Personality,Demographic, and Intellectual Variables Associated with Readiness for Discharge from Psychiatric Treatment

This study examined the relationship between staff rated discharge readiness and patient personality, demographic, and intellectual variables. Chi square and t test analyses were performed on data of 88 male and female adult patients of a short-term residential psychiatric treatment program. Patient diagnosis, trait anxiety level, marital status, age, and abstract intelligence scores assessed at admission were found to be significantly associated with staff ratings of patients’ readiness for discharge following six weeks of treatment. Findings were discussed in terms of prior process and outcome literature and implications for future research.     

Narcissism and Adult Attachment: A Multivariate Approach

The primary purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between maladaptive narcissism, attachment anxiety, and attachment avoidance. The secondary objective of the present research was to explore further the differences between overt and covert forms of narcissistic vulnerability. Female participants (N = 171) completed measures of adult attachment, overt narcissism, and covert narcissism. Canonical correlation analysis (CCA) explored the multivariate relationship between overt and covert narcissism, on one hand, and adult attachment dimensions of anxiety and avoidance, on the other hand. CCA indicated the two linear combinations of variables overlapped significantly and shared about a quarter of their variance in common. The most important variable within the narcissism set was covert narcissism; and within the adult attachment set, both anxiety and avoidance were important, but the former more than the latter. The implications of the present findings are discussed in the context of past and future research on personality, attachment, and the experience of emotions.     

The rejection-rage contingency in borderline personality disorder

Though long-standing clinical observation reflected in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text rev.) suggests that the rage characteristic of borderline personality disorder (BPD) often appears in response to perceived rejection, the role of perceived rejection in triggering rage in BPD has never been empirically tested. Extending basic personality research on rejection sensitivity to a clinical sample, a priming-pronunciation experiment and a 21-day experience-sampling diary examined the contingent relationship between perceived rejection and rage in participants diagnosed with BPD compared with healthy controls. Despite the differences in these 2 assessment methods, the indices of rejection-contingent rage that they both produced were elevated in the BPD group and were strongly interrelated. They provide corroborating evidence that reactions to perceived rejection significantly explain the rage seen in BPD.     

Physiological, psychological and behavioral consequences of activating autobiographical memories

Activating an autobiographical memory for a specific childhood event can have immediate and robust physiological, psychological, and behavioral consequences. The target behavior was public speaking, a vital skill about which many people are socially anxious. In this study, it was suggested to subjects that they had a positive public speaking experience in early childhood; they then thought about and retrieved details of this true childhood memory. Compared to a control condition in which a different suggestion was made, subjects in the treatment group exhibited superior public speaking performance on the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Further, physiological measures of cortisol and a self-report measure of anxiety (STAI-S) reflected a significantly smaller increase in anxiety from before to after the TSST in the treatment than control condition. Activating autobiographical memory for an event increases the accessibility of that memory and consequently affects performance on related behaviors.     

Seeing a phrase "time and again" matters: the role of phrasal frequency in the processing of multiword sequences

Are speakers sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in language? The authors report an eye-tracking study that investigates this by examining the processing of multiword sequences that differ in phrasal frequency by native and proficient nonnative English speakers. Participants read sentences containing 3-word binomial phrases (bride and groom) and their reversed forms (groom and bride), which are identical in syntax and meaning but that differ in phrasal frequency. Mixed-effects modeling revealed that native speakers and nonnative speakers, across a range of proficiencies, are sensitive to the frequency with which phrases occur in English. Results also indicate that native speakers and higher proficiency nonnatives are sensitive to whether a phrase occurs in a particular configuration (binomial vs. reversed) in English, highlighting the contribution of entrenchment of a particular phrase in memory.     

The role of optimism in the interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior

A possible relationship between Joiner's (2005) interpersonal-psychological theory of suicidal behavior and optimism was investigated by examining the ability of optimism to act as a moderator of perceived burdensomeness, thwarted belongingness, and acquired capability to engage in self-injury in the prediction of suicidal ideation. Results supported hypotheses that optimism would serve as a moderator of the effects of thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness in the prediction of suicidal ideation; however, similar results were not found regarding the acquired capability to engage in self-injury. How optimism might play a role in alleviating suicidal ideation and clinical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Factors Associated with Perpetration of Physical Intimate Partner Violence among College Students: Russia and Lithuania

This study examined factors associated with physical IPV perpetration in Russia and Lithuania. The data from the International Dating Violence Study 2001–2006 were analyzed (N= 818). Male and female perpetrators as compared to non-perpetrators of physical IPV have a higher prevalence of being perpetrators of other forms of IPV. Perpetrators of physical IPV as compared to non-perpetrators are more likely to have been victims of IPV. Male and female ‘intimate terrorist’ perpetrators exhibit different characteristics. Factors associated with IPV are different between male and female perpetrators. Interventions should focus on victimization and perpetration.     

Reengagement With Education: A Multidisciplinary Home-School-Clinic Approach Developed in Australia for School-Refusing Youth

School refusal (SR) can result in decreased academic achievement, impaired social connections, and family stress. Current interventions for SR include behavioral and cognitive-behavioral treatments that are not always effective. Incorporating multidisciplinary work that includes therapeutic and educational interventions may enhance outcomes for youth displaying SR. The In2School program fosters a working partnership between mental health clinicians and teachers. It was designed to meet the needs of young people missing more than 50% of school in the previous 6 weeks due to mental health disorders, including anxiety or depression. This paper reports on an action research study in which the In2School program was piloted. Over a 14-week period, therapeutic and educational interventions were integrated into the learning environment via a transitional classroom to support youths’ return to school. Outcomes of this program are reported for the first cohort of 7 youth. Of these youth, 6 returned to mainstream schooling with attendance levels being maintained for 6 months after completing the intervention. Progress was observed in mental health recovery, quality of life reports, increased social interactions with peers, and positive experiences at school. The preliminary results presented in this paper suggest that a multidisciplinary, home-school-clinic intervention holds promise for helping school-refusing youth to return to school.