Impacts of Non-Driving Related License Suspensions on Quality of Life: a Qualitative Study

Applied Research in Quality of Life - The purpose of this qualitative study was to determine if and how non-driving related license suspensions impact affected individuals’ quality of life....     

A pediatric screening instrument to detect problematic infant–parent interactions: Initial reliability and validity in a sample of high‐ and low‐risk infants

The purpose of this study was to determine the initial reliability and validity of a screening instrument developed to detect problematic interactions between infants and parents as part of a pediatric well‐baby exam. Participants included 117 infant–mother dyads (57 preterms and 60 full terms) assessed when infants were 6 to 9 months old. Mothers and infants were observed playing an interactional game such as peek‐a‐boo during the course of the pediatric exam. The game was scored for degree of interactional reciprocity using the Pediatric Infant Parent Exam (PIPE). Acceptable levels of interrater reliability were achieved. As predicted, higher risk infants and their mothers exhibited more problematic interactions than lower risk infants and their mothers. Results indicated that the PIPE was a reliable means of screening for interactional difficulties, that was sensitive to, but not synonymous with, neonatal health indices. ©2001 Michigan Association for Infant Mental Health.     

The Relationship of Clergy Burnout to Self-Compassion and Other Personality Dimensions

Religious leaders often experience burnout, which is characterized by emotional exhaustion and/or low satisfaction. Clergy with high emotional exhaustion feel drained and discouraged. Clergy with high satisfaction report that the ministry gives purpose and meaning to their lives. Hierarchichal regression was used to examine if current clergy’s desire to please others, guilt or shame orientation, ability to be self-compassionate, and ability to differentiate self from role uniquely predicted variation in burnout. Although all personality dimensions explained significant variation in emotional satisfaction when examined individually, due to inter-correlations among predictors only self-compassion was significant in the full model. Higher self-compassion was also related to increased satisfaction in ministry. Increasing self-compassion may prevent clergy burnout.     

Reaction Time Distribution Analysis of Neuropsychological Performance in an ADHD Sample

Differences in reaction time (RT) variability have been documented between children with and without Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Most previous research has utilized estimates of normal distributions to examine variability. Using a nontraditional approach, the present study evaluated RT distributions on the Conners’ Continuous Performance Test in children and adolescents from the Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD sample compared to a matched sample of normal controls (n = 65 pairs). The ex-Gaussian curve was used to model RT and RT variability. Children with ADHD demonstrated faster RT associated with the normal portion of the curve and a greater proportion of abnormally slow responses associated with the exponential portion of the curve. These results contradict previous interpretation that children with ADHD have slower than normal responding and demonstrate why slower RT is found when estimates of variability assume normal Gaussian distributions. Further, results of this study suggest that the greater number of abnormally long RTs of children with ADHD reflect attentional lapses on some but not all trials.     

Predicting the Outcome of Treatment

The clinical question—“Which treatment(s) for which patients with what set of subgrouping characteristics working by what mechanism(s)?”—rests at the heart of differential therapeutics. Experimentally, this question reduces to a test of how well we can predict the outcome of treatment using the treatment conditions plus other moderating and mediating variables. Reflecting the discussions held at a recent National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) conference on psychosocial treatments, and using pediatric anxiety disorders as a case in point, we discuss the problem of prediction in treatment outcome studies from the standpoint of definition of terms, using the general linear model of prediction. We also outline types of studies that may be useful in testing potential predictors, and put forward a possible matrix of predictor variables as currently implemented in an NIMH-funded treatment outcome study of pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). We conclude by making specific suggestions for implementing a broader approach to the study of predictors.     

Tools for Assessing Readability and Quality of Health-Related Web Sites

With the Internet becoming a growing source of information on genetics, genetic counselors and other health-care providers may be called upon to guide their patients to appropriate material, which is written at a suitable reading level for the individual and contains quality information. Given that many health-related Web sites are written at a high school or higher reading level, without direction from a genetic counselor or health-care provider, many Internet users may currently be turning to health-related Web sites that they do not understand. Additionally, Internet users may not know how to evaluate the quality of information they find, which could lead to them access inaccurate or irrelevant information. To aid in the process of finding and designing Web sites that are appropriate for patients, the current article provides guidelines for assessing readability and quality of health-related content. Additionally, a demonstration of an assessment is provided. Finally, limitations of these assessments are discussed.     

Withdrawal From Coparenting Interactions During Early Infancy

This study examines early withdrawal in the coparenting system, and the utility of a brief problem‐solving discussion about coparenting responsibilities as a means for evaluating such withdrawal. One hundred and fifteen couples were evaluated both prenatally and at 3 months postpartum. During prenatal assessments, parents rated their personalities and completed marital assessments. After the baby arrived, they completed a negotiation task in which they discussed disputes about parenting roles and responsibilities, and interacted together with the baby in a triadic play assessment. Fathers' but not mothers' withdrawal during coparenting negotiations was associated with greater disengagement and less warmth during triadic play and with fathers' feelings that mothers did not respect their parenting. Fathers' but not mothers' withdrawal during coparenting negotiations was also forecast by low ego resilience and by an increase in depressive symptomatology during the postpartum. As the negotiation task appeared to be an effective provocateur of withdrawal when confronting coparenting disagreement, it may prove useful for eliciting this aspect of coparental process in work with couples.