The research literature notes both biological and operant theories of behavior disorder in individuals with intellectual disabilities. These two theories of genetic predisposition and operant reinforcement remain quite distinct; neither theory on its own is sufficient to explain challenging behavior in genetic syndromes and an integrated approach…

Objective: Low birth weight (LBW) is associated with attention problems (AP) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The etiology of this association is unclear. We investigate whether there is a causal influence of birth weight (BW) on AP and whether the BW effect is mediated by catch-up growth (CUG) in low-BW children. Method:…

Objective: Clinical scientists, policymakers, and individuals must make decisions concerning effective interventions that address health-related issues. We use longitudinal data on loneliness and depressive symptoms and a new class of causal models to illustrate how empirical evidence can be used to inform intervention trial design and clinical…

We investigated whether great apes, like human infants, monkeys and dogs, are subject to a strong gravity bias when tested with the tubes task, and--in case of mastery--what the source of competence on the tubes task is. We presented 22 apes with three versions of the tubes task, in which an object is dropped down a tube connected to one of three…

Tetrad IV is a program designed for the specification of causal models. It is specifically designed to search for causal relations, but also offers the possibility to estimate the parameters of a structural equation model. It offers a remarkable graphical user interface, which facilitates building, evaluating, and searching for causal models. The…

This study investigates Chinese immigrant students' cross-cultural and school adjustment issues in Japanese schools. Using a quantitative method, a survey which collected students' demographic information, cross-cultural adjustment, and school adjustment questions was administered to 143 Chinese junior high and high school students in Tokyo and…

Existing research suggests that there is a relation between academic/cognitive deficits and externalizing behavior in young children, but the direction of this relation is unclear. The present study tested competing models of the relation between academic/cognitive functioning and behavior problems during early childhood. Participants were 221…

In this special section, 6 articles address the provocative question of how to determine the boundary between difference and deficiency, for children who differ from the mainstream in some way--language, hearing, cultural background, socioeconomic status, or social understanding. Our commentary considers these articles in light of current models…

Hinds Community College (HCC) engaged in a study that produced the transitional program. This program was in response to high rates of attrition of the college's freshmen classes because of poor academic performance. This dissertation evaluated the effectiveness of the transitional program's main component-the learning community created by placing…

The purpose of this study was to examine how moral reasoning develops for 236 students enrolled in either a diversity course or a management course. These courses were compared based on the level of diversity inclusion and type of pedagogy employed in the classroom. We used causal modelling to compare the two types of courses, controlling for the…

Multisite trials can clarify the average impact of a new program and the heterogeneity of impacts across sites. Unfortunately, in many applications, compliance with treatment assignment is imperfect. For these applications, we propose an instrumental variable (IV) model with person-specific and site-specific random coefficients. Site-specific IV…

Purpose: This paper aims to determine the level of awareness and implementation of family-responsible parameters: policies, enablers, practices, and culture, in Spanish and Latin-American companies, and how they impact work-life balance. Design/methodology/approach: The study uses data from different national IESE's Family-Responsible Employer…

Cognitive biases have been theorized to play a critical role in the onset and maintenance of anxiety and depression. Cognitive bias modification (CBM), an experimental paradigm that uses training to induce maladaptive or adaptive cognitive biases, was developed to test these causal models. Although CBM has generated considerable interest in the…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to offer an application of a system model for Senge's five disciplines in higher education (HE) institutions. Design/methodology/approach: The paper utilizes a conceptual framework for the analysis of antecedents and outcomes of Senge's five disciplines, focusing on specific factors unique to the HE sector.…

In education, most naturally occurring data are clustered within contexts. Students are clustered within classrooms, classrooms are clustered within schools, and schools are clustered within districts. When people are clustered within naturally occurring organizational units such as schools, classrooms, or districts, the responses of people from…