Historical change of suicide seasonality in the canton of zurich, Switzerland

Current research is yielding an increasingly heterogeneous picture of suicide seasonalities: They seem to depend on methods and, moreover, they seem to have smoothed in recent decades. This work examines the latter issue by comparing suicide seasonalities in the canton of Zurich, Switzerland, in the 16 th -18 th centuries, 1901-1920 and 1969-94. The results indicate shifts of peaks and lows on suicide seasonalities over the centuries, with a smoothing of seasonalities toward the 21 th century. The recent period does not show any suicide seasonality at all. The canton of Zurich seems to be ahead of the general trend found in other regions of Switzerland.     

Trust in hybrid human-automated decision-support

Research has examined trust in humans and trust in automated decision support. Although reflecting a likely realization of decision support in high-risk tasks such as personnel selection, trust in hybrid human-automation teams has thus far received limited attention. In two experiments (N₁ = 170, N₂ = 154) we compare trust, trustworthiness, and trusting behavior for different types of decision-support (automated, human, hybrid) across two assessment contexts (personnel selection, bonus payments). We additionally examined a possible trust violation by presenting one group of participants a preselection that included predominantly male candidates, thus reflecting possible unfair bias. Whereas fully-automated decisions were trusted less, results suggest that trust in hybrid decision support was similar to trust in human-only support. Trust violations were not perceived differently based on the type of support. We discuss theoretical (e.g., trust in hybrid support) and practical implications (e.g., keeping humans in the loop to prevent negative reactions).     

The hard core of counseling

Pastoral Psychology -     

The importance of conduct problems and depressive symptoms in predicting adolescent substance use

The current study assessed the relative importance of conduct problems and depressive symptoms, measured at two ages (11 and 15), for predicting substance use at age 15 in an unselected birth cohort of New Zealand adolescents. Among males, when the relative predictive utility of both conduct problems and depressive symptoms was assessed, only pre-adolescent depressive symptoms were found to predict multiple drug use 4 years later. No predictive relation was found between early symptomatology and later substance use among females. The strongest association between predictors and substance use emerged between age 15 multiple drug use and concurrent conduct problems for both males and females. Finally, both conduct problems and depressive symptoms at age 15 were also found to be associated with concurrent self-medication among females.This work was supported by USPHS grants MH-43746 and MH-45070 from the Antisocial and Violent Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health to Terrie Moffitt. Bill Henry was funded by a Fulbright Travel Award. The Dunedin Multidisciplinary Health and Development Research Unit is supported by the Medical Research Council and Health Research Council of New Zealand. Appreciation is expressed to the interviewers who collected the data, and to the young New Zealanders who were members of the sample.     

Using the common-sense model to predict risk perception and disease-related worry in individuals at increased risk for venous thrombosis.

OBJECTIVE: This study applied the Common-Sense Model (CSM) to predict risk perception and disease-related worry in 174 individuals with a genetic predisposition to venous thrombosis (thrombophilia). DESIGN: Participants completed an adapted version of the Illness Perception Questionnaire-Revised (IPQ-R) and measures assessing risk perception and worry. RESULTS: Regression analyses revealed that illness perceptions were predictors of risk perception and thrombosis worry. The hypothesis that illness perceptions mediate the relationship between a person's experience of venous thrombosis and perceived risk and thrombosis worry could not be confirmed. CONCLUSIONS: Further research should refine the IPQ-R for populations at risk of a disease and examine the value of the CSM in explaining the relationship between risk perception, worry, and health behavior.     

Interactions between serotonin transporter gene haplotypes and quality of mothers' parenting predict the development of children's noncompliance

The LPR and STin2 polymorphisms of the serotonin transporter gene (SLC6A4) were combined into haplotypes that, together with quality of maternal parenting, were used to predict initial levels and linear change in children's (N = 138) noncompliance and aggression from age 18-54 months. Quality of mothers' parenting behavior was observed when children were 18 months old, and nonparental caregivers' reports of noncompliance and aggression were collected annually from 18 to 54 months of age. Quality of early parenting was negatively related to the slope of noncompliance only for children with the LPR-S/STin2-10 haplotype and to 18-month noncompliance only for children with haplotypes that did not include LPR-S. The findings support the notion that SLC6A4 haplotypes index differential susceptibility to variability in parenting quality, with certain haplotypes showing greater reactivity to both supportive and unsupportive environments. These different genetic backgrounds likely reflect an evolutionary response to variation in the parenting environment.     

Social-evaluative versus self-evaluative appearance concerns in Body Dysmorphic Disorder

Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) is characterised by significant preoccupation and distress relating to an imagined or slight defect in appearance. Individuals with BDD frequently report marked concerns relating to perceived negative evaluation of their appearance by others, but research specifically investigating such concerns remains limited. This study investigated the extent and nature of appearance-related social-evaluative and self-evaluative concerns in individuals with BDD and healthy controls. BDD participants, in comparison to controls, reported high levels of importance and anxiety associated with perceptions of others' views of their appearance, in addition to their own view. No differences were observed in the level of importance and anxiety associated with their self-view in comparison to others' views. These findings support existing evidence indicating that appearance-related social-evaluative concerns are a central feature of BDD. Cognitive-behavioural treatment implications are discussed.