four pig processing treatments were selected and regrouped to two enrichment treatments within each processing treatment. The experimental newborn piglets from 24 litters were treated tail docking and teeth clipping at 3 d of age and weaned at 24 d of age. At 30 d of age, pigs in each treatment were weighed, re-located to a nursery room and mixed into 2 pens. Eight rubber toys were installed in one of two pens in each group. The behaviour of weaned pigs was recorded and observed at 1, 2 and 3 d after mixing. At 3 and 6 d before mixing and 1, 3 and 6 d after mixing, lesions on the body and tail, body surface temperature (BST), respiration rate (RR) and salivary cortisol concentrations were determined. At 85 d of age, all experimental pigs were weighed again. Mortality rate, average daily gain (ADG), and feed efficiency of pigs were recorded. Pigs with clipped teeth performed less negative social behaviour (aggressive attacks/fight) (P < 0.05) and more positive social behaviour (non-aggressive social interactions) (P < 0.01) than pigs with intact teeth. Pigs with docked tails performed more positive social behaviour (P < 0.01) than pigs with intact tails. Toy enrichment decreased (P < 0.05) lesions on the ear and front body of pigs, and pigs with docked tail got fewer lesions on the tail (P < 0.01). Intact teeth increased (P < 0.01) RR, while toy enrichment decreased (P < 0.05) RR of pigs. Teeth clipping, tail docking and toys had no effects (P > 0.05) on ADG, body weight and mortality rate of pigs from 30 to 85 d of age. These results indicate that toy enrichment and pig processing treatments have positive effects on weaned pigs after re-location and mixing.

Children, Outdoor Play, and Loose Parts

In an effort to understand how loose parts in early learning environments benefit children’s play and development, through observations of preschool children in a rural outdoor natural environment, this study examined behaviours that children exhibited as they used loose parts. Children exhibited a range of positive social behaviours, complex verbal and nonverbal behaviours, and various types of risk taking in their play. The findings suggest that children do not explicitly exhibit stereotypical gender or age-exclusion behaviours while using the loose parts. The results would suggest that increasing children’s opportunities to use loose parts in an early years outdoor environment will support their various aspects of development in positive ways.

School inclusion of children with intellectual disability: An intervention program

ABSTRACT Background: This study evaluated the impact of a structured 10-didactic units intervention on promoting the school inclusion of elementary school students with intellectual disability (ID). Method: The intervention was devised for 152 Italian typically developing (TD) elementary school students that were randomly assigned to the experimental (EG) or to the control (CG) group. Specifically, we examined the positive and negative social behaviours that took place in naturalistic class settings between TD students and their classmates with ID and the positive and negative peer sociometric nominations that children with ID received from their TD classmates. Results: At post-test, the children with ID included in the classes randomly assigned to the EG, received more positive sociometric nominations and social behaviours than peers with ID of the CG, and adopted more positive behaviours towards TD peers. Conclusions: The study highlighted the potential of the intervention to promote the school inclusion of students with ID.

The Conflict Between Economic and Social Preferences: Social Investing, Social Enterprise, Mind-Sets and Nudges

Investing into the financial markets has become increasingly complex in recent years, with a multitude of investment products and motives. With the rapid growth in social investing and social entrepreneurship, scholars recognise that investors and entrepreneurs often consider a wide range of social factors, in addition to financial return, when making their financial decisions. Behavioural economists argue that it is important to understand the complex economic and behavioural/psychological factors affecting social investors’ decision-making. In this paper, we draw upon lessons from behavioural economics (and in particular, social preference theory) in order to develop neuro-economic tests of investors’ social and financial mind-sets. We focus on two main research questions: a) How heterogeneous are (social-) investors, in terms of the unconscious weightings that they place upon financial and social returns? Can investors’ mind-sets be placed upon a continuum from focussing on social returns, through mixed motivations/weightings, through to focussing on financial returns? b). Can investors be nudged along this continuum? We address these two research questions by means of two neuro-experiments. We employ eye-tracking techniques to examine investors’ attention to, and fixation on, social and financial aspects of financial market investment. In addition, we employ nudges in the form of images relating to positive and negative social behaviour. Our experiments demonstrate that a) investors can indeed be placed on the financial-social motivation continuum (and that there is heterogeneity in social-investors’ motives along this scale), and b) investors can be nudged along the scale. Our experiments thus provide policy implications regarding nudges towards social investment. Practically, we suggest the development of a phone application that integrates real-time stock-tracking with nudges in order to inspire socially responsible investing; banks would play a key role in encouraging its download. Nudges can help to overcome the conflict between social and financial returns.

Proneness to guilt, shame, and pride in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders and neurotypical children.

This research examined proneness to guilt, shame, and pride in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) and neurotypical children. We found that children with ASD showed less proneness to guilt than neurotypical children. Better understanding of theory of mind was related to greater proneness to guilt and pride, but only for children with ASD. These findings are important because these complex emotions are linked with both positive and negative social behaviors towards others and oneself.

Protocol for a systematic review: Universal school-based programmes for improving social and emotional outcomes in children aged 3-11 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Protocol for a systematic review: Universal school-based programmes for improving social and emotional outcomes in children aged 3-11 years: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

The Oxytocin-Vasopressin Pathway in the Context of Love and Fear.

Vasopressin (VP) and oxytocin (OT) are distinct molecules; these peptides and their receptors [OT receptor (OTR) and V1a receptor (V1aR)] also are evolved components of an integrated and adaptive system, here described as the OT–VP pathway. The more ancient peptide, VP, and the V1aRs support individual survival and play a role in defensive behaviors, including mobilization and aggression. OT and OTRs have been associated with positive social behaviors and may function as a biological metaphor for social attachment or “love.” However, complex behavioral functions, including selective sexual behaviors, social bonds, and parenting require combined activities of OT and VP. The behavioral effects of OT and VP vary depending on perceived emotional context and the history of the individual. Paradoxical or contextual actions of OT also may reflect differential interactions with the OTR and V1aR. Adding to the complexity of this pathway is the fact that OT and VP receptors are variable, across species, individuals, and brain region, and these receptors are capable of being epigenetically tuned. This variation may help to explain experience-related individual and sex differences in behaviors that are regulated by these peptides, including the capacity to form social attachments and the emotional consequences of these attachments.

Children’s interethnic relationships in multiethnic primary school: results of an inclusive language learning intervention on children with native and immigrant background in Italy

The increasing multicultural character of European society and the growing presence of children from immigrant families in European schools represent a key issue to understand the development of positive social behavior and intergroup relations in the education context. In this paper, we assessed the outcomes of a school intervention program aimed at improving interethnic relations among primary school children in Italy, through foreign language (i.e., English) learning activities, based on the narrative format model. Children who took part in the intervention program were compared to a control group, following a pre-post design (N = 129; age range 7–9 years old). Results confirmed our expectations, indicating a reduced tendency of Italian pupils to reject their immigrant schoolmates, after the intervention. An opposite pattern emerged in the control group, where no specific intervention was implemented. In terms of foreign language learning outcomes, results show that children who participated to the narrative format intervention have a higher production of English words, both new and repeated. The theoretical and practical implications of the study for what it concerns the improvement of linguistic achievement and the promotion of positive social climates in multiethnic educational contexts are discussed.

A social-cognitive intervention program for adolescents with autism: A pilot study

ABSTRACTThis pilot study explored the efficacy of a social-cognitive intervention program for adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Seven adolescents with ASD (mean age = 12.57 years) attended a school-based 10-week program. Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales, Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS), and Theory of Mind Inventory were administered at baseline, immediately after the program, and post 2-months. There were significant positive gains in Theory of Mind knowledge and in individualized goals (of GAS), and there were further gains after 2 months. Qualitative evaluation was conducted by a focus group interview with parents of participants. Consistent with the quantitative findings, parents observed that their children have increased knowledge of social skills, socialize more with friends, and had increase in positive social behavior. On the other hand, they perceived an even more intensive and ongoing program could further benefit their children. This study has added to the understanding of the potential impact of social skills programs run in school.

Influences of oxytocin and respiratory sinus arrhythmia on emotions and social behavior in daily life.

The literature concerning biological influences on positive social behavior shows that, in nonthreatening contexts, tonic oxytocin (OT) and respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA) each predict positive, affiliative behaviors toward certain others and are associated with positive health outcomes. The purpose of this investigation was to determine the degree to which the positive affiliative correlates of OT and RSA can be distinguished when observed at the level of everyday life events. A sample of midlife adults (N = 73) provided tonic indices of these biological characteristics, as well as perceptions of a variety of common life events alongside reports of their emotions during those events. OT and RSA each independently moderated the link between perceived event sociality and positive emotions, whereas only RSA predicted the probability of being with other people during an event. These findings suggest that OT and RSA may each be linked to positive social experiences in complementary yet distinct ways. (PsycINFO Database Record

A Daily Diary Investigation of the Influence of Early Family Adversity on Social Functioning during the Transition to Adulthood.

Early life stressors are associated with maladaptive social functioning in childhood and adolescence, but it is unclear whether and how the negative interpersonal effects of stress persist into adulthood. Daily diary surveys were used to examine young adults' social behavior and mood reactivity to social stressors as a function of experiences of early family adversity. Stressful early family environments predicted more daily reassurance seeking, but not aggression, withdrawal, or positive social behavior. Early family adversity also moderated the within-person effects of social stressors on next-day mood, such that individuals with high levels of adversity had elevated next-day negative affect in response to higher than average social stress. Findings highlight the enduring impact of early adversity on social development, with implications for developing targeted policies and interventions.

Examining of Social Skill Levels of University Students in Terms of Certain Variables

Aim: The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between certain demographic variables and social skill levels of university students. Material and Methods: There were 100 participants (n=51 female, n=49 male) in the study group who were the students at the department of Sport Sciences Faculty of Istanbul University in the 2015-2016 academic year. Of the study group 28 participants were between 18-20 years old, 27 participants were between 21-23 years old, 23 participants were between 24-26 years old and 22 participants were above 27 years old. After the demographic information of the participants was formed, the Social Skill Scale was applied which was developed by Matson, Rotarory and Hessel (1983) and adopted to Turkish. In order to measure their social skill levels, the reliability analysis of that scale was done. Cronbach Alpha value is 0.777; about the subscales, the results were found as such; positive social behaviour subscale 0.924, negative social behaviour subscale 0.904. Significance level was accepted as p<0.05. Results: Gender, age, class, whether or not to play sports with a licence, education level of parents, how many years they have been doing sports, and the level of social skills and subscales of their students were not significantly different. Conclusion: As a result; the demographic variables examined within our study did not make a difference in the level of social skills of the participants.

The Predictive Power of Preschool Children’s Social Behaviors on Their Play Skills

The aim of this research study is to investigate children’s play skills in terms of social behaviours (physical aggression, relational aggression, positive social behaviors, and depressive feelings). The participants in this study consisted of 300 children between 60 and 72 months studying at preschool education institutions. The research data were collected via the “Preschool Social Behaviour Scale-Instructer Form” and the “Play Skills Assessment Scale”. Pearson’s correlsation analysis and simple linear regression analysis were performed to evaluate the data. The results of the research study indicate that there is a significant positive correlation between children’s positive social behaviours and play skills while there is a significant negative relationship between children’s play skills and the subscales of physical aggression, relational aggression, and depressive feelings. Besides, the results indicate that children’s social behaviours (physical aggression, relational aggression, positive social behaviors and depressive feelings) are predictive of play skills. It can be concluded that 16.8% of total variance is explained by the subscales “positive social behaviors”, 9.6% is explained by “relational aggression”, 2.4% is explained “physical aggression” and 1.2% is explained by “depressive feelings”.