The structure of specific phobia symptoms among children and adolescents.

Previous research [Frederikson, M., Annas, P., Fisher, H. & Wik, G. (1996). Gender and age differences in the prevalence of specific fears and phobias. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 34, 33-39.] has shown that specific phobia symptoms of adults cluster into three subtypes: animal phobia, blood-injection-injury phobia and environmental-situational phobia. The present study examined whether these specific phobia subtypes can also be found in children. 996 children aged between 7 and 19 years completed a brief questionnaire regarding the frequency with which they experienced specific phobia symptoms. Confirmatory factor analysis was employed to examine the structure of these data. Results showed that childhood specific phobia symptoms indeed cluster into the three subtypes as described by Frederikson et al. and that these subtypes are either intercorrelated or the product of a single higher order factor. This structure appeared to be largely invariant across genders and age groups.     

Visual acuity improvement following fading and feedback training—I. Comparison of myopic and emmetropic volunteers

18 myopes and 18 emmetropes were randomly assigned in pairs to either Fading and Feedback training or a no-treatment control condition. The emmetropes were fitted with plus lenses equivalent to the spherical correction of the paired myope to simulate myopic visual acuity. Extensive visual acuity measures were obtained pre- and post-training. Data analyses indicated significant increases in recognition visual acuity for trained subjects, compared to no-treatment controls. The myopia/emmetropia variable did not interact with training even though there were noticably greater increases in visual acuity for trained myopes compared to the other conditions. Resolution visual acuity did not change as a function of training. These data are discussed in terms of their implications for better understanding the mechanisms responsible for visual acuity increases following behavioural training.     

Hope and Coping with Cancer by College Women

The relations of dispositional hope to various self-reported cancer-related coping activities were examined in 115 college women. Dispositionally high- as compared to low-hope women were more knowledgeable about cancer, and this relationship remained when the shared variances due to previous academic achievement, experience with cancer among family or friends, and positive and negative affectivity were removed. Additionally, high- as compared to low-hope women reported more hope-related coping responses in four separate imagined phases of cancer (prevention/risk, detection, temporal course, and impact), and these relationships remained when shared variances related to previous academic achievement, knowledge about cancer, experience with cancer, and negative affectivity were removed. Hope is discussed as means of maintaining a "fighting spirit" for coping with cancer.     

Human Flavor-Aversion Learning: A Comparison of Traditional Aversions and Cognitive Aversions

Traditional flavor aversions form when an organism consumes a flavor prior to an illness-producing unconditioned stimulus (US). Rozin (1986), however, introduced a second type of taste-aversion learning produced by a disgust-eliciting US. In the present work, Rozin's disgust categorization is extended to include other human situations (negative information, forced consumption) in which taste aversions are mediated by cognitive processes. College students completed a self-report questionnaire that addressed their experiences with taste-aversion learning. The results show that cognitive aversions were stronger and longer-lasting than traditional aversions, they formed to foods of animal origin more than to other substances, and they could be produced without nausea. Finally, individuals who reported having a cognitive aversion had significantly more taste aversions than individuals who reported having a traditional aversion. These results provide additional evidence that taste-aversion learning can occur without the direct mediation of an illness-producing US.     

Life Circumstances and Personal Resources as Predictors of the Ten-Year Course of Depression

A 10-year naturalistic study of 313 patients who entered treatment for unipolar depression and a community comparison group of 284 nondepressed adults was conducted. We compared life stressors, social resources, personal resources, and coping among patients who were remitted (N = 76), partially remitted (N = 146), or nonremitted (N = 91). Compared with the controls and the remitted patients, the partially remitted and nonremitted patients consistently experienced more life stressors and fewer social resources, were less easygoing, and relied more on avoidance coping. A less easygoing disposition, fewer close relationships, and more reliance on avoidance coping were associated with higher odds of experiencing a course of partial remission or nonremission. In addition, more depressive symptoms and medical conditions predicted nonremission.     

Effects of two-year treatment with the cholinesterase inhibitor rivastigmine on behavioural symptoms in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is accompanied by prominent behavioural disturbances. They cause significant distress for both caregivers and patients and can play a major role in the decision to institutionalise AD patients. Recent evidence suggests that cholinergic deficiencies not only contribute to the memory and cognitive abnormalities of AD but are also responsible for some behavioural abnormalities seen over the course of the disease. In this study we assessed the ability of rivastigmine, a pseudo-irreversible cholinesterase inhibitor, to improve behavioural and psychopathologic symptoms in AD. The analysis included 34 patients present in the Germanarm of the international study B303 who received and completed long-term treatment with rivastigmine in the open-label study B305. Assessments of behaviour and psychopathological symptoms were performed using the behavioural component of the Clinicians Interview Based Impression of Change Plus (CIBIC-Plus). Results show that long-term treatment with rivastigmine can slow the progression of behavioural and psychopathological symptoms of AD. Behavioural symptoms showing stabilisation included aggressiveness, activity disturbances, hallucinations and paranoid features. Results also suggest that patients treated earlier with rivastigmine may attain a greater benefit compared with patients whose treatment is delayed 6 months. Further studies examining the effects of rivastigmine on behavioural disturbances in AD are therefore warranted.     

Historical misrepresentation in science: The case of fetal alcohol syndrome

The history of the fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS) provides a microcosm in which to explore the larger ramifications of historical citations in biomedical publications. Though some historical references such as Biblical writings may hint at a rudimentary understanding of the relationship between maternal drinking and fetal development, no definitive case can be made for an understanding of FAS dating back hundreds of years. Authors who claim an impressive history for FAS misrepresent that history. The modern history of FAS raises a question concerning citations of original discoveries. The first paper describing ethanol-induced damage to the fetus appeared in 1968 yet most researchers cite one of two papers from 1973. Both ancient citations and modern references to original discoveries pose difficult questions for the scientist. Both dilemmas may be solved by a better reading of the literature and a more judicious wording when writing about history. This work was supported in part by Grant # AA10681 to SNP.