Seasonal changes in gonadal hormone levels of adult male canaries and their relation to song

Samples of song and blood levels of three gonadal hormones, T, DHT, and E2, were taken at monthly intervals from six adult male canaries over a period of 1 year, as these birds went from 12 to 24 months of age. Song variability and addition of new syllable types were maximal during the summer and early fall, with a peak in September. A secondary peak in new syllable acquisition occurred in March. Blood T levels were particularly low during July-August and during February. Thus, a lowering of blood T levels preceded by about 1 month the two marked peaks in new syllable acquisition. Blood levels of the two other hormones were related less obviously to song learning peaks. It is hypothesized that a concurrence of hormonal, neural, and behavioral changes facilitates song learning in adulthood.     

Pre-Adolescent Gangs: A Socio-Psychological Interpretation

(Henry, W. E. The Analysis of Fantasy: The Thematic Apperception Technique in the Study of Personality. New York: Wiley, 1956. Pp. 305.) Reviewed by Robert M. Allen     

How resilience is strengthened by exposure to stressors: the systematic self-reflection model of resilience strengthening

Background: Exposure to demands is normally considered to drain resources and threaten wellbeing. However, studies have indicated a resilience-strengthening role for stressors.

Objectives: This paper introduces a unifying model, including five testable hypotheses regarding how resilience can be strengthened progressively via exposure to life-stressors.

Methods: We review and synthesize relevant scholarship that underpins the Systematic Self-Reflection model of resilience-strengthening.

Results: The model highlights the importance of a specific meta-cognitive skill (self-reflection on one’s initial stressor response) as a mechanism for strengthening resilience. The Systematic Self-Reflection model uniquely proposes five self-reflective practices critical in the on-going adaptation of three resilient capacities: (1) coping resources, (2) usage of coping and emotional regulatory repertoire, and (3) resilient beliefs. The self-reflective process is proposed to strengthen a person’s resilience by developing insight into their already-present capacities, the limitations of these capacities, and by stimulating the search for person-driven alternative approaches.

Conclusion: This model extends the existing scholarship by proposing how the experience of stressors and adversity may have resilience-strengthening opportunities. The implication of this model is that engaging with stressors can have positive consequences for longer-term healthy emotional development if scaffolded in adaptive reflective practices.     

Gender and History of Suicidality: Are These Factors Related to U.S. College Students’ Current Suicidal Thoughts,Feelings, and Actions?

Gender and history of suicidality (HS vs. NoHS) were related to current symptoms of depression, reasons for living, and reports of self-destructive and life-threatening behavior in a college student sample. Overall, college men reported engaging in more life-threatening and potentially suicidal behavior than college women on the Life Attitudes Schedule (LAS). No gender effects were obtained on the symptoms of depression and reasons for living measures. Results suggest that the LAS may be a particularly effective way to identify college students at risk for self-destructive and suicidal behavior. As expected, HS individuals were more depressed, had fewer reasons for living, and reported engaging in more current suicidal and life-threatening behavior than NoHS participants. However, gender and history of suicidality were found to interact. NoHS women reported avoiding a variety of injury-producing and health-diminishing behaviors that were common for all other groups of college students. Meanwhile, HS women endorsed fewer current reasons for living than did NoHS women, NoHS men, and NoHS men. These findings were interpreted both with regard to cultural and gender-specific expectations for the expression of self-destructive, suicidal, and life-threatening behavior. Implications for the prevention of college women's and men's suicidal behavior were also noted.     

“I've Been a Long Time Leaving”: The Role of Limited Skill Transferability in Increasing Suicide‐Related Cognitions and Behavior in Veterinarians

Barriers to occupational mobility were investigated to determine whether they increased reported suicide‐related cognitions and behavior over 12 months. This was explored in a two‐wave longitudinal study. Intention to leave, depression, perceived skill transferability, and suicide‐related cognitions and behavior was measured at both time points approximately 12 months apart. Results indicated that when there was a high intention to leave at T1, reported suicide‐related cognitions and behavior increased over 12 months only when skill transferability to other professions was perceived to be limited. Findings support the role of limited occupational mobility in suicide‐related cognitions and behavior.     

The cost of treating substance use disorders: individual versus family therapy

This study examined the cost of substance use disorders treatment in a large healthcare organization. A survival analysis demonstrated that family therapy utilised the least number of sessions (M = 2.41) when treating substance use disorders followed by individual therapy (M = 3.38) and mixed therapy (M = 6.40). Family therapy was the least costly of the three types, at $124.55 per episode of care for a client, with individual therapy costing $170.22 and mixed therapy $319.55. The ratio of family therapists utilising family therapy was more than three to one compared to other licensed professionals. The percentages of clients coming back for more than one episode of care are fewest for family therapy (8.9%) followed by mixed therapy (9.5%) and individual therapy (12.0%).