Prediction of length of hospitalization of adolescent psychiatric inpatients utilizing the Pd Scale of the MMPI and demographic data

This study attempts to determine whether selected personality and demographic information can be utilized to predict the length of stay of adolescents in an inpatient therapeutic program. Predictor variables included scores on the five Harris-Lingoes Psychopathic-Deviate subscales of the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory (MMPI), Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R scores, and sex, age, parent, and sibling information. Data were collected from case files of 140 adolescents, ages 12 to 18 years, who had been admitted to a state hospital from 1979 to 1985. Each of these adolescents had obtained a score of 70 or above on the Psychopathic-Deviate (Pd) Scale of the MMPI. A preliminary correlational investigation of the data was conducted, followed by stepwise regression analysis. Regression analysis revealed that only sex and the presence of an older sister(s) were significant in prediction of length of stay of inpatient adolescents with elevated Pd scores.     

Cognitive treatment of pathological gamblers

This study evaluates the efficacy of a cognitive treatment for pathological gambling. Five pathological gamblers were treated in a multiple baseline across subjects design. Cognitive correction targeted the erroneous perceptions towards the notion of randomness. Four subjects reported a clinically significant decrease in the urge to gamble, an increase in their perception of control, and no longer met the DSM-IV criteria for pathological gambling. Therapeutic gains were maintained at the 6 month follow-up. Results suggest that cognitive therapy targeting the misconception of the notion of randomness is a promising treatment for pathological gambling, a refractory disorder to most therapeutic interventions.     

How analogies are generated: The roles of structural and superficial similarity

Laboratory studies of analogical reasoning have shown that subjects are mostly influenced by superficial similarity in the retrieval of source analogs. However, real-world investigations have demonstrated that people generate analogies using deep structural features. We conducted three experiments to determine why laboratory and real-world studies have yielded different results. In the first two experiments, we used a "production paradigm" in which subjects were asked to generate sources for a given target. Results show that the majority of the analogies that were generated displayed low levels of superficial similarity with the target problem. Moreover, most of the analogies were based on complex underlying structures. The third experiment used a "reception paradigm" methodology. The subjects had to retrieve predetermined sources instead of generate their own. In this case, retrieval was largely constrained by surface similarity. We conclude that people can use structural relations when given an appropriate task and that this ability has been underestimated in previous research on analogy.     

Links Between Early Personal Characteristics,Longitudinal Profiles of Peer Victimization in School and Victimization in College or at Work

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - This study used a longitudinal design from age six through age 19 (N?=?1206 (603 girls)) to examine the associations between...     

Sex Differences in Psychological Factors Associated with Social Discounting

The social discounting paradigm is a powerful means of quantifying altruism in humans, who are typically willing to forgo some amount of personal earnings in exchange for increased earnings for another person. The amount of money that people are willing to forgo decreases with increasing social distance. In this study, we examined variables related to sex, intolerance of uncertainty, and empathy, all of which are theorized to affect the social discounting rate. Participants (27 men and 28 women) completed measures of intolerance of uncertainty, empathy, and social discounting. We found sex differences in psychological predictors of social discounting: in women, empathy (but not intolerance of uncertainty) predicts the social discounting rate, while in men, social discounting is associated with intolerance of uncertainty (but not empathy). Possible neurobiological, social, and cognitive explanations for this sex difference are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Memory and learning in children with 22q11.2 deletion syndrome: evidence for ventral and dorsal stream disruption?

This study examined memory functioning in children and adolescents with 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (DS; velocardiofacial syndrome). An overall verbal better than nonverbal memory pattern was evident on the Test of Memory and Learning (TOMAL), with children with 22q11.2 DS performing significantly below their siblings and children with low average IQ but similar to children with autism on facial memory. Children with 22q11 DS also performed significantly below their siblings on tests of verbal working memory. Children with autism performed significantly poorer than the siblings of children with 22q11.2 DS only on their recall of stories. Delayed recall was significantly poorer in children with 22q11.2 DS and children with autism, compared to sibling controls. Although there were no significant group differences on tests of multiple trial verbal or visual learning, a relative weakness was noted with multiple trial visual learning in children with 22q11.2 DS and their siblings, suggesting that an alternative or interactive factor other than the deletion may account for the relatively better verbal compared to nonverbal memory abilities. Deficits in facial memory in children with both 22q11.2 DS and autism suggest disruptions in ventral temporal pathways such as between fusiform gyrus and parahippocampal/hippocampal regions whereas deficits in verbal working memory in children with 22q11.2 DS implicates dorsolateral prefrontal regions, both intimating aberrant white matter pathways.     

Conflict and postconflict behaviour in two lemur species with different social organizations (Eulemur fulvus and Eulemur macaco): A study on captive groups

Although the brown lemur (Eulemur fulvus) and the black lemur (Eulemur macaco) share many life parameters and are genetically closed, they show considerable difference in social organization. Dominance relationships with no systematic effect of gender characterize the former, whereas the latter is based on female dominance. The present study was done on two captive groups of brown lemurs and one semi–free‐ranging group of black lemurs. To reveal links between the specific pattern of social organization and agonistic behaviors, agonistic interactions were analyzed for each species as for their context of occurrence, symmetry, initiation, and outcome. The effect of gender in the initiation of conflicts appeared as the only notable interspecific difference, aggression being mostly initiated by females in E. macaco and by males in E. fulvus. Conflict outcome was generally in favor of the initiator, regardless of gender in both species. The analysis of postconflict behaviors revealed conciliatory processes in the brown lemur, whereas reconciliation seemed to be absent in the black lemur, a characteristic shared with the ring‐tailed lemur (Lemur catta), another lemur species with female dominance. Aggr. Behav. 28:62–74, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The relationships between perceived control and episodic memory in adulthood: a review

The goal of the current paper is to review the literature on the relationships between perceived control and episodic memory throughout adulthood. More specifically, three major questions are pursued: (1) Are higher levels of perceived control related to better memory performance? (2) Is the relationship between perceived control and memory similar or different as a function of age? (3) Does perceived control moderate memory decline? Although there is a great deal of evidence that perceived control and episodic memory are positively related in adulthood, the current review showed that very few studies have investigated whether age moderated this relationship. Moreover, only a limited number of studies have explored the role of perceived control in memory decline, and the results are inconsistent. We suggest some avenues for future research that could help understand by which mechanisms, and under what circumstances, perceived control and episodic memory are related across the lifespan.     

What Are the Effects of a Parent-Implemented Verbal Responsive Intervention on Preschoolers With Externalizing Behavior Problems?

This research was conducted to assess the impact of a parent-based verbal responsive intervention, aiming to enhance parents’ responsiveness and communication strategies, by way of a sample of parents and their preschool-aged children with a clinical level of externalizing behavior problems. Twenty-one parents received the intervention, consisting of eight 1.5-hour sessions. The study tested the hypothesis that the intervention led to an improvement in parenting variables and a decrease in children’s behavior problems, assessed by a multimethod procedure. The results partially confirmed the prediction, as they showed an enhancement of parents’ responsiveness and parent self-efficacy belief, which are promising findings, but no modifications of negative practices. These effects persisted for 4 months after the intervention. Moreover, a decrease in children’s externalizing behavior problems was reported by parents in a questionnaire, but this was not confirmed by an observational paradigm. This last result seems to show that a parent-implemented verbal responsive intervention is necessary for some children with externalizing behavior difficulties but often insufficient, and has to be part of a multidisciplinary treatment approach.