A group-based treatment for clients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) in a secondary care mental health setting: Integrating new developments within cognitive behavioural interventions – An exploratory study

Aims: This paper presents a model of a group-based intervention for the treatment of clients with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) referred to secondary mental health care services, which has been developed by the authors over the last five years. Method: Groups are not a common form of treatment design for this client group, however the available literature is briefly reviewed and the common issues that informed the design are identified. Following this additional technique of neuropsychological theories, Mindfulness, and socialisation are presented and a brief rationale for their inclusion provided. Quantitative and Qualitative outcome measures of the most recent group are discussed with respect to the utility and validity of the model. Conclusion and implications for practice: It is concluded that the group has good ecological as well as outcome validity and provided a method of linking together evidence-based practice (EBP) and practice-based evidence (PBE) movements.     

Effects of correspondence between encoding and retrieval organization in social memory

Memory research has shown impaired recall performance when a subset of the studied stimuli is presented at recall (the part-list cueing effect, Slamecka, 1968) or when the recall is collaborative (collaborative-inhibition effect, Weldon & Bellinger, 1997). In two experiments we explore these effects in an impression-formation context and compare two prominent accounts (retrieval blocking versus strategy disruption) for them. We varied the correspondence between item organization at encoding and retrieval, either by manipulating the organization of part-list cues (Experiment 1) or the organization of the stimulus list that was later recalled collaboratively (Experiment 2). Results showed that when encoding and recall organizations did not correspond recall was impaired, replicating part-list cueing and collaborative-inhibition effects. However, when encoding and retrieval organization corresponded, these effects were greatly reduced. Such results support the recall strategy disruption hypothesis and challenge the retrieval blocking account. Implications for understanding memory in a social context are discussed.     

A Statistical Investigation of the Relationship Between Personal Attachment Style and Satisfaction with Evangelical Church Membership

The purpose of this study was to examine if parishioners' relational attachment style influences their satisfaction with evangelical church membership. A sample of parishioners aged 18 and over completed the Relationship Questionnaire and the Congregation Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ), along with an accompanying demographic profile. The research design employed a one-way analysis of variance to determine if securely attached persons reported greater satisfaction with their evangelical church participation than those who reported preoccupied, dismissing, or fearful attachment. This study furthered existing research, suggesting that attachment style influences how people measure congregational satisfaction. In this study, securely attached individuals reported greater satisfaction, as measured by the CSQ, with their evangelical church membership than those who were not securely attached.     

Talking to Children About Maternal BRCA1/2 Genetic Test Results: A Qualitative Study of Parental Perceptions and Advice

Family communication is the primary, initial means of educating the next, at-risk generation about hereditary cancer risk. In this study, in-depth parent narratives provided self-report of motivations, planning, satisfactions and regrets associated with sharing or not sharing maternal BRCA1/2 test results with young children and advice for parents considering disclosure and for genetic counselors. Interviews were conducted with 32 mothers tested for BRCA1/2 with children ages 8–21 years and 24 of their co-parents; interview narratives were analyzed qualitatively. Parents were concerned with both protecting and educating children about hereditary cancer risk. They expressed confidence that parents can constructively convey genetic information to minor children. Telling relieved most parents and satisfied a sense of parental duty. Parents strongly advised child-specific, age-appropriate tailoring of genetic information and emphasized conveying the positive, preventive utility of genetic information to children. Immunizing effects of disclosure were viewed as providing forewarning about and preparation for possible later family cancer diagnoses. Parents choosing not to tell children were advised to consider future disclosure. Narratives about parental sharing of BRCA1/2 test results with minor children support the feasibility of parental discussion of maternal genetic test results to the next at-risk generation. Results suggest development of intervention tools for parents would support decision-making and family communication and potentially reduce parental worry and regret. Recommendations are made for more active involvement by genetic counselors with tested parents around the topic of delivery of genetic information to children.     

A terror management analysis of self-awareness and anxiety: The hierarchy of terror

Abstract

In this article, we apply terror management theory to the operation of self-awareness processes. According to the theory, self-esteem consists of accepting a cultural conception of reality and believing that one is living up to the standards of value inherent in that conception. The function of self-esteem is to buffer the anxiety that results from the awareness of human vulnerability and mortality that results from our capacity for self-awareness. We argue that self-awareness leads to comparisons with standards, and to behavior aimed at reducing any discrepancies that are detected, because of the potential for existential terror that self-awareness creates. Existential terror is seen as the emotional manifestation of the instinct for self-preservation. Management of this terror is conceptualized as the superordinate goal in a hierarchy of standards through which behavior is regulated. A hierarchical terror management model is proposed. This structure provides a unique analysis of the self-system and its relationship to other attitudes, values, and beliefs. The theory posits several dynamic principles that specify how self-awareness and disruptions determine the movement of conscious attention through various levels of the hierarchy. The implications of this analysis for unresolved theoretical questions about self-awareness processes, unconscius sources of motivation, and clinical problems are discussed.     

Prospective associations between marital adjustment and life satisfaction

Actor and partner effects for the 2‐year longitudinal associations between marital adjustment and life satisfaction were evaluated in a population‐based sample of middle‐aged and older adults (N = 1,385 couples). Results showed that (a) higher marital adjustment at baseline predicted higher life satisfaction at follow‐up, (b) higher life satisfaction at baseline predicted higher marital adjustment at follow‐up, (c) marital adjustment more strongly predicted life satisfaction than life satisfaction predicted marital adjustment for women, and (d) higher partner marital adjustment at baseline predicted higher life satisfaction at follow‐up. Results suggest that marital adjustment and life satisfaction influence one another in a bidirectional fashion and that the direction is predominantly from marital adjustment to life satisfaction in women.