Applying Cluster Analysis to Define a Typology of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome in a Medically-Evaluated,Random Community Sample

This study involved a randomly selected, medically-evaluated, community-based sample of 166 individuals with chronic fatigue. Participants diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome and medically-explained chronic fatigue reported significantly more severe fatigue following exertion than the idiopathic chronic fatigue group, and participants with medically-explained chronic fatigue also reported significantly more severe fatigue following exertion than the psychiatrically-explained chronic fatigue group. A cluster analysis was performed to define a typology of chronic fatigue symptomatology for participants diagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome. Three clusters emerged. Cluster 1 contained only one participant with chronic fatigue syndrome and was characterized by relatively low post-exertional fatigue. Cluster 2 contained a small proportion of individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome and was characterized by most severe post-exertional fatigue and most improvement in fatigue following rest. Cluster 3 contained the highest proportion of individuals with chronic fatigue syndrome, and was characterized by high post-exertional fatigue and fatigue not alleviated by rest.     

Perceived control and long-term changes in disability in late middle-aged and older persons: An eight-year follow-up study

This article examined the predictive role of perceived control in long-term changes in disability among 1541 independently living older persons. Disability referred to self-reported difficulties with (instrumental) activities of daily living. Perceived control referred to the extent to which one assumes oneself as having control over one's life chances, unlike the fatalistic assumption that one's life is ruled by external factors. Data on disability and perceived control were collected in 1993 and recollected in 2001. Covariates included age, gender, living arrangement, level of education, and the number of chronic medical conditions. Regression equations were estimated with disability in 2001 as outcome and the selected variables as predictors. The level of perceived control decreased and the level of disability increased significantly over an 8-year period. The predictive role of perceived control for subsequent change in disability was statistically significant but not very strong. The association between perceived control in 1993 and disability in 2001 was stronger for older persons (>65 years) compared to younger persons (≤65 years).     

Test Review: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Fourth Edition (WISC-IV)

Objective: Evaluate neuropsychological functioning in children with non-syndromic cleft of the lip and/or palate (NSCL/P) through profile variance within type of cleft and comparisons to controls.

Methods: Children ages 7 to 17 years participated; 66 had a diagnosis of NSCL/P and 87 were healthy controls. Neuropsychological tests of language, visual-perceptual, executive functioning, and memory skills were administered. Between- and within-group differences were assessed.

Results: Within cleft types, children with NSCLP had an even profile with equal Verbal and Performance IQ (VIQ and PIQ, respectively). Children with non-syndromic cleft palate only (NSCP) had significantly lower VIQ than PIQ, while children with non-syndromic cleft lip only (NSCL) showed a nonsignificant trend for higher VIQ than PIQ. Overall, subjects with NSCL/P performed lower on measures of expressive language and verbal memory than controls.

Conclusions: While deficits in verbal and memory skills for children with NSCL/P remain apparent, there is still uncertainty around the possible influence of cleft type on the pattern of deficits.     

Effects of repeated collaborative retrieval on individual memory vary as a function of recall versus recognition tasks

Our research examines how prior group collaboration modulates later individual memory. We recently showed that repeated collaborative recall sessions benefit later individual recall more than a single collaborative recall session (Blumen & Rajaram, 2008). Current research compared the effects of repeated collaborative recall and repeated collaborative recognition on later individual recall and later individual recognition. A total of 192 participants studied a list of nouns and then completed three successive retrieval sessions in one of four conditions. While two collaborative recall sessions and two collaborative recognition sessions generated comparable levels of individual recall (CRecall-CRecall-I Recall ～ CRecognition-CRecognition-I Recall , Experiment 1a), two collaborative recognition sessions generated greater levels of individual recognition than two collaborative recall sessions (CRecognition-CRecognition- IRecognition > CRecall-CRecall- I Recognition , Experiment 1b). These findings are discussed in terms of two opposing mechanisms that operate during collaborative retrieval—re-exposure and retrieval disruption—and in terms of transfer-appropriate processing across collaborative and individual retrieval sessions.     

Religious support and psychosocial well-being among a religious Jewish population

The three subscales of the Religious Support Scale assess perceived support from a person’s religious community, religious leaders, and God. This three-factor structure was replicated in the current study with a sample of 277 religious Jewish persons residing in Israel. Hierarchical canonical analysis showed that, even after controlling for general social support, Religious Leader and God Support were related to lower emotional distress, Religious Leader and Religious Community Support contributed to a higher level of life satisfaction, and Religious Community and God Support contributed to the prediction of perceived health. Findings are discussed in terms of religious support’s generalizability as a psychosocial resource for persons of various faiths.     

Aging,imagery, and the bizarreness effect

ABSTRACT

This study examined the bizarre imagery effect in young and older adults, under incidental and intentional conditions. Intentionality was manipulated across experiments, with participants receiving an incidental free recall test in Experiment 1 and an intentional test in Experiment 2. This study also examined the relation between working memory resources and the bizarreness effect. In Experiment 1 young and older adults were presented with common and bizarre sentences; they later received an incidental recall test. There were no age differences in sensitivity to the bizarreness effect in Experiment 1 when ANOVAs were used to analyze the data. However, when the bizarreness effect was examined in terms of effect size, there was evidence that younger adults produced larger bizarreness effect sizes than younger adults. Experiment 2 further explored age differences in sensitivity to the bizarreness effect by presenting young and older adults with bizarre and common sentences under intentional learning conditions. Experiment 2 failed to yield age differences as a function of item type (bizarre vs. common). In addition, Experiment 2 failed to yield significant evidence that the bizarreness effect is modulated by working memory resources. The results of this study are most consistent with the distinctiveness account of the bizarreness effect.     

A Review of “Mind to Mind: Infant Research,Neuroscience, and Psychoanalysis”

Abstract

This article examines current research pertaining to the relationship between a mother and her children, and how this relationship may affect sibling interactions. Issues such as temperament, gender, and the age gap between children are also explored to ascertain their impact on the sibling relationship.

The displacement of the first-born child and the ensuing sense of loss and anger he may experience as a result of this is explored. The mother's second pregnancy is also discussed in regard to the impact of unresolved issues relating to her own sibling relations. The mother's interactions with each child, her role as a model for identification, and marital relations are discussed in light of their impact on sibling relations.

The evolution of a positive attachment between siblings is explored. Rivalrous behavior between siblings is also discussed, particularly in association to the mother's treatment of her own children and the manner in which the mother deals with her own aggression.