Perceptual asymmetry differences between major depression with or without a comorbid anxiety disorder: a dichotic listening study.

Predictions that anxious and nonanxious depression would differ in perceptual asymmetry (PA), as well as in sensitivity for perceiving emotional words, were evaluated using dichotic listening tasks. A total of 149 patients having a major depressive disorder (51 with and 98 without an anxiety disorder) and 57 healthy controls were tested on fused-word and complex tone tasks. The anxious and nonanxious depression groups showed a consistent difference in PA across tasks; that is, the anxious group had a larger left-ear advantage for tones and a smaller right-ear advantage for words when compared with the nonanxious group. There was no group difference in sensitivity for perceiving emotional words. Patients having an anxious depression appear to have a greater propensity to activate right than left-hemisphere regions during auditory tasks, whereas those having a nonanxious depression have the opposite hemispheric asymmetry.     

Do tricyclic responders have different brain laterality?

A previous study showed that depressed patients who improved with tricyclic antidepressant medication had dichotic complex tones test results suggesting right-hemisphere dysfunction relative to nonresponders and controls (G. E. Bruder et al., 1990). A new sample of 68 depressed patients completed dichotic consonant-vowel (CV) and complex tones (CT) tests and then were treated with imipramine or placebo. A significant Ear x Test x Treatment x Response interaction was accounted for by significantly poorer left-ear accuracy for CVs among imipramine responders compared with nonresponders, placebo responders, and controls. CV left-ear accuracy was also significantly greater among placebo responders than placebo nonresponders and controls. The results only partially replicate the prior study in that evidence of right-hemisphere dysfunction in tricyclic responders was seen for the CV test but not the CT test.     

Learning to Make Selection and Detection Decisions: The Roles of Base Rate and Feedback

The effects of type of feedback and base rate on threshold learning in a multiple‐cue decision task were examined. In most such decision experiments, participants receive feedback after every trial (full feedback), and a single base rate (usually 0.5) is used. Our experiment explored conditional feedback (feedback only after positive decisions) representing common selection and detection tasks (such as hiring), where the decision maker receives no feedback unless the decision is positive (e.g., hire the applicant). We used three base rates (0.2, 0.5, and 0.8). As expected, performance was best in full feedback, but after 300 learning trials, the difference was small. Conditional feedback generally resulted in fewer positive decisions than full feedback, but this difference was not found in the low (0.2) base rate condition. There were interactions between base rates and types of feedback. Results provide partial support for the constructivist encoding hypothesis of Elwin and colleagues. Simulation results suggest that our results may reflect overconfidence when feedback is not given. With respect to rate of learning, when the base rate was 0.2, conditional feedback participants reached approximately the same selection rate but did so more slowly than the full feedback participants. Partial feedback participants learned slower and appeared to be still learning after 500 trials. When the base rate was 0.5 or 0.8, partial feedback was nearly as good as full feedback, but conditional feedback resulted in a systematically lower rate of positive decisions. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A Qualitative Investigation of Practicing Psychologists' Attitudes Toward Research-Informed Practice: Implications for Dissemination Strategies

This article presents the results of a qualitative analysis of interviews with 25 psychologists in independent practice, investigating everyday treatment decisions and attitudes about treatment outcome research and empirically supported treatments (ESTs). Clinicians noted positive aspects about treatment outcome research, such as being interested in what works. However, they had misgivings about the application of controlled research findings to their practices, were skeptical about using manualized protocols, and expressed concern that nonpsychologists would use EST lists to dictate practice. Clinicians reported practicing in an eclectic framework, and many reported including cognitive-behavioral elements in their practice. To improve their practice, they reported valuing clinical experience, peer networks, practitioner-oriented books, and continuing education when it was not too basic. Time and financial barriers concerned nearly all participants. Clinicians suggested they might be interested in ESTs if they could integrate them into their current frameworks, and if resources for learning ESTs were improved.     

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.     

Classification of Co-occurring Depression and Substance Abuse Symptoms Predicts Suicide Attempts in Adolescents

Although both depression and substance use have been found to contribute to suicide attempts, the synergistic impact of these disorders has not been fully explored. Additionally, the impact of subthreshold presentations of these disorders has not been researched. We utilized the Quadrant Model of Classification (a matrix of severity of two disorders) to assess for suicide attempt risk among adolescents. Logistic regression was used to examine the impact of co-occurring disorder classification on suicide risk attempts. Results indicate that quadrant classification had a dramatic impact on suicide attempt risk, with individuals with high severity co-occurring disorders at greatest risk.     

Do state laws concerning homosexuals reflect the preeminence of conservative-liberal individual differences?

The present study was conducted to determine whether individual-level correlates of sexual prejudice (i.e., conservatism-liberalism, religious fundamentalism, educational levels, urbanism, income, and living in the South) are predictive at the state level of laws restricting homosexual behaviors and desires. Criterion 1 was a multifaceted index of state laws concerning gay men and lesbians; Criterion 2 was an index of state laws regarding same-sex partnerships. Multiple regression strategies showed that state conservatism-liberalism, as determined from the responses of 141,798 individuals aggregated at the state level (Erikson, Wright, & McIver, 1993), was the prime state-level predictor of both criteria. For Criterion 1, only Southern state status accounted for additional variance (4.2%) above the 54.8% already accounted for by conservatism-liberalism. For Criterion 2, no other variables accounted for variance beyond the 44.6% accounted for by state conservatism-liberalism.     

Public house patrons' engagement in hypothetical sexual assault: a test of Alcohol Myopia Theory in a field setting

Previous research has found that drinking establishments are often antecedent to sexual aggression outcomes. In this study, male participants were randomly selected from public houses (i.e., "pubs") and asked to imagine themselves in a hypothetical intimate encounter in which the female in the scenario stops consenting to sexual contact. Participants were given the option to continue making sexual advances up to and including sexual intercourse against the woman's will. It was hypothesized based on Alcohol Myopia Theory that participant blood alcohol concentration (BAC) levels would be associated with hypothetical sexual aggression when stereotypical cues of a woman's sexual availability (revealing clothing and alcohol use) were present in the scenario. Men's engagement in hypothetical sexual aggression was associated with BAC levels, but only when the woman was wearing revealing clothing. The sobriety of the female actor was not associated with sexual aggression. Results indicate that Alcohol Myopia Theory generalizes to a field setting.     

What Happens in Therapy? Adolescents’ Expectations and Perceptions of Psychotherapy

A measure of adolescent pre-treatment expectations/perceptions of psychotherapy was developed, evaluated, and used to examine adolescent expectancies of psychotherapy. The development of the Psychotherapy Expectations and Perceptions Inventory (PEPI) is described and initial psychometric properties reported. Utilizing a sample of adolescents (N = 546), expectancies of psychotherapy were assessed using the PEPI. Results indicate adequate internal consistency and a 3 factor structure. Specifically, factors identified were labeled (1) measuring negative expectancies, (2) process/outcome expectancies, and (3) expectancies for a positive therapeutic relationship. Boys reported greater negative expectancies, but also greater expectancies for a positive therapeutic relationship. Girls reported greater therapy process/outcome expectancies. Prior contact with mental illness was not related to any studied factors. Clinicians may benefit from assessing adolescent expectancies to facilitate rapport and engagement in the therapy to foster more therapeutic change. Future research that examines the relationships between specific demographic characteristics (e.g., socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, etc.) and service utilization variables among adolescents is warranted.     

A Sequential Examination of Parent–Child Interactions at Anesthetic Induction

Parental presence is often employed to alleviate distress in children within the context of surgery under general anesthesia. The critical component of this intervention may not be the presence of the parent per se, but more importantly the behaviors in which the parent and child engage when the parent is present. The purpose of the current study was to examine the sequential and reciprocal relationships between parental behaviors and child distress during induction of general anesthesia. Participants were 32 children (3–6 years) receiving dental surgery as a day surgery procedure, and their parents. A modified Child Adult Medical Procedures Interaction Scale-Revised was used to code parent and child behaviors. Initial child distress led to increased parental provision of reassurance and decreased provision of physical comfort. Our findings may inform the development of preoperative preparation programs whereby parents can be appropriately educated about what behaviors will be helpful/unhelpful for their child during induction of general anesthesia.