Longevity increased by positive self-perceptions of aging

This research found that older individuals with more positive self-perceptions of aging, measured up to 23 years earlier, lived 7.5 years longer than those with less positive self-perceptions of aging. This advantage remained after age, gender, socioeconomic status, loneliness, and functional health were included as covariates. It was also found that this effect is partially mediated by will to live. The sample consisted of 660 individuals aged 50 and older who participated in a community-based survey, the Ohio Longitudinal Study of Aging and Retirement (OLSAR). By matching the OLSAR to mortality data recently obtained from the National Death Index, the authors were able to conduct survival analyses. The findings suggest that the self-perceptions of stigmatized groups can influence longevity.     

Toward conceptual development and empirical measurement of global risk indicators in the lives of court-involved youth

This paper reports work related to the conceptual development and empirical use of global risk indicators meant to measure rapidly and reliably potential threats to the overall development and well-being of adolescents in the juvenile justice system. The development of these indicators and initial data regarding their use with court involved samples are presented. Analysis of data gathered from a sample containing 248 families of adolescents who participated in a family-based diversion program identified a seven-factor structure that corresponded to theoretically derived dimensions of risk in domains associated with prior offenses, family/parenting, education/work, peers, substance use, personality/behavior problems, and attitudes/orientation. Analysis of data gathered from a second sample containing 373 families of adolescents who came into contact with the intake/diversion department of a county juvenile court confirmed the original seven factors of the battery and generated support for an eighth dimension composed of items that reflected leisure activities. The use of these global risk indicators are discussed as part of a practical and effective assessment battery for professionals working with court-involved youth and their families.     

Stability and change in mothers' representations of their relationship with their toddlers.

This study examined several issues in the developmental dynamics of parents' representations of their relationship with their toddlers. The authors studied 125 mothers and their firstborn toddler sons over a 13-month period. Mothers took the Parent Development Interview twice, when children were 15 and 28 months of age. Home observations of parent-child interactions and maternal ratings of daily hassles were collected when children were 21 and 27 months of age. The 3 factors that characterized mothers' representations of their 15-month-old firstborn sons (Joy-Pleasure/Coherence, Anger, Guilt-Separation Distress) also fit the data very well for their 28-month-old sons. Although there were no changes in average levels of mothers' (a) joy, pleasure, and coherence and (b) guilt and separation distress from 15 to 28 months, there was a significant increase in mothers' levels of anger. Stability analyses suggested a dynamic relationship between mothers' representations of joy, pleasure, and coherence and of anger over the 13-month period. Finally, changes in mothers' representations were predictable by positive mothering (which led to increased joy, pleasure, and coherence) and by parenting daily hassles (which led to more anger).     

Reasons to Buy: The Logic of Advertisements

This paper argues that advertisements have been wrongly conceived as appealing to the irrational. Advertisements contain a structure of argumentation, but often far more complex than would initially appear. Advertisements give reasons for consumers to choose products, voters to elect a candidate, or citizens to alter their behavior. The way they do so is to best explained in terms of their argumentative structure.     

The Family Cycle: An Activity to Enhance Parents’ Mentalization in Children’s Mental Health Treatment

This article introduces the Family Cycle, a therapeutic activity informed by attachment theory, family systems theory, and current literature on reflective functioning. The Family Cycle helps clinicians and families create a narrative about a child’s psychopathology that considers complex trauma and/or adverse childhood experiences. It reframes observable dysfunctional phenomena as behavioral sequelae of more deeply rooted emotional loss. After the theoretical underpinnings of the Family Cycle are laid out, we describe the implementation of the Family Cycle within the context of an intensive home-based, family-focused intervention created at the Yale Child Study Center, the Intensive In-Home Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service (IICAPS). The Family Cycle provides a teachable clinical framework to facilitate the treatment of families with complex, multigenerational trauma.     

Causal Thinking After a Tsunami Wave: Karma Beliefs,Pessimistic Explanatory Style and Health Among Sri Lankan Survivors

In 2004, one of the largest earthquakes ever recorded led to a tsunami devastating two-thirds of the Sri Lankan coastline. We examined whether certain causal beliefs (attributional style and karma, a Buddhist concept used to explain bad events) are associated with tsunami survivors experiencing PTSD and poor health about six months later. Previous studies of causal beliefs associated with illness following the same traumatic event have focused on Western countries and none have considered the role of karma. We interviewed 264 Sri Lankan tsunami survivors. As predicted, we found that belief in karma and a pessimistic explanatory style are independently associated with poor health and a pessimistic explanatory style is associated with PTSD, after adjusting for relevant factors. Thus, both universal and more culturally specific beliefs may contribute to coping following a natural disaster.