Childhood behavioral inhibition and the experience of social anxiety in American Indian adolescents

American Indian youth may be at increased risk for anxiety-related problems. Social anxiety is the most common form of anxiety experienced by adolescents, yet little research specific to American Indians has been conducted. Childhood temperament, especially behavioral inhibition (BI), has been identified as an important risk factor for social anxiety in other racial and ethnic groups. This study examined BI in relation to social anxiety in a cross-sectional community-based sample of 86 rural southeastern American Indian adolescents. Patterns of childhood BI suggested cultural variations in the way temperament relates to adolescent social anxiety. Specifically, nonsocially based fears in childhood were associated with social anxiety symptoms in adolescence, which is in contrast to previous findings in non American Indian samples that have suggested continuity between social inhibition in childhood and social anxiety in adolescence. It is recommended that major psychological risk factors, including temperament, be evaluated within the specific social and cultural context of the adolescent population of interest.     

The Unnoticed Absence of Emotion in Autobiographical Memory

Memory for one's own life experiences, or autobiographical memory, is impressive in its accuracy and flexibility. A memory is constructed anew at each recollection through a process of finding and temporarily joining together specific details about location, sensory experiences, and other details. Curiously missing, however, are emotional details. Although emotional experiences are well remembered, the emotional aspect of an experience is neither retained in its full intensity nor reexperienced during recollection. The adaptive benefits of omitting emotion from autobiographical memory include uninterrupted goal pursuit and emotional stability. But most people make metacognitive errors that convince them that autobiographical memories generally do contain emotion. Possible causes of these errors include naïve theories, motivation to believe that one is healthy, filling in current emotion for remembered emotion, and biased sampling of memories.     

Experiences of demand and control in daily life as correlates of subclinical carotid atherosclerosis in a healthy older sample.

Daily experiences of demand and control were examined as correlates of carotid artery atherosclerosis among healthy adults (ages 50-70). Mediating effects of ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) were also explored. Participants (n=337) collected ABP and recorded daily experiences, using electronic diaries, over two 3-day periods. Carotid artery intima-medial thickness (IMT) was assessed using ultrasonography. Participants reporting higher task demands during daily life showed larger IMT, after adjustment for demographic covariates. This association was not limited to workplace ratings or to employed individuals. The association was mediated, in part, by daytime systolic blood pressure. Previous findings linking job stress with cardiovascular disease may reflect the broader impact of daily psychological demands, not necessarily associated with the workplace.     

Introduction

Cognitive behavioral therapy evolved from systematic studies testing learning theories. This research led to the development of effective treatment approaches for a variety of disorders. In more recent years we have moved away from relying on experimental psychopathology studies to directly inform our treatment approaches. This paper describes why the alienation from experimental psychopathology studies is detrimental to the advancement of treatment approaches. Examples of how systematic research can be conducted to address questions regarding treatment mechanisms and moderators are provided. Drawing on experimental psychopathology research can also lead to a better understanding of core processes of psychopathology, which in turn can lead to transdiagnostic treatment approaches.     

Psychoanalytic training experience and postgraduate professional development: A survey of six decades of graduate analysts

This exploratory study explored the training and post‐training experience of graduates of the Chicago Institute for Psychoanalysis. All living graduates of the past six decades were invited to complete a survey that addressed their training analysis, classroom work, supervision and other training experiences as well as their degree of post‐graduation involvement in teaching, supervising, study groups and other professional endeavors. They were also asked to rate their sense of themselves as psychoanalysts and their satisfaction with their analytic career. Further, they were encouraged to provide spontaneous narrative data. Our findings contribute to the current understanding of the careers of psychoanalysts – including that there is a difference in generational cohorts regarding professional satisfaction, identification as an analyst, and experience of training. We also found that there are no real differences between analysts who do and do not have analytic patients on some important variables: supporting analysis as a treatment method, identifying oneself professionally with psychoanalysis, and disillusionment with psychoanalysis – which is consistent with other studies. Also discovered were differences between male and female analysts' perception of certain aspects of their training.     

Assessing the effectiveness of the ‘Incredible Years® parent training’ to parents of young children with ADHD symptoms – a preliminary report

This study examined the effectiveness of an evidence‐based parent training program in a real‐world Scandinavian setting. Parents of 36 young children with or at risk of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD) self‐referred to participate in the Incredible Years^® Parent Training Program (IYPT) through a Danish early intervention clinic. Using a benchmarking approach, we compared self‐report data with data from a recent efficacy study. Eight out of nine outcome measures showed comparable or higher magnitude of effect from pretest to posttest. Effects were maintained or improved across six months. The methodology of this study exemplifies a rigorous but feasible approach to assessing effectiveness when evidence‐based US protocols are transferred into the existing Scandinavian service delivery. Findings suggest that IYPT can be implemented successfully as an easy‐access early intervention to families of children with or at risk of ADHD.