Clarifying body-image disturbance: analysis of a multidimensional model using structural modeling

A multidimensional model of body-image disturbance was tested. The model incorporated the concepts of body-size distortion, preference for thinness, body dissatisfaction, and fear of fatness as predictors of restrictive eating. The LISREL 7 program was used to perform a structural modeling analysis of the theoretical model. A total of 175 women participated in the study (54 eating-disordered patients and 121 undergraduate students). The results supported the hypothesized four-dimensional model relative to alternative one-, two-, and three-dimensional models. Body dissatisfaction appeared to be directly affected by both body-size distortion and preference for thinness. Fear of fatness was found to be the best predictor of restrictive eating. The results appeared consistent across the clinical and nonclinical samples. These data may help resolve many of the current controversies in the body-image literature. The results also suggested the need to develop more sound assessment instruments for fear of fatness.     

Exposure to Bullying and General Psychopathology: A Prospective,Longitudinal Study

Although there is mounting evidence that the experience of being bullied associates with both internalizing and externalizing symptoms, it is not known yet whether the identified associations are specific to these symptoms, or shared between them. The primary focus of this study is to assess the prospective associations of bullying exposure with both general and specific (i.e., internalizing, externalizing) factors of psychopathology. This study included data from 6,210 children participating in the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children (ALSPAC). Child bullying was measured by self-report at ages 8 and 10 years. Child psychopathology symptoms were assessed by parent-interview, using the Development and Well-being Assessment (DAWBA) at ages 7 and 13 years. Bullying exposure significantly associated with the general psychopathology factor in early adolescence. In particular, chronically victimized youth exposed to multiple forms of bullying (i.e., both overt and relational) showed higher levels of general psychopathology. Bullying exposure also associated with both internalizing and externalizing factors from the correlated-factors model. However, the effect estimates for these factors decreased considerably in size and dropped to insignificant for the internalizing factor after extracting the shared variance that belongs to the general factor of psychopathology. Using an integrative longitudinal model, we found that higher levels of general psychopathology at age 7 also associated with bullying exposure at age 8 which, in turn, associated with general psychopathology at age 13 through its two-year continuity. Findings suggest that exposure to bullying is a risk factor for a more general vulnerability to psychopathology.

     

Reperfusion of Specific Brain Regions by Raising Blood Pressure Restores Selective Language Functions in Subacute Stroke

We report a series of six single subject studies examining the effects of pharmacological blood pressure elevation on regional brain perfusion and language function. Previous reports indicate that hypoperfusion of specific brain regions, as delineated by magnetic resonance perfusion weighted imaging (PWI), is associated with disruption of selective lexical functions. On this basis, we hypothesized that reperfusion of the same regions, in the absence of infarct in that region, would restore the associated lexical function. We present five patients with impaired lexical-semantics associated with poor perfusion, but not infarction, of Brodmann's area 22 (BA 22), and one patient with impaired lexical-semantics and a superimposed deficit in retrieving the phonological representations of words, associated with poor perfusion Brodmann's area 37 (BA 37) as well as BA 22. Each patient was treated with induced blood pressure elevation to increase perfusion of the ischemic and dysfunctional tissue. Daily testing of naming and comprehension, with stimulus sets matched for frequency, familiarity, and length, showed improved lexical-semantics in the patients who showed reperfusion of BA 22 and improved oral naming (but not lexical-semantics) in the patient who showed reperfusion of BA 37. These cases illustrate that loss of function with hypoperfusion of a circumscribed area of the brain, and recovery of the same function with improved perfusion of that brain region, can reveal brain/language relationships prior to reorganization after brain injury.     

A Mediation Model of Sexual Assault among Latter-Day Saints

Socialization that occurs within some conservative Christian contexts might facilitate development of attitudes and beliefs that increase women’s risk for sexual assault. Patriarchal community structure and rigid gender role adherence place women in subordinate roles and maintain gender inequality. Within conservative, dogmatic contexts, comprehensive sex education and education about assault might be minimal, and rape myths are hypothesized to be more prevalent. This study assessed sexual assault experiences (victimization and perpetration) in a sample of 208 male and female college students affiliated with the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints (LDS). Women reported victimization of all forms of sexual coercion at higher rates than men reported perpetration. In addition, traditional gender role adherence mediated the link between dogmatic, religiously fundamentalist beliefs and acceptance of rape mythology for both men and women. Traditional gender role adherence also mediated the link between religious fundamentalism and sexual assault behaviors for men.     

‘I’ve got to prioritise’: being a parent with cystic fibrosis

Due to advances in earlier diagnosis and treatment, the life expectancy of a person born with cystic fibrosis (CF) has increased. Therefore, more people with CF are becoming parents but the psychological understanding of CF has lagged behind advances in medical treatment; there is very limited applied psychological research on which parents and professionals can draw when considering issues of parenting in this context. This qualitative research explored how mothers and fathers with CF experience and manage the dual roles of being a parent and living with CF. The aim was to facilitate development of an understanding of experience rather than test existing theory. A qualitative methodology was chosen as it allowed participants to reflect openly on their individual experiences. Nine participants completed semi-structured interviews either in their own homes or a clinic base which examined parenting, CF and the interaction between the two roles. Four participants were male and five were female with an age range of 21–50. Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis was used to interpret the participants’ accounts and generate super-ordinate and master themes. ‘Being a parent on compressed time’ was the super-ordinate theme which reflected the challenge of parenting within both a limited life trajectory and a complex treatment regime with daily adherence and time pressures. The findings have implications for parents with CF, those considering parenting and for health professionals working in CF services whose guidance needs to be grounded in an evidence-base. Further research is needed to explore the experiences of parents within different family structures, parents who have had a transplant and the perspectives of others in the wider system in which parents with CF are located.     

Debunking arguments and metaphysical laws

Philosophical Studies - I argue that one’s views about which “metaphysical laws” obtain—including laws about what is identical with what, about what is reducible to what,...     

Predictors of Appraisal and Psychological Well-Being in Alzheimer's Disease Family Caregivers

The objective of this study was to test a model of stress, appraisal, and adaptation in 114 family caregivers of patients diagnosed with dementia of the Alzheimer's type (white non-Hispanic, N = 64; Hispanic-American, N = 50). Results of structural equation analysis show that appraised caregiver burden played a central role in determining the psychological well-being of family caregivers. The findings indicate that this mediating variable, negative caregiver appraisal, was predicted by increased functional limitations and behavioral disturbances in the patient, poorer perceived physical health, and lower levels of perceived emotional support. Contrary to a priori hypotheses, functional limitations in the patient also exhibited a direct association with caregiver depression. Further, patient cognitive impairment and caregiver ethnicity were not related to caregiver appraisal. Overall, these results support the role of appraised burden in mediating the relationships between caregiving factors and the adaptational outcome of depression. The implications of these findings, limitations of the study, and future directions are discussed.