Use of a structured investigative protocol enhances the quality of investigative interviews with alleged victims of child sexual abuse in Britain

One hundred alleged victims of child sexual abuse (aged 4–13; M = 9.3 years) were interviewed by police investigators about their alleged experiences. Half of the children were interviewed using the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) structured interview Protocol, whereas the other children, matched with respect to their age, relationship with the alleged perpetrator, and seriousness of the alleged offenses, were interviewed by investigators following the Memorandum of Good Practice. Protocol‐guided interviews elicited more information using free‐recall invitations and less information using directive, option‐posing and suggestive questions than did standard Memorandum interviews. There were no age differences in the proportion of total information provided in response to open‐ended invitations in either condition, but there was a significant increase with age in the proportion of central information provided in response to open‐ended invitations. Published in 2008 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predictors of Parenting Stress for Abusive and Nonabusive Mothers

We examined a model of parenting stress for abusive mothers (n = 80) and nonabusive mothers (n = 86) using linear regression analyses. Predictors in the model included (a) the degree to which mothers were bothered by child misbehavior, (b) mothers’ general psychological functioning, and (c) observed child behavior during parent–child interactions. Whether abuse status moderated the relations between each predictor and parenting stress was also explored. Results indicated that mothers’ psychological functioning significantly predicted parenting stress; however, neither mothers’ intolerance for their children’s misbehavior nor observed child behavior were significant predictors of parenting stress in the regression model. A test of moderation revealed a significant interaction between parental intolerance and abuse status such that intolerance predicted parenting stress level only for abusive mothers. A comparison of correlations indicated that abusive mothers’ level of parenting stress was more closely related to their intolerance for child conduct problems than to the child’s behavior during play with their mothers. Findings are discussed in terms of implications for interventions to reduce parenting stress experienced by nonabusive and abusive mothers.     

Parental Attachment and Adjustment to Higher Learning Institutions: The Role of Stress for a Malaysian Sample of Late Adolescents

The current study examined the mediating role of stress in the linkages between attachment to parents and adjustment to attending higher learning institutions in another country. Self‐reports from 114 Malaysian late adolescents studying in Singapore supported the primacy of stress for adjustment; more pertinent, stress mediated all the attachment‐adjustment linkages that met the conditions for mediation testing, although this mediating role of stress applied mostly to the late adolescent girls and was also dependent on parent gender.     

Developmental Intergroup Theory: Explaining and Reducing Children's Social Stereotyping and Prejudice

ABSTRACT— Social stereotyping and prejudice are intriguing phenomena from the standpoint of theory and, in addition, constitute pressing societal problems. Because stereotyping and prejudice emerge in early childhood, developmental research on causal mechanisms is critical for understanding and controlling stereotyping and prejudice. Such work forms the basis of a new theoretical model, developmental intergroup theory (DIT), which addresses the causal ingredients of stereotyping and prejudice. The work suggests that biases may be largely under environmental control and thus might be shaped via educational, social, and legal policies.     

Assessment and treatment of problem behavior occasioned by interruption of free-operant behavior

The current study describes the assessment and treatment of the problem behavior of 3 individuals with autism for whom initial functional analysis results were inconclusive. Subsequent analyses revealed that the interruption of free-operant behavior using "do" requests (Study 1) as well as "do" and "don't" requests (Study 2) occasioned problem behavior. Initially, treatment involved differential and noncontingent reinforcement without interruption. To make the intervention more sustainable in the natural environment (where interruptions are unavoidable), a two-component multiple-schedule arrangement was used to progressively increase the period of time in which ongoing activities would be interrupted. During generalization sessions, the intervention was applied across a variety of contexts and therapists.     

Investigating the dynamics of affect: Psychological mechanisms of affective habituation to pleasurable stimuli

Affective habituation (i.e., reductions in stimulus-evoked affective reactions as a result of previous exposure) may serve a functional purpose. However, little is know about the psychological mechanisms underlying this process. To elucidate the characteristics of affective habituation, two experiments that examined affective reactions to repeated exposures of pleasurable stimuli were conducted. Results of these experiments indicated that habituation trajectories are characterized by linear decreases in affect. Results also demonstrated that habituation can be slowed by the introduction of novel stimuli (i.e., “novelty effects”), effects that are dimensional (rather than taxonic) in nature. Experiment 2 demonstrated that habituation is mediated by conceptual rather than perceptual processes. Depressed and anhedonic individuals were not more susceptible to habituation in either experiment. The current findings and previous theorizing suggest that habituation may be an important component of an adaptive affective processing system that promotes effective responses to salient stimuli and prevents compulsive reward-seeking behavior.

The Effect of Server Posture on the Tips of Whites and Blacks

This study examined the effects on tips left by Black and White restaurant patrons of having a White waitress sit down or lean over at the table during the service encounter. A significant server posture by patron race interaction was obtained. Sitting at the table significantly increased the tips left by White patrons and marginally significantly decreased the tips left by Black patrons. Potential explanations for this interaction are discussed along with its practical implications.     

The assessment of alexithymia in medical settings: implications for understanding and treating health problems

The construct of alexithymia encompasses the characteristics of difficulty identifying feelings, difficulty describing feelings, externally oriented thinking, and a limited imaginal capacity. These characteristics are thought to reflect deficits in the cognitive processing and regulation of emotions and to contribute to the onset or maintenance of several medical and psychiatric disorders. In this article, we review recent methods for assessing alexithymia and examine how assessing alexithymia can inform clinical practice. Alexithymia is associated with heightened physiological arousal, the tendency to notice and report physical symptoms, and unhealthy compulsive behaviors. Alexithymic patients may respond poorly to psychological treatments, although perhaps not to cognitive-behavioral techniques, and it is unclear whether alexithymia can be improved through treatment. Interpretive problems regarding alexithymia include its overlap with other traits, whether it is secondary to illness or trauma, the possibility of subtypes, and low correlations among multiple measures. Nonetheless, we encourage the assessment of alexithymia in applied settings.