Relationship Between Posturography,Clinical Balance and Executive Function in Parkinson´s Disease

This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between posturography, clinical balance, and executive function tests in Parkinson´s disease (PD). Seventy-one people participated in the study. Static posturography evaluated the center of pressure fluctuations in quiet standing and dynamic posturography assessed sit-to-stand, tandem walk, and step over an obstacle. Functional balance was evaluated by Berg Balance Scale, MiniBESTest, and Timed Up and Go test. Executive function was assessed by Trail Making Test (TMT) and semantic verbal fluency test. Step over obstacle measures (percentage of body weight transfer and movement time) were moderately correlated to Timed Up and Go, part B of TMT and semantic verbal fluency (r > 0.40; p < 0.05 in all relationships). Stepping over an obstacle assesses the responses to internal perturbations. Participants with shorter movement times and higher percentage of body weight transfer (higher lift up index) on this task were also faster in Timed Up and Go, part B of TMT, and semantic verbal fluency. All these tasks require executive function (problem solving, sequencing, shifting attention), which is affected by PD and contribute to postural assessment.     

The association of affiliation and achievement personality styles with DSM-IV personality disorders

Investigators from theoretically diverse backgrounds have long described two personality styles associated with depression. The affiliation style describes individuals with interpersonal concerns; the achievement style describes individuals who have concerns with personal failure. Although primarily related to risk for depression, there has also been recognition that extreme forms of these styles are related to personality disorders (PDs). The current study examines the relation between the DSM-IV PDs and the two personality styles, assessing the latter using two approaches: (a) dependency/self-criticism (Blatt, 1974) and (b) sociotropy/autonomy (Beck, 1983). Results show that whereas the achievement style is associated with most PDs (except for the histrionic and dependent PDs), the affiliation style is associated only with histrionic, dependent, and depressive PDs. Controlling for shared PD variance leaves only two associations, affiliation with dependent PD and achievement with narcissistic PD. Results are discussed in the context of current efforts to capture personality psychopathology within a comprehensive dimensional framework.     

Latina breast cancer survivors' lived experiences: diagnosis, treatment, and beyond

Latina breast cancer survivors are not benefiting from advances in psychosocial interventions. Despite their greater breast cancer burden, there is a dearth of information about this population. This qualitative study examined the experiences of 18 immigrant Latina breast cancer survivors along the survivorship continuum, from diagnosis to long-term survivorship. The authors conducted separate focus groups with women in the acute, reentry, and long-term survivorship stages. Through grounded theory analysis, the authors uncovered 5 themes of experience: perceptions of psychological well-being, impact of diagnosis, impact of treatment, need for social support, and development of new attitudes. Some themes were applicable across all survivorship stages, whereas others were more salient at a particular stage. Within themes, the authors identified experiences reported in the general literature (i.e., the debilitating effect of chemotherapy) and distinct cultural experiences (i.e., fear that a cancer diagnosis leads to certain death). Results suggest that treatments tailored for each survivorship stage are more likely to be effective than generic interventions. These findings have the potential to lessen health disparities in utilization of psychosocial treatments by Latina breast cancer survivors.     

The cognitive therapy of evaluation: Therapeutic techniques-[2]

The main aim of this paper is to introduce the techniques used in cognitive therapy of evaluation. The Cognitive therapy of evaluation is being developed from the theoretical background of general semantics theory and it is a therapy based on language as an instrument of cognitive processes, and on the role it plays, through word-facts identification, in the development and treatment of emotional problems. The main techniques developed (abstraction orders and the extensional devices) and other therapeutic issues are introduced and explained.     

Relationship-Based Home Visiting Services for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders: A Qualitative Study

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Home visiting programs face many challenges when providing evidence-based services to families affected by substance use disorders (SUDs). We conducted...     

More of a Cause?

Does a person's liability to attack during a war depend on the nature of their individual causal contribution to the (unjust) threat posed? If so, how? The recent literature on the ethics of war has become increasingly focused on questions of this kind. According to some views on these matters, your liability hinges on the extent of your causal contribution: the larger your contribution to an unjust threat, the larger the amount of harm that we can impose on you in order to avert the threat. Some philosophers have suggested that we can ground a quite general principle of civilian immunity on this basis. But, do causal contributions really come in degrees? Can we make sense of a graded notion of causal contribution that can be relevant to debates about liability in war? I argue there is good reason to be sceptical. The appearance that causal contributions come in degrees is just an illusion that can be explained away.     

Is peer victimization related to body esteem in 10-year-old girls and boys?

Several studies show that a history of exposure to appearance-related teasing is linked to body dissatisfaction. This study extends those findings by examining the impact of bullying, and other forms of peer victimization, on different aspects of 10-year-old girls’ and boys’ body esteem. Participants were 960 Swedish 10-year-olds, 515 girls and 445 boys. Principal results show that social exclusion is related to 10-year-olds’ evaluations of their general appearance, to evaluations of their weight, and to beliefs about how others perceive their appearance. Furthermore, bullied girls have poorer body esteem in terms of beliefs of how others perceive their appearance than do bullied boys. Appearance teasing was associated with girls’ poorer body esteem in terms of general appearance and beliefs of others views of their appearance. For boys, teasing was associated with poorer body esteem on all dimensions. Thus, this study implies that a wider range of peer victimization relates to children's negative self-perceptions than was former known.