Challenges and stressors in intimate intercultural relationships: A systematic research synthesis

Globalization has facilitated increasing cross-cultural interactions and the formation of intimate intercultural relationships. This study systemically screened and reviewed fifteen quantitative studies that included participants in a current intimate intercultural relationship, synthesizing their research methods and findings with a focus on investigating stressors and challenges. The results revealed that intercultural couples could face various external challenges like marginalization and family disapproval and internal challenges such as conflicting cultural values. When these challenges and stressors are present, couples are more likely to experience lower relationship satisfaction and more negative relational interactions. This study provides an overview of the state of quantitative research on intercultural relationships, highlighting its limitations and future directions. The findings of this critical analysis can also inform clinical practices with distressed intercultural couples.     

The impact of dialectical behaviour therapy training on therapists in Singapore: A mixed-methods study

Background

While dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT) has much empirical support for treating borderline personality disorder (BPD) and other conditions, little research has examined the dissemination of DBT in Southeast Asia.

Aims

This study evaluated training outcomes following a 5-day intensive DBT training programme in a group of psychologists in Singapore, who were in the process of implementing DBT as part of the training's objectives.

Methodology

A mixed-methods design was employed. Fourteen psychologists from a public psychiatric hospital in Singapore were recruited. Seven self-selected into DBT training, and the remaining were matched controls who were not attending the training programme. The latter served as a nonrandomised control group. Prior to and 3 months after training, all participants completed measures of stigma towards BPD patients, burnout and therapeutic alliance. DBT training participants additionally attended a focus group discussion assessing their experiences and challenges implementing DBT in Singapore's context.

Findings

Quantitative analyses using mixed ANOVA showed that, compared with controls, DBT-trained participants demonstrated significantly greater increases in acceptance towards BPD patients. No between-group differences were found on changes in burnout or therapy alliance with patients. Analyses of qualitative data using thematic analysis revealed that DBT training impacted the way participants conceptualised and delivered therapy for BPD patients, and highlighted several challenges in implementing DBT in the local hospital context.

Conclusion

The findings demonstrate the potential of DBT training in improving clinicians' attitudes towards BPD patients and support a need for policymakers to prepare organisations for DBT implementation to ensure programme sustainability.     

Cross‐sectional study on the relationship between music training and working memory in adults

Learning to play musical instruments has been shown to enhance a wide variety of cognitive domains. The present study investigated the specific aspects of working memory (WM) that differed between adult musicians and non‐musicians. Twenty‐four musicians and 30 non‐musicians matched for age, gender, years of formal education, and verbal intelligence performed several WM tasks. A multivariate analysis of covariance, wherein family income was controlled, revealed that musicians outperformed non‐musicians in tasks related to visual–motor coordination, visual scanning ability, visual processing speed, and spatial memory. However, no significant differences were found in phonological and visual memory capacity. This study supports the view that music training is associated to specific (and not general) WM skills.     

Cascade effects on the irradiation stability of amorphous SiOC

We studied the heavy ion radiation tolerance of amorphous silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) alloys by in situ Kr ion irradiation within a transmission electron microscopy. The amorphous SiOC thin films were grown via co-sputtering from SiO₂ and SiC targets on a surface-oxidized Si (100) substrate. These films were irradiated by 1 MeV Kr ions at both room temperature and 300 °C with damage levels up to 5 displacements per atom (dpa). TEM characterization shows no sign of crystallization, void formation or segregation in all irradiated samples. Our findings suggest that SiOC alloys are a class of promising radiation tolerant materials.     

Experiences that motivate moral development: The role of cognitive dissonance

It has been found in previous research concerning Kohlberg's stages of moral development that engagement in a “real-life” moral dilemma sometimes leads to an advance in an individual's level of moral thought. It is argued in this study that such moral growth is often motivated by the need to reduce cognitive dissonance, which, it is suggested, frequently accompanies choice and commitment in moral contexts. Subjects in the present study delivered counterattitudinal messages that contained arguments that were either 1 stage higher or 1 stage lower than their characteristic level of moral reasoning. Half of the subjects freely chose to deliver these messages, and half did not. Afterwards, subjects' attitudes toward the issues discussed in their messages and their tendency to conceptualize moral issues in terms of the higher or lower levels of reasoning contained in their messages were assessed. The subjects who (a) had freely chosen to deliver the message, and (b) had delivered the message containing higher level arguments used significantly more advanced moral reasoning after their counterattitudinal advocacy than they had before it. These subjects showed greater change in their attitudes regarding the topic discussed in their message than other subject groups. These results suggest that moral behavior will be likely to promote moral growth (a) if it occurs under circumstances that promote cognitive dissonance (e.g., free choice) and (b) if advanced moral ideas are made salient during the dissonance reduction process.     

Effect of schedule and magnitude of reinforcement on instrumental learning in the toad, Bufo arenarum

Extinction after training with continuous (CR) or 50% partial (PR) reinforcement, and with different magnitudes of reward, was studied in the amphibian Bufo arenarum, in a runway situation. In Experiment 1, a group of toads received massed-trial, CR training with access to water as the reward. Performance improved during acquisition, including an improvement on the first trial of each session. Extinction was rapid and there was evidence for spontaneous recovery of the running response. In Experiment 2, groups of toads received PR or CR training at a rate of one trial per day. PR impaired acquisition and resulted in poor responding during extinction, compared to CR. Experiment 3 factorially studied the effects of schedule (PR vs CR) and distribution of practice (15 s vs 300 s intertrial interval). Acquisition was impaired by PR training but had little effect on extinction performance. Different magnitudes of water reinforcement were used in Experiment 4 in a one-trial-per-day situation. Terminal acquisition performance was a monotonic function of reward magnitude, but there were no differences in extinction performance across groups. The results are discussed in relation to comparative and developmental data on the paradoxical effects of reward.     

A Gibbs sampler for the multidimensional four-parameter logistic item response model via a data augmentation scheme

The four-parameter logistic (4PL) item response model, which includes an upper asymptote for the correct response probability, has drawn increasing interest due to its suitability for many practical scenarios. This paper proposes a new Gibbs sampling algorithm for estimation of the multidimensional 4PL model based on an efficient data augmentation scheme (DAGS). With the introduction of three continuous latent variables, the full conditional distributions are tractable, allowing easy implementation of a Gibbs sampler. Simulation studies are conducted to evaluate the proposed method and several popular alternatives. An empirical data set was analysed using the 4PL model to show its improved performance over the three-parameter and two-parameter logistic models. The proposed estimation scheme is easily accessible to practitioners through the open-source IRTlogit package.     

Longitudinal relationships among interpersonal openness trait,hostile attribution bias,and displaced aggressive behaviour: Big Five treated as covariates

Displaced aggressive behaviour is associated with many negative outcomes. Although certain personality traits predict displaced aggressive behaviour, the uniquely longitudinal effect of indigenous interpersonal traits on displaced aggressive behaviour is ignored. To address this gap, we explored the longitudinal relationship among an indigenously interpersonal trait of China (interpersonal openness), hostile attribution bias, and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour. Additionally, we tested whether hostile attribution bias mediated the relationship between interpersonal openness and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour. The Interpersonal Self-Support Scale for Undergraduate Students, Word Sentence Association Paradigm for Hostility, Displaced Aggression Questionnaire, and the NEO Personality Inventory-3 were administered to 942 undergraduates on two occasions, 6 months apart. A cross-lagged model showed that, after controlling for the Big Five personality traits, interpersonal openness predicted subsequent hostile attribution bias, and hostile attribution bias predicted self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour 6 months later. Hostile attribution bias at time 2 mediated the relationship between interpersonal openness at time 1 and self-reported displaced aggressive behaviour at time 2. These results were consistent with the interpersonal self-support theory's appraisals of interpersonal openness, and they extended the social information processing and general aggression models to explain displaced aggressive behaviour.