On the analysis of psychometric functions: The Spearman-Kärber method

With computer simulations, we examined the performance of the Spearman-Kärber method for analyzing psychometric functions and compared this method with the standard technique of probit analysis. The Spearman-Kärber method was found to be superior in most cases. It generally yielded less biased and less variable estimates of the location and dispersion of a psychometric function, and it provided more power to detect differences in these parameters across experimental conditions. Moreover, the Spearman-Kärber method provided information about the skewness and higher moments of psychometric functions that is beyond the scope of probit analysis. These advantages of the Spearman-Kärber method suggest that it should often be used in preference to probit analysis for the analysis of observed psychometric functions.     

“We” are not stressed: Social identity in groups buffers neuroendocrine stress reactions

The presence of others in threatening situations can be a mixed blessing since it is not always perceived as supportive but can also impair well-being. Building on the social identity approach, we tested the idea that the presence of others has a buffering effect on neuroendocrine stress reactions only if a sense of shared social identity is evoked. Therefore, the salience of social versus personal identity was manipulated. To induce social-evaluative stress, the Trier Social Stress Test for groups (TSST-G) was employed, while in the control conditions the Placebo-TSST-G was used. As predicted, social identity salience attenuated the stress-induced cortisol reaction in the TSST-G condition. By contrast, there was no effect of identity salience in the Placebo-TSST-G conditions. These findings provide the first experimental evidence for the idea that being part of a group buffers neuroendocrine stress only if group members develop a sense of shared social identity.     

Trajectories of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Oppositional Defiant Disorder Symptoms as Precursors of Borderline Personality Disorder Symptoms in Adolescent Girls

Little empirical evidence exists regarding the developmental links between childhood psychopathology and borderline personality disorder (BPD) in adolescence. The current study addresses this gap by examining symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) as potential precursors. ADHD and BPD share clinical features of impulsivity, poor self-regulation, and executive dysfunction, while ODD and BPD share features of anger and interpersonal turmoil. The study is based on annual, longitudinal data from the two oldest cohorts in the Pittsburgh Girls Study (N = 1,233). We used piecewise latent growth curve models of ADHD and ODD scores from age 8 to 10 and 10 to 13 years to examine the prospective associations between dual trajectories of ADHD and ODD symptom severity and later BPD symptoms at age 14 in girls. To examine the specificity of these associations, we also included conduct disorder and depression symptom severity at age 14 as additional outcomes. We found that higher levels of ADHD and ODD scores at age 8 uniquely predicted BPD symptoms at age 14. Additionally, the rate of growth in ADHD scores from age 10 to 13 and the rate of growth in ODD scores from 8 to 10 uniquely predicted higher BPD symptoms at age 14. This study adds to the literature on the early development of BPD by providing the first longitudinal study to examine ADHD and ODD symptom trajectories as specific childhood precursors of BPD symptoms in adolescent girls.     

Behavior problems in young children from low‐income families: The development of a new screening tool

The purpose of this study was to construct a screening tool, the Early Childhood Behavior Screen (ECBS), to identify behavior problems and prosocial behaviors in very young children (1–5 years old) from low‐income backgrounds. Field testing of the initial screening tool was conducted with a representative, diverse sample of 439 parents from a low‐income, urban community. The final 20‐item scale was written at a 3.9 grade reading level. Psychometric properties of the ECBS revealed that the items loaded on two factors, the Challenging Behavior factor and the Prosocial Behavior factor. Each factor demonstrated high levels of internal consistency (.87 and .92, respectively). The Challenging Behavior factor demonstrated adequate levels of concurrent validity (r = .75), sensitivity (r = .82), and specificity (r = .80) based on its relationship with the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory (S.M. Eyberg & D. Pincus, 1999). The Prosocial Behavior factor is a clinically useful aspect of the ECBS, as it allows researchers and practitioners to identify the child's positive behaviors as part of a strength‐based approach to treatment. The results suggested that the ECBS has potential as a brief screening tool that is useful in pediatric, psychological, and educational settings that serve low‐income populations to aid in the identification of young children with challenging behaviors that may require intervention services     

War trauma lingers on: Associations between maternal posttraumatic stress disorder,parent–child interaction,and child development

Maternal traumatization has been proposed as a risk factor for child development, but the mechanisms involved are poorly understood. This study analyzed the interrelations among maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms, parent–child interaction (emotional availability), and infants' psychosocial functioning and development among 49 asylum‐seeker and refugee mothers and their children (18–42 months). Measures included assessment of mothers' trauma and comorbid symptoms (Harvard Trauma Questionnaire: R.F. Mollica et al., 1992 ; Hopkins Symptom Checklist: L. Derogatis, R. Lipman, K. Rickels, E. Uhlenhuth, & L. Covi, 1974 ), emotional availability within parent–child interaction (Emotional Availability Scales: Z. Biringen, 2008 ), and infants' psychosocial functioning (Child Behavior Checklist: T.M. Achenbach & L.A. Rescorla, 2000 ) and development (Bayley Scales of Infant Development: B.F. van der Meulen, S.A.J. Ruiter, H.C. Spelberg, & M. Smrkovsky, 2000 ). The results show that higher levels of maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms are associated with a higher level of psychosocial problems of infants, but not with delays in their mental or psychomotor development. The results also show that higher levels of maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms are associated with higher levels of insensitive, unstructuring, or hostile, but not intrusive, parent–child interactions. Infants show lower levels of responsiveness and involvement to their traumatized mothers. Parent–child interaction did not function as a mediator between maternal trauma symptoms and infants' psychosocial functioning. Results are discussed in relation to the dyad's regulation of emotions. Results implicate a need to reestablish attunement between traumatized mothers and their nontraumatized children.     

Temporal processing within and across senses

This special issue on temporal processing within and across senses was the outcome of a two-day workshop that took place in Tübingen, Germany. The aim of the workshop and this special issue was to advance our knowledge on timing and the senses and to bring together two lines of research that have not yet interacted, those of synchrony and duration perception.     

The use of self-disclosure among Swedish psychotherapists

Although self-disclosure, when handled with discretion, is often seen as an important intervention in many psychotherapy orientations, including psychodynamic as well as humanistic and cognitive-behavioral approaches, many psychotherapists seem reluctant to use it. The frequency and type of those interventions from psychotherapists of different orientations is less well known. In this study, a random sample of Swedish psychotherapists was asked about their use of different types of self-disclosing information. The results showed that therapists with CBT orientation told their clients more about their training and about their personal ways of handling affective-relational issues. It was apparent that the trend toward more use of self-disclosure in relational psychodynamic treatment has not been accepted among a large number of psychodynamic and psychoanalytic psychotherapists in Sweden. It is recommended that psychotherapists inform their clients more about their training and in appropriate ways share more with their clients about their own relational experiences. Doing so may help enhance clients’ hope and their ability to address their ongoing difficulties.     

German Muslims and the ‘Integration Debate’: Negotiating Identities in the Face of Discrimination

Based on five focus groups (total N?=?56) with German Muslims, we analyze discourses on the experience of discrimination and feelings of national and religious attachment. The focus groups took place in mid to late 2010 in four German cities. Whereas only few participants describe personal discrimination by non-Muslim Germans, almost all participants complain about being collectively discriminated and rejected. This perception triggers processes of confirming their original cultural identity, primarily their Muslim affiliation and of strengthening the boundary towards the wider society. The analysis of the discourse shows the participants to fall back into an essentialized way of thinking that makes their ethnic being incompatible with being German; and they resort to their Muslim roots as a cultural resource for identity construction and self-worth. Others cope with their feeling of rejection by engaging in local politics and sports activities that allows them to attribute themselves a hyphenated identity as Turkish-Germans. The findings are discussed in terms of social identity, psychological essentialism, transnationalized religion, and boundary making.