Developmental regression in autism spectrum disorders

The occurrence of developmental regression in autism is one of the more puzzling features of this disorder. Although several studies have documented the validity of parental reports of regression using home videos, accumulating data suggest that most children who demonstrate regression also demonstrated previous, subtle, developmental differences. Counter to clinical intuition, the earlier development of social, language, and attachment behaviors followed by regression does not seem to support later recovery of skills or better developmental outcomes compared to children who never had speech or typical social responsivity. In fact, this regressive group may have somewhat greater developmental impairment than the nonregressive group, though the two groups do not appear to present different behavioral phenotypes. Although autism is not the only condition in which regression occurs, it appears to be the most frequent condition. Other disorders that demonstrate an early regression with no known etiology include total blindness from birth and childhood disintegrative disorder, both of which demonstrate behavioral relations to autism. In addition, two biological conditions with known etiologies also involve regression with some behaviors resembling autism behavioral phenotype: Rett syndrome (a genetic disorder; see Glaze, this issue) and Landau-Kleffner syndrome (see McVicar and Shinnar, this issue), which involves a seizure disorder.     

Contraction bias in memorial quantifying judgment: does it come from a stable compressed memory representation or a dynamic adaptation process?

A common response bias in psychophysical judgments is regression toward the mean (overestimation of small and underestimation of large values, or the response contraction bias). The same bias is observed in magnitude estimation from memorized quantities. Participants estimated alphabetic interval distances between 2 letters for different levels of interletter distances. The underestimated and overestimated values and the point of least error changed, depending on the level of alphabetic distances judged; furthermore, their estimation showed a progressively increasing tendency toward the mean, rendering the estimation progressively less accurate as the estimation task was repeated. We conclude that the regression toward the mean in memorial quantifying judgment derives from a cognitive adaptation process rather than from a permanent, compressed memory representation of the stimuli. Two opposing views on the adaptive meaning of this judgment bias are discussed.     

Size of the neocerebellar vermis is associated with cognition in healthy elderly men

Cerebellar volumes show small positive correlations with cognitive ability in young adults, but no studies have examined this relationship in older adults. Furthermore, no studies have examined relationships between sizes of subareas of the cerebellum and cognitive ability. We hypothesized that size of the two areas of the neocerebellar vermis would correlate with a battery of eight cognitive tests in 50 men aged 65-70. Size of the neocerebellar areas of the vermis correlated positively with several cognitive tests (r's=.29-.37, p<.05), whilst sizes of other parts of the vermis did not correlate with any cognitive tests. Total cerebellar volumes correlated significantly with a test of nonverbal reasoning (r=.030, p=.42). These findings suggest a specific association of neocerebellar vermis size with variations in cognitive ability in older adults.     

The anatomy of suicidology: a psychological science perspective on the status of suicide research. 2002 Shneidman Award Address

Suicidologists have made tremendous strides in advancing the knowledge of correlates of completed suicide and nonfatal suicidal behavior since the early 1960s. In order to move beyond the simple identification of risk factors, however, scientific suicidology needs to give greater attention to the critical role of theory in guiding inquiry and advancing the understanding of suicidal behaviors. In this article I argue the importance of theoretical grounding from the perspective of psychological science, provide examples of this perspective from my work, and discuss their implications for future research in the field.     

Mental Health and Incarcerated Youth. I: Prevalence and Nature of Psychopathology

The incarceration of mentally ill youth is a serious problem not receiving the same attention as in adults. In this study, we examine the prevalence of psychopathology and level of behavioral symptomatology in incarcerated youth versus youth receiving community mental health services or hospitalization. We randomly recruited youth from middle South Carolina served by a local CMHC (n = 60), youth served by the state adolescent inpatient program (n = 50), and youth in the S.C. Dept. of Juvenile Justice facilities from the same region (n = 75). We used the DISC-PC 2.3 to evaluate DSM-III-R diagnoses and the CBCL and YSR to evaluate behavioral symptomatology. On the DISC, incarcerated youth had significantly higher mean number of diagnoses and symptoms than CMHC youth, but lower numbers than hospitalized youth. Level of caseness (at least one diagnosis) was 86% in hospital youth, 72% in incarcerated youth, and 60% in CMHC youth. The groups differed in CBCL mean total T, internalizing T, and externalizing T scores as well as mean YSR internalizing T scores. Our results indicate the comparability in level of psychopathology in incarcerated and community-treated populations of youth, and the need to develop diversionary programs to prevent the entry of such youth into the juvenile justice system.     

Frequent false hearing by older adults: the role of age differences in metacognition

In two experiments testing age differences in the subjective experience of listening, which we call meta-audition, young and older adults were first trained to learn pairs of semantic associates. Following training, both groups were tested on identification of words presented in noise, with the critical manipulation being whether the target item was congruent, incongruent, or neutral with respect to prior training. Results of both experiments revealed that older adults compared to young adults were more prone to "false hearing," defined as mistaken high confidence in the accuracy of perception when a spoken word had been misperceived. These results were obtained even when performance was equated across age groups on control items by reducing the noise level for older adults. Such false hearing is shown to reflect older adults' heavier reliance on context. Findings suggest that older adults' greater ability to benefit from semantic context reflects their bias to respond consistently with the context, rather than their greater skill in using context. Procedures employed are unique in measuring the subjective experience of hearing as well as its accuracy. Both theoretical and applied implications of the findings are discussed. Convergence of results with those showing higher false memory, and false seeing are interpreted as showing that older adults are less able to constrain their processing in ways that are optimal for performance of a current task. That lessened constraint may be associated with decline in frontal-lobe functioning.     

The detection of feigned disabilities: the effectiveness of the Personality Assessment Inventory in a traumatized inpatient sample

Research on feigned mental disorders indicates that severe psychopathology coupled with significant trauma histories often complicate feigning determinations, resulting in inaccuracies on otherwise effective measures. As part of malingering assessments, the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) is often used because of its excellent validation and the availability of three feigning indicators (Negative Impression, Malingering Index, and Rogers Discriminant Function), which have evidenced large effect sizes and clinically useful cut scores. The current study examined the effectiveness of the PAI in a traumatized inpatient sample using a between-subjects simulation design. Although Negative Impression appeared affected by trauma--especially in conjunction with dissociative symptoms--very positive results were found for Malingering Index and Rogers Discriminant Function. They remained relatively unelevated under honest conditions, despite posttraumatic stress disorder and extensive comorbidity. Using single-point cut scores provided moderately good classification of feigned and genuine PAI profiles. For purposes of classification, the authors operationally defined small indeterminate groups that were considered too close to classify (i.e., ±5T of the cut scores). With indeterminate cases removed, the overall classification rates improved modestly. However, the more important finding involved the error rates for the indeterminate group, which exceeded 50%. Directions for further research are discussed.     

Group therapy for refugees and torture survivors: treatment model innovations

The paper discusses varieties of group therapies with refugees and torture survivors and the logic behind enhancing traditional group therapies to fit the unique experiences of refugees and torture survivors. It discusses some lessons learned from practice and from empirical research and some recommended adaptations. Finally, it discusses the Center for Torture and Trauma Survivors' therapy group model for torture survivors and describes two of its variants: The Bashal group for African and Somali women and the Bhutanese multi-family therapy group. Group therapies, in this model, extend to community healing. One of the essential and innovative features of the model is that it focuses not only on treating individual psychopathology but also extends to community healing by promoting the development of social clubs and organizations that promote the values and culture of the graduates of the therapy group and the continuation of social support. New graduates from the group join the club and become part of the social advocacy process and of group and community support and healing. This model adds an ecological dimension to the traditional group therapy.