Are Religiosity and Spirituality Associated with Obesity Among African Americans in the Southeastern United States (the Jackson Heart Study)?

There are several lines of evidence that suggest religiosity and spirituality are protective factors for both physical and mental health, but the association with obesity is less clear. This study examined the associations between dimensions of religiosity and spirituality (religious attendance, daily spirituality, and private prayer), health behaviors and weight among African Americans in central Mississippi. Jackson Heart Study participants with complete data on religious attendance, private prayer, daily spirituality, caloric intake, physical activity, depression, and social support (n = 2,378) were included. Height, weight, and waist circumference were measured. We observed no significant association between religiosity, spirituality, and weight. The relationship between religiosity/spirituality and obesity was not moderated by demographic variables, psychosocial variables, or health behaviors. However, greater religiosity and spirituality were related to lower energy intake, less alcohol use, and less likelihood of lifetime smoking. Although religious participation and spirituality were not cross-sectionally related to weight among African Americans, religiosity and spirituality might promote certain health behaviors. The association between religion and spirituality and weight gain deserves further investigation in studies with a longitudinal study design.     

Sentence processing in Lewy body spectrum disorder: the role of working memory

Prior work has related sentence processing to executive deficits in non-demented patients with Parkinson's disease (PD). We extended this investigation to patients with dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and PD dementia (PDD) by examining grammatical and working memory components of sentence processing in the full range of patients with Lewy body spectrum disorder (LBSD). Thirty-three patients with LBSD were given a two-alternative, forced-choice sentence-picture matching task. Sentence type, working memory, and grammatical structure were systematically manipulated in the sentences. We found that patients with PDD and DLB were significantly impaired relative to non-demented PD patients and healthy controls. The deficit in PDD/DLB was most pronounced for sentences lengthened by the strategic placement of an additional prepositional phrase and for sentences with an additional proposition due to a center-embedded clause. However, there was no effect for subject-relative versus object-relative grammatical structure. An MRI voxel-based morphometry analysis in a subset of patients showed significant gray matter thinning in the frontal lobe bilaterally, and this extended to temporal, parietal and occipital regions. A regression analysis related sentence processing difficulty in LBSD to frontal neocortex, including inferior prefrontal, premotor, and dorsolateral prefrontal regions, as well as right superior temporal cortex. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that patients with PDD and DLB have difficulty processing sentences with increased working memory demands and that this deficit is related in part to their frontal disease.     

Aging and retrospective revaluation of causal learning

In a 2-stage causal learning task, young and older participants first learned which foods presented in compound were followed by an allergic reaction (e.g., STEAK-BEANS→ REACTION) and then the causal efficacy of 1 food from these compounds was revalued (e.g., BEANS→ NO REACTION). In Experiment 1, unrelated food pairs were used, and although there were no age differences in compound- or single-cue-outcome learning, older adults did not retrospectively revalue the causal efficacy of the absent target cues (e.g., STEAK). However, they had weaker within-compound associations for the unrelated foods, and this may have prevented them from retrieving the representations of these cues. In Experiment 2, older adults still showed no retrospective revaluation of absent cues even though compound food cues with pre-existing associations were used (e.g., STEAK-POTATO), and they received additional learning trials. Finally, in Experiment 3, older adults revalued the causal efficacy of the target cues when small, unobtrusive icons of these cues were present during single-cue revaluation. These findings suggest that age-related deficits in causal learning for absent cues are due to ineffective associative binding and reactivation processes.     

Medical Family Therapy: Charting a Course in Competencies

The skills and training medical family therapists need to be effective in their work is an underdeveloped area in the literature. Training programs in Medical Family Therapy (MedFT) currently vary in duration, intensity, and focus of material and most of this is due to the minimal research done on what core competencies are needed. The results presented in this paper are the product of a larger modified Delphi (Dalkey in Studies in the quality of life, Lexington Books, Lexinton, MA, 1972) study designed to reach consensus regarding the current definition, scope, and practice of MedFT. Thirty-seven experts in MedFT participated in this two-phase investigation. What resulted and will be reported on in this article are the training requirements and recommended core competencies for the practice of MedFT. Participants indicated that 12 academic course content areas and 13 core competencies should be required of those seeking training in MedFT. Recommendations for MedFT core competencies at the master??s, post master??s, and doctoral levels, as well as advancements for future research, are described in detail.     

Age-based differences in treatment outcome among alcohol-dependent women

The literature suggests that women are at higher risk for negative consequences from alcohol use than men and that these risks are compounded by age. The current study investigated how alcohol-dependent women from different age groups might differ in terms of baseline functioning and treatment response. The sample consisted of 181 participants drawn from two randomized clinical trials of cognitive-behavioral treatments for alcohol-dependent women. Demographic and psychopathology data were obtained at baseline using the SCID (Structured Clinical Interview for DSM disorders) I for Axis I disorders and the SCID II or Personality Disorders Questionnaire for Axis II disorders. Social networks data were collected using the Important People and Activities Interview. Drinking data were collected at baseline and follow-up using the Timeline Follow Back Interview. ANOVAs revealed that older women had better psychosocial functioning in terms of being better educated and reporting fewer Axis I disorders. Also, older women had more supportive social networks in terms of more people, a smaller percentage of heavy drinkers, and a nondrinking spouse. Older women reported a less severe lifetime substance use history with a later age of first drink, later onset of alcohol use disorders, fewer lifetime abuse/dependence items, and less drug use. However, they reported drinking more frequently and more heavily over the 90 days prior to treatment. Finally, older women were more compliant with treatment and responded better by reducing drinking frequency and percentage of heavy drinking days. Suggestions to enhance treatment efficacy for younger women are made as well as suggestions for future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved).     

Collective interviewing of suspects

When people are interviewed about possible wrongdoing that has been committed in groups, they typically are interviewed separately. Yet, in several settings it would be more intuitive and convenient to interview suspects together. Importantly, such collective interviews could yield verbal cues to deception. This is the first deception experiment to investigate collective interviewing. Twenty-one pairs of truth tellers and 22 pairs of liars were interviewed pair-wise about having had lunch together in a restaurant. Given that truth tellers adopt a “tell it all” strategy in the interviews while, in contrast, liars prefer to keep their stories simple, we predicted that pairs of truth tellers would (i) interrupt and (ii) correct each other more, and would (iii) add more information to each other's answers than pairs of liars. The results supported these hypotheses. Theory-driven interventions to elicit more cues to deception through simultaneous interviewing are discussed.     

A Review of “Mind to Mind: Infant Research,Neuroscience, and Psychoanalysis”

Abstract

This article examines current research pertaining to the relationship between a mother and her children, and how this relationship may affect sibling interactions. Issues such as temperament, gender, and the age gap between children are also explored to ascertain their impact on the sibling relationship.

The displacement of the first-born child and the ensuing sense of loss and anger he may experience as a result of this is explored. The mother's second pregnancy is also discussed in regard to the impact of unresolved issues relating to her own sibling relations. The mother's interactions with each child, her role as a model for identification, and marital relations are discussed in light of their impact on sibling relations.

The evolution of a positive attachment between siblings is explored. Rivalrous behavior between siblings is also discussed, particularly in association to the mother's treatment of her own children and the manner in which the mother deals with her own aggression.     

NEW LOSS FROM AN OLD PROBLEM: HOW COUNSELORS CAN ASSIST PERSONS WITH POSTPOLIO SYNDROME

For many persons who were diagnosed with polio years ago, late effect symptoms were not anticipated. They believed they had gone through the more severe ramifications of the illness and were unaware that additional problems could occur. Currently, there are hundreds of thousands of persons in the United States who are experiencing significant difficulties with old symptoms and are also developing new physical and emotional difficulties. Unfortunately, little research has looked at the ways counselors can assist this population.Therefore, the purposes of this study were to identify the physical and emotional problems confronting persons with postpolio and to help counselors gain an understanding of issues they feel might be most appropriate to address in therapy sessions.