Group interventions for patients with cancer and HIV disease: Part III. Moderating variables and mechanisms of action

Growing evidence supports the value of group interventions for individuals who are at risk for or have developed cancer or HIV disease. However, information is more limited concerning how these services can be delivered in an optimal manner, and what processes contribute to their benefits. Parts I and II of this review examined the efficacy of different interventions for individuals at different phases of illness, ranging from primary prevention to late-stage disease, in both psychosocial and biological domains. The current paper examines some of the factors other than phase of illness that might influence group treatment effects (e.g., intervention parameters, participant characteristics), and explores mechanisms of action.     

Aging and response inhibition: Normative data for the Victoria Stroop Test

Increased difficulty with response inhibition occurs with age, although there is some controversy as to whether increased interference on Stroop tasks reflects difficulties with response inhibition or simply reflects generalized cognitive slowing. The Victoria Stroop Test (VST) is a brief, easily administered, psychometrically sound version of Stroop's original task. Performance on the VST by adults across a wide age span was examined to determine the association between age and various measures of interference. In addition, normative data for the VST were calculated. Participants were 272 healthy, community-dwelling adults age 18 to 94. Age and speed were negatively correlated on all trials of the VST. Importantly, however, interference scores that were corrected for baseline slowing remained highly correlated with age. Similarly, age and error scores on the interference trial were positively correlated, indicating decreased accuracy with age. These findings suggest that increased interference on Stroop tasks with age is not accounted for by simple cognitive slowing and more likely reflects other cognitive changes, such as decreased response inhibition. The VST has a number of administrative and psychometric strengths, and the provision of normative data should enhance its potential for clinical and research applications.     

Test-retest reliability of standard and emotional stroop tasks: an investigation of color-word and picture-word versions

Previous studies have examined the reliability of scores derived from various Stroop tasks. However, few studies have compared reliability of more recently developed Stroop variants such as emotional Stroop tasks to standard versions of the Stroop. The current study developed four different single-stimulus Stroop tasks and compared test-retest reliabilities. The four Stroop tasks included two standard Stroop tasks (color-word and picture-word) as well as two emotional Stroop tasks (color-word and picture-word). The four Stroop tasks were administered on two occasions, separated by 1 week, to 28 undergraduate students. Test-retest reliability coefficients were high for standard and emotional Stroop tasks when reliability was measured using response latencies alone. However, test-retest coefficients were unacceptably low when reliability estimates were calculated using difference scores. The findings have important implications for clinical and experimental use of standard and emotional Stroop tasks.     

Left anterior lobectomy and category-specific naming

Damasio and colleagues (1996) have proposed that the left anterior temporal region supports knowledge pertaining to living objects, whereas more posterior temporal regions play a critical role in naming nonliving things. Accordingly, one might expect that left-sided anterior temporal lobectomy should have a more profound effect on the naming of living as opposed to nonliving things. As part of a multicenter collaborative project, seventy-nine patients (all left-hemisphere speech dominant) were tested pre- and post-left-temporal lobectomy on a task that required naming of living and nonliving items equated for name frequency, familiarity, and visual complexity. Consistent with the proposals of Damasio et al. (1996), left temporal lobectomy impaired naming ability, particularly for living things. When individual outcomes were considered, twice as many patients showed a relative decline in naming living as opposed to nonliving things.     

性别刻板印象的人际传播特点研究——基于社会认同理论或社会支配理论?

为探讨性别刻板印象的传播更符合社会认同理论还是社会支配理论的假设,采用单一复述故事法来研究不同性别的传播者、故事主人公和听众在传播一致性性别刻板印象信息和不一致性别刻板印象信息的过程中所表现出的特点。结果发现:男性更少地传播不利于维持阶层差异的不一致性刻板印象,女性更多地传播打破现有阶层划分的男性不一致刻板印象。这些传播特点都较为支持社会支配理论的假设。。     

Do Occupational Performance and Social Support Predict Health and Well-Being Among Mothers of Preterm Infants?

Journal of Child and Family Studies - Giving birth to a preterm infant has significant implications on the mother’s life. The purpose of this study was to compare occupational performance...