The prevalence of suicidal behaviors among Northern Plains American Indians

This study examined the prevalence of suicidal behaviors among 1,638 Northern Plains American Indians ages 15-57. Age and gender patterns were investigated as was comorbidity with psychiatric and substance use disorders. Data from a population-based survey indicated that suicidal behaviors were more frequently reported among females than males and among younger respondents than older respondents. In addition, suicidal behaviors were associated with depressive disorders, PTSD, substance abuse/dependence, and violent ideation/aggression. Results underscore the importance of effective and acceptable alcohol, drug, and mental health services in reducing the rates of suicidal behaviors in American Indian communities.     

Effects of chronic non-clinical depression on the use of positive and negative words in language contexts

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of chronic non-clinical depression (ChD) on the use of ambiguous and unambiguous emotional words in language contexts. Participants with ChD and normal non-depressed (ND) participants' responses to positive and negative stimulus words on a free association word test were compared using the Hyperspace Analogue to Language (HAL) model of memory's context density metric, a measure of the range of contexts in which a word is used in language. ChD participants generated negative words that were used in more restricted contexts than ND participants. However, ND and ChD participants used positive words in a similar range of contexts. The results suggest that people with ChD tend to use negative words that are probably more negative in connotation, yet they are not impaired with respect to using words in contexts where positive words are required.     

Learning By Tracing Worked Examples

Cognitive load theorists have only recently begun to test the role of the body in learning. Tracing the index finger over the surface of instructions while reading, an embodied pedagogy based on Montessori's sandpaper letters, may hold substantial promise for learning by reducing cognitive load. Two experiments tested whether students who traced their index fingers against paper‐based worked example instructions in triangle geometry (Experiment 1; N = 52) and order of operations (Experiment 2; N = 54) would perform better on a subsequent test than students who only studied the materials visually. Students in the tracing condition outperformed the non‐tracing condition on transfer problems in both Experiment 1 (d = .78) and Experiment 1 (d = .50), but hypotheses regarding self‐reports of cognitive load during testing were not supported. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The selective utilization of information in the optic array

Summary When ambulatory subjects wear prisms with bases vertically opposed before the two eyes, the direction of the after-effect measured on a localization task shows that there is a bias favouring selection of the field which contains more of the floor. Subjects allowed differential views of the floor with prism bases laterally opposed also show this bias. The bias is reversed if flow patterns from the lower visual field are eliminated. These studies support the view that information in the lower ambient field is selectively utilized during locomotion.This research was supported by Grant No. APA-1 from the National Research Council of Canada. Experiment 4 and a first replication of Experiment 1 were part of a thesis submitted by the junior author for the M.A. degree at the University of Toronto.     

Visibility of an afterimage in the presence of a second afterimage

Visibility of an afterimage has been measured for a single rectangular bar on its own and in the presence of a second bar. Visibility of each bar is increased if the two bars are in the same orientation and closer than 1 deg (this effect being called “facilitation”) and is decreased if the bars are in different orientations (this effect being called “inhibition”). These interactions also depend on the relative size of the bars. If a pattern of two bars is viewed dichoptically, rivalry between the bars occurs causing a mutual decrease in visibility. The rivalry effect and the orientation-specific effects discussed above are additive in the dichoptic viewing condition. The orientation-specific effects have been likened to those found in other psychophysical studies of angle detection.     

Arbitration: Semi-judicial process or negotiation?

Arbitration is usually described as a semi-judicial, evaluative process, where the parties to a dispute surrender their responsibility for its resolution to a disinterested third party. The arbitrator is expected to listen impartially to the arguments of both sides and, on the basis of the evidence put forward, decide the issue between them. This paper questions the validity of the typical image of arbitration and suggests that a more comprehensive understanding can be developed if it is viewed in the context of different models of negotiation. It is argued that the arbitrator is likely to have at least two contrasting roles: (1) that of manager of the process of concession-convergence, when the issues in dispute are relatively straightforward; and (2) that of joint negotiator with the parties, constructing a framework for a future detailed resolution of the dispute, when the issues are more complex. The parties, on the other hand, are likely to be differentiated according to their previous experience of arbitration. While the more experienced participants may be able to make skilful strategic use of the procedures, the inexperienced are likely to be adversely affected by the evaluative/judicial public image of arbitration.     

Epidemiology and preventive interventions: Parental death in childhood as a case example

Illustrates how standard epidemiologic principles form the knowledge base to justify a preventive intervention for an at-risk population. These principles were applied to a sample of 92 from the population of children aged 8 to 15 at alleged risk for mental health disorders because a parent died. Prior work on this alleged risk population is sparse and flawed. Validly determining the population effect of an alleged risk factor requires assessing the influence of sampling bias. The bias found, underrepresentation of deaths of a mother, did not influence the relations among death of a parent and children's depression and conduct disorder, and the modifiable mediators of risk to be changed by the preventive intervention. The epidemiologic measure of effect indicated that death of a parent is a risk factor for major depression but not for conduct disorder among youth. Families recruited for the preventive intervention by epidemiologic methods (ES families) did not differ significantly from the earlier families on whom the knowledge base was formed. Families referred to the intervention by self or others significantly differed from the ES families in two ways that constituted serious biases. The implications of these biases for prevention were discussed.     

Legal Bans on Pro‐Suicide Web Sites: An Early Retrospective from Australia

There are worldwide concerns that pro‐suicide web sites may trigger suicidal behaviors among vulnerable individuals. In 2006, A ustralia became the first country to criminalize such sites, sparking heated debate. Concerns were expressed that the law casts the criminal net too widely; inappropriately interferes with the autonomy of those who wish to die; and has jurisdictional limitations, with off‐shore web sites remaining largely immune. Conversely, proponents point out that the law may limit access to domestic pro‐suicide web sites, raise awareness of Internet‐related suicide, mobilize community efforts to combat it, and serve as a powerful expression of societal norms about the promotion of suicidal behavior.