The detrimental impact of alcohol intoxication on facets of Miranda comprehension.

OBJECTIVE: Law enforcement officers often encounter alcohol-intoxicated suspects, suggesting that many suspects are presented with the challenge of grasping the meaning and significance of their Miranda rights while intoxicated. Such comprehension is crucial, given that Miranda is intended to minimize the likelihood of coercive interrogations resulting in self-incrimination and protect suspects' constitutional rights. Yet, the effects of alcohol on individuals' ability to understand and appreciate their Miranda rights remain unknown-a gap that the present study sought to address. HYPOTHESES: Informed by alcohol myopia theory (AMT), we predicted that intoxicated individuals would demonstrate impaired Miranda comprehension compared to sober individuals and those who believed they were intoxicated (but were in fact not; i.e., placebo participants). METHOD: After health screenings, participants completed the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence-Second Edition verbal subtests, rendering a Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI) score. We randomly assigned participants to consume alcohol (n = 51; mean breath alcohol concentration [BrAC] = 0.07%), a placebo condition (n = 44; BrAC = 0.00%), or a sober control condition (n = 41; BrAC = 0.00%). All participants (N = 136) completed the Miranda Rights Comprehension Instruments (MRCI), which measured participants' understanding of the Miranda warnings, recognition of the warnings, appreciation of their rights in interrogation and court settings, and understanding of Miranda-related vocabulary. RESULTS: We found a significant effect of intoxication condition on participants' understanding of Miranda warnings (η²p = .14) and Miranda-related vocabulary (η²p = .05) when controlling for VCI scores. Specifically, intoxicated participants received lower scores for understanding of warnings compared to sober and placebo participants, and lower scores for understanding of Miranda vocabulary compared to sober participants. Alcohol did not significantly impact Miranda rights recognition or appreciation. CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intoxication may detrimentally impact some facets of Miranda comprehension. Thus, it is important that law enforcement consider refraining from questioning intoxicated suspects. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).

Phase transition specified by a binary code patterns the vertebrate eye cup.

The developing vertebrate eye cup is partitioned into the neural retina (NR), the retinal pigmented epithelium (RPE), and the ciliary margin (CM). By single-cell analysis, we showed that fibroblast growth factor (FGF) signaling regulates the CM in its stem cell­like property of self-renewal, differentiation, and survival, which is balanced by an evolutionarily conserved Wnt signaling gradient. FGF promotes Wnt signaling in the CM by stabilizing ß-catenin in a GSK3ß-independent manner. While Wnt signaling converts the NR to either the CM or the RPE depending on FGF signaling, FGF transforms the RPE to the NR or CM dependent on Wnt activity. The default fate of the eye cup is the NR, but synergistic FGF and Wnt signaling promotes CM formation both in vivo and in human retinal organoid. Our study reveals that the vertebrate eye develops through phase transition determined by a combinatorial code of FGF and Wnt signaling.

No evidence that low levels of intoxication at both encoding and retrieval impact scores on the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale.

RATIONALE: It is not uncommon for police to question alcohol-intoxicated witnesses and suspects; yet, the full extent to which intoxication impacts individuals' suggestibility in the investigative interviewing context remains unclear. OBJECTIVE: The present study sought to measure the effect of alcohol-intoxication on interviewee suggestibility by implementing a standardized suggestibility test with participants whose intoxication-state was the same at both encoding and recall. METHODS: We randomly assigned participants (N = 165) to an intoxicated (mean breath alcohol level [BrAC] at encoding = 0.06%, and BrAC at retrieval = 0.07%), active placebo (participants believed they consumed alcohol but only consumed an insignificant amount to enhance believability), or control (participants knowingly remained sober) group. An experimenter then implemented the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (GSS), which produced free recall outcomes (number of correct details and memory confabulations) and suggestibility outcomes (yielding to leading questions and changing answers in response to negative feedback from the experimenter). RESULTS: Intoxicated participants recalled fewer correct details than did placebo and control participants but did not make more confabulation errors. No effects of intoxication on suggestibility measures emerged. CONCLUSIONS: Moderately intoxicated interviewees may not be more suggestible during investigative interviews than sober interviewees. However, before concrete evidence-based policy recommendations are made to law enforcement, further research is needed examining the effects of alcohol on suggestibility in conditions that are more reflective of the legal context.

Psychometric Study of the Scale for the Assessment of Developmental Assets in the Neighborhood in a Sample of Chilean Adolescents.

The Scale for the Assessment of Developmental Assets in the Neighborhood (SADAN) has shown acceptable psychometric properties for use in Spain and Chile. However, the original factor structure of five correlated factors and a second-order factor is not yet entirely clear. This study aimed to evaluate the scale's psychometric properties of reliability and validity in a sample of Chilean adolescents. A cross-sectional design was used, with a sample of 2638 students (female = 49.1%) with an average age of 15.79 years (SD = 1.35). The results obtained when evaluating different confirmatory factor models show that the best structure is that of five correlated factors. We carry out a multigroup factor analysis up to the level of scalar invariance. We applied this analysis to the following groups: sex, type of school, and age. We conclude that the original version of the scale can be used in the Chilean context with slight modifications as it is necessary to deepen the validity evidence with external criteria.

Propiedades Psicométricas de la Versión Reducida de la Escala de Valores para el Desarrollo Positivo Adolescente (EVDPA-R) en Estudiantes Chilenos / Psychometric Properties of the Reduced Version of the Positive Adolescent Development Value Scale (EVDPA-R) in Chilean Students / Propriedades Psicométricas da Versão Reduzida da Escala de Valores para o Desenvolvimento Positivo Adolescente (EVDPA-R) em Estudantes Chilenos

Resumen Esta investigación tuvo por objetivo analizar las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Valores para el Desarrollo Positivo Adolescente (EVDPA) en estudiantes chilenos. Se estudió una muestra de 2250 estudiantes adolescentes de ambos sexos, de edades comprendidas entre los 12 y 21 años, pertenecientes a 25 establecimientos de enseñanza secundaria de Chile. Se utilizó un procedimiento robusto de análisis mediante el método de validación cruzada. Los resultados del análisis factorial exploratorio y confirmatorio, permitieron obtener una estructura factorial reducida de tres factores latentes: valores sociales, valores personales y valores individualistas. Las evidencias de fiabilidad por consistencia interna presentaron resultados favorables. Se concluye que el EVDPA, a pesar de la disminución significativa de ítems y dimensiones de primer orden, entrega evidencia suficiente para su uso en población de estudiantes adolescentes chilenos.

Abstract The objective of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of the Positive Adolescent Development Value Scale (EVDPA, according to its acronym in Spanish) in Chilean students. The sample for the study was made up of 2250 adolescent male and female students between the ages of 12 and 21, from 25 secondary schools in Chile. A robust analysis procedure based on the cross-validation method was used. The results of the exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis made it possible to obtain a reduced factorial structure with three latent factors: social values, personal values, and individualistic values. Evidence of reliability due to internal coherence was favorable. The conclusion is that despite the significant reduction of items and first-order dimensions, the EVDPA delivers sufficient evidence and can be used in the population of Chilean adolescent students.

Resumo Esta pesquisa teve como objetivo analisar as propriedades psicométricas da Escala de Valores para o Desenvolvimento Positivo Adolescente (EVDPA) em estudantes chilenos. Estudou-se uma amostra de 2250 estudantes adolescentes de ambos os sexos, de idades compreendidas entre 12 e 21 anos, pertencentes a 25 estabelecimentos de ensino secundário do Chile. Utilizou-se um procedimento robusto de análise por meio do método de validação cruzada. Os resultados da análise fatorial exploratória e confirmatória permitiram obter uma estrutura fatorial reduzida de três fatores latentes: valores sociais, valores pessoais e valores individualistas. As evidências de fiabilidade por consistência interna apresentaram resultados favoráveis. Conclui-se que a EVDPA, apesar da diminuição significativa de itens e dimensões de primeira ordem, entrega evidência suficiente para seu uso em população de estudantes adolescentes chilenos.