Theory-of-mind, cognitive development, and children's interpretation of anxiety-related physical symptoms

The present study investigated developmental patterns in children's interpretation of anxiety-related physical symptoms and emotional reasoning, and to what extent these phenomena are influenced by children's level of cognitive development. A large sample of 4-13-year-old children (N=358) were exposed to vignettes in which the presence and absence of physical symptoms was systematically varied. In addition, children completed a series of conservation tasks and a theory-of-mind-test. Results demonstrated that from the age of 7, children were increasingly able to link physical symptoms to anxiety. Furthermore, cognitive development appeared to enhance children's ability to interpret physical symptoms as a sign of anxiety. Further, children's tendency to infer danger from vignettes with physical symptoms (i.e., emotional reasoning) was already prominent in 4-6-year-olds. The implications for physical symptom-based theories of childhood anxiety are briefly discussed.     

The Effects of Non-invasive Brain Stimulation on Impulsivity in People with Mental Disorders: a Systematic Review and Explanatory Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review - Impulsivity is a multi-faceted construct that underpins various mental health disorders. Impulsive behavior exacts a substantial health and economic burden, hence the...     

A disgust mood state causes a negative interpretation bias, but not in the specific domain of body-related concerns

The present study was designed to examine the effects of a disgust mood state on negative interpretation bias, in particular in the domain of body and weight concerns. Participants (N = 120) were randomly assigned to one of four mood induction groups (i.e., disgust, anxiety, happy, and neutral) and were afterwards asked to respond to various types of ambiguous scenarios to index general threat interpretations, negative body-related interpretations, and neutral/positive interpretations. Results demonstrated that both the anxiety and disgust mood induction groups displayed higher levels of negative interpretations of the ambiguous threat scenarios than the neutral and happy groups. However, no evidence was obtained for a negative interpretation bias in the body-related domain for these negative mood groups, and this conclusion was also true for participants scoring high on a scale of eating disorder symptoms. Altogether, these findings suggest that disgust does not play a role in eating pathology by inducing a negative interpretation bias in the specific domain of body and weight concerns.     

Precueing imminent conflict does not override sequence-dependent interference adaptation

Interference effects are largely reduced after cognitive conflicts in previous trials. This sequence-dependent interference adaptation is often seen as a consequence of strategic executive control. We sought to investigate whether sequential modulations are comparable with cue-induced strategic adjustments in spatial interference tasks. If so, reliable cues indicating the next compatibility condition should override effects caused by prior events. To this end, cues were introduced in a spatial stimulus-response compatibility task and a Simon task that either indicated the upcoming trial compatibility (rule cues) or the target position, which was not related to the S-R rule (position cues). The proportion of valid cues was either completely or predominantly valid. In both tasks cueing benefits for absolutely reliable rule cues were clearly present. Remarkably, sequential modulations were not influenced by effective rule cueing and vice versa. Even absolutely reliable information about prospective control demands did not cancel out sequence-dependent interference adaptation. In addition, the contingent negative variation—an event-related brain potential in the cue-target interval that is related to response preparation and readiness—showed additive effects of preceding compatibility and cue reliability. The present results indicate that processes underlying sequence-dependent interference adaptation differ from cue-induced strategic processes of cognitive control.     

Post-traumatic growth and optimism as outcomes of an internet-based intervention for complicated grief

This explorative study examines the effects of an internet-based cognitive-behavioural therapy for complicated grief on post-traumatic growth and optimism. The study is part of a larger randomized controlled trial described in Wagner, Knaevelsrud, and Maercker (2006). The patients were randomly assigned to either a treatment group (n = 26) or a waiting list control condition (n = 25). The internet-based intervention consisted of exposure to bereavement cues, cognitive reappraisal exercises, and a module on integration and restoration. A short form of the Post-traumatic Growth Inventory (PTGI), the Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R), and measures of complicated grief and psychopathological outcomes were administered. Results indicate that post-traumatic growth increased in the treatment group. No treatment effect was found for optimism. These findings contribute to the growing literature on personal growth in psychotherapy.     

Erfassung der sozialen Ungleichheit in empirischen Untersuchungen

Background

The interrelationship between social inequality and health problems is well known. This paper evaluates how current empirical studies in the context of social psychiatry, psychosomatics and medical sociology respond to this issue in terms of taking characteristics of socio-economic status (SES) into account.

Material and methods

All empirical studies published in the German journals Psychotherapie, Psychosomatik und Medizinische Psychologie and Psychiatrische Praxis in 2005 and 2006 were evaluated regarding the use of characteristics of SES.

Results

Of the 113 studies examined, 70 (62%) covered characteristics of the SES. The majority included characteristics of both formal and professional education, but often in only few categories. Some studies used a combination of formal and professional education. Half of the studies included categories of occupational status or gainful employment, also often in few categories and 11% of studies included net family income. Three studies formed an index of social class using the categories lower class, middle class and upper class.

Conclusion

Determination of characteristics of SES can be improved both quantitatively and qualitatively. Comparability of population studies can be improved by an increased orientation on demographic standards.     

The role of functional information for infant categorization

This report examines whether knowledge about function influences the formation of artifact categories in 11-12- month old infants. Using an object-examination task, a set of artificial stimuli was presented that could either be grouped according to overall similarity or according to similarity in one functionally relevant part. Experiment 1 revealed that infants categorized the objects according to overall similarity but not part similarity under control conditions. Experiment 2 showed that after having seen the experimenter demonstrating the functional use of the critical part, infants later categorized the stimuli according to part similarity. When the same actions were performed without producing any effect, infants failed to categorize according to the critical part. This set of findings suggests that 11-12-month old infants use functional information as a cue to categorization.     

The impact of alcohol intoxication on witness suggestibility immediately and after a delay

Intoxicated witnesses are common, making it important to understand alcohol's impact on witness accuracy and suggestibility. Participants assigned to an immediate retrieval condition encoded and recalled in one of the three intoxication conditions: sober control, placebo, or intoxicated. Participants in the delayed retrieval condition were assigned to encode in one of the three intoxication conditions, returned a week later, and were assigned to retrieve in one of the three intoxication conditions. Intoxication condition at encoding was fully crossed with intoxication condition at retrieval in the delayed condition. Participants encoded a mock crime video and retrieved via a forced‐choice test, with answers already circled (purportedly by a prior participant); half of the precircled responses were incorrect. When recalling after a delay only, intoxication at encoding increased agreement with incorrect suggested answers and decreased accuracy. Results suggest intoxicated witnesses may benefit from being interviewed immediately rather than after a sobering delay.     

Self‐Reported Current Practices in Child Forensic Interviewing: Training,Tools, and Pre‐Interview Preparation

In child sexual abuse investigations, forensic interviewers within the Child Advocacy Center (CAC) model serve as neutral fact‐finders for a team of professionals tasked with investigating and intervening in cases of alleged child sexual abuse. Although empirical evidence has led to the development of best‐practice techniques and protocols, there is currently no universally adopted protocol in the field. The present research gathered detailed information from a national sample of real‐world child forensic interviewers about their training and current practices, with a specific focus on assessing the information interviewers typically review prior to conducting child forensic interviews. Most notably, the survey revealed a lack of uniformity in interviewing protocols adopted and pre‐interview preparation practices. Although rare, some interviewers reported using an allegation‐blind interviewing approach, highlighting the need for future research on this and other under‐studied techniques. Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.