The association between temperament and depressive symptoms in adolescence: Brooding and reflection as potential mediators

This study examined whether rumination subtypes (brooding and reflection) mediated prospective associations between temperament (negative emotionality and positive emotionality) and depressive symptoms in a community sample of 423 adolescents. Effortful control and sex were examined as potential moderators of the mediated pathway. Youth self-reported negative emotionality (NE), positive emotionality (PE), and effortful control (EC) at age 12; brooding and reflection subtypes of rumination at age 14; and depressive symptoms at ages 12, 14, and 15. Hierarchical linear regression analyses indicated that, controlling for initial levels of depressive symptoms, high NE, but not low PE, predicted increases in depressive symptoms from age 12 to age 15. Brooding, but not reflection, mediated the association between NE and depressive symptoms. Neither sex nor EC moderated either indirect pathway in the mediated model. The results confirm and extend previous findings on the association between affective and cognitive vulnerability factors in predicting depressive symptoms in adolescence.     

Individual Differences in the Moralization of Everyday Life

We report on the development and initial validation of the Moralization of Everyday Life Scale (MELS), designed to measure variations in people's assignment of moral weight to commonplace behaviors. In Study 1, participants reported their judgments for a large number of potential moral infractions in everyday life; principal components analysis revealed 6 main dimensions of these judgments. In Study 2, scores on the 30-item MELS showed high reliability and distinctness from the Big 5 personality traits. In Study 3, scores on the MELS were strongly correlated with scores on an early scale of moral judgments, suggesting convergent validity.     

Associations between miscellaneous symptoms and symptom dimensions in adults with obsessive-compulsive disorder

Abstract

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition with a heterogeneous array of obsessions and compulsions. Although factor analytic studies have identified symptom dimensions comprising the clinical presentation of OCD, many frequently reported miscellaneous symptoms are not considered in factor analytic studies because they do not fit conceptually within a particular symptom category, despite being functionally related. In the present study, we examined the associations between miscellaneous symptoms and OCD symptom dimensions in a sample of 111 adults with OCD. Overall, most miscellaneous symptoms were associated with one or more symptom dimensions in previously identified four- (14 of the 22 symptoms) and five-factor models (12 of the 22 symptoms). In both models, Contamination/Cleaning was the only dimension not related to any miscellaneous symptom. The present results provide information about which miscellaneous symptoms may be related to particular symptom dimensions, which will assist in clinical evaluations and help planning behavioral psychotherapy (e.g., hierarchy development).     

The Best–Worst Scaling Approach: An Alternative to Schwartz's Values Survey

The miniature situations method is a behavioral approach to personality assessment. The work reported here attempted to adopt the miniature situations format for measuring the concept of openness-to-experience. A factor analysis of 38 miniature situations items resulted in nine openness factors. There was evidence for the concurrent validity of four of these factors. When the same openness items were presented in a self-report format to an independent sample, openness scores tended to be substantially higher.     

Understanding communicative intentions and semiotic vehicles by children and chimpanzees

Developmental and comparative studies of the ability to understand communicative intentions using object-choice tasks raise questions concerning the semiotic properties of the communicative signals, and the roles of rearing histories, language and familiarity. We adapted a study by Tomasello, Call, and Gluckman (1997), in which a “helper” indicated the location of a hidden reward to children of three ages (18, 24, and 30 months) and to four chimpanzees, by means of one of four cues: Pointing, Marker, Picture and Replica. For the chimpanzees, we controlled for familiarity by using two helpers, one unfamiliar and one highly familiar. Even 18-months performed well on Pointing and Marker, while only the oldest group clearly succeeded with Picture and Replica. Performance did not correlate with scores for the Swedish Early Communicative Development Inventory (SECDI). While there were no positive results for the chimpanzees on the group level, and no effect of familiarity, two chimpanzees succeeded on Pointing and Marker. Results support proposals of a species difference in understanding communicative intentions, but also highlight the need to distinguish these from the complexity of semiotic vehicles and to consider both factors.     

A concise review of the correspondence between the traditional functional analysis and alternative assessment formats

The functional assessment of challenging behavior (e.g., self-injurious behavior) has evolved over many years of research and practice. This concise review summarizes the positive predictive value, negative predictive value, accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of common procedural adaptations reported to improve functional assessment safety and efficiency. We conclude with suggestions for clinicians and researchers.     

Jesus ACTED UP and Any Possible Future of “Queer Theology”

What can we learn about the prospects for “queer theology” from how Goss wrote Jesus ACTED UP into the future for which he hoped? Theology seems to add four things to the book's political arguments and exhortations. It deepens the analyses of oppression, provides stronger means for re-education, invokes divine help, and doubles political theater with sacrament. These tasks of critique, re-education, invocation, and ritual will continue to define any Christian theology that might be called “queer.” Each requires the transformation of language. In order to have a future, queer theology must undertake a poiesis outside the endless prattle that sustains present power. Its poetry may first appear as silence.     

Attachment in Adolescence and Borderline Personality Disorder

Borderline personality disorder (BPD) has been conceptualized as a constellation of symptoms related to problems in self-functioning, emotion regulation, and interpersonal relationships. Its etiology has been connected to individuals’ early childhood environment, caregiving relationships, and traumatic life events. Recent literature has noted the potential presence of BPD beginning in adolescence, or even earlier in childhood. Attachment theory offers a lens for understanding the symptoms of borderline personality disorder and identifying potential aspects of treatment that may be specifically valuable for adolescent patients. Adolescence marks a time when the attachment system has increased relevance due to the importance of identity formation, peer relationships, body representations and the development of autonomy at this time, in the face of physical changes and academic challenges. This article will summarize research on attachment, body representations, personality disorders, and features of development in adolescence, in order to enhance clinical understanding of patients who presenting with these types of difficulties.