Factor structure of the Bulimia Test--Revised in college women from four ethnic groups

The factor structure of the Bulimia Test--Revised (BULIT-R) was investigated using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The sample consisted of 2,671 female college students (African American, Asian American, Caucasian American, and Latino American). Reliability coefficients were excellent across groups. African Americans scored significantly lower on the BULIT-R than Caucasian Americans. Across groups, CFA and EFA results suggest a six-factor solution is most appropriate. Consistent across groups were factors representing bingeing, body image, purging, and extreme weight loss behaviors, while few differences were observed across groups. These findings suggest that the measure is reliable and valid for use with diverse ethnic groups. Future research should focus on culturally salient psychological correlates of disordered eating in diverse ethnic groups.     

Perception in action: The impact of sensory information on sensorimotor synchronization in musicians and non-musicians

The present study aimed at investigating to what extent sensorimotor synchronization is related to (i) musical specialization, (ii) perceptual discrimination, and (iii) the movement’s trajectory. To this end, musicians with different musical expertise (drummers, professional pianists, amateur pianists, singers, and non-musicians) performed an auditory and visual synchronization and a cross-modal temporal discrimination task. During auditory synchronization drummers performed less variably than amateur pianists, singers and non-musicians. In the cross-modal discrimination task drummers showed superior discrimination abilities which were correlated with synchronization variability as well as with the trajectory. These data suggest that (i) the type of specialized musical instrument affects synchronization abilities and (ii) synchronization accuracy is related to perceptual discrimination abilities as well as to (iii) the movement’s trajectory. Since particularly synchronization variability was affected by musical expertise, the present data imply that the type of instrument improves accuracy of timekeeping mechanisms.     

“Why didn’t you just ask?” Underestimating the discomfort of help-seeking

Across four studies we demonstrate that people in a position to provide help tend to underestimate the role that embarrassment plays in decisions about whether or not to ask for help. As a result, potential helpers may overestimate the likelihood that people will ask for help (Studies 1 and 2). Further, helpers may be less inclined to allocate resources to underutilized support programs than help-seekers because they are less likely to attribute low levels of use to help-seekers’ concerns with embarrassment (Study 3). Finally, helpers may misjudge the most effective means of encouraging help-seeking behavior - emphasizing the practical benefits of asking for help, rather than attempting to assuage help-seekers’ feelings of discomfort (Study 4).     

A systematic analysis of distressing near-death experience accounts

ABSTRACT

Near-death experiences (NDEs) are usually associated with positive affect, however, a small proportion are considered distressing. We aimed to look into the proportion of distressing NDEs in a sample of NDE narratives, categorise distressing narratives according to Greyson and Bush’s classification (inverse, void or hellish), and compare distressing and “classical” NDEs. Participants wrote down their experience, completed the Memory Characteristics Questionnaire (assessing the phenomenology of memories) and the Greyson scale (characterising content of NDEs). The proportion of suicidal attempts, content and intensity of distressing and classical NDEs were compared using frequentist and Bayesian statistics. Distressing NDEs represent 14% of our sample (n?=?123). We identified 8 inverse, 8 hellish and 1 void accounts. The proportion of suicide survivors is higher in distressing NDEs as compared to classical ones. Finally, memories of distressing NDEs appear as phenomenologically detailed as classical ones. Distressing NDEs deserve careful consideration to ensure their integration into experiencers’ identity.     

Effect of Modality in Earwitness Identification: Memory for Verbal and Nonverbal Auditory Stimuli Presented in Two Contexts

Psycholegal researchers have largely ignored the relevance of nonverbal auditory information in earwitness memory, nor have they compared its retention with visual or verbal information. Memory of nonverbal auditory stimuli was investigated in two different contexts. In Experiment 1, participants recalled more sounds (i.e., nonverbal auditory stimuli) than the sounds' verbal labels. However, with a more ecologically valid method in Experiment 2, participants recalled more verbal stimuli in conjunction with visual information than they did nonverbal stimuli. Even after a 1-week delay, participants' retention of the verbal-visual combination was highest.     

Rational decision‐making among male street prostitutes

This ethnographic study examines the lives of 18 young male street prostitutes. The focus of this study is to identify the benefits and liabilities associated with this activity by grounding the decision to engage in this behavior in a rational choice perspective. Benefits identified include financial gain, sexual pleasure, control of work schedule, and affection. The liabilities include fear of arrest, potential for violence, having sex with undesirable people, and not being paid for services rendered. This study demonstrates that the decision to engage in street prostitution is a complicated process that involves the weighing of the perceived benefits against the perceived risks.     

Principles of Occupational Therapy Group Outcome Assessment in Mental Health

In today's penurious health care climate, occupational therapists must scrutinize their practice and substantiate their interventions in order to remain viable service providers. This article proposes a method of occupational therapy outcomes assessment in mental health care that is rooted in client-centered functional outcomes. Since little consensus exists on which instruments are most effective, this article begins with an outline of broadly accepted principles for assessment of patient outcomes in mental health. Next, we describe a practical method for selecting outcomes measures in interdisciplinary settings. Finally, we offer pragmatic solutions to address barriers to outcome assessment.     

A General Setting for Dedekind's Axiomatization of the Positive Integers

A Dedekind algebra is an ordered pair (B, h), where B is a non-empty set and h is a similarity transformation on B. Among the Dedekind algebras is the sequence of the positive integers. From a contemporary perspective, Dedekind established that the second-order theory of the sequence of the positive integers is categorical and finitely axiomatizable. The purpose here is to show that this seemingly isolated result is a consequence of more general results in the model theory of second-order languages. Each Dedekind algebra can be decomposed into a family of disjoint, countable subalgebras called the configurations of the algebra. There are ?₀ isomorphism types of configurations. Each Dedekind algebra is associated with a cardinal-valued function on ω called its configuration signature. The configuration signature counts the number of configurations in each isomorphism type that occurs in the decomposition of the algebra. Two Dedekind algebras are isomorphic iff their configuration signatures are identical. The second-order theory of any countably infinite Dedekind algebra is categorical, and there are countably infinite Dedekind algebras whose second-order theories are not finitely axiomatizable. It is shown that there is a condition on configuration signatures necessary and sufficient for the second-order theory of a Dedekind algebra to be finitely axiomatizable. It follows that the second-order theory of the sequence of the positive integers is categorical and finitely axiomatizable.     

Sifting through the Hyperbole: One Hundred Years of Marijuana Coverage in The New York Times

The contemporary media has often portrayed marijuana as a “slacker drug”; however, this portrayal is somewhat novel. Several scholars have argued in the early 1900s, especially in the 1930s, the media often associated marijuana with violence and mental illness. Another common argument was that marijuana was associated with Mexican immigrants. Conversely, other researchers have argued that these reports were overblown and media accounts of marijuana were not very common until recent years. The current study utilizes recently available on-line archives to conduct a more comprehensive test of how exactly marijuana was depicted in The New York Times from 1851–1950.     

Predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction in individuals living with HIV and AIDS in a resource-constrained setting in South Africa

The burden of HIV disease is concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in South Africa (SA). Whilst there have been many studies conducted on the biomedical and socio-psychological aspects of HIV and AIDS, insufficient attention has been paid to the quality of life of those infected with the virus. The primary purpose of the study was to determine the predictors of quality of life enjoyment and satisfaction (Q-LES) among individuals infected with HIV. A battery of questionnaires, which included the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS) and the Quality of Life Enjoyment and Satisfaction Questionnaire (Q-LES-Q), were administered to 121 participants. Data was analysed using SPSS. Of the total sample (n = 121), 74% were females. The study found that a large proportion (49.5%) of the sample within the age group 25–49 years old experienced psychological distress. Those who were not on antiretroviral treatment (ART) were significantly affected (66%). Psychological distress was significantly prevalent among HIV positive individuals and also the strongest predictor of Q-LES among these individuals.