Trajectories of religious coping from adolescence into early adulthood: their form and relations to externalizing problems and prosocial behavior

Little is known about changes in religious coping and their relations to adolescents' and young adults' functioning. In 686 Italian youths, trajectories of religious coping were identified from age 16-17 years to age 22-23 years; cohorts of youths reported at 3 of the 4 assessments. Four trajectories of religious coping were identified: decreasing, low stable, high stable, and increasing. A decline in religious coping was associated with high levels of externalizing problems at age 16-17, whereas an increase in religious coping was associated with higher externalizing problems at ages 18-19 and 20-21 years and with relatively high involvement with deviant peers. High stable religious copers were high in prosocial behavior at three ages; low stable religious copers were higher than people undergoing change in their religious coping from mid-adolescence into early adulthood. These results can expand our current thinking about religious coping and adolescent adjustment.     

Sharing with others and delaying for the future in preschoolers

This study explored age differences in preschoolers’ temporal and social discounting and the association of these abilities. Research indicates that 4-year-olds are sensitive to rewards of differing magnitude (Lemmon & Moore, 2007). However, it is unclear whether preschoolers are able to consider length of time when making a choice to delay (Mischel, Masters, & Grusec, 1969). In this study, 66, 3- and 4-year-olds were presented a delay of gratification task in which length of delay was manipulated. Additionally, they were given a sharing task in which they distributed toys between themselves, a friend, and another peer. Results suggested sensitivity to delay differences only in the oldest group. Furthermore, delay sensitivity was associated with sharing more preferred toys with friends compared to another peer, suggesting that favoring the “self” closer in time overlaps with favoring “another” who is closer socially.     

Drinking patterns of pathological gamblers before, during, and after gambling treatment

Despite the high co-occurrence of alcohol consumption and gambling, few studies have investigated alcohol use changes during gambling treatment. Using latent growth modeling, we examined weekly alcohol use trajectories of treatment-seeking pathological gamblers across 36 weeks, allowing rates of change to differ across the 12-week pretreatment, during-treatment and posttreatment periods. For these secondary data analyses, we retained drinking gamblers (N = 163) from a combined sample of two randomized clinical trials for the treatment of pathological gambling. Results indicated a decrease in alcohol use corresponding with treatment entry and maintenance of less drinking during treatment and posttreatment. Despite these decreases in alcohol use overall, 31% (50 of 163) of participants exhibited risky drinking during the treatment or posttreatment periods. Gender, age, at-risk drinking (at any point in the 36-week interval), baseline gambling severity, treatment condition, and gambling during treatment predicted latent alcohol use growth factors. Although entry into gambling treatment was temporally associated with reductions in alcohol use in this retrospective analysis, a substantial portion of the sample exhibited at-risk drinking after treatment entry, suggesting that interventions targeting reductions in alcohol use may be useful for this population.     

The impact of environmental experiences on symptoms of anxiety and depression across the life span

Symptoms of anxiety and depression are relatively stable over time. Can this stability be explained by genetic influences, or is it caused by the long-lasting effects of accumulating environmental experiences? To address this question, we analyzed longitudinally assessed symptoms of anxiety and depression in eight samples of monozygotic twins of widely varying ages. These samples were drawn from American and European population-based registries. Using hierarchical linear modeling, we examined individual differences and individual changes in the level of symptoms over time. This method enabled us to decompose the variance into the predictable variance shared by both members of each pair of twins, the differences between individuals within pairs, and the residual variance. We then modeled how these components of individual variation changed over time. Within pairs, the twins' predicted levels of symptoms increasingly diverged from childhood until late adulthood, at which point the divergence ceased. By middle adulthood, environmental experiences contributed substantially to stable and predictable interindividual differences in levels of anxiety and depression.     

Who benefits from emotional expression? An examination of personality differences among gynaecological cancer patients participating in a randomized controlled emotional disclosure intervention trial

The present study examined the role of neuroticism and extraversion in the effects of written emotional disclosure in patients diagnosed with gynaecological cancer. It was hypothesized that high levels of neuroticism would be associated with an increase in distress after emotional disclosure as mediated by heightened negative affect and avoidance post-disclosure. Conversely, we expected high extraversion to be associated with decreased distress as mediated by heightened positive moods and a decrease in avoidance. Eighty-eight participants were randomly assigned to participate in an expressive writing task versus a control writing task. Distress and avoidance were assessed at baseline and 6 months post-writing. Negative and positive mood were assessed immediately following writing. Multiple regression confirmed that neuroticism but not extraversion moderates the effects of emotional disclosure on distress, however no significant mediating relationships were found.     

THE MOTHERS AND TODDLERS PROGRAM, AN ATTACHMENT-BASED PARENTING INTERVENTION FOR SUBSTANCE-USING WOMEN: RESULTS AT 6-WEEK FOLLOW-UP IN A RANDOMIZED CLINICAL PILOT

Previously, we reported posttreatment findings from a randomized pilot study testing a new attachment-based parenting intervention for mothers enrolled in substance-use treatment and caring for children ages birth to 3 years (N.E. Suchman, C. DeCoste, N. Castiglioni, T. McMahon, B. Rounsaville, & L. Mayes, 2010). The Mothers and Toddlers Program (MTP) is a 12-session, weekly individual parenting therapy that aims to enhance maternal capacity for reflective functioning and soften harsh and distorted mental representations of parenting. In a randomized pilot study, 47 mothers who were enrolled in outpatient substance-abuse treatment and caring for children between birth and 3 years of age were randomized to the MTP versus the Parent Education Program (PE), a comparison intervention that provided individual case management and developmental guidance. At the end of treatment, mothers in the MTP condition demonstrated better reflective functioning, representation quality, and caregiving behavior than did mothers in the PE condition. In this investigation, we examined whether the benefits of MTP at posttreatment were sustained at the 6-week follow-up. Recently, we also identified two components of parental reflective functioning: (a) a self-focused component representing the parent's capacity to mentalize about strong personal emotions (e.g., anger, guilt, or pain) and their impact on the child and (b) a child-focused component representing the parent's capacity to mentalize about the child's emotions and their impact on the mother (N. Suchman, C. DeCoste, D. Leigh, & J. Borelli, 2010). In this study, we reexamined posttreatment outcomes using these two related, but distinct, constructs.     

Stability and change in genetic and environmental components of personality in old age

Stability and change in the mean levels and sources of variation in personality was examined. A sample of 149 monozygotic and 202 dizygotic twin pairs over 80 years were studied three times with a 2-year interval between measurement occasions. The Eysenck Personality Inventory to measure extraversion and neuroticism was used. Linear mixed models and Cholesky variance decomposition were carried out (age, gender and mortality controlled). High mean level stability was found in extraversion and neuroticism. Mortality was related to lower scores in extraversion and higher scores in neuroticism. In extraversion and neuroticism, genetic effects were moderate. Though no new genetic contributions emerged over time, significant new environmental effects were found over time. Controlling for mortality slightly increased genetic effect in extraversion.     

Memory distortion in eyewitnesses: a meta‐analysis of the post‐identification feedback effect

Feedback administered to eyewitnesses after they make a line‐up identification dramatically distorts a wide range of retrospective judgements (e.g. G. L. Wells & A. L. Bradfield, 1998 Journal of Applied Psychology, 83(3), 360–376.). This paper presents a meta‐analysis of extant research on post‐identification feedback, including 20 experimental tests with over 2400 participant‐witnesses. The effect of confirming feedback (i.e. ‘Good, you identified the suspect’) was robust. Large effect sizes were obtained for most dependent measures, including the key measures of retrospective certainty, view and attention. Smaller effect sizes were obtained for so‐called objective measures (e.g. length of time the culprit was in view) and comparisons between disconfirming feedback and control conditions. This meta‐analysis demonstrates the reliability and robustness of the post‐identification feedback effect. It reinforces recommendations for double‐blind testing, recording of eyewitness reports immediately after an identification is made, and reconsideration by court systems of variables currently recommended for consideration in eyewitness evaluations. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Oral History and Ethical Practice: Towards Effective Policies and Procedures

This article examines how Canadian ethics policies affects historians who use oral history, and focuses on privacy and confidentiality, free and informed consent, and research involving Aboriginal peoples. The article concludes with recommendations for developing ethics policies that accord with historical methodology.