The relationship between pre-treatment clinical profile and treatment outcome in an integrated stuttering program

A procedure for subtyping individuals who stutter and its relationship to treatment outcome is explored. Twenty-five adult participants of the Comprehensive Stuttering Program (CSP) were classified according to: (1) stuttering severity and (2) severity of negative emotions and cognitions associated with their speech problem. Speech characteristics (percentage of stuttered syllables, distorted speech score, and the number of correctly produced syllables on a diadochokinesis task) and emotional/cognitive states (emotional reaction, speech satisfaction, and attitudes toward speaking) were assessed before and after treatment, and at a 1- and 2-year follow-up. The results showed that: (a) there was no relationship between stuttering severity and the severity of negative emotions and cognitions, (b) the severe stuttering group had the largest treatment gains but also the highest level of regression, and (c) at post-treatment and both follow-up assessments the differences on measures of emotions between the mild and severe emotional group had disappeared, chiefly due to a large decrease in the latter group's negative emotions and cognitions. Our findings show that, based on treatment gains, specific subgroups can be identified, each requiring different treatment approaches. This underlines the necessity of developing a better understanding of how various dimensions of stuttering relate to treatment outcome. Educational objectives: The reader will be able to: (1) describe why stuttering severity and negative emotions and cognitions that are related to stuttering should be investigated separately and (2) describe how treatment outcome relates to subtypes of persons who stutter.     

Temporal concepts and predicted duration judgments

The present research investigated whether certain conceptualizations of time influence the planning fallacy or the tendency to underestimate predicted task durations. In Experiment 1, participants were presented with one of three types of primes (video, linguistic, video + linguistic) that reflected either an ego or time motion perspective (i.e. an individual moving through time vs. time moving toward an individual). Afterwards, all participants predicted the amount of time required to sort and shelve a stack of journals before actually completing the task. The results showed that across all priming conditions, subjects in the ego motion condition underestimated to a greater extent than those in the time motion condition. Experiment 2 replicated this effect and also found that underestimations are reduced when the implied duration of the experimental session is short vs. long. As a set, these findings have relevant theoretical implications and suggest some potential de-biasing techniques.     

Efficacy of Cognitive Rehabilitation Therapies for Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) in Older Adults: Working Toward a Theoretical Model and Evidence-Based Interventions

To evaluate the efficacy of cognitive rehabilitation therapies (CRTs) for mild cognitive impairment (MCI). Our review revealed a need for evidence-based treatments for MCI and a lack of a theoretical rehabilitation model to guide the development and evaluation of these interventions. We have thus proposed a theoretical rehabilitation model of MCI that yields key intervention targets–cognitive compromise, functional compromise, neuropsychiatric symptoms, and modifiable risk and protective factors known to be associated with MCI and dementia. Our model additionally defines specific cognitive rehabilitation approaches that may directly or indirectly target key outcomes–restorative cognitive training, compensatory cognitive training, lifestyle interventions, and psychotherapeutic techniques. Fourteen randomized controlled trials met inclusion criteria and were reviewed. Studies markedly varied in terms of intervention approaches and selected outcome measures and were frequently hampered by design limitations. The bulk of the evidence suggested that CRTs can change targeted behaviors in individuals with MCI and that CRTs are associated with improvements in objective cognitive performance, but the pattern of effects on specific cognitive domains was inconsistent across studies. Other important outcomes (i.e., daily functioning, quality of life, neuropsychiatric symptom severity) were infrequently assessed across studies. Few studies evaluated long-term outcomes or the impact of CRTs on conversion rates from MCI to dementia or normal cognition. Overall, results from trials are promising but inconclusive. Additional well-designed and adequately powered trials are warranted and required before CRTs for MCI can be considered evidence-based.     

Sex Differences in Relationships between Verbal Fluency and Personality

The Thurstone Verbal Fluency Test, Vandenberg Mental Rotation Test, and NEO-FFI personality test were administered to 182 university participants (126 female, 56 male). The men scored higher than the women on the spatial test, and the women scored higher than the men for the verbal fluency test, as reported by others. Women reported more extraversion and agreeableness than men. Extraversion was correlated with verbal fluency for both sexes. For the men, verbal fluency was also positively associated with agreeableness, and for the women, verbal fluency was associated with openness and conscientiousness. No relationships between personality and spatial ability were found. Thus, the relationships between cognitive variables and personality factors differed between the sexes. These findings are discussed in terms of the common frontal neural substrate of verbal fluency and these aspects of personality, as well as the inherently social nature of language as a communication tool.     

Response Speed and Accuracy During Anticipatory Stress

Response speed and accuracy of 48 general aviation pilots were determined under condition of anticipatory physical threat stress (APTS). Variables included unpleasantness of the event (electrical shock), proximity of the event, and relationship of Ss’ performance to the occurrence of the event. The data support inclusion of these variables in Wherry’s model of APTS. Ss who believed they could avoid the shock by an adequate performance were able to maintain or improve that performance while the performance of Ss who perceived the shock as inevitable was deteriorating. Two possible modifications of the APTS model were discussed: (1) weighting APTS determiners according to their effectiveness in generating anticipatory stress, (2) recognizing the interaction of the APTS variables with S’s personality structure.     

For the new family therapist: A glossary of terms

Abstract

Traditional psychodynamic terms used in describing, diagnosing, and treating individual patients have proven less than helpful in working with families. In an attempt to alleviate this difficulty, and as an aid to the newcomer in the field of family therapy, this glossary of terms is presented. This glossary is not meant to be all-inclusive. Rather, its purpose is to provide the new family therapist with an introduction to the language of the field, an armamentarium from which to work, and to provide a basis of knowledge that is usually not accumulated by the new family therapist until he or she has worked with a number of families over a period of time.     

The areas of change questionnaire: A cross-cultural comparison of israeli and american distressed and nondistressed couples

Abstract

This study examines Israeli couples' presenting complaints about their relationship, their perceptions of one another's complaints and perceptual accuracy between actual and perceived complaints, using the Areas of Change Questionnaire (ACQ). Samples were obtained of both distressed and nondistressed couples. Each sample met stringent criteria for categorization as distressed and nondistressed. Normative data for both samples are examined and areas of similarities and differences are discussed. The instrument is found to discriminate distressed and nondistressed Israeli couples. Results are compared with a previous study of American distressed and nondistressed couples. The American finding that women desire more change in marriage is not replicated in the Israeli sample, nor the American finding that distress and stage in the life cycle are related. However, there is an indication in both samples that men, compared to women, perceive more requests for change. Men in both cultures also feel more change is asked of them than they themselves ask in return.     

Coalition Preference as a Function of Expected Values in a Tetradic Weighted-Majority Game

Eighty male subjects participated in a tetradic weighted-majority game in which a coalition was required to control the division of the payoff. The amount of the payoff and/of the probability of receiving the payoff were varied. The data strongly supported the hypothesis that subjects would prefer the coalition with the largest expected value (size of payoff x probability of success = expected value) rather than the coalition with the largest payoff or the coalition with the highest probability of success. However, contrary to expectations, the 'division of rewards was found to be a function of the relative assigned resources of the coalition members, despite the lack of a logical connection between the assigned resources and the rules governing obtaining the payoff.     

Smoking,self-regulation and moral positioning: A focus group study with British smokers from a disadvantaged community

Smoking in many Western societies has become a both moral aand health issue in recent years, but little is known about how smokers position themselves and regulate their behaviour in this context. In this article, we report the findings from a study investigating how smokers from an economically disadvantaged community in the East Midlands (UK) respond to concerns about the health impact of smoking on others. We conducted ten focus group (FG) discussions with mixed groups (by smoking status and gender; N?=?58 participants) covering a range of topics, including smoking norms, self-regulation, and smoking in diverse contexts. We transcribed all FG discussions before analysing the data using techniques from discourse anlysis. Smokers in general positioned themselves as socially responsible smokers and morally upstanding citizens. This position was bolstered in two main ways: ‘everyday accommodation’, whereby everyday efforts to accommodate the needs of non-smokers were referenced, and ‘taking a stand’, whereby proactive interventions to prevent smoking in (young) others were cited. We suggest that smoking cessation campaigns could usefully be informed by this ethic of care for others.