A Method for Analyzing Videotaped Genetic Counseling Sessions

This study describes the development and evaluation of a multi-item scale for analyzing the genetic counseling process, the Manchester Observation Code (MOC) for genetic counseling. The instrument is specific to the field of genetic counseling and is designed for analysis of the communication between counselor and client. Coding is done directly from videotaped sessions. Because communication is the means by which genetic counseling is accomplished, the method measures four relevant components of communication: (1) grammatical form, (2) purpose, (3) subject, and (4) cue source. The instrument enables an observer to code the counselor's statements into these four components. Three videotaped sessions were used to measure interrater reliability, or the consistency of rating for each of the four communication domains using this method. Three videotaped sessions were also used to measure test-retest reliability, or the consistency of the designed method from one time to another. A total of 21 videotaped sessions were tested using the method. A statistical measure of reliability established consistency of the designed method; Cohen's kappa yielded 0.7 for interrater reliability and 0.79 for test-retest reliability. These findings suggest this instrument may be used to identify important elements of the genetic counseling process.     

Development of the infant's hand preference for visually directed reaching: Preliminary report of a longitudinal study

The development of hand preference in infancy was investigated longitudinally by using a visually-directed reaching task. Thirty-two infants, equally divided into groups of familial right- and left-handed boys and girls, were tested every 3 weeks from 24 to 39 weeks of age and once again at 52 weeks. Group trends for the development of hand preference were differentiated by familial handedness and sex of the infant. At all ages, test object position (to the infant's right or left) strongly influenced the hand used for reaching. Marked variability both between and within infants demonstrated an instability of early hand preference, an effect that could be appreciated fully only with a prospective longitudinal design. The results thus suggest that the development of hand preference for reaching is highly variable, discontinuous, and related to the interaction of sex and familial handedness.     

Marital conflicts in the home when children are present versus absent

Characteristics of marital conflict when children (8-16 years) were present versus absent were compared on the basis of 47 mothers' and fathers' reports during a 15-day period. Mothers described 669 incidents of marital conflict, and fathers described 551 incidents. About two thirds of the conflicts occurred in children's absence. Contrary to predictions, conflicts in which children were present were more negative (e.g., more negative emotions, more destructive conflict tactics) and more often about children than were child-absent conflicts. Although parents may attempt to protect children from conflict exposure, children tend to be exposed to a relatively hostile and emotionally negative subset of the marital conflicts that occur in the home.     

Information processing biases concurrently and prospectively predict depressive symptoms in adolescents: Evidence from a self-referent encoding task

Negative information processing biases have been hypothesised to serve as precursors for the development of depression. The current study examined negative self-referent information processing and depressive symptoms in a community sample of adolescents (N = 291, M_age at baseline = 12.34 ± 0.61, 53% female, 47.4% African-American, 49.5% Caucasian and 3.1% Biracial). Participants completed a computerised self-referent encoding task (SRET) and a measure of depressive symptoms at baseline and completed an additional measure of depressive symptoms nine months later. Several negative information processing biases on the SRET were associated with concurrent depressive symptoms and predicted increases in depressive symptoms at follow-up. Findings partially support the hypothesis that negative information processing biases are associated with depressive symptoms in a nonclinical sample of adolescents, and provide preliminary evidence that these biases prospectively predict increases in depressive symptoms.     

An examination of the roles of trauma exposure and posttraumatic stress disorder on emotion regulation strategies of Operation Iraqi Freedom,Operation Enduring Freedom,and Operation New Dawn veterans

Theories of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) implicate emotional processes, including difficulties utilizing adaptive emotion regulation strategies, as critical to the etiology and maintenance of PTSD. Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom, and Operation New Dawn (OIF/OEF/OND) veterans report high levels of combat exposure and PTSD. We aimed to extend findings suggesting that emotion regulation difficulties are a function of PTSD, rather than combat trauma exposure or common comorbidities, to OIF/OEF/OND veterans, in order to inform models of PTSD risk and recovery that can be applied to returning veterans. We tested differences in emotion regulation, measured with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, among trauma-exposed veterans with (n = 24) or without PTSD (n = 22) and healthy civilian comparison participants (n = 27) using multivariate analyses of covariance, adjusting for major depressive disorder, anxiety disorders, and demographic variables (age, sex, and ethnicity). Veterans with PTSD reported more use of expressive suppression and more difficulties with emotion regulation than veterans without PTSD and healthy comparison participants. Groups did not differ on cognitive reappraisal. Findings suggest the key role of PTSD above and beyond trauma exposure, depression, and anxiety in specific aspects of emotion dysregulation among OIF/OEF/OND veterans. Interventions that help veterans expand and diversify their emotion regulation skills may serve as helpful adjunctive treatments for PTSD among OIF/OEF/OND veterans.     

The sexual dimorphic association of cardiorespiratory fitness to working memory in children

The present investigation examined the sexual dimorphic patterns of cardiorespiratory fitness to working memory in preadolescent children (age range: 7.7–10.9). Data were collected in three separate studies (Study 1: n = 97, 42 females; Study 2: n = 95, 45 females; Study 3: n = 84, 37 females). All participants completed a cardiorespiratory fitness assessment in addition to a specific measure of working memory (i.e. the operation span task, the n‐back task, or the Sternberg task). Results from all three samples revealed that higher cardiorespiratory fitness levels were associated with better working memory performance only for males with no such relation observed for females. In addition, the sexually dimorphic pattern was selective for the most challenging working memory conditions in each task. Together, these findings reveal new evidence that cardiorespiratory fitness is selectively related to better working memory performance for male children. This investigation provides additional insight into how interventions aimed at improving fitness may influence cognitive development differentially among preadolescent children.     

Subjective Social Standing and Conflict Tactics Among Young Kenyan Men

Efforts to reduce intimate partner violence in sub‐Saharan Africa generally approach the issue through the lens of women's empowerment. These efforts include foci on women's relative power in the relationship, educational background, and earning potential. The social status of men has largely been ignored, reducing the potential to involve them in efforts to demote intimate partner violence. In this study we consider whether a man's perceived social status predicts conflict tactics, and whether these tactics are mediated by loneliness and collective self‐esteem from a community‐based sample in semi‐rural Kenya (n = 263). We find that men who reported lower perceived social status also reported significantly more frequent violent conflicts with their intimate partners. This association was significantly, and completely, mediated by lower collective self‐esteem and higher loneliness. There was no direct association between subjective social status and negotiation‐based conflict tactics, although there was an indirect association. Men with higher perceived social status reported higher collective self‐esteem, and men with higher collective self‐esteem reported more negotiation‐based conflict tactics. These findings inform efforts to reduce intimate partner violence by involving men, showing potential to reduce violence by building self‐esteem among men—particularly those with lower perceived social status.     

Body Type Preferences in Asian and Caucasian College Students

While there is an extensive literature on gender differences in body image, little has focused on ethnic group differences in men's body image. College students ( N = 466) from a prestigious New England university indicated their current and ideal figures. Compared to Caucasians (N = 289), Asians (N = 92) reported smaller current figures. Both Caucasian and Asian women rated their current figure as larger than their ideal. Caucasian males reported no discrepancy between their current and ideal figures. However, Asian males rated their current figures as smaller than ideal. The effect of ethnicity on body satisfaction depended upon gender. For women, the ideal was thinner than current figure regardless of actual size, producing a discrepancy between current and ideal figures for both Caucasian and Asian women. Conversely, Asian and Caucasian men identified a similar ideal, producing a discrepancy between current and ideal figures only for Asian men.     

Predicting Persistence of Nonsuicidal Self‐Injury in Suicidal Adolescents

Prospective predictors of persistent nonsuicidal self‐injury (NSSI) were examined in adolescents admitted to an inpatient psychiatric unit for suicidal behaviors and followed naturalistically for 6 months. Seventy‐one (77%) participants reported NSSI at baseline, and 40 (56%) persisted at the 6 month follow‐up. Those who endorsed automatic positive reinforcement (APR) as the predominant reason for NSSI were more likely to persist in NSSI. Depression over follow‐up, but not at baseline, also predicted persistence. These results suggest that helping high‐risk adolescents to identify alternative ways of generating emotion(s) to counter the effects of APR that may accompany NSSI should be a high priority treatment target.