The natural history of gambling and drinking problems among casino employees

From an eligible population of 9,943 casino employees, 6,067 volunteered to participate in this study. Of this sample, 1,176 provided data at 3 observation points approximately 12 months apart. Using the South Oaks Gambling Screen (SOGS; H. R. Lesieur & S. B. Blume, 1987) and the CAGE (J. A. Ewing, 1984) questionnaire, the authors prospectively examined the prevalence and patterns of alcohol and gambling problems among those employees. Among the casino employees with gambling and drinking problems, a segment displayed the capacity to diminish those problems even when the difficulties had reached disordered levels. The authors also examined the comorbidity of gambling and drinking as well as the relationships among changes in SOGS scores and CAGE scores and changes in demographic and biological variables. The women were more likely to decrease their problem-drinking scores, but not their gambling scores, when compared with the men. In addition, 2 key variables (i.e., disabling depression and dissatisfaction with one's personal life) emerged as predictors of transitions to healthier levels of disordered gambling. The authors cautiously suggest, in light of the results taken together, that more fluctuation is associated with gambling and drinking problems than previously thought and that the conventional wisdom about disordered gambling as "always progressive" needs reconsideration.     

Links between behavioral regulation and preschoolers' literacy, vocabulary, and math skills

This study investigated predictive relations between preschoolers' (N=310) behavioral regulation and emergent literacy, vocabulary, and math skills. Behavioral regulation was assessed using a direct measure called the Head-to-Toes Task, which taps inhibitory control, attention, and working memory, and requires children to perform the opposite of what is instructed verbally. Hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) was utilized because children were nested in 54 classrooms at 2 geographical sites. Results revealed that behavioral regulation significantly and positively predicted fall and spring emergent literacy, vocabulary, and math skills on the Woodcock Johnson Tests of Achievement (all ps<.05). Moreover, growth in behavioral regulation predicted growth in emergent literacy, vocabulary, and math skills over the prekindergarten year (all ps<.05), after controlling for site, child gender, and other background variables. Discussion focuses on the role of behavioral regulation in early academic achievement and preparedness for kindergarten.     

Friendship, proximity, and self-disclosure

Patterns of self-disclosure were explored by means of a questionnaire administered to pairs of roommates and hallmates (non-roommates living on the same floor) in freshman dormitories. It was predicted and found that friendship was more highly related to self-disclosure in intimate than in non-intimate topic areas, whereas proximity was more highly related to disclosure in non-intimate than in intimate areas. It was also found that friendship and intimate disclosure were more highly related among women than among men. These findings emphasize the interplay of personal, role-related, and environmental factors which underlie patterns of friendship and self-disclosure. They also point to the importance of viewing self-disclosure in differentiated terms, rather than as single monolithic entity. Other findings of both substantive and methodological interest are reported. For example, there was a strong tendency for respondents to overemphasize the degree to which their patterns of giving and receiving personal information were symmetrical. There was also a tendency for respondents to report giving more disclosure than they received in non-intimate areas, but not in intimate areas.     

希望理论与认知心理治疗的整合

作为传统心理学与积极心理学之间的重要桥梁,希望可以被整合进入认知心理治疗中.咨询实践也证明,将希望理论与先前基于症状减少策略的认知疗法整合,心理治疗不仅可以减少患者的症状,而且能帮助其建立力量感并增加长期的生活满意度.通过界定希望的概念;将希望模型与相关模型进行比较,最后,提出在认知疗法的不同阶段运用希望理论的策略.     

Links between parental psychological violence, other family disturbances, and children's adjustment

In a sample of 143 parent-child dyads from two-parent and separated families, this investigation documented the links between parental psychological violence and separation or divorce, severity of parental conflict, triangulation of the child in this conflict, and polarized parent-child alliances. The unique and combined contributions of all these variables to children's behavior problems were also assessed. Participants were parents, mostly mothers, and their 10-12-year-old child. They were recruited through schools, community organizations, and newspapers. Questionnaires were administered at home. Findings suggest that separated families undergo more relational disturbances than two-parent families (more severe conflicts, more triangulation, stronger parent-child alliances), but the amount of parental psychological violence was similar in both groups. Psychological violence was associated with the severity of parental conflict, especially in two-parent families. Triangulation of the child in parental conflict was another correlate of psychological violence. Once all variables were controlled for, psychological violence remained the only significant correlate of children's externalized behavior problems. These findings raise the importance of preventing psychological violence toward children, especially in families plagued with severe parental conflicts.     

希望理论与认知心理治疗的整合

作为传统心理学与积极心理学之间的重要桥梁,希望可以被整合进入认知心理治疗中。咨询实践也证明,将希望理论与先前基于症状减少策略的认知疗法整合,心理治疗不仅可以减少患者的症状,而且能帮助其建立力量感并增加长期的生活满意度。通过界定希望的概念;将希望模型与相关模型进行比较,最后,提出在认知疗法的不同阶段运用希望理论的策略。     

Links between self-reported and laboratory behavioral impulsivity

Havik, M., Jakobson, A., Tamm, M., Paaver, M., Konstabel, K., Uusberg, A., Allik, J., Ööpik, V. & Kreegipuu, K. (2012). Links between self‐reported and laboratory behavioral impulsivity. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 216–223. A major problem in the research considering impulsivity is the lack of mutual understanding on how to measure and define impulsivity. Our study examined the relationship between self‐reported impulsivity, behavioral excitatory and inhibitory processes and time perception. Impulsivity – fast, premature, thoughtless or disinhibited behavior – was assessed in 58 normal, healthy participants (30 men, mean age 21.9 years). Self‐reported impulsivity as measured by Adaptive and Maladaptive Impulsivity Scale (AMIS) and behavioral excitatory and inhibitory processes as measured by Stop Signal Task were not directly related. Time perception, measured by the retrospective Time Estimation Task, was related to both. The length of the perceived time interval was positively correlated to AMIS Disinhibition subscale and negatively to several Stop Signal Task parameters. The longer subjects perceived the duration to last, the higher was their score on Disinhibition scale and the faster were their reactive responses in the Stop Signal Task. In summary our findings support the idea of cognitive tempo as a possible mechanism underlying impulsive behavior.     

Comparison between immigrant and Spanish native-born pathological gambling patients

The study compared clinical, psychopathological, and personality profiles between immigrants and Spanish native-born pathological gambling patients. A total of 1,601 native-born and 133 immigrant patients attending treatment at a specialized hospital unit were administered a battery of questionnaires during clinical assessment. Outcome measures were compared between both groups and the incremental predictive accuracy of the area of origin was examined using a regression model. Native-born Spaniards showed a mean 2.6 yr. greater duration of the disorder, while immigrants scored higher on South Oaks Gambling Screen, frequency of going to casinos, and total money spent (in a single day and/or to recover losses). General psychopathology and personality scores did not differ between the cohorts. However, immigration from Asia had a statistically significantly incremental validity for pathological gambling in South Oaks Gambling Screen scores. Both cohorts shared more similarities than differences in their gambling profiles.     

Links between mothers' and children's social competence and associations with maternal adjustment.

Extended previous research on family factors related to children's social competence by examining links between 3 domains of maternal social competence (social skills, social frames, network size) and 3 domains of children's social competence (social skills, peer-rated social preference, and network size) in a sample of 78 mothers and their kindergarten children (42 girls, 36 boys). The mediational role of maternal social competence in the association between mothers' depression and interpersonal sensitivity symptoms and children's social competence was also tested. Results supported associations between all 3 domains of mothers' and children's social competence, with maternal social skills the most frequent predictor of children's social competence. Gender differences suggested that maternal social competence was more strongly related to sons' peer acceptance and daughters' social skills. A mediational model received preliminary support for girls, with maternal psychological symptoms related to girls' social competence via maternal social skills. Implications include the need for continued study of maternal social competence as a family factor related to children's peer functioning and the development of family-based interventions for young children experiencing peer problems.     

Entropy,semantic relatedness and proximity

Although word co-occurrences within a document have been demonstrated to be semantically useful, word interactions over a local range have been largely neglected by psychologists due to practical challenges. Shannon’s (Bell Systems Technical Journal, 27, 379–423, 623–665, 1948) conceptualization of information theory suggests that these interactions should be useful for understanding communication. Computational advances make an examination of local word–word interactions possible for a large text corpus. We used Brants and Franz’s (2006) dataset to generate conditional probabilities for 62,474 word pairs and entropy calculations for 9,917 words in Nelson, McEvoy, and Schreiber’s (Behavior Research Methods, Instruments, & Computers, 36, 402–407, 2004) free association norms. Semantic associativity correlated moderately with the probabilities and was stronger when the two words were not adjacent. The number of semantic associates for a word and the entropy of a word were also correlated. Finally, language entropy decreases from 11 bits for single words to 6 bits per word for four-word sequences. The probabilities and entropies discussed here are included in the supplemental materials for the article.     

Links between mothers' coping styles, toddler reactivity, and sensitivity to toddler's negative emotions

The extent to which engaged maternal coping styles moderate the association between toddler's temperamental reactivity and mothers' sensitivity to children's negative emotions was examined in 89 mother-child dyads. Primiparous mothers completed a measure of coping styles prenatally. When toddlers were 16 months old, mothers completed a measure of perceived toddler temperament and a self-report of how they respond to toddler negative emotions, and maternal sensitivity and temperamental reactivity were observed during emotionally arousing tasks in the laboratory. Mothers' disengaged coping style was positively associated with self-reported insensitive responses to children's negative emotions. Engaged coping moderated the association between toddler temperamental reactivity and both self-reported insensitive responses and observed maternal sensitivity, such that temperamental reactivity was more strongly linked with less sensitive maternal behavior when engaged coping was low.     

Personal relative deprivation, delay discounting, and gambling

Several lines of research have provided evidence for a relation between personal relative deprivation and gambling. Despite this knowledge, little is known about possible psychological mechanisms through which personal relative deprivation exerts its influence on gambling. The authors of this research sought to examine one such mechanism: the desire for immediate rewards. Using complementary approaches to studying psychological mechanisms, they tested in four studies the general hypothesis that personal relative deprivation translates into gambling urges and behavior in part via increased desires for immediate, even if smaller, rewards. Study 1 showed that an experimental manipulation of personal relative deprivation increased participants' preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards during a delay-discounting task. Studies 2 and 3 showed that a decreased willingness to delay gratification led to increased gambling behavior. Study 4 showed that preferences for smaller-sooner over larger-later rewards statistically mediated the relation between self-reported personal relative deprivation and gambling urges among a community sample of gamblers. The implications and potential applications of these findings are discussed.     

The relation between proximity and brightness similarity in dot patterns

The Gestalt studies demonstrated the tendency to visually organize dots on the basis of similarity, proximity, and global properties such as closure, good continuation, and symmetry. The particular organization imposed on a collection of dots is thus determined by many factors, some local, some global. We discuss computational reasons for expecting the initial stages of grouping to be achieved by processes with purely local support. In the case of dot patterns, the expectation is that neighboring dots are grouped as a function of proximity and similarity of contrast, by processes that are independent of the overall organization and the various global factors. We describe experiments that suggest a purely local relationship between proximity and brightness similarity in perceptual grouping.     

Familiarity, group exposure, and risk-taking behavior in gambling

This research studied the effect of familiarity and individual versus group participation on risk-taking behavior in gambling (American roulette). Thirty-eight subjects (21 men and 17 women) were randomly selected and assigned to two experimental groups that gambled either individually or in groups. Results revealed that players bet more heavily as they became more familiar with the game, whether playing alone or in groups.     

Attitudes to,and habits of,gambling in Britain

This study aimed to investigate the relationship between demographic (e.g. age, sex) psychological belief (e.g. alienation, conservatism) and attitudes towards, and habits of, gambling. Over 250 people from a variety of backgrounds completed a number of standardized questionnaires. A factor analysis of the Attitude to Gambling scale revealed five clearly interpretable factors which were computed into subscale scores and related to the independent variables. A canonical correlation showed that age and alienation were most closely related to gambling attitudes. Analysis of the Gambling Habits scale showed that sex, age and education best discriminated the Ss' habits of gambling. A correlational analysis between attitudes and habits yielded some interesting and predictable findings. The results are discussed in terms of the previous literature in the field.     

Links between maternal and paternal support,depressive feelings and social and academic self-efficacy in adolescence

This study focused on the role of paternal and maternal support on various indicators of adolescent adjustment. Similar patterns of support in the parental couple (father and mother both high or both low) and mixed patterns (father high and mother low or vice versa) as perceived by adolescents were considered. The specific purpose was to examine the role of both similar (parental consistency) and mixed (parental inconsistency) patterns of parental support on depressive feelings and social and academic self-efficacy. For parental inconsistency, differences between the maternal and paternal role were investigated. Gender and age differences were also examined. Data were collected from a sample of 1118 Italian students, aged 14 to 18 years, living in intact families, using a self-report questionnaire and ANOVAs were performed. Results indicated that high levels of perceived support from both parents were related to lower levels of depressive feelings and higher levels of social and academic self-efficacy. Mixed patterns of support in the parental couple did not differ from each other for any of the indicators considered. No interactions between typology of support, gender and age were observed. Findings confirmed the importance of studying paternal and maternal support interactions rather than focusing on their independent role.     

Links between neuroticism, emotional distress, and disengaging attention: evidence from a single-target RSVP task

Anxiety and depression are often associated with attention control deficits, but few studies have explored whether neuroticism can account for these links. In the present study, undergraduate students (n=146) completed self-report measures of neuroticism, worry, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression and also completed a visual attention task in which they were asked to identify a red target letter embedded within a rapid sequence of items. Neuroticism was associated with detection of the target when it was preceded by a distracter with which it shared a feature in common (a green letter). Specifically, these distracters produced longer attentional blinks in individuals with elevated levels of neuroticism. In contrast, target detection was not significantly associated with worry, anxious arousal, or anhedonic depression. We discuss the implications of this link between neuroticism and attention for cognitive models of emotional distress and disorders.     

Links between attachment theory and systemic practice: some proposals

This paper considers some of the current thinking in relation to attachment theory and systemic theory in understanding the development of adult couple relationships in terms of their attachment to each other and of their adaptations as a family. There is an increasing interest in adults' attachments to their own parental (attachment) figures, how these have an impact on the attachment relationship they have with their own children, and to the idea that adult partners can become attachment figures for each other with the potential for development being lifelong. Discussion focuses on attachment issues within the family group and the relevance of these to systemic practice.