Psychometric properties of the Coping Response Inventory with Brazilian adolescents

To analyze the psychometric properties of the Coping Response Inventory-Youth Form (CRI-Y) and its applicability, 426 Brazilian adolescents (43.3% boys, 56.7% girls), ages 12 to 18 years (M = 16.5, SD = 1.6), completed the authorized Brazilian/Portuguese version of the 1993 original. Analysis showed higher use of Approach coping and Emotional Discharge by the girls. The inventory showed internal consistency reliability was similar to that of the original scale. A two-factor structure reflecting Approach and Avoidance coping was found; however, the distribution of loadings of specific coping scales on this two-factor structure did not fit the original Moos model. The criterion validity analyzed by the use of the Youth Self-Report showed significant positive relation between the Avoidance dimension and Psychopathological symptoms for boys and girls. Data were discussed with respect to coping theory, assessment, and cultural influences.     

Adaptation of a behavioral parent‐training curriculum for Hispanic caregivers: HOT DOCS Español

This article presents the process utilized to adapt a behavioral parent‐training curriculum for Hispanic caregivers from a program currently available in English. Throughout this process, a number of cultural and language elements were identified as needing to be modified to meet the needs of the Hispanic population served. Fidelity and fit were balanced to develop a curriculum acceptable to diverse Hispanic caregivers while also incorporating all the essential elements of a theory‐based approach to training caregivers. The lessons learned from this adaptation may assist others in their attempts to meet the needs of Hispanic families.     

Gutachtenleitfaden

The article presents an operationalized and manualized approach for the assessment of the capability of performance. This manual has been conceptualized and tested empirically by a multicentric and interdisciplinary workgroup. It is basically oriented to the “International Classification of Functioning” (ICF; WHO), which is well accepted for assessing the course of chronic diseases and the consequences for the individual. It is especially widely applied in the context of rehabilitation. The different diagnostic levels of the manual and their operationalization are outlined. Furthermore, the first results concerning reliability, content validity, applicability and practicability are described and questions on the areas of application of the instrument are discussed.     

Cognitive aspects of congenital learned helplessness and its reversal by the monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B inhibitor deprenyl

Cognitive processes are assumed to change with learned helplessness, an animal model of depression, but little is known about such deficits. Here we investigated the role of cognitive and related functions in selectively bred helpless (cLH, n = 10), non-helpless (cNLH, n = 12) and wild type (WT, n = 8) Sprague Dawley rats. The animals were exposed to an open field for 10 min on each of two test days. On the third day, an object exploration paradigm was carried out. The animals were later tested for helplessness. Both cLH and cNLH rats were more active than WTs on the first day in the open field. Over trials, cNLH and WT rats lowered their activity less than cLH rats. This resistance-to-habituation co-varied with a resistance to develop helplessness. In cLH rats, higher ‘anxiety’ or less time spent in the center of the open field co-varied with severe helplessness. In WTs, a greater reactivity to novel objects and to a spatially relocated object predicted lower levels of helplessness. In cLH rats (n = 4–5 per group), chronic treatment with a high dose of the monoamine oxidase (MAO)-B inhibitor deprenyl (10 mg/kg; i.p.), an anti-Parkinson, nootropic and antidepressant drug, attenuated helplessness. Remarkably, helplessness reversal required the experience of repeated test trials, reminiscent of a learning process. Chronic deprenyl (10 mg/kg; i.p.) did not alter locomotion/exploration or ‘anxiety’ in the open field. In conclusion, helplessness may be related to altered mechanisms of reinforcement learning and working memory, and to abnormalities in MAO-A and/or MAO-B functioning.     

Dual Identification and the (De‐)Politicization of Migrants: Longitudinal and Comparative Evidence

The article examines the role of dual identification with both the ethnocultural ingroup and the society of residence in the politicization of migrants. The researchers employed a longitudinal and comparative research design with members of the two largest, but sociologically very different, migrant groups in Germany as research participants (i.e. Turkish migrants and Russian migrants). In line with prior work that has shown that, among members of aggrieved groups, dual identity functions as a politicized collective identity, we found that dual identification fostered political engagement among Turkish migrants. In contrast, Russian migrants reported no substantial grievances, and dual identification negatively affected their subsequent political engagement. The contributions of these findings to an articulation of research on politicization with research on intergroup conflict and a more comprehensive understanding of political phenomena driven by dual identification are discussed. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Posttraumatic Reactions among Firefighters after Critical Incidents: Cross-National Data

The presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and posttraumatic growth (PTG) following a critical incident were examined among firefighters from eight predominantly European countries. A sample of 1916 firefighters completed the Impact of Event Scale–Revised (IES–R) and the Posttraumatic Growth Inventory–Short Form (PTGI–SF) with reference to a critical incident they had experienced. Analyses indicated both negative and positive posttraumatic outcomes could derive from experiencing critical incidents in the line of duty. The analyses also showed country differences exist regarding firefighters’ PTSD symptoms and PTG. It is recommended that future researchers examine factors that could evoke such national differences.     

Evidence for recovery of fear following immediate extinction in rats and humans

Fear responses can be eliminated through extinction, a procedure involving the presentation of fear-eliciting stimuli without aversive outcomes. Extinction is believed to be mediated by new inhibitory learning that acts to suppress fear expression without erasing the original memory trace. This hypothesis is supported mainly by behavioral data demonstrating that fear can recover following extinction. However, a recent report by Myers and coworkers suggests that extinction conducted immediately after fear learning may erase or prevent the consolidation of the fear memory trace. Since extinction is a major component of nearly all behavioral therapies for human fear disorders, this finding supports the notion that therapeutic intervention beginning very soon after a traumatic event will be more efficacious. Given the importance of this issue, and the controversy regarding immediate versus delayed therapeutic interventions, we examined two fear recovery phenomena in both rats and humans: spontaneous recovery (SR) and reinstatement. We found evidence for SR and reinstatement in both rats and humans even when extinction was conducted immediately after fear learning. Thus, our data do not support the hypothesis that immediate extinction erases the original memory trace, nor do they suggest that a close temporal proximity of therapeutic intervention to the traumatic event might be advantageous.