The course of adult experiences of abuse in patients with borderline personality disorder and Axis II comparison subjects: a 10-year follow-up study

The first objective of this study was to assess the rates of adult experiences of verbal, emotional, physical, and sexual abuse reported by borderline patients and Axis II comparison subjects over 10 years of prospective follow-up. The second objective was to determine time-to-cessation, recurrence, and new onset of each type of abuse. The Abuse History Interview (AHI) was administered to 290 borderline patients and 72 Axis II comparison subjects at baseline. The AHI Follow-up Version (AHI-FUV) was administered at five contiguous follow-up waves. Over 10 years of follow-up, the rates of all four types of abuse declined significantly for borderline patients. For borderline patients, rates of cessation were high for all types of abuse (>90%). However, recurrences and new onsets of verbal and emotional abuse were relatively common (>60%). Contrastingly, they were relatively uncommon for physical and sexual abuse (<30%), suggesting that verbal and emotional abuse represent more stable forms of abuse.     

Migranten in sozial schwachen Stadtteilen von Berlin

Background

The aim of the present study was to compare psychological distress and substance use between migrant and non-migrant populations in a socially deprived area of Berlin.

Methods

A population-based random sample stratified for age (18?C57?years) and gender (50% female) was retrieved from the registration office. A total of 143 persons were included in the study. The participation rate was 48.5% when contact was established. Psychological distress was assessed using the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ-28) with its four subscales, somatic symptoms, anxiety/insomnia, social dysfunction and severe depression. Substance use was quantified using the Alcohol Use Identification Disorder Test (AUDIT) and the Fagerstr?m Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND).

Results

Of the study population 51.3% were first or second generation migrants and lived more often in single households. Migrants had lower educational levels and lower employment rates. The mean scores of migrants and non-migrants did not differ on any of the subscales somatic symptoms, anxiety/depression, social dysfunction or severe depression of the GHQ-28. Non-migrants showed significantly higher risks regarding alcohol use.

Discussion

The present study did not reveal any differences regarding symptom profiles in the spectrum of anxiety and depression between non-migrants and migrants who lived in a socially deprived area. Migrants may compensate higher social risk profiles with lower risks regarding alcohol use. Larger samples have to inform on possible differences regarding smoking and other substances.     

Publication bias in psychological science: comment on Ferguson and Brannick (2012)

It is well documented that studies reporting statistically significant results are more likely to be published than are studies reporting nonsignificant results--a phenomenon called publication bias. Publication bias in meta-analytic reviews should be identified and reduced when possible. Ferguson and Brannick (2012) argued that the inclusion of unpublished articles is ineffective and possibly counterproductive as a means of reducing publication bias in meta-analyses. We show how idiosyncratic choices on the part of Ferguson and Brannick led to an erroneous conclusion. We demonstrate that their key finding--that publication bias was more likely when unpublished studies were included--may be an artifact of the way they assessed publication bias. We also point out how the lack of transparency about key choices and the absence of information about critical features of Ferguson and Brannick's sample and procedures might have obscured readers' ability to assess the validity of their claims. Furthermore, we demonstrate that many of the claims they made are without empirical support, even though they could have tested these claims empirically, and that these claims may be misleading. With their claim that addressing publication bias introduces subjectivity and bias into meta-analysis, they ignored a large body of evidence showing that including unpublished studies that meet the inclusion criteria of a meta-analysis decreases (rather than increases) publication bias. Rather than exclude unpublished studies, we recommend that meta-analysts code study characteristics related to methodological quality (e.g., experimental vs. nonexperimental design) and test whether these factors influence the meta-analytic results.     

Subjective Wellbeing in a Southwestern Province in China

Differences in subjective wellbeing were examined among 3,641 men and women in Yunnan, China. Using an urban Chinese sample, Appleton and Song in World Dev 36:2325–2340, (2008) reported that SWB was positively correlated with income, reporting good health, being married, female, and a Communist Party member. The current work examines how well these findings hold in the non-coastal province of Yunnan, by gender, and by urban/rural status.     

Social Identity, Self-categorization, and Work Motivation: Rethinking the Contribution of the Group to Positive and Sustainable Organisational Outcomes

Traditional needs theories centre around hierarchies ranging from 'lower-level' needs for security, existence, or hygiene through to 'higher-level' needs for self-actualisation, achievement, and growth. As applied to the organisational domain, such theories tend to assume that an employee's personal need for challenge and development is the best source of work motivation. Based on social identity and self-categorisation theories, this paper interprets needs hierarchies as reflections of the variable definition of self. It suggests that the motivational impact of different needs changes as a function of the salience of norms and goals associated with self-categories defined at varying levels of abstraction (personal, social, human). As a result, no one level of need is inherently more relevant to employee motivation than any other. This analysis also suggests that group-based needs will play an especially important motivational role in situations where an individual's social identity is salient. Following work by Tyler, data that support this argument are provided by a study in which employees' willingness to engage in citizenship behaviour increased following manipulations of group-based pride and respect. Results point to the productive and sustainable potential of self-actualisation at a collective rather than just a personal level.     

The Role of Anxiety in Seeking and Retaining Risk Information: Testing the Risk Perception Attitude Framework in Two Studies

Despite the importance of health information seeking, not all people engage in such behaviors, especially when thinking about the disease is distressing. The focus of this paper is to examine the antecedents of information seeking and retention. Based on individuals’ risk perception and efficacy beliefs, the risk perception attitude framework is used to formulate four groups: responsive (high risk, high efficacy), avoidance (high risk, low efficacy), proactive (low risk, high efficacy), and indifference (low risk, low efficacy). In Study 1, a 2 (risk) × 2 (efficacy) between‐subjects experiment, participants’ perceived risk to skin cancer and skin cancer–related efficacy beliefs were induced to determine their information seeking, retention, and intentions to engage in future seeking. The responsive group, as predicted, was associated with the most information‐seeking behaviors and information‐seeking intentions. The avoidance group, however, sought information but exhibited the lowest retention scores. These results were used to derive two predictions—the incredulity hypothesis and the anxiety‐reduction hypothesis—that were then tested in Study 2. Study 2, also a 2 (risk) × 2 (efficacy) between‐subjects experiment dealing with diabetes, found support for the anxiety‐reduction hypothesis, which argues that the high‐risk, low‐efficacy group experiences more anxiety, which leads to high motivations to seek, but lower ability to retain information.