What I Wish I Knew Then...Reflections from Personal Experiences in Counseling about Down Syndrome

Sharing the news about a newborn baby’s diagnosis of Down syndrome with families is a scenario genetic counselors frequently face. Yet often we may feel uncomfortable or unsure how to best support families in this setting in a way that will foster competence and resilience. This commentary is a reflection of one genetic counselor’s experiences in counseling about Down syndrome over the course of her career and how her thinking has transitioned from a medical based model of disability to a more individual and family-focused model. Ideas and suggestions are offered that genetic counselors can incorporate into their practice.     

Bilateral entorhinal cortex lesions impair acquisition of delayed spatial alternation in rats

Entorhinal cortex lesions induce significant reorganization of several homotypic and heterotypic inputs to the hippocampus. This investigation determined whether surviving heterotypic inputs after bilateral entorhinal lesions would support the acquisition of a learned alternation task. Rats with entorhinal lesions or sham operations were trained to acquire a spatial alternation task. Although the sham-operated rats acquired the task within about 3 weeks postsurgery, rats with bilateral entorhinal lesions failed to learn the task after 12 consecutive weeks of training despite heterotypic sprouting of the cholinergic septodentate pathway and the expansion of the commissural/associational fiber plexus within the dentate gyrus. Thus, heterotypic sprouting failed to ameliorate significantly the effects of bilateral entorhinal lesions. Rather, entorhinal lesions produced a persistent impairment of spatial memory, characterized by a mixture of random error production and perseverative responding.     

Cognitive representation of challenging behaviour among staff working with adults with learning disabilities

Cognitive representations of illness have been identified as a determinant of therapeutic outcomes in a variety of health care settings. This paper describes the development of a Likert-type questionnaire to assess how the concept of challenging behaviour is cognitively represented in staff working with adults with learning disabilities. The Challenging Behaviour Representation Questionnaire (CBRQ) was theoretically derived, drawing on two existing measures: the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ) and the Challenging Behaviour Attributions Scale (CHABA). Items for the questionnaire were generated from responses by 300 direct care staff. The questionnaire shows acceptable levels of internal and external reliability. The questionnaire has face validity and a measure of concurrent validity. There is evidence that challenging behaviour is cognitively represented in care staff in a multi-dimensional way, consistent with other studies in health psychology. This has implications for future staff training in this area.     

How time flies: a study of novice skydivers

Although time distortion is commonly reported during a traumatic experience, there is little research addressing the phenomenon. This study investigated the role of affect in time perception in a very stressful experience by indexing novice tandem skydivers' (N=76) levels of fear and excitement before the skydive and soon after landing. Estimations of how long skydivers thought their experience lasted were obtained after landing. Whereas increased fear was associated with the perception of time passing slowly, increased excitement was associated with the perception of time passing quickly. These data support models of time perception based on avoidance and approach motivations influencing time distortion.     

Sporting Achievement: What Is the Contribution of Digit Ratio?

Second-to-fourth digit ratio, a marker for prenatal testosterone levels, has been shown to be associated with sporting achievement in men. It is unclear, however, whether digit ratio makes a contribution over and above salient personality variables. The present study, which included female participants, measured four personality traits and one cognitive ability (mental rotation) that have been linked to both sports achievement and sex. The significant relationship between digit ratio and sporting achievement was nearly identical in women and men. A multiple regression showed that when significant correlates of sporting ability (weight, height, years playing, hours per week training, social potency, and mental rotation) were entered first, the contribution of digit ratio remained highly significant. We suggest that physiological as well as psychological factors may be an important avenue for future study.     

Which Helper Behaviors and Intervention Styles are Related to Better Short‐Term Outcomes in Telephone Crisis Intervention? Results from a Silent Monitoring Study of Calls to the U.S. 1–800‐SUICIDE Network

A total of 2,611 calls to 14 helplines were monitored to observe helper behaviors and caller characteristics and changes during the calls. The relationship between intervention characteristics and call outcomes are reported for 1,431 crisis calls. Empathy and respect, as well as factor-analytically derived scales of supportive approach and good contact and collaborative problem solving were significantly related to positive outcomes, but not active listening. We recommend recruitment of helpers with these characteristics, development of standardized training in those methods that are empirically shown to be effective, and the need for research relating short-term outcomes to long-term effects.