Effectiveness of Cognitive/Behavioral Small Group Intervention for Reduction of Depression and Stress in Non-Hispanic White and Hispanic/Latino Women Dementia Family Caregivers: Outcomes and Mediators of Change

This study enrolled 184 middle-aged and older women (95 Non-Hispanic White and 89 Hispanic/Latino) who provided in-home hands-on care to an elderly relative with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia. Within ethnic group they were randomly assigned to either a CBT-based small group intervention program called “Coping with Caregiving” (CWC) that taught a variety of cognitive and behavioral skills to reduce stress and depression, or to a minimal telephone based control condition (TSC). Intervention lasted about 4 months; one post-treatment assessment was completed 6 months after baseline by interviewers blind to the intervention condition. Interviews and interventions were conducted in English or Spanish by trained staff. Results indicated that those in the CWC (regardless of ethnicity) showed greater improvement from pre to post intervention than those in the TSC on measures of depressive symptoms, overall life stress, and caregiving-specific stress. In order to investigate if these changes may have been related to one proposed mechanism of change in CBT (skill utilization), a new measure was constructed. Change in frequency of use and perceived helpfulness of adaptive coping skills were assessed in all caregivers. Results indicated that caregivers in CWC reported greater frequency of use, and greater perceived helpfulness, of these skills at post intervention compared to caregivers in the TSC. Improvement measured by dependent measures was correlated with an increase in these indices for those in the CWC. Tests for mediation suggest that effective skill utilization may mediate the effect of treatment on outcome. Implications of these findings are discussed and recommendations provided for future research.     

What I Was Doing Versus What I Did: Verb Aspect Influences Memory and Future Actions

ABSTRACT— This research examined whether describing past actions as ongoing using the imperfective aspect (rather than describing them as completed using the perfective aspect) promotes memory for action-relevant knowledge and reenactment of these actions in a future context. In Experiment 1 , participants who used the imperfective aspect to describe their strategy on a prior interpersonal task were more likely to use this strategy on a later task than were participants who used the perfective aspect to describe their prior strategy. Experiment 2 demonstrated that describing behaviors on a task using the imperfective rather than the perfective aspect increased willingness to resume that task by improving memory for task contents. The last two experiments showed that the effects of the imperfective aspect on memory decayed over time and that the imperfective aspect facilitated performance of a future behavior only when the described past behavior was relevant to the future behavior. Thus, the effects of aspect are moderated by memory decay and are behavior-specific.     

Semantic word priming in the absence of eye fixations: Relative contributions of overt and covert attention

In the present study, we investigated the role of covert and overt attention in word identification. In repetition and semantic priming paradigms, prime words were followed by a probe for lexical decision. To make the primes available only to covert attention, we presented them for 150 msec, parafoveally (2.2° away from fixation), and under gaze-contingent foveal masking. To make the primes available to overt attention, we presented them for 150 msec, at fixation, with no masking. Results showed both repetition and semantic priming in the absence of eye fixations on the primes: There was facilitation for identical and semantically related probe words, relative to an unrelated prime-probe condition. This revealed that both word form and meaning can be processed by covert attention alone. The pattern of relative contributions of covert (∼~25%) and overt (∼~75%) attention was similar for repetition and semantic priming.     

Functional deterioration in individuals with schizophrenia spectrum personality symptoms.

Although previous studies have noted functional deterioration in patients with severe schizotypal symptoms who meet criteria for schizotypal personality disorder, we are not aware of any study which examines level of functioning in nonpatients who experience mild schizophrenia spectrum personality (SSP) symptoms. With this issue in mind, occupational functioning was examined in non-patient subjects with mild SSP symptoms. Patients were recruited from the community by newspaper advertisements or from the first-degree relatives of patients with schizophrenia. Individuals with no DSM-IIIR Axis I diagnosis and with SSP symptoms (n = 60) and without symptoms (n = 75) participated in the study. The two groups had similar mean age and years of education. Occupational function was evaluated using the Level of Function Scale. The SSP patients with mild symptoms had significantly lower occupational scores (5.62 + 2.50) than the non-SSP patients (7.76 + 0.69; p < 0.001). A total of 39% of SSP patients, compared with 3% of non-SSP patients showed poor occupational functioning (chi 2 = 31, df = 1, p < 0.001). There was a significant deterioration in the socioeconomic status in SSP patients compared with their parents' status. Patients with mild SSP symptoms who were otherwise healthy showed severe difficulties with occupational function. Further research is needed to identify subtle deficits underlying functional deterioration and to develop targets for treatment strategies.     

The effect of the physical characteristics of cues and targets on facilitation and inhibition

The present experiment was conducted in order to examine the role of cue&#x2014;target discriminability on early occurring attentional cuing effects and late occurring inhibition of return (IOR). The experiment used a single target stimulus in conjunction with three different cue stimuli. The cues were the same as the target, different in color, shape, and luminance to the target, or did not spatially overlap with the target. At shorter stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs; 100 and 200 msec), attentional cuing effects were only found with the nonoverlapping cues. However, at longer SOAs (400 and 800 msec), approximately equal IOR effects were found with all three types of cues. The results indicated that the physical characteristics of the cues and targets affected the pattern of reaction times at the shorter SOAs but not at the longer SOAs. The conclusion is that the biphasic pattern of early facilitation and late inhibition following a peripheral cue should not be considered the definitive signature of the peripheral cuing paradigm.     

What is the value of mentoring in a small business? Using narrative evaluation to find out

The paper examines the case of one small business manager (Alistair) and the value he gave to a mentoring intervention demonstrated by the use of narrative evaluation. Doubts about the efficacy of orthodox approaches to evaluation when applied to management development activities lead to the view that narratives are more appropriate. Narrative evaluation techniques are applied to a story told by Alistair, the Managing Director of a small business in Sheffield, concerning his view of his involvement in a mentoring programme. Alistair's initial reservations about the value of the programme are revealed rhetorically through a range of arguments. After such doubts, through a process of conversation, the story reveals how Alistair is able to find value from mentoring.     

The use of avoidance training in studies of modulation of memory storage

Studies of the modulatory effects on memory of many treatments have relied in large part on the use of inhibitory (passive) avoidance training procedures. Recent critiques have questioned the validity of data obtained with the inhibitory avoidance task. This paper addresses these comments and describes many of the advantages of using the procedure in studies of processes which regulate the neurobiological mechanisms which store new information.