Ethnoracial comparisons in anxiety and depression outcomes among Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander college students

We explored differences in distress scores at intake as well as the change in anxiety and depression scores over the course of 12 therapy sessions for Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (NHPI) college students. Data were collected from the Center for Collegiate Mental Health (N = 256,242). Results support the notion that NHPI college students experience anxiety and depression in therapy differently from other ethnic groups with moderate-to-large magnitudes of effect.     

Early Change Trajectories in Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy for Binge-Eating Disorder

Rapid response is considered the most well-established outcome predictor across treatments of binge-eating disorder (BED), including cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). This study sought to identify latent trajectories of early change in CBT and compare them to common rapid response classifications. In a multicenter randomized trial, 86 adults with BED (DSM-IV) or subsyndromal BED provided weekly self-reports of binge eating over the first 4 weeks of CBT, which were analyzed to predict binge eating, depression, and body mass index at posttreatment, 6-, and 18-month follow-up. Using latent growth mixture modeling, three patterns of early change—including moderate and low decreasing—as well as low stable binge eating were identified, which significantly predicted binge-eating remission at 6-month follow-up. Other classifications of rapid response based on Receiver Operating Characteristics curve analyses or on the literature (≥ 10% reduction in binge eating at week 1, ≥ 70% reduction in binge eating at week 4) only predicted posttreatment remission or overall depression, respectively. Latent change trajectories, but not other rapid response classifications, predicted binge-eating frequency over time. A fine-grained analysis of change over the first 4 weeks of CBT for BED revealed different trajectories of early change in binge eating that led to an improved prediction of binge-eating outcome, compared to that of common rapid response classifications. Thorough monitoring of early change trajectories during treatment may have clinical utility.     

Faking Good: An Investigation of Social Desirability and Defensiveness in an Inpatient Sample With Personality Disorder Traits

Accurate interpretations of psychological assessments rely heavily on forthright reporting. However, researchers and practitioners recognize that examinees can easily invalidate their test results by underreporting symptoms or overstating positive attributes. Rogers (2008) delineated two distinct but related forms of positive impression management (PIM): defensiveness (denying symptoms and psychological impairment) and social desirability (putting forth an exaggeratedly positive image). Although these two have often been combined in past research, this study sought to investigate each separately via a mixed within- and between-subjects simulation design. Simulation scenarios included a special rehabilitation program for the defensiveness (DF) condition and a competitive job for social desirability (SD). The study used the Personality Inventory for DSM–5 (PID–5; Krueger, Derringer, Markon, Watson, & Skodol, 2012) and recruited 106 inpatients from a psychiatric hospital. As expected, inpatients with prominent personality traits substantially suppressed them under both PIM conditions. Having shown the susceptibility of the PID–5 to intentional distortion, two empirically derived and conceptually based validity scales were next developed to address this important concern. Pending further validation, they might contribute to screening PIM presentations, thus promoting the PID–5's clinical utility. Continued research is needed across multiscale inventories for differentiating PIM presentations.     

Together towards Life,Missional Formation,and Transforming Discipleship

Adoption of Together towards Life as a new mission statement of the World Council of Churches was a moment pregnant with possibility. Will this ground‐breaking document have a transformative impact on individual lives, on community life, on national life, on international life? The answer, to a great extent, will depend on how far it comes to be used as a resource in education and formation. For it to be used in a relevant and effective way, it will need to be considered contextually. A project has been under way to create a pedagogical guidebook to support the deployment of Together towards Life in missional education and formation. This will promote academic rigour, but will also go further to engage the spiritual level and the challenge of discipleship.