Cognitive impairments associated with formal thought disorder in people with schizophrenia

Formal thought disorder (FTD), or disorganized speech, is one of the central signs of schizophrenia. Despite extensive research, the cognitive processes associated with FTD are still unclear. However, the authors' review of FTD theories and research indicates that considerable progress has been made in identifying possible cognitive impairments associated with FTD. Specifically, FTD is strongly associated with impaired executive functioning and with impaired processing of semantic information. Their review indicates that previous research has not yet supported an association between FTD and either an increase in spreading activation or an impairment within the language production system.     

Peer relations among adolescents with female same-sex parents

This study examined associations among family type (same-sex vs. opposite-sex parents), adolescent gender, family and relationship variables, and the peer relations of adolescents. Participants included 44 adolescents parented by same-sex female couples and 44 adolescents parented by opposite-sex couples, matched on demographic characteristics and drawn from a national sample. On both self-reported and peer-reported measures of relations with peers, adolescents were functioning well, and the quality of their peer relations was not associated with family type. Regardless of family type, adolescents whose parents described closer relationships with them reported higher quality peer relations and more friends in school and were rated as more central in their friendship networks.     

A comparison of self-esteem, dogmatism and fantasy in psychiatric inpatient adolescents and their parents with non-hospitalized adolescents and their parents

Forty in-patient adolescents and 40 non-hospitalized adolescents, comparable in age, sex, education, birth position and socioeconomic level, and their parents were administered the Rokeach Dogmatism Scale, Barksdale Self-Esteem Evaluation Scale, the Singer and Antrobus Imaginal Process Inventory, and the Elms Empathic Fantasy Scale. Distinct differences were found between the in-patient adolescent and his/her parents in aspects of fantasy, empathy, dogmatism, and self-esteem, while the non-hospitalized adolescents were very similar in fantasy with both parents. In addition, both parents of the nonhospitalized adolescents had greater levels of self-esteem with less dogmatism evident in the fathers. The results are discussed in terms of the identification process and modeling, the socialization process with its suppression or reduction of taboo drive manifestations and fantasy as a means of achieving unattainable drives.     

Stability of formal thought disorder and referential communication disturbances in schizophrenia

This study examined the degree to which different types of communication disturbances in the speech of 48 schizophrenia patients and 28 controls were variable and state related versus stable and traitlike. Clinically rated formal thought disorder and 5 types of referential disturbance showed substantial stability within participants over time. The sixth type of referential disturbance, the vague reference, was not stable over time. Formal thought disorder was associated with the severity of core psychotic symptoms in patients. whereas referential disturbances showed little or no association with positive or negative symptom severity. Furthermore, changes in psychotic symptoms over time were accompanied by corresponding changes in formal thought disorder but not referential disturbances. These results support the idea that some types of referential disturbances are traitlike and may be reflective of vulnerability as well as manifest illness.     

Sexual behavior in Spanish adolescents of divorced parents

Marital breakup has been associated with numerous behavioral problems in children, such as sexual risk behaviors. This research is the first to examine sexual behaviors of Spanish adolescents related to whether their parents were married or divorced. Participants were 342 boys and girls aged between 14 and 18 years. The sample provided confidential information about their sexual behavior and birth control methods. Significant differences were only found in percentages of adolescents who had engaged in mutual masturbation, intercourse, or oral sex, and who had practiced these sexual relations in the last six months, in both cases, they were higher when the parents had broken their marital relationship. Regarding adolescents of divorced parents, engaging in intercourse is more likely in older teenagers who live with a stepparent. Moreover, older adolescents who were younger when parents divorced and who live in a reconstituted family, have more sexual partners. These and other findings are discussed.     

Autonomy and relatedness with parents and romantic development in African American adolescents

The influence of adolescents' autonomy and relatedness to parents on romantic relationships was examined longitudinally over 5 years in 76 middle-class African American late adolescents (mean age = 18.43 years). Relatedness to parents in early adolescence led to longer duration and more supportive romantic relationships in late adolescence, but longer duration was concurrently associated with more negative romantic relationships. Cluster analyses yielded 3 profiles of early adolescent autonomy and relatedness; early adolescents who were high in relatedness and low in autonomy to parents in early adolescence reported longer duration romantic relationships in late adolescence than did adolescents who were moderate or high in relatedness and high in autonomy. The implications for romantic development in African American middle-class youth are discussed.     

Implications of developmental theories for counseling adolescents in groups

This paper presents a rationale for the use of group techniques in counseling adolescents, based on selected developmental theories. In addition, it delineates specific practical implications and guidelines for group counselors to consider. Specifically, group selection, group size and composition, and topical content are discussed as they relate to developmental issues during adolescence.     

Factors affecting relationships of Turkish adolescents with parents and same-sex friends

The present study attempted to investigate the differences between Turkish late adolescents' relationships with their parents and friends by using Armsden and Greenberg's (1987) scales for measuring attachment. In addition, an attempt at determining predictors of different aspects of attachment was made. The findings were that (a) similar dimensions of attachment emerged from a factor analysis of Turkish data when compared with Armsden and Greenberg's factors, (b) the data provide evidence for the argument that relationships should be studied with an awareness that they exist within a sociological background that includes other relationships, and (c) regression analysis predicting different aspects of attachment indicated that different variables may be important as determinants of men's and women's relationships with significant others.     

Rights to privacy in research: adolescents versus parents

Conducting research on adolescents raises a number of ethical issues not often confronted in research on younger children. In part, these differences are due to the fact that although assent is usually not an issue, given cognitive and social competencies, the life situations and behavior of youth make it more difficult to balance rights and privacy of the adolescents. In this article, the three ethical principles of beneficence, justice, and respect for persons are discussed in terms of their application to the study of adolescents. Then, seven vignettes are presented to illustrate how these principles apply to real-life situations. How to balance the rights of adolescents and their parents is discussed, using adolescent girls and their parents for illustrative purposes.     

Perceiving concealment in relationships between parents and adolescents: Links with parental behavior

Although concealment in relationships is commonplace, little is known about its implications for the target of concealment. Two large‐scale studies among adolescents and their parents tested the central hypothesis that parents’ perception of child concealment predicts poorer parenting behaviors toward their child. Further, we investigated whether actual child concealment adds to the prediction of parenting behaviors through an interaction with parental perception of concealment. Study 1 yielded evidence for the hypothesized link, which was independent of actual concealment. Study 2 largely replicated these results for perceptions of both concealment and lying while controlling for perceptions of disclosure. Overall, these results suggest that parents’ perception of child concealment coincides with poorer parenting behaviors, regardless of actual child concealment.     

Evaluating the efficacy of short-term counseling on adolescents in a school setting.

This study evaluated the efficacy of short-term school-based counseling with forty-two high school adolescents (twenty-seven males, fifteen females) by measuring pre- and posttest scores on a self-report, self-esteem measure. While there was a significant decline in self-esteem ratings after counseling in the areas of social acceptance, job competence, and close friendship, counseled students showed a significant improvement in the consistency between their adequacy ratings and their judgments about what competencies they valued. Specific gender differences emerged, as females appeared to have benefited more from the counseling experience than did males.     

Agreement among adolescents, parents, and teachers on adolescent personality

Agreement between adolescents, mothers, fathers, and teachers on adolescents' personality traits was investigated in a longitudinal study. The targets for personality ratings were the adolescents who participated in the European Youth Heart Study in Estonia. There were 593 participants in the first wave and 480 participants in the follow-up study 3 years later. Adolescents' self-reports as well as father, mother, and teacher ratings were collected using questionnaires to measure the five-factor model of personality. In both waves, inter-rater agreement was highest between mothers and fathers, was low to moderate for parent-self ratings, and was lowest for ratings between self and teacher, mother and teacher, and father and teacher. Test-retest correlations were moderate for parent and self-ratings but failed to reach statistical significance for three of the five teacher-rated traits, suggesting lower reliability of teacher ratings. Possible explanations for the low agreement between teachers and other judges are discussed.     

Bootstrapping in a language of thought: a formal model of numerical concept learning

In acquiring number words, children exhibit a qualitative leap in which they transition from understanding a few number words, to possessing a rich system of interrelated numerical concepts. We present a computational framework for understanding this inductive leap as the consequence of statistical inference over a sufficiently powerful representational system. We provide an implemented model that is powerful enough to learn number word meanings and other related conceptual systems from naturalistic data. The model shows that bootstrapping can be made computationally and philosophically well-founded as a theory of number learning. Our approach demonstrates how learners may combine core cognitive operations to build sophisticated representations during the course of development, and how this process explains observed developmental patterns in number word learning.     

Food for thought: the use of food in group therapy with children and adolescents.

This article highlights the significance food may have in group therapy with children and adolescents and its meanings for particular group members. It focuses on the interactions between the group members and leaders in response to food. Along with providing actual nutrition, food represents emotional and symbolic nurturing, and may trigger salient conflicts and issues with which group members are struggling. An essential role of the group leader is to manage conflicts that may be evoked by the provision of food. Examples are provided to illustrate themes and meanings related to food in group therapy with children and adolescents.     

How Latino American and European American adolescents discuss conflicts, sexuality, and AIDS with their mothers

The authors examined how the structure of mother-adolescent conversations differs by ethnic group, age, and dyadic and individual factors. Mother-adolescent dyads of European or Latino descent participated in conversations and reported on their relationship and AIDS knowledge. Latina American mothers dominated conversations more than European American mothers, independent of socioeconomic status. Mothers dominated conversations about sexuality and AIDS more than conversations about conflicts. Mothers of older adolescents reacted more negatively, and older adolescents reported less satisfaction, less openness, and more sexual discussions with persons other than their mothers. Latino American adolescents whose mothers dominated conversations more reported fewer sexual discussions. Latina American mothers who dominated conversations more reported more openness and satisfaction. When mothers dominated conversations more, adolescents had lower AIDS knowledge.     

Group coleadership: a new role for parents of adolescents with anorexia and bulimia nervosa

This paper describes a model for coleadership of a multifamily group which is part of an outpatient treatment program for adolescents with anorexia and bulimia nervosa at The Children's Hospital in Boston. This clinic is a collaborative effort between the Departments of Psychiatry and Adolescent Medicine and has been involved with more than 600 patients and their families. The parents of a recovered adolescent girl have shared group leadership with the author for six years and have added an innovative dimension to the group process as a result of their own experiences. Theoretical and empirical observations are presented and guidelines for maximizing coping abilities are outlined.     

The emotional relationship with parents: A validation study of the LEAP among Italian adolescents

Adolescence represents a crucial phase in the individual's development, characterized by significant changes in relationship with parents. The purpose of this study was to validate the Italian version of the Lum Emotional Availability of Parents (LEAP; Lum & Phares, 2005, Assessing the emotional availability of parents, Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 27, 211–226), a brief self-report questionnaire aimed at exploring the affective quality of the parent–adolescent relationship. A total of 578 adolescents of two age groups (10–14 and 15–20 years) were administered the maternal and the paternal form of the LEAP. Confirmatory factor analysis showed a one-factor solution for both forms. Results suggest that the Italian form of the LEAP can be considered a valid measure to assess the emotional quality of the parent–adolescent relationship, able to highlight differences between early and middle adolescents and to distinguish between maternal and paternal contributions to the parent–child relationship.     

HIV/AIDS communication among adolescents in psychiatric care and their parents.

The authors examined HIV/AIDS communication among 207 parent-adolescent dyads in psychiatric care to better understand the relationship between family communication and sexual risk behavior in an at-risk population. Dyads reported content and rated quality of family HIV/AIDS discussions, and adolescent sexual risk was assessed. Families discussed transmission, prevention, consequences, myths, and compassion. Parent-reported discussion of consequences was associated with greater sexual risk behavior, but only for girls. Higher quality communication reported by adolescents was associated with less sexual risk. Parents may send different messages about HIV/AIDS to sons versus daughters, and messages related to consequences may not effectively reduce risk among daughters. However, for boys and girls in psychiatric care, teaching parents how to discuss HIV/AIDS may promote safer sexual behavior.     

Capitalizing on the Self-Referencing Effect in General Psychology: A Preliminary Study

After reviewing the literature on the effect of personal relevance (self-schema, self-referencing effect, autobiographical significance, etc.), I implemented a constructivist narrative assignment for general psychology students. I hoped the assignment would enhance learning of and memory for psychological principles. Students wrote personal relevance papers in which they described psychological principles in their own words and provided examples of how the principles they chose were relevant in their own lives. Students assigned to write the papers produced higher exam scores. Moreover, student feedback revealed other benefits, including improved writing quality, higher grades, and increased motivation to learn.