Context-processing deficits in schizophrenia: diagnostic specificity, 4-week course,and relationships to clinical symptoms

Previous research on schizophrenia suggests that context-processing disturbances are one of the core cognitive deficits present in schizophia. However, it is not clear whether such deficits are specific to schizophrenia as compared with other psychotic disorders. To address this question, the authors administered a version of the AX Continuous Performance Test designed to assess context processing in a sample of healthy controls, patients with schizophrenia, and patients with other psychotic disorders. Participants were tested at index (when medication naive and experiencing their first contact with psychiatric services) and 4 weeks later, following medication treatment. At index, patients with schizophrenia and the psychotic comparison group demonstrated similar impairments in context processing. However, context-processing deficits improved in the psychotic comparison group at 4 weeks but did not improve in patients with schizophrenia.     

Psychology of the scientist: LXXXV. Research on homosexuality: a response to Schumm (and Herek)

Because social science is "messy," just about any criticism of any work--including our efforts--has validity. But the empiricist principle is more important than a theoretical search for perfection in research. The findings from our 1983-1984 nationwide random survey are superior to earlier efforts and similar enough to those reported by the 1992 nationwide random survey conducted by University of Chicago investigators, the 1994 British effort, and the 1996 NHSDA to suggest all approximate "a similar truth about reported sexuality."     

New anticonvulsant medication uses in bipolar disorder

Therapy of bipolar disorders is a rapidly evolving field. Lithium has efficacy in classic bipolar disorders whereas divalproex sodium and carbamazepine may have broader spectrum efficacy that includes non-classic bipolar disorder. In the last 10 years, a series of anticonvulsants have been approved for marketing in the United States. Gabapentin has indirect g-aminobuytric acid-ergic actions, is generally well tolerated, and appears to have anxiolytic, analgesic, and hypnotic effects. Lamotrigine has antiglutamatergic actions and is generally well tolerated (aside from rash in 1 in 10, and serious rash in 1 in 1,000 patients). Lamotrigine is indicated for maintenance treatment in bipolar disorder. Emerging evidence suggests lamotrigine may have utility in bipolar disorder patients with depression and treatment-refractory rapid cycling, as well as analgesic effects. Topiramate and zonisamide may allow both weight loss, while topiramate may have specific efficacy in bulimia, binge eating disorder, and alcohol dependence. Two small studies found oxcarbazepine had similar efficacy to lithium and haloperidol in acute mania. Phenytoin, an older anticonvulsant, may have adjunctive acute mania efficacy. Levetiracetam, a newer anticonvulsant, may be worth exploring and has minimal drug-drug interactions. None of these newer agents has been shown effective in a large placebo controlled trial for acute mania. Although the clinical profiles of these newer anticonvulsants do not appear to overlap markedly with divalproex and carbamazepine (except perhaps for oxcarbazepine), these novel agents may still offer important new options in relieving a variety of specific target symptoms in patients with bipolar disorder.     

Perfectionism and depression symptom severity in major depressive disorder.

In recent years it has been recognized that perfectionism is a multidimensional construct and two Multidimensional Perfectionism Scales have been developed and investigated in relative isolation [Frost, R.O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14, 449-468; Hewitt, P.L., & Flett, G.L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60, 456-470]. The present study sought to evaluate the association between various dimensions of perfectionism, higher-order personality dimensions, and self and observer rated depressive symptoms in a group of 145 patients with major depressive disorder. Only three of ten perfectionism dimensions (socially prescribed perfectionism, concern over mistakes and self-criticism) displayed medium to large correlations with depressive symptoms, especially self-report symptoms reflecting depressive cognitive distortions. The results are discussed in relation to the specificity of perfectionism dimensions to depression, adaptive versus maladaptive aspects of perfectionism, and in the context of previous research, much of which has relied on college student samples.     

Homosexual parents: testing "common sense"--a literature review emphasizing the Golombok and Tasker longitudinal study of lesbians' children

Counter to claims by the American Psychological Association and the National Association of Social Workers as well as numerous reviewers that children raised by homosexuals and married heterosexuals do not differ, the elaborate social-personality theory called "common sense" predicts that because "like produces like" and because psychopathy/sociopathy informs the major expressions of social deviance including homosexuality, children of homosexuals will (1) be more frequently subjected to parental instability (of residence and sexual partners) and (2) have poorer peer and adult relationships. Also, as is held to be true of their parents, homosexuals' children will be more apt to (3) become homosexual, (4) be unstable (have emotional problems and difficulty forming lasting bonds) with reduced interest in natality, and (5) be sexually precocious and promiscuous. Differences between homosexual and heterosexual comparison groups that bore on "common sense" were considered suggestive "bits" of empirical evidence. Differences that emerged within studies conducted by sympathetic researchers utilizing volunteer samples were considered bits of adverse evidence. Of 171 bits, 82 adverse and 55 nonadverse bits supported, while 34 bits fell against "common sense." From this tentative method of counting, support was found for common sense beliefs that children of homosexuals will be more apt to become homosexual and have poorer peer relationships, while weaker support was found for some of the other predictions. As assessed in this way, the empirical evidence in the literature tended to lean against claims of "no differences" between children raised by homosexuals and heterosexuals. In particular, the strongly worded official claims of there being "no differences" are overstatements. They amount to the organizations and some prominent researchers asserting that they have proven the null hypothesis, which is fundamentally impossible. It is likely that the nonsignificant statistical findings stressed thus far include Type Two errors created by use of volunteer samples, inadequate identification and measurement of likely differences, and refusal to interpret results in ways contrary to the sympathies of subjects, investigators, and the organizations.     

Temporal dynamics of anxiety-related attentional bias: is affective context a missing piece of the puzzle?

Previous research has demonstrated that anxious individuals attend to negative emotional information at the expense of other information. This is commonly referred to as attentional bias. The field has historically conceived of this process as relatively static; however, research by [Zvielli, A., Bernstein, A., &; Koster, E. H. W. (2014). Dynamics of attentional bias to threat in anxious adults: Bias towards and/or away? PLoS ONE, 9(8), e104025; Zvielli, A., Bernstein, A., &; Koster, E. H. W. (2015). Temporal dynamics of attentional bias. Clinical Psychological Science, 3(5), 772–788.], and others, challenges this assumption by demonstrating considerable temporal variability in attentional bias amongst anxious individuals. Still, the mechanisms driving these temporal dynamics are less well known. Using a modified dot-probe task, the present study examined the impact of two relevant contextual variables- affective valence and trial repetition. Affective context was instantiated by the presentation of negative versus neutral pictures before each trial, while repetition context was achieved via the presentation of the valenced pictures in either a blocked- or mixed-trial design. Results indicate that individuals with higher trait-anxiety levels were significantly more influenced by blocked presentations of negative affective information, leading to greater temporal fluctuations in attentional bias. Furthermore, our findings provide additional evidence that attentional bias is best conceptualised as dynamic and variable, and that an individual’s affective experience is one factor that regulates attentional bias dynamics. Implications relating to theoretical and methodological factors are discussed.     

Peer Toy Play as a Gateway to Children’s Gender Flexibility: The Effect of (Counter)Stereotypic Portrayals of Peers in Children’s Magazines

Extensive evidence has documented the gender stereotypic content of children’s media, and media is recognized as an important socializing agent for young children. Yet, the precise impact of children’s media on the endorsement of gender-typed attitudes and behaviors has received less scholarly attention. We investigated the impact of stereotypic and counter-stereotypic peers pictured in children’s magazines on children’s gender flexibility around toy play and preferences, playmate choice, and social exclusion behavior (n?=?82, age 4–7 years-old). British children were randomly assigned to view a picture of a peer-age boy and girl in a magazine playing with either a gender stereotypic or counter-stereotypic toy. In the stereotypic condition, the pictured girl was shown with a toy pony and the pictured boy was shown with a toy car; these toys were reversed in the counter-stereotypic condition. Results revealed significantly greater gender flexibility around toy play and playmate choices among children in the counter-stereotypic condition compared to the stereotypic condition, and boys in the stereotypic condition were more accepting of gender-based exclusion than were girls. However, there was no difference in children’s own toy preferences between the stereotypic and counter-stereotypic condition, with children preferring more gender-typed toys overall. Implications of the findings for media, education, and parenting practices are discussed, and the potential for counter-stereotypic media portrayals of toy play to shape the gender socialization of young children is explored.