Bias in the Reporting of Family History: Implications for Clinical Care

Family history of cancer is critical for identifying and managing patients at risk for cancer. However, the quality of family history data is dependent on the accuracy of patient self reporting. Therefore, the validity of family history reporting is crucial to the quality of clinical care. A retrospective review of family history data collected at a community hospital between 2005 and 2009 was performed in 43,257 women presenting for screening mammography. Reported numbers of breast, colon, prostate, lung, and ovarian cancer were compared in maternal relatives vs. paternal relatives and in first vs. second degree relatives. Significant reporting differences were found between maternal and paternal family history of cancer, in addition to degree of relative. The number of paternal family histories of cancer was significantly lower than that of maternal family histories of cancer. Similarly, the percentage of grandparents' family histories of cancer was significantly lower than the percentage of parents' family histories of cancer. This trend was found in all cancers except prostate cancer. Self-reported family history in the community setting is often influenced by both bloodline of the cancer history and the degree of relative affected. This is evident by the underreporting of paternal family histories of cancer, and also, though to a lesser extent, by degree. These discrepancies in reporting family history of cancer imply we need to take more care in collecting accurate family histories and also in the clinical management of individuals in relation to hereditary risk.     

Development of abbreviated nine-item forms of the Raven's standard progressive matrices test

The Raven's standard progressive matrices (RSPM) is a 60-item test for measuring abstract reasoning, considered a nonverbal estimate of fluid intelligence, and often included in clinical assessment batteries and research on patients with cognitive deficits. The goal was to develop and apply a predictive model approach to reduce the number of items necessary to yield a score equivalent to that derived from the full scale. The approach is based on a Poisson predictive model. A parsimonious subset of items that accurately predicts the total score was sought, as was a second nonoverlapping alternate form for repeated administrations. A split sample was used for model fitting and validation, with cross-validation to verify results. Using nine RSPM items as predictors, correlations of .9836 and .9782 were achieved for the reduced forms and .9063 and .8978 for the validation data. Thus, a 9-item subset of RSPM predicts the total score for the 60-item scale with good accuracy. A comparison of psychometric properties between 9-item forms, a published 30-item form, and the 60-item set is presented. The two 9-item forms provide a 75% administration time savings compared with the 30-item form, while achieving similar item- and test-level characteristics and equal correlations to 60-item based scores.     

Action production influences 12-month-old infants' attention to others' actions

Recent work implicates a link between action control systems and action understanding. In this study, we investigated the role of the motor system in the development of visual anticipation of others' actions. Twelve-month-olds engaged in behavioral and observation tasks. Containment activity, infants' spontaneous engagement in producing containment actions; and gaze latency, how quickly they shifted gaze to the goal object of another's containment actions, were measured. Findings revealed a positive relationship: infants who received the behavior task first evidenced a strong correlation between their own actions and their subsequent gaze latency of another's actions. Learning over the course of trials was not evident. These findings demonstrate a direct influence of the motor system on online visual attention to others' actions early in development.     

Cosmetic surgery in inpatients with eating disorders: attitudes and experience

Body image disturbance is frequent among individuals undergoing cosmetic surgery and core to the pathology of eating disorders (ED); however, there is little research examining cosmetic surgery in ED. This study examined body image related measures, ED behaviors, and depression as predictors of attitudes toward cosmetic surgery in 129 women with ED. Patients who had undergone surgery (n = 16, 12%) were compared to those who had not. Having a purging diagnosis, linking success to appearance, and making physical appearance comparisons were predictive of more favorable cosmetic surgery attitudes. All of those who had undergone surgery had purging diagnoses and, on average, were older, had higher BMIs, and were more likely to make physical appearance comparisons and know someone who had undergone surgery. In ED, acceptance and pursuit of cosmetic surgery appears to be related to social group influences more than weight and shape disturbance, media influences, or mood.     

Group process: A developmental view

Group process is a phenomenon which is still only partly understood. This paper investigates different factors which might contribute to group process and possible group developmental sequences. Theoretical ideas are illustrated in the context of a two-day therapeutic group experience.     

APPLICATIONS OF A SEQUENTIAL ALTERNATING TREATMENTS DESIGN

We propose the use of a combined version of the alternating treatments and multiple baseline designs in situations in which a traditional baseline (no treatment) condition either does not provide an adequate contrast condition or is not feasible or practical due to clinical constraints. We refer to this design as a sequential alternating treatments design because two treatments are initially implemented in a random or counterbalanced fashion and are followed by a sequential change in one or both treatments across settings, subjects, or tasks. The effects of the independent variables are assessed first by analyzing the two series of data points representing the different treatments (relative effects) and then by assessing changes in one or both series, as application of the alternative treatment is introduced sequentially. The sequential application of treatment provides an analysis of control in the same manner as the multiple baseline design; the initial alternating treatments phase provides a contrast condition in much the same manner as a baseline condition. Applications of this design to the assessment of peer training and self-injurious behavior are described.     

Reversible operations in the balance scale task

The development of two types of reversible operations was examined in three tasks involving a two-armed balance scale. The first type of reversible operation, compensation between dimensions, was shown to undergo considerable development between eighth grade and college. Even eighth graders were inconsistent in applying compensation to those versions of the balance scale task that required it. Some subjects, primarily preschoolers, used the given information in a way that was the opposite of that required for correct answers, a result that has been reported for other tasks requiring compensation. A second type of reversible operation, termed “correspondence of patterns”, was also tested and it was tentatively concluded that the responses of the modal college student are not fully reversible in this sense. This finding is also similar to results obtained in judgments of time, speed, and distance and in social judgment studies with college students.     

Observing responses and informative stimuli

Pigeons were trained on a trial procedure. A trial began with the illumination of a pecking key by a white light. After a fixed interval, a key peck could turn the key to one of two equi-probable colors and produce a delayed trial outcome—an equi-probable occurrence of either reinforcement or nonreinforcement. After a trial, the key turned dark and the trial ended. The response could be made into an observing response by correlating the key colors with the outcomes. Response rates in the fixed interval then increased to a level greater than when the colors and outcomes were uncorrelated. In another phase, the response produced only the colors. The trial outcomes occurred some seconds after the fixed interval without a response being required. Correlating the colors with the outcomes again increased response rates. In a second experiment, a further condition was added in which reinforcement was the outcome on every trial. Response rates were lower than when there were equi-probable reinforcement and nonreinforcement outcomes with correlated colors, and about the same as when there were equi-probable outcomes with uncorrelated colors. The results suggest that stimuli providing information about the probability of reinforcement are themselves reinforcing.     

Psychometric, diurnal, and electrophysiological correlates of activation.

Several studies were performed using Thayer's Activation-Deactivation Adjective Check List (AD-ACL). Factor analysis of college students' scores identified a single activation factor representing a continuum ranging from sleep through wakefulness. Next, changes over the diurnal cycle in activation factor scores were demonstrated. One-week test-retest reliability was also investigated. Finally, activation scores were related to pulse rate, respiration rate, and skin resistance level under passive and active conditions. Correlations between factor scores and electrophysiological measures were higher than were intercorrelations of electrophysiological measures, indicating that scores on this revised activation factor represent a valid measure of phenomenological bodily activation level.     

Evaluation of a home-based language training programme with severely mentally handicapped children

A home-based Language Training Programme was carried out with pre-school and school-age severely mentally handicapped children, over a 16–18-month period. Compared to control groups, the experimental groups did not show significantly greater progress on normreferenced measures of language development, although all groups showed significant improvement over time. The implications of these findings are discussed in the light of a number of methodological problems with the study.