Personality prototypes in individuals with compulsive buying based on the Big Five Model

Personality prototypes based on the Big Five factor model were investigated in a treatment-seeking sample of 68 individuals with compulsive buying (CB). Cluster analysis of the NEO Five-Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI) scales yielded two distinct personality clusters. Participants in cluster II scored significantly higher than those in cluster I on neuroticism and lower on the other four personality traits. Subjects in cluster II showed higher severity of CB, lower degree of control over CB symptoms, and were more anxious, interpersonally sensitive and impulsive. Furthermore, cluster II was characterized by higher rates of comorbid anxiety disorders, and cluster B personality disorders. The two personality prototypes did not differ with respect to obsessive-compulsive features. Finally and of considerable clinical significance, participants in cluster II reported lower remission rates after undergoing cognitive-behavioral therapy. Implications of the results for treatment are discussed.     

Intraindividual relations between the intensity and disclosure of daily emotional events: The moderating role of depressive symptoms

Individuals with high levels of depressive symptoms tend to engage in lower levels of emotional disclosure than individuals who are lower in depressive symptoms. However, little is known about how depressive symptoms relate to the intraindividual relation between daily disclosure and the intensity of the daily events. The authors addressed these relations using a daily diary methodology. College students (N = 239) completed a measure of depression symptoms. They then completed measures of the intensity of the day's most unpleasant event and their disclosure of that event each day for 7 days. Results indicated that depression moderated the intensity-disclosure relation such that depression symptoms were associated with diminished emotional disclosure for high-intensity events but not for low-intensity events. Individuals with relatively higher levels of depressive symptoms also experienced unpleasant daily events at a higher intensity level than did individuals with relatively fewer symptoms. Sex differences emerged such that men were less likely than women to disclose high-intensity negative events. These findings extend the use of the diary methodology to the study of emotional disclosure and also suggest possible interventions for counseling psychology practitioners.     

Skin picking in patients with obesity: Associations with impulsiveness and self‐harm

Previous studies suggest elevated prevalence rates of skin picking and self‐harm in patients with obesity compared to individuals in the general population. Hence, further studies should investigate prevalence rates and correlates of skin picking in this population – especially its differentiation to self‐harm. Skin picking and obesity are both associated with specific facets of impulsiveness. This relation should be explored to shed light on potentially shared mechanisms in etiology. Therefore, the present study examined the occurrence of skin picking and its associations with impulsiveness and self‐harm in a sample of pre‐bariatric surgery patients with obesity class II/III. Within the routine preoperative psychiatric evaluation, a total of 139 bariatric surgery candidates (78% female, BMI range 35–69) completed a self‐report questionnaire assessing sociodemographic variables, anxiety, depression, self‐harm, impulsiveness, and skin picking severity (urges: frequency, intensity, controllability; behavior: frequency, intensity, controllability; resistance, emotional distress, impairment, and avoidance). Ten participants (7.2% of the sample) reported recurrent skin picking leading to skin damage, repeated attempts to decrease skin picking, and psychosocial impairment (emotional distress, impairment in functional areas, avoidance) due to skin picking. In line with previous findings, skin picking severity shows a medium correlation with attentional impulsiveness. The majority of self‐harm types were not associated with skin picking severity. The current study reveals a high occurrence of skin picking compared to the general population. The results indicate an association between skin picking severity and attentional impulsiveness. Further research is needed to investigate the differentiation of skin picking and self‐harm in more detail.     

Basic visual perceptual processes in children with typical development and cerebral palsy: The processing of surface,length, orientation,and position

The present study aims to assess how the processing of basic visual perceptual (VP) components (length, surface, orientation, and position) develops in typically developing (TD) children (n = 215, 4–14 years old) and adults (n = 20, 20–25 years old), and in children with cerebral palsy (CP) (n = 86, 5–14 years old) using the first four subtests of the Battery for the Evaluation of Visual Perceptual and Spatial processing in children. Experiment 1 showed that these four basic VP processes follow distinct developmental trajectories in typical development. Experiment 2 revealed that children with CP present global and persistent deficits for the processing of basic VP components when compared with TD children matched on chronological age and nonverbal reasoning abilities.     

Control and legacy as functions of perceived criticality in major incidents

This paper outlines a model that captures the experiences of 28 Senior Officers who have managed some of the most significant police incidents in the UK in the past 5 years. The process for capturing the model rests on ‘pragmatic psychology’ (Fishman, 1999; Alison, West & Goodwill, 2003), a paradigm that recognizes practitioners' experiences as a central component of research and policy development. We utilized a set of connected electronic notebooks to enable each critical incident manager to log their experiences and views of the case that they managed. As each individual logs this information, it is simultaneously distributed to all participants. Thus, information is rapidly shared, stimulating further thought and discussion. Following the initial knowledge‐sharing phase, participants reorder the material into themed categories that can then be scored against specific criteria (in this case ‘impact’ and ‘ease’). This session revealed that senior officers consider a combination of two co‐occurring issues as most significant in defining the ‘criticality’ of the incident: (i) how direct an impact the facet has on the enquiry at hand; and (ii) whether that issue will influence how the service will be judged (by the community, the victims and the media). These issues were perceived as the most complex and difficult to deal with. We argue that this perception is a joint function of perceived lack of control alongside the belief that judgment and blame regarding the incident will ultimately reside with them as managers. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Age Neutrality of Categorically and Dimensionally Measured DSM–5 Section II Personality Disorder Symptoms

Studies on the face validity of DSM–5 Section II categorical personality disorder (PD) symptoms indicate a bias against older adults. To extend these results, this article explores whether categorically and dimensionally scored PD symptoms of DSM–5 Section II, as measured in the Assessment of DSM–IV Personality Disorders (ADP–IV; Schotte & de Doncker, 1994), corroborate potential age bias across younger (aged 18–34), middle-aged (35–59 years), and older adults (aged 60–75). Differential item functioning (DIF) analyses, following a classical test theory approach, showed that 2 of the 79 symptoms were measured differently across 3 age groups when categorically assessed, and 4 when dimensionally measured. Nevertheless, subsequent differential test functioning analyses supported a low aggregated impact of DIF on the dimensional scales, justifying mean-level comparisons across age groups. Generalizability of the results is discussed in light of methodological issues concerning the research of age neutrality of PD symptoms, including the employed measurement instrument, PD symptom measurement approach, and sample and age range used to describe older adults.     

Nuclear Waste Facing the Test of Time: The Case of the French Deep Geological Repository Project

The purpose of this article is to consider the socio-anthropological issues raised by the deep geological repository project for high-level, long-lived nuclear waste. It is based on fieldwork at a candidate site for a deep storage project in eastern France, where an underground laboratory has been studying the feasibility of the project since 1999. A project of this nature, based on the possibility of very long containment (hundreds of thousands of years, if not longer), involves a singular form of time. By linking project performance to geology’s very long timescale, the project attempts “jump” in time, focusing on a far distant future, without understanding it in terms of generations. But these future generations remain measurements of time on the surface, where the issue of remembering or forgetting the repository comes to the fore. The nuclear waste geological storage project raises questions that neither politicians nor scientists, nor civil society, have ever confronted before. This project attempts to address a problem that exists on a very long timescale, which involves our responsibility toward generations in the far future.