Photographic Assessment of Change in Trichotillomania: Psychometric Properties and Variables Influencing Interpretation

Although photographic assessment has been found to be reliable in assessing hair loss in Trichotillomania, the validity of this method is unclear, particularly for gauging progress in treatment. The current study evaluated the psychometric properties of photographic assessment of change in Trichotillomania. Photographs showing hair loss of adults with Trichotillomania were taken before and after participating in a clinical trial for the condition. Undergraduate college students (N?=?211) rated treatment response according to the photos, and additional archival data on hair pulling severity and psychosocial health were retrieved from the clinical trial. Photographic assessment of change was found to possess fair reliability (ICC?=?0.53), acceptable criterion validity (r?=?0.51), good concurrent validity (r?=?0.30–0.36), and excellent incremental validity (ΔR ²?=?8.67, p?<?0.01). In addition, photographic measures were significantly correlated with change in quality of life (r?=?0.42), and thus could be considered an index of the social validity of Trichotillomania treatment. Gender of the photo rater and pulling topography affected the criterion validity of photographic assessment (partial η ²?=?0.05–0.11). Recommendations for improving photographic assessment and future directions for hair pulling research are discussed.     

Sexual Nature? (Re)presenting Sexuality and Science in the Museum

The past 15 years have seen dramatic changes in social norms around sex and sexuality in the UK and worldwide. In 2011, the London Natural History Museum (NHM) contributed to these debates by opening the temporary exhibition Sexual Nature, which aimed to provide ‘a candid exploration of sex in the natural world’ whilst also drawing in an under-represented audience of young adults. Sexual Nature provides an opportunity to explore Macdonald's ‘politics of display’ in the mutual construction of (public) scientific knowledge, society and sexuality, at a time of intense contestation over sexual norms. Whilst Sexual Nature both reflected and contributed to major reframings of sexuality and what science can say about it, the assumption that it would be possible to present this topic as morally neutral, reliable and uncontested, in line with traditions of public science, proved to be problematic. The language of the exhibition moved back and forth between human/animal similarity and difference, and between scientific and cultural tropes as the NHM tried to maintain epistemic authority whilst also negotiating the moral boundaries of acceptable sexual behaviour. The topic of sex pushed the museum far beyond its usual expertise in the natural sciences towards the unfamiliar territory of the social and human, resulting in an ad hoc search for, and negotiation with, alternative sources of expertise. Boon et al.’s co-curation approach to exhibition building has the potential to extend the NHM's audience-driven strategy, whilst also producing a more coherent and nuanced exhibition about the science of sex.     

Similarity to the self influences cortical recruitment during impression formation

Prior work has shown that whether or not someone is similar to the self influences person memory—a type of self-reference effect for others. In this study, we were interested in understanding the neural regions supporting the generation of impressions and subsequent memory for targets who vary in similarity to the self. Participants underwent fMRI scanning while forming positive or negative impressions of face–behavior pairs. We tested participants’ memory for their generated impressions and then back-sorted the impression trials (encoding) into different levels of self-similarity (high, medium, low) using a self-similarity posttest that came after recognition. Extending prior behavioral work, our data confirmed our hypothesis that memory would be highest for self-similar others and lowest for self-dissimilar others. Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) activity increased with self-similarity (high > medium > low) to targets, regardless of later memory for them. An analysis of regions supporting impression memory revealed a double dissociation within medial temporal lobe regions: for similar others, amygdala recruitment supported memory, whereas for dissimilar others, hippocampal activation supported memory. These results suggest that self-similarity influences evaluation and memory for targets but also affects the underlying neural resources engaged when thinking about others who vary in self-similarity.     

Linguistic and prosodic aspects of child-directed speech: The role of maternal child-rearing experiences

This study explored if the quality of mothers’ reported child-rearing experiences influences the prosodic and linguistic features of maternal child-directed speech. Lexical, syntactic, functional and prosodic aspects of maternal speech directed towards their 24-month-old children were examined. Results showed that mothers with different child-rearing histories differed in the ways they talked to their children. Mothers who recalled the caregiving they received during childhood as characterized by high levels of care and low levels of control, used a lexically and syntactically more complex speech and expressed more positive emotions. This kind of input seems to be more attuned with the typical growing skills of two-year-old children. Implications for the study of mother–infant relationship as well as for the study of child language development are addressed.     

Verbs and Verb Phrases as Instructional Stimuli in the Control of Stimulus-Equivalence Effects

The Psychological Record - This research examined in 26 undergraduate students a form of instructional control of certain emergent relations definitional of the stimulus-equivalence relationship....     

Subjective Change and Its Consequences for Emotional Well-Being

This study investigates the impact of subjective changes in the execution of the roles of spouse, worker, and parent on the level and structure of positive and negative affect. According to the self-theory of subjective change, perceived improvement and decline are unsettling because each violate standards of self-conception, but perceived stability satisfies the organismic desire for homeostasis. Therefore individuals who perceive more changes in themselves should report more negative and less positive affect, compared with individuals who feel they have remained the same. The context-dependence theory of affects also argues that the correlation of negative and positive affect is strong when individuals are distressed and modest when they are in homeostasis. Thus, the correlation of positive and negative should approach unity as individuals perceive more change in themselves. Data are from the MIDUS study and sample (N = 3,032) of adults between the ages of 25 and 74. Respondents completed scales of positive and negative affect, and evaluated their current and past (10 years ago) functioning as spouses (or close relationship), in work, and as parents (relationship with their children). The correlation of positive and negative affect approached unity at the highest levels of perceived improvement, r = –.93, and at the highest levels of perceived decline, r = –.90, but was modestly correlated at no change, r = –.52. Moreover, the level of positive affect was lower, and negative affect was higher, among adults who perceived more improvement as well as declines, compared with adults who remained the same. Implications for the study of objective life events as well as health interventions are discussed.an affiliated program of Emory University     

Are reporting errors due to encoding limitations or retrieval failure? Surveys of child vaccination as a case study

Surveys of childhood vaccinations are often highly inaccurate, due to parental misreporting. We conducted three experiments to examine the source of the inaccuracies. In Experiment 1, we provided parents with memory aids; these aids did little to improve reporting accuracy. Two further experiments asked whether parents forgot what they knew about their children's vaccinations, or whether they never knew the information. In Experiment 2 we surveyed parents both immediately and ten weeks after their child's medical visit. Accuracy was only slightly better than chance immediately afterwards; ten weeks later performance had not changed significantly. Experiment 3 compared reports in both recall and recognition conditions. Although the recognition condition lowered the response burden on parents it did not produce more accurate reports. We conclude that low levels of accuracy in parental reports on vaccinations appear to reflect poor initial encoding rather than retrieval failure. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Patient-Informed Treatment Development of Behavioral Smoking Cessation for People With Schizophrenia

The objective of this study was to use qualitative methodology to tailor and refine an existing smoking cessation intervention for the population of people who use cigarettes and are diagnosed with schizophrenia, schizoaffective, or psychotic disorder. Successive cohort design methodology was used to iteratively modify the treatment in response to qualitative participant, therapist, and consultant feedback on the intervention. Qualitative methodology for participant feedback included analysis of semistructured interviews with participants, visualization of app utilization data, and stakeholder feedback from study therapists and consultants. Using the successive cohort design, a tailored multicomponent mobile health smoking cessation intervention was developed. The intervention included mobile contingency management (i.e., financial compensation for confirmed abstinence from smoking), pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation, cognitive-behavioral counseling sessions, and the Stay Quit app for relapse prevention. Two cohorts (N = 13) were completed in the study; after each cohort, the treatment protocol was revised. The intervention is described, as well as the qualitative findings from each cohort and subsequent changes made to the intervention based upon patient and provider feedback. Metrics of patient engagement included treatment adherence (40% in Cohort 1 and 63% in Cohort 2). Both participants and therapists reported that the intervention was helpful. Over one third of participants self-reported abstinence at posttreatment. Since qualitative methodology is often underutilized in mental health treatment development, this study demonstrates the utility of the successive cohort design for treatment development of behavior change interventions for at-risk, vulnerable populations.     

Examining Correctional Staff Members’ Engagement in Rehabilitation as Part of Their Everyday Practices in Short‐term Juvenile Detention

Research on the rehabilitation of juvenile justice‐involved youth is often focused on specific evidence‐based interventions. Less attention has been paid to everyday interactions that correctional staff members have with detained youth and, further, how these may align with trauma‐informed care principles and thus encourage a more supportive setting. Using an ethnographic case study approach, this study addressed this gap in knowledge by documenting the nature of rehabilitative practices as they naturally occurred in the context of short‐term detention staff members’ daily routine and interactions with detained youth. This study found evidence for three primary forms of routine rehabilitative practices: (a) promotion of youths’ emotional safety and well‐being, (b) provision of rights‐based information and explanations, and (c) encouraging youths’ success in and beyond detention. These practices were observed across several key setting contexts: (a) staff‐led group activities, (b) routine contact between individual youth and staff (e.g., formal procedures, informal conversations), and (c) staff‐only spaces. Our findings highlight the need for ongoing research to effectively translate promising intervention approaches, such as trauma‐informed care, into juvenile detainment settings.     

Influence of social stigma on subjective well‐being of persons with albinism in Ghana

Previous studies have shown that social stigma adversely affects quality of life. However, little research has assessed the influence of social stigma on subjective well‐being (SWB) of persons with albinism (PWA) in Ghana, and the role that perceived social support plays in this relationship. This study investigated the SWB of PWA in Ghana. Participants (N = 105) completed a survey questionnaire on social stigma, social support, and SWB. Results from structural equation modelling showed a significant negative association between social stigma and SWB. Perceived social support partially mediated the negative effect that social stigma has on SWB, with significant other support emerging as a reliable predictor of SWB in this sample. Results suggest that the population with albinism in Ghana is experiencing high levels of social stigma, which is adversely affecting its SWB. Social stigma seems to be preventing PWA from being accorded the needed social support by family and friends. The results highlight the importance of designing stigma‐reduction educational interventions that target social stigma at family, community, and societal levels.