Emotional Impulsivity in Children with ADHD Associated with Comorbid—Not ADHD—Symptomatology

Children with ADHD often demonstrate sudden and intense shifts in both positive and negative affect. This study examined the role of diagnostic status on emotional impulsivity in children utilizing ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Parents of 64 8–12 year old children (15 ADHD-only; 27 ADHD-comorbid; 22 control) completed a diagnostic structured interview and then an EMA protocol, rating the child’s affect thrice daily for 28 days. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) suggested that children with ADHD and a comorbid disorder demonstrated significantly more EMA-derived emotional impulsivity than children with ADHD only and control children. No difference was found between children with ADHD only and control children. This study suggested that children with ADHD demonstrate significantly higher levels of emotional impulsivity than control children only in the presence of a comorbid disorder.     

Understanding Middle School Students’ Physical Activity and Health-Related Quality of Life: An Expectancy-Value Perspective

Assessing and promoting physical activity and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have become major public health issues, but little is known regarding HRQOL and its relation with physical activity in adolescents. This study attempted to examine relationships among middle school students’ motivation, physical activity, and HRQOL by using the expectancy-value model as a theoretical framework. Participants were 282 middle school students who responded to a previously validated inventory assessing their motivation, physical activity, and HRQOL. Correlation analyses revealed that expectancy-related beliefs and task values were positively related to physical activity and HRQOL. Physical activity was positively associated with physical, emotional, and social functioning of HRQOL. Regression analyses showed a significant relationship between increasing expectancy-related beliefs and increasing degrees of HRQOL. This research line is promising in that it can provide useful information regarding the translation of theory to practice in influencing adolescents’ physical activity and HRQOL.     

Rethinking Medical Humanities

This paper questions different conceptions of Medical Humanities in order to provide a clearer understanding of what they are and why they matter. Building upon former attempts, we defend a conception of Medical Humanities as a humanistic problem-based approach to medicine aiming at influencing its nature and practice. In particular, we discuss three main conceptual issues regarding the overall nature of this discipline: (i) a problem-driven approach to Medical Humanities; (ii) the need for an integration of Medical Humanities into medicine; (iii) the methodological requirements that could render Medical Humanities an effective framework for medical decision-making.     

An evaluation of Unix in the psychology computer laboratory

Psychology users of the Unix operating system responded to questionnaire items concerning the use of Unix, the ease of learning and using Unix, and the value and quality of the system for their research needs. The data suggest that Unix is poor according to human-factors criteria, but good according to programming and systems criteria.     

Against Hypothetical Syllogism

The debate over Hypothetical Syllogism is locked in stalemate. Although putative natural language counterexamples to Hypothetical Syllogism abound, many philosophers defend Hypothetical Syllogism, arguing that the alleged counterexamples involve an illicit shift in context. The proper lesson to draw from the putative counterexamples, they argue, is that natural language conditionals are context-sensitive conditionals which obey Hypothetical Syllogism. In order to make progress on the issue, I consider and improve upon Morreau’s proof of the invalidity of Hypothetical Syllogism. The improved proof relies upon the semantic claim that conditionals with antecedents irrelevant to the obtaining of an already true consequent are themselves true. Moreover, this semantic insight allows us to provide compelling counterexamples to Hypothetical Syllogism that are resistant to the usual contextualist response.     

Cautions regarding random number generation on the Apple II

Undocumented characteristics of the pseudorandom number generators in Applesoft BASIC and Apple Pascal are described that cause identical sequences to be generated on different executions of programs written in those languages. Although it is relatively easy for this problem to escape notice, in both cases the problem is easily corrected once its existence is known.     

Epidemics in perspective

Irrational responses to patient with AIDS, particularly in regards to the transmissibility of HIV (human immunodeficiency virus) are examined from an historical and psychosocial perspective. Although these responses are similar to those reported from past epidemics such as plague and leprosy, they are in direct conflict with our current level of understanding regarding the transmission of this virus. Their genesis may relate to the human penchant to react to illness metaphorically. In order to allay effectively public concern about the transmissibility of AIDS, it is essential to recognize the metaphor associated with venereal disease in general and AIDS in particular.     

Improving Outcomes for Youth with ADHD: A Conceptual Framework for Combined Neurocognitive and Skill-Based Treatment Approaches

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent and chronic mental health condition that often results in substantial impairments throughout life. Although evidence-based pharmacological and psychosocial treatments exist for ADHD, effects of these treatments are acute, do not typically generalize into non-treated settings, rarely sustain over time, and insufficiently affect key areas of functional impairment (i.e., family, social, and academic functioning) and executive functioning. The limitations of current evidence-based treatments may be due to the inability of these treatments to address underlying neurocognitive deficits that are related to the symptoms of ADHD and associated areas of functional impairment. Although efforts have been made to directly target the underlying neurocognitive deficits of ADHD, extant neurocognitive interventions have shown limited efficacy, possibly due to misspecification of training targets and inadequate potency. We argue herein that despite these limitations, next-generation neurocognitive training programs that more precisely and potently target neurocognitive deficits may lead to optimal outcomes when used in combination with specific skill-based psychosocial treatments for ADHD. We discuss the rationale for such a combined treatment approach, prominent examples of this combined treatment approach for other mental health disorders, and potential combined treatment approaches for pediatric ADHD. Finally, we conclude with directions for future research necessary to develop a combined neurocognitive + skill-based treatment for youth with ADHD.     

The relationship between state anxiety and depressed mood: A validity study

The validity of the A-State Scale of the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale was assessed using data from a general health survey. Depression and anxiety states were found to coexist, however, evidence from a factor analysis, showing items from the two tests loaded on separate factors, demonstrated that these states can be measured independently. Both the A-State and the Zung Scales were found to comprise two factors, and for each scale, one factor consisted of positively phrased items, and the other of negative items. The implications of these findings for the construct validity of the two scales are discussed.     

Causal Decision Theory and EPR correlations

The paper argues that on three out of eight possible hypotheses about the EPR experiment we can construct novel and realistic decision problems on which (a) Causal Decision Theory and Evidential Decision Theory conflict (b) Causal Decision Theory and the EPR statistics conflict. We infer that anyone who fully accepts any of these three hypotheses has strong reasons to reject Causal Decision Theory. Finally, we extend the original construction to show that anyone who gives any of the three hypotheses any non-zero credence has strong reasons to reject Causal Decision Theory. However, we concede that no version of the Many Worlds Interpretation (Vaidman, in Zalta, E.N. (ed.), Stanford Encyclopaedia of Philosophy 2014) gives rise to the conflicts that we point out.     

LQTS Parents’ Reflections About Genetic Risk Knowledge and their Need to Know or Not to Know their Children’s Carrier Status

Long QT syndrome (LQTS) is a contributor to unexplained deaths in infants (SIDS), children, teenagers and young adults. A gene test result may allow for individual tailored treatment, but also pose a burden of knowing one’s carrier status, with no treatment recommendation. Genetic risk knowledge in the case of LQTS can promote adjustment and coping, but also fear anxiety, ambivalence and moral dilemmas. This makes it challenging to respect both the right to know and the right not to know. The purpose of this study was to explore LQTS parents’ perception of genetic knowledge, and their need to know or not to know about their children’s carrier status. Qualitative, semi structured interviews were conducted with thirteen parents of LQTS-children. Results show that parents found it important to know the result of a gene test for LQTS including their children’s carrier status. The risk was framed and incorporated into their everyday life and their life perspectives. Pertinent moral dilemmas concerned information disclosure to children and relatives. Parents thought that early and gradual disclosure to children would promote coping. Parents’ moral dilemmas were rarely addressed during encounters with healthcare providers. The participants had several suggestions for improvement in that regard.     

Assessment of Callous-Unemotional Traits in 6 to 12 Year-Old Children with Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder by Parent Ratings

The factorial structure of the Inventory of Callous-Unemotional Traits (ICU; Frick 2004) has been inconsistent across previous studies using different rater versions (self-report, parent, teacher) and versions in different languages applied to both clinical and nonreferred samples predominantly of adolescents. The present study examined the factorial structure of the parent-report version of the ICU in a clinical sample of boys aged 6–12 years with Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder (n?=?131) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). Results from the CFA supported previous findings, but even the preferred model with three independent factors (Callousness, Uncaring, and Unemotional) showed inadequate model fit. Subsequent EFA revealed a three-factor model consisting of two new subscales (Callousness/Lack of Guilt or Remorse, Unconcerned about Performance) and the original subscale Unemotional. Internal consistencies of the three subscales and total score were satisfactory, and intercorrelations of the subscales were weak, except for a moderate correlation between the subscales Callousness/Lack of Guilt or Remorse and Unconcerned about Performance. The corresponding subscales of the original and new versions were highly correlated. As expected, the ICU subscale Callousness/Lack of Guilt or Remorse showed associations with other measures of aggressive and oppositional behavior. The other two ICU subscales were not associated with aggression or oppositional/antisocial behavior, but Unconcerned about Performance correlated with a measure of attention problems and Unemotional correlated with the internalizing problem withdrawn. The implications of these findings are discussed, especially as a callous unemotional specifier for the diagnosis of Conduct Disorder is included in DSM-5.     

An application of the pictorial scale of perceived competence and acceptance within an epidemiological survey

The Perceived Competence and Acceptance Scale for Younger Children (PCS) was examined in the course of an epidemiological survey of psychological disorders in children. Eighty-three children, aged 6 and 7 years, were administered several measures including the WISC-R, the WRAT, the Lie Scale for Children, and the PCS. Teachers provided ratings from a parallel version of the PCS and reported on the behavioral and social development of each child through the Child Behavior Checklist. Investigation of the psychometric characteristics of the PCS substantially replicates findings reported by its developers. The size and direction of correlations among the cognitive competence subscale of the PCS, achievement measures, and the Lie Scale indicate that children tend to more accurately report about this domain than others included in the PCS. Children who reported atypically high or low PCS levels were not found to differ from the remainder of the sample on two clinical indices. Children who tended to exaggerate PCS levels, as compared to teacher ratings, had significantly more behavior problems in school and were seen by two observers as more apt to be currently maladjusted.     

HyperCard administration of a block-design task

HyperCard (Atkinson, 1987) is a new development environment for the Macintosh that shows promise for use in psychological research and testing. In this paper, we discuss the development of HyperCard stackware with which a block-design task similar to that of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised (WAIS-R) can be administered. The reliability and validity of the computerized block-design task was evaluated by administering both the computerized task and the WAIS-R subtest to college undergraduates. Results indicated that the computerized task’s reliability compared favorably with that of the WAIS-R subtest. Validity coefficients were equivocal; although an elapsed-time measure showed moderate correlation between the tasks, the numbers of designs correctly completed in each condition were not significantly correlated.     

Reduction in clinical assessment time using computer algorithms

A new mathematical procedure (BIDALGO) is suggested for application to the psychological testing field. BIDALGO, similar to past adaptive testing methods, is compared both with MMPI short-form efforts and applications in the educational testing literature. A comparison is also made between linear regression models used in past efforts and the Bayesian decision models used in BIDALGO. The requirements for an MMPI application are delineated, emphasizing branching procedures for specific scales and difficulties expected in achieving code-type congruence. Work in progress of applying BIDALGO to the depression scale and the full MMPI is also described.     

Philosophical aspects of Maoist thought

Mao has responded to the challenge of adapting Marxism to traditional Chinese thought through his two ‘creative developments’ of Marxism: the ideological definition of class and the concept of permanent revolution, based on intra-personal class-struggle.     

Impact of Sluggish Cognitive Tempo and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms on Adults’ Quality of Life

The symptoms of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have been linked to dysfunction in numerous life domains for both children and adults. As such, it is likely that individuals with these and other related symptoms (e.g., sluggish cognitive tempo, SCT) may also experience impaired quality of life. The current study examines the association between ADHD and SCT symptoms and quality of life (QOL) in a community sample of adults. Quality of life data collected from 983 participants (M age = 45.6 years) were analyzed primarily through a series of hierarchical multiple regressions employing SCT and ADHD symptom clusters, demographic, and anxiety and depression scale variables as predictors. Results generally supported the hypothesis that ADHD and SCT symptoms would negatively associate with QOL. Amongst the indicators, inattention and SCT emerged as the strongest predictors of low QOL. These findings underscore the negative impact of ADHD symptoms in adulthood, the independent contribution of SCT, and the importance of considering QOL in prospective research and intervention.     

Turbo Pascal timing routines for the IBM microcomputer family

Two Turbo Pascal (versions 3.0 and 4.0) software timers for the IBM microcomputer family are described: one with a 55-msec resolution and another with a 1-msec resolution. Both can be implemented without additional hardware requirements. The 55-msec timer makes use of the system-time-of-day clock; the 1-msec timer is a Turbo Pascal translation of the timer described by Bührer, Sparrer, and Weitkunat (1987). The logic of each timer is shown by a short demonstration program.     

Bedding preferences of pregnant laboratory-reared mice

Pregnant ARS Ha (ICR) Swiss mice were allowed to select from 10 commercially available bedding products for parturition and rearing young. Combinations of bedding materials were most often selected. Products of wood origin were overwhelmingly preferred. Rates for the selection of bedding materials from the 20 tests were Aspen Bed 100%, Cedar Shavings 75%, Pinewood Shavings 45%, Ab-Sorb-Dri 5%, and Stop “O” 5%.     

Design decisions in a Pascal-based operant conditioning system

FREDL, a Pascal-based system for control of operant experiments, has been implemented on the IBM PC computer. In the foreground, recurring operations, such as decrementing counters that serve as local clocks, are controlled by a dictionary specifying automatic properties of user defined variables, and random logic is implemented by a user-written Pascal overlay. In the background, the remainder of the program controls communication with the user, output of data to disk, and production of cumulative records.