Correlations of attitudes toward physician-assisted suicide, death depression, death obsession, and trait anxiety

In a sample of 112 Kuwaiti college students, approval of physician-assisted suicide was not significantly correlated with scores on trait anxiety, death depression, or death obsession.     

Buying books online: a replication

In a replication study, purchasing books online by 137 state college students was predicted by computer/Internet skills.     

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.     

Factor structure of coping: two studies of mothers with high levels of life stress

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate the factor structure of coping in mothers with high levels of life stress. In Study 1, EFA of the Coping Orientation to Problems Experienced (C. S. Carver, M. F. Scheier, & J. K. Weintraub, 1989) in a sample of mothers of full-term or very low birth weight 2-year-old children yielded 7 reliable coping factors. Each factor accounted for significant variance in at least 1 of 6 outcomes measuring maternal-child well-being. In Study 2, CFA was used to cross-validate the EFA model on the basis of the responses of mothers of 2-year-old children with prenatal polysubstance exposure. CFA results revealed a moderately good fit, confirming the factor structure in a 2nd, independent sample of mothers with high levels of life stress.     

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.     

Suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge: have they changed over time?

224 suicides from the Golden Gate Bridge in 1999-2009 were younger than other suicides handled by the Marin County Coroner but did not differ by sex or race. Those witnessed did not differ from those not witnessed. Compared to suicides from the bridge in the 1970s, recent suicides were older, more often male, and more often nonwhite.     

Organ donation and suicide

For the period 1994-2005 in the U.S.A., suicides were less likely to be organ donors than were victims of homicide and motor vehicle accidents.     

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.     

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.