Gender Differences in Correlates of Homophobia and Transphobia

A scale of prejudice against transgender individuals was developed, validated, and contrasted with a homophobia measure in 153 female and 157 male US college undergraduates. For both sexes, transphobia and homophobia were highly correlated with each other and with right-wing authoritarianism, religious fundamentalism, and hostile sexism, but aggression proneness was predictive of transphobia and homophobia only in men. Benevolent sexism and rape myth acceptance were more predictive of transphobia and homophobia in women than men. With homophobia partialled out, authoritarianism, fundamentalism, and aggression proneness no longer predicted transphobia for men, but authoritarianism, fundamentalism, benevolent sexism, and rape myth acceptance continued to predict transphobia in women. Discussion focused on gender differences in issues that drive prejudice against transgender and homosexual individuals.     

Identifying empirically supported treatments for phobic avoidance in individuals with intellectual disabilities

This paper reviews the literature regarding the treatment of phobic avoidance in individuals with intellectual disabilities. Criteria for classifying interventions as empirically supported, developed by the American Psychological Association (APA) Division 12 Task Force on Promotion and Dissemination of Psychological Procedures, were used. For studies employing single case experimental designs, criteria developed by APA Division 16 (Kratochwill & Stoiber, 2002; Shernoff, Kratochwill, & Stoiber, 2002) were used to supplement Division 12 criteria. Results indicate that behavioral treatment can be designated as a well-established treatment for phobic avoidance in individuals with intellectual disabilities.     

Anxiety sensitivity and obsessive--compulsive disorder

Anxiety sensitivity (AS), a cognitive risk factor for anxiety disorders, was evaluated in a homogeneous obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) sample. A total of 280 individuals with OCD completed measures. Evaluation of the Anxiety Sensitivity Index revealed a latent structure that was congruent with previous studies showing a single higher order and three lower order factors, although greater variance was accounted for by the general factor than in a previous study. AS was significantly associated with OCD symptom severity after controlling for other putative cognitive risk factors, although the additional variance explained was small. Variability in the relationship of AS to OCD symptom severity was found across OCD symptom subgroups. Results suggest that AS might be an important aspect of OCD-relevant cognition for specific OCD subgroups, and the need for experimental evaluation is discussed.     

An investigation of the effects of dog visits on depression,mood, and social interaction in elderly individuals living in a nursing home

The present study investigated the effects of weekly dog visits on depression scores, mood, and social interaction in elderly individuals living in a nursing home. Five elderly residents participated in baseline assessments for 4–8 weeks and then received weekly dog visits for 6 weeks. Assessments, consisting of weekly observations of social interaction and paper and pencil measures of mood and depression, continued during the dog visits. The effect of dog visits was evaluated in a multiple baseline across participants design. Dog visits did not improve depression scores, mood (with the exception of one resident), or social interaction (with the exception of one resident). Residents did interact with the dog during the visits, however, and reported that they enjoyed the visits. These results show that dog visits do not always have therapeutic effects and suggest the need for further research in the area before the beneficial effects of dog visits can be substantiated. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Detecting changes in simulated events using partial‐interval recording and momentary time sampling

In a series of three studies, we evaluated simulated data with reversal designs to determine whether partial‐interval recording (PIR) and momentary time sampling (MTS) detected changes that were evident with continuous measures. The results from Study 1 showed that MTS with interval sizes up to 30 s detected most of the moderate and large changes in duration events and MTS with interval sizes up to 1 min detected most large changes in duration events. By comparison, PIR with 10‐s intervals detected approximately half of all changes in duration events. The results of Study 2 showed that only 10‐s PIR reliably detected most small, moderate, and large changes in frequency events. The results of Study 3 showed that PIR with 10‐s intervals generated a relatively high percentage of false positives for duration events, whereas MTS did not. As a whole, the results support previous findings, but also provide new guidelines for the use of PIR and MTS. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.