Spatial navigation deficits in amnestic mild cognitive impairment with neuropsychiatric comorbidity

Aims: To find out whether neuropsychiatric comorbidity (comMCI) influences spatial navigation performance in amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI).

Methods: We recruited aMCI patients with (n = 21) and without (n = 21) neuropsychiatric comorbidity or alcohol abuse, matched for global cognitive impairment and cognitively healthy elderly participants (HE, n = 22). They completed the Mini-Mental State Examination and a virtual Hidden Goal Task in egocentric, allocentric, and delayed recall subtests.

Results: In allocentric navigation, aMCI and comMCI performed significantly worse than HE and similarly to each other. Although aMCI performed significantly worse at egocentric navigation than HE, they performed significantly better than patients with comMCI.

Conclusions: Despite the growing burden of dementia and the prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in the elderly population, comMCI remains under-studied. Since trials often assess “pure” aMCI, we may underestimate patients’ navigation and other deficits. This finding emphasizes the importance of taking account of the cognitive effects of psychiatric disorders in aMCI.     

Parental Involvement in School Counseling Services: Challenges and Experience of Counselor

School counselors include parents as informants in school counseling for various reasons like for consultation and client’s intervention which could lead to a different experience. The objective of the present study was to explore the challenges faced by school counselors when involving parents in the school counseling process and the ways they handle the challenges. The participants consisted of seven school counselors, with whom in-depth interviews were conducted. The subjective experiences of the school counselors were objectively interpreted by the researcher using interpretative phenomenological analysis. The research results were categorized into master and subordinate themes using double hermeneutics. The results revealed that although school counselors have their own individual perceptions of challenges and methods of handling parental inclusion in the school counseling context, there still exist similarities in their methods of handling. The study highlights school counselors’ beliefs about parents’ perceptions and expectations of counseling as well as parents’ reaction toward their child’s problem as a challenge. The findings throw light on the need for stronger evidence-based practices and policies for school counseling programs. Training and competence-building programs for school counselors would improve the service delivery.     

Influence of Profession as Risk of STIs in Intimate Partner Relationship in South Asian Countries

Mixing of sexual partners as part of the profession of female sex workers (FSWs) can be a risk in intimate partner relationship, which is primarily based on love and affection. Sexual relation with one partner provides emotional and psychological support. However, when it is a web of partners, it often results in unprotected sex, consequently creating a pathway for disease and increasing the vulnerability of FSWs to sexually transmitted infections (STIs). This paper analyses the subtleties of sexual behavior of FSWs and their vulnerability toward STIs in intimate partner relationship in South Asian countries. The basic data used in this paper have been taken from 3 countries, 1271 FSWs from Bangladesh, 1404 FSWs from Nepal, and 7399 FSWs from India. The data were collected through modified time location cluster sampling as a part of mapping and size estimation of most-at-risk populations (MARPs) in Nepal and key affected populations (KAPs) in Bangladesh during the period of 2010–2016. The data for India are taken from the integrated behavioral and biological assessment (IBBA), which assesses the prevalence of high risk population in India. The findings reveal that the majority of the FSWs were married, which reveals dynamics of sexual activity placing them at higher risk of STIs. About half of the FSWs had more than 15 coituses in the last 30 days in Nepal, which is a high risk factor. Unprotected sex is reported high across all three countries irrespective of all background characteristics. Condom use during intercourse in Bangladesh is less likely in older FSWs and more likely among educated FSWs who had coital frequency of 7 or more in the last 30 days. Interestingly, unmarried FSWs in Nepal are less likely to use condom in their last sex as against India where FSWs are more likely to use condom in their last sex. The prevalence of STI among uneducated FSWs is found higher in Bangladesh as compared to Nepal and India. The socio-demographic background characteristics showed a significant association with unprotected sex, coital frequency and prevalence of STI across all three countries.     

Interference Effects of Contextual Cues in Advertisements on Memory for Ad Content

The effectiveness of advertisements has been an issue of great concern to marketers, especially with the rapid increase in the number of marketing communications that the average consumer receives every day. Prior research has examined the impact of verbal interference on consumers’ memory for different elements of the advertisement—that is, interference caused by similar verbal elements in advertisements for brands in the same product category. This study examined the impact of similar contextual or background stimuli on consumers’ memory for different elements of the advertisement. Consumers were exposed to print advertisements for products in different product categories. The similarity of contextual cues—that is, background scenes—was manipulated (similar vs. dissimilar). Using a 2 (contextual cues interference: low and high) x 2 (processing goal: ad and brand) x 3 (cues: brand name, ad photo, product class) between‐subjects design, it was found that exposure to ads with similar contextual elements reduced individuals’ ability to recall not only contextual or background elements but also brand name from a target advertisement.     

Comparative Versus Noncomparative Advertising: The Moderating Impact of Prepurchase Attribute Verifiability

We employed an attributional framework to test the differences between comparative and noncomparative ads when different attribute types were featured. Our experimental findings suggest that noncomparative ads might be more believable than comparative ads for experience attribute claims; however, for search attribute claims, the 2 might elicit similar levels of believability. We also find some support for the attributional underpinnings of lower believability associated with comparative‐experience claims.     

Mental Disorders,Comorbidity, and Pre‐enlistment Suicidal Behavior Among New Soldiers in the U.S. Army: Results from the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS)

We examined the associations between mental disorders and suicidal behavior (ideation, plans, and attempts) among new soldiers using data from the New Soldier Study (NSS) component of the Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS; N = 38,507). Most new soldiers with a pre‐enlistment history of suicide attempt reported a prior mental disorder (59.0%). Each disorder examined was associated with increased odds of suicidal behavior (ORs = 2.6–8.6). Only PTSD and disorders characterized by irritability and impulsive/aggressive behavior (i.e., bipolar disorder, conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, and attention‐deficit/hyperactivity disorder) predicted unplanned attempts among ideators. Mental disorders are important predictors of pre‐enlistment suicidal behavior among new soldiers and should figure prominently in suicide screening and prevention efforts.     

Perceived Organisational Support as a Mediator of the Relationship of Perceived Situational Factors to Affective Organisational Commitment

This paper examines the role of perceived organisational support as a mediator of the relationship between perceived situational factors and affective organisational commitment. Perceived situational factors examined were: procedural justice, distributive justice, communication satisfaction with supervisor, and labor–management relationship climate. Analysis of data from a sample of 185 pharmaceutical sales representatives from India indicated that perceived organisational support fully mediates the relationship between each of these perceived situational variables and affective commitment to the organisation.     

Hemifacial differences in the in‐group advantage in emotion recognition

Some researchers have interpreted findings of in‐group advantage in emotion judgements as ethnic bias by perceivers. This study is the first linking in‐group advantage to subtle differences in emotional expressions, using composites created with left and right facial hemispheres. Participants from the USA, India, and Japan judged facial expressions from all three cultures. As predicted, in‐group advantage was greater for left than right hemifacial composites. Left composites were not universally more recognisable, but relatively more recognisable to in‐group members only. There was greater pancultural agreement about the recognition levels of right hemifacial composites. This suggests the left facial hemisphere uses an expressive style less universal and more culturally specific than the right, and that bias alone does not cause the in‐group advantage.