South African emerging adults' capacity for resilience in the face of COVID-19 stressors.

Little is known about resilience responses to COVID-19 stressors from emerging adults in minority world contexts. In this cross-sectional study, we explored the association between self-reported COVID-19 stressors and capacity for resilience in 351 emerging adults (Meanage = 24.45, SD = 2.57; 68% female) who self-identified as Black African. We were interested in whether age, gender and neighbourhood quality influenced this association. The main findings were that higher pandemic stress was associated with a greater capacity for resilience. Older participants showed higher levels of resilience, while there was no gender difference in this regard. Those who perceived their neighbourhoods as being of a good quality also showed greater capacity for resilience, despite all participants residing in disadvantaged communities. The theoretical and practical implications of these results are considered.

Multisystemic Resources Matter for Resilience to Depression: Learning From a Sample of Young South African Adults.

This article interrogates the continuing emphasis on personal sources of resilience; it also amends the inattention to the protective factors and processes (PFPs) that support the mental health resilience of African emerging adults. To that end, we report a study that explored which PFPs distinguished risk-exposed South African 18- to 29-year-olds with negligible depression symptoms from those who reported moderate to severe symptoms. Using an arts-based approach, young people volunteered the PFPs they had personally experienced as resilience-enabling. An inductive thematic analysis of visual and narrative data, generated by young people self-reporting high exposure to family and community adversity (n = 233; mean age: 24.63, SD: 2.43), revealed patterns in the PFPs relative to the severity of self-reported depression symptoms. Specifically, young people reporting negligible depression symptoms reported a range of PFPs associated with psychological, social, and ecological systems. In contrast, the PFPs identified by those reporting more serious depression symptoms were mostly restricted to personal strengths and informal relational supports. In the interests of youth mental health, the findings direct society's attention to the criticality of facilitating young people's access to a composite of resources rooted in personal, social, and ecological systems.

Are working memory models WEIRD? Testing models of working memory in a non-WEIRD sample.

OBJECTIVE: There are many competing working memory models, generally formulated from young adult, typically student, samples from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and developed (WEIRD) contexts. Whether such models are adequate conceptualizations of working memory (WM) in young adults from non-WEIRD contexts is unclear. METHOD: This study tested five possible models of the structure of working memory in young South African adults (n = 162; Mage = 20.41, SDage = 1.82, 38% female) who are multilingual, from predominantly low socioeconomic, largely rural, contexts. RESULTS: Confirmatory factor analyses showed that a four-component structure composed of domain-specific (verbal, visuospatial) storage and processing provided the best fit for the data. CONCLUSIONS: Neuropsychological tests and rehabilitation approaches are based on leading models of working memory, and so their cross-cultural appropriateness is important. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

A comparison between the neurocognitive profile of Huntington Disease-Like 2 and Huntington Disease: Exploring the presence of double dissociations.

Huntington Disease Like-2 (HDL2) is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disease caused by a mutation in the JPH3 gene. HDL2 is the Huntington Disease (HD) phenocopy that has the greatest clinical resemblance to HD. Both are characterized by movement, psychiatric and cognitive dysfunction, which progress to dementia. The present study compared the neuropsychological profile of HDL2 with that of HD. Using a Single Case-Control Methodology in Neuropsychology, three HDL2 and seven matched HD patients were assessed with a comprehensive neuropsychological battery and compared to matched control samples, considering age, years of education, type of school (public/government) and language (all bi/multilingual). Potential double dissociations were explored by using Crawford, Garthwaite, and Wood's Inferential Methods for Comparing the Scores of Two Single-Cases in Case-Control Designs. Double dissociation between HDL2 and HD were identified in three tests, namely Letter Number Sequencing, Rey Auditory Learning Test Delayed and Recognition Trials. These dissociations possible are due to methodological limitations.

Single case-control design for the study of the neuropsychological deficits and dissociations in Huntington's disease-like 2.

The Single-Case Methodology in Neuropsychology (Crawford & Howell, 1998) is a research design and robust inferential statistical method that facilitates the neuropsychological description of one case in terms of the differences between its profile and the performance of a carefully matched sample (Crawford & Garthwaite, 2012). The comparison is made by means of a t-test statistic that treats the normative sample as a sample and not as a population, with a particular effect-size associated with the size (n) of the sample. It is an ideal method for the neuropsychological investigation of rare diseases, such as Huntington's Disease Like-2 (HDL2), especially when the cases are embedded in contexts of great diversity. This paper presents a step by step guide to the implementation of this method in a series of demographically and clinically diverse group of patients. •The application of a Single-Case Methodology in Neuropsychology enables the characterisation of rare diseases while controlling for demographic and context-related variables.•The implementation Single-Case Methodology in Neuropsychology provides test norms for homogenous groups that can be used by practitioners in their clinical work.•The method was customised for the South African population by controlling variables of specific relevance, such as linguistic diversity and quality of education.

Working with memory: Computerized, adaptive working memory training for adolescents living with HIV.

This study investigated working memory (WM) training for adolescents with perinatal HIV infection, since WM is negatively impacted by the virus, and adolescence is a time of considerable brain reorganization, during which WM functioning reaches maturation. We posed three main questions: 1) whether WM could be trained in adolescents living with HIV, and if so, whether these effects were maintained over a six-month period during which no further training was received; 2) whether there were differential effects of training on the components of WM (verbal and visuospatial storage, verbal and visuospatial processing); 3) whether the WM training transferred to cognate tasks, and if so, whether these transfer effects were maintained over six months. Sixty-three HIV+ adolescents (10-16 years) from two children's homes were assigned to the training (n = 31) or control (n = 32) group. The training group received 32 hours of supervised training in an adaptive, computerized WM intervention, while the control group received a supervised, placebo computerized program for the same hours. Comprehensive WM and neuropsychological batteries were administered to both groups at pretest, immediately following the intervention, and six months later. Significant improvements were found in verbal WM for the training group, which were maintained six months later. Transfer effects were evident in attention, executive function, memory, language and fluid intelligence. There were no significant posttest improvements in visuospatial storage, and minimal changes in verbal storage and visuospatial WM. These findings represent an important step in exploring ways to improve cognitive functioning in an at-risk population.

The neuropsychological deficits and dissociations in Huntington Disease-Like 2: A series of case-control studies.

OBJECTIVES: Huntington's Disease Like-2 (HDL2) is a rare autosomal dominant genetic disease caused by a mutation in the JPH3 gene. The Huntington's Disease (HD) phenocopy has the greatest clinical resemblance to HD, but its neurocognitive characterisation is poorly researched. This study reports on the neurocognitive profile of seven HDL2 patients including preserved functions, deficits and dissociations (classical and strong) and provides a general characterisation of the cognitive dysfunction of HDL2 in relation to the progression of the disease. METHODS: The neuropsychological performance of seven HDL2 patients were compared to one of four control groups, matched by age and level of education using a Single Case-Control design. All patients were polyglots and with public education (primary and secondary). Deficits, as well as classical and strong dissociations within each case profile, were identified by implementing Crawford and Howell's (1998) t-test and the Revised Standardized Difference Test (Crawford and Garthwaite, 2005), respectively. RESULTS: The HDL2 neurocognitive syndrome is heterogeneous with a variable rate of progression, with the psychomotor and dexterity domain consistently and severely impaired. CONCLUSION: HDL2 has a heterogeneous impact on cognitive functions from early stages in the disease, which evolve to dementia in a non-uniform manner, in keeping with preferential damage in the cerebrocortical-basal ganglia-thalamus-cerebrocortical circuit.

Working Memory Structure in Atypical Development: HIV-infected and HIV-exposed, Uninfected School Beginners.

Not much is known about the structure of working memory in atypical development. We undertook a detailed comparison of the functional organization of working memory in HIV-infected (n = 95; Mage = 7.42 years), and HIV-exposed (n = 86; Mage = 7.36 years) children, together with an uninfected, unexposed typically developing comparison group (n = 92; Mage = 7.05 years). Participants were in their first year of formal education. Within-group comparisons of five models showed that a four-factor model with separate verbal and visuospatial storage and processing accounted for the typically developing group, while working memory was structurally undifferentiated in the HIV-affected groups.

Working Memory Profiles in HIV-Exposed, Uninfected and HIV-Infected Children: A Comparison with Neurotypical Controls.

This study compared the working memory profiles of three groups of children, namely HIV-infected (HIV-I; n = 95), HIV-exposed, uninfected (HIV-EU; n = 86) and an HIV-unexposed, uninfected, (HIV-UU; n = 92) neurotypical control group. Working memory, an executive function, plays an important role in frontal lobe-controlled behaviors, such as motivation, planning, decision making, and social interaction, and is a strong predictor of academic success in school children. Memory impairments have been identified in HIV-I children, particularly in visuospatial processing. Verbal working memory has not been commonly investigated in this population, while it is unknown how the working memory profiles of HIV-EU children compare to their HIV-I and HIV-UU peers. Of interest was whether the working memory profiles of the HIV-EU children would be more similar to the HIV-I group or to the uninfected control group. The results revealed no significant differences in working memory performance between the HIV-I and HIV-EU groups. However, this does not mean that the etiology of the working memory deficits is the same in the two groups, as these groups showed important differences when compared to the control group. In comparison to the controls, the HIV-I group experienced difficulties with processing tasks irrespective of whether they drew on a verbal or visuospatial modality. This appears to stem from a generalized executive function deficit that also interferes with working memory. In the HIV-EU group, difficulties occurred with verbally based tasks, irrespective of whether they required storage or processing. For this group, the dual demands of complex processing and using a second language seem to result in demand exceeding capacity on verbal tasks. Both groups experienced the greatest difficulties with verbal processing tasks for these different reasons. Thus, disruption of different cognitive abilities could result in similar working memory profiles, as evidenced in this study. This has implications for the underlying developmental neurobiology of HIV-I and HIV-EU children, as well the choice of appropriate measures to assist affected children.

Alcohol exposure during pregnancy altered childhood developmental trajectories in a rural South African community.

AIM: This study examined the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure on childhood development trajectories in a rural South African community between 2003 and 2008. METHODS: We assessed 121 children at 7-12 months (year one) and 5-6 years (year five) using the Griffiths Mental Developmental Scales - Extended Revised, which measures sensorimotor, cognitive and social development, with lower scores indicating developmental delay. We also interviewed their mothers or caregivers. Three groups were identified: 29 with foetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) or partial FAS (pFAS), 57 more who had been exposed to alcohol and 35 controls who had not. RESULTS: The scale's total score was higher in the controls than in the FAS/pFAS group at year one and year five and in the alcohol-exposed group at year five. Many groups' trajectories declined when compared with global norms, but the trajectories in the FAS/pFAS and the alcohol-exposed groups declined more than the controls for eye-hand and performance and total score. Earlier pregnancy recognition in the FAS/pFAS group correlated strongly (r = -0.77) with higher GQ in year five. CONCLUSION: FAS/pFAS and prenatal alcohol exposure affected the Griffiths scores more than the control group. Efforts are needed to detect pregnancy early and reduce alcohol exposure.

The Impact of Gender, Socioeconomic Status and Home Language on Primary School Children's Reading Comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal.

The current study constituted part of a larger, longitudinal, South African-based study, namely, The Road and Aircraft Noise Exposure on Children's Cognition and Health (RANCH-South Africa). In the context of a multicultural South Africa and varying demographic variables thereof, this study sought to investigate and describe the effects of gender, socioeconomic status and home language on primary school children's reading comprehension in KwaZulu-Natal. In total, 834 learners across 5 public schools in the KwaZulu-Natal province participated in the study. A biographical questionnaire was used to obtain biographical data relevant to this study, and the Suffolk Reading Scale 2 (SRS2) was used to obtain reading comprehension scores. The findings revealed that there was no statistical difference between males and females on reading comprehension scores. In terms of socioeconomic status (SES), learners from a low socioeconomic background performed significantly better than those from a high socioeconomic background. English as a First Language (EL1) speakers had a higher mean reading comprehension score than speakers who spoke English as an Additional Language (EAL). Reading comprehension is indeed affected by a variety of variables, most notably that of language proficiency. The tool to measure reading comprehension needs to be standardized and administered in more than one language, which will ensure increased reliability and validity of reading comprehension scores.

A cross-cultural comparison between South African and British students on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scales Third Edition (WAIS-III).

There is debate regarding the appropriate use of Western cognitive measures with individuals from very diverse backgrounds to that of the norm population. Given the dated research in this area and the considerable socio-economic changes that South Africa has witnessed over the past 20 years, this paper reports on the use of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale Third Edition (WAIS-III), the most commonly used measure of intelligence, with an English second language, multilingual, low socio-economic group of black, South African university students. Their performance on the WAIS-III was compared to that of a predominantly white, British, monolingual, higher socio-economic group. A multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed that the WAIS-III lacks measurement invariance between the two groups, suggesting that it may be tapping different constructs in each group. The UK group significantly outperformed the SA group on the knowledge-based verbal, and some non-verbal subtests, while the SA group performed significantly better on measures of Processing Speed (PS). The groups did not differ significantly on the Matrix Reasoning subtest and on those working memory subtests with minimal reliance on language, which appear to be the least culturally biased. Group differences were investigated further in a set of principal components analyses, which revealed that the WAIS-III scores loaded differently for the UK and SA groups. While the SA group appeared to treat the PS subtests differently to those measuring perceptual organization and non-verbal reasoning, the UK group seemed to approach all of these subtests similarly. These results have important implications for the cognitive assessment of individuals from culturally, linguistically, and socio-economically diverse circumstances.

A prospective follow-up study of the effects of chronic aircraft noise exposure on learners' reading comprehension in South Africa.

The purpose of this epidemiological study was to investigate the long-term effects of exposure to aircraft noise on reading comprehension on a sample of South African children. Given the impairment of reading comprehension found within the noised-exposed group before the relocation of the airport, it was the intention of this study to determine whether the effects of aircraft noise on reading comprehension remained after the relocation of the airport or whether they disappeared. A cohort of 732 learners with a mean age of 11.1 years participated at baseline measurements in 2009 and 650 (mean age=12.3) and 178 (mean age=13.1) learners were reassessed after the relocation of the airport in 2010 and 2011, respectively. The results revealed no significant effect of the groups on reading comprehension across the testing periods, but significant effects of home language were demonstrated on reading comprehension. These findings suggest that exposure to chronic aircraft noise may have a lasting impact on children's reading comprehension functioning.

Working memory in ADHD: a comparison of British and South African children.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to investigate the following issues: (a) Do students with ADHD have a pervasive pattern of impaired working memory skills across verbal and visuospatial domains? (b) is there evidence for a similar pattern of deficits across U.K. and South African students? and (c) which working memory tasks can effectively identify students with ADHD from TD peers? METHOD: Four groups of children participated in the study: students with ADHD and TD from the United Kingdom and students with ADHD and TD from South Africa. RESULTS: There were several key findings. First, the students with ADHD in South Africa performed significantly worse than the other groups (ADHD-United Kingdom, TD-United Kingdom, and TD-South Africa) in verbal and visuospatial short-term memory measures. Next, students with ADHD in the United Kingdom and South Africa exhibited working memory deficits extended to the visuospatial domain. This pattern was consistent with previous research in developmental populations (Alloway et al., 2006) and in adult samples (Kane et al., 2004; Park et al., 2002). A related finding was that the memory deficits in the students with ADHD (in the United Kingdom and South Africa) were significantly worse than their TD counterparts even when IQ and age were statistically accounted. These persistent deficits fit well accumulating evidence of the importance of working memory in learning. CONCLUSION: Practical implications for education will be discussed in the context of appropriate diagnosis and support in the classroom.

The impact of aircraft noise exposure on South African children's reading comprehension: the moderating effect of home language.

Given the limited studies conducted within the African continent, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of chronic aircraft noise exposure and the moderating effect of home language on the learners' reading comprehension. The sample comprised 437 (52%) senior primary learners exposed to high levels of aircraft noise (Experimental group) and 337 (48%) learners residing in a quieter area (Control group). Of these, 151 learners in the Experimental group spoke English as a first language (EFL) and 162 spoke English as a second language (ESL). In the Control group, the numbers were similarly divided (EFL n = 191; ESL n = 156). A univariate General Linear Model was used to investigate the effects of aircraft noise exposure and language on reading comprehension, while observing for the possible impact of intellectual ability, gender, and socioeconomic status on the results. A significant difference was observed between ESL and EFL learners in favor of the latter (F 1,419 = 21.95, P =.000). In addition a substantial and significant interaction effect was found between the experimental and control groups for the two language groups. For the EFL speakers there was a strong reduction in reading comprehension in the aircraft noise group. By contrast this difference was not significant for the ESL speakers. Implications of the findings and suggestions for further research are made in the article.

Working memory functioning in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): A comparison between subtypes and normal controls.

OBJECTIVE: Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) often experience working memory difficulties. However, research findings are inconsistent, making it difficult to compare results across studies. There are several reasons for this inconsistency. Firstly, most studies make no distinction between ADHD subtypes, despite evidence that predominantly inattentive ADHD (ADHD/I) represents a different neurocognitive profile to the hyperactive-impulsive subtype (ADHD/HI). Secondly, documented studies use different tests of working memory which may be measuring different skills. Some assess only the verbal components of working memory and others the visuo-spatial; few of the tests assess both. Further, some tests employ a recognition methodology and others use recall, which require different brain regions and cognitive processes. To clarify these inconsistencies, the verbal and visuo-spatial working memory of children with ADHD/I, ADHD/HI and a control group with no ADHD symptoms were compared. METHOD: The Automated Working Memory Assessment and Ravens Coloured Progressive Matrices were administered to 72 children (ADHD/I n = 27; ADHD/HI n = 25; control n = 20). RESULTS: The ADHD groups performed similarly, but were significantly poorer than the control group in all aspects of working memory. Storage abilities were stronger than processing abilities, while verbal and visuo-spatial abilities were equally developed for all groups. CONCLUSION: ADHD-related deficits were apparent across working memory components, even when IQ was controlled for, suggesting a generalised impairment.

Use of the 1996 Griffiths Mental Development Scales for infants: a pilot study with a Black, South African sample.

OBJECTIVES: Over the last few years, researchers have made a significant effort to address the need for more reliable and valid assessment measures for South Africa. The objective of this study was to acquire empirical data regarding the use and application of the Griffiths Mental Development Scales with Black South African infants. METHODS: Specifically, the study aimed to make a preliminary cross-cultural comparison of the performance of Black South African infants and the British normative sample of the Griffiths Scales (Huntley 1996). The South African sample consisted of 40 infants aged between 13 and 16 months, with approximately equal numbers of boys and girls. RESULTS: The finding was that the South African sample performed significantly better than the British norm group on the Eye-Hand Co-ordination Scale (Scale D) and the Performance Scale (Scale E), while the norm group scored significantly higher on the Personal-Social Scale (Scale B). CONCLUSION: The implications of these results are discussed in the paper.