Sorting the Liars from the Truth Tellers: The Benefits of Asking Unanticipated Questions on Lie Detection

We examined the effect of asking unanticipated interview questions on lie detection. We set up a room in which truth tellers (N = 40) performed five tasks. Liars (N = 40) observed the activity room through a window and were asked to generate a story in which they claim to have performed five tasks. The interview schedule included four thematically related pairs of questions. The first question of each pairing was easy for interviewees to anticipate, as it reflected how events are typically recalled. However, the second included a perspective shift (temporal or spatial), which made the question harder to anticipate. We also measured cognitive load via performance on an object sorting secondary task that interviewees undertook during interview. Compared with truth tellers, liars' verbal responses showed a greater decline in details across three out of four question pairs. Liars also sorted significantly fewer objects per minute on the secondary task. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Event Centrality,Posttraumatic Cognitions,and the Experience of Posttraumatic Growth

This study tested the extent to which negative appraisals following traumatic events and the centrality of traumatic events predicted posttraumatic growth (PTG; Tedeschi &; Calhoun, 1996 Tedeschi, R. G. and Calhoun, L. G. 1996. The posttraumatic growth inventory: Measuring the positive legacy of trauma. Journal of Traumatic Stress, 9: 76–80. [Crossref] , [Google Scholar]). Participants were 405 undergraduates at a Midwestern university who reported experiencing at least one traumatic event. Regression analyses indicated that the centrality of the event was a significant predictor for all five domains of PTG. Negative appraisals of the world were related to some domains of growth, but neither negative cognitions about the self nor self-blame was a significant predictor of any of the growth domains. Interpretation of these results is considered in light of the consistencies with Janoff-Bulman's (2004) Janoff-Bulman, R. 2004. Posttraumatic growth: Three explanatory models. Psychological Inquiry, 15: 30–34. [Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar] explanatory models of development of PTG.     

Behavior Problems at 5 Years of Age and Maternal Mental Health in Autism and Intellectual Disability

We examined child behavior problems and maternal mental health in a British population-representative sample of 5 year-old children with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD), controlling for the presence of an intellectual disability (ID). Behavior problems were significantly higher in children with ASD with/out ID compared to typically developing children, but compared to children with ID only hyperactivity was significantly higher in children with ASD/ID. After controlling for ID and maternal mental health, the presence of ASD significantly increased the odds for hyperactivity, conduct problems and emotional symptoms. Negative maternal outcomes (serious mental illness, psychological distress, and physical health limitations) were not consistently elevated in ASD. The findings highlight the early age at which behavior problems emerge in ASD, and suggest that at this age , there may not be a clear disadvantage for maternal mental health associated with having a child with ASD in the family, over and above that conferred by child behavior problems.     

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.     

Adoption Counselors' Perspectives of Counseling Postadoptive Families

This study was conducted to explore the mental health needs of families who adopted from the state welfare system. Using consensual qualitative research, the authors examined the perspectives of 8 clinical mental health counselors who provided counseling services to postadoptive families. Findings represented by 5 domains and supported by 15 categories include the counselors' perspective of (a) strength of the current program, (b) families in crisis, (c) parents' construction of their child's problem, (d) programmatic limitations, and (e) systemic limitations.