Theory of mind skills 1 year after traumatic brain injury in 6- to 8-year-old children

This study examined the longer-term effects of traumatic brain injury (TBI) on theory of mind (ToM) skills of children who were between the ages of 5 and 7 years at the time of injury. Fifty-two children with orthopaedic injury, 30 children with moderate TBI, and 12 children with severe TBI were evaluated approximately 1 year post-injury (mean age=6.98 years, SD=0.59, range=6.02–8.26). Children with severe TBI did not engage in representation of first- and second-order mental states at a developmental level comparable to their peers, suggesting stagnation or lack of development, as well as regression of putatively existing ToM skills. Age, task-specific cognitive demands, and verbal abilities were strong predictors of ToM performance. However, even after taking those factors into account, children with severe TBI had poorer ToM performance than children with orthopaedic injuries.     

"I know what I like": stability of aesthetic preference in Alzheimer's patients

Two studies explored the stability of art preference in patients with Alzheimer's disease and age-matched control participants. Preferences for three different styles of paintings, displayed on art postcards, were examined over two sessions. Preference for specific paintings differed among individuals but AD and non-AD groups maintained about the same stability in terms of preference judgments across two weeks, even though the AD patients did not have explicit memory for the paintings. We conclude that aesthetic responses can be preserved in the face of cognitive decline. This should encourage caregivers and family to engage in arts appreciation activities with patients, and reinforces the validity of a preference response as a dependent measure in testing paradigms.     

Item–trait association, scale multidimensionality, and differential item functioning identification in personality assessment

This report documents relationships between differential item functioning (DIF) identification and: (1) item–trait association, and (2) scale multidimensionality in personality assessment. Applying [Zumbo, B. D. (1999). A handbook on the theory and methods of differential item functioning (DIF): Logistic regression modeling as a unitary framework for binary and Likert-type (ordinal) item scores. Ottawa, ON: Directorate of Human Resources Research and Evaluation, Department of National Defense.] logistic regression model, DIF effect size is found to become increasingly inflated as investigated item associations with trait scores decrease. Similar patterns were noted for the influence of scale multidimensionality on DIF identification. Individuals who investigate DIF in personality assessment applications are provided with estimates regarding the impact of the magnitude of item and trait association and scale multidimensionality on DIF occurrence and effect size. The results emphasize the importance of excluding investigated items in focal trait identification prior to conducting DIF analyses and reporting item and scale psychometric properties in DIF reports.     

Internet Versus Group Cognitive-Behavioral Treatment of Distress Associated With Tinnitus: A Randomized Controlled Trial

Tinnitus distress can be reduced by means of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT), and the treatment can be delivered in different ways. The most recent format is Internet-based self-help. The aim of this study was to compare this treatment (n = 26) with standard group-based CBT (n = 25) in a randomized controlled trial. Outcomes on self-report inventories measuring tinnitus distress were evaluated immediately after and 1 year after treatment. Results showed that both groups had improved, and there were few differences between them. The effect size for the Internet treatment was d = 0.73 (95% CI = 0.16–1.30) and for the group treatment was d = 0.64 (95% CI = 0.07–1.21). The Internet treatment consumed less therapist time and was 1.7 times as cost-effective as the group treatment. At pretreatment patients rated the Internet treatment as less credible than the group treatment. In conclusion, Internet treatment for tinnitus distress merits further investigation, as the outcomes achieved are promising.     

A randomised trial investigating guided self-help to reduce perfectionism and its impact on bulimia nervosa: A pilot study

Aim

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate reducing perfectionism as a potential treatment target for individuals with Bulimia Nervosa (BN).

Method

Forty-eight individuals meeting DSM-IV criteria for BN or eating disorder - not otherwise specified with binge eating [objective or subjective] or purging at least once per week were recruited. Participants were randomly assigned to receive 8 sessions of manual-based guided self-help (GSH) over a 6-week period that was focused on either cognitive behaviour therapy (CBT) for perfectionism, CBT for BN, or a placebo. Individuals were assessed at baseline, pre-treatment, post-treatment and at six-month follow-up on 12 outcome variables, including diagnostic criteria and psychological variables.

Results

There was no significant change in any of the outcome variables over a 6-week no-treatment period but at post-treatment and 6-month follow-up there were significant main effects of time for 10 and 8 outcome variables respectively, suggesting that all groups reported significant reductions in bulimic symptomatology and related psychopathology at post-treatment and follow-up.

Conclusions

These findings show potential for the use of novel interventions in GSH for BN.     

Understanding Suffering and Emotion in Chinese Earthquake Survivors: Environment,Society, Body-Mind,and Spirituality

Journal of Religion and Health - Research on posttraumatic experiences has focused heavily on emotional experiences based on predetermined psychopathological standards. In contrast, victims’...     

Interpreting visual preferences in the visual paired-comparison task

Performance on the visual paired-comparison (VPC) task has typically been interpreted with E. Sokolov's (1963) comparator model of the orienting response; novelty preferences are interpreted as evidence of retention, whereas null preferences are interpreted as evidence of forgetting. Here the authors capitalized on the verbal nature of human adults to clarify the interpretation of visual preferences in VPC performance. In 2 experiments, adults were tested on either the VPC task or a forced-choice recognition task after delays of 3 min to 12 months. In Experiment 1, adults tested on the VPC task exhibited novelty preferences after short delays, null preferences after intermediate delays, and familiarity preferences after long delays. In Experiment 2, adults tested on the forced-choice recognition task exhibited high levels of accuracy irrespective of delay, but the latency with which they recognized the stimuli increased systematically over the retention interval. These data are inconsistent with a simple Sokolovian interpretation of VPC performance and instead suggest that memory may be expressed as a novelty preference, null preference, or familiarity preference depending on the accessibility of the representation.