To tell the truth or not: What effortful control, false belief, and sympathy tell us about preschoolers' instrumental lies.

This study aimed to examine the predictors of instrumental lies in preschool children, specifically focusing on false belief, effortful control, and sympathy. Instrumental lies are intentional falsehoods used to achieve personal goals such as avoiding punishment and obtaining an undeserved reward. A total of 192 preschool children (age range = 32-73 month-olds), along with their mothers and fathers, participated in the study. The Temptation Resistance Paradigm, an experimental task, was employed to elicit instrumental lies from the children. The children also completed first-order false belief measures, and their parents filled out questionnaires assessing their children's effortful control and sympathy skills. Results revealed a positive association between children's effortful control and their decisions to tell instrumental lies. However, no significant relationship was found between false belief and instrumental lying. Age moderated the link between sympathy and the decision to tell instrumental lies, with sympathy being negatively associated with lie-telling behavior among older children but showing no effect among younger children. The study variables did not predict the maintenance of instrumental lies. Overall, this study provides valuable insights into the role of effortful control and sympathy as underlying temperamental and emotional processes influencing children's decisions to engage in instrumental lie-telling.

Exposure to Recurring Community Violence Scale: A validity and reliability study in Turkey.

Recent years have witnessed a substantial increase in the interest in violence occurring at home or school, as well as in neighborhoods. Yet, there is no standardized instrument to measure community violence in Turkey. Thus, the present study aimed to adapt the Exposure to Recurring Community Violence Scale into Turkish and explore its psychometric properties. The sample consisted of 210 participants (57% were females) between 18 and 64 years (Mage = 38.33, SD = 10.67). For criterion-related validity, we evaluated the participants' scores on the Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), the Traumatic Life Events Form, the Relationship Quality Scale, and a Demographic Information Form. We performed all statistical analyses using the FACTOR and SPSS v.20 programs. Exploratory factor analysis revealed a 2-factor structure for the scale (victimization and witnessing), explaining 52% of the total variance. As expected, the witnessing and victimization scores were correlated with the subscales of the BSI, the number of traumatic life events, and the subscales of The Relationship Quality Scale. For reliability concerns, we calculated Cronbach's α coefficients to be 0.79 for the victimization and 0.90 for the witnessing. Besides, the findings revealed acceptable psychometric properties for the Turkish version of the Exposure to Recurring Community Violence Scale. Thereby, we concluded that the scale can be used as a reliable and valid measure in the Turkish context. Overall, the scale will likely allow further research to scrutinize the risk factors and consequences of community violence.

An Evaluation of the "I am Learning to Protect Myself with Mika" Program Using the "What If" Situations Test.

Despite the recent development of a plethora of child sexual abuse prevention programs in recent years, few studies have attempted to evaluate their effectiveness using a standardized measure. Therefore, we attempted to test the effectiveness of the "I am learning to protect myself with Mika" program using a valid and reliable tool: the "What If" Situations Test (WIST). Eighty-one preschool children and their parents and teachers participated in this study. Ultimately, we compared the data of 43 children (M =  66.78, SD =  8.84) in the intervention group and 38 children (M =  69.28, SD =  6.78) in the wait-list group. The findings revealed that the intervention group had increased knowledge of inappropriate touching recognition and personal safety. The say, tell, report, and WIST total skill scores also increased in the intervention group. These findings are promising and may pave the way for disseminating the program in Turkish preschools.

Glutathione S-Transferases and Cytochrome P450 Enzyme Expression in Patients with Intracranial Tumors: Preliminary Report of 55 Patients.

OBJECTIVE: Intracranial tumors are one of the most frightening and difficult-to-treat tumor types. In addition to surgery, protocols such as chemotherapy and radiotherapy also take place in the treatment. Glutathione S-transferase (GST) and cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes are prominent drug-metabolizing enzymes in the human body. The aim of this study is to show the expression of GSTP1, GSTM1, CYP1A1, and CYP1B1 in different types of brain tumors and compare our results with those in the literature. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The expression of GSTP1, GSTM1, CYP1A1, and CYP1B1 was analyzed using immunostaining in 55 patients with intracranial tumors in 2016-2017. For GST and CYP expression in normal brain tissue, samples of a portion of surrounding normal brain tissue as well as a matched far neighbor of tumor tissue were used. The demographic features of the patients were documented and the expression results compared. RESULTS: The mean age of the patients was 46.72 years; 29 patients were female and 26 were male. Fifty-seven specimens were obtained from 55 patients. Among them, meningioma was diagnosed in 12, metastases in 12, glioblastoma in 9, and pituitary adenoma in 5. The highest GSTP1, GSTM1, and CYP-1A1 expressions were observed in pituitary adenomas. The lowest GSTP1 expression was detected in glioblastomas and the lowest CYP1B1 expression in pituitary adenomas. CONCLUSION: GSTP1 and CYP expression is increased in intracranial tumors. These results should be confirmed with a larger series and different enzyme subtypes.

Coping Strategies and Depression Among College Students Following Child Sexual Abuse in Turkey.

The objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between type of coping style and depression in college students with child sexual abuse experience. A total of 1,055 college students completed self-report measures to assess depressive symptoms, coping strategies, and child sexual abuse history. This study was conducted with a subset of 125 college students who reported that they had been sexually abused in childhood. They were divided into depressive and nondepressive groups according to their depressive symptoms. Data was collected with the Childhood Sexual Abuse Measurement, the Beck Depression Inventory, and the Coping Styles of Stress Scale. Family characteristics were measured with a demographic questionnaire. Analyses involved multiple regression to test for predictive effects. Among college students with child sexual abuse histories, parental education level and both problem-focused and emotion-focused strategies significantly explained depression scores.

Intergenerational transmission of childhood maltreatment and offspring behavioral adjustment problems and competence.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have consistently highlighted that exposure to childhood maltreatment adversely affects the developmental domains of subsequent generations. Little, however, is known about the relationship between maternal childhood maltreatment history and adolescent development, as well as the mediator role of offspring childhood maltreatment. OBJECTIVE: The current study attempts to investigate the mediating role of offspring childhood maltreatment in the relationship between maternal childhood maltreatment history and offspring behavioral adjustment problems and competence. METHODS: Participants were 1102 adolescents aged 10-15 years (Mage = 12.14, SD = 1.22) and their mothers (Mage = 39.40, SD = 5.31). Participating adolescents filled out self-report instruments assessing their childhood maltreatment by their mothers, self-esteem, academic performance, loneliness, and prosocial and aggressive behaviors between October 2018 and May 2019. In addition, we collected data from mothers on their childhood maltreatment history. RESULTS: We analyzed the data through a structural equation model. The findings revealed insignificant direct effects of maternal childhood maltreatment history on offspring behavioral adjustment problems and competence. Yet, indirect effects demonstrated that offspring maltreatment by mothers mediated the relationship between maternal childhood maltreatment history and offspring behavioral adjustment problems and competence. Maternal childhood maltreatment history was significantly associated with offspring maltreatment (ß = 0.30; p < .001), which in turn was linked to a higher level of behavioral adjustment problems (ß = 0.40; p < .001) and a lower level of competence (ß = -0.71; p < .001). CONCLUSION: The research findings extend our understanding of the relationship between maternal childhood maltreatment history and offspring behavioral adjustment problems and competence, identifying the mediating role of offspring maltreatment.

Problem-Focused Coping and Teacher Emotional Violence: A Serial Mediation Analysis.

Although school violence is a serious problem, teacher emotional violence that has short- and long-term detrimental effects on children's development is often overlooked. Considering the potential negative effects, it is important to determine teacher characteristics associated with teacher emotional violence, especially in societies where the prevalence rate of emotional violence is high. The current study investigated the role of teacher stress and burnout and favorable attitudes toward emotional violence in the association between problem-focused coping and teacher emotional violence. Between February and June 2019, a cross-sectional study was conducted in 16 randomly selected secondary schools in Izmir, Turkey. In total, 205 secondary school teachers (64.4% females, Mage = 37.20 years) participated in this study. Participants completed questionnaires that assessed their use of emotional violence, favorable attitudes toward emotional violence, stress and burnout, and problem-focused coping. A serial mediation model was conducted. The model indicated that problem-focused coping was not directly associated with teacher emotional violence. Examination of indirect pathways suggested that favorable attitudes toward emotional violence did not mediate this relationship; however, stress and burnout mediated the link between problem-focused coping and emotional violence. In addition, there was a significant indirect effect from problem-focused coping to emotional violence through stress and burnout and favorable attitudes toward emotional violence. The findings indicate a potential role of teacher characteristics in preventing teacher emotional violence.

An Intervention Program for Male Juvenile Offenders in Turkey: A Pilot Randomized Trial.

Researchers have developed various intervention programs to prevent children from committing crimes and from recidivism; however, few intervention programs have been implemented in juvenile detention centers in Turkey. The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a psychoeducation program to improve the social skills of juvenile offenders. The participants consisted of 38 male adolescents aged 13 to 18 years (M = 17.02, SD = 1.14) randomly assigned to intervention (n = 19) and comparison (n = 19) groups. The results demonstrated that the interaction effects between the group and time were significant for communication and empathy skills. The intervention program prevented declines in empathy skills among program participants, while empathy skills decreased in the comparison group. The participants also improved their communication skills, while comparison group members' communication skills declined over time. Considering the limited number of intervention programs discussed in the literature, this study provides preliminary support for the literature on intervention programs.