Current research has shown that comprehension can vary based on text and question types, and that readers’ word recognition and background knowledge may account for these differences. Other reader characteristics such as semantic and syntactic awareness, inferencing, planning/organizing have also all been linked to reading comprehension, but have not been examined with regard to specific text and question types. The aim of this study was to explore the relationships between reader characteristics, text types, and question types, in children aged 10–14. We sought to compare children’s performance when comprehending narrative, expository, and functional text, as well as to explore differences between children’s performance on comprehension questions that assess their literal or inferential comprehension of a passage. To examine such differences, we analyzed the degree to which distinct cognitive skills (semantic and syntactic awareness, inferencing, planning/organizing) contribute to performance on varying types of texts and questions. This study found main effects of text and question types, as well as an interaction in which relations between question types varied between text types. Analyses indicated that higher order cognitive skills, including the ability to make inferences and to plan and organize information, contribute to comprehension of more complex text (e.g., expository vs. narrative) and question types (e.g., inferential vs. literal), and therefore are important components of reading for later elementary and middle school students. These findings suggest that developing these skills in early elementary school may better equip students for comprehending the texts they will encounter in higher grades.

Sluggish Cognitive Tempo (SCT) has been defined by a constellation of caregiver-reported symptoms that includes daydreaming, difficulty initiating and sustaining effort, lethargy, and physical underactivity. These symptoms have been observed in both typically developing children and in some children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)-especially those with the predominantly inattentive presentation. Symptoms of SCT (typically identified via rating scales) appear separable from DSM inattentive ADHD symptoms, but have also been associated with internalizing symptoms. To date, however, few studies have examined associations among ratings of SCT and speeded performance-based measures. The present study examined associations among SCT, processing speed, and internalizing symptoms in a sample of 566 clinically referred children (65% male), while also considering how these associations change with age. Findings revealed small but significant age-related differences in the strength of associations between the "Daydreamy" element of SCT and processing speed (as measured by the WISC-IV Processing Speed Index-PSI), with stronger associations observed in younger children. Importantly, this difference in strength of association was not accounted for by the change in WISC-IV test forms for PSI subtests between 6-7 year-olds and 8-16 year-olds. Conversely, the association between SCT and internalizing symptoms remained generally consistent across the age range. Findings contribute to further characterization of the "slowness" of responding seen in SCT and may have implications for behavioral intervention.

Since 1984 the law concerning safety belts has been implemented; this paper deals with the findings in 386 victims of motor accidents who were x-rayed between 1981 and 1989. Minor injuries have been ignored. The number of passengers wearing belts increased by 30% after 1984. The number of passenger injuries did not decrease. Injuries directly caused by the belts included a small number of fractures of clavicles, the sternum and ribs and one pelvic fracture, one serious abdominal injury with tearing of the mesenteric artery and one ruptured spleen. An indirect result of wearing seat belts was a marked increase in cervical whiplash injuries and some increase in thoracic vertebral fractures. None of the belt induced injuries proved fatal. Amongst those using seat belts there was a significantly lower fatality rate and injuries causing prolonged disability. In particular, using seat belts, serious injuries to the skull and brain were reduced by 80%. Similarly injuries to the abdomen, the odontoid, pelvis and hip joint were greatly reduced. The advantages of wearing a seat belt greatly outweigh the disadvantages.