Reliability, validity and normative data for the Danish Beck Youth Inventories

This study examines reliability and validity and establish Danish norms for the Danish version of the Beck Youth Inventories (BYI) ( Beck, Beck & Jolly, 2001 ), which consists of five self-report scales; Self-Concept (BSCI), Anxiety (BAI), Depression (BDI), Anger (BANI) and Disruptive Behavior (BDBI). A total of 1,116 school children and 128 clinical children, aged 7–14, completed BYI. Internal consistency coefficients were high. Most test-retest correlations were >0.70. A test-retest difference was found for BAI. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the five factor structure of the instrument was justified. The BSCI, BAI and BDI discriminated moderately between the norming sample and the clinical group, and the latter group included more children who exceeded the 90th percentile of the norming sample. Diagnostic groups scored higher on relevant scales than norms. Only BSCI and BDI differentiated between diagnostic groups. The BYI showed acceptable internal consistency and test-retest stability, except for BAI. The BYI did not adequately differentiate between internalizing disorders.     

Utility of a cognitive-behavioral model to predict fatigue following breast cancer treatment.

The objective of the current study was twofold: (a) to determine whether subgroups of breast cancer patients could be identified on the basis of their distinct trajectory or pattern of fatigue following treatment for early stage cancer using growth mixture modeling and (b) to examine whether the subgroups could be distinguished on the basis of a cognitive-behavioral model. Growth mixture modeling and a prospective longitudinal design were used to examine the course of fatigue after treatment for early stage breast cancer. Women (n = 261; mean age = 55.2 years) provided fatigue ratings for 6 months following treatment. A low-fatigue group (n = 85) and a high-fatigue group (n = 176) were extracted. Women who were not married, had a lower income, had a higher body mass index, engaged in greater fatigue catastrophizing, and were lower in exercise participation were more likely to be in the high-fatigue group. Only body mass index and catastrophizing remained significant predictors in multivariate analysis. Findings suggest considerable heterogeneity in the experience of fatigue following treatment and support the utility of a cognitive-behavioral model in predicting the course of posttreatment fatigue.     

Hold your horses: how exposure to different items influences infant categorization

We investigated how exposure to pairs of different items (as compared with pairs of identical items) influences 10-month-olds' (n=79) categorization of horses versus dogs in an object-examining task. Infants responded to an exclusive category when familiarized with pairs of different items but not when familiarized with pairs of identical items (Experiment 1), even when the frequency of exposure to each item was controlled (Experiment 2). When familiarized with pairs of identical items, infants failed to show evidence of memory for the individual exemplars (Experiment 3). Reducing the retention interval between presentations of different items in the identical pairs condition facilitated infants' recognition of an exclusive categorical distinction (Experiment 4). These results are discussed in terms of how exposure to collections of different items, and how opportunities to compare items, influences infants' categorization.     

Body dissatisfaction, bulimic symptoms, and clothing practices among college women

Clothing use may be a behavioral avoidance strategy for individuals with body dissatisfaction and eating pathology. The authors administered the Body Image Avoidance Questionnaire (J. C. Rosen, D. Srebnik, E. Saltzberg, & S. Wendt, 1991), the Bulimia Test-Revised (M. Thelen, J. Farmer, S. Wonderlich, & M. Smith, 1991), and the Body dissatisfaction subscale of the Eating Disorder Inventory (D. M. Garner, M. P. Olmstead, & J. Polivy, 1983) to undergraduate college women from two universities (N = 540). Results indicated that women who were more dissatisfied with their bodies (beta = .396) and had greater disordered eating behaviors (beta = .378) were more likely to engage in clothing-related appearance-management behaviors (p < .001), including wearing apparel to camouflage their bodies; avoiding revealing, brightly colored, or tightly fitting clothing; and avoiding shopping for clothing. These findings suggest that the presence of certain clothing-related appearance-management behaviors may be a warning sign that an individual is at risk for developing an eating disorder or may currently have an eating disorder.     

The why and when of background checks: Situational factors moderate effects of criminal and financial stigma

Past criminal and financial transgressions, even when of questionable job relevance, can harm job‐seekers' prospects. In three hiring simulation experiments, manipulations of situational factors hypothesized to alter decision focus moderate the effect of background report information on applicant evaluations. In Study 1, emphasizing in‐role performance as a hiring goal decreases the weight placed on transgressions relative to standard qualifications. Study 2 demonstrates this context effect with a different design and experienced hiring professionals, and finds that delaying background checks heightens a transgression's impact. In Study 3, presenting novel positive information in conjunction with a criminal offense mitigates the delay effect. By adopting a behavioral decision perspective, this research illuminates how situational factors shape the impact of a widespread form of stigma.     

Within-Family Effects of Smoking during Pregnancy on ADHD: the Importance of Phenotype

We sought to test within- and between- family associations of smoking during pregnancy (SDP) and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms using a structured interview based on the conventional Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition (DSM-IV) symptoms and the Strengths and Weaknesses of ADHD-Symptoms and Normal-Behavior (SWAN) scale, which is a population based measure that grew out of the notion that an ADHD diagnosis exists on the extreme end of a continuum of normative behaviors and includes both above- and below- average performance on attention and activity. We used a sibling-comparison approach in a sample of 173 families including siblings aged 7–16 years (52% male) drawn from the state of Missouri, USA, wherein mothers smoked during one pregnancy but not the other. There was a within-family effect of smoking during pregnancy on SWAN hyperactivity/impulsivity and SWAN total ADHD behaviors. The associations between SDP and DSM-IV-based ADHD symptom dimensions as well as SWAN inattention were explained by familial confounds. These findings suggest that SDP exerts a potentially causal effect on increased ADHD hyperactive/impulsive behaviors and that this SDP effect is best captured when hyperactivity/impulsivity is assessed more normatively across the population, rather than specifically assessing problematic behaviors via DSM symptoms. Thus, any potentially causal effect of SDP on ADHD symptom dimensions may be restricted to hyperactive/impulsive behaviors rather than inattention, and normative, non-DSM-IV based behavioral measures may provide a more sensitive test of mechanisms of SDP-ADHD symptom associations, particularly in non-clinical samples.     

Young Adult Educational and Vocational Outcomes of Children Diagnosed with ADHD

Decreased success at work and educational attainment by adulthood are of concern for children with ADHD given their widely documented academic difficulties; however there are few studies that have examined this empirically and even fewer that have studied predictors and individual variability of these outcomes. The current study compares young adults with and without a childhood diagnosis of ADHD on educational and occupational outcomes and the predictors of these outcomes. Participants were from the Pittsburgh ADHD Longitudinal Study (PALS), a prospective study with yearly data collection. Significant group differences were found for nearly all variables such that educational and occupational attainment was lower for adults with compared to adults without histories of childhood ADHD. Despite the mean difference, educational functioning was wide-ranging. High school academic achievement significantly predicted enrollment in post-high school education and academic and disciplinary problems mediated the relationship between childhood ADHD and post-high school education. Interestingly, ADHD diagnosis and disciplinary problems negatively predicted occupational status while enrollment in post-high school education was a positive predictor. Job loss was positively predicted by a higher rate of academic problems and diagnosis of ADHD. This study supports the need for interventions that target the child and adolescent predictors of later educational and occupational outcomes in addition to continuing treatment of ADHD in young adulthood targeting developmentally appropriate milestones, such as completing post-high school education and gaining and maintaining stable employment.     

Bayesian Thurstonian models for ranking data using JAGS

A Thurstonian model for ranking data assumes that observed rankings are consistent with those of a set of underlying continuous variables. This model is appealing since it renders ranking data amenable to familiar models for continuous response variables—namely, linear regression models. To date, however, the use of Thurstonian models for ranking data has been very rare in practice. One reason for this may be that inferences based on these models require specialized technical methods. These methods have been developed to address computational challenges involved in these models but are not easy to implement without considerable technical expertise and are not widely available in software packages. To address this limitation, we show that Bayesian Thurstonian models for ranking data can be very easily implemented with the JAGS software package. We provide JAGS model files for Thurstonian ranking models for general use, discuss their implementation, and illustrate their use in analyses.     

A Model of Professional Development for Practicing Genetic Counselors: Adaptation of Communication Skills Training in Oncology

Ongoing professional development for practicing genetic counselors is critical in maintaining best practice. Communication skills training (CST) workshops for doctors in oncology, utilizing trained actors in role plays, have been implemented for many years to improve patient-centred communication. This model was adapted to provide professional development in counseling skills for practicing genetic counselors, already highly trained in counseling skills. Detailed evidence based scenarios were developed. Evaluation of participants’ experience and perceived outcomes on practice included surveys immediately post workshops (2002, 2004, 2005, 2008 (×2); n = 88/97), 2–5 years later (2007; n = 21/38) and a focus group (2007; n = 7). All rated workshops as effective training. Aspects highly valued included facilitator feedback, actors rather than role-playing with peers and being able to stop and try doing things differently. Perceived outcomes included the opportunity to reflect on practice; bring focus to communication; motivation and confidence. The high level of satisfaction is a strong endorsement for ongoing communication skills training in this format as part of professional development.