Adherence predictors in an Internet-based Intervention program for depression

Internet-delivered psychotherapy has been demonstrated to be effective in the treatment of depression. Nevertheless, the study of the adherence in this type of the treatment reported divergent results. The main objective of this study is to analyze predictors of adherence in a primary care Internet-based intervention for depression in Spain. A multi-center, three arm, parallel, randomized controlled trial was conducted with 194 depressive patients, who were allocated in self-guided or supported-guided intervention. Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics were gathered using a case report form. The Mini international neuropsychiatric interview diagnoses major depression. Beck Depression Inventory was used to assess depression severity. The visual analogic scale assesses the respondent’s self-rated health and Short Form Health Survey was used to measure the health-related quality of life. Age results a predictor variable for both intervention groups (with and without therapist support). Perceived health is a negative predictor of adherence for the self-guided intervention when change in depression severity was included in the model. Change in depression severity results a predictor of adherence in the support-guided intervention. Our findings demonstrate that in our sample, there are differences in sociodemographic and clinical variables between active and dropout participants and we provide adherence predictors in each intervention condition of this Internet-based program for depression (self-guided and support-guided). It is important to point that further research in this area is essential to improve tailored interventions and to know specific patients groups can benefit from these interventions.     

Children of mothers being released from incarceration: characteristics and potential targets for intervention

Incarcerated mothers and their children may face a multitude of problems. To identify possible targets for intervention, more clarity is needed about characteristics of these children and their mothers. This study examined children’s life events, behaviour problems and social cognitions and mothers’ parenting behaviours as potential targets for intervention with mothers being released from incarceration, in the Netherlands with a culturally diverse sample. Participants were 121 children of mothers being released from incarceration and 63 children of comparison mothers from disadvantaged areas, without a history of incarceration. Children of mothers being released from incarceration were more disadvantaged in life events, had more behaviour problems, and their mothers’ parenting behaviours were characterized by lower involvement and poorer monitoring compared with children of comparison mothers. Suboptimal parenting behaviours of mothers being released from incarceration were statistically associated with children’s behaviour problems. Hence, these children face more difficulties that may contribute to problematic development than children from another at-risk population.     

Temporal generalization gradients following an interdimensional discrimination protocol

We investigated the effects of interdimensional discrimination training in the temporal generalization gradient. In a matching-to-sample task, pigeons learned to choose key S after a T–s houselight sample and key NS in the absence of the houselight sample. For one group of pigeons, T?=?20?s; for another, T?=?10?s. Subsequently, houselight duration was varied to obtain temporal generalization gradients. Results showed that (a) proportion S increased as houselight duration ranged from 0?s to T?s and then remained high for houselight durations longer than T; (b) the gradients were well described by negative-exponential functions; (c) these non-flat gradients were present from the beginning of testing, and; (d) the average gradients obtained with T?=?20?s and T?=?10?s overlapped when plotted in relative time. We conclude that temporal control does not require explicit discrimination training along the temporal dimension, and that temporal generalization gradients obtained with an interdimensional protocol show the scalar property of timing. We discuss how these findings challenge current models of timing.     

Determinants of Smoking and Cessation Among Latinos: Challenges and Implications for Research

Tobacco is a significant burden to individual and public health, and disparities exist among Latino smokers with respect to use and cessation. Although the prevalence of smoking is lower for Latinos than for non‐Latino Whites and the general U.S. population, numerous health disparities exist within the population of Latino smokers. Much is known about determinants of smoking and cessation but the vast majority of this knowledge is based on research with non‐Latino White smokers. This results in at least two important challenges in tobacco research among Latino smokers: (i) demonstrating the generalizability of known determinants of smoking and cessation, and; (ii) identifying culturally relevant variables that influence smoking and cessation among Latinos. An argument for increased research in these areas is presented with a review of existing research among Latino smokers that demonstrates these needs. Research is summarized that suggests socioeconomic position, depressive symptomatology, physical dependence, and gender function differently as determinants of smoking and cessation among Latinos compared with the general population of smokers. Research is also reviewed that suggests the promise of acculturation, acculturative stress, and discrimination as culturally relevant determinants of smoking and cessation. Research and practice implications are discussed, and specific areas for future research are offered.     

Effect of residence and size asymmetries upon the agonistic interactions between juvenile white‐seabream (Diplodus sargus cadenati de la Paz,Bauchot and Daget, 1974)

The behavioural patterns of juvenile white‐seabream suggest that asymmetry in residence is an important factor governing the outcome of contest between individuals of this species. Asymmetries due to resident status had strong effects on agonistic behaviour, with asymmetries in body sizes producing weaker effects. Resident fish won all the combats against intruders of lower or similar length. However, when the intruder was larger than the residents (higher than 5% in length and 20% in weight), the percentage of combats won by the residents decreased to 85.7%. There was a significant correlation between fight intensity and size asymmetry in favour of the resident fish. The resident fish was more aggressive and persistent in attacks, and contests were more intense when the size of the intruder was greater. During agonistic interactions, the frontal attacks and lateral displays were more frequent when the intruders were similar or larger than residents. Attacks to the flanks and chases were more frequent in pairs where the intruders were smaller. Aggr. Behav. 25:297–303, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The effect of adrenalectomy on Fos expression in vasopressinergic and oxytocinergic neurons in response to stress in the rat

This study evaluated the responses of vasopressin (AVP) and oxytocin (OT) neurons to alterations in hypothalamo-pituitary axis activity by adrenalectomy (ADX) or after restraint stress compared with basal conditions. Wistar male rats were perfuse-fixed by cardiac perfusion under anesthesia 3 h, 1, 3 and 14 days after ADX or Sham surgery. Coronal hypothalamic sections were used for evaluation of Fos, AVP and OT expression by immunohistochemistry. Under basal conditions and after stress, Fos-AVP double labeling showed no difference in the magnocellular subdivisions of the paraventricular nuclei (PVN) or in the supraoptic nuclei (SON), suggesting that the magnocellular AVP system is unlikely to contribute to ACTH secretion after restraint in both Sham and ADX rats. Fos-AVP double labeling in the parvocellular medial paraventricular nucleus (PaMP) in ADX groups was increased after 3 h in basal conditions, and in all periods after restraint stress. There were no differences between Sham and ADX groups in Fos-OT double labeling in any subdivision of the PVN; however, in the SON, the number of Fos-OT double labeled cells was increased at all time-points after stress in the ADX group. Fos expression was increased in the PaMP after 3 h and after restraint stress in the Sham and ADX groups, especially in the ADX group. In conclusion, Fos expression in different cell populations of the PVN can be differentially regulated by short- and long-term absence of glucocorticoid negative feedback and also by stress-related excitatory and/or inhibitory neural inputs. The Fos-AVP double labeling findings in the PaMP also indicate a minor participation of these vasopressinergic neurons in the regulation of the HPA axis after ADX.     

Westernalization in the Mirror: On the Cultural Reception of Western Psychology

Miki Takasuna’s paper on “Proliferation of Western Methodological Thought in Psychology in Japan: Ways of Objectification” offers many significant clues for reconsidering the history and unity of psychology. Its treatment of the reception of psychology in Japan hints at the relevance of the models of the subject for psychology—including the allegedly “official” psychology. The aim of this paper is to suggest such reconsideration, on the basis of a distinction between psychology-importing and psychology-exporting countries, and provide a reflection on the cultural problems of assimilation by the latter of a discipline advanced by the former. This perspective leads us to acknowledge the existence of a variety of psychological programs corresponding to the transformation and modernization of different social realities. Also, an indication is offered of several possible levels of analysis of such programs, which are seen to be related with the emergence of psychology as the science of modernity.

New Directions in Measuring Reactive and Proactive Aggression: Validation of a Teacher Questionnaire

The well-known distinction between reactive and proactive aggression is theoretically important but empirically controversial. Recently, aggression researchers have argued that we should separate the form and function of aggression to make a clearer distinction between reactive and proactive aggression. This article describes the validation of a new teacher-report Instrument for Reactive and Proactive Aggression (IRPA) that assesses the form separate from the function of aggression. We demonstrated good discriminant, convergent, and construct validity of the IRPA in a sample of 427 children aged 10 to 13. Reactive and proactive functions of aggression were independent constructs (r = 0.03) which indicates excellent discriminant validity. Convergent validity was satisfactory; scores from the IRPA were moderately to highly related to scores from the widely used Teacher Rating Instrument, TRI (Dodge and Coie in Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 53:1146–1158, 1987). Additionally, reactive and proactive aggression showed unique correlations with most a priori hypothesized theoretically relevant variables, which indicates construct validity. (150 words)     

Personal and environmental factors associated with physical inactivity among different racial-ethnic groups of U.S. middle-aged and older-aged women.

Personal, program-based, and environmental barriers to physical activity were explored among a U.S. population-derived sample of 2,912 women 40 years of age and older. Factors significantly associated with inactivity included American Indian ethnicity, older age, less education, lack of energy, lack of hills in one's neighborhood, absence of enjoyable scenery, and infrequent observation of others exercising in one's neighborhood. For all ethnic subgroups, caregiving duties and lacking energy to exercise ranked among the top 4 most frequently reported barriers. Approximately 62% of respondents rated exercise on one's own with instruction as more appealing than undertaking exercise in an instructor-led group, regardless of ethnicity or current physical activity levels. The results underscore the importance of a multifaceted approach to understanding physical activity determinants in this understudied, high-risk population segment.     

Parent–Child Communication's Attenuating Effects on Mexican Early Adolescents' Perceived Discrimination,Depressive Symptoms,and Substance Use

Utilizing general strain theory, we hypothesized that perceived discrimination would be positively associated with depressive symptoms, which in turn, would be associated with alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use. Second, we hypothesized that frequency of mother–child and father–child communication against substance use would attenuate the hypothesized effects. Longitudinal survey data were collected from 247 Mexican‐heritage 6th‐ to 8th‐grade students. As hypothesized, perceived discrimination was positively associated with depressive symptoms, which, in turn, were positively associated with alcohol use and marginally related to marijuana use. Regarding moderation, for Mexican‐heritage early‐stage adolescents with high frequencies of mother–child or father–child communication, depressive symptoms were not significantly related to alcohol and marijuana use, although associations were significant for adolescents low in either type of communication.