Prism adaptation in schizophrenia

The prism adaptation test examines procedural learning (PL) in which performance facilitation occurs with practice on tasks without the need for conscious awareness. Dynamic interactions between frontostriatal cortices, basal ganglia, and the cerebellum have been shown to play key roles in PL. Disruptions within these neural networks have also been implicated in schizophrenia, and such disruptions may manifest as impairment in prism adaptation test performance in schizophrenia patients. This study examined prism adaptation in a sample of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (N=91) and healthy normal controls (N=58). Quantitative indices of performance during prism adaptation conditions with and without visual feedback were studied. Schizophrenia patients were significantly more impaired in adapting to prism distortion and demonstrated poorer quality of PL. Patients did not differ from healthy controls on aftereffects when the prisms were removed, but they had significantly greater difficulties in reorientation. Deficits in prism adaptation among schizophrenia patients may be due to abnormalities in motor programming arising from the disruptions within the neural networks that subserve PL.     

Psychological effects of attack on the World Trade Center: analysis before and after

Four different studies using a total sample of 711 from the same New York City student population tested a model that has emerged from previous research on disasters. The model suggests that postdisaster psychological distress is a function of exposure to the disaster, predisaster psychological distress, acute distress following the disaster, time elapsed between disaster and observation of distress, and additional traumatic experiences since the disaster. Although findings replicate those of previous cross-sectional studies regarding association of exposure and distress after the disaster, before and after studies did not detect an effect on postdisaster psychological distress of the World Trade Center attack. Great caution must be used in attributing elevated psychological distress observed postdisaster to the effects of the disaster.     

Severity of Emotional and Behavioral Problems Among Poor and Typical Readers

The purpose of this study was to examine the severity of behavioral and emotional problems among adolescents with poor and typical single word reading ability (N = 188) recruited from public schools and followed for a median of 2.4 years. Youth and parents were repeatedly assessed to obtain information regarding the severity and course of symptoms (depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, aggression, delinquent behaviors, inattention), controlling for demographic variables and diagnosis of ADHD. After adjustment for demographic variables and ADHD, poor readers reported higher levels of depression, trait anxiety, and somatic complaints than typical readers, but there were no differences in reported self-reported delinquent or aggressive behaviors. Parent reports indicated no differences in depression, anxiety or aggression between the two groups but indicated more inattention, somatic complaints, and delinquent behaviors for the poor readers. School and health professionals should carefully assess youth with poor reading for behavioral and emotional symptoms and provide services when indicated.     

Changing Beliefs About Corporal Punishment: Increasing Knowledge About Ineffectiveness to Build More Consistent Moral and Informational Beliefs

Although the effectiveness of corporal punishment (CP) has received little empirical support, public support for this disciplinary method continues despite calls for its abandonment by researchers. Even among educators, favorable attitudes toward the use of CP are prevalent. We measured education majors beliefs about CP before and after they read about CP research on its effectiveness and side effects. Students who changed their behavioral intent regarding whether they would use CP as a parent increased their knowledge about its ineffectiveness, resulting in greater consistency between their moral and informational beliefs (Wainryb, 1998). Persons who are likely to change from defending to opposing CP regard it as being similar to bad-tasting medicine—not very pleasant but nonetheless necessary. Recommendations concerning implementation and changing other beliefs are discussed.     

The incremental validity of the MMPI-2: when does therapist access not enhance treatment outcome?

The present study examined whether therapist access to the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI-2) predicted favorable treatment outcome, above and beyond other assessment measures. A manipulated assessment design was used, in which patients were randomly assigned either to a group in which therapists had access to their MMPI-2 data or to a group without therapist access to such information. Illness severity, improvement ratings, number of sessions attended, and premature termination were indicators of therapy outcome. Results indicated that therapist access to the MMPI-2 data did not add to the prediction of positive treatment outcome beyond that predicted by other measures in this setting. Findings from this initial study suggest that, compared with other resources, perhaps in clinical settings with an emphasis on diagnosis-based and evidence-based treatment, the MMPI-2 may not provide incrementally valid information. However, these effects warrant replication across different settings and samples. Guidelines for future studies are discussed.     

Sleep disorders, epilepsy, and autism

The purpose of this review article is to describe the clinical data linking autism with sleep and epilepsy and to discuss the impact of treating sleep disorders in children with autism either with or without coexisting epileptic seizures. Studies are presented to support the view that sleep is abnormal in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders. Epilepsy and sleep have reciprocal relationships, with sleep facilitating seizures and seizures adversely affecting sleep architecture. The hypothesis put forth is that identifying and treating sleep disorders, which are potentially caused by or contributed to by autism, may impact favorably on seizure control and on daytime behavior. The article concludes with some practical suggestions for the evaluation and treatment of sleep disorders in this population of children with autism.     

Children with lesbian parents: a community study

Existing research on children with lesbian parents is limited by reliance on volunteer or convenience samples. The present study examined the quality of parent-child relationships and the socioemotional and gender development of a community sample of 7-year-old children with lesbian parents. Families were recruited through the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children, a geographic population study of 14,000 mothers and their children. Thirty-nine lesbian-mother families, 74 two-parent heterosexual families, and 60 families headed by single heterosexual mothers were compared on standardized interview and questionnaire measures administered to mothers, co-mothers/fathers, children, and teachers. Findings are in line with those of earlier investigations showing positive mother-child relationships and well-adjusted children.     

A New Way of Assessing Ways of Knowing: The Attitudes Toward Thinking and Learning Survey (ATTLS)

In four studies, college students (both male andfemale, predominantly white) filled out a 50-item surveyconsisting of statements illustrating“separate” (critical, detached) and“connected” (empathic) ways of knowing (Belenky, Clinchy, G oldberger,& Tarule, 1986). The instrument showed acceptableinternal reliability. Scores on the two scales wereuncorrelated, supporting the view that the twoepistemological positions are independent. Females consistentlyrated connected knowing (CK) statements higher thanseparate knowing (SK) statements, while males showed aslight, but non-significant difference favoring SK statements. When participants were dividedinto groups using a joint median split of the two ratingscores, females were disproportionately likely to beplaced in the High CK-Low SK group. CK and SK scores were unrelated to performance on avariety of cognitive tasks, but were related to somemeasures of preference, suggesting that ways of knowingmay function more as approaches or styles rather than basic abilities.     

Undermining the Undermining Effect of Reward on Sustained Interest1

Sometimes, without recourse to controlling rewards, it is difficult to secure desirable behaviors. Yet, much work has demonstrated the damaging effect that such rewards can have on subsequent independent interest in the reward-induced behavior. Therefore, one who feels required to use controlling rewards to increase desirable action in another faces a dilemma: Failing to employ the rewards means foregoing the desired conduct in the immediate situation, hut applying them risks undermining the other's long-term interest in the conduct. We tested a technique designed to avoid this dilemma by (a) providing a controlling reward to obtain the desired action, but (b) then attributing the action to an abiding trait of the actor. Using this technique, we were able to reverse the damaging impact of a controlling reward on children's motivation to write well.     

Body Image and Self-Esteem: A Comparison of African-American and Caucasian Women

The purpose of this study was to assess howwomen's perceptions of themselves and their bodies varyby race/ethnicity and class. One hundred and fourteenfemale students (45 African-American, 69 Caucasian) from two Connecticut community colleges weresurveyed. We predicted that African-American women willreport higher levels of self-esteem and a more positivebody image than Caucasian women. These predictions were supported. Also as predicted,African-American women report possessing more masculinetraits and that men of their race tend less to preferthin, small figured women. Controlling for theseprotective factors substantially reduces therelationship between race/ethnicity and self-concept.African-American women's racial identity and exposure tothe dominant culture did not relate to self-conceptmeasures.