The Mediation Effect of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms on the Relationship of Intimate Partner Violence and IFN-γ Levels

Background: Women who experience intimate partner violence (IPV) report greater stress and negative health consequences than nonabused women. Although an association between psychological stress and altered immune function has been shown, IPV studies have not investigated this relationship. Objective: This study explored the association of IPV with mental health symptoms and an immune marker to determine if posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms mediate the effect of IPV on pro-inflammatory (IFN-γ) cytokine levels. Methods: A cross-sectional, comparative design was used to compare 62 women with IPV and 39 nonabused women. Results: Mean IFN-γ values were higher in abused women and in women with current PTSD symptoms. There were no significant relationships with potential confounding variables that could provide an alternative explanation for the increase in production of proinflammatory cytokines. Conclusions: PTSD symptoms mediate the association between IPV and IFN-γ levels and may partially explain the association of mental health symptoms with physical health sequelae in IPV.     

A functional analytic approach to computer-interactive mathematics

Following a pretest, 11 participants who were naive with regard to various algebraic and trigonometric transformations received an introductory lecture regarding the fundamentals of the rectangular coordinate system. Following the lecture, they took part in a computer-interactive matching-to-sample procedure in which they received training on particular formula-to-formula and formula-to-graph relations as these formulas pertain to reflections and vertical and horizontal shifts. In training A-B, standard formulas served as samples and factored formulas served as comparisons. In training B-C, factored formulas served as samples and graphs served as comparisons. Subsequently, the program assessed for mutually entailed B-A and C-B relations as well as combinatorially entailed C-A and A-C relations. After all participants demonstrated mutual entailment and combinatorial entailment, we employed a test of novel relations to assess 40 different and complex variations of the original training formulas and their respective graphs. Six of 10 participants who completed training demonstrated perfect or near-perfect performance in identifying novel formula-to-graph relations. Three of the 4 participants who made more than three incorrect responses during the assessment of novel relations showed some commonality among their error patterns. Derived transfer of stimulus control using mathematical relations is discussed.     

Parental Perceptions of Child Development Among Low-Income Mexican American Families

Parents' perceptions of child development are influenced by complex interactions among cultural, social, and economic factors. Insights into how parents from culturally diverse societies perceive the development of their children might explain why different cultural groups foster or value the development of different skills in their children. In this study, we explored the perceptions of child development among low income Mexican American parents. A series of ethnographic interviews were conducted with eight Mexican American families who had preschool children. Qualitative data analyses yielded three main themes that were important to these parents: family attitudes and values, changes, and adaptations. For these parents, the development of social attributes in children, that will enable them to function within their own cultural group, was as important as the development of cognitive or motor skills. Service providers, such as school and mental health personnel, should take into account cultural differences in parents' perceptions of the importance of various developmental milestones for their children when suggesting interventions typically used by parents in the dominant culture.     

The effects of nutritional supplements on the symptoms of fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome

This article reports the results of a within-subject design. Fifty subjects with a physician diagnosis of fibromyalgia (FM) and/or chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) were interviewed using a structured interview form. Each subject was interviewed initially, and again nine months later (follow-up). Subjects had, on their own, consumed nutritional supplements including freeze-dried aloe vera gel extract; a combination of freeze-dried aloe vera gel extract and additional plant-derived saccharides; freeze-dried fruits and vegetables in combination with the saccharides; and a formulation of dioscorea complex containing the saccharides and a vitamin/mineral complex. With medical treatments, approximately 25 percent of FM patients improved, but the beneficial effects of medical treatment rarely persist more than a few months. All subjects in this study had received some form of medical treatment prior to taking the nutritional supplements, but none with enduring success. Nutritional supplements resulted in a remarkable reduction in initial symptom severity, with continued improvement in the period between initial assessment and the follow-up. Further research is needed to verify these results, specifically crossover designs in well-defined populations.     

Self-limited and unlimited word usage during problem solving in two telecommunication modes

Subjects using oral modes of communication generate far more verbiage than do subjects using handwittenn or typewritten modes to solve the same problems. This study tested two alternative hypotheses to account for this disparity: (1) written modes produce a hard copy of interchanges, thereby compensating for the limitations of short-term memory and reducing the need to repeat information, and (2) talking is so easy that there is no incentive to be concise in oral modes. Two-person teams solved problems either by voice or by teletypewriter. Half the teams were given a monetary incentive to use as few words as possible. No such request was made of the control teams. Subjects in the brevity condition, regardless of the communication mode, greatly reduced verbiage with no increase in time or decrease in accuracy. Moreover, subjects in the brevity-voice condition used even fewer words than did subjects in the control-teletypewriter condition. These results, then, lend weight to the second hypothesis.     

Changes in human figure drawings during intensive treatment.

This article examines change in the human figure drawings (HFDs) of 32 seriously disturbed young adults during the course of intensive inpatient treatment. HFDs drawn at the time of admission were compared with HFDs obtained more than 1 year after intensive treatment began; both sets were scored on the Goodenough-Harris Scale (GH) and the Robins Balance-Tilt Scale (RBT). The findings indicate that the HFDs significantly improved over the course of treatment, but only for those patients judged introjective, not anaclitic. These findings are consistent with prior research on the same population that were based on analyses of clinical case records and Rorschach protocols (Blatt, Ford, Berman, Cook, & Meyer, 1988). Significant change in the HFDs over the course of treatment suggests that the HFDs provide a unique and independent dimension for assessing therapeutic change.     

When do I ponder? The role of elaboration in counterfactual thinking

The counterfactual thought such as “If only I had…” has a powerful impact on people's subsequent behavioral intentions. The literature has documented what may happen with CFT. But little has been done to investigate how CFT produces these effects. In this research, three studies provided evidence to show that elaboration rather than priming is the mechanism for CFT to have an effect on behavioral intentions; and the factors such as argument strength, outcome severity, and goal valence may interfere with such counterfactual effects. These theoretical contributions to the CFT literature offer important managerial implications and help marketers determine optimal persuasion strategies to influence consumers' information processing style.     

An exploration of the interrater agreement of visual analysis with and without context

Visual analysis is integral to the analysis of single-case experimental design (SCED) data. Previous studies have shown that many factors may influence the interrater agreement (IRA) of visual analysis. One factor that has received little direct attention is the impact of contextual information. In the current study, authors of recently published SCED studies were asked to make judgments regarding functional relations based on published datasets that met criteria for design quality. Respondents were randomly assigned to view graphs with or without contextual information and the degree of interrater agreement was compared. Results revealed that contextual information had no impact on IRA for decisions of a functional relation. IRA was high across both groups for 6 of the 7 datasets examined. Implications and recommendations based on these results are discussed.