Adolescents' experience with and response to suicidal peers.

The present study investigated a sample of 325 suburban high school students' knowledge of suicidal peers, whether they had ever talked to a suicidal peer, and, if so, what they actually did in that situation. Sixty-eight percent of the females and 42.5% of the males reported knowing a teen who had committed or attempted suicide. Ninety-seven students reported having talked to a peer who was definitely considering suicide; of these, 63% talked to their peer about his or her concerns, 24.7% told an adult, and 12% did nothing in response to the encounter. Ninth graders were significantly more likely to do nothing as compared to eleventh graders. A mixed pattern of results was found as to the relationship of the response of youth to suicidal peers and their general experience with suicidal peers. The results confirm the importance of adolescents themselves for the prevention of youth suicide, and the need to convince adolescents to report at-risk peers to an adult.     

Juggling with bubbles in cylindrical ferrofluid foams

Monodisperse foams in long cylinders exhibit ordered spiral structures. We have made ferrofluid foams of this kind and find that they can be manipulated in a variety of ways by an external magnetic field. Effects include morphological changes, twisting of structures and size control in the bubble formation process. This offers a promising technique for the efficient transport, switching and combining of samples in fluidic networks, possibly on the microfluidic scale.     

Evaluating the performance of departments of psychotherapy

Conceptual and practical issues which surround attempts at assessing the efficiency of psychotherapy departments are surveyed and the advantages and disadvantages associated with performance indicators reviewed. The issues of assessing efficiency in general and the selection of appropriate indicators at both national and local levels are discussed. It is concluded that it is possible to find indicators which reflect the value of a psychotherapeutic service to the community within which it is based, and that the identification of a generally agreed set of such parameters is a matter of priority.     

Evidence-based medicine,psychoanalysis and psychotherapy

SUMMARY

The scientific status of psychoanalysis is a matter of importance to both theorists and clinicians in psychiatry. The empirical evidence for both the theory and the practice of psychodynamic practice is much greater than is generally recognised. There is strong evidence for the effectiveness of psychoanalysis and psychoanalytically oriented therapy. the future of psychoanalysis depends on this evidence. We will discuss both the evidence and reasons why it is overlooked in certain quarters, and review the developing neuro-cognitive understanding of the mechanisms that underlie psychoanalytical processes.     

Psychometric Properties of the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System in The Netherlands

Abstract

The current study explored the psychometric properties of a parent-child interaction observation system, the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System (DPICS) in the Netherlands. Participants included 31 Dutch mother-child dyads and 86?U.S. mother-child dyads for a community sample (2–7?years; 50% boys). Good one-week test-retest reliability was demonstrated among the Dutch sample. Similarities were found between Dutch and U.S. samples on most interaction codes, but mothers in the U.S. sample used more directive behaviors (e.g., commands) in some situations. Findings suggest that the DPICS is a reliable measure of mother-child interactions in the Dutch population. Cultural issues regarding the use of the DPICS are discussed.     

Development of a Multi-Disciplinary Intervention for the Treatment of Childhood Obesity Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Along the lines of the evidence-based recommendations, we developed a multi-disciplinary intervention for overweight children 7- to 12-years-old, primarily aiming at helping children to adopt healthier eating habits and a physically active lifestyle. The program combined nutrition intervention, based on a non-dieting approach, with physical activity intervention, implemented through the basic principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), along with parental support. The program was conducted by dieticians with the collaboration of child psychiatrists and pediatricians. Training and regular supervision upon CBT priniciples application was intended to enhance dieticians' efficiency. The intervention is currently being evaluated to determine its effectiveness in treating childhood obesity.     

Short- and Long-Term Effects of Inpatient Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Adolescents With Anxious-Depressed School Absenteeism: A Within-Subject Comparison of Changes

The effects of inpatient treatment, including manual-guided cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT), were examined for 36 adolescents (12–18 years) with chronic school absenteeism and mental health problems. Using a within-subject control group design, no changes were noted during the untreated waiting period, whereas there was a strong, statistically significant reduction in school absence rates and mental health problems from the start to the end of inpatient treatment. At discharge, 88.9% of adolescents attended school regularly or were employed (86.1 and 63.9% at 2- and 9-months follow-up, respectively). Self- and parent-reported mental health problems were significantly reduced during treatment and remained stable during follow-up.     

Logical reasoning in schizotypal personality

It was examined whether psychotic-like personality traits in a sample of 205 college students could predict logical reasoning deficits, akin to those seen in schizophrenia. The participants were tested on their ability to assess the logical validity of premises (Logical Reasoning Task), and completed a multi-dimensional schizotypy inventory (O-LIFE). Low accuracy was associated with increased levels of disorganized schizotypy (‘Cognitive Disorganization’), while elevated errors were associated with increased levels of positive (‘Unusual Experiences’), negative (‘Introvertive Anhedonia’) and impulsive (‘Impulsivity Non-conformity’) schizotypy. Nevertheless, multiple regression analyses revealed that negative schizotypy was retained as the only significant predictor after performance was corrected for random guessing, and the contribution of the average amount of time spent on each premise was controlled. The results suggest that, although most schizotypy dimensions have a detrimental effect on reasoning performance, possibly due to disadvantageous test-taking strategies, negative schizotypy is the most reliable predictor of logical reasoning deficits. It is proposed that social/interpersonal schizotypal traits, like negative symptoms of schizophrenia, are accompanied by deficient executive functions of working memory, which appear to undermine, inter alia, logical reasoning processing.