Priming index of the Spanish word fragments from the Dasí, Soler,and Ruiz (2004) database

Word-fragment completion is a frequently used test in implicit memory research. A database of 196 Spanish fragments was recently published (Dasí, Soler, & Ruiz, 2004) in which the fragments were described for indices, such as difficulty, familiarity, frequency, number of meanings, and so on (www.psychonomic.org/archive). In this work, a new index, the priming index, is described for the same 196 fragments. This index is calculated for each fragment by subtracting the difficulty index (the proportion of correct completion when the fragment is not studied) from the proportion of correct completion when the fragment is studied, and it means the capacity of an item to be primed. In order to determine whether the new index performs well, we have replicated some important experimental effects, such as priming, frequency, and difficulty. We consider that this index can help researchers to better select stimuli for fragment-completion tasks.     

Validation of the University of California,Los Angeles Loneliness Scale (version 3) in Spanish older population: An application of exploratory structural equation modelling

Loneliness is a subjective and unpleasant experience associated to a variety of physical and mental health problems. Older people face an elevated risk of loneliness. It is measured through self-reported questionnaires, among which the most widely used one is the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Loneliness Scale. The latest version of this scale is called UCLA-3, and it has not been validated in Spanish elderly population. This article aims to present a validation study of the Spanish version of the UCLA-3 for its use with older people, by establishing its reliability and validity. Data were obtained from the second wave of a longitudinal research conducted with older adults attending Lifelong Learning programs. The sample consisted of 335 people aged 55 years old or older. Sociodemographic data were collected, and loneliness was measured with the UCLA-3 and the de Jong Gierveld Loneliness Scale. Results have partially replicated a three factor structure already found in the literature in other populations. The present work provides relevant and innovative evidence, as this is the first time that the UCLA-3 was analysed using ESEM statistical approach in a Spanish elderly sample.     

Homeless Adults’ Recovery Experiences in Housing First and Traditional Services Programs in Seven European Countries

Across Europe, as governments turn to housing-led strategies in attempts to reverse rising rates of homelessness, increasing numbers of Housing First (HF) programs are being implemented. As HF programs become more widespread, it is important to understand how service users experience them compared to the more prevalent traditional treatment-first approach to addressing long-term homelessness. Although there is a large body of research on service users’ experiences of Housing First compared to treatment-first in North American contexts, comparatively less is known about how these two categories of homeless services are experienced in the European context. In a correlational and cross-sectional study, part of a larger examination of homelessness in Europe, participants (n = 520) engaged with either HF (n = 245) or traditional services (TS; n = 275) programs in seven countries completed measures of their experiences of services (consumer choice, housing quality, and service satisfaction) and recovery (time in independent housing, psychiatric symptoms, and community integration). Across the seven countries, participants engaged with HF programs reported experiencing more consumer choice, better perceived housing quality, and more satisfaction with services than participants engaged in TS programs. Participants in HF programs also reported a greater proportion of time in independent accommodation, fewer psychiatric symptoms, and more community integration. Varying patterns of association between experiences of services and recovery outcomes were observed. Findings indicate HF consistently predicts greater recovery than TS across diverse sociopolitical and economic contexts. Implications of findings for configurations of homeless services and homeless services policy are discussed.     

Individual differences in anger and displaced aggression: The role of metacognitive beliefs and anger rumination

Metacognitive model is a theoretical approach aimed to explain emotion dysregulation and others emotion-related issues, such anger, and aggressive behavior. From this model, people having higher maladaptive metacognitive beliefs (e.g., “I can't control my thoughts”) are more likely to activate and maintain anger rumination and, in turn, to experience higher levels of anger and to act aggressively. Preliminary evidence shows the role of metacognitive beliefs on anger rumination and anger levels, whereas no studies have examined its association with aggressive behavior. This study first examined the associations between metacognitive beliefs, anger rumination, anger levels, and the propensity to engage in displaced aggression, and second, the mediation role of anger rumination in the relations among metacognitive beliefs and anger and displaced aggression. Participants were 947 students and non-students from general population recruited in two different countries (Australia and Spain). Correlational analyses revealed a similar pattern of results in the Australian and Spanish sample, with participants having dysfunctional metacognitive beliefs also showing higher anger rumination, higher levels of anger and a higher tendency to act aggressively. Structural equation analyses revealed the associations of metacognitive beliefs with anger levels and displaced aggression was fully mediated by anger rumination in both samples. These results suggest that metacognitive beliefs should be considered in comprehensive models and in the therapy of anger problems and aggression.     

Safety,sensitivity and differential support

Synthese - The paper argues against Sosa’s claim that sensitivity cannot be differentially supported over safety as the right requirement for knowledge. Its main contention is that, although...     

Theater and Psychological Development: Assessing Socio-Cognitive Complexity in the Domain of Theater

Theater is a millenary art form that has stably maintained its minimum indispensable elements over the years. Yet, not much is known about the psychological impact of this performing art. A literature review shows a broad and sometimes contradictory spectrum of theoretical and empirical evidence. In the last few decades, however, interdisciplinary studies, namely in the emerging field of neuroaesthetics, has allowed the emergence of new perspectives on the study of the arts. Drawing from these findings, and to better understand the impact of theater in the socio-cognitive development of actors, directors, and other practitioners, this study tested the construction of an instrument exploring complexity of thought in relation to theater. A preliminary study for the Scale of Socio-cognitive Complexity in the Domain of Theatre (SSCDT) showed that, among a sample of 222, individuals with higher levels of experience in acting and directing seem to demonstrate higher levels of cognitive complexity. To our knowledge, this was the first study aiming to develop a simple paper-and-pencil instrument capable of providing data about the psychological impact of theater in terms of socio-cognitive complexity.     

Prevalence of Suicide Risk Factors and Suicide‐Related Outcomes in the National Mental Health Study,Colombia

A community survey in 4,426 adults was undertaken as part of the World Mental Health Survey Initiative reporting the prevalence and risk factors for suicide‐related outcomes in Colombia. Lifetime prevalence estimates of suicide ideation, plans, attempts, and risk factors for suicide‐related outcomes were assessed. Retrospective reports of disorders age‐of‐onset were used to study associations between primary mental disorders and first onset of suicide‐related outcomes. Risks of plans and attempts were highest with ideation early age‐of‐onset and within the first year. The highest risk for ideation and attempt among ideators occurred in the 18–29 age group. After first employment (defined as the first paid job accepted by the respondent) and presence of mental disorders constituted risk factors. Impulse‐control disorders were strongest diagnostic predictors.     

The Use of Referential Context and Grammatical Gender in Parsing: A Reply to Brysbaert and Mitchell (2000)

Based on the results of an event-related brain potentials (ERP) experiment (van Berkum, Brown, & Hagoort. 1999a, b), we have recently argued that discourse-level referential context can be taken into account extremely rapidly by the parser. Moreover, our ERP results indicated that local grammatical gender information, although available within a few hundred milliseconds from word onset, is not always used quickly enough to prevent the parser from considering a discourse-supported, but agreement-violating, syntactic analysis. In a comment on our work, Brysbaert and Mitchell (2000) have raised concerns about the methodology of our ERP experiment and have challenged our interpretation of the results. In this reply, we argue that these concerns are unwarranted and, that, in contrast to our own interpretation, the alternative explanations provided by Brysbaert and Mitchell do not account for the full pattern of ERP results.     

Applying a Family-Ecosystemic Model to Reunite a Family Separated Due to Child Abuse: A Case Study

Family reunification following the removal of a child due to child abuse is a challenging process. In this case study the authors demonstrate the success of a family-ecosystemic intervention for achieving the reintegration of an adolescent into her family following a court-imposed separation. The SET (Structural Ecosytems Therapy) model was used to: (1) repair family bonds, (2) build collaborations among the agencies involved in overseeing the child's welfare, and (3) build an alliance between the mother and agency personnel. This case study suggests that facilitating such collaborations can be helpful in the evaluation and follow-through of high risk cases.