Autism and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: assessing attention and response control with the integrated visual and auditory continuous performance test.

Symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have been widely reported in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The current study investigated attention and response control in children with ASD, ADHD, and typical development using the Integrated Visual and Auditory Continuous Performance Test. Results indicate that many children with ASD show significant deficits in visual and auditory attention and greater deficits in impulsivity than children with ADHD or typical development. These findings suggest that many of the children with ASD demonstrate significant ADHD-like deficits. These findings are discussed in the context of symptoms, subtypes, and comorbidity.     

How nostalgia infuses life with meaning: From social connectedness to self-continuity

Nostalgia increases meaning in life (MIL), but how so? In four experiments—using varied operationalizations of nostalgia, diverse populations, and complementary methodologies—we identified a serial process. We hypothesized and found, in Experiment 1, that self-continuity boosts MIL. We hypothesized and found, in Experiment 2, that nostalgia increases MIL through self-continuity. Finally, we hypothesized and found, in Experiments 3–4, that nostalgia fosters social connectedness, which plausibly heightens self-continuity, which in turn strengthens MIL. The findings clarify an intricate pathway through which nostalgia renders life more meaningful.     

The Intersection of Race,Ethnicity, Gender,and Social Class in Counseling: Examining Selves in Cultural Contexts

The author discusses the importance of counselors considering the intersection of multiple cultural identities in working with clients. The article serves as the introduction to the special issue, Race, Ethnicity, Gender, and Social Class in Counseling, of the Journal of Multicultural Counseling and Development. La autora discute la importancia de considerar el cruce de las identidades culturales multiples de los clientes en la consejería. El artículo sirve como la introducción a la publicación especial, Raza, Etnicidad, y Clase Social, en la Consejería de la Revista de Consejería y Desarrollo Multicultural.     

A Latent Semantic Analysis of Gender Stereotype-Consistency and Narrowness in American English

Using latent semantic analysis, we examined gender stereotypes in American English by submitting over 100 masculine, neutral, and feminine role-words and trait-words to pair-wise semantic similarity comparisons with masculine (man, he, him) and feminine (woman, she, her) referents separately. We expected to find: (a) Stereotyping—roles and traits would be more semantically similar to the ostensible ‘matching’ than ‘mismatching’ gender category referent; (b) Categorical narrowness—both categories would be less semantically similar to counterstereotypical than to neutral or stereotypical characteristics; but this would be especially so for the male category, indicating its relatively greater narrowness. Results supported these hypotheses, but only among role-words. American English reflects and reinforces gender stereotypes regarding gender roles at a level beyond that recognized previously.     

Memory as a Self‐Protective Mechanism

The autobiographical memory literature has established that people remember poorly unpleasant, relative to pleasant, life events. We complemented this literature with a theoretical model – the mnemic neglect model – and an experimental paradigm that exerts tight control over the to‐be‐remembered material. Participants recall poorly self‐threatening feedback compared to self‐affirming or other‐relevant feedback – a phenomenon we labeled mnemic neglect. The phenomenon is motivational: it is in the service of self‐protection. The phenomenon is also flexible. Participants can switch from self‐protection (e.g. avoiding negative feedback) to an alternative goal (e.g. striving for feedback with improvement potential), when circumstances call for it such as when the feedback is provided by a close other rather than a stranger. Finally, self‐threatening feedback may be forgotten, but it is not lost: the mnemic neglect effect is not obtained in recognition recall.     

Designed experience: a multiple, goal-directed training program in family therapy.

A family-therapy training program, one of three main branches of the "Boston model," is described in detail. Salient features of the program include planned integration of a multiplicity of experiential and cognitive learning modes; grounding in a unified, theoretical framework that is neither eclectic nor limited to a single school of thought; focus on nonpathological process in families; and systematic structuring in terms of specific, articulated, training objectives. The goal-directed design process by which training units are developed is explained.     

Sociocultural predictors of psychological help-seeking attitudes and behavior among Mexican American college students

Sociocultural variables of acculturation, enculturation, cultural congruity, and perceived social support were used as predictors of psychological help-seeking attitudes and behaviors among 162 Mexican American college students. Multivariate multiple regression analyses indicated that higher cultural congruity, lower perceived social support from family, and higher perceived social support from significant others were significant predictors of positive help-seeking attitudes. In addition, higher acculturation into the dominant society, lower perceived social support from family, and lower perceived social support from friends were significantly predictive of greater help-seeking behavior. Implications for research and practice are discussed.