Borderline personality traits in nonclinical young adults

The main purpose of this study was to explore the dimensionality of the borderline personality disorder in nonclinical young adults by means of the Borderline Personality Questionnaire (BPQ; Poreh et al., 2006). We also studied the phenotypic expression of the borderline personality traits as a function of participants' gender and age, and the relationship between BPQ subscales and measures of depressive symptoms, anxiety, stress, hallucinatory predisposition, and paranoid ideation. The sample comprised 809 young adults, 562 (69.5%) were women, with a mean age of 20.2 years (SD = 2.9). The results indicate that the BPQ self-report has adequate psychometric properties. The levels of internal consistency for the BPQ subscales ranged between .78 and .93. Analysis of the internal structure of the BPQ subscales yielded a one-dimensional solution. In contrast, second-order principal components analysis at the item level yielded a five-dimensional solution. Likewise, statistically significant differences in the mean scores of the borderline personality traits as a function of participants' gender and age were found. The BPQ subscales correlated significantly with measures of depression, anxiety, stress, paranoid ideation, and hallucinatory predisposition. These results help to improve our understanding of the dimensional structure of the borderline personality in the general population. Future research should continue to identify participants who are at risk for the development of borderline personality disorder and facilitating the development of early detection and prevention programs.     

Economic inequality is linked to biased self-perception

People's self-perception biases often lead them to see themselves as better than the average person (a phenomenon known as self-enhancement). This bias varies across cultures, and variations are typically explained using cultural variables, such as individualism versus collectivism. We propose that socioeconomic differences among societies--specifically, relative levels of economic inequality--play an important but unrecognized role in how people evaluate themselves. Evidence for self-enhancement was found in 15 diverse nations, but the magnitude of the bias varied. Greater self-enhancement was found in societies with more income inequality, and income inequality predicted cross-cultural differences in self-enhancement better than did individualism/collectivism. These results indicate that macrosocial differences in the distribution of economic goods are linked to microsocial processes of perceiving the self.     

Experiences and perspectives of African American, Latina/o, Asian American, and European American psychology graduate students: A national study

A national, Web-based survey of 1,219 African American, Latina/o, Asian American, and European American psychology graduate students revealed both similarities and differences in experiences and perspectives. Mentoring was found to be the strongest predictor of satisfaction across groups. Academic supports and barriers, along with perceptions of diversity within the academic environment, were also important predictors of satisfaction. Students of color perceived less fairness of representation of their ethnic group within psychology than European American students, and a greater linkage between aspects of the graduate school experience and their ethnicity. Limitations of the study and implications for future research and action are discussed.     

Psychometric update of the Social Anxiety Screening Scale (SASS/EDAS) in a Spanish adolescent population

The aim of this work was to update the validation of the Social Anxiety Screening Scale (SASS/EDAS) in a sample of Spanish adolescents. To achieve this, one study with a sample of 1489 students in secondary education, of ages 14 to 17 years, were carried out. The psychometric properties of EDAS were examined through confirmatory factor analysis, reliability (Cronbach's alpha), temporal stability (test-retest), and concurrent criterion validity. The results supported the three-independent-factor structure (avoidance, distress and interference), that showed best fit indices compared to alternative models. They also showed that the scores of participants on EDAS scales were reliable in terms of internal consistency (alpha > .80) and moderately reliable concerning temporal stability (r = .48-.60) over a five-week period. The correlations between the EDAS factors and other social anxiety measures were positive and significant. Data provide empirical evidence of the estimation of reliability and validity of this scale. Future work should extend the validation of the EDAS in clinical samples.     

Recording online processes in task-oriented reading with Read&;Answer

We present an application to study task-oriented reading processes called Read&Answer. The application mimics paper-and-pencil situations in which a reader interacts with one or more documents to perform a specific task, such as answering questions, writing an essay, or similar activities. Read&Answer presents documents and questions with a mask. The reader unmasks documents and questions so that only a piece of information is available at a time. This way the entire interaction between the reader and the documents on the task is recorded and can be analyzed. We describe Read&Answer and present its applications for research and assessment. Finally, we explain two studies that compare readers’ performance on Read&Answer with students’ reading times and comprehension levels on a paper-and-pencil task, and on a computer task recorded with eye-tracking. The use of Read&Answer produced similar comprehension scores, although it changed the pattern of reading times.     

Causal beliefs and empirical evidence

Causal beliefs often facilitate decision making. However, strong causal beliefs can also lead to neglect of relevant empirical evidence causing errors in risky decision making (e.g., medical, financial). We investigated the impact of pre-training and post-experience on the evaluation of empirical evidence in a two-alternative medical diagnostic task. Participants actively searched for information about two patients on the basis of four available cues. The first experiment indicated that pre-training can weaken the strong influence of causal beliefs reducing neglect of empirical evidence. The second experiment demonstrated that increasing amounts of empirical evidence can improve people's ability to decide in favor of a correct diagnosis. The current research converges with other recent work to clarify key mechanisms and boundary conditions shaping the influence of causal beliefs and empirical evidence in decisions and causal judgments.     

Groddeckian Interventions In Medical Settings

We present Groddeckian psychoanalytic psychosomatics in practice through two case studies. Groddeck pioneered the application of psychoanalysis to organic diseases, but his ideas have not been explored adequately. It is necessary to reappraise his concepts to develop their potential in psychoanalysis. We aim to demonstrate the efficacy of the Groddeckian approach by presenting two cases: a case of conversion of a boy who entered a semi-comatose state due to unattended emotional experiences and a man who developed a "sick role" resisting all medical interventions. In both histories, it is possible to see how disease and subjectivity intertwine in a complex unity of mind and body.     

Recollection is impaired by the modification of interpretation bias

The interpretation paradigm of cognitive-bias modification (CBM-I) was modified with instructions used in process-dissociation procedures for the purpose of investigating processes contributing to performance on the transfer task. In Experiment 1, nonanxious students were trained to interpret ambiguous situations in either a negative or benign way (or they read nonambiguous scenarios). They were then asked to respond to new ambiguous situations, in the same way as contextually similar analogues during training, or to respond differently. Benign training proactively impaired memory for negative outcomes. This effect was replicated by anxious students in Experiment 2 and discussed with respect to the assumptions underlying process-dissociation procedures and directions for future research.     

Comment on 'the case of Melanie' by Joseph Cambray

The discussion comments firstly on the role of synchronicity which seems so natural and significant for Jungians but which Freudians would think no more than interesting coincidences. This gives an idea of how different the two schools' approach to the psyche can be. Some theoretical elaboration is made regarding archetypes and primal phantasies: primal phantasies are much related to sexuality, but sexuality understood as intimately linked to the great mysteries of life. The discussion of the clinical work shows more similarities than differences. This suggests that for both perspectives the clinical is sovereign. As we know, respect and care for the patient's evolution, true concern for the patient and skilful use of technique remain the most important indicators of successful therapeutic work in the different psychotherapeutic approaches.