Running head: ARTICLE CRITIQUE

Article Critiques

Name

Institution
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Article Critiques

Article critique assignment week 3.

Geitsidou, A., & Giovazolias, T. (2016). Intimate Partner Acceptance–Rejection and

Subjective Well-Being: What is the Role of Resilience? Journal of Child and Family Studies,

25(11), 3260-3269.

Introduction

This work of research was intended to investigate three circumstances that may occur in

an environment of the relationship between two people. Hence, the paper interrogates the

relationship that exists between the apparent intimate partner rejection and subjective well-being.

Further, it sought to look into the interceding effect that resilience has in the bond between

intimate partner rejection and subjective well-being. lastly, it sought to shed light on the

differences that exist between married and unmarried people in regard to their perceived intimate

partner rejection. The study made use of 316 people in its pursuit to unravel these mysteries. Out

of these participants, half were male with an average age of 38.72 years. Through the use of

hierarchical multiple regression, the research found out that intimate partner rejection,

participants' educational status, and resilience formed the predictors of subjective well-being.

further, it was also discovered that resilience made full mediation of the connection flanked by

subjective well-being and the perceived intimate partner rejection in both females and males. The

research also arrived at a conclusion that married women suffered rejection from their partners to

a higher extent in comparison to their unmarried counterparts.

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Critique of the article

The researchers integrate well their subject of study with the references they use to

illustrate it. For instance, the choice of the work of Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Theory

done by Rohner depicts clearly the effect of the interpersonal acceptance and rejection. The

claim that it forms a warmth dimension continuum forms a critical basis of the argument of the

objectives of the research paper. This is because Rohner claims that this continuum has a direct

relationship to the eminence of the bond existing amid two persons. This supposition I agree and

disagree with it in equal measure. Acceptance has a sense of making one feel loved and therefore

respond to the other person in equal measure thereby resulting in trust and mutual good-will

between the two parties in a relationship. However, I fail to understand how rejection can bring

about a warmth dimension in a relation. Therefore, this remains an ambiguity that the authors

need to expound for the good of the readers of this report.

I am in agreement with the observation that relationship has a great impact on an

individual's resilience. There is much truth in the assertions made by the secure attachment

relationships have a greater potential for reducing negative feeling and stressful events thus

reinforcing resilience in individuals. This claim is true for both romantic and non-romantic

relationships. However, there is more effect of the same in a romantic relationship (Zimmerman

et al. 2015). However, in addition to Connor and Davidson's perception that resilience is

dependent on time, gender, age, and culture, I find it compelling that the environment within

which an individual exist has a great impact on affecting his or her resilience. This environment

may comprise of culture. However, talking about culture only as Connor and Davidson do

extremely narrows this scope. In addition to culture, this research ought to have also talked about

the financial status, level of socialization, the daily activities of individuals just to mention a few
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as factors under the whole subject of environment that have a great potential of influencing a

person's resilience.

The researchers adopted some of the best measures of carrying out this research. The use

of questionnaires allows the respondents freedom to express their innermost views concerning

the subject under study. However, this exercise would have been most fulfilling if the researchers

considered venturing conclusively into the aspect of the environment of the participant as

described above.

In conclusion, this article is invaluable in the way it contributes to the value of the role of

arbitration that resilience plays in the relationship of the acceptance and rejection and their

impacts on the subjective well-being of the individuals. Thus, this piece of work stands to heal

many relationships through instilling resilience in the concerned parties and or individuals. The

various approaches that it brings to life regarding couple therapy stand to be efficacious in

dealing with issues arising from relationships. Thus, anybody intending to engage in related

work stands to benefit greatly from the same.

Article critique assignment week 5.

ul Haq, M. A. (2016). Association between socio-demographic background and self-

esteem of university students. Psychiatric Quarterly, 87(4), 755-762.

Introduction

The paper primarily seeks to many a scrutiny of the self-esteem of the university

students. Thereby, it is to undertake the exploration of the association existing between the self-

esteem and the factors such as academic achievement, gender among others. The study made use

of 346 Punjab University students and employed Rosenberg self-esteem scale for data collection.
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For the analysis of the collected data, the researchers made use of the descriptive statistics, t-test,

and binary logistic regression. The study found out that there was higher self-esteem among

males as compared to their female counterparts. Further, the logistic regression gave indications

that self-esteem of an individual was a factor of age, family income, the medium of instruction,

student monthly expenditure, among others.

Critique of the article

In addition to the claim of the authors of this article that self-esteem brings about a

revelation of the emotion assessment of own worth, I think it also affects the way one perceives

and treats others. Therefore, the authors ought to have brought this fact out. They should have

laid emphasis on the effect of the self-esteem on interpersonal relationships. This is because the

perception of self has a greater bearing on how we perceive the world around us and everything

that exists in it. Hence, in the words of Nathaniel, as used by the authors of this article, self-

esteem determines how one can cope with the basic challenges of life.

It is true as the authors of this article claim that self-esteem is dependent on the way a

person looks at self. Further, the authors also are right in asserting that self-esteem is affected by

such factors as age, gender, physical appearance, financial status among others. However, this

fact should have made more sense if the authors gave proportions to which these factors affect

self-esteem. They also ought to have categorized these factors in terms of whether they have a

positive or a negative effect on one's self-esteem.

In explaining the effects of the self-esteem on the academic achievement of the students,

the authors fail to confidingly do so. They only give a general effect of the self-esteem on the

academic achievement without going into details. It would be more convincing if they would
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have given the extent to which self-esteem affects the students' performance. The authors exude

this similar problem when explaining the difference in the effects of the self-esteem among

different faculties of the university. The analysis of the difference in the self-esteem of the

students from the rural and urban areas was done in an excellent way as well as matters

concerning the effects of depression among students.

The use of 346 students only out of the whole population of the university has a high

possibility of giving biased results. This number should have been raised to about 1, 000

students. Further, there should have been an equal number of girls and boys participating in the

study. The use of unequal numbers stands to favor one gender against the other. Lastly, these

students should have come from across all the faculties of the university instead of just two. The

Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale was a good choice of measurement. It provides no chances of

biases (Tangney, Boone, & Baumeister, 2018). Further, the use of Binary Logistic Regression for

probability estimation is commendable. This is because it gives provision for getting an intuitive

sense of the extent of change of parameters (Besser, & Zeigler-Hill, 2014). Consequently, the

results of the study were well formulated and presented in a well-formulated way.

Conclusion

This paper is absolutely resourceful with a few inconsistencies. It sheds light on the

different factors that affect a student's self-esteem. It also describes the effects that self-esteem

and depression have on the academic achievements of the students. Therefore, it can be used for

better handling of these issues whenever they arise. However, I would prefer the details of the

extent to which the factors of self-esteem to be included in the report. Further, another

inconsistency I would prefer to be included in this report is the numerical extent of the effect of

self-esteem on the academic performance of the students.

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Article critique assignment week 6.

Altena, E., Chen, I. Y., Daviaux, Y., Ivers, H., Philip, P., & Morin, C. M. (2017). How

hyperarousal and sleep reactivity are represented in different adult age groups: Results from a

large cohort study on insomnia. Brain Sciences, 7(4), 41.

Introduction

The study sought to investigate into the relationship of the insomnia severity in various

age groups of adults to hyper-arousal and sleep reactivity. In this study, the researchers made use

of a large sample of the population. The researchers looked into the starting point facts of the

Arousal Predisposition Scale (APS) as well as the Ford Insomnia Response to Stress Test

(FIRST). This examination was done across sleep/insomnia subgroups and age. The results of

the factorial analyses of variance (ANOVA) gave an indication that there was a decrease in the

APS results with the growing age. However, it amplified with more serious sleep problems.

Concerning the FIRST scores, there were negligible differences across age groups. However,

there was a strong increase in these scores with serious sleep problems. This study indicates that

the insomnia treatment can be modified for various age groups and take into reflection the

aspects of vulnerability.

Critique of the article

The authors' decision to first define the problem (insomnia) under study was the best

approach to handling this study. This preview of the problem gives a clear perception of the

problem to every person reading this report. Hence, the readers stand a chance to clearly

articulate every detail of the report. However, the failure of the authors to indicate how APS and
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FIRST can be utilized in measuring and assessing hyper-arousal and the degree of sleep

reactivity paints a bad picture of a well-introduced report.

The use of a large cohort of participants chosen using the method of stratified

probabilistic assures the avoidance of bias in the results of the report. The division of this cohort

into various age groups and collecting their data based on this group also serves to give a

continuous nature of results. Thereby, it is easy to identify a trend of a certain trait of insomnia

(Palagini et al. 2018). Further, it is easier to make the assumption of certain characteristics

contributing to a certain trait of insomnia since each age gap has some characteristics associated

with it. Though DSM criteria would have been the best measure in carrying out this study, the

use of Insomnia Severity Index is still of a good standard. It provides for the respondent to give

details of the severity of the difficulties of sleep, fulfilment about the real worth of sleep,

perceived day deficiencies, and judgements and uncertainties about sleep. Further, this method

has satisfactory psychometric characteristics and is subtle to quantify outcomes of cure (Vaughn

et al. 2015).

The procedural analysis adopted by the researchers was the best. It ensured that every

necessary detail was noted without leaving any member of the cohort without undergoing the

process. Hence, the results provided by the researchers are likely to have a high rating of truth.

However, the study should have adopted both cross-sectional and longitudinal approaches as

opposed to the cross-sectional only as adopted by the current study.

Conclusion

The study was well conducted. The whole process was well done to the good of all,

especially the readers of the report. The results of this study have a high degree of presenting the
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reality on the ground since a large, well-selected cohort was used in collecting data. It was a

well-conducted study. It met the objectives of the researchers.

Article critique assignment week 7.

Hansson, L., & Markström, U. (2014). The effectiveness of an anti-stigma intervention in

a basic police officer training programme: a controlled study. BMC Psychiatry, 14(1), 55.

Introduction

The research seeks to do investigations into the efficacy of an anti-stigma involvement in

a plain police officer teaching programme at a Swedish university. The results of the study

indicated improvements in 3 areas. These areas included the group of intervention in the general

score of insolences and on the subject of the pro-integration and subscale open-minded, in 4 out

of 6 items evaluating literacy of mental health, and in intentional behavior. There was also

improvement of literacy of mental health in 3 items out of 6.

Critique of the article

I agree with the assertions made by the authors that discrimination and stigma command

the leading characterization of the life state of affairs of those suffering from mental ailment. The

authors go ahead to effectively defend this claim by giving real-life scenarios of these

occurrences which comprise of among others stereotypes, negative attitudes, and discrimination.

However, to solidify this point, the authors should have given more scenarios that support their

claim. On the contrary, the claim that authors put forward that efforts to assimilate people with

mental ailment existing in the community and deinstitutionalization have resulted in the

development of various forms of mental health amenities providing rehabilitation and treatment

services that are founded in the community is weak. Instead of the authors giving mere notions to
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support these assertions, they ought to have given more substantive evidence such as physical

social amenities offering these services (John et al. 2015).

I am in agreement with the view of providing training and education to the police officers

with intentions of improving their interactions and anti-stigma with the good outcomes with

those suffering from mental illness should be upheld. The authors have done well in

substantiating this argument by providing the evidence of the police behaviors towards the

victims of mental illness. There is no doubt that the police officers have handled such victims

uncouthly. Though they have shown positive attitudes towards the victims of mental illness, they

have upheld socially restrictive views and authoritarian conduct towards these members of the

community. Therefore, such initiatives as crisis intervention teams (CIT) need to receive full

support.

The use of intervention approach in conducting this study is laudable. The reason for the

goodness of this approach is that it does not only aim at collecting data but it also seeks to instill

relevant skills and knowledge to the concerned and relevant people. The participants for this

study were well chosen since this study largely concerns the police officers. However, they ought

to have come from across the entire fraternity of students as opposed to only those in their first or

third semesters of study. Concerning the measures adopted in undertaking this study, the

researchers made the best choice. Each of these measures, community attitudes towards mental

illness, mental health knowledge scale, reported and intended behavior scale, and background

characteristics and familiarity with mental illness, has an integral contribution towards this study.

The researchers made well-documented records of the results. Hence, any person seeking

to find and make comparisons of various factors of interventions of anti-stigma training among
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police officers towards the victims of mental illness can easily get the desired data and draw an

accurate conclusion.

Conclusion

This study was well conducted. The right participants were used and right measures and

methods employed. The results of the study were put in the right recording. Thus, the reader can

easily understand the findings. Although there were small anomalies, the study stands to provide

near accurate results.

Article critique assignment week 8.

Halil, U. Z. U. N., & Baran, G. The Study of the Effects of Father Training Program On

the Father-Child Relations*. Uluslararası Türkçe Edebiyat Kültür Eğitim (Teke) Dergisi, 6(3),

1798-1817.

Introduction

The aim of the study was to make a revelation of the impact that the program for training

fathers has on the fathers with youngsters going to the pre-school schooling on their relationship

with their children. There were 80 fathers in total who were subdivided into 40 control and 40

experimental groups. The study employed the covariant analysis with one factor (ANCOVA) as

well as t-test in the data scrutiny. The outcomes exposed that there is a substantial variance in

statistics between the level of relationship of the father with their children in the control group

and those in the experimental cluster. The experiment also revealed an insignificant variance

concerning the average point of pre-test-post-test-retentivity of the fathers falling in the

experimental category.
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Critique of the article

It is true that a family having healthy relationship forms the best environment for the

growth of the children who are to become healthy adults. The writers of this article approve this

assertion by telling how parents are a big determinant of the future of their children since

children largely copy almost everything from them. Hence, the family gives a child the very first

education that forms the basis of their entire life (Coatsworth et al. 2015). This argument by the

writers of the article holds a lot of sense and cannot be ignored.

If this assertion is true, then it follows that this influence largely depends on the father

since he is the head of the family and in most cases shapes the behavior of the rest of the

members of the family. Following this analysis, then the three dimensions of the father in a

family that the writers suggest are indeed pivotal. These dimensions include interaction,

accessibility, and responsibility. However, I do not agree with the authors that these facets of

father involvement in a family should be dependent on the technological advancements and

economic variances. Every father should strive to uphold these dimensions regardless of the

prevailing situations.

The study employed the use of the experimental design having experimental and control

groups. This basis which employed pre-test, post-test, and retention test is the best for such kind

of study. Therefore, the decision to use this method was well arrived at. The use of mixed design

is laudable because it gives provision for comparison between two or more variables. The

researchers also made a commendable job in diving the participants into various groups of age,

level of education, and a number of children. Therefore, this categorization makes it easier for

the interpretation of the results. The researchers also made a wise decision in using

questionnaires in obtaining details such as the number of children, level of education, and age of
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the father while using Child-Parent Relationship Scale in assessing the bond of the fathers to

their progenies. These two approaches guarantee accurate results with provision for almost

negligible errors (Coatsworth et al. 2015). However, I fail to understand the relevance of the

training that was adopted by the fathers. It only consumed time. They should have come up with

an alternative way of assessing the results among fathers such as assessing their response

towards family obligations.

Conclusion

The researchers seem to have undertaken thorough planning for the study. They carried

out this experiment meticulous while employing the best methods and approaches to various

facets of it. Hence, there is a high likelihood that the results obtained in this experiment have

negligible cases of inaccuracy.

Article critique assignment week 9.

Edens, K. M. (2008). The interaction of pedagogical approach, gender, self-regulation,

and goal orientation using student response system technology. Journal of Research on

Technology in Education, 41(2), 161-177.

Introduction

This study sought to make a comparison of an approach that is based on behavior and

uses electronic student response system technology having an approach that is oriented towards

metacognition in determining the effects on attendance, the way they prepare for exams, and

their achievement. Further, it examined the effects of interaction of the pedagogical approach

with motivational and self-regulation among students. The study employed the use of MONOVA
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in the analysis of pretest, posttest, attitudinal, and attendance data. These data shown that there

was no important variance existing amid the methodologies to success.

Critique of the article

Technology has had a substantial impact on the learning habits of a student and academic

performance at large. Consequently, it is true as the writer says that there are a lot of questions

surrounding the whole issue of the influence of the technological tools and gadgets on the

students. This technology is not wholly wrong. It is also because many people still do not know

how to use it to solve basic problems. Hence, this introduction to this paper gives a great insight

into the entire problem under study.

The authors of this article do well in solidifying the point that technology has had a great

impact on the learning and teaching processes. He highlights the cases of the military training as

well as the K-12 schools who have embraced this technology. However, the view that learning

that is based on technological tools and gadgets is more interactive and therefore promote

conceptual understanding is a subject of debate. It is not absolutely true. These technological

tools and gadgets may end up sometimes being a source of destruction to the whole learning

process.

The decision of the researchers to only use one hundred and twenty students from only

two undergraduate introductory education psychology classes risks to give erroneous results.

This sample is too few and the lack of stratification in their choice may not represent the true

picture of the situation on the ground. Hence, there is the possibility of having biased results.

However, the consistency in the grading and evaluation components is laudable. It gives an

opportunity to visualize a consistent trend.

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The analysis of the data was topnotch. The use of MANOVA gave a clear picture of the

trend and the effects of the use of technology in learning. There is no better alternative to this

method. The use of tables to present results further simplifies the entire work for future

references. Thus, the researchers made the best choice of data analysis method. This is because

MANOVA has a high possibility of meeting any assumptions made in the course of carrying out

a research (August-Brady, 2005).

Conclusion

The researchers on this subject matter were well prepared to tackle their job. From the

evidence of the way they carried out this study, one can tell that they knew what they wanted and

how they wanted it. Therefore, they resolved to optimize everything so as to give the best results.

However, the only negative issue that could risk jeopardizing their results is the small size of the

sample that was not evenly distributed.

Article critique assignment week 10.

Crawley, D., Ramos, C., & Leyva, J. (2017). Perceptions of Criminal Defendants Scale:

Development and Validation.

Introduction

This study aimed at developing and validating a ten-item Perceptions of Criminal

Defendants Scale (PCDS) in 3 studies. Study 1 involved the compilation of a list of twenty-three

qualities that are synonymous with the defendants of criminals. These items were then offered to
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295 partakers in statement arrangement for rating according to the degree that they were in

agreement with these statements. Study 2 involved validation of the 10 items using a separate

sample of 206 participants through responding to 1 of 3 biographies of the defendants who are

known publicly with the previous history of pretest and mild, moderate, and severe negative

ranking. The structure analysis gave same results as those of study 1. Study 3 involved

examination of the structures of 1-item scale in a scenario where it is applied to teenaged and

older male defendants. In this study, there was a reaffirmation of the unidimensional structure of

the PCDS.

Critique of the article

The researchers who took part in this study considered a good size of the participants.

Each study level had a substantive number of them who were totally different from those of a

different level. This approach would ensure that all the data obtained is original and dependent

only on the individual participant. Hence, it helps to alleviate the possibility of bias in the results

thereafter. However, the maximum age of 76 years for participants is not convincing whether the

information they give can be trustworthy. This is because with old age there are various

complexities that catch up with a person to an extent of impairing their sense of judgment

(Raaijmakers et al. 2015). It would be better to limit this age to 60 years.

The use of the online survey is the great approach in reaching a large number of people in

a wide extent of the area. These people are of different background and nationalities. Therefore,

the researchers stood a chance to find a rich data that would guarantee accurate and well-

informed conclusion. However, there are dangers of using this method. It is difficult to gauge the

level of truth of this data. People may tend to provide any information without giving many

considerations to the main point of the researcher. Further, the researchers are likely to find
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information from young people only. This is because the aged are less active with the internet

besides lacking interest in such online filling of questionnaires.

Owing to the results, there is no doubt that there is a dire need to have a measure of

personal assessment of defendants which is both reliable and valid. Therefore, this personal

assessment of defendants ought to be flexible to cater for various scenarios of cases that may

arise (Chessman, 2017). Hence, the recommendation provided by the study is in the right motive

in realizing the objectives of the study in the future.

Conclusion

This study was conducted in a well-structured manner. There was good coordination of

the participants. Further, the need to reach out to an extensive number of people is a true

testament to the confidence level of the obtained results. However, the issue of online surveys

should be handled with caution to avoid situations of fake data collection.

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Reference

August-Brady, M. M. (2005). The effect of a metacognitive intervention on approach to and self-

regulation of learning in baccalaureate nursing students. Journal of Nursing Education,

44(7), 297-304.

Besser, A., & Zeigler-Hill, V. (2014). Positive personality features and stress among first-year

university students: Implications for psychological distress, functional impairment, and

self-esteem. Self and Identity, 13(1), 24-44.

Chessman, C. (2017). A Source of Error: Computer Code, Criminal Defendants, and the

Constitution. Cal. L. Rev., 105, 179.

Coatsworth, J. D., Duncan, L. G., Nix, R. L., Greenberg, M. T., Gayles, J. G., Bamberger, K.

T., ... & Demi, M. A. (2015). Integrating mindfulness with parent training: Effects of the

mindfulness-enhanced strengthening families program. Developmental Psychology,

51(1), 26.

John, S., Muralidhar, R., Raman, K. J., & Gangadhar, B. N. (2015). Addressing stigma and

discrimination towards mental illness: a community based intervention programme from

India. Journal of Psychosocial Rehabilitation and Mental Health, 2(1), 79-85.

Palagini, L., Moretto, U., Novi, M., Masci, I., Caruso, D., Drake, C. L., & Riemann, D. (2018).

Lack of Resilience Is Related to Stress-Related Sleep Reactivity, Hyperarousal, and

Emotion Dysregulation in Insomnia Disorder. Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 14(05),

759-766.
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Raaijmakers, E., de Keijser, J. W., Nieuwbeerta, P., & Dirkzwager, A. J. E. (2015). Criminal

defendants' satisfaction with lawyers: perceptions of procedural fairness and effort of the

lawyer. Psychology, Crime & Law, 21(2), 186-201.

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Zimmerman, L., Darnell, D. A., Rhew, I. C., Lee, C. M., & Kaysen, D. (2015). Resilience in

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