Patterns of Psychopathology in the Families of Children with Conduct Problems,Depression, and both Psychiatric Conditions

Comorbid conduct problems (CPs) and depression are observed far more often than expected by chance, which is perplexing given minimal symptom overlap. In this study, relations between parental psychopathology and children’s diagnostic status were evaluated to test competing theories of comorbidity. Participants included 180 families with an 8–12-year-old child diagnosed with CPs, depression, both conditions, or neither condition. Although no single theory of comorbidity was supported fully, evidence suggested that CPs and depression may be inherited separately. Paternal antisocial characteristics and maternal depression provided independent prediction of both child depression and CPs. However, paternal antisocial behavior moderated the effect of maternal depression on CPs. For children with antisocial fathers, CPs were observed regardless of maternal depression levels. In contrast, a strong relation was observed between CPs and maternal depression for children without antisocial fathers.     

Sources of somatosensory input to the caudal belt areas of auditory cortex

The auditory cortex of nonhuman primates is comprised of a constellation of at least twelve interconnected areas distributed across three major regions on the superior temporal gyrus: core, belt, and parabelt. Individual areas are distinguished on the basis of unique profiles comprising architectonic features, thalamic and cortical connections, and neuron response properties. Recent demonstrations of convergent auditory-somatosensory interactions in the caudomedial (CM) and caudolateral (CL) belt areas prompted us to pursue anatomical studies to identify the source(s) of somatic input to auditory cortex. Corticocortical and thalamocortical connections were revealed by injecting neuroanatomical tracers into CM, CL, and adjoining fields of marmoset (Callithrix jacchus jacchus) and macaque (Macaca mulatta) monkeys. In addition to auditory cortex, the cortical connections of CM and CL included somatosensory (retroinsular, Ri; granular insula, Ig) and multisensory areas (temporal parietal occipital, temporal parietal temporal). Thalamic inputs included the medial geniculate complex and several multisensory nuclei (suprageniculate, posterior, limitans, medial pulvinar), but not the ventroposterior complex. Injections of the core (A1, R) and rostromedial areas of auditory cortex revealed sparse multisensory connections. The results suggest that areas Ri and Ig are the principle sources of somatosensory input to the caudal belt, while multisensory regions of cortex and thalamus may also contribute. The present data add to growing evidence of multisensory convergence in cortical areas previously considered to be 'unimodal', and also indicate that auditory cortical areas differ in this respect.     

Body image dissatisfaction among women with scleroderma: extent and relationship to psychosocial function.

Body image dissatisfaction and its relationship to psychosocial function were investigated in 127 women with scleroderma Results indicated elevated body image dissatisfaction, with participants reporting higher levels than a sample of patients with severe burn injuries. Age, skin tightening above the elbows, and functional disability were related to heightened body image dissatisfaction, suggesting that younger patients with more severe disease may be at greatest risk for developing body image concerns. Path analysis revealed that depression mediated the relationship between body image dissatisfaction and psychosocial function. Results suggest that body image dissatisfaction is a significant concern in women with scleroderma and should be assessed routinely. Early identification and treatment of body image dissatisfaction may help prevent the development of depression and psychosocial impairment in this population.     

Aging “Hot”: Images and Narratives of Sexual Desirability on Television

As women age, their sexual desirability is likely to diverge from what is presented as most coveted in American society: youthful, slim but curvy, firm, and fit. Media rarely feature actresses over the age of 50 as leading characters and when they do, they are usually relegated to caretaker or partner roles and they usually conform to gender traditional stereotypes. However, more recently, there have been a few television programs that focus specifically on older women’s sexualities and feature plotlines that center on their desire and desirability. The premise of the program Hot in Cleveland is that desirability is in the eye of the beholder. Using a comedic format, the show highlights the tensions between media and celebrity fueled standards for desirability and “real life” desirability. In this paper, based on a close analysis of five seasons of Hot in Cleveland, we explore these competing messages about midlife and older women’s appearance and sexualities and the way comic framing both challenges and reinforces dominant narratives of aging.     

Social cognitive influences on Mexican Americans’ career choices across Holland’s themes

This study examined several propositions of social cognitive career theory ( [Lent et al., 1994] and [Lent et al., 2000]) with a sample of 393 Mexican American college students. It was hypothesized that person input (i.e., age) and background contextual variables (i.e., Anglo orientation, Mexican orientation, familism, instrumentality, and expressivity) would predict career self-efficacy across Holland’s (1997) six RIASEC types. In addition, we examined the proposed relations between career self-efficacy, career interests, and career choice goal across the six RIASEC areas. Our results indicated that (a) Artistic, Social, Enterprising, and Conventional career models were similar across gender and university affiliation groups, (b) gender differences were found in the Realistic career model, (c) institutional affiliation differences were found in the Investigative career model, and (d) the models were a good fit to the data. Implications for future vocational research and career interventions are discussed.     

The relationship between obsessive beliefs and symptom dimensions in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Research findings on the specific relationships between beliefs and OCD symptoms have been inconsistent, yet the existing studies vary in their approach to measuring the highly heterogeneous symptoms of this disorder. The Dimensional Obsessive-Compulsive Scale (DOCS) is a new measure that allows for the assessment of OCD symptom dimensions, rather than types of obsessions and compulsions per se. The present study examined the relationship between OCD symptom dimensions and dysfunctional (obsessive) beliefs believed to underlie these symptom dimensions using a large clinical sample of treatment-seeking adults with OCD. Results revealed that certain obsessive beliefs predicted certain OCD symptom dimensions in a manner consistent with cognitive-behavioral conceptual models. Specifically, contamination symptoms were predicted by responsibility/threat estimation beliefs, symmetry symptoms were predicted by perfectionism/certainty beliefs, unacceptable thoughts were predicted by importance/control of thoughts beliefs and symptoms related to being responsible for harm were predicted by responsibility/threat estimation beliefs. Implications for cognitive conceptualizations of OCD symptom dimensions are discussed.     

Evidence for menstrual cycle shifts in women's preferences for masculinity

Over the last decade, a growing literature has shown that women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle demonstrate stronger preferences for men with masculine traits than they do when in the non-fertile phases of the cycle (see Gangestad and Thornhill, 2008 and Jones et al., 2008 for recent reviews). In a recent article, Harris (in press; Sex Roles) failed to replicate this increase in women's preferences for masculine faces when women are near ovulation. Harris represented her study as one of only three studies on the topic, and as the largest of the existing studies. There are, however, many more studies on menstrual cycle shifts in preferences for facial masculinity in the published literature, including one that is 2.5 times larger in size than the Harris study. In this article, we review the evidence for cyclic shifts in mate preferences and related behaviors and discuss weaknesses of Harris's methods. Considered as a whole, the evidence for menstrual cycle shifts in women's preferences and behaviors is compelling, despite the failure of replication reported by Harris.     

A Meta-View of Multivariate Statistical Inference Methods in European Psychology Journals

We investigated the extent and nature of multivariate statistical inferential procedures used in eight European psychology journals covering a range of content (i.e., clinical, social, health, personality, organizational, developmental, educational, and cognitive). Multivariate methods included those found in popular texts that focused on prediction, group difference, and advanced modeling: multiple regression, logistic regression, analysis of covariance, multivariate analysis of variance, factor or principal component analysis, structural equation modeling, multilevel modeling, and other methods. Results revealed that an average of 57% of the articles from these eight journals involved multivariate analyses with a third using multiple regression, 17% using structural modeling, and the remaining methods collectively comprising about 50% of the analyses. The most frequently occurring inferential procedures involved prediction weights, dichotomous p values, figures with data, and significance tests with very few articles involving confidence intervals, statistical mediation, longitudinal analyses, power analysis, or meta-analysis. Contributions, limitations and future directions are discussed.