Psychopathology Following Interpersonal Violence: A Comparison of Risk Factors in Older and Younger Adults

A randomly selected sample of 549 women age 55 years and older and 2,669 women age 18–34 years was interviewed via telephone to determine prevalences of physical and sexual assault, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology, and depression. Prevalences of sexual and physical assaults were lower in older compared to younger women. In addition, given a trauma, prevalences and proportionate risk of posttraumatic psychopathology and depression were also lower for older, relative to younger women. Specifically, multivariate analyses revealed that sexual assault predicted only PTSD avoidance in older adults, but all forms of PTSD symptomatology and depression in younger adult women. Similarly, physical assault predicted only PTSD re-experiencing symptoms in older women, but all forms of PTSD symptoms and depression in younger women. Self-reported health status was not associated with any increased risk of psychopathology, and low income predicted increased avoidance and depression only in younger women.     

The relative importance of math‐ and music‐related cognitive and affective factors in predicting undergraduate music theory achievement

Based on research identifying relations between math and music, we aimed to identify the group of cognitive and affective factors related to math and music theory that best explained undergraduate music theory achievement. Using dominance analysis, we predicted the music theory course grades of 230 undergraduate music majors. Potential predictors were narrowed from measures of knowledge, aptitude, experience, confidence, and anxiety in both music theory and math as well as spatial skills and reading test scores. Results suggested that ACT math scores and music theory confidence were important predictors for Music Theories I and II grades. Music Theory I was also predicted by aptitude‐based music theory skills, and Music Theory II was also predicted by math course experience. These findings provide evidence for a relation between math and music theory and support the use of several readily available measures for college‐level music instructors to identify students who may struggle in music theory.     

Protégé and mentor self-disclosure: Levels and outcomes within formal mentoring dyads in a corporate context

This study examined the role of self-disclosure within protégé/mentor dyads in formal mentoring partnerships within a corporate context as a means of learning more about specific relationship processes that may enhance the positive outcomes of mentoring. While both protégés and mentors self-disclosed in their relationships, protégés disclosed at a higher level than mentors. Protégé self-disclosure, but not mentor self-disclosure, was related to protégé outcomes including mentoring received, relationship satisfaction, and positive influence of mentoring. The study contributes to a mentoring literature that has become more interested in examining mentoring relationship micro-processes from both the protégé and mentor perspective.     

Lesbian motherhood and genetic choices

Rhonda, a physician, and Clara, a registered nurse, have been lovers for the past 7 years. Both women are in their 30s, in good health, and financially stable. Clara has contacted Dr. Robinson, a highly regarded obstetrician and geneticist, with an unusual request. Clara is seeking to become pregnant by means of in vitro fertilization (IVF) with an embryo transfer (ET) technology. She proposes being implanted with ova harvested from her partner, Rhonda, and fertilized in vitro with donor sperm from a local medical-school sperm bank. Dr. Robinson explains the relatively low success rate involved in IVF and ET techniques and suggests artificial insemination of Clara's own ova. Clara and Rhonda understand the low success rates but are undeterred. Their mutual goal is not merely to have a child but to share in the maternity of their children. What ethical issues are raised by the plan Clara and Rhonda propose? What are Dr. Robinson's ethical responsibilities with respect to the request by Clara and Rhonda?     

Effects of parent enhancement therapy on the treatment outcome and generalization of a parent training program

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effectiveness of parent enhancement training in facilitating treatment and maintenance effects of a parent training program. Seventeen mothers and their clinic-referred noncompliant children were assigned to either a parent training alone group or a parent training plus parent enhancement therapy group. Fifteen mothers and their nonclinic children served as a quasi-control group. All clinic-referred mother-child dyads were treated individually by teaching the mother to reward compliance and other prosocial behavior and to use time-out for noncompliance. In addition, mothers in the parent training plus parent enhancement group also received treatment related to the following areas: parent's perception of their child's behavior, parent's personal adjustment, parent's marital adjustment, and parent's extrafamilial relationships. Assessment consisted of four home observations by independent observers prior to treatment, after treatment, and at a 2-month follow-up. The data indicated that the parent training plus parent enhancement therapy was more effective than parent training alone in changing child deviant behavior at posttreatment and in maintaining child compliance, child deviant behavior, parental rewards and parent contingent attention at follow-up. The control group did not change over the three assessment periods.     

Telephone-Administered Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: A Case Study of Anxiety and Depression in Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a chronic medical illness with a high incidence of psychiatric comorbidity, specifically depression and anxiety. Research on treatment of such psychiatric complications is scarce. Non-pharmaceutical treatment options are especially attractive. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapeutic treatment option that has been successful in other chronically medically ill populations with comorbid depression and anxiety. The current research had two aims. The first was to pilot the feasibility of screening and identifying PD patients with symptoms of anxiety and depression in a specialized outpatient clinic. The second aim was to pilot the feasibility of telephone-administered CBT for the treatment of depression and anxiety in persons with PD, which was done through a case series comparing telephone-administered CBT to a Support strategy. A fairly large portion (67.5%) of patients screened in the outpatient clinic were identified as having symptoms of anxiety and/or depression. Results also indicated that CBT delivered via the telephone is a useful approach for targeting psychiatric symptoms in this population. A case example is given to illustrate the clinical considerations associated with delivering therapy via telephone to persons with PD. This study was conducted at the Michael E. DeBakey Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Houston, TX. The first author was previously affiliated with the Houston Center for Quality of Care and Utilization Studies.     

Women's Reactions to Miscarriage: The Role of Attributions,Coping Styles,and Knowledge1

This study examined 72 women's retrospectively reported reactions to miscarriage, including depression, stress, and anxiety. The buffering role of women's attributional explanations for the event, the significance of the loss of the baby, coping strategies, and women's knowledge of miscarriage were also assessed. Correlational analyses revealed that women's attributions were tied to their reactions, in that the more women blamed their own character or doctor, the more severely they reacted. Coping strategies accounted for a large portion of the variance (64%), whereby women who used cognitive restructuring as a strategy suffered less adverse reactions than did those who used social withdrawal or wishrul thinking. Women's knowledge before miscarriage, rather than after, accounted for 6% of the variance in their reactions. Examining the interrelations of these variables revealed that the amount of women's knowledge before miscarriage was related to less wishful thinking, and their knowledge after the event was related to less problem avoidance. Women's attributions were also related to their coping strategies: Blaming one's character, behavior, or doctor were positively related to self-criticism and social withdrawal, and negatively related to support from doctors and significant others. The implications of these findings for interventions to facilitate adjustment to miscarriage and future research are discussed.     

How informed is online informed consent?

We examined participants' reading and recall of informed consent documents presented via paper or computer. Within each presentation medium, we presented the document as a continuous or paginated document to simulate common computer and paper presentation formats. Participants took slightly longer to read paginated and computer informed consent documents and recalled slightly more information from the paginated documents. We concluded that obtaining informed consent online is not substantially different than obtaining it via paper presentation. We also provide suggestions for improving informed consent--in both face-to-face and online experiments.