Germs and angels: the role of testimony in young children's ontology

In three experiments, children's reliance on other people's testimony as compared to their own, first-hand experience was assessed in the domain of ontology. Children ranging from 4 to 8 years were asked to judge whether five different types of entity exist: real entities (e.g. cats, trees) whose existence is evident to everyone; scientific entities (e.g. germs, oxygen) that are normally invisible but whose existence is generally presupposed in everyday discourse; endorsed beings (e.g. the Tooth Fairy, Santa Claus) whose existence is typically endorsed in discourse with young children; equivocal beings (e.g. monsters, witches) whose existence is not typically endorsed in discourse with young children; and impossible entities (e.g. flying pigs, barking cats) that nobody believes in. Children make a broad dichotomy between entities and beings that they claim to exist (real entities; scientific entities; and endorsed beings) and those whose existence they deny (equivocal beings and impossible entities). They also make a more fine-grained distinction among the invisible entities that they claim to exist. Thus, they assert the existence of scientific entities such as germs with more confidence than that of endorsed beings such as Santa Claus. The findings confirm that children's ontological claims extend beyond their first-hand encounters with instances of a given category. Children readily believe in entities that they cannot see for themselves but have been told about. Their confidence in the existence of those entities appears to vary with the pattern of testimony that they receive.     

Neuropsychological correlates of Greek alcoholic patients who report memory disturbances

We studied 40 male and 37 female (M age=63 yr.) Greek alcoholic patients and an equal number of control subjects. Both groups were evaluated with the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Syndrome Short Test, the Verbal Fluency Test (Category & Letter), the Clock Test, and the Digit Span (Forward and Backward from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised). Alcoholic patients had statistically significant lower scores on MMSE, Verbal Fluency Test, and Digit Span, and higher scores on the Syndrome Short Test, while positive correlations were found among MMSE, Verbal Fluency Test, Clock Test, Digit Span-Backward, and age. These findings point to frontal lobe dysfunction in Greek alcoholic patients which is not different from that shown in patients from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds.     

Approach versus avoidance: different types of commitment in intimate relationships

The major objective of the present study was to examine whether approach versus avoidance commitment to one's intimate relationship was differentially predictive of relationship quality parameters in the long run. In the 1st testing period, 134 participants (67 romantic couples) answered questions about approach- versus avoidance-related measures. Commitment and relationship quality parameters such as satisfaction and emotions depending on the partner's presence were assessed in all 3 testing periods. The proposed distinction between an approach and an avoidance type of commitment was validated through correlations with other approach- versus avoidance-related measures. Longitudinal analyses revealed that approach commitment predicted relationship quality parameters positively, whereas avoidance commitment predicted them negatively. The results are discussed in terms of the benefit of an approach-avoidance-based conceptualization of commitment.     

Trajectories and predictors of developmental skills in healthy twins up to 24 months of age

Background

Low birth weight and low 5-min Apgar scores have been associated with developmental delay, while older maternal age is a protective factor. Little is known about trajectories and predictors of developmental skills in infant twins, who are generally born with lower birth weights, lower Apgar scores and to older mothers.

Methods

Developmental skills were assessed at 3, 6, 9, 12, 18 and 24 months using the Ages and Stages Questionnaires in 152 twins from the Birmingham Registry for Twin and Heritability Studies. Multilevel spline and linear regression models (adjusted for gestational age, gender, maternal age) were used to estimate developmental trajectories and the associations between birth weight, maternal age and Apgar scores on developmental skills.

Results

Twins performed worse than singletons on communication, gross motor, fine motor, problem solving and personal-social skills (p < 0.001). Twins caught up around 6 months (score within −1 standard deviation of norm), except on gross motor skills, which did not catch up until after the age of 12 months. A one-year increase in maternal age was significantly associated with decreases in gross motor and personal–social z-scores of up to −0.09, whereas one unit increases in Apgar score increased z-scores up to 0.90 (p < 0.01).

Conclusions

Healthy twins should be considered at a higher risk for developmental delay. Whether these results are comparable to preterm singletons, or whether there are twin-specific issues involved, should be further investigated in a study that uses a matched singleton control group.     

Structural Personality Organization as Assessed With Theory Driven Profile Interpretation of the Dutch Short Form of the MMPI Predicts Dropout and Treatment Response in Brief Cognitive Behavioral Group Therapy for Axis I Disorders

It is generally believed that people "normally" see male figures on Card III and females on Card VII, and that seeing females on III by males may be an indication of confused sexuality. Brown (1971) suggests that recently there has been a marked increase in the number of males who see females on III and that this indicates a cultural change toward a blurring of sex roles. Present findings are that male subjects through 60 years of age see substantial numbers of females on Card III. More males do see females on III in 1970 than earlier, but it seems to be the age of the subject more than the decade in which he lives that primarily determines response.     

Differing Perceptions of Mothers,Fathers, and children Concerning Children's Academic Performance

This study examined the hypothesis that mothers' views of their child's performance on an academic task are more synchronous with those of their child than are fathers' views. Parents of 30 sixth-grade children were asked to predict their child's memory spans on a recall and a recognition task given to each child. Parents and children were also asked to judge the importance for the child's performance on 10 attribution factors created for use with memory tests. In line with the hypothesis, mothers predicted the child's memory span more accurately than fathers, and the mothers' attributions were more congruent with those of their children. Mothers were also more aware than fathers of the different demands of the two memory tasks. These findings suggest that mothers may be more aware than fathers of their child's academic progress and that mothers' attitudes and expectations may be more influential in determining the child's path of development.     

Development and validation of the Dutch Questionnaire God Image : Effects of mental health and religious culture

This article presents the Dutch Questionnaire God Image (QGI), which has two theory-based dimensions: feelings towards God and perceptions of God's actions. This instrument was validated among a sample of 804 respondents, of which 244 persons received psychotherapy. Results showed relationships between the affective and cognitive aspect of the God image. The God image of psychiatric patients had a more negative and threatening nature than the God image of the non-psychiatric respondents. Also, religious culture appeared to affect the God image.     

Habitual Self‐Control: A Brief Measure of Persistent Goal Pursuit

Habitual self‐control is defined as a trait‐like personal resource factor that facilitates the enactment of difficult intentions. A 14‐item Habitual Self‐Control Questionnaire (HSCQ) was developed to assess this trait. Reliability, factorial validity, and criterion validity were assessed in five undergraduate student subsamples with an overall N of 2224. Internal consistency was .81 across the entire sample, and test–retest reliability was .83 over a one‐month interval. The HSCQ showed a theoretically meaningful pattern in terms of convergent and discriminant validity and criterion validity in predicting a variety of health behaviours that relate to self‐control, including exercise, dieting behaviour, binge eating and weight loss success. Further, the HSCQ contributed uniquely to the prediction of health behaviours beyond alternative self‐control scales. In a longitudinal part of the study, the HSCQ added to the prediction of action plan completion and satisfaction beyond motivation and moderated the relationship between motivation and enactment of action plans as theoretically expected. In sum, the results provided strong evidence for the reliability and validity of the HSCQ and highlighted some theoretically meaningful differences to already existing measures of self‐control. Theoretical implications are discussed. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Illness perceptions in dialysis patients and their association with quality of life

The present study explored illness perceptions of end stage renal disease (ESRD) patients on both haemodialysis (HD) and peritoneal dialysis (PD) treatment, and their associations with quality of life. Leventhal's self-regulation model (SRM) was used as a theoretical framework. Illness perceptions and quality of life were assessed with the IPQ-R and the SF-36 in 91 HD and 42 PD patients participating in the NECOSAD-study. Compared to HD patients, PD patients experienced more personal control and had a better understanding of the illness. Illness perceptions explained from 17 to 51% of the variance in quality of life scores. Perception of more symptoms, more consequences and lower personal control were associated with lower well-being. The concept of illness perceptions is useful in understanding the impact of ESRD and of dialysis treatment on quality of life. Interventions aimed at providing more knowledge about ESRD and dialysis, and provision of skills to coping with the illness and its consequences may improve quality of life in dialysis patients.     

Constructing a Theory and Evidence-Based Approach to Promote and Evaluate Autonomy in Addiction

ABSTRACT

In this article we use theory and empirical evidence to synthesize a model for the analysis of autonomy in people with addictions. We review research on motivation and denial as accepted addiction constructs that need to be replaced with non-stigmatizing and autonomy-supportive language when seeking to ‘treat’ addicts. We present three main factors involved in relational autonomy in addiction (mentalizing, positive self-concept, and stigma), and illustrate our model by examining variations on these parameters in two case studies of heroin addicts. We conclude that a growth perspective is needed to assess functioning in populations believed to be ‘addicted’ and make suggestions for assessment.