Associations in the course of personality disorders and Axis I disorders over time

In this study, the authors examined time-varying associations between schizotypal (STPD), borderline (BPD), avoidant (AVPD), or obsessive-compulsive (OCPD) personality disorders and co-occurring Axis I disorders in 544 adult participants from the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study. The authors tested predictions of specific longitudinal associations derived from a model of crosscutting psychobiological dimensions (L. J. Siever & K. L. Davis, 1991) with participants with the relevant Axis I disorders. The authors assessed participants at baseline and at 6-, 12-, and 24-month follow-up evaluations. BPD showed significant longitudinal associations with major depressive disorder and posttraumatic stress disorder. AVPD was significantly associated with anxiety disorders (specifically social phobia and obsessive-compulsive disorder). Two of the four personality disorders under examination (STPD and OCPD) showed little or no association with Axis I disorders.     

Assessing the factorial invariance of Harter's self-concept measures: comparing preadolescents with and without spina bifida using child,parent, and teacher report

The purpose of this study was to determine whether the structure of children's self-concept, as rated by children themselves on the Self-Perception Profile for Children (SPPC; Harter, 1985), and the structure of children's competence, as rated by their parents on the Rating Scale of Child's Actual Behavior (PRS) and teachers on the Rating Scale of Child's Actual Behavior (TRS; Harter, 1985), are similar across samples of children with and without spina bifida (children were 8 and 9 years of age; n = 68 in each sample). Using confirmatory factor analyses, results revealed that a multidimensional model for the SPPC and the TRS fit the data well for both samples. On the other hand, the model for both mothers' and fathers' PRS ratings did not fit the data for the spina bifida sample. Further tests of factorial invariance conducted on the SPPC and TRS revealed that the spina bifida and able-bodied samples tended to have the same pattern and magnitude of factor loadings for both instruments. There was some invariance, however, in the amount of unique error variance accounted for across samples. These results bolster our confidence in using the SPPC and TRS to compare children with and without spina bifida.     

Feeling textures through a probe: effects of probe and surface geometry and exploratory factors

Vibratory roughness perception occurs when people feel a surface with a rigid probe. Accordingly, perceived roughness should reflect probe and surface geometry, exploratory speed, and force. Experiments 1 and 2 compared magnitude estimation of roughness with the bare finger and two types of probes, one designed to eliminate force moments, under the subject's active control. Experiments 3 and 4 varied speed under passive control. Log magnitude was consistently a quadratic function of log spacing between elements in the surface. The location of the function's peak was related to the drop point--that is, the spacing at which the probe can just drop between elements--which is affected by probe tip diameter, element height, and speed. Other parameters of the quadratic were affected by probe type and speed.     

Cognitive and motivational processes underlying coping flexibility: a dual-process model

Discriminative facility was proposed as a cognitive process and need for closure was proposed as a motivational process underlying coping flexibility. The dual-process model posits that need for closure influences discriminative facility, which in turn modifies coping flexibility and psychological adjustment. In Study 1, results of structural equation modeling provided support for the dual-process model. This model was further examined using experimental methods (Study 2) and a prospective design (Study 3). Consistent with the dual-process model, results from all 3 studies showed that participants who were more motivated to seek alternative coping strategies tended to encode stressful situations in a more differentiated way. These individuals used a greater variety of strategies to fit different situational demands and were better adjusted.     

Evaluation of bizarre-idiosyncratic thinking scale as a measure of thought disorder in children and adolescents with severe psychiatric disorders

To investigate the prevalence of thought disorder and the possible appropriateness of the Bizarre-Idiosyncratic Thinking Scale for children and adolescents with severe psychiatric disorders, 96 child and adolescent inpatients and day hospital patients, ages 6 to 18 years, at a state psychiatric hospital were rated by review of retrospective records using Marengo and Harrow's 1986 Evaluation of Bizarre-Idiosyncratic Thinking Scale for the presence of thought disorder in the Thematic Apperception Test and Rorschach Inkblot Test responses. Although the Evaluation of Bizarre-Idiosyncratic Thinking Scale had not been previously used with children and adolescents, the analysis suggested possible indications of thought disorder in several diagnostic groups. No significant differences were found on the Rorschach between patients with Schizophrenia and Psychosis, Not Otherwise Specified and those with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Major Depression, and Conduct Disorder. On the basis of the Thinking Scale ratings, the Thematic Apperception Test responses showed significantly higher ratings of thought disorder for patients with Schizophrenia and Psychosis, Not Otherwise Specified. There was no general relation between thought disorder and age or IQ, but schizophrenic patients, aged 13 and older, had more thought disorder than schizophrenic patients who were younger than 13.     

It's not my fault: when and why attributions to prejudice protect self-esteem

This study tested the hypothesis that awareness of the possibility of being a target of discrimination can provide individuals with a means of self-esteem protection when they are faced with negative outcomes. Men and women contemplated being rejected from a course due to sexism, personal deservingness, or an exclusively external cause. Regardless of gender, participants in the sexism condition blamed themselves less, attributed the rejection less to internal causes, and anticipated feeling less depressed than those in the personal deservingness condition. Furthermore, the more participants discounted the rejection--blamed it more on discrimination than themselves--the less depressed emotions they anticipated feeling. Discounting did not buffer participants from feeling hostility or anxiety. These findings advance our understanding of when and why attributions to prejudice protect emotional well-being.     

Stability as a distinction between Axis I and Axis II disorders

Temporal stability has served as a conceptual basis for the distinction between the clinical syndromes of Axis I disorders and the Axis II personality disorders, the latter being viewed as lifelong enduring patterns. However, comparisons of the stability of Axis I and II disorders have been limited. The present review examines findings from three naturalistic longitudinal studies that utilize similar methodology: the Collaborative Longitudinal Personality Disorders Study (CLPS; Gunderson et al., 2000), the Collaborative Depression Study (CDS; Katz & Klerman, 1979), and the Harvard/Brown Anxiety Research Program (HARP; Keller et al., 1994). Using a definition of remission/recovery as having no or minimal symptoms for 8 consecutive weeks, the courses of personality, depressive, and anxiety disorders were compared. Though remission/recovery rate at the 2-year follow-up was highest for mood disorders, the probability of recurrence was also particularly high. Personality disorders, with remission rates higher than the anxiety disorders, appear to be less stable than conceptualized. The anxiety disorders had remarkably low recovery rates even beyond 5 years of prospective follow-up. Factors that may explain these findings, as well as implications for future conceptualization of DSM, are discussed.     

真实的思想

哲学在于“指引”。思想是“真”,而非“实”。思想不是某种现实的东西,“真”也不在于符合实在,而在于意义本身。思想是“真”、“实”的统一体。分析哲学运动在“形式化”的进程中,更多地运行在“实”的而非“真”的层面上,因此这场“哥白尼式”的革命运动需要重新审视和定位。     

Protection of children's rights to self-determination in research

Federal guidelines require that informed consent be obtained from participants when they are enrolled in a research study. When conducting research with children, the guidelines utilize the term permission to describe parents' agreement to enroll their children in a study. The basic components of consent and permission are well described and identical, with the exception of the person for whom the decision to participate is being made (i.e., oneself as opposed to one's child). Beyond permission, when enrolling minor participants in research, affirmative agreement to participate in research or assent must be obtained from the child participants themselves. The concept of children's assent to research, however, is poorly defined, resulting in inconsistency in its pursuit and consequently, in its utility. The interface between cognitive development, emotional, and social development must be examined as its pertains to this special situation of decision making. For this process to meaningfully protect minors, the assent process must be clarified, decisions regarding parental veto power must be more convincingly justified, and researchers must be better educated and held accountable for the valid execution of this process. Strategies for implementing the assent process more effectively are presented.     

Sex, competitiveness, and intimacy in same-sex friendship in Hong Kong adolescents

One of the alleged reasons that males report lower intimacy in same-sex friendships than females is that males tend to be more competitive than females, but this assumption has not been empirically tested. In the current study, 121 Hong Kong adolescents filled out Chinese versions of the Intimate Friendship Scale and the Competitiveness Index. As predicted, females reported having more intimate same-sex relationships than males, and they scored lower on competitiveness than males. However, the correlations between scores on the Competitiveness Index and the Intimate Friendship subscales were small and nonsignificant, suggesting that the sex difference in intimacy was not a function of competitiveness.