The latent structure of posttraumatic stress disorder: a taxometric investigation of reactions to extreme stress

Mental health professionals have debated whether posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be qualitatively distinguished from normal reactions to traumatic events. This debate has been fueled by indications that many trauma-exposed individuals evidence partial presentations of PTSD that are associated with significant impairment and help-seeking behavior. The authors examined the latent structure of PTSD in a large sample of male combat veterans. Three taxometric procedures-MAMBAC, MAXEIG, and L-Mode-were performed with 3 indicator sets drawn from a clinical interview and a self-report measure of PTSD. Results across procedures, consistency tests, and analysis of simulated comparison data all converged on a dimensional solution, suggesting that PTSD reflects the upper end of a stress-response continuum rather than a discrete clinical syndrome.     

Recognition memory in amnesia: effects of relaxing response criteria

In two experiments, using the remember/know paradigm, we examined whether recognition memory in amnesic patients can be improved by instructing patients to relax their response criterion. Experiment 1 was modeled after a study by Dorfman, Kihlstrom, Cork, and Misiaszek (1995), in which direct instructions to respond more leniently led to an increase in recognition accuracy in patients with ECT-induced amnesia. We failed to extend this finding to patients with global amnesia, but the manipulation was unsuccessful in control subjects as well. In Experiment 2, response criterion was manipulated indirectly by providing information about the alleged base rate of study items on the recognition test. This manipulation led to a criterion shift in control subjects and enhanced discriminability in amnesic patients. Analysis of “remember” and “know” responses suggests that improved accuracy in amnesia was associated with enhanced familiarity-based recognition.     

Promoting imitative play through generalized observational learning in autisticlike children

Three autisticlike boys with deficits in imitative and appropriate play behaviors were taught to play with an unfamiliar toy by observing a peer model demonstrate appropriate play with the toy. Generalization was assessed across toys and models, and temporal maintenance was assessed at 1 and 3 weeks following generalization. Following training each child demonstrated increases in imitative play concomitant with decreases in the frequency of nonmanipulated selfstimulatory behavior. Results are discussed in terms of their implications for the amelioration of social isolation and self-stimulatory behavior.The authors wish to acknowledge the help and cooperation of the Henry Wiseman Kendall Center and the Highpoint Preschool Enrichment Program.     

The role of contextual variables in maternal reactions to children's compliance and noncompliance

The present study was designed to assess whether certain contexts influenced material reactions to children's compliant and noncompliant behavior. Study 1 examined the following contextual variables: chronic negative conditions of the child (physical illness and psychological disturbance) and recent life events experienced by the child (both positive and negative). Study 2 examined maternal mood states as another contextual variable. Results indicated that these contexts relate to differential choices of discipline techniques, based on maternal self-report. These data are examined in light of the literature on treatment acceptability and are discussed in terms of a signal-detection model. Clinical applications are addressed, and suggestions for future research are offered.Portions of this paper were presented at the meeting of the Association for Advancement of Behavior Therapy, Philadelphia, November 1984.We express gratitude to the Research Council of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro for Research Council Grant 2110 218 00000 7719 and to the following for their assistance: James Herbert, Nancy Quinn, Carol Roberson, Ira Turkat, and Marilyn Williams.     

Comorbidity In Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder An Analysis of Community and Clinical Studies1

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is alleged to be associated with high rates of concurrent psychological disorders. This paper considers the available literature regarding comorbidity in PTSD and reviews in detail the findings to date. This critical evaluation includes studies of clinical samples, veterans community surveys, and population surveys. It also presents new data drawn from 50 PTSD cases assessed at the Boston PTSD Center using a comprehensive, multidimensional diagnostic procedure. The data firmly support the notion that PTSD, regardless of the nature of the trauma, is associated with high rates of other major psychological disorders including substance abuse, major depression, and personality disorders. Despite these findings the issue of cause and effect surrounding comorbidity remains open at this time. More research is needed to determine if exposure to extreme stressors in fact produces the broad spectrum of psychopathology suggested by individuals with PTSD or whether individuals with intrinsic vulnerability are more likely to develop PTSD when exposed to extreme stressors. Implications of the findings from this review are discussed with respect to concepts in diagnosis and comorbidity.     

Judging toy breakers: Gender stereotypes have devious effects on children

Second-grade children listened to short stories about male or female children who accidentally broke neutral and sex-appropriate or opposite-sex toys. Children then rated the severity of punishment due to each toy breaker and provided justifications for their ratings. The justifications were coded for citing intentionality (or lack thereof) and toy ownership (or lack thereof). No differences were found between boys and girls in the punishment severity ratings of targets of either gender who broke neutral toys. In the punishment severity ratings of toy breakers of sex-appropriate and opposite-sex toys, gender stereotype effects were found only for girls; they suggested more severe punishment for toy breakers of opposite-sex toys, irrespective of their gender. The citation of toy ownership was found to be a significant variable in boys’ nonuse of gender stereotypes in their punishment severity ratings; with the impact of toy ownership removed, gender differences in punishment severity ratings were eliminated. Although the citation of intentions did not influence the punishment severity ratings of either boys or girls, boys referred to intentions primarily in same-sex targets. The data illustrate both the direct and the devious impact of gender stereotypes on children’s social cognitive processes. Portions of this paper were written while the first author was on sabbatical leave at Princeton University and Carnegie Mellon University. We would like to thank Dale Miller for his helpful comments on a previous version of this paper.     

Category knowledge in Alzheimer's disease: normal organization and a general retrieval deficit.

Three hypotheses that could account for deficits in the retrieval of category information in Alzheimer's disease (AD) were evaluated: abnormal organization, class- or category-specific vulnerability, and limitation by general factors, such as decreased processing speed. Relative to 18 elderly control subjects, 18 patients with AD produced fewer items in a category fluency task and had longer reaction times in a category decision task. The pattern of performance across categories on both tasks was normal in the AD group: The same categories elicited the most (or fastest) responses in both the control group and the AD group. AD patients showed normal performance in ranking of category exemplars by typicality. There was no evidence for differential accessibility by category or by class of information (animate vs. inanimate). The authors conclude that a general factor or factors limit(s) retrievability equally across all categories.     

Perceived self-efficacy and language differences

The relationship between language differences and perceived self-efficacy was examined for two different classes (ns = 89 and 66) of a linguistically diverse nursing student population. Sherer, et al.'s General Self-efficacy Scale was factor analyzed, producing two factors (subscales) labeled Tendency to Avoid/Give Up and Tendency to Persist. Students who were nonprimary speakers of English were more likely to avoid difficult tasks or give up because they believed they would fail than those students who were primary speakers of English. There were no significant differences between the groups on Tendency to Persist. Also, students' class level in the program was not related to self-efficacy.     

On Adaptation in Analogy: Tests of Pragmatic Importance and Adaptability in Analogical Problem Solving

When people use analogies to solve problems, they form an analogical mapping between two domains of knowledge. This mapping may support inferences by analogy that suggest a novel solution to a problem. Several factors have been proposed to be important in selecting this mapping from among several alternative mappings: structural factors (systematicity and structural consistency) and pragmatic factors (the exploitation of higher-order planning categories). We suggest another set of factors plays a role in selecting mappings: adaptability. Specifically, if a mapped solution can be adapted easily to a problem, then it will be preferred over an alternative mapping that is less adaptable. Two experiments are reported which test the effects of pragmatic and adaptation factors, using a novel technique in which the story analogue has two alternative plans, either of which can be used to solve an insight problem. In Experiment 1, these plans were varied in terms of their pragmatic importance (success or failure) and their adaptability. In Experiment 2, the relative adaptability of plans was manipulated. The results suggest that there is little evidence for these specific pragmatic factors, but that adaptability plays a definite role in selecting an analogous plan. The findings suggest that most models need to be extended to include adaptation constraints.