Appropriateness of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale for non-White individuals

Analyses of data collected from 480 university students (approximately 56% White and 44% Black) challenge the utility of the Multi-Attitude Suicide Tendency Scale (MAST) for use with individuals of diverse cultural backgrounds. This size sample allowed for an examination of the psychometric properties and cultural relevance of the MAST for non-Whites. Correlations between scores on the MAST, suicide, and depression measures were in the expected directions for Whites but not for Blacks or Latinos. The White sample data fit the four-factor model of the MAST, but the model required several modifications to fit the data from the Black sample. Verification of the cultural relevance of the MAST and a revision of the scale are recommended to improve its usefulness.     

Art produced by a patient with Parkinson's disease

Artists with neurological diseases sometimes produce remarkably appealing art. Here we present the art of a patient with Parkinson's disease, who demonstrated remarkable creativity and productivity well into the course of his disease. Despite his manifest motor impairments, he produced paintings and drawings with fluid sinuous movements. He also became preoccupied with his art in an unprecedented way, raising the possibility that his disease and medications were contributing to his creative drive.     

The Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) inventory: psychometric evaluation with adolescent psychiatric inpatient samples

In this study, we evaluated the factor structure of the Positive and Negative Suicide Ideation (PANSI) Inventory (Osman, Gutierrez, Kopper, Barrios, & Chiros, 1998) using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The PANSI assesses the frequency of negative risk and protective factors that are related to suicidal behavior. Participants (n = 195) were adolescent psychiatric inpatients, ages 14 to 17 years, in the CFA. Results of the CFA supported the fit for the 2-factor oblique model as the best fitting model. The internal consistency reliability estimates of the 2 subscales, the PANSI-Negative (alpha = .96) and the PANSI-Positive (alpha = .89) were high. Scores on the PANSI scales differentiated between suicide attempters and controls and those at severe risk for suicide and controls. Correlational analyses provide strong support for the concurrent validity of the scales. The results of the logistic regression analyses provide support for the use of this new inventory as a risk measure of suicide-related behaviors: Scores on the PANSI scales (n = 54) also showed satisfactory evidence for test-retest reliability over a 2-week period.     

Involvement of short-term memory in complex mental calculation

The aim of this study was to examine the involvement of the short-term memory system in complex mental addition by manipulating the phonological and visual similarity of two numbers to be added. The phonological similarity of the problems appeared to have a major effect on both speed and accuracy. However, the manipulation of visual similarity failed to have any measurable impact. This suggests that the phonological loop, rather than the visual-spatial sketch pad, would be used preferably for temporary storage of addends. An interpretation of these results in terms of the nature of the internal code underlying this task is discussed.     

Elderly suicide in China

The rise in suicide rate among elderly people in China in recent years is noteworthy and may be associated with the increasing poverty of elderly people and the lack of social resources allocated to providing them with needed services to ensure their health and mental well-being.     

Prospects for prenatal gene therapy in disorders causing mental retardation

Advances in understanding the genetics and pathogenesis of disease and in prenatal diagnosis have lead to an exploration of ways to intervene earlier and earlier in the disease process. The possibility of prenatal gene therapy for severe genetic and developmental disorders has sparked new research and debate as to its feasibility, reliability, and ethics as a therapeutic option. Recent animal studies have demonstrated the feasibility of introducing a vector into the developing fetus. The optimal timing and best mode of delivery, however, have yet to be defined. Whether or not this research should be pursued also has been the subject of recent bioethical debates. There is additional concern with the possibility of in utero gene transfer inducing mutagenesis and subsequent tumor formation. This review will provide a summary of the current state of knowledge in the field of prenatal gene therapy and possible directions for the future research.     

Recurrence analysis of sensorimotor trajectories in a minimalist perceptual task using sonification

Cognitive Processing - Active Perception perspectives claim that action is closely related to perception. An empirical approach that supports these theories is the minimalist, in which participants...     

Walking the thin line between efficiency and accuracy: Validity and structural properties of the Dirty Dozen

In this study (N = 210), participants were sampled through the Mechanical Turk system to assess the validity and structural properties of the Dark Triad Dirty Dozen (i.e., narcissism, psychopathy, and Machiavellianism). First, the correlations of the Dirty Dozen and long-form Dark Triad measures with sociosexual behaviors, attitudes, and desires, were generally consistent. Second, the scales of the Dirty Dozen measure modestly correlated with other measures of the same constructs as would be expected given the reduction in content-breadth. Third, the scales tap different dimensions (e.g., primary psychopathy, entitlement) of the older measures despite the loss of content. Fourth, a series of factor analyses revealed that the three dimensional structure replicates, but the data were best explained by a bifactor model. Despite traditional objections to short measures, if the short measure is up to the task of measuring its constructs and has good structural properties, it is a useful tool. Whereas the Dirty Dozen appears to provide conservative estimates of correlations it does appear to be a valid and psychometrically sound measure of the Dark Triad.     

Nature of shear flow lines in equal-channel angular-pressed metals and alloys

The nature of shear flow lines in equal-channel angular-pressed (ECAPed) metals has been investigated experimentally and theoretically. Experimental results indicate that, for metals pressed in a right-angle die, the shear flow lines often have an angle of ～27° with respect to the extrusion direction. It is suggested that the shear flow lines are composed of a group of elongated grains with an elongation direction that deviates slightly from that of the shear flow lines.