Implementation of Universal Behavioral Health Screening in a University Health Setting

Universal screening at university health centers can facilitate early identification and treatment of behavioral health problems common among college students. This article describes the (a) process of implementing behavioral health screening at a university health center and (b) results of universal screening for depression, suicidal ideation, alcohol misuse, tobacco use, and sleep problems. We discuss the decision points involved in screening, including what to screen for, whom to screen, how to implement the screening measure, and how to deal with patients who screen positive. During the Spring and Fall 2010 academic semesters, 4,126 screening questionnaires were completed by students (62 % female) accessing a university health center. Each semester, 9–13 % of students screened positive for depression, 2.5–3 % for suicidal ideation, and 33–38 % for alcohol misuse, while 10 % wanted help with smoking cessation and 12–13 % with sleep problems. The results suggest that behavioral health screening in a university health center can help identify students with behavioral health concerns to increase access to care.     

Faith as a Cultural Variable: Implications for Counselor Training

Counselors are faced with a unique challenge when faith is a prominent clinical variable. Although faith is deemed relevant, counselors may not feel comfortable approaching the subject of faith with clients. Participants in this study were practicing counselors licensed in their respective states; each was also a current doctoral candidate in counselor education and supervision. A scenario involving a complex interaction of faith; family systems; and lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues in clinical practice was provided. Participants were found to be more likely to value the importance of addressing faith in sessions than they were to actually use faith as an intervention.     

Frequency and impact of trauma in older women: A military and nonmilitary sample

Understanding the impact of trauma on late-life functioning in older females is needed in order to provide best care. We explored the impact of trauma on late-life psychological and physical health and functioning among older women (n = 48) who served in the military, or participated in a military lifestyle. Eleven of these women were not veterans, but married to military personnel. Number of traumatic exposures and types of events experienced was associated with increased trauma symptom severity. Trauma symptom severity was associated with decreased physical functioning and increased pain. Increased numbing and avoidance was significantly associated with poorer physical functioning and increased pain. Older women in this study remained at risk of experiencing negative consequences of trauma in terms of increased quantity and severity of trauma symptoms and physical decline and pain. Clinical and research implications are discussed.     

Dyadic measurement invariance and its importance for replicability in romantic relationship science

Comparisons of group means, variances, correlations, and/or regression slopes involving psychological variables rely on an assumption of measurement invariance—that the latent variables under investigation have equivalent meaning and measurement across group. When measures are noninvariant, replicability suffers, as comparisons are either conceptually meaningless, or hindered by inflated Type I error rates. We propose that the failure to account for interdependence among dyad members when testing measurement invariance may be a potential source of unreplicable findings in relationship research. We developed fully dyadic versions of invariance models, created an R package (dySEM) to make specifying dyadic invariance models easier and reporting more reproducible, and executed a Registered Report for gauging the extent of dyadic (non)invariance in romantic relationship research across measures of relationship well‐being, personality, and sexuality in a sample of 282 heterosexual couples. We found that although a number of popular measures display good evidence of dyadic invariance, a few display concerning levels and interesting patterns of noninvariance, while others appeared either noninvariant or poorly fitting for both men and women. We discuss our findings in terms of their meaning for the replicability dyadic close relationship research. We close by arguing that increased theorizing and research on dyadic invariance, and inclusive methods for analyzing invariance with indistinguishable dyads, are needed to capitalize on the opportunity to advance our field's understanding of dyadic constructions of relational concepts.     

Neurocognitive outcomes in children with unilateral basal ganglia arterial ischemic stroke and secondary hemidystonia

Dystonia is a movement disorder that involves excessive, involuntary muscle contractions resulting in repetitive movements and/or abnormal posturing. One common cause of unilateral dystonia in childhood is ischemic stroke involving the basal ganglia and/or thalamus. Virtually nothing is known about neuropsychological outcomes in children who have dystonia following basal ganglia stroke. The present study explored whether or not children with secondary dystonia experience additional cognitive challenges when compared to children with similar patterns of brain injury, but no dystonia. We examined intellectual function, academics, and several aspects of executive function in children with unilateral basal ganglia stroke during childhood, comparing those with dystonia and those without. Although groups did not differ in terms of lesion size, we found significantly lower performance on measures of verbal and nonverbal reasoning, inhibitory control, and academic ability in children with secondary dystonia compared to those without. In contrast, there were no significant group differences on parent ratings of their child’s executive function in daily life. These findings suggest that maladaptive reorganization following basal ganglia stroke may contribute to the development of secondary dystonia and also to poor intellectual and academic outcomes in this group.     

Effects of Acceptance and Commitment Training Plus Behavior Parent Training on Parental Implementation of Autism Treatment

The Psychological Record - The objective of this study was to examine the effects of acceptance and commitment training (ACT) plus behavior parent training (BPT), when delivered via telehealth, on...     

Environmental enrichment in male CD-1 mice promotes aggressive behaviors and elevated corticosterone and brain norepinephrine activity in response to a mild stressor

Housing rodents in an enriched environment (EE) has been typically considered to have positive effects on well-being and cognitive functioning of the animals. However, in some strains of mice, EEs have also been reported to elicit aggression and to promote stress-related outcomes. In the current investigation, we examined whether environmental enrichment would elicit aggression among CD-1 male mice and thus sensitize responses to a subsequent mild stressor. It was first observed that mice housed in an EE for 2 weeks displayed more aggressive behaviors than did mice that had been housed in a standard environment (SE). In the second experiment, it was noted that after 4 weeks of EE or SE housing, mice exhibited comparable plasma corticosterone concentrations as well as levels of brain norepinephrine and its metabolite, 3-methoxy-4-hydroxyphenylglycol (MHPG), in the absence of a challenge. However, upon exposure to mild stressor (placement in a novel cage), relative to their SE counterparts, EE mice were more active and displayed higher plasma corticosterone concentrations and enhanced MHPG accumulation in the prefrontal cortex and hippocampus. It seems that enrichment in male CD-1 mice promotes aggression, and may sensitize biological processes, possibly increasing vulnerability to stressor-related outcomes.     

Self-defining memories and self-defining future projections in hypomania-prone individuals

Mania and hypomania involve dysfunctional beliefs about the self, others, and the world, as well about affect regulation. The present study explored the impact of these beliefs on self-defining memories and self-defining future projections of individuals with a history of hypomanic symptoms. The main findings showed that a history of hypomanic symptoms was related to enhanced retrieval of memories describing positive relationships and to reduced future projections about relationships, suggesting both a need for social bonding and a striving for autonomy. Moreover, hypomania-prone individuals tended to describe more recent events and to produce self-defining memories with references to tension that were more integrated in their self-structure. All of these findings support the presence of conflicting dysfunctional beliefs and the importance of memories containing references to tension in hypomania.     

Gender Differences in Elaborative Parent–Child Emotion and Play Narratives

Reminiscing about the past is an everyday activity that has implications for children’s developing memory and socioemotional skills. However, little research has systematically examined how mothers and fathers may differentially elaborate and engage their daughters and sons in reminiscing. In this study, we asked 42 broadly middle-class, highly educated U.S., mostly Caucasian mothers and fathers from the same families, living in the southeastern U.S., to reminisce about a happy, sad, peer conflict, parental conflict, playground and special outing experience with their 4-year-old child. Narratives were coded for parental styles of cognitive elaboration and joint engagement. Results indicated that mothers are both more elaborative and engaged with children than fathers are, especially about negative emotional and positive play experiences. Thus, mothers appear to be helping children recount and understand their personal past more than fathers, and specifically, in working through difficult emotions that may facilitate emotion regulation skills.