Associations between four types of childhood neglect and personality disorder symptoms during adolescence and early adulthood: findings of a community-based longitudinal study

Data from a community-based longitudinal study were used to investigate the association between childhood neglect and personality disorder (PD) symptom levels during adolescence and early adulthood. Psychosocial and psychiatric interviews were administered to a representative sample of 738 youths and their mothers from upstate New York in 1975, 1983, 1985-1986, and 1991-1993. Evidence of childhood cognitive, emotional, physical, and supervision neglect was obtained from the maternal interviews that were conducted in 1975, 1983, and 1985-1986, and from New York State records. PDs were assessed among the youths in 1985-1986, when they were adolescents, and in 1991-1993, when they were young adults. Findings indicated that childhood emotional, physical, and supervision neglect were associated with increased risk for PDs and with elevated PD symptom levels during adolescence and early adulthood, after age, sex, childhood physical or sexual abuse, other types of childhood neglect, and cooccurring PD symptoms were controlled statistically. Childhood emotional neglect was associated with increased risk for avoidant PD and with paranoid and Cluster A PD symptom levels during adolescence and early adulthood. Childhood physical neglect was associated with increased risk for schizotypal PD and with Cluster A PD symptom levels during adolescence and early adulthood. Childhood supervision neglect was associated with increased risk for passive-aggressive and Cluster B PDs and with borderline, paranoid, and passive-aggressive PD symptom levels during adolescence and early adulthood. The present findings suggest that childhood emotional, physical, and supervision neglect may play a role in the etiology of some PDs.     

Integrating Anxiety Sensitivity, Distress Tolerance, and Discomfort Intolerance: A Hierarchical Model of Affect Sensitivity and Tolerance

The purpose of the present investigation was to concurrently examine the latent dimensional and hierarchical structure of anxiety sensitivity (AS) and two key theoretically relevant and related affect (in)tolerance and sensitivity constructs: distress tolerance and discomfort intolerance. These constructs were measured using the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Reiss, Peterson, Gursky, & McNally, 1986), the Distress Tolerance Scale (Simons & Gaher, 2005), and the Discomfort Intolerance Scale (Schmidt, Richey, & Fitzpatrick, 2006). A total of 229 individuals (124 females; M_age = 21.0 years, SD = 7.5) without current Axis I psychopathology participated by completing a battery of self-report questionnaires. A two-stage exploratory factor analysis was conducted to examine the lower- and higher-order latent structural relations among the variables. The factor solution was subsequently evaluated in relation to negative affectivity, anxious arousal, and anhedonic depression. AS and distress tolerance appeared to be related to one another as distinct lower-order facets of a common higher-order affect tolerance and sensitivity factor, whereas discomfort intolerance did not appear to demonstrate similar relations with either AS or distress tolerance at the lower-order or higher-order levels. A unique pattern of association with theoretically-relevant criterion variables was observed between the affect tolerance and sensitivity higher-order factor, the AS and distress tolerance lower-order factors, and the discomfort intolerance factor. Findings are discussed in the context of theoretical and clinical implications and future directions for the study of affect tolerance and sensitivity in relation to emotional vulnerability.     

Taxometric and factor analytic models of anxiety sensitivity among youth: exploring the latent structure of anxiety psychopathology vulnerability

This study represents an effort to better understand the latent structure of anxiety sensitivity (AS), a well-established affect-sensitivity individual difference factor, among youth by employing taxometric and factor analytic approaches in an integrative manner. Taxometric analyses indicated that AS, as indexed by the Child Anxiety Sensitivity Index (CASI; Silverman, Flesig, Rabian, & Peterson, 1991), demonstrates taxonic latent class structure in a large sample of youth from North America (N=4,462; M(age)=15.6 years; SD=1.3). Subsequent confirmatory factor analyses indicated that the latent continuous, multidimensional, 4-factor model of AS among youth (Silverman, Goedhart, Barrett, & Turner, 2003) provided good fit for the CASI data among the complement class ("normative form" of AS), but not among the taxon class ("high-risk form" of AS). EFAs supported the prediction that the AS taxon demonstrates a unique, heretofore unexplored latent continuous, unidimensional factor structure among youth. Findings are discussed in relation to refining our understanding of the latent structure of AS and the clinical implications that arise from it.     

The metaphysics of intersectionality

Philosophical Studies - This paper develops and articulates a metaphysics of intersectionality, the idea that multiple axes of social oppression cross-cut each other. Though intersectionality is...     

Truthiness and law: Nonprobative photos bias perceived credibility in forensic contexts

Nonprobative but related photos can increase the perceived truth value of statements relative to when no photo is presented (truthiness). In two experiments, we tested whether truthiness generalizes to credibility judgments in a forensic context. Participants read short vignettes in which a witness viewed an offence. The vignettes were presented with or without a nonprobative, but related photo. In both experiments, participants gave higher witness credibility ratings to photo-present vignettes compared to photo-absent vignettes. In Experiment 2, half the vignettes included additional nonprobative information in the form of text. We replicated the photo presence effect in Experiment 2, but the nonprobative text did not significantly alter witness credibility. The results suggest that nonprobative photos can increase the perceived credibility of witnesses in legal contexts.     

The Consequences of False Memories for Food Preferences and Choices

ABSTRACT— False memories, or memories for events that never occurred, have been documented in the real world and in the laboratory. In the real world, false memories involving trauma and abuse have resulted in real-life consequences. In the laboratory, researchers have just begun to study the consequences of false memories. We review this laboratory-based work and show how false memories for food-related experiences (e.g., becoming ill after eating egg salad) can lead to attitudinal and behavioral consequences (e.g., lowered self-reported preference for and decreased consumption of egg salad).     

Immediate early gene activation in hippocampus and dorsal striatum: effects of explicit place and response training

Evidence from lesion, electrophysiological, and neuroimaging studies support the hypothesis that the hippocampus and dorsal striatum process afferent inputs in such a way that each structure regulates expression of different behaviors in learning and memory. The present study sought to determine whether rats explicitly trained to perform one of two different learning strategies, spatial or response, would display disparate immediate early gene activation in hippocampus and striatum. c-Fos and Zif268 immunoreactivity (IR) was measured in both hippocampus and striatum 30 or 90 min following criterial performance on a standard plus-maze task (place learners) or a modified T-maze task (response learners). Place and response learning differentially affected c-Fos-IR in striatum but not hippocampus. Specifically, explicit response learning induced greater c-Fos-IR activation in two subregions of the dorsal striatum. This increased c-Fos-IR was dependent upon the number of trials performed prior to reaching behavioral criterion and accuracy of performance during post-testing probe trials. Quantification of Zif268-IR in both hippocampus and striatum failed to distinguish between place and response learners. The changes in c-Fos-IR occurred 30 min, but not 90 min, post-testing. The synthesis of c-Fos early in testing could reflect the recruitment of key structures in learning. Consequently, animals that were able to learn the response task efficiently displayed greater amounts of c-Fos-IR in dorsal striatum.     

Opinions of personality disorder experts regarding the DSM-IV personality disorders classification system

OBJECTIVE: To survey the opinions of personality disorder (PD) experts on possible revisions in the classification system for PDs in the DSM-V. METHOD: Four hundred members of two international associations, the Association for Research on Personality Disorders, and the International Society for the Study of Personality Disorders, were asked to take a 78-item web survey. RESULTS: Of the experts who completed the survey (N = 96), 74% felt that the DSM-IV's categorical system of PD diagnosis should be replaced. Eighty percent felt that PDs are better conceived of as personality dimensions or illness spectra, than as categories. The most frequently endorsed alternative system for PDs was a mixed system of categories and dimensions. Most experts preferred the PDs to remain on Axis II. Only 31.3% wanted the term, "Borderline Personality Disorder," retained in the DSM-V. CONCLUSIONS: A clear majority of the PD experts were dissatisfied with the current diagnostic system for PDs.