Gender, Somatization, and Psychopathic Traits in a College Sample

The structure of psychopathic traits and their association with somatization symptoms were investigated in a sample of 199 undergraduate college students enrolled in introductory psychology classes. Using multiple measures of psychopathic traits, an iterated principal axis (IPA) analysis revealed two dimensions of psychopathy that were similar to ones typically found in forensic samples. One dimension focused on a cold, callous, and unemotional interpersonal style and the second dimension focused on an impulsive and antisocial lifestyle. These two dimensions emerged for both men and women, although the correlation between the two was somewhat higher for men than women. Also, the callous and unemotional dimension was negatively correlated with somatization symptoms, and the impulsive and antisocial dimension was positively associated with somatization symptoms. This pattern of associations was similar for both men and women and it suggests that somatization symptoms may be one aspect of the high rate of negative affectivity experienced by antisocial individuals.     

Book reviews

Classical Probability in the Enlightenment. LORRAINE DASTON, 1988. Princeton, Princeton University Press. xviii + 423 pp., US$19.95 (paperback). ISBN 0–691–08497–1, 0–691–00644‐X (paperback)

Following Form and Function: a Philosophical Archaeology of Life Science. STEPHEN T. ASMA, 1996. Evanston, IL, Northwestern University Press. xiii + 232 pp., price not available

Concepts and Methods in Evolutionary Biology. ROBERT N. BRANDON, 1996. Cambridge, Cambridge University Press. xiv+221 pp., $US59.95 (hardback), $Can 27.50 (paperback). ISBN 0–521–49545–9 (hardback), 0–521–49888–0 (paperback)

The Completeness of Scientific Theories: on the Derivation of Empirical Indicators within a Theoretical Framework: the Case of Physical Geometry. The University of Western Ontario Series in Philosophy of Science, Volume 53. MARTIN CARRIER, 1994. Dordrecht, Kluwer. xviii + 248 pp., price not available. ISBN 0–7923–24757 (hardback)

The Philosophy and History of Molecular Biology: New Perspectives. Boston Studies in the Philosophy of Science, Volume 183. SAHOTRA SARKAR (Ed.), 1996. Dordrecht, Kluwer. 264 pp., $US127. ISBN 0–7923–3947–9

Awareness: What it is, What it does. CHRIS NUNN, 1996. London and New York, Routledge. price not available. ISBN 0–415–13227–4     

Gender Differences in the Relation Between Neighborhood Quality and Cardiovascular Reactivity in African American Adolescents1

Although research on the influence of neighborhoods on the development of youth is growing, few researchers have examined the impact of neighborhood quality on physiological outcomes or across gender. The present experiment examined gender differences in the association of neighborhood quality and cardiovascular reactivity (increased blood pressure, BP, in response to stress) among 77 healthy African American adolescents (46% male; M age = 14 years). Participants took part in a cold-face stimulus task to determine reactivity scores. After controlling for baseline BP, family income, and parental education, poorer neighborhood quality was associated with increases in both systolic and diastolic BP to the cold-face task for females, and decreases in BP for males. Adolescents’ reports of life stress and support from family members did not explain the differential effect of neighborhood quality across gender. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Treatment Outcome of 18-Month, Day Hospital Mentalization-Based Treatment (MBT) in Patients with Severe Borderline Personality Disorder in the Netherlands

Psychoanalytically oriented day hospital therapy, later manualized and named mentalization-based treatment (MBT), has proven to be a (cost-) effective treatment for patients with severe borderline personality disorder and a high degree of psychiatric comorbidity (BPD) in the United Kingdom (UK). As to yet it has not been shown whether manualized day hospital MBT would yield similar results when conducted by an independent institute outside the UK. We investigated the applicability and treatment outcome of 18-month, manualized day hospital MBT in the Netherlands by means of a prospective cohort study with 45 Dutch patients with severe BPD and a high degree of comorbid Axis I and Axis II disorders. Outcomes were assessed each six months. Symptom distress, social and interpersonal functioning, and personality pathology and functioning all improved significantly, with effect sizes between 0.7 and 1.7. Suicide attempts, acts of self-harm, and care consumption were also significantly reduced. The results indicate that MBT can effectively be implemented in an independent treatment institute outside the UK. This study also supports the clinical effectiveness of manualized day hospital MBT in patients with severe BPD and a high degree of psychiatric comorbidity.     

Treating disturbed emotional regulation in sexual offenders: The potential applications of mindful self-regulation and controlled breathing techniques

It has been noted that some offenders are characterized by problems in the appropriate regulation of emotional states. Deficits in emotional regulation are particularly pertinent in sexual offenders. Therefore, therapeutic programs should, in part, focus on the development of effective strategies for the control of emotional arousal. In this review, we will provide an outline of how anatomical structures including the amygdala and regions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) are involved in the appropriate regulation of emotion. It is argued in this paper that the effective control of emotional states may be helped through the adoption of a group of meditational practices, known as mindfulness techniques, which have emerged from Buddhist philosophy. These techniques involve slow, deep breathing and have been shown to affect vagal modulation of the heart and the functioning of specific neural circuits which are critically involved in emotional regulation.     

Motor deficits associated with mild, chronic hyponatremia: a factor analytic study

ABSTRACT Chronic hyponatremia (CHN) has traditionally been considered asymptomatic. If symptoms are observed, they are often mistakenly attributed to the underlying disorder. However, in recent studies neuropsychological deficits have been associated with CHN. The authors sought to determine the association between CHN and motor deficits. They used previously collected data, and 41 subjects with hyponatremia were included. An exploratory factor analysis with principal component analysis (PCA) was performed (eigenvalues >1.0). Factor scores were generated for each subject based on the resultant PCA factor structure. Finally, partial correlations were computed to measure the degree of association between baseline serum sodium concentration [Na+] and individual neuropsychological factor scores with the effect of age removed. All significance tests were performed using 2-tailed comparisons with alpha level of p ≤ .05. A 3-factor model emerged accounting for 70.17% of the total variance, including 1 factor that loaded primarily with motor speed and reaction time. A significant correlation was observed between this motor factor and serum [Na+] (r = -.477, p = .002). These findings add to previous observations suggesting that CHN is associated with subtle yet harmful motor deficits.     

Effects of time between trials on rats' and pigeons' choices with probabilistic delayed reinforcers

Parallel experiments with rats and pigeons examined reasons for previous findings that in choices with probabilistic delayed reinforcers, rats' choices were affected by the time between trials whereas pigeons' choices were not. In both experiments, the animals chose between a standard alternative and an adjusting alternative. A choice of the standard alternative led to a short delay (1 s or 3 s), and then food might or might not be delivered. If food was not delivered, there was an "interlink interval," and then the animal was forced to continue to select the standard alternative until food was delivered. A choice of the adjusting alternative always led to food after a delay that was systematically increased and decreased over trials to estimate an indifference point--a delay at which the two alternatives were chosen about equally often. Under these conditions, the indifference points for both rats and pigeons increased as the interlink interval increased from 0 s to 20 s, indicating decreased preference for the probabilistic reinforcer with longer time between trials. The indifference points from both rats and pigeons were well described by the hyperbolic-decay model. In the last phase of each experiment, the animals were not forced to continue selecting the standard alternative if food was not delivered. Under these conditions, rats' choices were affected by the time between trials whereas pigeons' choices were not, replicating results of previous studies. The differences between the behavior of rats and pigeons appears to be the result of procedural details, not a fundamental difference in how these two species make choices with probabilistic delayed reinforcers.     

Establishing Treatment Fidelity in Evidence-Based Parent Training Programs for Externalizing Disorders in Children and Adolescents

The current review evaluates the use of treatment fidelity strategies in evidence-based parent training programs for treating externalizing disorders. We used a broad framework for evaluating treatment fidelity developed by the National Institutes of Health Treatment Fidelity Workgroup that includes the aspects of treatment design, treatment delivery, training providers, and assessment of participant receipt of treatment and enactment of treatment skills. Sixty-five articles reporting outcome trials of evidence-based parent training programs met inclusion criteria and were coded for treatment fidelity strategies. The mean adherence to fidelity strategies was .73, which was higher than two previous review studies employing this framework in the health literature. Strategies related to treatment design showed the highest mean adherence (.83), whereas training of providers and enactment of treatment skills had the lowest (.58). In light of an increasing emphasis on effectiveness and dissemination trials, the broader treatment fidelity framework as applied in this review focuses needed attention on areas often overlooked in fidelity practices, such as training providers and generalization of treatment skills. We discuss the strengths and limitations of fidelity practices in parent training studies, implications of these findings, and areas for future research.     

Social and political perspectives on the psychotherapy and counselling profession: Returning caravelles

The counselling and psychotherapy profession is changing. For the first time in its history, it has begun to receive substantial Government funding in the UK and it also has to contend with the principles of evidence-based practice and the policies of the New Public Management systems in many countries. This paper argues that such recent developments present challenges to the profession’s historical apolitical standpoint. More importantly, it argues that the present social and political climate offers many opportunities such as the possibility of learning from psychosocial practices in other countries. The paper will look, in particular, at what can be learned from Latin America and India where mental health care and psychological therapy have adopted grassroots involvement, health-focused approaches and innovatory therapeutic methods.