A comparison of 13-year-old boys with attention deficit and/or reading disorder on neuropsychological measures

This study compared 13 year-old-boys with attention deficit disorder (ADD) and/or reading disability (RD), and controls with neither disorder on a battery of verbal and nonverbal neuropsychological measures. The aim was to examine whether ADD was associated with a qualitatively distinct pattern of deficits compared with RD. None of the measures differentiated the boys with ADD-only from the controls; the only deficit associated with ADD was slightly lower IQ. RD, on the other hand, was associated with deficits in memory and verbal skills.The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the Medical Research Council of New Zealand and involves several Departments of the University of Otago. Much of the data are gathered by voluntary workers from the Dunedin community.The authors are indebted to the many people who contributions make this ongoing study possible. We wish to acknowledge the advice and help of Dr. P. A. Silva, director of the Dunedin Unit, in preparing this report.     

Two-key concurrent paced variable-interval paced variable-interval schedules of reinforcement

Nine pigeons were used in two experiments in which a response was reinforced if a variable-interval schedule had assigned a reinforcement and if the response terminated an interresponse time within a certain interval, or class, of interresponse times. One such class was scheduled on one key, and a second class was scheduled on a second key. The procedure was, therefore, a two-key concurrent paced variable-interval paced variable-interval schedule. In Exp. I, the lengths of the two reinforced interresponse times were varied. The relative frequency of responding on a key approximately equalled the relative reciprocal of the length of the interresponse time reinforced on that key. In Exp. II, the relative frequency and relative magnitude of reinforcement were varied. The relative frequency of responding on the key for which the shorter interresponse time was reinforced was a monotonically increasing, negatively accelerated function of the relative frequency of reinforcement on that key. The relative frequency of responding depended on the relative magnitude of reinforcement in approximately the same way as it depended on the relative frequency of reinforcement. The relative frequency of responding on the key for which the shorter interresponse time was reinforced depended on the lengths of the two reinforced interresponse times and on the relative frequency and relative magnitude of reinforcement in the same way as the relative frequency of the shorter interresponse time depended on these variables in previous one-key concurrent schedules of reinforcement for two interresponse times.     

Wives' higher neuroticism scores: Some more relevant factors

Findings from two studies suggest two factors that may contribute to statictics showing wives as having higher levels of neuroticism than husbands: firstly, brides have higher scores than grooms at the point of marriage and thereafter their scores appear to fall in these cross-sectional samples; the problem of wives' higher scores may therefore be partly determined by a factor opearting prior to marriage. The second factor appears to be marital divergence on E, which is positively correlated with N scores in wives but not in husbands. Additionally, marital divergence is associated with poor communication, and divergence appears to be better predictor of wives' neuroticism than whether or not wives are employed outside the home.     

Religious Commitment and the Benefits of Cognitive Diversity: a Reply to Trakakis

Metaphilosophical discussions about the philosophy of religion are increasingly common. In a recent article in Sophia, N.N. Trakakis (56:605–630, 2017) advances the view that Christian Philosophy is closer to ideology than philosophy. This is because philosophy conducted in the Socratic tradition tends to emphasize values antithetical to religious faith such as independence of thought, rationality, empiricism, and doubt. A philosopher must be able to follow the arguments wherever they lead, something that the religious believer cannot do. I argue that there are two main problems with this view. First, Takakis faces an unpalatable dilemma. It is possible his view recommends a rejection of itself, making it self-referentially incoherent. If it does not recommend such a rejection, then Trakakis’s preferred method is not necessary for genuine philosophical inquiry. Second, Trakakis makes numerous knowledge claims about the psychological motivation of religious philosophers but never offers evidence for these claims. Third, Trakakis never considers that the existence of cognitive diversity is truth conducive. Even if devout religious believers cannot conduct genuine philosophical inquiry, unless Trakakis thinks we should ignore all works by religious believers, then it is irrelevant whether they are genuine philosophy.     

Gay Identity and HIV Risk for Black and Latino Men Who Have Sex with Men

Strong gay identity among white men who have sex with men (MSM) has been associated with decreased HIV risk, but data for black and Latino MSM (BLMSM) are inconclusive. We examined gay identity and HIV risk among BLMSM to inform social and structural HIV intervention strategies. BLMSM were administered a computerized survey as part of an HIV research study during 2011–2012 conducted in New York City. We used a brief scale of Gay Identity Questionnaire. After data analysis, Stage I (not fully accepting) and Stage II (fully accepting) gay identity were determined based on participant responses. We used logistic regression to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the association between gay identity with HIV risk and social determinant factors. Among 111 self-identified BLMSM (median age = 32 years, 68.4% with some college or higher education), 34.2% reported receptive anal sex without condoms in the previous three months. Gay Identity Questionnaire Scale assessment indicated that 22 (19.8%) were Stage I, and 85 (76.6%) were Stage II in this BLMSM sample. Stage II gay identity was more likely seen among BLMSM with high involvement in the gay community (aOR 3.2; CI 1.00, 10.26) and less likely among BLMSM who exchanged sex for food or shelter (aOR 0.15; CI 0.02, 0.98). Fully accepting gay identity may be protective for BLMSM as it relates to transactional sex; these factors warrant further research and consideration as part of HIV prevention strategies.     

Assessing adolescent mindfulness: validation of an adapted Mindful Attention Awareness Scale in adolescent normative and psychiatric populations

Interest in mindfulness-based interventions for children and adolescents is burgeoning, bringing with it the need for validated instruments to assess mindfulness in youths. The present studies were designed to validate among adolescents a measure of mindfulness previously validated for adults (e.g., Brown & Ryan, 2003), which we herein call the Mindful Attention Awareness Scale-Adolescent (MAAS-A). In 2 large samples of healthy 14- to 18-year-olds (N = 595), Study 1 supported a single-factor MAAS-A structure, along with acceptably high internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and both concurrent and incremental validity. In Study 2, with a sample of 102 psychiatric outpatient adolescents age 14-18 years, participants randomized to a mindfulness-based stress reduction intervention showed significant increases in MAAS-A scores from baseline to 3-month follow-up, relative to nonsignificant score changes among treatment-as-usual participants. Increases in MAAS-A scores among mindfulness-based stress reduction participants were significantly related to beneficial changes in numerous mental health indicators. The findings support the reliability and validity of the MAAS-A in normative and mixed psychiatric adolescent populations and suggest that the MAAS-A has utility in mindfulness intervention research.     

The neurophysiological correlates of face processing in adults and children with Asperger's syndrome

Past research has found evidence for face and emotional expression processing differences between individuals with Asperger's syndrome (AS) and neurotypical (NT) controls at both the neurological and behavioural levels. The aim of the present study was to examine the neurophysiological basis of emotional expression processing in children and adults with AS relative to age- and gender-matched NT controls. High-density event-related potentials were recorded during explicit processing of happy, sad, angry, scared, and neutral faces. Adults with AS were found to exhibit delayed P1 and N170 latencies and smaller N170 amplitudes in comparison to control subjects for all expressions. This may reflect impaired holistic and configural processing of faces in AS adults. However, these differences were not observed between AS and control children. This may result from incomplete development of the neuronal generators of these ERP components and/or early intervention.     

Cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia in alcohol dependent patients: a randomized controlled pilot trial

In a randomized controlled trial, we evaluated the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral treatment for insomnia to improve sleep and daytime symptoms, and to reduce relapse in recovering alcohol dependent (AD) participants. Seventeen abstinent AD patients with insomnia (6 women, mean age 46.2 ± 10.1 years) were randomized to 8 sessions of cognitive-behavioral treatment for insomnia for AD (CBTI-AD, n = 9) or to a behavioral placebo treatment (BPT, n = 8). Subjective measures of sleep, daytime consequences of insomnia and AD, alcohol use, and treatment fidelity were collected at baseline and post-treatment. Diary-rated sleep efficiency and wake after sleep onset, and daytime ratings of General Fatigue on the Multidimensional Fatigue Inventory improved more in the CBTI-AD compared to the BPT group. In addition, more subjects were classified as treatment responders following CBTI-AD. No group differences were found in the number of participants who relapsed to any drinking or who relapsed to heavy drinking. The findings suggest that cognitive-behavioral insomnia therapy benefits subjective sleep and daytime symptoms in recovering AD participants with insomnia more than placebo. The benefits of treating insomnia on drinking outcomes are less apparent.     

The New Narcissist and Pastoral Counseling

Pastoral Psychology - For some time now, psychiatrists and psychotherapists have recognized that they are working with a new individual, one who no longer seems capable of experiencing a sense of...