Dysfunctional Parenting Behaviors and Parenting Stress Among Mothers of Aggressive Boys

ABSTRACT

The present investigation examined the relationship between dysfunctional parenting and parenting stress in a sample of 54 mothers of aggressive boys in Singapore. Overall dysfunctional parenting at Time 1 significantly predicted Time 2 maternal parenting stress in two subdomains of unrewarding mother-child interactions and poor attachment, over and above the variance accounted for by initial Time 1 maternal parenting stress in these respective subdomains. Additionally, maternal laxness at Time 1 predicted Time 2 maternal stress arising from unrewarding mother-child interactions, while maternal overreactivity at Time 1 predicted Time 2 maternal stress arising from poor attachment. Maternal verbosity at Time 1 did not add unique variance to the prediction of Time 2 maternal stress from both subdomains. These findings have implications for prevention and intervention efforts that attempt to improve parent-child interaction quality and modify coercive operant contingencies within families.     

The Differential Impact of Parental Warmth on Externalizing Problems Among Triangulated Adolescents

Triangulation is a family-wide process in which children are inappropriately involved in interparental conflict, placing them at heightened risk for adjustment problems. A common form of triangulation occurs by parents pressuring their children to take sides, which may result in feelings of being torn between parents. Externalizing behaviors in particular may develop as adolescents feel caught in the middle of conflict and forced to choose a side. However, the nature of the triadic process of triangulation may be impacted by dyadic-level relationships within the family. The authors thus explored how positive parenting processes may alter the relations between triangulation and adolescent externalizing problems. Mothers, fathers, and adolescents (n = 301 families) provided assessments of adolescent externalizing problems, triangulation, and maternal and paternal warmth. Analyses revealed a 3-way interaction among triangulation and maternal and paternal warmth predicting adolescent externalizing problems; child gender also moderated these relations. Among highly triangulated youth, boys displayed increased externalizing problems when both parents exhibited low or high warmth, whereas girls showed increased behavior problems in the context of low maternal but high paternal warmth. These findings indicate the importance of examining the broader family context and gender when considering the impact of triangulation during adolescence.     

Attitudes towards psychotherapy manuals among clinicians treating eating disorders

Clinicians have relatively low uptake and implementation of evidence-based psychotherapies for the eating disorders, and this problem appears to be associated with low use of manualized approaches. This study examines clinicians' positive and negative attitudes to manuals, and possible beliefs and emotional factors that might drive those attitudes. The participants were 125 psychological therapists working with eating-disordered patients. Each completed standardised measures of attitudes to manuals and emotional states. A number of beliefs about the content of manuals were associated with both positive attitudes to the outcome of treatment and negative attitudes to their impact on the treatment process. In addition, a more positive mood was associated with more positive attitudes. Suggestions are made regarding how attitudes might be made more positive, in order to facilitate the use of evidence-based therapies for eating disorders.     

The Role of Individual Differences in the Accuracy of Confidence Judgments

Generally, self-assessment of accuracy in the cognitive domain produces overconfidence, whereas self-assessment of visual perceptual judgments results in under-confidence. Despite contrary empirical evidence, in models attempting to explain those phenomena, individual differences have often been disregarded. The authors report on 2 studies in which that shortcoming was addressed. In Experiment 1, participants (N = 520) completed a large number of cognitive-ability tests. Results indicated that individual differences provide a meaningful source of overconfidence and that a metacognitive trait might mediate that effect. In further analysis, there was only a relatively small correlation between test accuracy and confidence bias. In Experiment 2 (N = 107 participants), both perceptual and cognitive ability tests were included, along with measures of personality. Results again indicated the presence of a confidence factor that transcended the nature of the testing vehicle. Furthermore, a small relationship was found between that factor and some self-reported personality measures. Thus, personality traits and cognitive ability appeared to play only a small role in determining the accuracy of self-assessment. Collectively, the present results suggest that there are multiple causes of miscalibration, which current models of over- and underconfidence fail to encompass.     

Stuck in the Middle: The Use and Interpretation of Mid-Points in Items on Questionnaires

Likert-type scales are commonly used when assessing attitudes, personality characteristics, and other psychological variables. This study examined the effect of varying the number of response options on the same set of 28 attitudinal items. Participants answered items using either a 4-point scale (forced choice), a 5-point scale that included a “neither” mid-point, or a 4-point scale with an option of “no opinion” presented after the item. The questionnaire also included an item asking participants what they believe the midpoint in a scale indicated. As predicted, participants’ interpretations of the midpoint varied widely with the most common responses being: “no opinion,” “don't care,” “unsure,” “neutral,” “equal/both,” and “neither.” The quantitative results showed that participants’ levels of item endorsement varied based on the response options offered. For example, “neither” was chosen more often than “no opinion” on all of the items.     

The influence of breast cancer survivors' Perceived partner social support and need satisfaction on depressive symptoms: A longitudinal analysis

The present study examines the ways in which breast cancer survivors’ perceptions of emotional and instrumental social support from an intimate partner and need satisfaction in their partner role influence depression during and after breast cancer treatment. Our sample was comprised of 163 women who were an average of 57 years old, mostly White/Caucasian, and diagnosed primarily with early-stage breast cancer. Longitudinal data were analysed using both multilevel and structural equation modelling. Results reveal that (a) greater perceived partner emotional support is associated with lowered levels of depression at each wave, (b) partner-role need satisfaction mediates the relationship between perceived partner emotional support and depression at each wave, (c) perceived partner emotional support predicts subsequent changes in depression by way of need satisfaction and (d) depression prospectively predicts lowered perceptions of partner emotional and instrumental support. The findings confirm that basic need satisfaction, within intimate relationships, is an important predictor of lowered depression among breast cancer survivors.     

Neuropsychological Abilities of Preschool-Aged Children Who Display Hyperactivity and/or Oppositional-Defiant Behavior Problems

This study focused on gaining a better understanding of the neuropsychological abilities of preschool-aged children who show elevated levels of hyperactivity and oppositional-defiance. It examined the performance of children aged 48 to 67 months on tests of attention/executive function, language, memory, and sensorimotor abilities, as measured by the NEPSY and Conners' K-CPT. Two hundred thirty-seven children were divided into four subgroups based on mothers' report of behavior using rating scales and a diagnostic interview: hyperactive only (HYP), oppositional-defiant only (OD), hyperactive and oppositional-defiant (HYP/OD), and nonproblem. Children in the HYP/OD group scored significantly worse than nonproblem children on four of nine subtests on the NEPSY, including one test of executive function, one test of language comprehension, and both tests of short-term verbal memory. However, only the test of executive function (Statue) showed significant predictive power, and, while specificity of this subtest was good, sensitivity was poor. On the K-CPT, a continuous performance test, children in both the HYP and HYP/OD groups performed worse than children in the OD and nonproblem groups. When the NEPSY Statue subtest and the K-CPT were used together, overall predictive power was .74. Results suggest that neuropsychological deficits can be observed among preschool children with hyperactivity, particularly when comorbid oppositional-defiance is present; however, moderate predictive power suggests that these tests should be used in conjunction with other methods of assessment.     

The Effects of Syntactic Complexity on Processing Sentences in Noise

This paper discusses the influence of stationary (non-fluctuating) noise on processing and understanding of sentences, which vary in their syntactic complexity (with the factors canonicity, embedding, ambiguity). It presents data from two RT-studies with 44 participants testing processing of German sentences in silence and in noise. Results show a stronger impact of noise on the processing of structurally difficult than on syntactically simpler parts of the sentence. This may be explained by a combination of decreased acoustical information and an increased strain on cognitive resources, such as working memory or attention, which is caused by noise. The noise effect for embedded sentences is less than for non-embedded sentences, which may be explained by a benefit from prosodic information.     

The Levels Hypothesis: A Re-Examination and Reorientation

The levels-hypothesis appears to be derived from psychoanalytic theory, and in its most popular interpretation is concerned with levels of consciousness. However, it is argued that a gradient of consciousness has no application to projective techniques, essentially because there are no principles of differentiation. It is for this reason that the studies which have been done have concerned themselves with such concepts as pathology, concepts which have a tenuous relation to the original levels-hypothesis. The paper has proposed that consciousness in the sense of awareness can more meaningfully be applied to projective material, and that when it is used in this sense a levels-hypothesis can be derived which is both testable and has an adequate rationale.     

Concurrent Validity of the Personality Assessment Inventory Borderline Scales in Patients Seeking Dialectical Behavior Therapy

Drawing on a large, nationally representative sample of young adults (the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; N = 15,701; M age = 29.10), we evaluated the psychometric properties of the Mini-IPIP, a 20-item inventory designed to concisely assess the 5 factors of personality. The results suggest that the Mini-IPIP has a 5-factor structure; most of the scales have acceptable reliability; all the scales have partial or full metric invariance; and the scales exhibit some degree of criterion validity. However, the absence of scalar invariance for many of the scales suggests caution when comparing personality scores among groups defined by sex or race and ethnicity. We offer practical considerations for researchers interested in using this inventory with this sample, and also suggestions for modification of the Mini-IPIP.