Nausea in bulimic women in response to a palatable food

Nausea in response to an appetizing food stimulus was assessed in bulimic women and healthy control subjects. Nausea was assessed via subjects' self-report and changes in levels of plasma arginine vasopressin (AVP), a hormonal correlate of nausea. Converging evidence was obtained indicating that bulimic women experienced nausea in response to the sight, smell, or taste of the palatable food stimulus. The possibility that the observed nausea is a learned response that may contribute to the bulimic binge/purge pattern is discussed.     

Single-session anxiety sensitivity reduction program for trauma-exposed adults: a case series documenting feasibility and initial efficacy

The present case series examined a single-session, cognitive-behavioral anxiety sensitivity (AS) reduction program among five trauma-exposed adults. Participants (age range=19-37 years) reported significantly elevated levels of AS at baseline, a history of posttraumatic stress disorder Criterion A trauma exposure, and no current Axis I psychopathology. The outcomes of the preventive intervention were examined with regard to 3-month postintervention changes in AS, posttraumatic stress, panic attack frequency and severity, negative affect levels, and behavioral functioning and impairment. Results demonstrated decreases in each of the studied outcomes over the examined time period. This preliminary yet uncontrolled data provides empirical evidence of the feasibility and support for the utilization of a brief AS reduction intervention program to target anxiety-related vulnerability among trauma-exposed adults.     

Underutilization of Genetics Services for Autism: The Importance of Parental Awareness and Provider Recommendation

Reasons for the underutilization of genetics services by families of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are not well understood. We report the identification of factors associated with this underuse. Survey-based study of parents and/or guardians of children with ASD. One hundred fifty-five families completed the questionnaire. Thirty-one of 155 (20%) children had seen a genetics professional. Forty-nine of 154 (32%) children had undergone genetic testing. Parents whose child saw a genetics professional were more likely to 1) Have a primary provider refer for or suggest a genetics evaluation 2) Have asked for a referral, and/or 3) Know another person with a genetic cause of ASD. amilies of children with ASD who have not received genetics services are less aware of their availability and utility. They are also less likely to have their provider recommend a clinical genetics evaluation. Efforts should be taken to increase awareness of both health providers and parents regarding the usefulness of genetics services for ASD.     

Social exclusion and female mating behavior: Rejected women show strategic enhancement of short-term mating interest

Because cost asymmetries in sexual reproduction have historically enabled women to exchange sexual access for other resources, including social resources, we tested the possibility that social exclusion would lead women to display an elevated preference for short-term mating strategies in the service of reaffiliation. In Study 1, women were given false feedback to manipulate social inclusion or exclusion prior to indicating their endorsement of short and long-term mating behaviors. Socially excluded women indicated greater interest in short-term mating and reduced interest in long-term mating. In Study 2, women wrote about a social inclusion, social exclusion, or control experience and then indicated their preference for different male body types. Women in the social exclusion condition preferred more muscular male partners - a pattern of preference typical of short-term mating - than women in the other conditions. Collectively, these results are consistent with a social exchange theory of women's sexual behavior following social exclusion.     

A transportable assessment protocol for prescribing youth psychosocial treatments in real-world settings: reducing assessment burden via self-report scales

Current evidence-based assessment methods, such as structured interviews and lengthy assessment batteries, often require hours to administer, score, and interpret and thus are infrequently used in real-world practice. As evidence-based assessment tools are developed for implementation in real-world youth mental health settings, the transportability properties of assessment procedures (including administration and interpretation burden) need to be considered and improved. In the present study, we thus conducted an initial feasibility study using a clinical sample of community-based youths (N = 306) to develop an assessment protocol based on 2 child and 2 parent self-report questionnaires (thus low on administration burden). Using decision-tree analysis, we identified a series of cutoff scores across these scales that may be used to inform treatment need related to anxiety, depression, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and disruptive behavior problems. This algorithm-based approach to interpreting assessment information provided clear and simple guidelines (thus low on interpretation burden) that matched the best estimate treatment determinations derived by trained assessors, supervisors, and expert consultants who integrated information provided by child and parent structured interviews and self-report scales. The present study demonstrated the feasibility of developing an assessment protocol to inform various treatment allocation decisions in a way that imposes little assessment administration and interpretation burden yet maintains adequate classification accuracy. These characteristics make the proposed protocol promising with regard to its transportability and suitability for adoption and implementation in real-world mental health settings.     

THE EYE OF THE BEGETTER: PREDICTING INFANT ATTACHMENT DISORGANIZATION FROM WOMEN'S PRENATAL INTERPRETATIONS OF INFANT FACIAL EXPRESSIONS

Infant–caregiver attachment disorganization has been linked to many long‐term negative psychosocial outcomes. While various prevention programs appear to be effective in preventing disorganized attachment, methods currently used to identify those at risk are unfortunately either overly general or impractical. The current investigation tested whether women's prenatal biases in identifying infant expressions of emotion—tendencies previously shown to relate to some of the maternal variables associated with infant attachment, including maternal traumatization, trauma symptoms, and maternal sensitivity—could predict infant attachment classification at 18 months postpartum. Logistic regression analyses revealed that together with women's adult history of high betrayal traumatization, response concordance with a normative reference sample in labeling infant expressions as negatively valenced, and the number of infant facial expressions that participants classified as “sad” and “angry” predicted subsequent infant attachment security versus disorganization. Implications for screening and prevention are discussed.     

Dead Babies: Response to Orna Guralnik’s Paper

The author’s response to Orna Guralnik’s paper focuses on the patient’s dreams as potent carriers of disavowed histories, carrying within themselves the potential of symbolizing for the first time the unspeakable truths that are repressed and see their first shimmer of light in nocturnal dreams. In her discussion, the author links Freud’s concept of hypermnesic dreams to Lacan’s concept of the Real as an initial attempt to give words to the traumatic.     

Pursuing and Distancing,and Related Traits: A Cross-Cultural Assessment

We previously showed (Bernstein, Santelli, Alter-Reid, & Androsiglio, 1985) pursuing and distancing to be semi-independent constructs sharing variance with the Rathus Assertiveness Scale (Rathus, 1973), the Zuckerman Sensation-Seeking Scale, Form V (Zuckerman, Eysenck, & Eysenck, 1978), the Eysenck Personality Inventory (EPI; Eysenck & Eysenck, 1968) extraversion score, and the Bem Sex Role Inventory (Bem, 1974). This study extends our findings by administering these scales and Rotter's Internal-External Locus of Control Scale (Rotter, 1966) to a sample of 203 Indians and 161 Thais (all were English speaking and primarily students at universities where instruction is in English). Our original findings were supported. We also found that locus of control and the EPI neuroticism score are significantly related (p < .05) to pursuing and distancing in our Eastern samples. In general, our Eastern subjects pursued less and distanced more (p < .05). Although unrelated to pursuing or distancing, in general, our Eastern subjects were more androgynous (p < .001) than our American sample.     

Thinking about false belief: It’s not just what children say,but how long it takes them to say it

We examined 240 children’s (3.5-, 4.5-, and 5.5-year-olds) latency to respond to questions on a battery of false-belief tasks. Response latencies exhibited a significant cross-over interaction as a function of age and response type (correct vs. incorrect). 3.5-year-olds’ incorrect latencies were faster than their correct latencies, whereas the opposite pattern emerged for 4.5- and 5.5-year-olds. Although these results are most consistent with conceptual change theories of false-belief reasoning, no extant theory fully accounts for our data pattern. We argue that response latency data provide new information about underlying cognitive processes in theory of mind reasoning, and can shed light on concept acquisition more broadly.