Findings on the relationship between Internet addiction and psychological symptoms in Brazilian adults

This study evaluated the prevalence of Internet addiction (IA) and its association with negative psychological symptoms in Brazilian adults. A network analysis was conducted to estimate specific variables and their expected influence on IA. In this cross-sectional study, 15,476 adults (M_age = 37.5, SD = 9.59) completed an open web-based survey. Three questionnaires were used: the Internet Addiction Test (IAT), Depression Anxiety and Stress Scale (DASS-21) and Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Based on IAT scores, participants were classified as No-Risk user (NRU), Low-Risk user (LRU) or High-Risk user (HRU). We observed that 4.8% of the participants were classified in the HRU group. In addition, their risk for severe symptoms of depression was 10 times higher and, for anxiety, seven times higher than that in the NRU group (p < .001). Time spent using smartphones was also significantly higher in the HRU group (M_hours = 5.1, p < .001). The main factors associated with IA were depression, gender and anxiety, but the variable “having children” was the most influential in the IA network. These findings suggest that psychiatric symptoms are the main factors associated with IA among the adult population.     

Psychological maladjustment mediates the link between remembrances of parental rejection in childhood and loneliness in adulthood: A cross-cultural comparative study

Drawing stimulus from interpersonal acceptance-rejection theory, this multicultural study examined relations between men's versus women's remembrances of maternal and paternal acceptance-rejection in childhood and their current level of loneliness, as mediated by adults' self-reported psychological maladjustment. Adults (N = 899) from five nations (Iraq, Italy, the Netherlands, Pakistan, and the United States) responded to the Adult version of the Parental Acceptance-Rejection Questionnaire-short form for mothers and fathers, the Adult version of the Personality Assessment Questionnaire-short form, and the Interpersonal Acceptance-Rejection Loneliness Scale. Adults' remembrances of maternal and paternal rejection in childhood significantly and independently predicted feelings of loneliness but remembered paternal rejection was more strongly related to these feelings than were remembrances of maternal rejection. Psychological maladjustment fully mediated the effect of remembered maternal rejection but only partially mediated the effect of remembered paternal rejection on loneliness. There were no significant differences in these results across the five countries or genders. Overall, the results suggest that adults' remembrances of parental rejection in childhood—along with the theoretically expected development of psychological maladjustment—are likely to be associated panculturally with the experience of loneliness in adulthood.     

Reading comprehension with the Go/No-Go procedure with compound stimuli

The present study investigated whether the Go/No-Go procedure with compound stimuli produces emergent relations among dictated words (A), pictures (B), and printed words (C) and the emergence of textual behavior (CD) using a multiple probe design across word sets. Three preschool children were exposed to 4 phases: (1) pretests for BC, CB, and CD relations, (2) pretraining with known stimuli, (3) AB and AC training, and (4) posttests for BC, CB, and CD relations. During AB and AC training, responses to A1B1, A2B2, A1C1, and A2C2 compound stimuli, but not to A1B2, A2B1, A1C2, and A2C1, were reinforced. The results showed that all participants met the learning criterion and demonstrated emergence of BC and CB relations (i.e., relations between pictures and printed words), and CD relations (i.e., textual behavior) after training. These results suggest that the Go/No-Go procedure with compound stimuli is an effective alternative for establishing reading comprehension.     

Dispossessing Defeat

Higher-order evidence can make an agent doubt the reliability of her reasoning. When this happens, it seems rational for the agent to adopt a cautious attitude towards her original conclusion, even in cases where the higher-order evidence is misleading and the agent's original reasons were actually perfectly good. One may think that recoiling to a cautious attitude in the face of misleading self-doubt involves a failure to properly respond to one's reasons. My aim is to show that this is not so. My proposal is that (misleading) higher-order evidence can undermine the agent's possession of her first-order reasons, constituting what I call a dispossessing defeater. After acquiring the higher-order evidence, the agent is no longer in a position to rely competently on the relevant first-order considerations as reasons for her original conclusion, so that such reasons stop being available to her (even if they remain as strong as in the absence of the higher-order evidence). In this way, an agent with misleading higher-order evidence can adopt a cautious stance towards her original conclusion, while properly responding to the set of reasons that she possesses–a set that is reduced due to the acquisition of higher-order dispossessing defeaters.     

Effectiveness of DRO tokens in decreasing disruptive behavior in the classroom with five multiply handicapped children

In this study the effectiveness of differential reinforcement of other behavior (DRO) with tokens was assessed in the treatment of various topographies of disruptive behavior in the classroom with five children who were multiply handicapped. Prior to implementation of the treatment, reinforcer assessment was conducted to identify items to be used as back-up reinforcers. Data were analyzed using time-series analysis. Results show that DRO tokens were highly effective in decreasing disruptive behavior of all participants. ©1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Clients' experiences of online therapy in the early stages of a COVID-19 world: A scoping review

The emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019 forced an abrupt shift in the modality through which psychotherapy was delivered and online therapy became the only viable option for clients. Research regarding experiences of online therapy during the early stages of the COVID-19 pandemic is minimal, however, and has largely focussed on therapists' experiences of delivering online treatment, as opposed to clients' experiences of receiving it. A scoping review was undertaken to establish what is known from the existing literature about clients' experiences of online therapy during the initial stages of the COVID-19 pandemic and identify gaps in the current knowledge. Searches were conducted across four academic databases: Scopus, EBSCO CINAHL Complete, EBSCO MEDLINE and OVID PsycInfo; the literature was excluded based on established PICOS criteria. Data were summarised through data charting and synthesised by way of inductive content analysis. A total of five articles were identified. All articles focussed on online therapy using video or audio conferencing, and four of the five studies examined clients with eating disorders. Inductive content analysis identified seven categories, as follows: preference for face-to-face therapy; appreciation of accessibility and convenience; online format hindered connection; positive experience of online therapy; individual client differences impacted experience; strong therapeutic alliance indicative of positive experience; and gratitude for continuation of treatment. Future research could explore clients' experiences of online therapy in a “post-pandemic” world and include a broader range of client populations and online therapy approaches in the COVID-19 context.     

An evaluation of differential reinforcement of other behavior,differential reinforcement of incompatible behavior,and restitution for the management of aggressive behaviors

A 46 year old institutionalized retarded woman was referred for treatment because of frequent verbal abuse and physically aggressive behaviors. A multicomponent behavioral intervention consisting of differential reinforcement of other behaviors, differential reinforcement of incompatible behaviors, and restitution was implemented. A sequential withdrawal design was used in order to evaluate the effects of components of the original intervention, and to provide a measure of response maintenance. Results indicated a marked decrease in verbal abuse and elimination of physical aggression. Verbal abuse recurred when the restitution procedure was withdrawn. The relative efficacy of the different interventions is discussed with respect to the behavioral management of aggression. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Reconstructing Hymens or Constructing Sexual Inequality? Service Provision to Islamic Young Women Coping with the Demand to be a Virgin

In Islamic culture, there is an imperative demand that women should be virgins on their wedding night. Service providers in The Netherlands are increasingly confronted by Islamic young women who find themselves in serious difficulties because they are no longer virgins, and are about to enter a forced or arranged marriage. These young women report a diversity of problems such as loneliness, social isolation, depression, despair, suicidal feelings, identity problems and serious conflicts with parents. In this article we focus attention on the circumstances that can result in these types of difficulties, and also critically consider the kinds of help that young Islamic women are given. Attention is paid to the question of whether existing forms of service provision, especially surgical reconstruction of the hymen, take sexual and other inequalities into account.