Attachment, Friendship, and Psychosocial Functioning in Early Adolescence

Fifth-graders' (N = 162; 93 girls) relationships with parents and friends were examined with respect to their main and interactive effects on psychosocial functioning. Participants reported on parental support, the quality of their best friendships, self-worth, and perceptions of social competence. Peers reported on aggression, shyness and withdrawal, and rejection and victimization. Mothers reported on psychological adjustment. Perceived parental support and friendship quality predicted higher global self-worth and social competence and less internalizing problems. Perceived parental support predicted fewer externalizing problems, and paternal (not maternal) support predicted lower rejection and victimization. Friendship quality predicted lower rejection and victimization for only girls. Having a supportive mother protected boys from the effects of low-quality friendships on their perceived social competence. High friendship quality buffered the effects of low maternal support on girls' internalizing difficulties.     

Reinforced Behavioral Variability in Humans

The Psychological Record - This study aimed to assess the role of reinforced behavioral variability in the learning of a 6-digit target sequence (211212) with 3 groups of human participants (n =...     

Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD: A Case Study of a Transgender Male Co-Parenting With Former Spouse and Perpetrator of Domestic Violence

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) symptoms have shown to contribute to intimate relationship discord (Taft et al., 2011). Cognitive-Behavioral Conjoint Therapy for PTSD (CBCT for PTSD; Monson & Fredman, 2012) is an evidence-based treatment for PTSD effective at significantly decreasing PTSD symptoms and increasing relationship satisfaction among dyads (Macdonald et al., 2016). To date, there has only been one case study examining the effectiveness of CBCT for PTSD with a sexual minority couple, (same-sex female couple) leaving uncertainty of the effectiveness of this treatment for other sexual minority couples. This case study examined a married couple’s response to treatment, in which the patient identified as a transgender male and his spouse identified as a cisgender female. The patient was diagnosed with PTSD per a Clinician-Administered PTSD Scale for DSM-5 (CAPS-5) total score of 45 (of a maximum of 80). On the CAPS-5, the patient reported a first sexual encounter rape at age 15, from his first marriage with his ex-husband, whom he was dating at the time, as his index trauma. Of note, the patient and his wife currently co-parent two children with the patient’s ex-husband, who perpetrated daily sexual assaults for years during their marriage. Pre-treatment relationship happiness for the couple was “a little unhappy” on the Dyadic Adjustment Scale (DAS) Relationship Happiness Scale. Patient was also diagnosed with Dysthymia and responded well to continued Bupropion for depression. Following completion of the 15-session CBCT for PTSD protocol, the patient’s diagnosis of PTSD was determined to be in remission as evidenced by a post-treatment CAPS-5 total score of 7. At post-treatment the patient rated his relationship happiness as “happy” and his partner “very happy” on the DAS. The couple demonstrated clinically meaningful changes in areas of PTSD and relationship happiness. Functional improvements were also reported in the patient pursuing new employment and hobbies, improved co-parenting between the patient and his wife, improved sexual functioning, and decreased depression symptoms. Treatment gains were maintained at a 1-month and 3-month follow-up. These results demonstrate the effective use of CBCT for PTSD with a sexual minority couple that has continued co-parenting contact with a perpetrator of domestic violence.     

Mean Streets and Mental Health: Depression and Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder at Crime Hot Spots

This study explores the relationship between mental health and place at microgeographic units of analysis. We examine self‐reported symptomology for depression and PTSD for 2,724 survey respondents interviewed in three types of randomly selected street segments: violent crime hot spots, cool spots, and cold spots. We find that the mean symptomology score is 61% higher for depression in violent crime hot spots than cold spots, and 85% higher for PTSD. Overall, we estimate that 14.8% of residents of violent crime hot spots meet thresholds for moderate depression or a diagnosis of PTSD. This can be compared to only 6.5% of residents at the cold spots. Using PSM and weighted negative binomial regression approaches we show that observable selection factors are not responsible for the relationships identified. Examining geographic influences, we find an important area effect of violent crime for both mental health measures, and an additional impact of the specific street of residence for PTSD.     

Pray Tell: The Who, What, Why, and How of Prayer Across Multiple Faiths

Although prayer is one of the most common chaplain interventions, there is a dearth of information pertaining to prayer in the chaplaincy literature. This study was therefore conducted to obtain basic information from professional chaplains about their use of prayer with patients. Eight professional chaplains participated in a 90-min focus group to discuss, among other things, the nature of chaplain prayers, the context in which they prayed, and who should initiate prayer. They also discussed differing religious perspectives about prayer, the strengths and limitations of different types of prayers, and praying with patients from concordant or discordant faiths.     

Increasing calcium intake in young women through gain-framed,targeted messages: A randomised controlled trial

Background: Adequate calcium consumption during early adulthood can help prevent osteoporosis in women.

Purpose: The effects of gain-framed, targeted messaging on calcium intake were examined over 12 months.

Methods: Young women (18–19 years) not consuming sufficient calcium were randomly assigned to receive standard care materials (control) or gain-framed, targeted materials (experimental). Health belief model (HBM) constructs, calcium intake and markers of bone formation, resorption and bone mineral density were assessed at various time points throughout the year.

Results: Calcium intake increased significantly more in the experimental versus the control condition (p?<?0.01). Self-efficacy was the only HBM construct to improve significantly more in the experimental condition versus control (p?=?0.05). The HBM did not mediate changes in calcium intake. Measures of bone health did not differ between conditions by the end of this nonpharmacological intervention (p's?>?0.05).

Conclusions: It is possible to increase young women's calcium consumption through gain-framed, targeted messages.     

How you lie affects what you remember

We investigated how telling different types of lies may impact memory. Participants studied pictures of objects, and later lied and told the truth about these and new objects once or multiple times by describing them or by denying they had seen them. Forty-eight hours later, participants were tested on their source memory. Results revealed that participants had good memory for having falsely described a never-seen object, but relatively poor memory for having falsely denied seeing a studied object. These results suggest that telling certain types of lies may make a person more likely to forget having lied. In addition, repeated truthful denials of having seen a picture paradoxically increased false memories for having seen it. Thus, telling the truth does not always prevent the possibility of memory distortion.     

The Differential Salience of Spatial Information Features in the Geometric Reproductions of Young Children

To assess the differential salience of geometric features embedded in spatial displays, 60 preschool children, 3 to 5 years old, were required to reconstruct a series of geometric displays. Each arrangement included the depiction of a topological feature, unconnectedness; a Euclidean feature, linearity; and a projective feature, orientation. Children built their reconstructions under two demand conditions. The reconstructions were scored for the number that preserved each of the different geometric features. Results from a mixed-design analysis of variance revealed main effects for age, demand condition, and geometric feature, as well as for several first-order interactions. Data indicated that the Euclidean feature was the most salient and most frequently preserved characteristic and that the topological and projective ones were more problematic. The findings were discussed as a contrast to Piagetian predictions.