Effects of Parent Emotion Socialization on the Neurobiology Underlying Adolescent Emotion Processing: A Multimethod fMRI Study

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Parents’ emotion socialization (ES) practices impact socioemotional development throughout adolescence. Little is known, however, regarding...     

Framing alters risk-taking behavior on a modified Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) in a sex-specific manner

Framing uncertain scenarios to emphasize potential positive or negative elements influences decision making and behavior. The current experiment investigated sex differences in framing effects on risk-taking propensity in a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART). Male and female undergraduates completed questionnaires on sensation seeking, impulsiveness, and risk and benefit perception prior to viewing one of three framing conditions for the BART: (1) positively-framed instructions emphasizing the ability to earn money if balloons were inflated to large size; (2) negatively framed instructions emphasizing the possibility that money could be lost if balloons were inflated to bursting; and (3) completely framed instructions noting both possible outcomes. Results revealed correlations between BART performance and impulsiveness for both sexes. Compared to positive and complete framing, negatively framed instructions decreased balloon inflation time in women but not men, indicating sex differences in response to treatments designed to alter risk-taking behavior.     

A Conceptual Toolkit for Intensive Early Behavioral Intervention Teachers

Intensive early behavioral intervention (IEBI) for children with autism requires effective team work involving professional therapists, parents, teachers and others. It is important for all team members to employ a common conceptual and procedural vocabulary so that communication among them is clear, unambiguous, and effective. This article outlines the rationale of a small and practical vocabulary or conceptual toolkit that we have found useful in working with teachers and families in designing, implementing, and analyzing the details of behavioral programs to help autistic children learn to speak and understand language. Special attention is given to a heuristic device called the language matrix. Illustrative data describing the course of generative language acquisition by a child with autism taught according to the language matrix approach are included.     

Treatment‐Resistant Depression and Risk of Suicide

We evaluated whether treatment‐resistant depression (TRD) as measured by the Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) staging method was associated with suicide in a large U.S. health system. Data from the Veterans Health Administration and the National Death Index were used to conduct a case–control study of patients newly diagnosed with depression who received antidepressant treatment between 2003 and 2006. Suicide cases (N = 499) were matched with nonsuicide controls (N = 1994). Conditional logistic regression was used to assess whether MGH stage at time of suicide (or matched date) was associated with case status, adjusting for patient demographic characteristics, comorbidity, and service use. Results indicated 11.6% of suicide cases had MGH stage 3 or greater (indicating at least two antidepressant trials) compared to 6.4% of controls (p < .001). In adjusted analyses, suicide was not significantly more likely among patients with stage 3 or greater (OR 1.52; 95% CI: 0.98, 2.37) or stages 1.5–2.5 (OR 1.19; 95% CI: 0.91, 1.55) compared to patients with stage 1 or less (<10 weeks of antidepressant medication). Staging TRD using MGH criteria is unlikely to substantially improve suicide risk assessment of depressed patients beyond existing measures contained in health system records.     

Factors Associated with Suicide Ideation in Severely Obese Bariatric Surgery‐Seeking Individuals

There are high rates of suicide ideation and/or behavior in severely obese individuals. The potential contributors to suicide ideation in a sample of 334 severely obese bariatric surgery candidates was explored. Lack of college education, a history of suicide ideation and/or behavior, psychological distress, hopelessness, loneliness, history of physical and/or sexual abuse, and lifetime major depression were associated with current suicide ideation. Some of the correlates of suicide ideation in severely obese bariatric surgery‐seeking samples are similar to those found in the general community and this knowledge may serve to improve the psychological assessment and care for this group.