Measuring the automatic negative self-schema: New evidence for the construct and criterion validity of the Depression Implicit Association

The construct and criterion validity of the Depression Implicit Association Test (Depression IAT) as a marker of an automatic negative self-schema was investigated. The Depression IAT and other measures were administered to a sample of 116 participants (72 females) aged 37.28 (SD = 15.69) that was composed by 56 patients with an history of suicide ideation (SI) and by 60 university students. Combining students and patients’ sub-samples, results revealed that the Depression IAT was significantly and positively correlated with self-report scales of depression and hopelessness as well as with implicit and explicit measures of death-life identification. On the contrary, it was negatively correlated with life satisfaction, optimism, and self-esteem scales. These results give new evidence for the construct validity of the Depression IAT. Moreover, considering only the patients’ sub-sample, significant correlations between Depression IAT scores and SI in the last year, month, and week, as well as in a follow-up observation two months later, were found. These correlations remain unchanged even when the Death IAT was controlled for, supporting the incremental validity of the Depression IAT. Overall, these results provide new evidence for the construct and criterion validity of the Depression IAT as a marker of an automatic negative self-schema.     

Does emotional reasoning change during cognitive behavioural therapy for anxiety?

Emotional reasoning refers to the use of subjective emotions, rather than objective evidence, to form conclusions about oneself and the world. It is a key interpretative bias in cognitive models of anxiety disorders and appears to be especially evident in individuals with anxiety disorders. However, the amenability of emotional reasoning to change during treatment has not yet been investigated. We sought to determine whether emotional reasoning tendencies change during a course of routine cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Emotional reasoning tendencies were assessed in 36 individuals with a primary anxiety disorder who were seeking treatment at an outpatient clinic. Changes in anxiety and depressive symptoms as well as emotional reasoning tendencies after 12 sessions of CBT were examined in 25 individuals for whom there was complete data. Emotional reasoning tendencies were evident at pretreatment assessment. Although anxiety and depressive symptoms decreased during CBT, only one of six emotional reasoning interpretative styles (pertaining to conclusions that one is incompetent) changed significantly during the course of therapy. Attrition rates were high and there was not enough information regarding the extent to which therapy specifically focused on addressing emotional reasoning tendencies. Individuals seeking treatment for anxiety disorders appear to engage in emotional reasoning, however routine individual CBT does not appear to result in changes in emotional reasoning tendencies.     

The Relationship between Intimate Partner Violence and Suicidal Ideation among Young Chinese,Korean, and Vietnamese American Women

ABSTRACT

High depression and suicide rates are critical problems that have a significant impact on the lives of young Asian American women. Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been identified as a predictor of suicidality in general female samples, but no research study has examined the relationship between IPV and suicidality in a sample of 1.5 and second-generation Chinese, Korean, and Vietnamese American women. We used data collected from 173 women (aged 18-35 years) who were screened for eligibility to participate in the development and efficacy study of Asian American Women’s Action for Resilience and Empowerment (AWARE). We measured the prevalence of (a) IPV, (b) lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, and (c) childhood abuse and tested the association between IPV and lifetime suicidal ideation/intent among study participants who completed the clinical screening assessments. The results indicated that seven out of 10 women in our sample experienced lifetime suicidal ideation/intent, psychological aggression was the most commonly reported form of IPV during the last six months, followed by sexual coercion, and history of physical and/or sexual partner violence had the most robust association with lifetime suicidal ideation/intent after controlling for demographic factors and childhood abuse. Our study suggests that suicide prevention and intervention programs for young 1.5 and second-generation Asian American women should not only address experiences of childhood abuse, but also incorporate culturally adapted behavioral health approaches to identify and target physical and sexual partner violence. Furthermore, any such programs need to integrate a systemic approach in addressing IPV within the context of various marginalized experiences of Asian American women.     

The role of the head in configural body processing: Behavioural and electrophysiological evidence from the inversion and scrambling effect

The present study aimed to further explore the role of the head for configural body processing by comparing complete bodies with headless bodies and faceless heads (Experiment 1). A second aim was to further explore the role of the eye region in configural face processing (Experiment 2). Due to that, we conducted a second experiment with complete faces, eyeless faces, and eyes. In addition, we used two effects to manipulate configural processing: the effect of stimulus inversion and scrambling. The current data clearly show an inversion effect for intact bodies presented with head and faces including the eye region. Thus, the head and the eye region seem to be central for configural processes that are manipulated by the effect of stimulus inversion. Furthermore, the behavioural and electrophysiological body inversion effect depends on the intact configuration of bodies and is associated with the N170 as the face inversion effect depends on the intact face configuration. Hence, configural body processing depends not only on the presence of the head but rather on a complete representation of human bodies that includes the body and the head. Furthermore, configural face processing relies on intact and complete face representations that include faces and eyes.     

Judging meaning improves function in the aging brain

Important new evidence suggests that under-recruitment of frontal cortex under intentional learning conditions in older adults can be repaired when older subjects are instructed to focus on meaning. However, the tendency for older subjects to activate both hemispheres when young adults recruit only one was not reversible. These findings provide important insights with respect to plasticity and compensation in the aging brain.     

Career and employer change in the age of the ‘boundaryless’ career

This study examined the direct effect of individual career concerns on career and employer change intention, as well as the buffering influence of organisational commitment on this relationship, based on the AMO model of behavioural change intention. Survey data, collected from 341 employees across industry sectors in Australia, showed that ‘exploration’ concerns related positively to both employer and career change intentions; the impact of exploration concerns on career change intention was buffered by affective commitment, however, and reinforced by normative commitment. ‘Establishment’ concerns related negatively to career change intention, and this effect was also buffered by level of affective commitment. The results point towards the distinct nature of employer and career change, and prompt calls for further research on the interplay of the myriad of factors that influence boundary-crossing career behaviour.     

False-belief understanding in 2.5-year-olds: evidence from two novel verbal spontaneous-response tasks

Recent research indicates that toddlers and infants succeed at various non-verbal spontaneous-response false-belief tasks; here we asked whether toddlers would also succeed at verbal spontaneous-response false-belief tasks that imposed significant linguistic demands. We tested 2.5-year-olds using two novel tasks: a preferential-looking task in which children listened to a false-belief story while looking at a picture book (with matching and non-matching pictures), and a violation-of-expectation task in which children watched an adult 'Subject' answer (correctly or incorrectly) a standard false-belief question. Positive results were obtained with both tasks, despite their linguistic demands. These results (1) support the distinction between spontaneous- and elicited-response tasks by showing that toddlers succeed at verbal false-belief tasks that do not require them to answer direct questions about agents' false beliefs, (2) reinforce claims of robust continuity in early false-belief understanding as assessed by spontaneous-response tasks, and (3) provide researchers with new experimental tasks for exploring early false-belief understanding in neurotypical and autistic populations.     

Beyond good intentions: The role of proactive coping in achieving sustained behavioural change in the context of diabetes management

This study examines the effectiveness of a brief self-management intervention to support patients recently diagnosed with type-2 diabetes to achieve sustained improvements in their self-care behaviours. Based on proactive coping, the intervention emphasizes the crucial role of anticipation and planning in maintaining self-care behaviours. In a randomised controlled trial among recent screen-detected patients, participants who received the intervention were compared with usual-care controls, examining changes in proximal outcomes (intentions, self-efficacy and proactive coping), self-care behaviour (diet, physical activity and medication) and weight over time (0, 3 and 12 months). Subsequently, the contribution of proactive coping in predicting maintenance of behavioural change was analysed using stepwise hierarchical regression analyses, controlling for baseline self-care behaviour, patient characteristics, and intentions and self-efficacy as measured after the course. The intervention was effective in improving proximal outcomes and behaviour with regard to diet and physical activity, resulting in significant weight loss at 12 months. Furthermore, proactive coping was a better predictor of long-term self-management than either intentions or self-efficacy. Proactive coping thus offers new insights into behavioural maintenance theory and can be used to develop effective self-management interventions.