A mediational model of trait negative affectivity, dispositional thought suppression, and intrusive thoughts following laboratory stressors

Two studies examined the relationships among trait negative affectivity, dispositional thought suppression, and intrusions in non-clinical samples. In Study 1 (N=87), participants were presented with a series of emotionally evocative images and intrusions were examined 48 h after presentation via self-report. In Study 2 (N=118), intrusions were examined using a behavioral Key-press and self-report at two time points (5 and 20 min) following exposure to a series of emotionally evocative images. In each study, participants were assessed for trait negative affectivity and the tendency to engage in thought suppression in response to unpleasant cognitions. Results from both studies support a model in which chronic thought suppression fully mediates the relationship between negative affectivity and the frequency of intrusions.     

A behavior genetic investigation of adolescent motherhood and offspring mental health problems

The present study examines the relations between adolescent motherhood and children's behavior, substance use, and internalizing problems in a sample of 1,368 children of 712 female twins from Australia. Adolescent motherhood remained significantly associated with all mental health problems, even when using a quasiexperimental design capable of controlling for genetic and environmental confounds. However, the relation between adolescent motherhood and offspring behavior problems and substance use was partially confounded by family background variables that influence both generations. The results are consistent with a causal relation between adolescent motherhood and offspring mental health problems, and they highlight the usefulness of behavior genetic designs when examining putative environmental risks for the development of psychopathology. The generalizability of these results to the United States, which has a higher adolescent birth rate, is discussed.     

The driving anger expression inventory: a measure of how people express their anger on the road

Four ways people express their anger when driving were identified. Verbal Aggressive Expression (alpha=0.88) assesses verbally aggressive expression of anger (e.g., yelling or cursing at another driver); Personal Physical Aggressive Expression (alpha=0.81), the ways the person uses him/herself to express anger (e.g., trying to get out and tell off or have a physical fight with another driver); Use of the Vehicle to Express Anger (alpha=0.86), the ways the person uses his/her vehicle to express anger (e.g., flashing lights at or cutting another driver off in anger); and Adaptive/Constructive Expression (alpha=0.90), the ways the person copes positively with anger (e.g., focuses on safe driving or tries to relax). Aggressive forms can be summed into Total Aggressive Expression Index (alpha=0.90). Aggressive forms of expression correlated positively with each other (rs=0.39-0.48), but were uncorrelated or correlated negatively with adaptive/constructive expression (rs=-0.02 to -0.22). Aggressive forms of anger expression correlated positively with driving-related anger, aggression, and risky behavior; adaptive/constructive expression tended to correlate negatively with these variables. Differences in the strengths of correlations and regression analyses supported discriminant and incremental validity and suggested forms of anger expression contributed differentially to understanding driving-related behaviors. Theoretical and treatment implications were explored.     

Childhood abuse as a risk factor for suicidal behavior in borderline personality disorder

A childhood history of sexual or physical abuse is highly prevalent in borderline personality disorder (BPD) and is associated with self-destructive behavior in clinical and nonclinical samples. Viewing BPD as a "high risk" disorder, we asked if childhood abuse was a risk factor for adult suicidal behavior or if it was related to other known risk factors for suicide in BPD. A semistructured Abuse History was obtained in 61 criteria-defined BPD patients, who were characterized by structured interviews and self-reports for Axis I disorders, Suicide History, BPD severity, hopelessness, impulsivity, impulsive-aggression, and antisocial traits. Occurrence and severity of childhood sexual abuse, but not physical abuse, predicted adult suicidal behavior independent of other known risk factors. The odds of a sexually abused patient attempting suicide in adulthood was over 10 times that of a patient who was never sexually abused. Given a history of childhood sexual abuse, the risk of adult suicidal behavior in BPD was increased by antisocial traits, severity of BPD, hopelessness, or comorbid major depressive episode (MDE).     

The oedipus complex in the work of sigmund freud and heinz kohut: A post-modern critique

Abstract

The work of Sigmund Freud and Heinz Kohut in relation to the concept of the Oedipus complex is presented. A summary is given of post-modern assumptions about the nature and role of knowledge, and, on the basis of these assumptions, two questions are raised in relation to Freud's and Kohut's Oedipal theories. Provisional responses are made to these questions, which focus on the hermeneutical value and ethical-political implications of the concept of the Oedipus complex.     

The sociology of the sacred: A conversation with Jeffrey Alexander

Over the past 20 years, Jeffrey C. Alexander has been a leading social theorist and a pioneer of the ‘strong program’ in cultural sociology, which emphasises the significance of cultural structures of meaning for social life. Following an introductory overview of his work, this article records a public conversation with Alexander about the role and significance of the concept of the sacred in his sociological work. Issues addressed in this conversation include situating Alexander's interest in the sacred in his intellectual biography (including his significant intellectual influences), the mistrust of the concept of the sacred within the wider sociological community, the universality of cultural structures of sacred meaning, the limitations of sociological analysis focused on sacred meaning and methodological approaches to the study of the sacred.     

A Data Analysis Method for Using Longitudinal Binary Outcome Data from a SMART to Compare Adaptive Interventions

Sequential multiple assignment randomized trials (SMARTs) are a useful and increasingly popular approach for gathering information to inform the construction of adaptive interventions to treat psychological and behavioral health conditions. Until recently, analysis methods for data from SMART designs considered only a single measurement of the outcome of interest when comparing the efficacy of adaptive interventions. Lu et al. proposed a method for considering repeated outcome measurements to incorporate information about the longitudinal trajectory of change. While their proposed method can be applied to many kinds of outcome variables, they focused mainly on linear models for normally distributed outcomes. Practical guidelines and extensions are required to implement this methodology with other types of repeated outcome measures common in behavioral research. In this article, we discuss implementation of this method with repeated binary outcomes. We explain how to compare adaptive interventions in terms of various summaries of repeated binary outcome measures, including average outcome (area under the curve) and delayed effects. The method is illustrated using an empirical example from a SMART study to develop an adaptive intervention for engaging alcohol- and cocaine-dependent patients in treatment. Monte Carlo simulations are provided to demonstrate the good performance of the proposed technique.