Two spatial memories are not better than one: evidence of exclusivity in memory for object location

This paper studies the dynamics of attempting to access two spatial memories simultaneously and its implications for the accuracy of recall. Experiment 1 demonstrates in a range of conditions that two cues pointing to different experiences of the same object location produce little or no higher recall than that observed with a single cue. Experiment 2 confirms this finding in a within-subject design where both cues have previously elicited recall. Experiment 3 shows that these findings are only consistent with a model in which two representations of the same object location are mutually exclusive at both encoding and retrieval, and inconsistent with models that assume information from both representations is available. We propose that these representations quantify directionally specific judgments of location relative to specific anchor points in the stimulus; a format that precludes the parallel processing of like representations. Finally, we consider the apparent paradox of how such representations might contribute to the acquisition of spatial knowledge from multiple experiences of the same stimuli.     

Social-cognitive processing and depressive symptoms in children: A comparison of measures

We assessed aspects of the reliability and validity of three measures of socialcognitive processing in children that have been developed to investigate the relations of such processes to childhood depression: the Children's Attributional Style Questionnaire (CASQ), the Children's Negative Cognitive Error Questionnaire (CNCEQ), and the Common Beliefs Inventory for Students (CBIS). In an unselected sample of 61 children, aged 8 to 12, the internal consistencies of the total scores on the CNCEQ and the CBIS were good; for the CASQ, it was only moderate. Internal consistencies of all subscale scores were inadequate. Despite this, several subscale and total scores were significantly associated with depressive symptoms, and the measures were generally correlated with each other. Although these data are encouraging concerning the role of social-cognitive processing in childhood depression, the field needs to develop psychometrically stronger measures and to test the role of social cognition in prospective studies of depression.This study was supported in part by a grant from the Spencer Foundation Awards to Young Scholars Program to the first author. The authors would like to express their thanks to Deborah Long for secretarial assistance, and to W. Edward Craighead, John Curry, and two anonymous reviewers for comments on an earlier draft of this article.     

The Parental Schoolwork Support Measure-Youth: development and psychometric evaluation

Parental involvement in school-related tasks is associated with a number of positive outcomes across ethnic groups. However, a growing literature suggests that unique forms of involvement and barriers exist among linguistic minority Latino families. The Parental Schoolwork Support Measure-Youth (PSSM-Y) is introduced in this study along with the psychometric properties found with a sample of 133 Latino youth in Grades 5 through 7 from a public school in a low-income urban neighborhood. Exploratory factor analyses indicated the presence of three factors called direct support, language and support, and indirect support, which together accounted for 66.3% of the common variance in the 16-item version. Strong internal consistency and test-retest coefficients were found for the PSSM-Y in this sample. In addition, schoolwork support was correlated with youth depression, economic pressure, loneliness, and familism in the expected directions. The findings are discussed in terms of the potential utility of this measure for future school-based studies of Latino students and youth of immigrant backgrounds in the United States.     

Establishing a Valid,Reliable, and Efficient Chart Review Process for Research in Pediatric Integrated Primary Care Psychology

Journal of Clinical Psychology in Medical Settings - Retrospective chart review is an accessible form of research that is commonly used across medical fields but is underutilized in behavioral...     

USING CALIBRATION AND INTEROBSERVER AGREEMENT ALGORITHMS TO ASSESS THE ACCURACY AND PRECISION OF DATA FROM ELECTRONIC AND PEN‐AND‐PAPER CONTINUOUS RECORDING METHODS

Often it is assumed that electronic recording by observers necessarily provides better quality data than pen‐and‐paper methods. Fifteen novice observers recorded rates of responding from 10 role‐played video samples using one of three continuous recording input formats: keyboard (laptop), touchscreen (personal digital assistants), or pen‐and‐paper. We evaluated the quality of the observers' data compared with criterion records using calibration and interobserver agreement algorithms. Results of the calibration analysis revealed that observers in the touchscreen group produced the most consistently accurate and precise data, the keyboard group observers showed wide variation in precision and accuracy, and the pen‐and‐paper group observers were significantly less precise than the touchscreen group. We conclude that although electronic recording has the potential to be as accurate as, and more precise than, pen‐and‐paper methods, this is far from guaranteed. Analyses of observers' errors advise recommendations for improving data accuracy and precision when using each method. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Beginning and Succeeding in Graduate School

Alcohol-dependent outpatients were clustered on the basis of their responses on the Millon Clinical Multiaxial Inventory (MCMI; Millon, 1983) personality disorder scales; male and female patients were clustered separately. The clusters were compared with respect to self-reported psychiatric, interpersonal, and drinking problems. The results, along with those of previous cluster analyses with male inpatients, suggest several reliable personality subtypes. One type (more common in inpatient settings) scores high on Negativistic and Avoidant/Schizoid or Dependent scales and reports numerous problems and intense distress. A second type (more common in outpatient settings) reports few problems and scores highest on Compulsive or Histrionic/Narcissistic scales. A third group (found in all and only male samples) scores high on Narcissism and Antisocial scales, readily admits substance problems, and may be interpersonally controlling and distancing.     

The association between depressive symptoms and smoking in pregnant adolescents

There have been no studies that have specifically examined the relationship between smoking and depressive symptoms in Australian pregnant adolescents. Eighty one pregnant adolescents completed an adapted version of Lawson's (1994) Smoking Questionnaire and the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale. Smoking status (smokers vs. non-smokers) and depressive symptoms remained stable during pregnancy. However, comparisons of depressive symptoms across smoking categories revealed that pregnant adolescent smokers were more likely to be depressed than pregnant adolescent lifetime non-smokers, particularly in the later stages of pregnancy. There was a weak association between the number of cigarettes smoked and depressive symptoms, but only in the third trimester. Recommendations include further examination of the association between depression or depressive symptoms and smoking, and investigation of how change in smoking status during pregnancy may effect depression.     

Reliability and Validity of a Short Version of the General Functioning Subscale of the McMaster Family Assessment Device

The General Functioning 12‐item subscale (GF12) of The McMaster Family Assessment Device (FAD) has been validated as a single index measure to assess family functioning. This study reports on the reliability and validity of using only the six positive items from the General Functioning subscale (GF6+). Existing data from two Western Australian studies, the Raine Study (RS) and the Western Australian Child Health Survey (WACHS), was used to analyze the psychometric properties of the GF6+ subscale. The results demonstrated that the GF6+ subscale had virtually equivalent psychometric properties and was able to identify almost all of the same families who had healthy or unhealthy levels of functioning as the full GF12 subscale. In consideration of the constraints faced by large‐scale population‐based surveys, the findings of this study support the use of a GF6+ subscale from the FAD, as a quick and effective tool to assess the overall functioning of families.     

Memory and brain volume in adults prenatally exposed to alcohol

The impact of prenatal alcohol exposure on memory and brain development was investigated in 92 African-American, young adults who were first identified in the prenatal period. Three groups (Control, n=26; Alcohol-related Neurodevelopmental Disorder, n=36; and Dysmorphic, n=30) were imaged using structural MRI with brain volume calculated for multiple regions of interest. Memory was measured using the Verbal Selective Reminding Memory Test and its nonverbal counterpart, the Nonverbal Selective Reminding Memory Test, which each yielding measures of learning and recall. For both Verbal and Nonverbal Recall and Slope, linear trends were observed demonstrating a spectrum of deficits associated with prenatal alcohol exposure. Dysmorphic individuals performed significantly poorer than unexposed controls on 5 of 6 memory outcomes. Alcohol-exposed individuals demonstrated significantly lower total brain volume than controls, as well as lower volume in a number of specific regions including hippocampus. Mediation analyses indicated that memory performance associated with effects of prenatal alcohol exposure was mediated from dysmorphic severity through hippocampal volume, particularly right hippocampus. These results indicate that the association between the physical effects of prenatal alcohol exposure and deficits in memory are mediated by volumetric reduction in specific brain regions.