Abnormal and normal obsessions: a reconsideration

Contemporary cognitive approaches to obsession assume that the content of clinical obsessions does not differ from non-clinical obsessive intrusions. This assumption goes back to a classic study by Rachman and De Silva [(1978). Abnormal and normal obsessions. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 16, 233-248]. In the present paper, it is argued that Rachman and De Silva did not postulate a complete indifference between clinical and non-clinical obsessions. Study 1 is a simple statistical analysis of data presented by Rachman and De Silva. This analysis suggested that psychologists are able to discriminate clinical and non-clinical obsessions beyond chance level, merely by looking at the content of obsessions. In study 2, a list of 23 clinical and 47 non-clinical obsessions was presented to 11 psychotherapists and 90 psychology undergraduates. Both therapists and students were able to distinguish clinical and non-clinical obsession beyond chance level. It is concluded that some clinical obsessions can be identified as being evidently abnormal, and that additional theory and research is needed to identify the causes of these recognisable obsessions.     

Patterns of attachment and parents' adjustment to the death of their child

The impact of adult attachment on psychological adjustment among bereaved parents and the mediating effect of relationship satisfaction were examined among a sample of 219 couples of parents. Data collection took place 6, 13, and 20 months after loss. Use of the actor partner interdependence model in multilevel regression analysis enabled exploration of both individual as well as partner attachment as predictors of grief and depression. Results indicated that the more insecurely attached parents were (on both avoidance and anxiety attachment), the higher the symptoms of grief and depression. Neither the attachment pattern of the partner nor similarity of attachment within the couple had any influence on psychological adjustment of the parent. Marital satisfaction partially mediated the association of anxious attachment with symptomatology. Contrary to previous research findings, avoidant attachment was associated with high grief intensity. These findings challenge the notion that the avoidantly attached are resilient.     

A Cognitive Psychophysiological Model to Predict Functional Decline in Chronically Stressed Older Adults

The current study evaluated whether psychological distress (composite of depression, anxiety, vital exhaustion), inflammation (C-reactive protein, CRP) and cognitive function (Digit Symbol Test, DST) and their changes mediated the relationship between caregiver status and functional decline. Caregivers for spouses with Alzheimer’s disease were compared to demographically-similar non-caregiver spouses at study entry (T1), T2 (1 year later), and T3 (2 years after T1). Caregivers had greater functional impairment, higher distress scores, and poorer DST scores at all points of measurement and also showed functional decline. Non-caregivers did not demonstrate functional decline. Caregivers declined 85% faster than did non-caregivers. Regressions showed that after controlling for functional impairment at T1, illness, medication, and health behavior covariates, psychological distress at T1 and increases in CRP from T1 to T3 mediated the difference in functional decline. Moreover, after DST decline from T1 to T2 was entered in the model, caregiver status, psychological distress and increases in inflammation all showed reductions in their predictive importance. These findings suggest psychological distress and increases in inflammation may help explain why caregivers show greater functional decline than non-caregivers. However, the influences of these psychophysiological variables may be driven in part by cognitive decline prior to functional decline. This article is based upon an invited address, “Potential Hazards of Caring for a Loved One with Alzheimer’s Disease” given by the first author in recognition of the author’s receipt of the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers 2005 Award for Distinguished Achievement in Research. The address was presented at the Annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, New Orleans, LA., August, 2006.     

Examination of the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) Scales in a Sample of Bariatric Surgery Candidates

The current study examined the MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) scales (Tellegen et al., MMPI-2 Restructured Clinical (RC) scales: Development, validation, and interpretation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2003) in a sample of 1,091 bariatric surgery candidates. The RC scales were developed to address concerns about limited discriminant validity of the Clinical scales. Internal consistency and external validity analyses were conducted to evaluate the RC scales in this setting. Results indicated that the RC scales are generally more internally consistent than the Clinical scales and display significantly better convergent and discriminant validity in predicting a variety of behavioral, psychological, and developmental variables relevant to preoperative bariatric psychological evaluations. Implications of the results and recommendations for future research with the RC scales in medical settings are discussed.     

Cognitive-Behavior Therapy for Reduction of Persistent Anger

Although persistent anger is not represented in DSM-IV as a psychiatric disorder, it is nevertheless a significant clinical problem. Based on our experience with both research and clinic patients from a diverse urban population, and drawing on methods utilized by others, we have refined and elaborated several treatment strategies that appear useful for anger reduction. The strategies derive from a counterconditioning treatment model: patients are exposed (either naturally or by design) to situations that may evoke anger, while they apply physiological, cognitive, and/or behavioral methods that can dampen the habitually angry response. The specific anger-reduction methods include: applied muscle relaxation, cognitive reappraisal, inhibition of overresponding, and reversal of underresponding (through acquisition of effective communication and problem-solving skills). Preliminary evidence is presented indicating that anger patients experience significant reduction in the intensity, duration, and frequency of anger reactions after completing 12 sessions of therapy utilizing these anger-reduction methods.     

Characterizing sequence knowledge using online measures and hidden Markov models

What knowledge do subjects acquire in sequence-learning experiments? How can they express that knowledge? In two sequence-learning experiments, we studied the acquisition of knowledge of complex probabilistic sequences. Using a novel experimental paradigm, we were able to compare reaction time and generation measures of sequence knowledge online. Hidden Markov models were introduced as a novel way of analyzing generation data that allowed for a characterization of sequence knowledge in terms of the grammar that was used to generate the stimulus material. The results indicated a strong correlation between the decrease in reaction times and an increase in generation performance. This pattern of results is consistent with a common knowledge base for improvement on both measures. On a more detailed level, the results indicate that at the start of training, generation performance and reaction times are uncorrelated and that this correlation increases with training.     

Biotechnology,ethics and education

Fundamental differences between current and past knowledge in the field of biotechnology mean that we now have at our disposal the means to irreversibly change what is meant by ‘human nature’. This paper explores some of the ethical issues that accompany the (as yet tentative) attempt to increase scientific control over the human genetic code in what amounts to a diminishing of difference and the reduction of human life to scientific explanations at the expense of spiritual, cultural and communal considerations. Within such a limited view, the critical role of education is reduced in favour of promoting psychological efficiency, with the possibility of accelerating learning and increasing intellectual capacity through genetic manipulation. A major concern expressed in the paper is the fine line between corrective therapy and psychological enhancement: Who should be defining the normal range of human difference? And what degree of caution should be required in redesigning future generations? The unknown dangers inherent in the (perhaps irreversible) application of genetic technology to human life suggests that current precautions may not go far enough in recognising that education is a contestable field.