Primary Trauma of Female Partners in a Military Sample: Individual Symptoms and Relationship Satisfaction

Research traditionally has focused on the development of symptoms in those who experienced war trauma directly but overlooked the impact of trauma in the partners of soldiers. The current study reports data from 45 couples where the male partners were Army soldiers who recently returned from deployments to Iraq (Operation Iraqi Freedom) or Afghanistan (Operation Enduring Freedom). Results from this study indicated that female partner primary trauma, particularly trauma related to PTSD re-experiencing and arousal symptoms, has an influence on levels of relationship satisfaction, both for female partners and soldiers.     

Convergence of scores on the interview and questionnaire versions of the Eating Disorder Examination: a meta-analytic review

Significant discrepancies have been found between interview- and questionnaire-based assessments of psychopathology; however, these studies have typically compared instruments with unmatched item content. The Eating Disorder Examination (EDE), a structured interview, and the questionnaire version of the EDE (EDE-Q) are considered the preeminent assessments of eating disorder symptoms and provide a unique opportunity to examine the concordance of interview- and questionnaire-based instruments with matched item content. The convergence of EDE and EDE-Q scores has been examined previously; however, past studies have been limited by small sample sizes and have not compared the convergence of scores across diagnostic groups. A meta-analysis of 16 studies was conducted to compare the convergence of EDE and EDE-Q scores across studies and diagnostic groups. With regard to the EDE and EDE-Q subscale scores, the overall correlation coefficient effect sizes ranged from .68 to .76. The overall Cohen's d effect sizes ranged from .31 to .62, with participants consistently scoring higher on the questionnaire. For the items measuring behavior frequency, the overall correlation coefficient effect sizes ranged from .37 to .55 for binge eating and .90 to .92 for compensatory behaviors. The overall Cohen's d effect sizes ranged from -0.16 to -0.22, with participants reporting more binge eating on the interview than in the questionnaire in 70% of the studies. These results suggest the interview and questionnaire assess similar constructs but should not be used interchangeably. Additional research is needed to examine the inconsistencies between binge frequency scores on the 2 instruments.     

A Quantitative Meta-analysis of Olfactory Dysfunction in Epilepsy

Neuropsychology Review - Olfactory dysfunction in epilepsy is well-documented in several olfactory domains. However, the clinical specificity of these deficits remains unknown. The aim of this...     

A single optimum degree of hemispheric specialisation in two tasks, in two UK national birth cohorts

How differences between the two sides of the brain (or 'laterality') relate to level of function are important components of theories of the origin and purpose of hemispheric asymmetry, although different measures show different relationships, and this heterogeneity makes discerning any underlying relationships a difficult task. There are some exceptions, for example it has been concluded that increasing lateralization (eg of hand skill or planum temporale area) occurs at the expense of the non-dominant hemisphere. However, we have previously demonstrated this latter relationship to be an artefact: a consequence of plotting two variables against each other, that are not independent of each other [Leask, S. J., & Crow, T. J. (1997) How far does the brain lateralize? An unbiased method for determining the optimum degree of hemispheric specialisation. Neuropsychologia, 36, 1275-1282; Mazoyer, B. M., & Tzourio-Mazoyer, N. G. (2004). Title Planum temporale asymmetry and models of dominance for language: a reappraisal. Neuroreport, 15, 1057-1059]. Two approaches to discerning any underlying relationships are presented in data from over 20,000 10- and 11-year olds from the 1958 and 1970 UK national cohort studies. These demonstrate that maximal performance, both cognitive and hand function, is found in association with one particular degree of functional lateralization.     

A role for hemispheric asymmetry in human behavioral variability

A model is presented in which functional lateral specialization and selective hemisphere priming combine to provide a mechanism for behavioral variability. The model is tested and supported by two experiments in which lateral attentional priming produces significant reductions in between-subject and within-subject variability. These findings help us to understand the source of behavioral variability, broaden our knowledge of the gross structures and functions of the brain, provide information about the manipulation of perceived control, and offer a technique for increasing statistical power in a wide variety of research settings.     

A Plantingian Pickle for a Darwinian Dilemma: Evolutionary Arguments Against Atheism and Normative Realism

Two of the most prominent evolutionary debunking arguments are Sharon Street's Darwinian Dilemma for Normative Realism and Alvin Plantinga's Evolutionary Argument against Atheism. In the former, Street appeals to evolutionary considerations to debunk normative realism. In the latter, Plantinga appeals to similar considerations to debunk atheism. By a careful comparison of these two arguments, I develop a new strategy to help normative realists resist Street's debunking attempt. In her Darwinian Dilemma, Street makes epistemological commitments that ultimately support Plantinga's structurally similar argument. If Street succeeds in debunking normative realism, I argue, then she also succeeds in debunking atheism. But atheism is a suppressed premise of the Darwinian Dilemma as well as a commitment of almost all normative anti‐realists. If Street's argument entails theism, then the Darwinian Dilemma is internally incoherent and should be abandoned by almost everyone. 1     

Examining a psychosocial interactive model of binge eating and vomiting in women with bulimia nervosa and subthreshold bulimia nervosa

The current study tested a psychosocial interactive model of perfectionism, self-efficacy, and weight/shape concern within a sample of women with clinically significant bulimic symptoms, examining how different dimensions of perfectionism operated in the model. Individuals with bulimia nervosa (full diagnostic criteria or subthreshold) completed measures of bulimic symptoms, multidimensional perfectionism, self-efficacy, and weight/shape concern. Among those who were actively binge eating (n=180), weight/shape concern was associated with binge eating frequency in the context of high perfectionism (either maladaptive or adaptive) and low self-efficacy. Among those who were actively vomiting (n=169), weight/shape concern was associated with vomiting frequency only in the context of high adaptive perfectionism and low self-efficacy. These findings provide support for the value of this psychosocial interactive model among actively binge eating and purging samples and for the importance of considering different dimensions of perfectionism in research and treatment related to bulimia nervosa.     

End‐of‐Life Care: An Overview for Professional Counselors

Although “End‐of‐Life Care for Terminally Ill Clients” is a section of the ACA Code of Ethics (American Counseling Association, 2005), neither the Code nor the counseling literature provides much direction for counselors who work with clients who are dying and with the clients' loved ones. The authors provide counselors with an overview of the issues that may be relevant when working with such clients.     

The Cutest Little Baby Face: A Hormonal Link to Sensitivity to Cuteness in Infant Faces

ABSTRACT— We used computer image manipulation to develop a test of perception of subtle gradations in cuteness between infant faces. We found that young women (19–26 years old) were more sensitive to differences in infant cuteness than were men (19–26 and 53–60 years old). Women aged 45 to 51 years performed at the level of the young women, whereas cuteness sensitivity in women aged 53 to 60 years was not different from that of men (19–26 and 53–60 years old). Because average age at menopause is 51 years in Britain, these findings suggest the possible involvement of reproductive hormones in cuteness sensitivity. Therefore, we compared cuteness discrimination in pre- and postmenopausal women matched for age and in women taking and not taking oral contraceptives (progestogen and estrogen). Premenopausal women and young women taking oral contraceptives (which raise hormone levels artificially) were more sensitive to variations of cuteness than their respective comparison groups. We suggest that cuteness sensitivity is modulated by female reproductive hormones.