Religion, Forgiveness, Hostility and Health: A Structural Equation Analysis

Religious participation has been shown to increase certain factors thought to be protective of health, including social support and positive health habits. The current study considers whether religious participation may likewise have a positive influence on health by increasing forgiveness and diminishing hostility. A structural equation analysis of data collected from a national survey of 1,629 participants supported the hypothesized model that (a) religiosity is related to greater forgiveness, (b) greater forgiveness, in turn, is related to reduced hostility and finally, (c) reduced hostility is related to better subjective health.     

Uncertainty in Clergy’s Perspectives on Homosexuality: A Research Note

This research note analyzes expressions of uncertainty in clergy??s perspectives on homosexuality. We conducted interviews with forty Christian clergy who lead congregations in the vicinity of one large southeastern US city. Seven in ten clergy interviewed expressed uncertainty in their personal opinions about homosexuality, uncertainty about how they should act pursuant to the issue, or both. We describe clergy??s experiences with these uncertainties and analyze the patterns in which it appears in their opinions and actions regarding homosexuality. The nuance evident in these patterns illustrates how a range of superseding factors influence clergy??s opinions about homosexuality and the extent to which they feel constrained in taking action with regard to the issue. We argue for the conceptual value of a framework that provides space for analysis of uncertainty in public opinion about contentious social issues such as homosexuality.     

Evaluating a Comprehensive Strategy to Improve Engagement to Group-based Behavioral Parent Training for High-risk Families of Children with ADHD

Behavioral parent training (BPT) is an evidence-based intervention for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and related disruptive behavioral disorders of childhood. Despite convincing data on effectiveness, engagement to BPT, particularly for high-risk families, has been a long standing, yet understudied, issue. Data from a clinical trial of a comprehensive BPT approach to enhance engagement and outcomes (the Strategies to Enhance Positive Parenting [STEPP] program) are presented herein. The STEPP program was compared to a traditional group-based BPT program on propensity to attend treatment, propensity to complete homework over the course of treatment, and dropout from BPT. Additionally, factors empirically related to engagement to treatment and targeted by the STEPP program were analyzed to determine whether these factors were enhanced by participation in the STEPP program. In a randomized cohort of 80 single-mothers of school-age children with ADHD, analyses demonstrated that the STEPP program lead to greater propensity to attend treatment over time and a greater propensity to complete homework over the course of treatment. Furthermore, participation in the STEPP Program was associated with a lower rate of dropout. Finally, data suggested that parents assigned to the STEPP program reported significant improvements in factors empirically related to engagement that were targeted within the STEPP program (i.e., amount and quality of social support from their group members, expectations for treatment, and perceived barriers to treatment participation). Results of the study have implications for targeting engagement throughout the process of BPT, particularly for high-risk families.     

“Hit Me, Maybe, One More Time”: Brief measures of impulsivity and sensation seeking and their prediction of blackjack bets and sexual promiscuity

We sought to construct an efficient, reliable, and valid self-report measure of impulsivity and sensation-seeking. We used item response theory to identify the 8 best items (ImpSS-8) from the 19-item Impulsivity and Sensation-Seeking Scale (Zuckerman, Kuhlman, Joireman, Teta, & Kraft, 1993; Study 1). The ImpSS-8 interacted with a manipulated ego threat to predict blackjack bets: in a weak situation (no ego threat), individual differences were strong (a positive ImpSS-8-bets relationship); in a strong situation (ego threat), individual differences were weak (no relationship; Study 2). The ImpSS-8’s 4-item impulsivity and sensation-seeking subscales related differentially to the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (Study 2) as well as trait measures of openness and conscientiousness, hostility and physical aggression, and sexually promiscuous attitudes and timing (Study 3).     

Coping with a child who stutters: A phenomenological analysis

Qualitative methods were used in the form of a phenomenological analysis to explore how families cope with having a child who stutters. Twelve participants, 2 men and 10 women, who have children who stutter participated in this study. The participants were asked to consider their experiences with being the parent of a child who stutters. Analysis of these data resulted in 3 primary categories. The results indicate that parents experience and cope with stresses associated with being the parent of a child who stutters. The participants described feelings of uncertainty and concern as well as the desire to do what is best for their children. Results highlight the importance of providing information and avenues of support that will help parents more effectively cope with having a child who stutters.Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (a) describe, from the perspective of a parent of a child who stutters, the themes associated with the process of coping with a child who stutters, (b) describe types of coping resources, (c) describe the factors that influence the choice to use emotion-focused and problem-focused coping strategies, and (d) describe four specific areas to consider when providing resources for families of children who stutter.     

SES affects infant cognitive flexibility

Cognitive flexibility requires processing multiple sources of information and flexible adaptation of behavioral responses. Poverty negatively impacts cognitive control in young children, but its effects on infants are not well-understood. This study investigated longitudinally the development of cognitive flexibility in low-income infants. Thirty-two infants (15 low-SES, 17 high-SES) were tested at 6, 9, and 12 months of age. Cognitive flexibility was measured with a perseverative reaching task, where infants were taught to reach to one location and then asked to switch to a second location. High-SES infants replicated the typical developmental trajectory, reaching randomly at 6 months, perseverating at 9 months, and reaching correctly at 12 months. In contrast, the low-SES infants showed a delayed pattern, reaching correctly at 6 months, randomly at 9 months, and perseverating at 12 months. Links between cognitive flexibility and frontal cortex development are explored as a potential mechanism.     

Assessing the prevalence of mental health disorders and mental health needs among preschool children in care in England

Although school‐aged children living in foster care have been identified as a high‐risk group for mental health and developmental disorders, there is a paucity of data relating to preschool children in care (CIC). This study aimed to identify the prevalence of mental health and developmental disorders along with corresponding need for interventions in preschool CIC. All CIC aged 0 to 5 years in an inner city local authority underwent comprehensive, multifaceted assessments consisting of the Ages and Stages Questionnaire (J. Squires, D. Bricker, & E. Twombly, 2003), interviews with caregivers based on the Preschool Age Psychiatric Assessment (H.L. Egger & A. Angold, 2006), Mullen Scales of Early Learning (E.M. Mullen, 1995 ), and systematic clinical observation. Of 58 eligible preschoolers, 43 completed the assessment. At least one mental health disorder was found in 26 (60.5%) participants, and at least one developmental disorder was found in 11 (25.6%). When mental health and/or developmental disorders were considered together, 30 (69.8%) preschoolers fulfilled criteria for at least one diagnosis, and 18 (41.9%) had two or more comorbid conditions. Whereas 36 (83.7%) of the preschoolers needed an intervention, only 3 of these had received adequate input. In conclusion, preschool CIC constitute a high‐risk group for mental health and developmental disorders. Without age‐appropriate assessments, their needs go undetected, and opportunities for early intervention are being missed.     

Different levels of psychotherapeutic competence

In this article, I argue for a both – and position in regard to manuals. I suggest that manuals are appropriate when describing therapeutic strategizing and technical competence. However, I also argue that they are an inappropriate tool for understanding the contribution of the client's family in family therapy. This argument fuels a further view that manuals cannot capture the dance that occurs between therapist and family. For this type of knowledge, a relational type of competence needs to be developed. We encourage you to listen to the JFT Editor, Mark Rivett, as he interviews the author on Manuals in the Practice and Research of Family Therapy. Available at http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/(ISSN)1467-6427/homepage/jft_podcast_series.htm .     

Mindfulness and emotional distress: The role of negatively biased cognition

Mindfulness is a receptive attention to and awareness of events and experiences as they occur. A substantial body of literature supports the usefulness of mindfulness-based approaches for preventing or reducing emotional distress (e.g., depression and anxiety). However, mechanisms by which mindfulness produces these benefits are still being explored. Cognitive theories of emotional disorder implicate negatively biased cognition as a primary source of distress, and the theoretical literature on mindfulness suggests that it may reduce biased thoughts and judgments. Thus, the present research tested a mediation model in which less negatively biased cognition explains the inverse relation between mindfulness and emotional distress. Participants completed multiple standardized measures of trait mindfulness, negatively biased cognition, and emotional distress. The proposed relations between these constructs then were examined using structural equation modeling. Support was found for a partial mediation model, and possible alternative models were ruled out. These findings highlight a previously unidentified cognitive mechanism to explain the relation between mindfulness and reduced emotional distress. Specifically, mindfulness may reduce negative, maladaptive cognitive styles, which in turn may reduce predisposition to emotional disorders.     

Attention training and the threat bias: an ERP study

Anxiety is characterized by exaggerated attention to threat. Several studies suggest that this threat bias plays a causal role in the development and maintenance of anxiety disorders. Furthermore, although the threat bias can be reduced in anxious individuals and induced in non-anxious individual, the attentional mechanisms underlying these changes remain unclear. To address this issue, 49 non-anxious adults were randomly assigned to either attentional training toward or training away from threat using a modified version of the dot probe task. Behavioral measures of attentional biases were also generated pre- and post-training using the dot probe task. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were generated to threat and non-threat face pairs and probes during pre- and post-training assessments. Effects of training on behavioral measures of the threat bias were significant, but only for those participants showing pre-training biases. Attention training also influenced early spatial attention, as measured by post-training P1 amplitudes to cues. Results illustrate the importance of taking pre-training attention biases in non-anxious individuals into account when evaluating the effects of attention training and tracking physiological changes in attention following training.