Depression and unemployment: Panel findings from the Epidemiologic Catchment Area study

Studies that have found an association between unemployment and psychological depression often fail to establish the direction of causal influence. Analyses of Epidemiologic Catchment Area panel data revealed that of employed respondents not diagnosed with major depression at first interview, those who became unemployed had over twice the risk of increased depressive symptoms and of becoming clinically depressed as those who continued employed. Although the increase in symptoms was statistically significant, the effect on clinical depression was not, possibly because of the low power of the test. The reverse causal path from clinical depression at Time 1 to becoming unemployed by Time 2 was not supported. The unemployment rate in the respondent's community at time of interview was not related directly to psychological depression but appeared associated indirectly with depression via its impact on the risk of becoming unemployed. Implications for policy and further research were discussed. The research described in this paper was supported by Grant #5 RO1 AA08379-02 from the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. The authors appreciate the suggestions provided by members of the Consortium for Research Involving Stress Processes sponsored by the W. T. Grant Foundation and by two anonymous journal reviewers.     

Acceptance and commitment therapy: Altering the verbal support for experiential avoidance

Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is a behavior-analytically-based psychotherapy approach that attempts to undermine emotional avoidance and increase the capacity for behavior change. An overview of this approach is given, followed by several specific examples of the techniques used within ACT. In each instance the behavioral rationale of these techniques is described. A contemporary view of verbal relations provides the basis for new approaches to adult outpatient psychotherapy.     

Sex differences in ADHD: Conference summary

Clinical samples of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been dominated by males. Consequently, female manifestations and sex differences have been relatively neglected in the extensive ADHD research. Because ADHD is so common (3% to 5% of school children) and chronic (lifelong in many cases), even a small proportion of females multiplied by such a large base means hundreds of thousands of girls and women with ADHD, a significant public health problem. An NIMH conference concluded that research is needed not only on sex differences related to ADHD, but also on manifestations of ADHD in females as such. Areas of focus should include differences in life course (sex-differential age effects); effects of hormones; effects of ADHD parenting (in utero and postnatal) on the next generation; response to and implications for design of psychosocial treatment; effects of differential comorbidity; normative background sex differences that influence the manifestation of ADHD; differences in development of verbal fluency and social behavior; possible interactions of sex and ethnicity; a prospective study of both sex offspring of ADHD adults; and such methodological issues as appropriate instruments and diagnostic thresholds, power to prevent false negatives, valid impairment measures, validity and reliability of child self-reports, and more inclusive samples (all three subtypes: inattentive, hyperactive-impulsive, and combined).The following participants in the November 16–17, 1994, NIMH Conference on Sex Differences in ADHD may be considered ghost co-authors of the contents in this summary. Special thanks are due to Euthymia Hibbs, Ph.D., co-organizer of the conference; Peter Jensen, M.D., who suggested the successful format; Delores Parron, Ph.D., who gave much helpful advice on the conference arrangements; Emily Areia, Ph.D., who thoroughly critiqued the summary; Joan Cole, who helped abstract the recorded proceedings; and Jose Bauermeister, Ph. D., F. Xavier Castellanos, M.D., Stephen Hinshaw, Ph.D., and Mark Stein, Ph.D., who helped with referencing. Other participants, in alphabetical order, included Russell Barkley, Ph.D.; Joseph Biederman, M.D.; Caryn Carlson, Ph.D.; C. Keith Conners, Ph.D.; Monique Ernst, M.D.; Miranda Gaub; Jay N. Giedd, M.D.; Michael Gordon, Ph.D.; Jeffrey Halperin, Ph. D.; Betsy Hoza, Ph.D.; Hans Huessy, M.D.; Jean King, Ph.D.; Kathleen Kiely; Rachel Klein, Ph.D.; Benjamin Lahey, Ph.D.; Jan Loney, Ph.D.; Elizabeth Lorch, Ph.D.; Spero Manson, Ph.D.; Keith McBurnett, Ph.D.; Richard Milich, Ph.D.; Douglas Novins, M.D.; Daisy Pascualvaca, Ph.D.; Linda Pfiffner, Ph.D.; Jane Steinberg, Ph.D.; James Swanson, Ph.D.; Marcus Thomeer, Ph.D.; Lillie Williams, M.D.; Alan Zametkin, M.D.The opinions expressed herein are the views of the author and conference participants and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the National Institute of Mental Health or any other part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.     

The effects of multi-component,assessment-based curricular modifications on the classroom behavior of children with emotional and behavioral disorders

In this study, academic task assignments were modified in an effort to improve the conduct and task performance of three students with emotional and behavioral disorders. Functional assessments, including interviews and direct observations, were conducted to identify variables that affected the performance of each student during problematic assignments. The assessments implicated several variables for each student. These variables were then used as guides to modify the problematic tasks. The modifications resulted in reduced levels of problem behaviors and increased rates of task engagement, work productivity and accuracy for each of the students. The effects were demonstrated within ongoing academic activities and replicated through the use of reversal designs. The findings are discussed in relation to the practical process of functional assessment and the relevance of curricular and instructional arrangements to the occurrence of disruptive behavior.     

The φ-maze: A versatile automated T-maze for learning and memory experiments in the rat

The φ-maze is a novel implementation of the T-maze that can be used for various behavioral experiments. It consists of a start/goalbox from which a central alley leads to a choice point. Left and right arms return to the start/goalbox, where reinforcers are delivered. A holding chamber at the choice point can be used for delayed (non)matching-to-sample experiments. Lamps mounted under the translucent acrylic floor serve as visual stimuli. The design incorporates reliable and inexpensive automated guillotine doors and a modification of a commercially available pellet dispenser that allows the automated dispensing of Froot Loop reinforcers. The φ-maze has been used successfully in experiments involving spatial and visual alternation, visual discrimination, and delayed matching-to-sample.     

Effects of contextual constraint on eye movements in reading: A further examination

The effect of contextual constraint on eye movements in reading was examined by asking subjects to read sentences that contained a target word that varied in contextual constraint; high-, medium-, or low-constraint target words were used. Subjects fixated low-constraint target words longer than they did either high- or medium-constraint target words. In addition, they skipped high-constraint words more than they did either medium- or low-constraint target words. The results further confirm that contextual constraint has a strong influence on eye movements during reading.     

Social attitudes of schizophrenics

The Wilson-Patterson Conservatism Scale was given to 34 schizophrenic and 34 non-schizophrenic patients in a Dutch mental hospital. The absence of liberal-scoring schizophrenics was interpreted as consistent with the theory that the social withdrawal seen in chronic schizophrenia represents a strategy for coping with stimulus overload. Internal consistency analysis of C scale performance indicated that this test might be used to assess thought disorder in much the same way as the Bannister and Fransella Grid Test, but a great deal more economically. Furthermore, the questionnaire permits a more detailed examination of the source of inconsistency than does the repertory grid method.