Alleviating the distress of caregivers of Alzheimer's disease patients: A rational-emotive therapy model

Caring for a person with senile dementia of the Alzheimer type places an enormous emotional burden upon the caregiver. Common responses of caregivers include denial, anger, guilt, self-pity and depression. These negative emotions exacerbate the difficulties of caring for the patient, as well as constrict the caregiver's ability to develop appropriate coping skills for his/ her own life. Rational-emotive therapy (RET) specifies the maladaptive cognitions which elicit and sustain maladaptive emotions and behaviors, and provides a model for cognitive, affective and behavioral change. Excerpts from therapy sessions are presented to illustrate the process.Rose Oliver, private practice; Graduate Fellow and Supervisory Faculty, Institute for Rational Emotive Therapy, 45 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10021. Frances A. Bock, private practice; Adjunct Associate Professor, Psychology Department, Hofstra University, Hempstead, NY 11550; Graduate Fellow and Supervisory Faculty, Institute for Rational Emotive Therapy, 45 East 65th Street, New York, NY 10021.     

Images of black women among anglo college students

Previous research on popular images of women and of minority groups has looked almost solely at images of minority men and of white women. This article presents survey data on images of black women among 256 white non-Hispanic college undergraduates, using a modified Katz/Braly scale. The article explores the nature, distribution, correlates, and emotional evaluations of these images and the implications of these images for black women's lives. Images of black women differed substantially from those of American women in general. Most commonly, black women were characterized as loud, talkative, aggressive, intelligent, straightforward, and argumentative. In addition, students rated positive traits less positive and negative traits less negative when exhibited by black women than by American women in general, apparently because of their expectations for black women's behavior.This paper has benefited from the comments of Verna Keith, Wade Smith, and, most especially, Mary Benin. This research was partially supported by Arizona State University Women's Studies Summer Research Awards Program.     

Cholinergic-dopaminergic interactions in cognitive performance

Both acetylcholinergic (ACh) and dopaminergic (DA) systems have been found to be crucial for the maintenance of accurate cognitive performance. In a series of studies examining those aspects of cognitive function revealed by the radial-arm maze, we have found that these two neurotransmitter systems interact in a complex fashion. Choice accuracy deficits in the radial-arm maze can be induced by blockade of either muscarinic- or nicotinic-ACh receptors. The choice accuracy deficit induced by blockade of muscarinic receptors with scopolamine can be reversed by the DA receptor blocker, haloperidol. The specific DA D1 blocker SCH 23390 also has this effect, whereas the specific D2 blocker raclopride does not, implying that it is D1 blockade that is critical for reversing the scopolamine effect. On the other hand, the choice accuracy deficit induced by nicotinic blockade with mecamylamine is potentiated by haloperidol. This effect is also seen with the D2 antagonist raclopride, but not with the D1 antagonist SCH 23390, implying that it is the D2 receptor which is important for the potentiation of the mecamylamine effect. The relevance of the D2 receptor for nicotinic actions on cognitive function is emphasized by the finding that the selective D2 agonist LY 171555 reverses the choice accuracy deficit caused by mecamylamine. Nicotinic and muscarinic blockade are synergistic in the deficit they produce. Antagonist doses subthreshold when given alone produce a pronounced impairment when given together. This latter deficit can be reversed by the D2 agonist LY 171555. These studies have outlined the complex nature of ACh-DA interactions with regard to cognitive function. Possible neural circuits for these interactions are discussed. The effectiveness of these selective DA treatments in reversing cognitive deficits due to ACh underactivation suggests a novel approach to treating cognitive dysfunction in syndromes such as Alzheimer's disease.     

The conceptual structure of sex role stereotypes in college students

This study investigated sex stereotypes as natural language categories. Ten years ago, sex stereotypes were found to have a core-peripheral structure similar to that of the nonevaluative categories studies by Rosch (1973). Changes and stability in these conceptions were studied by having 56 female and 56 male undergraduate students rate 217 adjectives on Likert scales according to how well each adjective represented their own view of typical Men or Women. Mean ratings were analyzed to reveal a structure of core, peripheral, and nonmembers for Men and for Women. As was the case ten years ago, core traits reflected dimensions of “niceness-nurturance” for Women and “potency-strength” for Men. Female students also viewed Women as “competent,” while male students also viewed Women as “socially effective.” Adjectives that constituted the core for one category were generally placed in the periphery for the other category. As compared to ten years ago, the peripheries of the categories were expanded and showed a greater degree of overlap. College students' conceptions of Men and Women are best characterized as overlapping rather than as bipolar opposites. The formation of sex stereotype categories was discussed in terms of cognitive and social learning processes.     

Managing Conflict in Dutch Organizations: A Test of the Relevance of Deutsch's Cooperation Theory1

Deutsch's theory of cooperative and competitive conflict may be usefully extended to Dutch people. Results of LISREL analyses on data collected from interviews of Dutch employees in 2 companies indicate that competitive goals interfered with the open, constructive discussion of opposing views. However, cooperative goals were not found to contribute to constructive controversy. Dutch who discussed their opposing views openly made progress on the task, worked efficiently, and strengthened their work relationship and their confidence in future collaboration. These results do not argue that Dutch and North Americans handle conflict similarly, for how these groups operationalize the theory may differ significantly. Goal interdependence may have the potential to be a framework for promoting conflict management between Dutch and North Americans.     

Inhibition of the LH Surge by Restraint Stress in Cyclic Rats: Studies on the Role of GABAA and GABAB Receptors

There is evidence that stress can alter the activity in the brain of gamma-aminobutyricacid (GABA), a neurotransmitter that has been implicated in the regulation of LH secretion. In the present study the role of GABA in the restraint stress-induced inhibition of the LH surge was investigated in the intact cyclic rat. Intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of the GABAA receptor agonist muscimol (0.1, 0.5 or 1 μg) 5 min before the presumed onset of the pro-oestrous LH surge (at 0900 h) caused a dose dependent suppression of the surge. A single dose of the GABAB receptor agonist baclofen (1 μg; icv) injected at 0855 h postponed the onset of the LH surge, and repeated injections at 0855 and 1130 h suppressed the surge. These data indicate that GABA-ergic activity in the brain can inhibit the LH surge in the cyclic rat via GABAA and GABAB receptors. Pro-oestrous rats were subjected to 5 hrs of restraint starting at 0855 h. Pretreatment with the GABAA receptor antagonist bicuculine (1 μg; icv) at 0840, 0940 and 1040 h or pretreatment with the GABAB receptor antagonist phaclofen (10 μg; icv) at 0840 h were ineffective in preventing the restraint-induced inhibition of the LH surge. The results suggest that GABAA and GABAB receptors are not involved in the inhibitory effect of restraint stress on the LH surge.     

Ethnic differences in psychiatric disorders among adolescent substance abusers in treatment

The present study describes the diagnostic profile of over 800 adolescents admitted to residential therapeutic community programs for treatment of drug abuse and related problems. The relationship between race/ethnicity and psychiatric disturbance is examined, and the association among these factors to outcome is investigated. Over 90% of the sample had a DSM-III-R nonsubstance diagnosis. There were significant differences among the race/ethnic groups on attention deficit-hyperactivity and the disruptive behavior and affective disorders. In general, African-American adolescents yielded the lowest rates of disturbance across all categories of disorders. There was no relationship among race/ethnicity, psychiatric disturbance, and 1-year posttreatment outcomes.     

One-session cognitive treatment of dental phobia: preparing dental phobics for treatment by restructuring negative cognitions

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of a single session of cognitive restructuring in a sample of phobic dental patients. Fifty-two patients were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: cognitive restructuring (modification of negative cognitions), provision of information (about oral health and dental treatment), and a waiting list control condition. Both interventions maximally lasted one hour. In comparison with the waiting list control condition and the information intervention condition, the cognitive intervention condition not only showed a large decrease in frequency and believability of negative cognitions, but also exhibited a clear decline in dental trait anxiety. Analysis at a follow-up of one year demonstrated a further, drastic reduction in dental anxiety in both intervention conditions, wherein the difference among these conditions was not maintained. It is concluded that it is possible to obtain substantial reductions of dental trait anxiety through a single session of cognitive restructuring. Nevertheless, repeated exposure to the dental situation seems necessary for a further reduction of anxiety.