How shall we study individual differences in cognitive abilities?—Methodological and theoretical perspectives

Selected studies in recent research literature are examined with regard to (a) their methodological adequacy in establishing dimensions of individual differences in information-processing abilities, and (b) the theoretical problems involved in inferring psychological processes from individual difference dimensions. Many methodological inadequacies are noted, including use of small Ns, questionable procedures in establishing variables (e.g., use of raw difference scores), improper or inadequate use of factor analysis and other multivariate statistical techniques, and poor presentation of results. On the whole, little progress has been made thus far in identifying psychological processes through research in individual differences, even though this research approach is viable and potentially useful. Serious theoretical difficulties arise in attempting to infer the nature and operation of psychological processes merely from the identification of individual difference trait dimensions. Promising research, however, is represented by studies in which an effort is made to analyze tasks into their components, to vary task characteristics, and/or to consider the strategies that individuals can employ in performing the tasks.     

Current Status of Psychosocial Intervention Research for Pediatric Outpatient Surgery

We reviewed 20 published studies of psychosocial interventions (i.e., preoperative preparation, parental presence) for children undergoing outpatient surgical procedures. The effectiveness of different intervention strategies on child and parent outcomes is summarized. Few positive effects were found for any of the psychosocial interventions. However, only a small number of randomized controlled trials were conducted and many of the studies using quasi-experimental designs had significant methodological problems that limited the interpretation of their findings. Research recommendations are described such as strengthening methodological rigor, making intervention strategies relevant to outpatient surgery, and using developmentally appropriate intervention strategies.     

L’enfant visiteur en réanimation adulte : vécu psychologique de la visite et dispositifs d’accompagnement

IntroductionWhile ICUs encourage visits from patients’ loved ones, visits from children and adolescents have remained a rather sensitive issue. In an attempt to protect children from a potentially traumatic environment, certain services refuse or restrict their visits.ObjectiveIn this context, the question arises as to whether the visit in intensive care constitutes a psychological risk for the child and adolescents. Based on the literature, this article discusses the experience of the visit on the child, the research methodology implemented with child visitors, and finally the existing support systems.ResultsThe analyzed studies do not consider the psychological disorders associated with ICU visits. Moreover, there are many studies on this field and the methodologies have yet to be developed. Support measures exist but are at the initiative of the intensive care teams.ConclusionThere is now an urgent need to build on the studies focused on this field in order to propose a genuine policy with regard to the reception and support of children visiting ICU patients.     

A critical review of pediatric preoperative preparation procedures: Processes,outcomes, and future directions

Many hospitals currently provide psychological preparation for children facing impending surgery. This article discusses the processes which are presumed to operate in various preparation techniques and the impact of these strategies on children and their parents. In critically reviewing previous work, it is shown how the research is fraught with methodological problems and interpretive limitations. In addition, there is a lack of empirical efforts to actually measure the various change processes at work in preparation procedures. The importance of taking into consideration individual difference dimensions is pointed out. Future directions for research are suggested.     

Children's antisocial behavior, mental health, drug use, and educational performance after parental incarceration: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Unprecedented numbers of children experience parental incarceration worldwide. Families and children of prisoners can experience multiple difficulties after parental incarceration, including traumatic separation, loneliness, stigma, confused explanations to children, unstable childcare arrangements, strained parenting, reduced income, and home, school, and neighborhood moves. Children of incarcerated parents often have multiple, stressful life events before parental incarceration. Theoretically, children with incarcerated parents may be at risk for a range of adverse behavioral outcomes. A systematic review was conducted to synthesize empirical evidence on associations between parental incarceration and children's later antisocial behavior, mental health problems, drug use, and educational performance. Results from 40 studies (including 7,374 children with incarcerated parents and 37,325 comparison children in 50 samples) were pooled in a meta-analysis. The most rigorous studies showed that parental incarceration is associated with higher risk for children's antisocial behavior, but not for mental health problems, drug use, or poor educational performance. Studies that controlled for parental criminality or children's antisocial behavior before parental incarceration had a pooled effect size of OR = 1.4 (p < .01), corresponding to about 10% increased risk for antisocial behavior among children with incarcerated parents, compared with peers. Effect sizes did not decrease with number of covariates controlled. However, the methodological quality of many studies was poor. More rigorous tests of the causal effects of parental incarceration are needed, using randomized designs and prospective longitudinal studies. Criminal justice reforms and national support systems might be needed to prevent harmful consequences of parental incarceration for children.     

Evaluation of upper limb movements in children with Down’s syndrome: A systematic review

The aim of the present study was to perform a review of the literature on current quantitative clinical methods for the evaluation of upper limb movements in children and adolescents with Down syndrome, with a focus on describing the variables, protocols, motor function and motor control.MethodsA survey of PubMed, Scielo, BVS Bireme and PEDro databases using the following key words: upper limb and EMG and Down syndrome; upper limb and kinematics and Down syndrome; upper limb and motion analysis and Down syndrome; movement and upper limb and Down syndrome; upper limb and Down syndrome; reach and Down syndrome.ResultsIn all, 344 articles and five were selected to compose the present systematic review. No standardization was found among the studies analyzed with regard to data collection, data processing or procedures for the evaluation of the variables.ConclusionA kinematic evaluation is effective for the discussion of the results, but methodological differences among the studies and inconsistent results exert a negative influence on clinical interpretations and the possibility of reproducibility. The standardization of an upper limb movement evaluation protocol using kinematic analysis is important, as it would provide the basis for comparable, reproducible results and facilitate the planning of treatment interventions.     

Psychological intervention with couples coping with breast cancer: A systematic review

Objective: Information about psychological intervention with couples coping with breast cancer is not well-disseminated. This can be explained, at least in part, by the absence of knowledge about the efficacy of this kind of intervention. The aim of the present systematic review is to identify and describe psychological interventions for couples coping with breast cancer and evaluate their efficacy.

Design: Studies identified by a searching multiple literature databases related to health and psychology between 1975 and 2013. Rigorous inclusion and exclusion criteria were utilised.

Results: Of 129 abstracts, 13 were extracted for further analysis and a final ten studies were deemed eligible for inclusion. Data were extracted from each study regarding study sample characteristics, design, results and methodological limitations. The results obtained were mixed in regard to efficacy, although the overwhelming majority of studies (eight studies) found benefits for both women and their partners in some dimensions, such as quality of life, psychological distress, relationship functioning and physical symptoms associated with cancer.

Conclusion: Psychological interventions for couples coping with breast cancer appear to be effective for both women and their partners. However, further studies are needed to evaluate the efficacy of couple-based interventions and, to identify for whom and how they are more effective.     

Mental health and quality of life in non-binary transgender adults: a case control study

Abstract

Background: The social challenges that non-binary people experience, due in part to social intolerance and the lack of validation of non-binary gender identities, may affect the mental health and quality of life of this population. However, studies that have distinguished between non-binary and binary transgender identities are lacking.

Aim: To compare the mental health and quality of life of a community sample of non-binary transgender adults with controls (binary transgender people and cisgender people) matched on sex assigned at birth.

Method: A total of 526 participants were included. Ninety-seven were classified as non-binary and were compared with two control groups: 91 people classified as binary and 338 cisgender people. Only transgender people not on gender affirming hormone treatment or who had not undergone gender affirming surgery were included. Participants were invited to complete an online survey that included mental health and quality of life measures.

Results: Non-binary people reported significantly better mental health than binary transgender people, but worse than cisgender people. Overall, there were no significant differences in quality of life between non-binary and binary transgender participants assigned male at birth and transgender females, but non-binary assigned males at birth had better scores on the psychological and social domains of quality of life than transgender males. Quality of life was better across all domains in cisgender people than transgender groups.

Conclusion: There is an inequality with regard to mental health and quality of life between non-binary (and binary) transgender people and the cisgender population that needs to be addressed. The better mental health scores in non-binary people may reflect lower levels of body dissatisfaction among the non-binary population. Mental health problems and poor quality of life are likely to have social causes and hence legislative measures and broader government-led inclusive directives should be put in place to recognize and to validate non-binary identifying people.     

Behavioural,emotional and social development of children who stutter

PurposeDevelopmental stuttering may be associated with diminished psychological well-being which has been documented from late childhood onwards. It is important to establish the point at which behavioural, emotional and social problems emerge in children who stutter.MethodsThe study used data from the Millennium Cohort Study, whose initial cohort comprised 18,818 children. Analysis involved data collected when the cohort members were 3, 5 and 11 years old. The association between parent-reported stuttering and performance on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was determined in regression analyses which controlled for cohort members’ sex, verbal and non-verbal abilities, maternal education, and family economic status.ResultsCompared with typically-developing children, those who stuttered had significantly higher Total Difficulties scores at all three ages; in addition, scores on all of the sub-scales for 5-year-olds who stuttered indicated poorer development than their peers, and 11-year-olds who stuttered had poorer development than peers in all areas except prosocial skills. At ages 5 and 11, those who stuttered were more likely than peers to have scores indicating cause for clinical concern in almost all areas.ConclusionChildren who stutter may begin to show impaired behavioural, emotional and social development as early as age 3, and these difficulties are well established in older children who stutter. Parents and practitioners need to be aware of the possibility of these difficulties and intervention needs to be provided in a timely fashion to address such difficulties in childhood and to prevent the potential development of serious mental health difficulties later in life.     

Exploring emotions in dialog between health provider,parent and child. An observational study in pediatric primary care

IntroductionThis paper is part of the theoretical thread of health psychology and it presents a study aimed to recognize information useful to implement psychological interventions finalized to personalize medical treatments and engage users in pediatrics.ObjectiveIn this paper is presented an observational study aimed to explore doctor-patient dialog about worries in pediatric primary care; it has been carried out identifying dialogical interaction patterns, or typical dialog between health providers, parent and child.MethodWe documented conversations in 265 visits; we audio-recordered, transcribed and analyzed them with Verona Coding Definitions of Emotional Sequences. Dialogs between participants were analyzed one by one. Frequencies of emotions’ signals (cues/concerns) and responses were analyzed through Redundancy Analysis, aimed to establish a quantitative relationship between these pair of groups of variables considering the asymmetrical relationship between them.ResultsSix “Dialogical Interaction Patterns” were obtained by interpreting these relationships; they show dialogs mainly aimed at obtaining information useful for diagnosis and treatment, with a limited exploration of worries or issues related to the condition of the child. Pediatric conversations seem to be characterized by a very high attention to cognitive aspects of medical questions with a poor consideration of emotions as useful information to medical practice.ConclusionsThese dialogs seem to ensure the rapidity and the efficiency of medical visits. Nevertheless, it could be useful to implement psychological interventions to achieve an enrichment of the dialog between participants, helping them to recognize users’ emotions as useful to define shared medical strategies.     

Age changes in the missing-letter effect revisited

When participants search for a target letter while reading, they make more omissions if the target letter is embedded in frequent function words than in less frequent content words. Reflecting developmental changes in component language and literacy skills, the size of this effect increases with age. With adults, the missing-letter effect is due to both word function and word frequency. With children, it is unclear whether the growing size of the missing-letter effect across development is due to a larger effect of word function, word frequency, or both because previous studies with children seeking to isolate the influence of word frequency and word function suffer from important methodological limitations. With these methodological limitations eliminated (Experiments 1 and 2), performance in a letter detection task was assessed for children in Grades 1, 2, 3, 4, and 7 as well as for undergraduate students. The results revealed that the influence of word function increases with age, whereas the effect of frequency is fairly stable across ages. Furthermore, normative predictability data collected in Experiment 3 revealed that third graders and undergraduate students were equally good at predicting function slots in a sentence.     

Psychological profile of Greek doctors: differences among five specialties

The aim of the present study was to explore the differences in the psychological profiles between genders and different specialties among Greek doctors. Five-thirty nine doctors in five different specialties, namely 115 general practitioners, 168 internists, 81 surgeons, 108 microbiologists and 67 anesthesiologists, participated in the study. 253 participants were specialized doctors and 286 participants were medical residents. The sample consisted of 280 women and 259 men. The mean age of the sample was 38.75(±7.98) years. A cross sectional survey study was conducted. Symptom Check List 90-Revised (SCL-90-R) was used to collect the data. Multivariate Analysis of Variance indicated the significant effect of specialty (Wilks’ Lambda = .20, p = .000), the effect of gender (Wilks’ Lambda = .90, p = .000) as well as their interaction (Wilks’ Lambda = .68, p = .000) on participants’ scores in SCL-90-R subscales. Internists reported high scores in 8 out of 9 subscales of SCL-90-R. Surgeons scored significantly higher compared to all other specialties in hostility(HS) subscale. Women reported statistically higher scores in almost all subscales of the SCL-90-R test compared to men, apart from HS (p = .191). Gender and specialty choice play role in the psychological profile of Greek doctors. Women and internists seem to be more prone to psychopathology. These findings should be taken into account in future studies and interventions.     

Psychological Treatments for Mental Disorders in Children and Adolescents: A Review of the Evidence of Leading International Organizations

In recent decades, the evidence on psychological treatments for children and adolescents has increased considerably. Several organizations have proposed different criteria to evaluate the evidence of psychological treatment in this age group. The aim of this study was to analyze evidence-based treatments drawn from RCTs, reviews, meta-analyses, guides and lists provided by four leading international organizations. The institutions reviewed were the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence, the Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology (Division 53) of the American Psychological Association, Cochrane Collaboration and the Australian Psychological Society in relation to mental disorders in children and adolescents. A total of 137 treatments were analyzed for 17 mental disorders and compared to determine the level of agreement among the organizations. The results indicate that, in most cases, there is little agreement among organizations and that there are several discrepancies within certain disorders. These results require reflection on the meaning attributed to evidence-based treatments with regard to psychological treatments in children and adolescents. The possible reasons for these differences could be explained by a combination of different issues: the procedures or committees may be biased, different studies were reviewed, different criteria are used by the organizations or the reviews of existing evidence were conducted in different time periods.     

Induction of intellectual gains in blind children

Twenty blind children (5–10 years old) were taught the concept of seriation by a learning set procedure. Ten of the children were also taught a simple classification concept to see if developing both abilities would produce more general intellectual gains. Children in a control group had training sessions matched in timing and extent, but differing in content. The results indicate that mastery of the concepts of seriation and classification can be accelerated through training. Training also affected WISC and SIT IQ scores; for these measurements, the seriation-classification group showed the greatest increase. Training had no effect on measures of psychological and social adjustment. The findings suggest that learning set training of Piagetian concepts can be effective in overcoming some conceptual deficiencies found in blind children. It may be profitable to test similar procedures with other children who are biologically mature but lagging in conceptual development.     

Cortisol changes interact with the effects of a cognitive behavioural psychological preparation for surgery on 12-month outcomes for surgical heart patients

Previous studies offer contradictory evidence regarding the effects of cortisol changes on health outcomes for surgical heart patients. Increased cortisol and inflammation have been related to psychological stress while separate studies have found an inverse relation between cortisol and inflammation. Psychological preparations for surgery can reduce stress and improve outcomes and may interact with cortisol changes. Following from these relationships, we hypothesised that a preparation for surgery will interact with changes in cortisol to affect outcomes. Measures were the SF 36 General Health and Activities, medical visits and satisfaction. Eighty-five patients were randomly assigned to standard care plus a psychological preparation or standard care alone using a single-blind methodology. Data on psychological and biological functioning were collected at admission, 1 day prior and 5 days post-surgery, and 12-months after hospital discharge. General health and activities, and medical visits were related to the interaction of cortisol change and psychological preparation in support of the hypothesis. Patients were more satisfied in the preparation group than controls. Based on these findings, some outcomes from psychological preparations may be affected by changes in levels of cortisol. These results caution against a one-size-fits-all approach to psychological preparations.     

A Systematic Review of the Factors Associated with Post-Traumatic Growth in Parents Following Admission of Their Child to the Intensive Care Unit

This systematic review aims to identify the demographic, clinical and psychological factors associated with post-traumatic growth (PTG) in parents following their child’s admission to the intensive care unit (ICU). Papers published up to September 2021 were identified following a search of electronic databases (PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, PsycINFO, CINAHL, PTSDpubs and EMBASE). Studies were included if they involved a sample of parents whose children were previously admitted to ICU and reported correlational data. 1777 papers were reviewed. Fourteen studies were eligible for inclusion; four were deemed to be of good methodological quality, two were poor, and the remaining eight studies were fair. Factors associated with PTG were identified. Mothers, and parents of older children, experienced greater PTG. Parents who perceived their child’s illness as more severe had greater PTG. Strong associations were uncovered between PTG and post-traumatic stress, psychological well-being and coping. PTG is commonly experienced by this population. Psychological factors are more commonly associated with PTG in comparison with demographic and clinical factors, suggesting that parents’ subjective ICU experience may be greater associated with PTG than the objective reality.

     

癌症病人心理干预的效果及其影响因素

研究的主要目的是探讨对癌症病人实施心理干预的效果及其影响因素。运用病例对照实验设计 ,采用多因素综合分析统计方法 ,对 2 89名放化疗住院病人进行了比较研究。结果为 :干预组病人的生活质量、躯体功能状况比对照组有明显改善。肿瘤临床分期和诊断告知方式是影响干预效果的两个主要因素 ;合并症及其影响、治疗前有无心理准备、病前生活事件在化疗病人中影响明显 ;医疗费、教育水平以及治疗经历对放疗病人影响明显 ;因素间交互作用显著。由此认为 ,影响心理干预效果的因素随治疗方式不同而各有侧重 ,并以综合作用模式为主     

Long Term Posttraumatic Growth After Breast Cancer: Prevalence,Predictors and Relationships with Psychological Health

This study evaluated the prevalence and predictors of long term posttraumatic growth (PTG) after breast cancer, and relationships of PTG with psychological health in a random sample of 307 currently disease-free women 5–15 years after diagnosis. This cross-sectional study reveals long term posttraumatic growth scores comparable to those found in shorter term studies. Prevalence of a better appreciation of life is especially noteworthy. With the exception of perceived current sequelae of disease associated in a somewhat curvilinear fashion with PTG, demographic and medical variables are poor predictors of the issue. On the contrary, dispositional positive affectivity and adaptative coping of positive, active, relational, religious and to some extent denial coping have a strong effect on growth. Finally, PTG is slightly associated with mental quality of life and happiness. Findings are discussed in the light of posttraumatic growth theory.     

Relationships between psychological stress,coping and disordered eating: A review

Abstract

Objective: Psychological stress and inadequate coping skills have been hypothesized to play important roles in the etiology of disordered eating. This paper reviews the empirical evidence which has emerged regarding the proposed relationships among stress. coping skills and various forms of disordered eating. Method: A search of psychological and medical databases was conducted to identify studies examining life events, and other types of psychological stress and coping strategies, in relation to the onset of disordered eating. Results: Despite methodological limitations such as the use of non-representative samples and retrospective methodologies, evidence of relationships between stress. coping and disordered eating was obtained in the majority of studies reviewed. Discussion: The implications of these findings am discussed and suggestions for future research, including the utilization of longitudinal. prospective studies, am presented.     

The relationship between psychological test results and EEG patterns in healthy children

222 children (112 girls and 110 boys) aged 5–16 years with different types of EEG pattern, selected according to well defined normal criteria in order to exclude cerebral lesion elements, were investigated by current child-psychiatric diagnostic methods, including the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children (WISC), which gave a mean IQ of 116.5. With two so-called tests of organicity (Bender Gestalt Test and Benton's Revised Visual Retention Test) poor performances indicating brain damage were shown in 22% and 24% of the children respectively. Various EEG patterns showed few significant correlations with the test variables. According to clinical judgement "slight symptoms of cerebral dysfunction" was found in some children, but no correlation appeared between such symptoms and poor performance in the psychological tests. The high frequency of defective scores in the Bender and Benton tests in this selected material of healthy children means that these tests cannot be used in clinical work for diagnosing brain injury in individual children. Nor can they be used to throw light on the clinical significance of the different EEG variables studied.