Mere Presence of a Cell Phone: Effects on Academic Ability

Prior research has suggested that cell phone use in the classroom and during learning-related tasks is detrimental to academic performance. Recently, the mere presence of a cell phone has been found to negatively affect relationships and to impair performance on learning and cognitive tasks. This study explored whether the presence (visibility without use) of a cell phone negatively impacts one’s performance on tests measuring preexisting academic ability. The study evaluated 45 participants; some were enrolled in an introductory psychology course, and others were members of the public. Three subtests from the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-4) were completed: spelling, sentence comprehension, and mathematics. During testing, half of the participants had cell phones, and the other half did not. Statistical analyses revealed no significant difference between the cell phone-present and cell phone-absent group on the sentence comprehension (p=.52), spelling (p=.07), and mathematics subtest (p=.11). Unexpectedly, a non-significant trend was observed in the opposite direction; that is, the cell phone-present group outperformed the cell phone-absent group on all subtests. Therefore, the original hypothesis suggesting that the cell phone-present group would be significantly poorer at demonstrating preexisting skills on tests of academic ability in comparison to the cell phone-present group was not supported.

Predictors of Physical Resilience in Older Adults

Physical resilience (PR), which denotes one’s ability to resist functional physical decline, can be operationalized through longitudinal assessments on the Short Physical Performance Battery (SPPB). Dual-task walking (DTW) is predictive of adverse outcomes but its role in predicting incident PR has not been assessed. Herein, we determined whether velocity during Single-Task-Walk (STW) and Dual-Task-Walk (DTW) conditions predicted incident loss of PR and identified moderators of this relationship. Participants were 163 (mean age=75.5; %female=52) non-demented, community-dwelling older adults with baseline SPPB scores of 10-12. At baseline, individuals completed neuropsychological testing, the SPPB and DTW paradigm. Cognitive reserve was evaluated using the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT-3) and speed of processing was assessed using the Symbol Digit Modalities Test (SDMT). Individuals with SPPB scores < 10 were categorized as not physically resilient. Those with scores of 10 or higher were categorized as physically resilient. At three-year follow up 75.4% (n=123) of participants remained physically resilient while 24.5% (n=40) lost PR. Binary logistic regression revealed that slower DTW (OR= 0.96, p= 0.033, 95%CI [.926, .997]), but not STW velocity (OR= 1.00, p= 0.861, 95%CI [0.962, 1.048]), was a significant predictor of PR loss. Moreover, moderation analyses revealed that DTW velocity predicted PR loss only among individuals who had lower baseline scores on the WRAT-3 (OR=0.937, p=0.004, 95%CI [.896, .979]) and SDMT (OR=0.949, p=0.018, 95%CI [.909, .991]). We propose that cognitive reserve and speed of processing influenced the utility of DTW velocity in predicting PR loss among community-residing older adults.

Obstetric complications in children with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Learning Disability

This study aims to determine whether children with ADHD and learning disabilities (LD) have a significant history of obstetrical complications when compared to children with ADHD but without LD. Methods: Sixty-four children aged 6 to 12 years diagnosed with ADHD were assessed for a history of obstetrical complications using the Kinney medical and gynecological questionnaire. Learning ability was appraised using the Wide-Range Achievement Test (WRAT-R) for anglophone students and the "Test de Rendement Français" for francophone students. Results: Children with ADHD and a learning disability in mathematics had a higher rate of neonatal complications of great severity (p = 0.01) than children with ADHD and no disability in mathematics. Children with ADHD and a learning disability in reading also had a preponderance of neonatal complications of high severity (p = 0.02) compared to their peers with ADHD and no learning disability in reading. Children with ADHD and learning disability tend to have a significant history of neonatal complications, which validates the theory that complications in early life could adversely affect a child's academic ability later in life. This further confirms the importance of the perinatal and postnatal periods in CNS development of brain regions essential for mathematics and reading ability.

Single-parenting influence on child’s academic performances at MutareJunior School, Zimbabwe

The economic hardship that has plagued Zimbabwe has led to a shift from the traditionally intact family to a single-parenthood family. Many factors lead to single parenthood including divorce, separation of all kinds and deaths. Single parenthood negatively impacts on students’ academic development. The researcher explored influences of Single-Parenthood to Academic-Performances (AP) of Grade 6 and 7 students at Mutare Junior School in the Manical and Region of Zimbabwe. The researcher used ‘cross-sectional study design’ to collect data using criterion attainment tests, ‘the Wide Range Achievement Test Level 1 (WRAT-1)’ on 80 students under controlled situations having 40 Single-Parent-Homes (SPH)and 40Double-Parent-Homes (DPH)students. School-established examinations complemented data from theWRAT-1 outcome. Tables and ‘T-tests’ were used for analysis of data. Results revealed children from DPH performing statistically better on the criterion test than those from SPH (t = −4.928, significance value 0.05). The results also indicated males performing better than females both from SPH on the criterion test (t = −4.196, significance value 0.05). In future, research should focus on different single-parent homes to AP. Keywords: Academic performance, influence, pupils, school, single parenting.

A-011 Stability of Impairment Rating Discrepancies in a Longitudinal Observational Alzheimer’s Study

Objective The present study investigated frequency and 12-month persistence of discrepant Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR) and comprehensive neuropsychological assessment ratings of impairment. Methods We examined CDR and neuropsychological test scores from year 1 and 2 visits of 162 adults enrolled in a longitudinal observational study. Neuropsychological measures included Wide Range Achievement Test, American National Adult Reading Test, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Brief Visuospatial Memory Test-Revised, Dementia Rating Scale 2nd edition, Boston Naming, Verbal Fluency/Color Word Interference from the Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System, Judgment of Line Orientation, Trail Making Test, Symbol Digit Modalities Test, and Digit Span/Letter Number Sequencing from The Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale 4th edition. Discrepancies were defined as: CDR = 0 and 2 test impairments, CDR = 0.5 and > 5 or 0 impairments, CDR = 1 and 0 impairments. Results Including all test domains, 40.1% of participants in year 1 and 44.3% in year 2 showed discrepancies. 69% maintained this discrepancy at year 2 and 68% of these showed no change in discrepancy type. Considering only memory tests, 37% of participants in year 1 and 28.4% in year 2 showed discrepancies, with 45% maintaining at year 2 (74% showing no change in discrepancy type). A majority of discrepancies observed in both years 1 and 2 revealed the CDR was under reporting impairment compared to the neuropsychological battery year. Conclusions The results provide evidence that within our study population, impairment as rated by the CDR frequently does not match the level of measured cognitive impairment and this observation is stable year to year.

Estimating Premorbid Ability in Rehabilitation Patients Using the Test of Premorbid Functioning and Wide Range Achievement Test–Fourth Edition

Objective: This study examined premorbid ability estimate concordance using Test of Premorbid Functioning predicted Full Scale Intelligent Quotient (TOPF-IQ) and Wide Range Achievement Test–Fourth Edition Word Reading (WRAT4-WR). Method: The sample ( N = 145) was 28% female with average age and education of 40.6 and 13.2 years, respectively. Outpatient neuropsychological evaluations were conducted in a rehabilitation setting. Measures included the TOPF, WRAT4-WR, Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale–Fourth Edition, and other neuropsychological tests. Non-WAIS measures defined impairment groups. Analyses included t tests, pairwise correlations, concordance correlation coefficients, and root mean square differences. Results: TOPF-IQ, WRAT4-WR, and Full Scale Intelligent Quotient scores were not significantly different but were lower than normative mean. TOPF-IQ and WRAT4-WR showed acceptable agreement (concordance correlation coefficient = .92; root mean square difference = 5.9). Greater premorbid–current ability differences were observed in the impaired group. TOPF-IQ and WRAT4-WR showed lower but similar agreement with Full Scale Intelligence Quotient in the unimpaired group. Conclusions: Findings support the WRAT4-WR in predicting premorbid ability in rehabilitation settings.

A-39 Predictors of Language Functioning Deficits in Pediatric Patients with Anti-NMDAR Encephalitis

Objective This study aimed to examine predictors of language functioning in a sample of pediatric patients diagnosed with anti-N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor encephalitis (ANMDARE). Method Patient data was collected through retrospective chart review within a children’s hospital. Pediatric patients (N=16) treated for ANMDARE (12% male; 25% Caucasian, 50% African American, 25% Latino, mean age = 12.3) who completed a neuropsychological evaluation were identified (time since diagnosis M = 177.4;SD = 310.2). Language assessments included Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-II (WASI-II) Vocabulary; Wide Range Achievement Test- 4 (WRAT-4) Word Reading; Delis-Kaplan Executive Function System (D-KEFS) Verbal Fluency. Results Two independent-samples t-tests compared language functioning in patients with normal and abnormal MRI findings. Significant differences were found in vocabulary scores between patients with normal (M = 45.57, SD = 5.50) and abnormal MRIs (M = 36.67, SD = 5.35;t(11) = 2.94,p = 0.013). The magnitude of the differences in means (μd = 8.91,95%CI:2.25-15.56) was medium (η2 = 0.44). A significant difference in semantic fluency scores were also found (Normal MRI; M = 10.67, SD = 2.25 vs abnormal MRI; M = 6.13;SD = 1.23; t(12) = 3.89,p = 0.002). The magnitude of the differences in means (μd = 4.54, 95%CI:2.00- 7.09) was medium (η2 = 0.56). Additional analyses revealed a relationship between seizure presentation and vocabulary scores (t(11) = 2.50;p = 0.029). Conclusions Pediatric patients with abnormal MRIs demonstrate greater deficits in vocabulary and semantic fluency compared to those with normal MRIs. Moreover, patients who presented with seizures were more likely to have deficits in vocabulary. Previous research shows variability in prolonged deficits in language functioning in both children and adults. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study to compare symptom presentation with language outcomes, thus potentially contributing to the clinical utility of MRI scans.

Psychometric Properties of the WRAT Math Computation Subtest in Mexican Adolescents

The goal of this study was to provide normative scores and examine the psychometric properties of the Math Computation subtest of the Wide Range Achievement Test–IV (WRAT-IV) for Mexican adolescents after the completion of junior high school. We group-administered this subtest to 1,318 first-year Mexican high school students. We then obtained its overall internal reliability and examined its underlying factor structure. Finally, we determined its concurrent and criterion validity by evaluating a subsample of 106 students that included adolescents with mathematical difficulty, mathematical talent, and typical performance. Results showed that the subtest has a good internal reliability and appropriate psychometric characteristics, suggesting its appropriateness for the detection of adolescents with particular difficulty or ability in mathematics. The exploratory factor analysis identified three factors: arithmetic, fractions and basic algebra, and rational numbers. There were also sex differences in the number of correct responses, but the effect size was small.