Low‐income parents' warmth and parent–child activities for children with disabilities,suspected delays and biological risks

Warm and responsive parenting is optimal for child development, but this style of parenting may be difficult for some parents to achieve. This study examines how parents' observed warmth and their reported frequency of parent–child activities were related to children's classifications as having biological risks or a range of disability indicators. Children were low‐income prekindergarteners who participated in the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project Longitudinal Follow‐up. Data from parent, early care and education staff reports, and direct child assessments were used to classify children into the following groups: disabilities, suspected delays, biological risks, disabilities and biological risk, suspected delays and biological risk, and no disability indicator. Socioeconomic status (ethnicity, maternal education and poverty level) and maternal depression were controlled in the analyses. The parents of children with disabilities and suspected delays evidenced significantly lower levels of warmth and less frequent parent–child activities compared with other parents. The parents of children with biological risk factors who did not also have disabilities or suspected delays did not exhibit decreased warmth and less frequent parent–child activities. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Exploring negative emotion in women experiencing intimate partner violence: shame, guilt, and PTSD

This study explored the association of shame and guilt with PTSD among women who had experienced intimate partner violence (IPV). Sixty-three women were assessed by a research clinic serving the mental health needs of women IPV survivors. Results indicated that shame, guilt-related distress, and guilt-related cognitions showed significant associations with PTSD but global guilt did not. When shame and guilt were examined in the context of specific forms of psychological abuse, moderation analyses indicated that high levels of both emotional/verbal abuse and dominance/isolation interacted with high levels of shame in their association with PTSD. Neither guilt-related distress nor guilt-related cognitions were moderated by specific forms of psychological abuse in their association with PTSD. These data support the conceptualization of shame, guilt distress, and guilt cognitions as relevant features of PTSD. Results are discussed in light of proposed changes to diagnostic criteria for PTSD.     

Using potential performance theory to test five hypotheses about meta-attribution

Based on I. Kant's (1991) distinction between perfect and imperfect duties and the attribution literature pertaining to that distinction, the authors proposed and tested 5 hypotheses about meta-attribution. More specifically, violations of perfect duties have been shown to arouse both more negative affect and stronger correspondent inferences than do violations of imperfect duties (e.g., D. Trafimow, I. K. Bromgard, K. A. Finlay, & T. Ketelaar, 2005). But when it comes to making meta-attributions-that is, guessing the attributions others would make-is the affect differential an advantage or a disadvantage? In addition to the null hypothesis of no effect, the authors proposed and tested additional hypotheses about how negative affect might increase or decrease the effectiveness of people's meta-attribution strategies and how even if there is no effect on strategy effectiveness, negative affect could increase or decrease the consistencies with which these strategies could be used.     

Fan Behavior and Lifespan Development Theory: Explaining Para-social and Social Attachment to Celebrities

The theories of Levinson (1986 Am Psychol 41(1):3?C13) and Erikson (1959 Identity and the life cycle. WW Norton and Co, New York, 1968 Youth and crisis. WW Norton and Co, New York), Bandura??s (1986 Social foundations of thought and action: a social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs) Social Cognitive Theory, and the ethological attachment theories of Bowlby (1969 Attachment and loss, Vol. 1, attachment. Hogarth, London), and Ainsworth (1978 Patterns of attachment: a psychological study of the strange situation. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Hillsdale) are used in a discussion of the para-social and social relationships that fans have with celebrities. Fans?? attachments to celebrities play primary and secondary roles in the developmental stages of adulthood and transitions between those stages. Celebrities are role models for adults, and attachment develops in much the same way it develops in face-to-face relationships, e.g. through proximity and familiarity with the face, voice, and manner of the celebrity. Included are examples from the fan research of the author. One conclusion is that fan attachments are often part of the normal course of adult development in the areas of identity, intimacy, and generativity. Additionally, application of Levinson??s concept of stage transitions suggested that this might be a time when relationships with celebrities are more likely to begin.     

Teaching students to solve insight problems: Evidence for domain specificity in creativity training

The purpose of this research was to investigate whether insight problem solving depends on domain‐specific or domain‐general problem‐solving skills, that is, whether people think in terms of conceptually different types of insight problems. In Study 1, participants sorted insight problems into categories. A cluster analysis revealed 4 main categories of insight problems: verbal, mathematical, spatial, and a combination of verbal or spatial. In Studies 2 and 3, participants received training in how to solve verbal, spatial, or mathematical problems, or all 3 types. They were taught that solutions to verbal insight problems lie in defining and analyzing the terms in the problem, solutions to mathematical insight problems lie in a novel approach to numbers, or solutions to spatial insight problems lie in removing a self‐imposed constraint. In both studies, the spatial trained group performed better than the verbal trained group on spatial problems but not on other types of problems. These findings are consistent with the idea that people mentally separate insight problems into distinct types. Implications for instruction in insight problem solving are discussed.     

Understanding the pattern of PTSD symptomatology: a comparison of between versus within-group approaches

This report examines the influence of statistical approach on patterns of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). In this report, 114 women and 51 men were assessed using both the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale (CAPS) and the Posttraumatic Symptom Scale-Self Report measure (PSS-SR). Data were examined using both a between-group and a within-group design. In the between-group approach, three subsamples were formed, representing full syndrome PTSD (fPTSD), partial PTSD (pPTSD), and no PTSD. The fPTSD and pPTSD groups differed on total scores on both PTSD measures, although differences were noted between clinician and self-report measures in specific symptom clusters. In the within-group approach, curve estimation techniques were used to examine linear versus quadratic fit of the data, utilizing the sample as a whole, ranked according to a separate scale of clinical severity. A linear approach was noted for each measure. Results are discussed in light of current design choices in the literature and its impact on the understanding of post-trauma problems.     

Rebound effects following deliberate thought suppression: does PTSD make a difference?

This study was designed to examine the effects of deliberate suppression of trauma-related thoughts in 44 individuals who were PTSD+ and 26 individuals who were PTSD- following a motor vehicle accident (MVA). In an effort to resolve discrepancies in the literature, the PTSD- group was selected from the same help-seeking population as the patient group. Measures included the percentage of MVA-related thoughts, mood, perceived controllability of thoughts, and physiological arousal (heart rate, skin conductance, and two measures of facial EMG). Contrary to hypothesis, both PTSD+ and PTSD- groups showed a rebound in trauma-related thoughts following deliberate thought suppression. This rebound was associated with increases in negative affect, anxiety, and distress and diminished perceptions of controllability over thoughts. Examination of the physiological measures did not mirror the pattern noted for trauma-related thoughts, although the data suggest that suppression was associated with higher levels of frontalis EMG and possibly, reduced heart rate. The current study indicates that help-seeking individuals who are distressed about their psychological state following a serious MVA will show a rebound in MVA-related thoughts, irrespective of PTSD diagnosis. Implications for the study of thought suppression as a potential maintaining factor for trauma-related problems are discussed, with suggestions for future research.     

Differentiating anxiety and depression in older adults with generalized anxiety disorder

To examine affect and cognition in differentiating anxiety and depression, 83 older participants with generalized anxiety disorder completed the Cognitive Checklist (CCL) and the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). A 3-factor solution was found for the PANAS: positive affect (PA), anxiety and anger (Negative Affect 1 [NA-1]), and guilt and shame (Negative Affect 2 [NA-2]). A 2-factor structure was noted for the CCL. Correlations with anxiety and depression measures suggested that the CCL Depression (CCL-D) subscale showed stronger correlations with depression, whereas the CCL Anxiety subscale did not uniquely correlate with anxiety. The NA-1 subscale correlated positively with measures of depression and anxiety, whereas the PA subscale showed negative correlations. Hierarchical regression suggested that the CCL-D subscale was a significant predictor of self-reported depression.     

Gender identity and family relationships: Perspectives from incestuous fathers

The purpose of this study was to understand how incestuous fathers constructed their gender identities and family relationships and to determine how these perceptions were linked to incest. Analysis of intensive interviews with 20 incest offenders suggested that incest occurred in context of entitlement stemming from masculine gender constructions and family experiences which lead to conflicts regarding control and intimacy and a build up of failure. Case illustrations and implications for clinical practice are addressed.