Co‐occurrence of depression and delinquency in personality types

Although the co‐occurrence between adolescent depression and delinquency has been well‐studied, the nature of the longitudinal associations is not yet clear. To clarify this we examined whether personality type is a moderator in the longitudinal co‐occurrence of depression and delinquency. A total of 338 young and middle adolescents completed questionnaires about depression, delinquency and personality in 3 yearly waves of the CONflict And Management Of RElationships (CONAMORE). We found that the stable overcontrollers showed the highest mean level on depression and that the stable undercontrollers showed the highest mean level on delinquency. Furthermore, we demonstrated that the longitudinal co‐occurrence between depression and delinquency was best described by means of a stability model, in which personality type membership proved to be an important moderator. The three personality types differed significantly on the rank‐order stability of both depression and delinquency. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Coenzyme Q10: a review of its promise as a neuroprotectant

Coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) is a powerful antioxidant that buffers the potential adverse consequences of free radicals produced during oxidative phosphorylation in the inner mitochondrial membrane. Oxidative stress, resulting in glutathione loss and oxidative DNA and protein damage, has been implicated in many neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and Huntington's disease. Experimental studies in animal models suggest that CoQ10 may protect against neuronal damage that is produced by ischemia, atherosclerosis and toxic injury. Though most have tended to be pilot studies, there are published preliminary clinical trials showing that CoQ10 may offer promise in many brain disorders. For example, a 16-month randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial in 80 subjects with mild Parkinson's disease found significant benefits for oral CoQ10 1,200 mg/day to slow functional deterioration. However, to date, there are no published clinical trials of CoQ10 in Alzheimer's disease. Available data suggests that oral CoQ10 seems to be relatively safe and tolerated across the range of 300-2,400 mg/day. Randomized controlled trials are warranted to confirm CoQ10's safety and promise as a clinically effective neuroprotectant.     

Effects of prosodically modulated sub-phonetic variation on lexical competition

Eye movements were monitored as participants followed spoken instructions to manipulate one of four objects pictured on a computer screen. Target words occurred in utterance-medial (e.g., Put the cap next to the square) or utterance-final position (e.g., Now click on the cap). Displays consisted of the target picture (e.g., a cap), a monosyllabic competitor picture (e.g., a cat), a polysyllabic competitor picture (e.g., a captain) and a distractor (e.g., a beaker). The relative proportion of fixations to the two types of competitor pictures changed as a function of the position of the target word in the utterance, demonstrating that lexical competition is modulated by prosodically conditioned phonetic variation.     

Personality measurement, faking, and employment selection

Real job applicants completed a 5-factor model personality measure as part of the job application process. They were rejected; 6 months later they (n = 5,266) reapplied for the same job and completed the same personality measure. Results indicated that 5.2% or fewer improved their scores on any scale on the 2nd occasion; moreover, scale scores were as likely to change in the negative direction as the positive. Only 3 applicants changed scores on all 5 scales beyond a 95% confidence threshold. Construct validity of the personality scales remained intact across the 2 administrations, and the same structural model provided an acceptable fit to the scale score matrix on both occasions. For the small number of applicants whose scores changed beyond the standard error of measurement, the authors found the changes were systematic and predictable using measures of social skill, social desirability, and integrity. Results suggest that faking on personality measures is not a significant problem in real-world selection settings.     

Kinematic cues in perceptual weight judgement and their origins in box lifting

When accepting a parcel from another person, we are able to use information about that person’s movement to estimate in advance the weight of the parcel, that is, to judge its weight from observed action. Perceptual weight judgment provides a powerful method to study our interpretation of other people’s actions, but it is not known what sources of information are used in judging weight. We have manipulated full form videos to obtain precise control of the perceived kinematics of a box lifting action, and use this technique to explore the kinematic cues that affect weight judgment. We find that observers rely most on the duration of the lifting movement to judge weight, and make less use of the durations of the grasp phase, when the box is first gripped, or the place phase, when the box is put down. These findings can be compared to the kinematics of natural box lifting behaviour, where we find that the duration of the grasp component is the best predictor of true box weight. The lack of accord between the optimal cues predicted by the natural behaviour and the cues actually used in the perceptual task has implications for our understanding of action observation in terms of a motor simulation. The differences between perceptual and motor behaviour are evidence against a strong version of the motor simulation hypothesis. A. F. de C. Hamilton and D. W. Joyce have contributed equally to this work.     

Analytic Sadism and Analytic Restraint

Csillag challenges us to consider the presence and impact of the analyst’s sadism in the clinical encounter. Her theme usefully adds to the literature on the analyst’s countertransference and pushes us to look harder at ourselves. I distinguish between sadistic intent and experienced sadistic impact and suggest that Csillag is mostly speaking about the latter. Additionally, I address the absence of analytic restraint as a professional ideal that might moderate our slide to sadism in the countertransference.     

Preliminary Validity of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory With Filipino Immigrant Parents

Filipinos are an understudied minority affected by significant behavioral health disparities. We evaluate evidence for the reliability, construct validity, and convergent validity of the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (ECBI) in 6- to 12-year-old Filipino children (N = 23). ECBI scores demonstrated high internal consistency, supporting a single-factor model (preintervention α = .91; postintervention α = .95). Results document convergent validity with the Child Behavior Checklist Externalizing scale at pretest (r = .54, p < .01) and posttest (r = .71, p < .001). We conclude that the ECBI is a promising tool to measure behavior problems in Filipino children.