Sex differences in genetic and environmental effects on aggression

The aim of the present study was to investigate the genetic and environmental factors influencing teacher and parental rated aggression in boys and girls, asking whether the magnitude of these effects is similar across rater and sex. The study is part of an ongoing nationwide twin‐family study of behavioral development and health habits carried out in Finland. The sample consisted of 1651 twin pairs (264 monozygotic male, 300 monozygotic female, 292 dizygotic male, 278 dizygotic female, and 517 dizygotic opposite‐sex twin pairs), representing subsets of five 11‐ to 12‐year‐old twin cohorts (b. 1983–1987). The data were collected using the teacher and parental rating forms of the Multidimensional Peer Nomination Inventory. Structural equation models of sex‐limitation assessed sex differences in genetic and environmental influences on aggression. The results suggested significant genetic, common environmental, and specific environmental effects on aggression in both boys and girls, but the best fitting model differed depending on the informant. For both ratings, boys showed lower levels of heritability and higher levels of common environment than girls. In addition, the teacher rating data also suggested the presence of either sex‐specific common environmental effects or sex‐specific genetic effects. Support is provided also for sibling contrast effects, either at the behavioral level or as a rater bias. Aggr. Behav. 29:55–68, 2003. © 2003 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

Nonlinear Associations Between Co-Rumination and Both Social Support and Depression Symptoms

Co-ruminating about one's problems appears to involve both beneficial self-disclosure and harmful rumination, suggesting that moderate levels may be the most adaptive. This study used nonlinear regression to determine whether moderate levels of self-reported co-rumination in relationships with a sibling, parent, friend, and romantic partner are linked to the highest levels of self-perceived social support and lowest levels of self-reported depression symptoms in 175 emerging adults (77% female; M = 19.66 years). As expected, moderate co-rumination was associated with high social support across all four relationship types, but, somewhat unexpectedly, high levels of co-rumination were also associated with high social support. As predicted, moderate levels of co-rumination with friends and siblings were associated with low levels of depression. Contrary to hypotheses, high levels of co-rumination were associated with high depression within romantic relationships. Co-rumination with a parent did not have a linear or quadratic association with depression. These findings suggest that high co-ruminating in supportive relationships and to a lesser extent low co-ruminating in unsupportive relationships are maladaptive interpersonal processes but that co-rumination's relation to depression depends on the co-ruminating partner. Psychotherapies for depression may target these maladaptive processes by supporting clients' development of balanced self-focused negative talk.     

Executive Functioning and Engagement in Physical and Relational Aggression among Children with ADHD

Although evidence suggests that executive functioning (EF) impairments are implicated in physically aggressive behavior (e.g., hitting) these cognitive impairments have rarely been examined with regard to relational aggression (e.g., gossip, systematic exclusion). Studies also have not examined if EF impairments underlie the expression of aggression in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and if child gender moderates risk. Children with and without clinical elevations in ADHD symptoms (N = 124; ages 8–12 years; 48 % male) completed a battery of EF tests. Parent and teacher report of ADHD and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) symptoms and teacher report of engagement in physical and relational aggression were collected. Models tested the unique association of EF abilities with physical and relational aggression and the indirect effect through the expression of ADHD or ODD behaviors; child gender was also tested as a moderator. EF impairment was uniquely associated with physical aggression, but better EF ability was associated with relational aggression. For boys, poor EF also was indirectly associated with greater physical aggression through the expression of ADHD behaviors. However, ADHD symptoms were unrelated to relational aggression. ODD symptoms also predicted physical aggression for boys but relational aggression for girls. Results suggest that there are multiple and distinct factors associated with engagement in physical and relational aggression and that better EF may actually promote relational aggression. Established models of physical aggression should not be assumed to map on to explanations of relational aggression.     

Neuroscientific Prediction and the Intrusion of Intuitive Metaphysics

How might advanced neuroscience—in which perfect neuro‐predictions are possible—interact with ordinary judgments of free will? We propose that peoples' intuitive ideas about indeterminist free will are both imported into and intrude into their representation of neuroscientific scenarios and present six experiments demonstrating intrusion and importing effects in the context of scenarios depicting perfect neuro‐prediction. In light of our findings, we suggest that the intuitive commitment to indeterminist free will may be resilient in the face of scientific evidence against such free will.     

Comparative Optimism and Event Skewness

Comparative judgment biases—wherein a majority of people report being above‐ or below‐average in their abilities, traits, or future events—are a robust phenomenon in psychology. A recent explanation for these biases has focused on people's awareness that many comparative judgment domains form skewed distributions, and, hence, a majority of people can feasibly be above or below average. Indeed, this prior research found that comparative biases for abilities emerged more for skewed (vs. normal) distributions. In the current research, we attempted to (i) conceptually replicate this finding in a comparative likelihood context and (ii) provide evidence of an alternative explanation for the prior results. Replicating prior research, three correlational studies and one experimental study found that event skewness was related to direct comparative likelihood judgments for health events, such that comparative optimism emerged more for events judged or manipulated to come from positively skewed distributions than from negatively skewed distributions. However, event skewness was unrelated to indirect comparisons (absolute self minus absolute other). Moreover, consistent with an egocentric‐processes account, absolute self‐judgments were more predictive of direct comparisons than were absolute other judgments and showed the same association with event skewness as direct comparisons. Implications for explaining and interpreting comparative judgment biases are discussed. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Measuring Mental Wellbeing Among Adolescents: A Systematic Review of Instruments

Globally, promoting mental wellbeing among adolescents is of great public health and social significance. However, less is known about advances in measures of mental wellbeing, relevant for use in mental health interventions, which are age-appropriate and acceptable for use among adolescents. Comprehensive assessment includes multiple aspects of mental wellbeing, as well as positive indicators of feeling and functioning. This review used systematic review methods, guided by PRISMA, to identify and assess comprehensive instruments in terms of their content, conceptual relevance for youth, and responsiveness to change. Ryan and Deci’s framework for mental wellbeing, grounded in hedonic and eudaimonic perspectives, was applied to assess the preponderance of feeling and functioning items for each instrument. The review identified 11 instruments that fit specified inclusion criteria. Only four of the scales were developed for adolescents. Though the scales varied in their preponderance of items, all scales encompassed at least one indicator of both feeling and functioning. Findings emphasize the importance of validating adult-developed instruments for youth and ensuring the instrument’s cultural and conceptual relevance within groups of adolescents. As promoting mental wellbeing becomes critical to the field of practice, practitioners need access to relevant and acceptable measures.     

Indirectly measuring evaluations of several attitude objects in relation to a neutral reference point

This article presents a new response time measure of evaluations, the Evaluative Movement Assessment (EMA). Two properties are verified for the first time in a response time measure: (a) mapping of multiple attitude objects to a single scale, and (b) centering that scale around a neutral point. Property (a) has implications when self-report and response time measures of attitudes have a low correlation. A study using EMA as an indirect measure revealed a low correlation with self-reported attitudes when the correlation reflected between-subjects differences in preferences for one attitude object to a second. Previously this result may have been interpreted as dissociation between two measures. However, when correlations from the same data reflected within-subject preference rank orders between multiple attitude objects, they were substantial (average r = .64). This result suggests that the presence of low correlations between self-report and response time measures in previous studies may be a reflection of methodological aspects of the response time measurement techniques. Property (b) has implications for exploring theoretical questions that require assessment of whether an evaluation is positive or negative (e.g., prejudice), because it allows such classifications in response time measurement to be made for the first time.     

Sind Psychotherapeuten heimliche Evaluatoren?

Evaluation and psychotherapy share a variety of common features. Both concepts embrace a wide variety of models and applications and are frequently met with opposition and scepticism. A more detailed comparison indicates the close relation between evaluation and psychotherapy and gives authority to the stance that psychotherapists’ resistance to evaluation is futile. The rising demands on psychotherapists for accountability and evidence of what works have increased the practical, academic, and political importance of developing appropriate evaluation approaches. This paper argues that psychotherapists, in their own interest, need to play an increasingly active role in developing useful methods, objectives, and indicators with respect to the evaluation of psychotherapeutic processes.