Loneliness and eating disorders

This article examines the link between loneliness and eating disorders. This concept is evaluated through a systematic review of the literature that links loneliness and eating disorders and through a survey of themes connecting the 2 conditions. Eating disorders-including anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders that are not otherwise specified, which include binge eating disorder-are challenging health issues. Each of these diagnoses specifically relates to loneliness. This negative emotion contributes to and fuels eating disorder symptoms. Negative interpersonal relationships, both real experiences and individuals' skewed perceptions, exacerbate eating disorders and feelings of loneliness. Characteristics that have been associated with loneliness clearly relate to eating disorders. Understanding this relationship is vital, so that we can appreciate our patients' struggles and work to target these intense emotions within the treatment setting. We need to be aware of the power of loneliness as it applies to individuals in general and specifically to those struggling with disordered eating.     

Fascinating Womanhood as a Regression in the Emotional Maturation of Women

Fascinating womanhood (Andelin, 1974) is explored as a response to anxiety generated by awareness of the potential for experiencing the self as a separate, responsible person. Such a response represents regression and offers only temporary reprieval from personal and/or marital distress. Clinical experiences are related to this concept; observations suggest that the solution formalized by Andelin is unsatisfactory.
A therapeutic approach that can be utilized in encouraging optimal individuation is discussed, with group, marital, and individual therapy examples. A sequence of predictable responses to therapeutic confrontation has been identified, along with indicators for evaluating progress or retreat from the process. Precautions in the use of this approach are also discussed.     

Impact of Stress Reduction Interventions on Hostility and Ambulatory Systolic Blood Pressure in African American Adolescents

This study examined the impact of breathing awareness meditation (BAM), life skills (LS) training, and health education (HE) interventions on self-reported hostility and 24-hour ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) in 121 African American (AA) ninth graders at increased risk for development of essential hypertension. They were randomly assigned to BAM, LS, or HE and engaged in intervention sessions during health class for 3 months. Before, after, and 3 months following intervention cessation, self-reported hostility and 24-hour ABP were measured. Results indicated that between pre- and postintervention, BAM participants displayed significant reductions in self-reported hostility and 24-hour systolic ABP. Reductions in hostility were significantly related to reductions in 24-hour systolic ABP. Between postintervention and follow-up, participants receiving LS showed a significant reduction in hostility but not in 24-hour ABP. Significant changes were not found for the HE group in 24-hour ABP or self-reported hostility, but these change scores were significantly correlated. The implications of the findings are discussed with regard to behavioral stress reduction programs for the physical and emotional health of AAs.     

Disagreement and causal learning: Others' hypotheses affect children's evaluations of evidence

When children evaluate evidence and make causal inferences, they are sensitive to the social context in which data are generated. This study investigated whether children learn more from evidence generated by an agent who agrees with them or from one who disagrees with them. Children in two age groups (5- and 6-year-olds and 9- and 10-year-olds) observed the functioning of a machine that lit up and played music in the presence of certain objects. After endorsing one of two plausible causal hypotheses, children observed a puppet either agree or disagree with their own hypotheses. The puppet then generated a further piece of evidence that confirmed, disconfirmed, or was neutral with respect to the children's hypotheses. When they were later asked to make causal inferences about objects they did not directly observe, children in both age groups responded differentially to identical evidence depending on whether the agent agreed or disagreed, and they often drew stronger inferences in response to disagreement. In addition, older children were particularly sensitive to disagreement when the evidence was ambiguous. Our results suggest that children consider the relationship between their own and others' hypotheses when evaluating evidence that others generate. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Single letter coloring and spatial cuing eliminates a semantic contribution to the Stroop effect

Previous work has shown that the Stroop effect is reduced in size when a single letter is colored and spatially precued. The present experiment addresses a number of criticisms of this work by (1) providing a direct measure of semantic processing, (2) using a vocal response instead of a manual one, and (3) using a more appropriate baseline. A semantically based Stroop effect (slower color naming for color-associated words than for color-neutral words) is observed when all letters in the display are precued and appear in a homogeneous color. This Stroop effect is statistically eliminated when a single letter is precued and is the “odd man out” in terms of its color. Two explanations are considered. In one, single-letter coloring and cuing serve to curtail semantic processing. In the other, single-letter coloring and cuing help to keep the informational sources (i.e, color, word) separate and hence reduce interference, but semantic analysis is not curtailed. The latter account provides a more complete account of existing data.     

Analysis of the Acquisition of Verbal Operants in a Child from 17 Months to 2 Years of Age

The Psychological Record - The purpose of this study was to longitudinally investigate the acquisition of verbal operants in a typically developing child from 17 months to 2 years of age. Verbal...     

Socioeconomic Factors in Relation to Discrepancy in Parent versus Teacher Ratings of Child Behavior

Discrepancies between observers are common in studies of child behavior problems that rely on behavior ratings. Although modest concordance between informants is well-documented, little is known about characteristics that predict discrepancies. In 477 children aged 5 to 12 years, maternal age and indicators of socioeconomic status (SES; maternal education, family income) were evaluated in relation to score discrepancies between the Child Behavior Checklist and Teacher Report Form for Total, Externalizing and Internalizing Problems. Family income <?$35,000 was independently associated with discrepancies in which mothers rated more clinically significant child behavior problems than teachers for Total, Externalizing and Internalizing Problems [odds ratio (OR)?=?3.26, 95 % confidence interval (CI), 1.19–8.96, OR?=?2.76, 95 % CI 1.03–7.34 and OR?=?3.07, 95 % CI 1.30–7.26, respectively]. Maternal education was not associated with discrepancies, but younger mothers were less likely to rate child’s behavior in the clinical range for Externalizing Problems than teachers (OR per year of age?=?0.88, 95 % CI 0.81–0.96). These results suggest that studies that utilize only maternal or teacher report of child behavior may have misclassification of outcomes that is dependent on SES and could produce biased results.