The representation of four personality disorders by the schedule for nonadaptive and adaptive personality dimensional model of personality

This study examined the relationships of the Schedule for Nonadaptive and Adaptive Personality (SNAP) model of personality to 4 targeted personality disorders (PDs) in a large multisite sample of patients. Data were examined from 529 patients, who were assigned 1 of 5 primary diagnoses: borderline, schizotypal, avoidant, and obsessive-compulsive PDs and major depression without PD. Patients were administered the SNAP questionnaire and results were compared among diagnostic groups and between patient groups and nonclinical norms. Results indicated that the dimensions of the model appear to have considerable promise in differentiating normal from abnormal personality, particularly in the propensity of individuals with PDs to manifest negative affects and interpersonal detachment. Furthermore, the model appeared to successfully distinguish specific PDs, a property that represents a particular challenge for dimensional models of personality.     

eXpTools: A C++ class library for animation, tachistoscopic presentation, and response timing

The eXpTools Library is a general-purpose tool for developing psychological experiments that combine animation with tachistoscopic presentation. The library’s C++ classes and assembly language functions are specialized for the creation of visual response time experiments. Its use is limited to variants of standard, 16-color, VGA high-graphics modes. However, it extends the capabilities of these modes through bit-plane animation techniques and a new, nonstandard, high-resolution graphics mode that will work with standard VGA cards and register-compatible cards. These techniques make possible a powerful animation class for managing complex animation or tachistoscopic presentations consisting of hundreds or thousands of frames. The library also combines such features as page flipping, screen blanking, video-refresh synchronization, interrupt-driven millisecond timing, interrupt-driven keyboard response collection, graphics primitives, bitmaps, and screen fonts. Utilities allow for the conversion of PCX graphics files and the creation of new screen fonts from monochrome bitmap files. The technologies and techniques underlying the library are presented along with an example program.     

Dividing attention between auditory and visual perception

To what extent is simultaneous visual and auditory perception subject to capacity limitations and attentional control? Two experiments addressed this question by asking observers to recognize test tones and test letters under selective and divided attention. In Experiment 1, both stimuli occurred on each trial, but subjects were cued in advance to process just one or both of the stimuli. In Experiment 2, subjects processed one stimulus and then the other or processed both stimuli simultaneously. Processing time was controlled using a backward recognition masking task. A significant, but small, attention effect was found in both experiments. The present positive results weaken the interpretation that previous attentional effects were due to the particular duration judgment task that was employed. The answer to the question addressed by the experiments appears to be that the degree of capacity limitations and attentional control during visual and auditory perception is small but significant.     

Research in Counseling

This column is based on the belief that research can provide meaningful data to the practicing counselor. While individual studies may not provide sufficient data on which to act, a combination of separate research efforts or a large-scale, long-term research project does have the possibility of providing sufficient data. This column will undertake to provide that data by either reviewing the current research in a specific area or examining the results from a long-term project. The emphasis will be on implications for the counselor, so there will be little if any information on research design or statistical procedures. Readers desiring more detail about a particular study should write directly to the original author(s). Readers who desire to have the results of their research and/or innovative approaches considered for review in this column should send the material to Richard W. Warner, Jr., Counselor Education, 2054 Haley Center, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama 36830.     

Comparison of Marine and College Women's HIV/AIDS-Relevant Sexual Behaviors1

This study compares the heterosexual risk behaviors, perceptions of vulnerability to HIV/AIDS, and predictors of condom use of two groups of women with very different sexual and contraceptive histories and habits–college women and women in Marine Corps recruit training. The Marines' s]exual behaviors put them at greater risk of contracting HIV than the college students; that is, Marines reported more frequent intercourse with more partners, used condoms less frequently, and had less knowledge about HIV/AIDS transmission. Consistent with these differences, college students displayed a larger illusion of unique invulnerability than did the Marines. In general, the women who had more sexual partners and more frequent sexual intercourse were less likely to report regularly using condoms. In addition, the data provide support for Weinstein and Nicholich's (1993) recent suggestion that the relation between risk perception and risk behavior is different for different groups of people.     

The Baby Blanket or the Briefcase: The Impact of Evangelical Gender Role Ideologies on Career and Mothering Aspirations of Female Evangelical College Students

This study examines the relationship between the Evangelical gender role ideologies termed Complementarianism and Egalitarianism and mothering and career aspirations among Evangelical female college students. We surveyed 134 women from two colleges in the United States, one in the Midwest and one in the South. Using a cross-sectional, self-report survey design, we examined the interaction between career aspirations and mothering aspirations as well as the impact of Evangelical gender role ideologies on both types of aspirations. Results indicated that career and home aspirations were negatively correlated. Mothering aspirations were shown to be significantly affected by conservative gender role ideology. These findings suggest that aspirations for one’s mothering role may be influenced by ideological positions.     

An Innovative Treatment Approach for Children With Anxiety Disorders and Medically Unexplained Somatic Complaints

Anxiety disorders in children and adolescents are largely undetected and the majority of youth do not receive services. Given the deleterious consequences of anxiety disorders, early identification and intervention have public health implications. In order to increase identification and treatment of anxious youth, expansion to nonpsychiatric settings (i.e., pediatric medical settings, schools) is necessary. Pediatric medical offices represent ideal settings for detection and intervention for several reasons: (1) access to large numbers of children, (2) high prevalence of unrecognized anxiety disorders in medical settings, and (3) an association between anxiety disorders and medically unexplained somatic symptoms. This paper describes a cognitive-behavioral intervention for youth who present to pediatric medical settings with nonmedical somatic symptoms and undiagnosed anxiety disorders. We explain the rationale for and focus of our treatment approach, present two case studies illustrating the treatment process, and conclude with a discussion of implementation considerations.     

PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE: YESTERDAY, TODAY AND TOMORROW

Plato's rhetorical gesture invoking a 'quarrel' between philosophy and poetry points to a deep problem in our conception of rational discourse, often obscured or displaced in the history of philosophy's relations with imaginative literature, especially with respect to analytic philosophy in the first half of the twentieth century. Recent developments have helped focus attention on the overlap between philosophy and literature, which the contemporary retreat from philosophy's 'narrative turn' does little to undermine. Further work in the philosophy of language, the logic of the imagination, and the relations between dialectic and rhetoric promise to throw light on that ancient problem.     

CBT for Anxiety and Associated Somatic Complaints in Pediatric Medical Settings: An Open Pilot Study

Objective To examine the initial feasibility and potential efficacy of a cognitive-behavioral intervention for youth with anxiety disorders and non-medical somatic symptoms. Background Based on a strong relationship between somatic complaints and anxiety disorders, screening youngsters seeking medical care due to physical symptoms with no organic basis may enhance the recognition of anxiety disorders and facilitate access to appropriate services. Method Seven boys and girls, ages 8 through 15, with medically unexplained gastrointestinal complaints and anxiety disorders received a 12-session cognitive-behavioral intervention targeting anxiety and physical symptoms. Assessments were conducted at baseline and following treatment. Results All participants were classified as treatment responders. Three of the seven participants no longer met diagnostic criteria for their principal anxiety disorder. Children’s physical discomfort decreased from a moderate to minimal level based on self- and parent-reports. Conclusions Our modified cognitive-behavioral approach has promise for reducing anxiety and somatic symptoms in children seeking medical care.