Enhanced Cardiac Perception Is Associated With Increased Susceptibility to Framing Effects

Previous studies suggest in line with dual process models that interoceptive skills affect controlled decisions via automatic or implicit processing. The “framing effect” is considered to capture implicit effects of task‐irrelevant emotional stimuli on decision‐making. We hypothesized that cardiac awareness, as a measure of interoceptive skills, is positively associated with susceptibility to the framing effect. Forty volunteers performed a risky‐choice framing task in which the effect of loss versus gain frames on decisions based on identical information was assessed. The results show a positive association between cardiac awareness and the framing effect, accounting for 24% of the variance in the framing effect. These findings demonstrate that good interoceptive skills are linked to poorer performance in risky choices based on ambivalent information when implicit bias is induced by task‐irrelevant emotional information. These findings support a dual process perspective on decision‐making and suggest that interoceptive skills mediate effects of implicit bias on decisions.     

Impact of genetic testing on causal models of heart disease and arthritis: An analogue study

Abstract

An analogue study investigated the impact of genetic testing on perceptions of disease. Using a 2 × 2 design, participants (n = 212) imagined receiving the information that they were at increased risk for either heart disease or arthritis. The type of risk information was either genetic or unspecified. Presentation of genetic risk information resulted in the condition being perceived as less preventable. Causal models of disease where investigated using principal components analysis. When hem disease was the stimulus condition, attributions to genes and chance were positively associated following unspecified risk information, and negatively associated following genetic risk information. When arthritis was the stimulus condition, presentation of genetic risk information was associated with attributions to genes becoming separated from the other attributions. One explanation for this is that providing genetic risk information may decrease perceptions of a sense of randomness or uncertainty in disease causation. The extent to which these effects occur in clinical populations. and their behavioural consequences. needs to be established.     

Testing Posttraumatic Stress as a Mediator of Childhood Trauma and Adult Intimate Partner Violence Victimization

This study examined whether potential posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) mediated the relationships between different forms of childhood trauma (sexual abuse, physical abuse, violence between caregivers) and intimate partner violence (IPV) victimization (psychological, physical, sexual). Participants were 1,150 female nurses and nursing personnel. Path analytic findings revealed potential PTSD partially mediated the relationships between childhood sexual abuse and psychological IPV and childhood sexual abuse and sexual IPV. Potential PTSD did not mediate the relationship between other types of childhood trauma and IPV. This study adds to the literature indicating PTSD as a risk factor for revictimization in the form of adult IPV among women. Screening for and treatment of PTSD among female child sexual abuse survivors could prevent future IPV victimization.     

Executive functions in preschool children born preterm: application of cognitive neuroscience paradigms.

Although children born preterm are at risk for neuropsychological impairments at school age and adolescence, including difficulties with visual motor integration, spatial/constructional skills, attention, arithmetic, and nonverbal executive functions, specific neuropsychological outcome has not been investigated adequately in preschoolers. Application of cognitive neuroscience tasks offers the opportunity to characterize early executive functions in young children born preterm. In a preliminary sample of 29 preschool children born preterm (M birth gestational age = 32.4 weeks), executive function outcome was compared to that of fullterm controls by contrasting performance on two prototypic delayed-response-type paradigms, Delayed Alternation and Spatial Reversal. Preschoolers born preterm correctly retrieved the reward on fewer trials on Delayed Alternation than did matched controls. Furthermore, preschool children born preterm used problem-solving strategies that included more perseverative errors than controls. These preliminary findings highlight the utility of cognitive neuroscience paradigms to understand neuropsychological outcome in preschool children born preterm and suggest areas of developmental vulnerability that may include dorsolateral prefrontal circuits.     

Understanding Families of Adults With Cancer: Combining the Clinical Course of Cancer and Stages of Family Development

Since the 1970s, counseling professionals have recommended that cancer be regarded as an illness that affects the entire family. This article combines research on understanding the impact of cancer on the family that relates both to the clinical course of cancer and to the developmental stages of the family system. The combination of these 2 dimensions provides counselors with a template for (a) understanding the current literature regarding cancer's impact on the family, (b) helping counselors formulate intervention strategies for the families of cancer patients, and (c) recognizing future directions for research regarding the needs of family members of cancer patients.     

Genetic Counselors' Judgments of Patient Concerns: Concordance and Consequences

The aims of this prospective study were to determine (a) the concordance between patient concerns and genetic counselors' judgments of these concerns, (b) the predictors of patient and counselor judgments, and (c) the relationship between concordance and patient outcomes. Patients' and counselors' views were sought before and after 131 routine genetic consultations. Before consultations, there was concordance about level of patient concern to within one point in 63% (82/131) of consultations and about type of patient concern in 60–84% of consultations. Lack of concordance in judging level and type of concern was associated with lower satisfaction with information and higher anxiety after the consultation. The biggest predictor of counselor judgment of concern was professional background: doctors judged patients to be more concerned than did nurses. Concordance of concern was predicted by counselors' experience in genetics: less experienced counselors overestimated patient concern. Future research needs to determine whether improving judgment of concern improves patient outcome.     

Impact of a Theory-Guided Encouragement Intervention on an Employee Walking Pilot Program

This study investigated the impact of encouraging e-mails on self-efficacy, adherence, and step-count in a 10-week walking program. Using a 3 × 3 mixed design, participants randomly received task-involving/caring (n = 37), ego-involving (n = 35), or neutral (n = 34) e-mails and completed pre-/mid-/post surveys. Exercise self-efficacy increased over time, regardless of e-mail content. More of the task/care group adhered (63%) than ego (41%) or neutral groups (50%). The task/care group members who adhered reported significantly more daily-steps than ego or neutral groups. Results suggest that the theoretical framework used to guide encouragement in walking programs may impact participants’ adherence and steps.     

Developing a critically reflexive practice for art therapists using external perceptions of art therapy

This critical inquiry explored external perceptions of art therapy. By focusing on the organizational contexts and structures that art therapy practices are typically situated within, the purpose of the study was to understand: How the values that art therapists intrinsically hold within practice transmitted, translated, and interpreted by other mental health professionals. To gain rich and detailed views, nine mental health professionals were interviewed. Through analysis of the findings, a critically reflexive form of practice was developed to assist art therapists in substantiating their role, while strengthening a team mentality to provide better services to their clients. Study implications involve the need to further explore how art therapists can develop professionally, as well as expand on strategies for how art therapy can be further valued within mental health systems.