Body image, shape, and volumetric assessments using 3D whole body laser scanning and 2D digital photography in females with a diagnosed eating disorder: preliminary novel findings

We piloted three-dimensional (3D) body scanning in eating disorder (ED) patients. Assessments of 22 ED patients (including nine anorexia nervosa (AN) patients, 12 bulimia nervosa (BN) patients, and one patient with eating disorder not otherwise specified) and 22 matched controls are presented. Volunteers underwent visual screening, two-dimensional (2D) digital photography to assess perception and dissatisfaction (via computerized image distortion), and adjunctive 3D full-body scanning. Patients and controls perceived themselves as bigger than their true shape (except in the chest region for controls and anorexia patients). All participants wished to be smaller across all body regions. Patients had poorer veridical perception and greater dissatisfaction than controls. Perception was generally poorer and dissatisfaction greater in bulimia compared with anorexia patients. 3D-volume:2D-area relationships showed that anorexia cases had least tissue on the torso and most on the arms and legs relative to frontal area. The engagement of patients with the scanning process suggests a validation study is viable. This would enable mental constructs of body image to be aligned with segmental volume of body areas, overcoming limitations, and errors associated with 2D instruments restricted to frontal (coronal) shapes. These novel data could inform the design of clinical trials in adjunctive treatments for eating disorders.     

Preventing suicide through improved training in suicide risk assessment and care: an American Association of Suicidology Task Force report addressing serious gaps in U.S. mental health training

There are twice as many suicides as homicides in the United States, and the suicide rate is rising. Suicides increased 12% between 1999 and 2009. Mental health professionals often treat suicidal patients, and suicide occurs even among patients who are seeking treatment or are currently in treatment. Despite these facts, training of most mental health professionals in the assessment and management of suicidal patients is surprisingly limited. The extant literature regarding the frequency with which mental health professionals encounter suicidal patients is reviewed, as is the prevalence of training in suicide risk assessment and management. Most importantly, six recommendations are made to address the longstanding insufficient training within the mental health professions regarding the assessment and management of suicidal patients.     

The Impact of Neighborhood Factors on the Well-Being of Survivors of Intimate Partner Violence Over Time

Intimate partner violence (IPV) is a pervasive social problem impacting the psychological well-being of millions of US women annually. The extant literature draws our attention to the devastating mental health effects of IPV, but largely overlooks how ecological factors may further explain survivors' well-being. This study examined how neighborhood disadvantage may contribute to survivors' compromised well-being, in addition to the abuse women experienced. Neighborhood disorder and fear of victimization significantly impacted survivors' well-being, over and above abuse. Although between-women effects of neighborhood disorder and fear were unrelated to change in women's depression or quality of life (QOL), significant within-woman effects were detected. Change in neighborhood disorder was negatively associated with change in QOL, and this relationship was fully mediated by fear. While no direct relationship between change in neighborhood disorder and depression was detected, an indirect effect through survivors' fear was revealed. Implications for future research and practice are discussed.     

Attachment and the management of empathic accuracy in relationship-threatening situations

The current studies tested how attachment orientations are related to empathic accuracy (i.e., the accuracy with which one infers a partner's private thoughts and feelings) during attachment-relevant discussions. In Study 1, married couples were videotaped discussing a severe or a less severe relationship issue that involved intimacy or jealousy. In Study 2, dating couples were videotaped trying to resolve a relationship conflict. Consistent with the revised empathic accuracy model, highly avoidant individuals were less empathically accurate in both studies. Relative to less anxious persons, highly anxious individuals were more empathically accurate when discussing intimacy issues that posed a potential threat to their relationship (in Study 1) and when they were rated as more distressed when discussing a relationship conflict (in Study 2). The findings are discussed in terms of how highly anxious and highly avoidant people differentially manage empathic accuracy to regulate negative affect and facilitate their interpersonal goals.     

The eternal yearning

Parker Palmer defines spirituality as ‘the eternal yearning to be connected with something larger than our own egos’ (2003, 121). This yearning is an innate human need that transcends age, culture, ethnicity and belief. Despite deficit assumptions about young people, they are drawn to this need to surmount the ego and contribute to something larger than their own wants and needs. Two counter stories of young people involved in social activism outline how this is achieved. These are stories of contribution, compassion, empathy and understanding. Implications for schools are outlined including the range of learning that social activism inspires.     

Emotion Dysregulation and Eating Disorder Symptoms: Examining Distinct Associations and Interactions in Adolescents

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - Emotion dysregulation has been posited as a key transdiagnostic factor of mental health difficulties, including eating disorders. However, how...     

Purity matters more than harm in moral judgments of suicide: Response to Gray (2014)

Many people judge suicide to be immoral. We have found evidence that these moral judgments are primarily predicted by people’s belief that suicide taints the soul and by independent concerns about purity. This finding is inconsistent with accounts that define morality as fundamentally based upon harm considerations. In this commentary, we respond to a critique of our finding, and we provide further support for our original conclusions. Even when applying new exclusion criteria to our data, an examination of effect sizes demonstrates that concerns about purity robustly and meaningfully explain variance in moral judgments of suicide. While harm concerns sometimes predict moral judgments of suicide alongside purity concerns, they reliably explain a much smaller proportion of the variance than do purity concerns. Therefore, data from six studies continue to suggest that the relevance of harm concerns for moral judgments of suicide is substantially overshadowed by the contribution of purity concerns.     

Examiner error in curriculum-based measurement of oral reading

Although curriculum based measures of oral reading (CBM-R) have strong technical adequacy, there is still a reason to believe that student performance may be influenced by factors of the testing situation, such as errors examiners make in administering and scoring the test. This study examined the construct-irrelevant variance introduced by examiners using a cross-classified multilevel model. We sought to determine the extent of variance in student CBM-R scores attributable to examiners and, if present, the extent to which it was moderated by students' grade level and English learner (EL) status. Fit indices indicated that a cross-classified random effects model (CCREM) best fits the data with measures nested within students, students nested within schools, and examiners crossing schools. Intraclass correlations of the CCREM revealed that roughly 16% of the variance in student CBM-R scores was associated between examiners. The remaining variance was associated with the measurement level, 3.59%; between students, 75.23%; and between schools, 5.21%. Results were moderated by grade level but not by EL status. The discussion addresses the implications of this error for low-stakes and high-stakes decisions about students, teacher evaluation systems, and hypothesis testing in reading intervention research.     

Dimensions of Religiousness and Spirituality as Predictors of Well-Being in Advanced Chronic Heart Failure Patients

We examined relationships between seven dimensions of religion/spirituality (RS) (forgiveness, daily spiritual experiences, belief in afterlife, religious identity, religious support, public practices, and positive RS coping) and three dimensions of well-being (physical, mental, and existential) in a sample of 111 patients with advanced chronic heart failure. Participants completed questionnaires at baseline and 3 months later. Results showed that fairly high levels of RS were reported on all seven dimensions. Furthermore, RS dimensions were differentially related to well-being. No aspect of RS was related to physical well-being, and only a few aspects were related to mental well-being. Forgiveness was related to less subsequent depression, while belief in afterlife was related to poorer mental health. All aspects of RS were related to at least one aspect of existential well-being. In particularly, daily spiritual experiences were linked with higher existential well-being and predicted less subsequent spiritual strain. These results are consistent with the view that in advanced disease, RS may not affect physical well-being but may have potent influences on other aspects of well-being, particularly existential aspects.