Structural gender differences in perceived social support

Gender is an important influence on support-relevant social interactions, however findings of studies on gender differences in social support are not definitive. Although differences between men and women in the various social support measures have been found in numerous studies, neither the cause nor the explanatory process is known. This study examines gender differences in the dimensionality of social support. A large sample (N=3210) from the general population of women (60%) and men aged between 18 and 65 years old (Mean AGE=34.1) responded to a brief scale with items assessing the distinct functions of the perceived availability of social support. Confirmatory factor analyses yielded one factor in the women's sample that measures global social support perceived, and two in the men's. The first factor in the men's sample measures emotional support (providing empathy, caring, validation of self-worth), and the second measures instrumental support (e.g. practical assistance or financial aid). We concluded that there are gender differences in the structure of perceived social support and that these differences can be explained by socialization experiences and social roles associated with gender.     

Does g variance change in adulthood? Testing the age de-differentiation hypothesis across sex

In the last decade, changes in the structure of intelligence across the life-span has become a central topic in the research on human intelligence. One of the main hypotheses that has arisen to account for such changes has been the age de-differentiation hypothesis [Balinsky, Genetic Psychology Monographs 23 1941, 191]. It predicts an increase in the importance of g, and a decrease in the number and importance of the lower-order abilities from early maturity to senescence. Despite of the research effort to test this hypothesis, no study has ever been conducted controlling by sex. For that purpose, males and females of the Spanish standardisation sample of the WAIS-III were analysed separately. Results show that the importance of g does not change with age irrespective of sex. Thus, the age de-differentiation hypothesis is rejected for both males and females. The indifferentiation hypothesis is supported as a more appropriate view of the changes in the structure of intelligence across adulthood.     

Learning by Collaborative and Individual‐Based Recommendation Agents

Intelligent recommendation systems can be based on 2 basic principles: collaborative filters and individual‐based agents. In this work we examine the learning function that results from these 2 general types of learning‐smart agents. There has been significant work on the predictive properties of each type, but no work has examined the patterns in their learning from feedback over repeated trials. Using simulations, we create clusters of “consumers” with heterogeneous utility functions and errorful reservation utility thresholds. The consumers go shopping with one of the designated smart agents, receive recommendations from the agents, and purchase products they like and reject ones they do not. Based on the purchase–no purchase behavior of the consumers, agents learn about the consumers and potentially improve the quality of their recommendations. We characterize learning curves by modified exponential functions with an intercept for percentage of recommendations accepted at Trial 0, an asymptotic rate of recommendation acceptance, and a rate at which learning moves from intercept to asymptote. We compare the learning of a baseline random recommendation agent, an individual‐based logistic‐regression agent, and two types of collaborative filters that rely on K‐mean clustering (popular in most commercial applications) and nearest‐neighbor algorithms. Compared to the collaborative filtering agents, the individual agent (a) learns more slowly, initially, but performs better in the long run when the environment is stable; (b) is less negatively affected by permanent changes in the consumer's utility function; and (c) is less adversely affected by error in the reservation threshold to which consumers compare a recommended product's utility. The K‐mean agent reaches a lower asymptote but approaches it faster, reflecting a surprising stickiness of target classifications after feedback from recommendations made under initial (incorrect) hypotheses.     

Effects of cognitive-behavioural therapy on anxiety,depression and condom use in people with HIV in Mexico City: a pilot study

Anxiety and depression in people living with HIV (PLWH) are negatively associated with healthy sexual behaviours. We pilot-tested a Cognitive-Behavioural Therapy (CBT)-based intervention to reduce anxiety and depression, aimed to increase serostatus disclosure to sexual partners, quality of sexual life (QoSL) and condom use. The study had a single-case experimental design (AB) with follow-up measures. Eleven PLWH with moderate/severe anxiety/depression received six-module CBT intervention delivered in ten one-hour individual weekly sessions. Anxiety, depression, consistent/correct condom use and QoSL were measured. Depression and anxiety decreased after the intervention (depression baseline [BL] Mdn = 21, final [F] Mdn = 3, z = -2.934, p = .003; anxiety BL Mdn = 30, F Mdn = 4, z = -2.941, p = .003). QoSL improved (BL Mdn = 28, F Mdn = 13, z = -2.625, p = .009), along with participants’ ability to use condoms (57.14 vs.100, z = -2.937, p = .003). Effect size was large, changes were maintained at follow-up measurements. The CBT intervention had positive effects in reducing anxiety and depression, which could facilitate the acquisition of healthy sexual behaviours. Further studies are important to clarify the benefits of targeting emotional variables to improve wellbeing and prevention behaviours in PLWH.     

Sequential effects in the lexical decision task: The role of the item frequency of the previous trial

Two lexical decision experiments were conducted to determine whether there is a specific, localized influence of the item frequency of consecutive trials (i.e., first-order sequential effects) when the trials are not related to each other. Both low-frequency words and nonwords were influenced by the frequency of the precursor word (Experiment 1). In contrast, high-frequency words showed little sensitivity to the frequency of the precursor word (Experiment 2), although they showed longer reaction times for word trials preceded by a nonword trial. The presence of sequential effects in the lexical decision task suggests that participants shift their response criteria on a trial-by-trial basis.     

Early vigilance and late avoidance of threat processing: Repressive coping versus low/high anxiety

The time course of a bias in predicting danger as a function of a repressive coping style was examined. The participants belonged to repressor, low - anxious, or high - anxious groups. They read context sentences predictive of threat or nonthreat event outcomes, followed by target words for rapid naming representing the outcomes. The interval between context and target word was 50 ms (Experiment 1), 550 ms (Experiment 2), or 1050 ms (Experiments 3 and 4). There was bias for naming words confirming threatening outcomes: (a) for repressors in the 550-ms delay condition; and (b) for high - anxiety participants in the 1050-ms delay condition. Repressive coping facilitated early processing of threat, but inhibited late processing, whereas high anxiety was characterised by sustained vigilance for threat. There were clear differences in threat processing by repressors and the low - anxious participants     

Suicide Attempts in Major Depressed Patients with Personality Disorder

Suicide attempters who met criteria for borderline personality disorder (BPD) comorbid with major depressive disorder (MDD) were compared to both suicide attempters suffering from MDD alone and to attempters with comorbid MDD and other personality disorders (PD). Participants were 239 (158 patients with comorbid PD and 81 patients with MDD without comorbidity) inpatients consecutively admitted after a suicide attempt made in the last 24 hours. Suicide attempters with comorbid MDD and BPD had more frequent previous suicide attempts and were more likely to have a history of aggressive behaviors and alcohol and drug use disorders compared with patients suffering from MDD without Axis II comorbidity.