Clients’ in-session acceptance and cognitive defusion behaviors in acceptance-based treatment of tinnitus distress

Cognitive-behavioral treatment (CBT) is considered to be an effective treatment of distress associated with tinnitus (perception of internal noises without any outer auditory stimulation), but the processes by which the therapy works remain unclear. Mindfulness and acceptance is receiving increased attention in the treatment literature for chronic medical conditions. However, few studies have examined these and related processes with behavioral or observer measures. In the present study 57 videotapes (a total of 1710 min) from 19 clients who participated in a controlled trial of an acceptance-based treatment for tinnitus distress, were coded for frequency and peak level of verbal behaviors expressing either acceptance or cognitive defusion. Frequency of cognitive defusion behaviors and peak level of cognitive defusion as well as peak level of acceptance rated in Session 2, predicted symptom reduction 6 month following treatment. These relationships were not accounted for by the improvement that had occurred prior to the measurement point of the process variables. Moreover, prior symptom changes could not predict process variables rated later in therapy (after most of the improvement in therapy had occurred). Thus, clients’ in-session acceptance and cognitive defusion behaviors appear to play an important role in the reduction of negative impact of tinnitus.     

The relationship between age and frequency of disfluency in preschool children

The frequencies of nine types of disfluency, including silent pauses, were studied in 60 nonstuttering males, 3.5 and 5 yr-of-age. The younger children evidenced significantly higher rates of part word, word, and phrase repetitions, incomplete phrases, and disrhythmic phonations. The older children demonstrated significantly more grammatical pauses. The two groups did not differ in the frequency of interjections, ungrammatical pauses, and revisions. The most powerful discriminating category between the two age groups was phrase repetition. The results are compared with findings from other recent investigations of disfluency in nonstuttering preschool males. Possible explanations for the discrepancies among the various investigations and for the high degree of variability in disfluency reported in the literature are proposed. The results of this investigation suggest that nonstuttering children begin to show more adult-like disfluency patterns toward the later preschool years.     

Argentine validation of the Purpose in Life Test / Validación argentina del Test de Propósito en la Vida

Despite the fact that the Purpose in Life Test developed by James Crumbaugh and Leonard Maholick in the 1960s is considered to be one of the most commonly used measures in positive psychology, there are no validations of it into the Argentine context. This paper aims to assess the psychometric properties of PIL in a sample of 336 university students residing in Buenos Aires. The results suggest that PIL has adequate psychometric properties for the Argentine context. The confirmatory factor analysis presents a good fit of the data as proposed by the authors. These results favour the assessment of psychological well-being in this local context. Future studies should use different samples in order to provide more robust support to the construct.