The Cognitive Neuroscience of Aging and Culture

ABSTRACT— Research into the cognitive neuroscience of aging has revealed exciting and unexpected changes to the brain over the lifespan. However, studies have mostly been conducted on Western populations, raising doubts about the universality of age-related changes. Cross-cultural investigation of aging provides a window into the stability of changes with age due to neurobiology, as well as into the flexibility of aging due to life experiences that impact cognition. Behavioral findings suggest that different cultures process distinct aspects of information and employ diverse information-processing strategies. The study of aging allows us to identify those age-related neural changes that persist across cultures as well as the changes that are driven by culture-specific life experiences.     

Durability of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Effects for Youth and Adolescents With Anxiety,Depression, or Traumatic Stress:A Meta-Analysis on Long-Term Follow-Ups

Cognitive behavioral therapies (CBT) for youth with anxiety, traumatic stress, and depression have demonstrated strong effects in individual studies and meta-analyses. Relatively more attention has been given to posttreatment effects, though, and assessment of follow-up effects has been limited at the meta-analytic level. The current meta-analysis aimed to (a) examine the effects of youth CBT at posttreatment, 1-month, 3-month, 6-month, 1-year, and long-term (2 + years) follow-up as well as (b) identify research-related variables (e.g., measure respondent type) that relate to effects. Using a random effects model across 110 child and adolescent CBT groups, within-group effect sizes were large at posttreatment (g = 1.24) and from 1-month through long-term follow-up (g = 1.23–1.82), and effect sizes did not significantly differ by treatment target (i.e., anxiety, traumatic stress, depression). However, availability of outcome data for effect sizes diminished across later follow-up assessments. Moreover, effect sizes were significantly associated with outcome respondent type across assessment timing, with outcome measures from caregiver and youth respondents associated with smaller effect sizes (B = -0.97, p < 0.001) relative to outcome measures that were evaluator-reported. Results provide initial support for the durability of treatment effects for youth CBTs and highlight the importance of some confounding variables. Implications for improving treatment research standards and prioritizing assessment of long-term follow-up assessment are discussed.     

What makes us busy? Predictors of perceived busyness across the adult lifespan

Busier people tend to perform better on cognitive tasks than less busy individuals. Nevertheless, the characteristics that are associated with greater perceived busyness are unknown. To address this question participants (N?=?463) from the Dallas Lifespan Brain Study (ages 20–89) completed a self-report busyness assessment and demographic, health, personality, and lifestyle measures. Results revealed that perceived busyness peaked in 30-year-olds, showed age-related decreases until age 60, and then remained stable. Moreover, women generally reported being busier than men. Analysis of age by gender interactions revealed that men exhibited a significant cubic age effect for busyness, whereas women did not. Overall, younger age, female gender, agreeableness, neuroticism, frequent participation in novel activities, and enjoyment of cognitive processing were independently associated with being busier, and the characteristics related to busyness were generally stable across age. Notably, participation in novel activities and need for cognition were the most predictive lifestyle characteristics, supporting the framing of busyness as an indicator of mental engagement. We also propose personality-based sources of self-generated and other-generated busyness.     

Enhancing the National Dialogue on the Prevention of Intimate Partner Violence

Little systematic information exists about how community‐based prevention efforts at the state and local levels contribute to our knowledge of intimate partner violence (IPV) prevention. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) DELTA FOCUS program funds ten state domestic violence coalitions to engage in IPV primary prevention through approaches addressing the outer layers of the social ecology. This paper explored the ways in which DELTA FOCUS recipients have contributed to a national‐level dialogue on IPV prevention. Previously undefined, the authors define national‐level dialogue and retrospectively apply the CDC Science Impact Framework (SIF) to describe contributions DELTA FOCUS recipients made to it. Authors conducted document review and qualitative content analysis of recipient semi‐annual progress reports from 2014 to 2016 (N = 40) using NVivo. A semi‐structured coding scheme was applied across the five SIF domains: Creating Awareness, Catalyzing Action, Effecting Change, Disseminating Science, and Shaping the Future. All recipients sought to promote IPV prevention by communicating and sharing with non‐CDC‐funded state coalitions, national partners, and other IPV stakeholders information and resources accumulated through practice‐based prevention efforts. Through implementing and disseminating their prevention work in myriad ways, DELTA FOCUS recipients are building practice‐based evidence on community‐based IPV prevention.     

Solo status and women's spatial test performance: the role of individuation tendencies

The impact of anticipated solo status on women's spatial performance was investigated in an experimental study. The study was designed to test whether the underperformance of women entering testing situations who find themselves to be the only woman present is related to a tendency to individuate the self. Women performed a test of spatial ability under conditions of anticipated solo or non‐solo status and responded to a measure of self‐construal. In line with previous research, we found a disrupting solo status effect on women's performance on the spatial ability test. Most importantly, the negative effect of solo status on performance was partially mediated by individuation tendencies as reflected in a decreased predominance of the interdependent (as compared to the independent) level of the self under solo status conditions. These findings indicate that individuation tendencies play a crucial role in the process triggered in test takers under threatening performance situations. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Personality and intimate partner aggression in dating relationships: the role of the "Big Five"

Although personality is shown to predict negative relationship experiences, few researchers have used a structural model of personality to study the ways that personality contributes to intimate partner aggression (IPA). This study investigates the five-factor model of personality and its associations with both the use and receipt of psychological, physical, and sexual IPA in 179 men and 301 women. Each of the five factors of personality was associated with at least one type of IPA perpetration or victimization. The dimensions of neuroticism and agreeableness were the strongest predictors of IPA particularly for women. Results are discussed in terms of why personality should be considered as a predictor for both the use and receipt of IPA, why sex differences emerged, and future research that should be conducted.     

Subtyping children and adolescents with loss of control eating by negative affect and dietary restraint

OBJECTIVE: Research suggests that subtyping adults with binge eating disorders by dietary restraint and negative affect predicts comorbid psychopathology, binge eating severity, and treatment outcome. Little research has explored the validity and clinical utility of subtyping youth along these dimensions. METHOD: Children (aged 8-18 years) reporting loss of control eating (n=159) were characterized based upon measures of dietary restraint and negative affect using cluster analysis, and then compared regarding disordered eating attitudes and behaviors, and parent-reported behavior problems. RESULTS: Robust subtypes characterized by dietary restraint (n=114; 71.7%) and dietary restraint/high negative affect (n=45; 28.3%) emerged. Compared to the former group, the dietary restraint/high negative affect subtype evidenced increased shape and weight concerns, more frequent binge eating episodes, and higher rates of parent-reported problems (all ps<0.05). CONCLUSION: Similar to findings from the adult literature, the presence of negative affect may mark a more severe variant of loss of control eating in youth. Future research should explore the impact of dietary restraint/negative affect subtypes on psychiatric functioning, body weight, and treatment outcome.     

Creating flexible work arrangements through idiosyncratic deals

A survey of 887 employees in a German government agency assessed the antecedents and consequences of idiosyncratic arrangements individual workers negotiated with their supervisors. Work arrangements promoting the individualization of employment conditions, such as part-time work and telecommuting, were positively related to the negotiation of idiosyncratic deals ("i-deals"). Worker personal initiative also had a positive effect on i-deal negotiation. Two types of i-deals were studied: flexibility in hours of work and developmental opportunities. Flexibility i-deals were negatively related and developmental i-deals positively related to work-family conflict and working unpaid overtime. Developmental i-deals were also positively related to increased performance expectations and affective organizational commitment, while flexibility i-deals were unrelated to either.     

Some Comments on Pareto Thinking,Test Validity,and Adverse Impact: When ‘and’ is optimal and ‘or’ is a trade‐off

De Corte, Lievens, and Sackett add to the literature on selection test validity and adverse impact (AI). Their Pareto‐based weighting scheme essentially asks organizations if they are willing to give up some validity to hopefully achieve some reduction in AI. We considered their approach and conclusions in relation to the regression weighting method we used, and we offer five points that reflect our observations as well as our shared goals. We hope our comments, like their work in this field, will invigorate the pursuit of new ways of examining, and one day resolving, the persistent concern regarding the AI associated with valid selection tests.