Belastungen von Bachelor- und Diplom-Studierenden

Background

The restructuring of the European educational system in line with the Bologna process forms a source of complaints in German universities because of the rigid structure of the curricula and higher pressure to perform. By comparison of students in the former diploma system with students in the bachelor master system during the period of restructuring it was analyzed if the changes in the educational system affect psychological distress in a negative way.

Methods

The analysis of 535 datasets from the psychotherapeutic outpatient department for students of the university Göttingen in the years between 2006 and 2010 was carried out to clarify if students in the bachelor master system suffered more from severe psychological distress than students of the former German diploma system. Dependent variables are a questionnaire comprising current problems and the global severity index (GSI) from the symptom checklist (SCL)-90-R. The confounding factors resulting from course of study and stud -time in the period of the restructuring have been controlled.

Results

The bachelor master students who sought help were not generally suffering from more psychological distress than diploma students. However, in comparison to students from the former diploma system they suffered more from psychological distress and problems resulting from the study situation and organization in the first semesters.

Conclusions

Psychotherapeutic university outpatient departments have to be aware of the changing demand. The study organization has to be changed to be more student friendly, especially in the beginning. An adequate infrastructure for psychotherapeutic university outpatients has to be provided.     

Crisis Assessment and Psychiatric Hospitalization of Children and Adolescents in State Custody

We investigated the clinical characteristics and placement decisions among a group of children who were wards of the state and had been evaluated for a crisis assessment. The sample consisted of 383 children and adolescents (ages 2-20 years) who were wards of the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS). This study retrospectively reviewed the symptoms, risk factors, functioning and co-morbid variables, and placement or system characteristics of these children using a structured assessment tool, the Childhood Severity of Psychiatric Illness (CSPI). Results indicated that risk behaviors as rated on the CSPI, including suicidality, dangerousness, and runaway tendency, were significant predictors of psychiatric hospitalization. The importance of more widespread usage of standardized assessment tools in evaluating children's mental health needs is discussed.     

Source Characteristics in Denying Rumors of Organizational Closure: Honesty Is the Best Policy

Effect of source honesty and appropriateness on effectiveness of rumor denial was tested. When the source was perceived as high on honesty, the denial was more successful in reducing belief and anxiety associated with the rumor. Source appropriateness (operationalized as a combination of source knowledgeability and status) did not have a main effect on belief or anxiety reduction. Honesty and appropriateness had an additive effect, such that the denial was most successful in reducing belief when the source was perceived as high on both honesty and appropriateness.     

The Ethics of Enhanced Interrogations and Torture: A Reappraisal of the Argument

This article critically reviews what is known about the ethical status of psychologists’ putative involvement with enhanced interrogations and torture (EITs). We examine three major normative ethical accounts (utilitarian, deontic, and virtue ethics) of EITs and conclude, contra the American Psychological Association, that reasonable arguments can be made that in certain cases the use of EITs is ethical and even, in certain circumstances, morally obligatory. We suggest that this moral question is complex as it has competing moral values involved, that is, the humane treatment of detainee competes with the ethical value/duty/virtue of protecting innocent third parties. We also suggest that there is an ethical duty to minimize harm by making only judicious and morally responsible allegations against the psychologists alleged to be involved in EITs. Finally, we make recommendations regarding completing the historical record, improvements in the professional ethics code, and the moral treatment of individuals accused in this controversy.     

The Relationship Between Hostile Interpretation Bias and Symptoms of Depression and Social Anxiety: a Replication Across Two Samples

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Cognitive models of social anxiety and depression posit that hostile interpretation bias may be a symptom of, and act as a maintenance factor...     

Measurement Properties for a Scale Assessing Self-Regulation in Parents and Parenting Practitioners

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Parenting self-regulation is increasingly recognised as an important facet of positive parenting, as it allows parents to manage their thoughts, behaviours,...     

Parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) in young children with autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Parent–child interaction therapy (PCIT) is an evidence-based treatment for typically developing children with disruptive behavior. We conducted a randomized-controlled trial of PCIT versus wait-list control (WLC) with 23 children with ASD (3–7?years) and disruptive behavior. Over 16 treatment sessions, PCIT significantly predicted reductions in disruptive behavior over WLC and explained a significant variation in scores on the ECBI Intensity subscale. Additionally, parent skills improved significantly compared to WLC. However, no statistically significant group differences were found on child compliance rates, autism severity, or parental stress. Results support PCIT as an evidence-based treatment for disruptive behavior in ASD.

• Highlights

• Parent skills were significantly improved for those receiving PCIT

• Intensity of disruptive behaviors decreased significantly for those receiving PCIT

• Parental stress and autism severity did not significantly decrease with PCIT

     

Reentry Needs: Men Who Are Young,Hispanic, Older,or With Mental Illness

Perceptions of the needs for successful reentry among incarcerated men from diverse backgrounds were investigated using phenomenological qualitative methods. Twenty‐nine men serving time in a northeastern U.S. correctional facility, which concentrated on treatment of substance use, participated in four focus groups. Young men found it most important to make personal changes, Hispanic men to maintain personal identity, older men to receive structural support, and men with mental illness to connect with family.     

The visual hemifield asymmetry in the spatial blink during singleton search and feature search

The present study examined a visual field asymmetry in the contingent capture of attention that was previously observed by Du and Abrams (2010). In our first experiment, color singleton distractors that matched the color of a to-be-detected target produced a stronger capture of attention when they appeared in the left visual hemifield than in the right visual hemifield. This replicated Du and Abrams and also revealed a difference between hemifields in the time course of this effect. Our second experiment suggested that this asymmetry is moderated by the tuning of attentional control settings: when the target was easier to detect the asymmetry was attenuated. Our third experiment showed that this asymmetry is also present during singleton detection: a color singleton distractor produced a larger capture effect in the left hemifield than in the right hemifield. Finally, our fourth experiment suggested that this asymmetry is moderated by the salience of the attention-capturing distractor: when the distractor was not salient, the asymmetry was attenuated. These results suggest that there are boundary conditions in the observed hemifield asymmetry in the contingent capture of attention and several underlying brain systems might be involved.