How I Attend—Not How Well Do I Attend: Rethinking Developmental Frameworks of Attention and Cognition in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Typical Development

Evidence from the study of attention among persons with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and typically developing (TD) children suggests a rethinking of the notion that performance inherently reflects disability, ability, or capacity in favor of a more nuanced story that involves an emphasis on styles and biases that reflect real-world attending. We provide examples from behavioral and physiological research in which performance on attention tasks is not solely a function of abilities, or disabilities, per se but rather is also a function of the ways in which they are implemented. Thus, the study of attention both among persons with ASD and in typical development might best be recast in terms of the question of “how” rather than “how well.”     

The Relationship Between Hostile Interpretation Bias and Symptoms of Depression and Social Anxiety: a Replication Across Two Samples

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - Cognitive models of social anxiety and depression posit that hostile interpretation bias may be a symptom of, and act as a maintenance factor...     

Assessing Agreement between the K10 and MHI-5 Measures of Psychological Wellbeing

Responses to the Kessler Psychological Distress Scale (K10) and the Mental Health Index-5 (MHI-5) mental health subscale of the Medical Outcomes Study Short Form (SF-36) survey cover broadly similar constructs. The aim of this paper is to use the equipercentile method to produce a concordance between K10 and MHI-5 across the whole score distribution. Comparisons were made using survey data from the Australian Longitudinal Study on Women’s Health (ALSWH) and the Household, Income and Labour Dynamics in Australia (HILDA) survey, which used both the K10 and the MHI-5 measures at the same time for the same participants. Agreement was assessed with Bland-Altman plots. The differences between MHI-5 scores and transformed K10 scores were assessed with paired t-tests. For the ALSWH data there is good agreement between MHI-5 scores and scores equated from the K10. The mean of the differences is −0.15 with standard deviation 10.8. Using the ALSWH transformation on the HILDA data for different age groups and genders, the mean differences ranged from 0.43 to 3.38 with corresponding standard deviations of 11.1 to 9.9. The concordance table was very similar to one obtained by the more complicated item response theory method. The results suggest that longitudinal surveys of the same respondents that previously used MHI-5 could adopt the K10 (or vice versa) without loss of comparability.

     

Why People Who Have Sex with Animals Believe That It Is Their Sexual Orientation—A Grounded Theory Study of Online Communities of Zoophiles

This study explores online spaces of zoophiles. Relevant discussion forums, specializing in mental health, were identified through having threads on “sexuality,” “paraphilias,” and “zoophilia.” Thematic analysis includes responses of 138 participants (135 exclusive zoophiles, and three zoophiles with pedophilic tendencies). Trend analysis identified most frequently discussed topics: animals as an object of love; emotional closeness with animals; what are paraphilias; can animals consent to sex with humans; misunderstanding terminology of zoophilia/bestiality. First, zoophiles frequently ask why zoophilia is considered an act of bestiality if the term to them means “to murder.” Second, zoophiles believe that animals have an intrinsic ability to consent to sexual behaviors involving people. Third, most messages pointed to the lack of emotional support from the family and widespread public contempt.     

Brief cognitive behavioral intervention for children and adolescents with persistent post-concussive symptoms: A pilot study

This study aims to evaluate the efficacy of a brief cognitive behavioral intervention program for children and adolescents experiencing persistent post-concussion symptoms. A total of 31 patients aged 10 to 18 years participated in the intervention. The median time since injury at treatment onset was 95 days though the range was large (23–720 days). Treatment was on average four sessions in duration. Sessions included concussion education, activity scheduling, sleep hygiene relaxation training, and cognitive restructuring. Outcomes were measured using symptom reports on the Sports Concussion Assessment Tool – Third Edition (SCAT-3) and parent-reported quality of life on the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL). Mixed-effects models revealed that symptom reports did not decrease prior to the initiation of this treatment, though significant symptom improvement occurred following treatment. Quality of life scores significantly improved across domains, with the largest gains made in the emotional and school domains. Participant characteristics including age, sex, maternal education, and previous mental health problems were not found to be significantly related to treatment outcomes. Contrary to predictions, length of time since injury was not related to symptom changes. The primary limitation of this study is that it lacks randomization and an experimental control group. The results suggest that brief cognitive behavioral intervention may be a promising treatment for children and adolescents experiencing persistent post-concussive symptoms and warrants further investigation.     

Can the new indispensability argument be saved from Euclidean rescues?

The traditional formulation of the indispensability argument for the existence of mathematical entities (IA) has been criticised due to its reliance on confirmational holism. Recently a formulation of IA that works without appeal to confirmational holism has been defended. This recent formulation is meant to be superior to the traditional formulation in virtue of it not being subject to the kind of criticism that pertains to confirmational holism. I shall argue that a proponent of the version of IA that works without appeal to confirmational holism will struggle to answer a challenge readily answered by proponents of a version of IA that does appeal to confirmational holism. This challenge is to explain why mathematics applied in falsified scientific theories is not considered to be falsified along with the rest of the theory. In cases where mathematics seemingly ought to be falsified it is saved from falsification, by a so called ??Euclidean rescue??. I consider a range of possible answers to this challenge and conclude that each answer fails.     

The creative spark of death: The effects of mortality salience and personal need for structure on creativity

Previous research indicates that the awareness of death can be a barrier to creative expression. Specifically, when mortality is rendered salient, creativity is inhibited. However, no studies have considered how individual differences may impact the effect of mortality salience on creativity. Past research has found that mortality salience increases explorative thought processes for individuals low in personal need for structure. Thus, for these people, mortality salience may increase, not decrease, creativity. The current study examined this possibility. Personal need for structure was measured, mortality salience was experimentally manipulated, and creativity was assessed. As predicted, mortality salience increased creativity amongst individuals low in personal need for structure. No effect of mortality salience was observed amongst individuals high in personal need for structure.     

Emotional, behavioral, and cognitive factors that differentiate obsessive-compulsive disorder and other anxiety disorders in youth

Abstract The current study examined specific emotional, behavioral, and cognitive variables that may distinguish obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) from generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), social phobia (SoP), and separation anxiety disorder (SAD) in youth. Youth with OCD (n=26) and other anxiety disorders (ADs; n=31), aged 7-12 years (56.1% males), and their parents participated. The study compared the two anxious groups on levels of emotional, behavioral, and cognitive functioning, as well as impairment associated with the disorder. Results indicated that in comparison to youth with GAD, SoP, or SAD, youth with OCD were found to have poorer emotion regulation skills, as well as greater oppositionality, cognitive problems/inattention, and parent impairment associated with the disorder. The findings suggest that there are unique characteristics of OCD that may differentiate this disorder from other ADs in youth. Potential clinical implications and directions for future research are discussed.