Children’s Maternal Representations Moderate the Efficacy of Parent–Child Interaction Therapy—Emotion Development (PCIT-ED) Treatment For Preschool Depression

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - A randomized controlled trial (RCT) demonstrated that a novel psychotherapy, Parent–Child Interaction Therapy—Emotion Development...     

The Effects of Maternal Disaster Exposure on Adolescent Mental Health 12 Years Later

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Natural disasters adversely impact children’s mental health, with increased parent or child exposure and subsequent parental distress...     

Marital Interactions,Family Intervention,and Disagreements: A Daily Diary Study in a Low‐income Sample

Little research has examined associations between low‐income married couples’ daily interactions and severity of disagreements. Similarly, few researchers have considered how family‐strengthening interventions for low‐income couples may affect the quality of daily interactions and associations between interactions and conflict experiences. This study aims to fill these gaps in the literature by leveraging daily diary data from a random assignment study of a family‐strengthening intervention with low‐income husbands and wives 30 months postenrollment. Married couples randomly assigned to the intervention participated in 10 weeks of relationship education services. Control group couples received no services. Thirty months postrandom assignment, participants reported on the severity of daily marital disagreements over a 15‐day period, as well as their positive and negative emotions during inter‐spousal interactions. Multi‐level models demonstrated associations between reports of emotions in interactions and severity of disagreements. In addition, wives assigned to the family strengthening program reported fewer negative emotions during interactions at follow‐up than wives in the control condition. Finally, negative associations between positive emotions in interactions and severity of disagreements were stronger for wives assigned to the intervention, while positive associations between negative emotions in interactions and severity of disagreements were weaker for wives assigned to the intervention. Implications for future research and intervention development are discussed.     

Evaluations of a bullying case involving a victim with autism spectrum disorder

We investigated how people determine whether a specific occurrence of aggression between students constitutes bullying and how they think perpetrators should be treated. In two experiments, we examined perceptions of relational bullying at a university involving a victim who admits to engaging in socially inappropriate behavior. Participants were assigned to one of three victim disability conditions: autism spectrum disorder (ASD), dyslexia, or no disability. They listened to a recording of a disciplinary hearing and made several evaluations (e.g., verdict). Participants' judgments were more likely to favor the victim if they learned that he had ASD rather than dyslexia or no disability. Observers may view an ASD diagnosis as a reasonable explanation for behaving inappropriately and therefore excuse the victim's conduct.     

Dodging the double bind: the role of warmth and competence on the relationship between interview communication styles and perceptions of women’s hirability

In two studies we examine how feminine, masculine and hybrid impression management tactics affect perceptions of job applicants in interview settings. Study 1 (N = 133) results indicated that a hybrid tactic was more effective than a feminine tactic to portray competence. Similarly, a hybrid tactic was more effective than a masculine tactic to portray warmth. Further, perceptions of competence and warmth predicted ratings of likability and hirability. Study 2 (N = 222) replicated Study 1 and showed that applicant gender did not affect the results. The results indicated that hybrid tactics enable members of both genders to appear competent and warm in an interview.     

Sometimes less is more: the role of subjective task experience in self-generated value interventions

Interventions that prompt learners to generate their own ideas about how material is valuable are promising for inspiring engagement. Drawing from research on the availability bias, we investigated how the learners’ subjective experience of generating ideas about the value of a domain (i.e., ease of coming up with ideas) affects perceptions of the content. In both studies, we manipulated the number of value statements participants generated, and then measured subjective task experience and perceived value of the content. Both studies’ results showed that the relationship between the number of value statements and perceived value became stronger when subjective task experience was added as an intervening variable. This pattern is suggestive of a positive direct effect of value statements on perceived value as well as a negative indirect effect of subjective task experience. Implications are discussed.     

Assessing Differences in Athlete-Reported Outcomes Between High and Low-Quality Youth Sport Programs

The purpose of this study was to examine differences in athlete-reported outcomes based on sport program quality. Twenty-four sport programs were observed using the Program Quality Assessment in Youth Sport (PQAYS) observation tool. A two-step cluster analysis based on total PQAYS scores revealed two groups (low quality = 16, high quality = 8). Athletes (N = 324) completed 3 questionnaires related to basic needs support, needs satisfaction, and developmental experiences. Results indicated that athletes in high-quality programs perceived significantly greater opportunities for autonomy, relatedness, and choice, as well as higher perceptions of goal setting and lower negative experiences compared to youth in lower quality programs.     

Prevalence and correlates of sexual morbidity in long-term breast cancer survivors

Objective: Breast cancer survivors report adverse sexual effects (sexual morbidity) such as disrupted sexual function, sexual distress and body dissatisfaction. However, most studies have failed to evaluate the persistence of these effects in long-term survivors. The present study comprehensively assessed the prevalence and predictors of sexual/body image problems among survivors three or more years post diagnosis.

Design/outcome measures: Eighty-three breast cancer survivors completed surveys a median of seven years post diagnosis. Survey items probed demographic, diagnostic and clinical information, in addition to sexual activity, sexual function (Female Sexual Function Index [FSFI]), body image, and distress regarding body changes and sexual problems (Female Sexual Distress Scale-revised; FSDS-R).

Results: Seventy-seven percent of all participants and 60% of sexually active participants qualified for sexual dysfunction based on the FSFI. Between 37 and 51% met criteria for female sexual dysfunction, based on two FSDS-R clinical cut-offs. Body satisfaction was worse than normative values, while body change stress was mid-range. Notable sexual morbidity predictors included mastectomy, which was associated with worse sexual/body change distress, and post-treatment weight gain, which predicted greater body dissatisfaction/body change stress.

Conclusions: Breast cancer survivors report substantial sexual morbidity years after treatment, especially after mastectomy or post-treatment weight gain. Breast cancer patients and their providers should be aware of these potential sexual effects.