Learning disability (LD) is one of the nonnormative life events that children are diagnosed usually after starting primary school. LD is a biologically originated, neurodevelopmental disorder that demonstrates cognitive abnormalities, impairments in verbal and nonverbal information processing of brain, and/or disruption in processing abilities of individuals manifested by significant difficulties in the acquisition and use of listening, speaking, reading, writing, reasoning, and/or mathematical abilities (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders [DSM-5]; American

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We examined the influences of culture, maternal malaise, household chaos, and both family-wide and child-specific aspects of parenting on children’s adjustment in a socioeconomically diverse sample of 118 English and 100 Turkish families. Each family included two children aged 4-8 years, enabling the separation of within- and between-family factors by modelling the multilevel structure of the data. Mothers reported about the parent-child relationship, contextual factors, child behaviours (internalising, externalising and prosocial). Maternal differential treatment, age, and gender were tested as sources of within-family variance, and culture, household chaos, maternal malaise, and family-wide parenting were tested as sources of between-family variance. The current study adds to the literature by showing the effects of maternal treatment were different for Turkish and English children. Conversely, similar effects across cultures were revealed for age, gender, household chaos and maternal malaise.

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Ecocultural theory defines culture as a broad context that includes the tasks, goals, beliefs, values, and resources of society. According to ecocultural theory, culture shapes families’ resources, routines, goals, and parenting practices. In turn, these characteristics of family ecology and parenting determine child development. Ecocultural theory is one of the modern approaches that examine the adaptation of children with disabilities and their families. This chapter aims to outline the relationship between cultural values and families’ support resources, and their influence on adaptation of the families and their children with learning disability (LD) within the framework of ecocultural theory. Previous studies supported that cultural values determine public knowledge, awareness, beliefs, and attitudes about LD. This chapter outlines both the detrimental and positive effects of the public knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes on families’ support resources. Also, families’ diversified support resources are detailed, and their differential influences on family and child development are elaborated. In the chapter, an integrated model is presented based on findings of previous empirical studies and ecocultural perspective. The model might enhance a culturally sensitive understanding of the experience of families and children. This chapter can also guide researchers in developing more comprehensive and effective intervention programs for the target group.

Objective Mother-child participation in conversations about past events in early childhood has an invaluable influence on child development. While previous studies have focused on the investigation of maternal styles of talking about the past, the role of maternal attitudes towards reminiscing has been overlooked. This paper presents two studies on the development and validation of two separate scales that assess maternal attitudes in mother-child conversations: the Maternal Attitudes Towards Mother-Child Reminiscing Scale (MCRS) and MCRS-Context. Design In Study 1, we have investigated the factor structure of the MCRS ( N = 312) and MCRS-Context ( N = 278) with a sample of mothers whose children aged between 3 and 7. In Study 2, we aimed to test the factor structure obtained by exploratory factor analysis (EFA) in Study 1 using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and we have investigated the psychometric properties of the scales with a different sample of 223 mothers. Results EFA and CFA results have suggested four theoretically consistent factors of the MCRS (interest, competency, satisfaction and difficulty) and a one-factor structure for the MCRS-Context (general positive attitudes in comparison to other mothers). To test construct validity, the relationships with related independent scales were investigated, indicating generally significant and theoretically expected correlations. The test/re-test, Cronbach alpha and composite reliability scores indicated acceptable internal consistency for both scales. Conclusions The findings of both studies provided evidence for the validity and reliability of these scales in evaluating maternal attitudes towards mother-child conversations. It is thought that the studies presented here will provide useful insight for future studies for understanding the link between maternal cognitions and reminiscing practices in mother-child conversations and the effect of that link on child development.

Purpose Aeromedical training is meant to train aircrew in combating physiological problems that they might face in flight. Given the importance of the training, there are limited studies in the literature investigating the anxiety levels during aeromedical training along with training outcomes. This study aims to assess the untrained participants’ anxiety levels before and after aeromedical training, investigate the differences in anxiety levels across different physiological training devices and determine whether participants’ anxiety levels affect their G tolerances. Design/methodology/approach This study was carried out on 61 healthy male subjects (n = 61) who had applied for initial aeromedical training. Anxiety surveys and visual analog scales were administered before and after the practical aeromedical training. In addition, blood pressure and heart rate measurements were carried out. Findings Participants had significantly higher anxiety levels before human centrifuge training (pre-Glab) than before the altitude chamber training (pre-hypobaric). Participants who experienced G-induced loss of consciousness (G-LOC) had slightly more anxiety reported than the non-G-LOC group. There was a significant decrease between pre-Glab and post-Glab (after the human centrifuge training) and between pre-hypobaric and post-hypobaric (after the altitude chamber training) anxiety levels. The incidence of G-LOC was lower in participants having higher pre-G-Lab blood pressure. However, the difference in anxiety levels between the G-LOC group and the non-G-LOC group was not statistically significant. Research limitations/implications In this study, state anxiety inventory was not performed after human centrifuge training as centrifuge training lasted for around 5 min only, and it is not advisable to repeat state anxiety inventory in such short periods. Blood pressure was not measured after G-Lab training because human centrifuge training is hard training and has an impact on blood pressure. Hence, it would have been difficult to distinguish whether the blood pressure change was due to anxiety or hard physical activity. These limitations, especially for the G-Lab, caused us to evaluate state anxiety only with VAS. It would be worthwhile to repeat similar studies with objective measurements before and after the training. Practical implications This information suggests that instructors who train the applicants on aerospace medicine be ready for the possible consequences of anxiety. Originality/value There are only a few centers in the world that include all the physiological training devices (practical aeromedical training laboratories) together. To the best of authors’ knowledge, there are no studies in the literature investigating the differences in anxiety levels across various physiological training devices. The studies about the effect of anxiety levels on aeromedical training outcomes and anxiety levels before and after the training are scant.

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