Suppressor effects and age differences in the expression of anxious emotion

This study examined the role of suppressor effects on age differences in anxious emotion. Children and adolescents (n = 1099) ages 7–18 years were assessed for separation anxiety, social anxiety, and generalized anxiety. Results of zero-order correlations indicated a significant negative association between age and separation anxiety but no association for social anxiety and generalized anxiety. However, semi-partial correlations indicated the presence of a cooperative suppressor effect such that the associations between age and social anxiety as well as age and generalized anxiety symptoms became significant and positive and the association with separation anxiety became larger in a simultaneous regression analysis of each facet with age. Similar effects occurred when controlling for hyperarousal in an ANCOVA across grade levels. Results suggest that attempts to understand developmental differences in anxious emotion in childhood and adolescence will be facilitated by parsing facets of anxious emotion and attention to potential suppressor effects.     

Group Treatment of Sexually Abused Adolescent Girls: A Review of Outcome Studies

Abstract

This paper considers factors that make children “at risk” for postdivorce maladjustment. The risk factors include (a) demographic variables of sex, age and socioeconomic status; (b) predivorce family functioning; (c) postdivorce relationship with the ex-spouse; (d) postdivorce parentchild interaction; and (e) social support systems. Treatment programs incorporating these factors are briefly described. Recommendations are provided for the clinician and researcher.     

Anxiety and expectancy violations: Neural response to false feedback is exaggerated in worriers

This study investigated how individual differences in anxiety modulate the neural response to errors and performance feedback. The design included false feedback on some trials in order to test the hypothesis that anxious people show stronger neural reactions to feedback that is worse than expected. Participants completed a trial-and-error learning task that required learning the correct key to press in response to face images. EEG was recorded during the task, and the response-locked error-related negativity (ERN) and feedback-locked ERN were computed to measure neural responses to error commission and feedback. As expected, errors produced a response-locked ERN and false feedback produced a feedback-locked ERN in the group as a whole. High levels of trait worry predicted a disproportionately larger ERN following false feedback, but did not predict the magnitude of the response-locked ERN following errors. These results imply that worry-prone people react more strongly to violations of expectations, rather than to errors themselves.     

Comparison of Mothers' and Fathers' Opinions of Parent–Child Interaction Therapy

Opinions of parenting programs mostly have been obtained from mothers. Because mothers and fathers' interactions with children differ, gathering data from both parents regarding behavior modification and parenting programs is necessary. This project was part of a larger study and compared mothers and fathers' acceptability of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) and its various components. Acceptability data were obtained using the Treatment Evaluation Inventory-Short Form and a modified version of this measure assessing specific PCIT components. The sample consisted of 40 community mother-father pairs of a young male child. Findings suggest gender differences in PCIT treatment acceptability and various PCIT components.     

Administering Quantitative Instruments With Qualitative Interviews: A Mixed Research Approach

The authors demonstrate how collecting quantitative data via psychometrically sound quantitative instruments during the qualitative interview process enhances interpretations by helping researchers better contextualize qualitative findings, specifically through qualitative dominant crossover mixed analyses. They provide an example of this strategy, whereby a baseline was established using a quantitative scale and normative data to help interpret qualitative interviews, resulting in what they call a mixed methods interview. Philosophical and practical implications are discussed.     

Learning and Affect Following Near‐Miss Outcomes in Simulated Gambling

Gambling near‐misses are non‐rewarded events that resemble a winning configuration. Past research using slot machines has shown that moderate rates of near‐misses increase gambling persistence, but the mechanisms supporting this persistence are unclear. One hypothesis is that near‐misses are mistakenly interpreted as signals of skill acquisition, supporting learning and fuelling the ‘illusion of control’. A slot machine simulation was administered to 60 volunteers, with ratings of the perceived chances of winning, pleasure and motivation to play following particular outcomes. Psychophysiological measures (electrodermal activity and heart rate) were taken, and gambling persistence was measured after 30 trials. Near‐misses were similar to full‐miss outcomes in that they were regarded as unpleasant. However, near‐misses were akin to win outcomes in that they increased motivations to play and electrodermal activity. Learning was evidenced by the expectancy of winning increasing following wins and decreasing after losses. Although there was no overall change in expectancy of winning after near‐misses across all participants, those subjects reporting a greater increase in the expectancy of winning following a near‐miss showed more persistent play, consistent with the learning hypothesis. Greater heart rate acceleration following near‐misses was also associated with persistence. We also observed differential effects of near‐misses where the reel stopped either side of the winning position (‘payline’): motivational effects were restricted to near‐misses stopping before the payline, whereas near‐misses that stopped after the payline were primarily aversive. The payline effects are not predicted by the learning hypothesis and may indicate an affective component to near‐misses, possibly linked to counterfactual processing. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Adolescent Sexual Assault Disclosure: The Impact of Peers, Families, and Schools

Adolescent sexual assault survivors are more likely to seek support from peers and families than to formal help systems, such as the medical and legal systems. In this study, we conducted in-depth qualitative interviews with N = 20 adolescent sexual assault survivors aged 14–17 who obtained services from Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Programs to understand the pathways that led them to seek formal help. Our goal was to examine how survivors’ initial disclosures to peers, families, and schools facilitated adolescents’ access to formal help systems. Additionally, we explored how peer, family and school systems interact as mesosystems to effect subsequent disclosures. Results show that the peer and family microsystems were decisive in survivors’ willingness to enter formal systems. Disclosure became more complex when peer, family, and school personnel all became aware of the assault. When these mesosystem interactions occurred with survivors’ consent and produced a helpful response, they were perceived as positive. Alternatively, mesosystem interactions in which survivors had minimal control resulted in greater reluctance to enter formal systems. These conclusions highlight the need educating informal support providers about community services in order to make the disclosure process easier and beneficial for survivors’ recovery and well-being.     

Prediction of toddlers’ expressive language from maternal sensitivity and toddlers’ anger expressions: A developmental perspective

Despite evidence for the importance of individual differences in expressive language during toddlerhood in predicting later literacy skills, few researchers have examined individual and contextual factors related to language abilities across the toddler years. Furthermore, a gap remains in the literature about the extent to which the relations of negative emotions and parenting to language skills may differ for girls and boys. The purpose of this longitudinal study was to investigate the associations among maternal sensitivity, children's observed anger reactivity, and expressive language when children were 18 (T1; n = 247) and 30 (T2; n = 216) months. At each age, mothers reported on their toddlers’ expressive language, and mothers’ sensitive parenting behavior was observed during an unstructured free-play task. Toddlers’ anger expressions were observed during an emotion-eliciting task. Using path modeling, results showed few relations at T1. At T2, maternal sensitivity was negatively related to anger, and in turn, anger was associated with lower language skills. However, moderation analyses showed that these findings were significant for boys but not for girls. In addition, T1 maternal sensitivity and anger positively predicted expressive language longitudinally for both sexes. Findings suggest that the relations between maternal sensitivity, anger reactivity and expressive language may vary depending on the child's developmental stage and sex.     

Individual and collaborative implementation intentions and the promotion of breast self-examination

Implementation intentions, plans relating to when and where behaviours will be performed, have been effective in increasing health behaviour. Two studies are reported that test the impact of this strategy in promoting breast self-examination (BSE), a behaviour shown to aid the early detection of tumours. In study 1, 457 participants were randomly allocated to either implementation intention or control conditions. Implementation intentions significantly increased the likelihood of BSE at one month. The effect of the intervention was marginally significant at six months. Study 2 (N?=?101) tested the efficacy of a collaborative implementation intention intervention that required female participants to plan, with a partner, collaborative BSE performance. Results indicated that both implementation intentions and partner involvement were associated with BSE performance at one month, whilst the collaborative implementation intention intervention showed a 100% success rate. Collaborative implementation intentions may reduce forgetfulness. Interventions that encourage partner involvement in planning and enacting behaviour appear to enhance implementation intention utility.