Faces of Shame: Implications for Self-Esteem,Emotion Regulation,Aggression, and Well-Being

There is an increasing interest in psychological research on shame experiences and their associations with other aspects of psychological functioning and well-being, as well as with possible maladaptive outcomes. In an attempt to confirm and extend previous knowledge on this topic, we investigated the nomological network of shame experiences in a large community sample (N = 380; 66.1% females), adopting a multidimensional conceptualization of shame. Females reported higher levels of shame (in particular, bodily and behavioral shame), guilt, psychological distress, emotional reappraisal, and hostility. Males had higher levels of self-esteem, emotional suppression, and physical aggression. Shame feelings were associated with low self-esteem, hostility, and psychological distress in a consistent way across gender. Associations between characterological shame and emotional suppression, as well as between bodily shame and anger occurred only among females. Moreover, characterological and bodily shame added to the prediction of low self-esteem, hostility, and psychological distress above and beyond the influence of trait shame. Finally, among females, emotional suppression mediated the influence of characterological shame on hostility and psychological distress. These findings extend current knowledge on the nomological net surrounding shame experiences in everyday life, supporting the added value of a multidimensional conceptualization of shame feelings.     

Children’s sense of reality: The development of orbitofrontal reality filtering

Orbitofrontal reality filtering denotes a memory control mechanism necessary to keep thought and behavior in phase with reality. In adults, it is mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex and subcortical connections and its failure induces reality confusion, confabulations, and disorientation. Here we investigated for the first time the development of this mechanism in 83 children from ages 7 to 11 years and 20 adults. We used an adapted version of a continuous recognition task composed of two runs with the same picture set but arranged in different order. The first run measures storage and recognition capacity (item memory), the second run measures reality filtering. We found that accuracy and reaction times in response to all stimulus types of the task improved in parallel across ages. Importantly, at no age was there a notable performance drop in the second run. This means that reality filtering was already efficacious at age 7 and then steadily improved as item memory became stronger. At the age of 11 years, reality filtering dissociated from item memory, similar to the pattern observed in adults. However, performance in 11-year-olds was still inferior as compared to adults. The study shows that reality filtering develops early in childhood and becomes more efficacious as memory capacity increases. For the time being, it remains unresolved, however, whether this function already depends on the orbitofrontal cortex, as it does in adults, or on different brain structures in the developing brains of children.     

Genetic Counseling Dilemmas for a Patient with Sporadic Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis,Frontotemporal Degeneration & Parkinson’s Disease

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), frontotemporal degeneration and Parkinson’s disease may be different expressions of the same neurodegenerative disease. However, association between ALS and parkinsonism-dementia complex (ALS-PDC) has only rarely been reported apart from the cluster detected in Guam. We report a patient presenting with ALS-PDC in whom pathological mutations/expansions were investigated. No other family members were reported to have any symptoms of a neurological condition. Our case demonstrates that ALS-PDC can occur as a sporadic disorder, even though the coexistence of the three clinical features in one patient suggests a single underlying genetic cause. It is known that genetic testing should be preferentially offered to patients with ALS who have affected first or second-degree relatives. However, this case illustrates the importance of genetic counseling for family members of patients with sporadic ALC-PDC in order to provide education on the low recurrence risk. Here, we dicuss the ethical, psychological and practical consequences for patients and their relatives.     

Endogenous opioid peptides contribute to associative LTP in the hippocampal CA3 region

The medial and lateral perforant path projections to the hippocampal CA3 region display distinct mechanisms of long-term potentiation (LTP) induction, N-methyl-d-aspartate (NMDA) and opioid receptor dependent, respectively. However, medial and lateral perforant path projections to the CA3 region display associative LTP with coactivation, suggesting that while they differ in receptors involved in LTP induction they may share common downstream mechanisms of LTP induction. Here we address this interaction of LTP induction mechanisms by evaluating the contribution of opioid receptors to the induction of associative LTP among the medial and lateral perforant path projections to the CA3 region in vivo. Local application of the opioid receptor antagonists naloxone or Cys2-Tyr3-Orn5-Pen7-amide (CTOP) normally block induction of lateral perforant path-CA3 LTP. However, these opioid receptor antagonists failed to block associative LTP in lateral perforant path-CA3 synapses when it was induced by strong coactivation of the medial perforant pathway which displays NMDAR-dependent LTP. Thus strong activation of non-opioidergic afferents can substitute for the opioid receptor activation required for lateral perforant path LTP induction. Conversely, medial perforant path-CA3 associative LTP was blocked by opioid receptor antagonists when induced by strong coactivation of the opioidergic lateral perforant path. These data indicate endogenous opioid peptides contribute to associative LTP at coactive synapses when induced by strong coactivation of an opioidergic afferent system. These data further suggest that associative LTP induction is regulated by the receptor mechanisms of the strongly stimulated pathway. Thus, while medial and lateral perforant path synapses differ in their mechanisms of LTP induction, associative LTP at these synapses share common downstream mechanisms of induction.     

The socialization of prosocial behavioral tendencies among Mexican American adolescents: The role of familism values

This study investigates the role of familism values in fostering socialization experiences that promote prosocial behavioral tendencies among Mexican American adolescents. Two hundred and four Mexican American mothers and their adolescent children (104 girls, age M = 10.91 years) completed measures of familism values, prosocial parenting practices, and prosocial behavioral tendencies. Structural equation modeling tests indicated that mothers' familism values are related to parenting behaviors that promote prosocial behavioral tendencies, which in turn are related to adolescents' perception of prosocial parenting practices. Furthermore, adolescents' perception of prosocial parenting practices is related to familism values and prosocial behavior tendencies. Last, the relation between adolescents' perception of prosocial parenting practices and prosocial behavioral tendencies is partially mediated by familism values. These findings are consistent with the theoretical suggestion that the transmission of traditional familism values may serve as a social medium through which prosocial behavioral tendencies are fostered among Mexican American adolescents.     

The Italian version of the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems Personality Disorders Scales (IIP-47): psychometric properties and clinical usefulness as a screening measure

The Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-47 (IIP-47) is a brief and valid self-report measure for screening Personality Disorders (PDs). This study examined internal consistency, factor structure, criterion validity, temporal stability, and operating characteristics of the Italian version of the IIP-47 in two independent samples: PD subjects (n = 120) and nonclinical subjects (n = 475). Alpha coefficients ranged from .70 to .90. Multiple-Group Confirmatory Factor Analyses showed that the five-correlated-factor model reported in literature had the highest measurement invariance across the two groups. Criterion validity was supported by correlations among IIP-47 scale scores and scores on established measures of personality dimensions and pathology. Test-retest indices ranged from .71 to .95. PD subjects scored significantly higher than nonclinical subjects on all IIP-47 scales and cut-off scores for different levels of specificity and sensibility are reported. It is concluded that the psychometric properties of the original IIP-47 were preserved in its Italian version.     

Systematically reviewing remote e-workers’ well-being at work: a multidimensional approach

The practice of remote e-working, which involves work conducted at anyplace, anytime, using technology, is on the increase. The aim of this systematic literature review is to gain a deeper understanding of the association between remote e-working, within knowledge workers, and the five dimensions of well-being at work: affective, cognitive, social, professional, and psychosomatic. Sixty-three studies employing quantitative, qualitative and mixed-method designs have been included in the review. Findings indicate that we know more about remote e-workers’ affective state and their social and professional life than we know about their cognitive functioning and psychosomatic conditions. Whilst the research indicates a positive focus there are some negative aspects of this way of working which are highlighted within this review; such as social and professional isolation, and perceived threats in professional advancement. This review may be of great importance for academics, to continue the theoretical advancement of research into remote e-working, and practitioners, to implement and manage remote e-working attitudes and policies more effectively.     

Prosocial development in early adulthood: a longitudinal study

Consistency of measures of a prosocial personality and prosocial moral judgment over time, and the interrelations among them, were examined. Participants and friends' reports of prosocial characteristics were obtained at ages 21-22, 23-24, and 25-26 years. In addition, participants' prosocial judgment was assessed with interviews and with an objective measure of prosocial moral reasoning at several ages. Reports of prosocial behavior and empathy-related responding in childhood and observations of prosocial behavior in preschool also were obtained. There was interindividual consistency in prosocial dispositions, and prosocial dispositions in adulthood related to empathy/sympathy and prosocial behavior at much younger ages. Interview and objective measures of moral reasoning were substantially interrelated in late adolescence/early adulthood and correlated with participants' and friends' reports of a prosocial disposition.     

Misprojection of landmarks onto the spatial map

It has been suggested that neglect patients misrepresent the metric spatial relations along the horizontal axis (anisometry). The "fabric" of their internal spatial medium would be distorted in such a way that physically equal distances appear relatively shorter on the contralesional side (canonical anisometry). The case of GL, a 76-year-old lady with left neglect on visual search tasks, is presented. GL showed severe relative overestimation on the left (contralesional) side on two independent tasks evaluating the metrics of her internal representation. A qualitatively similar pattern was found in two out of 10 other neglect patients who performed the second task. This behavior cannot be accounted for by the canonical anisometry hypothesis. Nevertheless, GL produced a relative left overextension (underestimation) when trying to set the endpoints of a virtual line given its midpoint (Endpoints Task). An interpretation of these results is offered in terms of a misprojection of relevant landmarks onto the internal representation without assuming distortion of its "fabric."