Understanding smoking after acute illness: An application of the sentinel event method

The sentinel event theory provides a stepwise approach for building models to understand how negative events can spark health behaviour change. This study tested a preliminary model using the sentinel events method in a sample (N = 300) of smokers who sought care for acute cardiac symptoms. Patients completed measures on: smoking-related causal attribution, perceived severity of the acute illness event, illness-related fear and intentions to quit smoking. Patients were followed up one week after the health event and a seven-day timeline follow back was completed to determine abstinence from tobacco. Structural equation models were performed using average predictor scale scores at baseline, as well as three different time anchors for ratings of illness severity and illness-related fear. Quit intentions, actual illness severity and age were the consistent, positive and independent predictors of seven-day point prevalence abstinence. Additional research on the influences of perceptions and emotional reactions is warranted.     

Sex,Power, and Money: Prediction from the Dark Triad and Honesty–Humility

Data were collected from two undergraduate student samples to examine (i) the relations of the ‘Dark Triad’ variables (Machiavellianism, Psychopathy, and Narcissism) with the HEXACO personality dimensions, as well as (ii) the ability of the aforementioned characteristics and of the Big Five personality factors to predict outcome variables related to sex, power, and money. Results indicated that the common variance of the Dark Triad was very highly correlated with low Honesty–Humility and that the unique variance of each of the Dark Triad variables also showed theoretically meaningful relations with the other five HEXACO factors. Furthermore, the Dark Triad and Honesty–Humility were strong predictors of three domains of outcome variables—Sex (short‐term mating tendencies and sexual quid pro quos), Power (Social Dominance Orientation and desire for power), and Money (conspicuous consumption and materialism)—that were not well predicted by the dimensions of the Big Five. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Running with emotion: When affective content hampers working memory performance

This study tested the hypothesis that affective content may undermine rather than facilitate working memory (WM) performance. To this end, participants performed a running WM task with positive, negative and neutral words. In typical running memory tasks, participants are presented with lists of unpredictable length and are asked to recall the last three or four items. We found that accuracy with affective words decreased as lists lengthened, whereas list length did not influence recall of neutral words. We interpreted this pattern of results in terms of a limited resource model of WM in which valence represents additional information that needs to be manipulated, especially in the context of difficult trials.     

Neuropsychological indicators of preclinical Alzheimer’s disease among depressed older adults

Older adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) may also have preclinical Alzheimer’s disease (AD). Differential diagnosis is quite challenging due to the overlapping symptoms of MDD and AD. In the current study, we predicted that impaired long-term memory (an area most affected in early AD), but not executive function (an area affected in MDD and AD), would distinguish older depressed patients who developed AD from those who did not. Patients (N = 120) assessed as having MDD but not dementia at baseline were administered tests of cognitive function and followed longitudinally for subsequent diagnosis of AD. Using structural equation modeling we found a latent construct of long-term memory to be associated with AD to a greater extent than executive functioning. Additional analyses to enhance clinical utility of findings indicated that individual tests of episodic memory were most predictive of AD status. Tests of long-term memory can be utilized by the clinician when assessing for preclinical AD among depressed elderly.     

Acute Stress,Depression, and Anxiety Symptoms Among English and Spanish Speaking Children with Recent Trauma Exposure

A growing literature suggests the clinical importance of acute stress disorder symptoms in youth following potentially traumatic events. A multisite sample of English and Spanish speaking children and adolescents (N = 479) between the ages of 8–17, along with their caregivers completed interviews and self-report questionnaires between 2 days and 1 month following the event. The results indicate that children with greater total acute stress symptoms reported greater depressive (r = .41, p < .01) and anxiety symptoms (r = .53, p < .01). Examining specific acute stress subscales, reexperiencing was correlated with anxiety (r = .47, p < .01) and arousal was correlated with depression (r = .50, p < .01) and anxiety (r = .55, p < .01). Age was inversely associated with total acute stress symptoms (r = ?.24, p < .01), reexperiencing (r = ?.17, p < .01), avoidance (r = ?.27, p < .01), and arousal (r = ?.19, p < .01) and gender was related to total anxiety symptoms (Spearman’s ρ = .17, p < .01). The current study supports the importance of screening acute stress symptoms and other mental health outcomes following a potentially traumatic event in children and adolescents. Early screening may enable clinicians to identify and acutely intervene to support children’s psychological and physical recovery.     

Enjoyment of sexualization: is it different for men?

We elucidated the Enjoyment of Sexualization (ES) construct in a sample of 206 female and 118 male undergraduate students. Our male ES Scale had high reliability, and confirmatory factor analyses indicated that a univariate structure was appropriate for both men and women. ES added to the prediction of self‐esteem and number of sexual partners (but not body shame) after controlling for self‐objectification; gender did not moderate these relationships. The relationship between ES and number of sexual partners was moderated by attractiveness such that individuals who believed themselves to be more attractive had more sexual partners at high levels of ES. Furthermore, ES was distinguishable from the conceptually‐related self‐objectification construct with regard to Big Five personality. Finally, results suggested that ES might be less harmful than self‐objectification.     

Testing of Collegiate Athletes for Sickle Cell Trait: What We,as Genetic Counselors Should Know

In August 2010, the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) mandated that all of its incoming Division I student-athletes be tested for sickle cell trait. Student-athletes have the additional options to provide proof of a previous sickle cell test result or decline testing, by signing a waiver releasing their institution of liability. This article addresses the origins of the NCAA recommendations, and stresses the importance of proceeding with care. In doing so, it seeks to start a discussion in the genetic counseling community as to what, if any, should our role be?