Self-injury and disordered eating: expressing emotion dysregulation through the body

Previous research has suggested that emotion dysregulation, body‐related concerns, and depressive symptoms are associated with nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) and disordered eating (DE) separately and in combination. However, it has been difficult to ascertain to what extent these constructs contribute to NSSI and DE given the relatively small number of studies examining their co‐occurrence, particularly among nonclinical samples. Based on responses to self‐report questionnaires, college‐aged women who completed the study were divided into three groups: NSSI only; DE only; and NSSI + DE based on clinical cutoff criteria. Results support hypotheses that emotion dysregulation is a shared vulnerability and that body‐related concerns and depression exhibit unique patterns of association across the three groups. It appears that NSSI is best understood as a response to negative affective states relative to DE, which is best understood as a set of behaviors motivated by body image concerns. The presence of both NSSI and DE is primarily influenced by emotion dysregulation and the dominant difficulties linked to each behavior; depression and body dissatisfaction. These findings suggest that treatment and prevention efforts should emphasize emotion regulation skills and differentially target body concerns or depressive symptoms according to the primary behavioral dysfunction that is present.     

Illness representations in patients with multimorbid long-term conditions: qualitative study

Most research on illness representations explores how patients view single conditions, but many patients report more than one long-term condition (known as multimorbidity). It is not known how multimorbidity impacts on patient illness representations. This exploratory qualitative study examined patients' representations of multimorbid long-term conditions and sought to assess how models of illness representation might need modification in the presence of multimorbidity. We explored two major issues: (1) the impact of multimorbidity on patient representations of their individual conditions and (2) the representation of multimorbidity itself. Twenty eight adults with at least two long-term conditions (mean of 4) were interviewed. The presence of multimorbidity impacted on patient illness representations in relation to the dimensions of identity, perceived cause, coherence and consequences. Representations of multimorbidity itself concerned representations of the burden of medication and perceived priorities among conditions and synergies and antagonisms between conditions and their management. The results have implications for the measurement of multimorbidity (through scales such as the Illness Perception Questionnaire) and the use of illness representations in the design and delivery of interventions to improve health behaviour and outcomes of patients with multiple long-term conditions.     

Substance use and delinquency among adolescents with childhood ADHD: The protective role of parenting

Several domains of parenting have been identified as important for adolescent well-being. Whether these same domains are equally beneficial for adolescents with ADHD histories remains an empirical and clinically important question. This study examined whether parental knowledge of their teen's activities and whereabouts, consistency, support, and parent-adolescent conflict are associated with substance use and delinquency similarly for adolescents with and without a diagnosis of ADHD in childhood. A sample of 242 adolescents, 142 diagnosed with ADHD in childhood and prospectively followed into adolescence, and 100 without ADHD in childhood, were the focus of study. The relations between adolescent-reported outcomes (i.e., substance use and delinquency) and parenting behaviors were tested using latent variable modeling to determine both the effects of general (common) and specific (unique) parenting behaviors for participants with and without a history of ADHD. Adolescents' report of parental knowledge was a significant correlate of delinquency and substance use above and beyond other parenting variables and the variance in common across the parenting variables. More knowledge was associated with less delinquency and substance use for all participants, but parental knowledge was more strongly associated with alcohol use for adolescents with versus without childhood ADHD. These correlational findings suggest that, despite the increased difficulty of parenting youths with ADHD histories, actions taken by parents and youth to increase parental awareness may provide some protection against behavioral transgressions known to be elevated in this population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Portability of a screener for pediatric bipolar disorder to a diverse setting

Robust screening measures that perform well in different populations could help improve the accuracy of diagnosis of pediatric bipolar disorder. Changes in sampling could influence the performance of items and potentially influence total scores enough to alter the predictive utility of scores. Additionally, creating a brief version of a measure by extracting items from a longer scale might cause differential functioning due to context effects. The authors of current study examined both sampling and context effects of a brief measure of pediatric mania. Caregivers of 813 youths completed the parent-reported version of the General Behavior Inventory (PGBI) at an academic medical center sample enriched for mood disorders. Caregivers of 481 youths completed the PGBI at a community mental health center. Caregivers of 799 youths completed 10 items extracted from the PGBI at a community setting. Caregivers of 159 youths completed both versions of the PGBI and a semistructured diagnostic interview. Differential item functioning indicated that across samples some items functioned differently; however, total observed scores were similar across all levels of mania. Receiver operating characteristic analysis indicated that the 10 extracted items discriminated bipolar disorder from nonbipolar behavior as well as when the items were embedded within the full measure. Findings suggest that the extracted items perform similarly to the embedded items in the community setting. Measurement properties appear sufficiently robust across settings to support clinical applications.     

Sub‐Dimensions of the Four Factor Model of Cultural Intelligence: Expanding the Conceptualization and Measurement of Cultural Intelligence

Cultural intelligence (CQ) – the capability to function effectively in intercultural settings – has gained increasing attention from researchers and practitioners due to its contemporary relevance to globalization, international management, and workforce diversification. Research‐to‐date demonstrates that CQ predicts a variety of important outcomes in intercultural contexts, such as cultural adaptation, expatriate performance, global leadership, intercultural negotiation, and multicultural team processes. Moving beyond past research that tends to focus on the four primary factors of CQ – metacognitive CQ, cognitive CQ, motivational CQ, and behavioral CQ, we introduce an expanded conceptualization of CQ that delineates sub‐dimensions for each of the four factors. We briefly review psychometric evidence supporting the proposed second order 11‐factor structure and convergent/discriminant validity of the sub‐dimensions. We propose that the next wave of CQ research should be guided by a deeper understanding of each of four factors of CQ.     

Body image and tobacco cessation: relationships with weight concerns and intention to resume tobacco use

Concern about weight gain after tobacco cessation is a potential barrier to quitting tobacco. Few studies, however, have examined the role of body image in cessation-related weight concerns and anticipated relapse. This study investigated relationships between current body image dissatisfaction, anticipated body image dissatisfaction (discrepancy between anticipated post-cessation body shape and desired body shape), cessation-related weight concerns, and intention to resume tobacco with weight gain. Body image dissatisfaction was significantly related to cessation-related weight concerns. Participants who reported current dissatisfaction with their body image were 2.6 times more likely to intend to resume tobacco use with cessation-related weight gain than those with no body image dissatisfaction. Individuals with anticipated body image dissatisfaction were 3.4 times more likely to intend to resume tobacco compared to individuals with no anticipated body image dissatisfaction. Women and normal weight individuals with anticipated body image dissatisfaction appear to be at particularly high risk for intending to relapse. Results suggest that tobacco cessation interventions may need to target concerns about body image as well as weight gain.     

Research on the diaconate: a retrospective view of promise and challenge

This editorial article briefly reviews retrospectively the research undertaken by the Anglo-Nordic Diaconal Research Project (ANDREP), which has been concerned primarily with the Churches of Sweden and Norway, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of Finland and the Church of England, with reference to ecclesiology and praxis in other churches, and to concommitant research and ecumenical developments elsewhere, in relation to the diaconate. From the publication of the WCC Faith and Order Paper on Baptism, Eucharist and Ministry (BEM, 1982) and throughout the period of the formation of the Porvoo communion of Churches, there appeared to be great promise for the renewal of the deacon's ministry. However, it became apparent that, in the Church of England at least, renewal of the diaconate was not generally regarded principally as an end in itself but as a means of advancing the cause of women's ordination to priesthood. Furthermore, mono-presbyterate and the variety of meanings given to the term ‘diakonia’ have presented a number of problems. Fundamental principles of ecclesiology pertaining to the diaconate also were – and remain – unknown or disregarded in much church practice. A number of challenges which consequently arise for the churches have been identified over time and are addressed in this issue of the International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church (IJSCC), vol. 13, no. 4 (2013), on the theme of ‘The Ministry of the Deacon in Times of Ecumenical Reconfiguration’.