Rapid automatized naming (RAN) in children with ADHD: An ex-Gaussian analysis

Children with ADHD demonstrate increased frequent “lapses” in performance on tasks in which the stimulus presentation rate is externally controlled, leading to increased variability in response times. It is less clear whether these lapses are also evident during performance on self-paced tasks, e.g., rapid automatized naming (RAN), or whether RAN inter-item pause time variability uniquely predicts reading performance. A total of 80 children aged 9 to 14 years—45 children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and 35 typically developing (TD) children—completed RAN and reading fluency measures. RAN responses were digitally recorded for analyses. Inter-stimulus pause time distributions (excluding between-row pauses) were analyzed using traditional (mean, standard deviation [SD], coefficient of variation [CV]) and ex-Gaussian (mu, sigma, tau) methods. Children with ADHD were found to be significantly slower than TD children (p < .05) on RAN letter naming mean response time as well as on oral and silent reading fluency. RAN response time distributions were also significantly more variable (SD, tau) in children with ADHD. Hierarchical regression revealed that the exponential component (tau) of the letter-naming response time distribution uniquely predicted reading fluency in children with ADHD (p < .001, ΔR² = .16), even after controlling for IQ, basic reading, ADHD symptom severity and age. The findings suggest that children with ADHD (without word-level reading difficulties) manifest slowed performance on tasks of reading fluency; however, this “slowing” may be due in part to lapses from ongoing performance that can be assessed directly using ex-Gaussian methods that capture excessively long response times.     

The functions and value of reminiscence for older adults in long-term residential care facilities

For the many older adults living in long-term care facilities, the ability to connect with others, as well as with one’s own personal past, may be of particular value. Reflecting on the past and sharing reminiscences with others serves different psychosocial functions in various settings. This study examined the functions of reminiscence for long-term care residents in the United States (M_age?=?86.5) by addressing the self-reported frequency of reminiscence, the counterparties involved, the overall purpose and value of reminiscence, and the relation to residents’ mental health and well-being. Results demonstrated that although some functions of reminiscence were comparable to those found in community-dwelling older adults, others were unique to the long-term care setting. Residents were most likely to reminisce alone and they found the experience enjoyable. They reported engaging in and enjoying reminiscence with family more than with fellow residents, and a subset desired increased opportunities to share memories with healthcare providers. Residents with lower morale and more depressive symptoms were more likely to engage in unhealthy styles of reminiscence. These findings suggest that interventions shaping reminiscence encounters may have positive outcomes for long-term care residents.     

Training Genetic Counsellors to Deliver an Innovative Therapeutic Intervention: their Views and Experience of Facilitating Multi-Family Discussion Groups

Innovations in clinical genetics have increased diagnosis, treatment and prognosis of inherited genetic conditions (IGCs). This has led to an increased number of families seeking genetic testing and / or genetic counselling and increased the clinical load for genetic counsellors (GCs). Keeping pace with biomedical discoveries, interventions are required to support families to understand, communicate and cope with their Inherited Genetic Condition. The Socio-Psychological Research in Genomics (SPRinG) collaborative have developed a new intervention, based on multi-family discussion groups (MFDGs), to support families affected by IGCs and train GCs in its delivery. A potential challenge to implementing the intervention was whether GCs were willing and able to undergo the training to deliver the MFDG. In analysing three multi-perspective interviews with GCs, this paper evaluates the training received. Findings suggests that MFDGs are a potential valuable resource in supporting families to communicate genetic risk information and can enhance family function and emotional well-being. Furthermore, we demonstrate that it is feasible to train GCs in the delivery of the intervention and that it has the potential to be integrated into clinical practice. Its longer term implementation into routine clinical practice however relies on changes in both organisation of clinical genetics services and genetic counsellors’ professional development.     

Causal learning across domains

Five studies investigated (a) children's ability to use the dependent and independent probabilities of events to make causal inferences and (b) the interaction between such inferences and domain-specific knowledge. In Experiment 1, preschoolers used patterns of dependence and independence to make accurate causal inferences in the domains of biology and psychology. Experiment 2 replicated the results in the domain of biology with a more complex pattern of conditional dependencies. In Experiment 3, children used evidence about patterns of dependence and independence to craft novel interventions across domains. In Experiments 4 and 5, children's sensitivity to patterns of dependence was pitted against their domain-specific knowledge. Children used conditional probabilities to make accurate causal inferences even when asked to violate domain boundaries.     

Personality differences in high risk sports amateurs and instructors

This study investigated the personality differences of 21 amateurs and 20 instructors who participated in the high risk sports of skydiving, hang-gliding, paragliding, scuba diving, microlighting, and rock climbing, versus those who did not. 38 men and 28 women (M age=32.6 yr., SD= 10.0) were assessed using the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised, the General Health Questionnaire, the Generalised Self-efficacy Scale, and a Type A/B personality measure. Instructors and Amateurs scored significantly higher on Extroversion and lower on Neuroticism than Nonparticipants; however, they differed from each other on the General Health Questionnaire and Type A/B personality scores. Amateurs scored significantly higher on Psychoticism and Self-efficacy than Instructors and Nonparticipants. In conclusion, these test scores suggest that people who are attracted to high risk sports tend to be at the extroverted and emotionally stable end of the scale, with a tendency to exhibit Type A characteristics; however, Instructors' scores on Psychoticism and Self-efficacy are more akin to those of Nonparticipants.     

Factor structure and differential validity of the expanded Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale

The Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) is one of the most widely used measures in psychiatric outcome and clinical psychopharmacology research. To date, however; research on the psychometric properties of the expanded version of the BPRS (BPRS-E) has been limited. An exploratory factor analysis (n = 360) using maximum likelihood extraction with oblimin rotation found a four-factor solution (Thought Disturbance, Animation, Mood Disturbance, Apathy) to underlie the BPRS-E. Furthermore, these factors were logical in nature and estimates of internal consistency were acceptable. A confirmatory factor analysis conducted on a second, independent sample (n = 280)found that for the five models currently available in the literature, the model developed herein provided the best fit to the data. Again, estimates of internal consistency were found acceptable. Finally, the four factors demonstrated appropriate differential validity with regards to both demographic variables and various psychiatric diagnoses.     

Diagnosis and treatment of depression during pregnancy

Pregnancy has frequently been described as a time of affective well-being. However, a growing literature suggests that women are neither "protected" against new-onset or recurrence of depression during this time. Diagnosis and effective treatment of depression during pregnancy requires a careful weighing of risk of treatment which may include psychotropic medications against the risks associated with failure to adequately manage affective distress and its potential impact of maternal and fetal well-being. Treatment options during pregnancy are reviewed in the context of developing the most appropriate risk/benefit decision for individual patients with past or current depression who either anticipate pregnancy or who become pregnant.     

Is Neighborhood Context Differently Related to Externalizing Problems and Delinquency for Girls Compared with Boys?

Although a number of reviews of gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency exist, this paper fills a gap in reviewing neighborhood influences on gender differences in conduct problems and delinquency. These influences are known to be important for boys in childhood and adolescence, but cannot be assumed to be influential in the same manner for girls. The paper starts with several conceptualizations of the association between gender, neighborhoods and juvenile delinquency. It then addresses 4 key questions. Is residing in a disadvantaged neighborhood associated with problem behavior in girls? Are neighborhood effects independent of girls' age? Are girls in disadvantaged neighborhoods exposed to more risk factors than girls in advantaged neighborhoods? Can mediating risk factors explain gender differences in neighborhood effects on children's and adolescents' conduct problems and delinquent behavior? Answers to these questions are important to steer research and elucidate aspects of interventions that can be optimized for girls.     

Anxiety sensitivity interacts with marijuana use in the prediction of anxiety symptoms and panic-related catastrophic thinking among daily tobacco users

The present investigation evaluated whether anxiety sensitivity interacted with marijuana use in relation to the prediction of panic-relevant variables among young adult tobacco smokers (n=265). Approximately 73% of the sample was composed of current marijuana smokers, with 78.5% of this sub-sample using marijuana more than once per week. As expected, after covarying cigarettes per day, alcohol use, and negative affectivity, the interaction between marijuana use and anxiety sensitivity predicted anxiety symptoms and agoraphobic cognitions. Partially consistent with prediction, the interaction between frequency of marijuana use and anxiety sensitivity predicted only anxiety symptoms. These results are discussed in relation to better understanding the potential role of regular marijuana use and anxiety sensitivity for panic-relevant emotional vulnerability among regular tobacco smokers.     

The modern confessional: Anglo-American religious groups and the emergence of lay psychotherapy

This article reconceives of secularization as a gradual process of increasing interaction between the (social) scientific and spiritual realms by examining the influence of Christian ideas of group confession on lay psychotherapeutic groups in Britain, Canada, and the U.S. in the early twentieth century. This article focuses on three religious group leaders of the interwar period: Frank Buchman (1878-1961), Gerald Heard (1889-1971), and Henry Burton Sharman (1865-1953). Influenced by Natural Theology and the holiness movement, they placed sin and its redemption within the world, reconceiving it as psychological individualism and its redemption as self-sacrifice to the group. This reconception endorsed the moral power of groups and influenced Alcoholics Anonymous and various groups within the Human Potential Movement.