The validation of an active control intervention for Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR)

Most of the extant literature investigating the health effects of mindfulness interventions relies on wait-list control comparisons. The current article specifies and validates an active control condition, the Health Enhancement Program (HEP), thus providing the foundation necessary for rigorous investigations of the relative efficacy of Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) and for testing mindfulness as an active ingredient. 63 participants were randomized to either MBSR (n = 31) or HEP (n = 32). Compared to HEP, MBSR led to reductions in thermal pain ratings in the mindfulness- but not the HEP-related instruction condition (η² = .18). There were significant improvements over time for general distress (η² = .09), anxiety (η² = .08), hostility (η² = .07), and medical symptoms (η² = .14), but no effects of intervention. Practice was not related to change. HEP is an active control condition for MBSR while remaining inert to mindfulness. These claims are supported by results from a pain task. Participant-reported outcomes (PROs) replicate previous improvements to well-being in MBSR, but indicate that MBSR is no more effective than a rigorous active control in improving these indices. These results emphasize the importance of using an active control condition like HEP in studies evaluating the effectiveness of MBSR.     

Does learning to count involve a semantic induction?

We tested the hypothesis that, when children learn to correctly count sets, they make a semantic induction about the meanings of their number words. We tested the logical understanding of number words in 84 children that were classified as "cardinal-principle knowers" by the criteria set forth by Wynn (1992). Results show that these children often do not know (1) which of two numbers in their count list denotes a greater quantity, and (2) that the difference between successive numbers in their count list is 1. Among counters, these abilities are predicted by the highest number to which they can count and their ability to estimate set sizes. Also, children's knowledge of the principles appears to be initially item-specific rather than general to all number words, and is most robust for very small numbers (e.g., 5) compared to larger numbers (e.g., 25), even among children who can count much higher (e.g., above 30). In light of these findings, we conclude that there is little evidence to support the hypothesis that becoming a cardinal-principle knower involves a semantic induction over all items in a child's count list.     

A focused intervention for 1st-year college students: promoting hope, sense of coherence, and self-efficacy

Many students experience elevated psychological distress during their 1st year at college. Within the salutogenic paradigm (A. Antonovsky, 1987), sense of coherence (SOC), self-efficacy, and hope (in terms of hope theory; C. R. Snyder, 2002) are considered as protective factors in the demanding academic system. Study goals were to examine the outcomes of a focused workshop for 43 students, targeting the promotion of hope, sense of coherence, and self-efficacy for enhancing students' academic adjustment as expressed through their grades. Results revealed an effect over the 3 measurement time-points (before the workshop, immediately after it, and after 1 month), as well as the interactions of time and hope levels. Although their mean grades were not statistically different before the intervention, students who achieved higher levels of hope following the workshop got higher grades in the semester following the intervention. SOC and self-efficacy scores were significantly related both to hope levels after 1 month and to mean grades. The implications of this study for promoting a hopeful orientation in educational systems are discussed, and future interventional research is suggested.     

Competitiveness across the life span: the feisty fifties

Existing theories on life span changes in confidence or motivation suggest that individuals' preferences to enter competitive situations should gradually decline with age. We examined competitive preferences in a field experiment using real financial stakes in 25- to 75-year-olds (N = 543). The critical dependent variable was whether participants chose to perform a simple mental arithmetic task either under a piece-rate payment schedule (i.e., $.25 per solved item) or a competitive payment schedule ($.50 per solved item if the overall score is better than that of a randomly selected opponent, $0 otherwise). Results revealed that competitive preferences increased across the life span until they peaked around age 50, and dropped thereafter. We also found that throughout, men had a substantially larger preference for competing than women-extending previous findings on college-aged participants. The age/gender differences in preferences were neither accounted for by actual differences in performance nor individuals' subjective confidence. This first systematic attempt to characterize age differences in competitive behavior suggests that a simple decline conception of competitiveness needs to be reconsidered.     

Towards a psychosocial mediator model of hostility and CHD

Abstract

How might hostility contribute to the development of CHD? One possible explanation, labelled “psychosocial vulnerability”, is that hostile individuals inhabit a more taxing interpersonal world, and that increased stress, in turn, causes CHD. However, previous research testing this proposition has suffered from a measurement confound by employing self-reports of stress, social support, and hostility. One hundred and twelve subjects participated in the current study and completed the Cook-Medley Hostility scale. Then, each subject's closest friend was asked to estimate for the past year: (1) how many stressors had been encountered by the subject; (2) how easily the subject was upset by a stressor; (3) how many emotional reactions the subject disclosed after a stressor; and (4) how much social support was available to the subject. Results suggested that hostile men and women may both be phychosocially vulnerable, but they are so at different stages of the stressor-distress process. There was no relation between hostility and observed stressor frequency for either men or women, however, hostility in men was found to be related to increased distress in reaction to stressors and in women was related to decreased disclosure about these stressful events. Importantly, hostility in both men and women was related to decreased levels of observed social support, as compared to their non-hostile peers.     

Specific language deficiencies in children with early onset hydrocephalus

Specific language abilities of children with early onset hydrocephalus were compared to nonhydrocephalic comparison groups. Ninety children, aged 5 to 7 years, composed six subject groups: three groups having a history of hydrocephalus due to spina bifida, prematurity-intraventricular hemorrhage, or aqueductal stenosis. and three comparison groups of children with spina bifida who had never been shunted, premature children with no hydrocephalus, and normal controls. Group performance scores were compared on measures of phonological awareness, semantics, fluency, and word retrieval. Children with hydrocephalus performed below their peers on all measures. These results indicate that early onset hydrocephalus has a substantial adverse impact on the development of a wide range of specific language abilities.     

Humor styles impact the relationship between symptoms of social anxiety and depression

Recent research suggests that examining humor styles may contribute to our understanding of clinical problems, such as risk and resiliency. The goal of the current study was to examine whether humor styles moderate the association between social anxiety and depressive symptoms in an unselected sample. Three-hundred and six participants (66% female) at a large Southern US university completed self-report measures of humor styles and symptoms of social anxiety and depression. Regression analyses suggested that affiliative and self-defeating humor styles individually moderated the relationship between social anxiety and depressive symptoms. Clinical implications regarding the monitoring of humor use as a means of understanding the maintenance of depressive symptoms among socially anxious individuals are discussed.     

Body Surveillance and Body Shame in College Men: Are Men Who Self-Objectify Less Hopeful?

The current study examined self-objectification and hope in a sample of undergraduate men from a Midwestern university in the United States (N?=?227). Specifically, an online survey utilizing self-report measures examined the associations between body surveillance, body shame, trait hope, social relationship hope, and romantic relationship hope were considered through the lenses of Objectification Theory and the Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions. Consistent with Hypothesis 1, bivariate correlations showed that more body surveillance was associated with less trait agency, less trait pathways, less social relationship pathways, and less romantic relationship pathways. As well, more body shame was associated with less trait agency, less trait pathways, less social relationship pathways, less romantic relationship agency, and less romantic relationship pathways. Additionally, consistent with Hypothesis 2 and the model proposed by Objectification Theory, body shame explained relations between body surveillance and hope, specifically, trait agency, social relationship pathways, romantic relationship agency, and romantic relationship pathways in a path analysis. This work fills an important gap in the current literature, as it is the only study to date that examines relations between self-objectification and hope, and furthers objectification research among men. Results are discussed within the context of Objectification Theory and the Broaden and Build Theory of Positive Emotions. Implications and future directions are discussed.     

The positive and negative semantic dimensions of relationship satisfaction

Semantic differential items were reconfigured to assess relationship satisfaction across separate positive and negative attitude dimensions. Study 1 (N = 1,656) supported a 2‐factor model for the Positive and Negative Semantic Differential (PN–SMD), as well as its convergent, criterion‐related, and incremental validity over the 16‐item Couples Satisfaction Index (CSI; J. L. Funk & R. D. Rogge, 2007) using known correlates of relationship satisfaction as criteria. Study 2 (N = 89) replicated the convergent, criterion‐related, and incremental validity findings of Study 1 using different criterion measures, the CSI, a bipolar semantic differential measure designed for assessing relationship satisfaction, and an existing 2‐dimensional measure of relationship satisfaction. The authors demonstrated across studies that the PN–SMD captures criterion‐relevant information about ambivalence versus indifference toward the relationship—associations that are only detectable when using a 2‐dimensional satisfaction measure.