Depression and reliance on ease‐of‐retrieval experiences

The relationship between level of depressive symptomatology and reliance on the ease‐of‐retrieval heuristic was investigated. In two studies, differences in ease‐of‐retrieval were instigated by means of the paradigm introduced by Schwarz and co‐workers. Subsequently, participants were screened for depressive symptoms with the Allgemeine Depressionsskala (ADS, Experiments 1 and 2) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI, Experiment 2). In both experiments, participants were randomly selected from a non‐clinical population. Results indicate that participants with low levels of depressive symptomatology relied on experienced ease or difficulty, whereas individuals with high levels of depressive symptomatology based their judgment on the accessible content information. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20): A measure of general psychological distress

The Toronto Alexithymia Scale (Bagby, R. M., Parker, J. D. A., & Taylor, G. J. (1994). The twenty-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale-I. Item selection and cross-validation of the factor structure. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 38, 23–32.) is the most commonly used measure of Alexithymia (= difficulties identifying and describing one’s own feelings). Sixty-three persons (34 psychiatric inpatients, 29 healthy controls) first filled in the TAS-20 and were then interviewed about their interpersonal relationships. Two raters coded the emotional experiences that the participants reported during these interviews. Contrary to expectations, participants with higher TAS-20 scores reported more emotions (particularly negative ones), and more different emotions, questioning the validity of the TAS-20 as a measure of Alexithymia. Based on correlation patterns and a joint factor analysis with two well-established measures of psychopathology, it is concluded that the TAS-20 assesses a general psychological distress factor.     

Parkinson’s Disease: Patients’ Knowledge,Attitudes, and Interest in Genetic Counseling

The objective of this study was to assess the genetics knowledge of patients with Parkinson’s disease (PD), and to explore their attitudes on genetic testing and interest in genetic counseling. We surveyed 158 patients from the University of Maryland Parkinson’s Disease and Movement Disorders Center. Patients averaged a score of 63% on general genetics knowledge and 73% on PD genetics knowledge. Participants had an overall positive attitude toward genetic testing: 80% believed that the use of genetic tests among people should be promoted, and 83% would undertake genetic test for PD if it was available. Patients reported a high interest to discuss the benefits, risks, and impacts of genetic testing for PD (mean sum score?=?26, range?=?9–35), and 43% patients expressed interest in meeting with a genetic counselor. Multivariate regression analysis showed that patients who had more positive attitudes toward genetic testing for PD were more interested in meeting with a genetic counselor (β?=?0.6, p?<?0.001). This study is the first to demonstrate an interest in genetic counseling among patients with PD. Our findings demonstrate a new niche for genetic counselors to support patients in clarifying gaps or misconceptions in knowledge about PD genetics as well as the possible risks, benefits, and limitations of genetic testing.     

Human values: Genetic and environmental effects on five lexically derived domains and their facets

Whereas a substantial genetic component of Conservatism and Religiosity is well documented, there is little evidence with respect to the behavior genetics of other aspects of human values. A sample of 157 monozygotic and 74 dizygotic twins reared together received the Austrian Value Questionnaire (AVQ), which measures a broad variety of value domains and their facets, found by the lexical approach in the German language. Family resemblance of Intellectualism, Harmony, Materialism, and Conservatism was best explained by additive or dominance genetic and non-shared environmental effects, whereas the influence of the environment shared by twins was negligible. In contrast, Religiosity was transmitted by additive genetic, shared and non-shared environmental influences. At the level of facets, the Intellectualism and Harmony showed a homogenous etiology while Religiosity, Materialism, and Conservatism were etiologically heterogeneous.