Relationships among compulsive hoarding, trauma, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

The current study investigated aspects of post-traumatic stress disorder and attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) among hoarders. Compared to a sample of 36 controls, hoarders (n=26) reported a significantly greater number of different types of trauma, more frequent traumatic experiences, more symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity, and greater comfort derived from possessions. These findings are consistent with previous reports of extensive comorbidity associated with hoarding behaviors, and may reflect the potential usefulness of assessing PTSD and ADHD symptoms at the outset of hoarding treatments, as well as considering alternative pharmacological interventions.     

Level of alliance, pattern of alliance, and outcome in short-term group therapy

This study investigated the relationships between initial level of alliance, pattern of alliance over sessions, and outcome in a sample of 107 patients who completed short-term group therapy for complicated grief. Both patient-rated alliance and therapist-rated alliance were studied. For patient-rated alliance, both the initial level of alliance and the linear pattern of alliance were directly and significantly related to favorable outcome. For therapist-rated alliance, no significant direct relationships with outcome were found. Instead, significant interaction effects were found. For patients with relatively high initial alliance, the greater the increase in alliance over sessions, the better the outcome. For patients with relatively low initial alliance, the greater the decrease in alliance over sessions, the better the outcome. Explanations for the findings are considered as well as possible clinical implications.     

Understanding words in sentence contexts: the time course of ambiguity resolution

Spoken language comprehension requires rapid integration of information from multiple linguistic sources. In the present study we addressed the temporal aspects of this integration process by focusing on the time course of the selection of the appropriate meaning of lexical ambiguities ("bank") in sentence contexts. Successful selection of the contextually appropriate meaning of the ambiguous word is dependent upon the rapid binding of the contextual information in the sentence to the appropriate meaning of the ambiguity. We used the N400 to identify the time course of this binding process. The N400 was measured to target words that followed three types of context sentences. In the concordant context, the sentence biased the meaning of the sentence-final ambiguous word so that it was related to the target. In the discordant context, the sentence context biased the meaning so that it was not related to the target. In the unrelated control condition, the sentences ended in an unambiguous noun that was unrelated to the target. Half of the concordant sentences biased the dominant meaning, and the other half biased the subordinate meaning of the sentence-final ambiguous words. The ISI between onset of the target word and offset of the sentence-final word of the context sentence was 100 ms in one version of the experiment, and 1250 ms in the second version. We found that (i) the lexically dominant meaning is always partly activated, independent of context, (ii) initially both dominant and subordinate meaning are (partly) activated, which suggests that contextual and lexical factors both contribute to sentence interpretation without context completely overriding lexical information, and (iii) strong lexical influences remain present for a relatively long period of time.     

Conservation as a predictor of individual differences in children’s susceptibility to leading questions

The relationships between susceptibility to leading questions and several individual differences variables—namely number and mass conservation; self-rated social desirability; and teacher-rated assertive social skills, shyness-anxiousness, and acting out—were examined for 36 first graders. As predicted, children whose conservation skills were more advanced were least susceptible to leading questions. However, there was no reliable direct association with any of the four personality variables assessed. Results were interpreted as evidence that the ability to simultaneously consider multiple dimensions may be one general cognitive factor underlying developmental and individual differences in susceptibility to leading questions.     

ALTERING SHOPPERS' SUPERMARKET PURCHASES TO FIT NUTRITIONAL GUIDELINES: AN INTERACTIVE INFORMATION SYSTEM

This study reports the results of one effort to help supermarket shoppers alter food purchases to make purchases (and meals) that are lower in fat and higher in fiber. A prototype interactive information system using instructional video programs, feedback on purchases with specific goals for change, weekly programs, and the ability to track user interactions and intended purchases was evaluated. The major dependent measure was users' actual food purchases as derived from participants' highly detailed supermarket receipts. After a 5- to 7-week baseline phase, participants were randomly assigned to an experimental or control condition for the 7- to 8-week intervention phase. A follow-up phase began 5 to 8 weeks after participants completed the intervention and discontinued use of the system. The results indicated that experimental participants, when compared to control participants, decreased high fat purchases and increased high fiber purchases during intervention, with evidence for some maintenance of effect in follow-up. Plans for increasing the use and impact of the system are discussed.     

Pre-departure language requirements for family reunification

This paper argues that pre-departure language requirements for family reunification are unjustified. Such requirements are assumed to safeguard (1) the non-instrumental cultural interests of citizens of the receiving society and (2) the instrumental language interests of both citizens and immigrants, for democratic life and political participation. The paper explores nationalist and multiculturalist arguments for implementing post-arrival integration to ensure a shared public language but contends that such arguments cannot justify pre-departure language requirements. In addition, instrumental language interests for democratic political life fall empirically short and place undue burdens on immigrants. The case of family reunification poses a unique moral problem, given the vital interest in living with one's family. The paper argues that the linguistic interests of the receiving state, in general, do not outweigh the claim to family reunification.     

Single Session Treatment of Test Anxiety with Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)

One session of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) appeared to be an effective treatment for test anxiety, reducing reported physiological distress, worry, and fears of negative evaluation. The research design included two components: a comparison study, comparing Immediate Treatment and Wait List groups, and a replication study, comparing the treatment response of Immediate and Delayed (Treated Wait List) groups. Seventeen test anxious university students were randomly assigned to one session of EMDR or Wait List. At post-test, the Immediate group demonstrated significant improvement, compared to the Wait List group, on the Test Anxiety Inventory (TAI) and Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. Treatment effects were maintained at follow-up. The Wait List group received treatment after post-measures were taken. Treatment of the Delayed group replicated effects. Improvement was reflected by large treatment effect sizes and a decrease in percentile ranking on the TAI from the 90th to the 50th percentile.     

Avoidance behavior in panic disorder: the moderating influence of perceived control

The relations among anxiety sensitivity, perceived control, and agoraphobia were examined in 239 patients diagnosed with panic disorder (PD). Most patients exhibited agoraphobia accompanying their PD (98% situational avoidance; 90% experiential avoidance; and 80% endorsed interoceptive fear and avoidance). Anxiety sensitivity and perceived emotional control were associated with agoraphobia, and perceived threat control was found to moderate the relationship between anxiety sensitivity and agoraphobia. Lower levels of perceived control were associated with a stronger relationship between anxiety sensitivity and agoraphobia. Results were consistent for self-reported and clinician-rated agoraphobia. Implications for the role of perceived control in agoraphobia development and treatment are discussed.     

Sexual and aggressive play fighting of sibling Richardson’s ground squirrels

Play fighting in many species of squirrels can involve sexual play and aggressive play, both of which can lead to wrestling which appears superficially similar. Such convergence can make scoring of the relative frequencies of these two types of play difficult and can lead to the mistaken conclusion that they grade into one another. In this study, both staged laboratory encounters between sibling pairs and spontaneous encounters between siblings in free‐living litters of Richardson’s ground squirrels (Spermophilus richardsonii) were videotaped. Frame‐by‐frame analyses using the Eshkol‐Wachman Movement Notation were employed to record the correlated movements of attack and defense by the partners and to reveal the body areas targeted during each play bout. Whereas sexual play was organized around access to the rump, aggressive play was organized around the shoulders. Although in most cases the defender’s tactics blocked access to the respective target, when contact did occur, it involved mounting in sexual play and nosing or biting in aggressive play. Eighty‐six percent of play fights could be unambiguously categorized as either sexual or aggressive play. Of these, the majority (?80%) involved sexual play. The sex of the participants did not affect the frequency of aggressive play, but in sexual play, males initiated more attacks than females. Once initiated, each form of play fighting remained distinct—if a bout began as sexual play, it would end as sexual play. Furthermore, a counterattack following sexual play was significantly more likely to be sexual than aggressive, and vice versa for counterattacks following aggressive play. Therefore, all the evidence suggested that the two forms of play fighting were not intermixed in Richardson’s ground squirrels. Aggr. Behav. 27:323–337, 2001. © 2001 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.