Memory and attention in combat-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Vietnam combat veterans assigned diagnoses of PTSD were compared on measures of attention/concentration, new learning, and memory with Army National Guard enlistees who reported no unusual traumatic events or stress-related symptoms. Results showed that PTSD veterans performed more poorly than the comparison sample on a measure of verbal learning, exhibiting less proficient cumulative acquisition across repeated exposures, greater sensitivity to proactive interference, and more perseverative errors. Veterans with PTSD diagnoses also evidenced impairments in word fluency and visual attention/tracking abilities. These preliminary findings suggest that diagnoses of chronic PTSD in combat veterans are associated with cognitive performance deficits, when comparisons are made with military troops judged to be free of stress-related psychopathology. Results are consistent with self-reported complaints of concentration and memory impairments among PTSD-diagnosed clinical samples, thus highlighting the need for continued investigation of the neuropsychologlcal sequelae of prolonged stress exposure.     

Culture and gender in marital therapy with ethiopian immigrants: A conversation in metaphors

Israel is a country which has absorbed more than half of its population during its first 44 years of existence. Recently, the trend has been to move away from the melting-pot ideology and favor the philosophy of unity in diversity. The purpose of this paper is to shed some light on the issue of marital therapy in the context of immigration, family loss, and different cultural traditions in the Ethiopian community living in Israel. A story of marital therapy is recounted in which the continuity and expansion of customs is used. This provided a sense of familiarity in therapy to demonstrate culture and gender-sensitive therapy and illustrate possible guidelines for therapeutic collaboration.I would like to thank Yael Kitov, the therapist, for her wonderful job-Amith Ben-David.     

Prevention education and substance abuse treatment

Relapse prevention is influenced by a number of variables including stress and negative mood states, motivation and commitment to abstinence, social support, physiological factors, withdrawal symptoms, and a repertoire of cognitive and behavioral strategies utilized in responding to the relapse process. Diverse theoretical approaches have emphasized conditioning models as well as information processing, cognitive and affective components of treatment, cognitive and behavioral coping responses, and a variety of other procedures. Outcome studies related to treatment have failed to consistently support the effectiveness of several of these components. To overcomes this, the authors advocate a single subject design in the study of these approaches. This article emphasizes the role of relapse prevention, and training and education in facilitating long-term abstinence, particularly with those intervention methods that are based on social learning theory and cognitive-behavioral models.     

Limbic networks and associative learning: II. Entorhinal contributions to spontaneous alternation,passive avoidance,and taste aversion learning

The hippocampus plays an important role in learning and memory, but the precise nature of that involvement remains uncertain. Transection of the perforant path, a primary input pathway to the hippocampus, has been shown to produce changes in reaction to novelty and acquisition of active avoidance; the nature and magnitude of these changes vary with lateral or medial perforant path damage. In a series of experiments on adult rats, the role of these pathways in spontaneous alternation, exploration, acquisition and extinction of conditioned responses, passive avoidance, and conditioned taste aversion was investigated. Lateral transection reduced exploration while medial transection facilitated acquisition of an active avoidance response; no effects were observed on any other measure. Results are discussed in terms of what perforant path damage might reveal regarding the interactions of the hippocampus with other brain regions.     

Shame,Guilt, and Suicide Ideation among Bondage and Discipline,Dominance and Submission,and Sadomasochism Practitioners: Examining the Role of the Interpersonal Theory of Suicide

To date, no study has examined rates of suicide ideation or theory‐based risk factors for suicide ideation among bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, and sadomasochism (BDSM) practitioners. Participants were 321 adults that endorsed BDSM involvement. Thirty‐seven percent of the sample indicated a nonzero level of suicide ideation. Thwarted belongingness and perceived burdensomeness (PB) were positively associated with suicide ideation and their interactive effect predicted additional variance in suicide ideation after adjusting for depressive symptoms. Overall, shame and guilt were positively associated with suicide ideation and these relations were mediated by thwarted belongingness and PB in parallel adjusting for depressive symptoms; however, there were some differences between demographic subgroups. Among BDSM practitioners, stigma‐related internalized feelings (i.e., shame and guilt) may be associated with increased thwarted belongingness and PB, which are associated with suicide ideation.     

Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in Adolescents: Characterization of the Disorder and the Issue of Distress and Impairment

Nonsuicidal self‐injury disorder (NSSID) is a condition in need of further study to assess the validity of the potential diagnosis and its suggested criteria. This study examined the NSSID diagnosis and investigated the distress/impairment criterion by comparing community adolescents who met all criteria for NSSID (n = 186) to adolescents with five or more nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) episodes (n = 314), and to a group of adolescents who met all criteria but negated that their NSSI caused them any distress or impairment, thus failing to meet criterion E (n = 29). The NSSID group delimited from the ≥ 5 NSSI group by reporting significantly more frequent and severe self‐injurious thoughts and behaviors, as well as having more experiences of negative life events and higher levels of trauma symptoms. There were also some differences between the NSSID group and adolescents without distress/impairment, which together contribute valuable information on the potential NSSID diagnosis, as well as the discussion of criterion E.     

Postdeployment Suicide Risk Increases Over a 6‐month Period: Predictors of Increased Risk among Midwestern Army National Guard Soldiers

National Guard (NG) soldiers returning from deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan were surveyed at 6 and 12 months following their return (N = 970). The overall prevalence of suicide risk at 6 and 12 months following their return was assessed, as were changes in suicide risk among soldiers initially at high or low risk. Factors associated with changes in risk were assessed. The percentage of NG soldiers with high suicide risk increased from 6.8% at 6 months to 9.2% at 12 months (odds ratio = 1.7, p = .02). In the 882 soldiers initially at low risk, 5.9% (52/882) became high risk at 12 months; in the 64 soldiers initially at high risk, 46.9% (30/64) became low risk at 12 months. Initial levels of depressive symptoms were predictive of changing to high risk; this association appeared to be partially explained by soldier reports of increased search in the meaning in life and higher levels of perceived stress. Because suicide risk increases over the first 12 months, continued risk assessments during this time period should be considered. Supporting soldiers to find meaning in their life after deployment and enhancing their capacity to cope with perceived stress may help prevent increases in suicide risk over time.