A Systematic Review of the Effectiveness of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) for Body Image Dissatisfaction and Weight Self-Stigma in Adults

Body image dissatisfaction (BID) and weight self-stigma are prevalent and associated with physical and psychological ill-health. Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) is increasingly employed for both, yet little is known about its effectiveness. Searches of 12 databases identified six studies using online, face-to-face or self-help ACT interventions for BID or weight self-stigma, of varying duration and intensity. Their effectiveness and quality were evaluated. Two reported improved BID, three improved weight self-stigma, and one reported no impact on weight self-stigma. Methodological issues (small sample sizes, lack of allocation concealment, attention control and long-term follow up) impacted the validity of findings. Due to the small number of studies and poor study quality, the effectiveness of ACT for BID and weight self-stigma remains unclear. Nonetheless findings suggest psychological flexibility may facilitate reduction in BID and weight self-stigma and indicate that brief online as well as lengthy face-to-face delivery may be useful. Suggestions for further research are made.     

Gibbard on meaning and normativity

The paper is a critique of Allan Gibbard’s impressively crafted monograph Meaning and Normativity. The book relies on a subtle form of logical empiricism, developing a normative verificationist semantics within a subjective Bayesian framework. I argue that the resulting account of synonymy is too fine-grained, since it counts clearly synonymous words in different languages as non-synonymous. For similar reasons, Gibbard’s account of analytic implication relies on postulating untenable connections between semantics and epistemology. I conclude that one of the main obstacles to robust realism about normativity and morality, the supposed conceptual connections between normative language and action, is a myth.     

Mood change through physical exercise in nine- to ten-year-old children.

The present study assessed the effect of two types of physical exercise on the self reported mood of 64 9 and 10-yr.-old children who responded to a self-report mood meassure after two different types of aerobic exercise of 15 min., and after a 15-min. video. Significant increases in positive mood and significant decreases in negative mood were found after each exercise treatment; however, positive mood decreased and negative mood increased following the video treatment. Interestingly, no significant difference in mean mood scores was found between the two exercise treatments. These data suggest that short bouts of physical exercise have psychological benefits for children.     

Measurement of smoking outcome expectancies in children: the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Child.

A measure of smoking outcome expectancies was developed for children ages 7-12 years. Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to determine whether a 1-, 2-, 3-, or 4-factor solution was most appropriate for the data set. CFA revealed that the 3-factor model produced the most adequate fit (Positive Reinforcement, Negative Consequences, and Weight Control). The resulting 15-item measure was named the Smoking Consequences Questionnaire-Child (SCQ-C). The fit of the 3-dimensional structure was then examined separately for 3 age groups representing young (7- to 8-year-old), middle (9- to 10-year-old), and old (11- to 13-year-old) children. Overall, the 3-factor structure fit the data well for the 3 groups. As such, we examined the relations of the 3 scales with antecedent variables for the entire sample. The Positive Reinforcement scale was associated with children's smoking behavior and having a family member or peers who smoked. The Negative Consequences scale was inversely related to having a family member or peer who smoked.     

The role of stress mindset in support provision

To better understand the antecedents of support provision within relationships, this study examined the potential role of a novel individual difference; spouses' stress mindset (i.e., beliefs about whether stress‐is‐enhancing or stress‐is‐debilitating). As individuals with a stress‐is‐enhancing mindset often underestimate other's stress, we hypothesized that those with a stress‐is‐enhancing mindset will generally provide less and worse support compared to individuals with a stress‐is‐debilitating mindset. The results revealed few significant associations and the associations that were significant were contrary to predictions. For example, wives with a stress‐is‐enhancing mindset provided more support, and husbands who perceived their partner as having a more stress‐is‐enhancing mindset provided better support. Further research is needed to replicate these results and determine whether stress mindset has interpersonal consequences.     

Coping behavior: Implications for disabled infants and toddlers

This article discusses the coping process and examines issues concerning the influence of a handicapping condition on the development of coping competence in young children. A preliminary study is reported that investigated the differences between the coping behavior of 25 developmentally disabled and 25 nondisabled children who were 4 to 34 months of age. The Early Coping Inventory was used to assess three categories of behavior related to adaptive coping efforts (sensorimotor organization, reactive behavior, and self-initiated behavior). Results indicated that the nondisabled children, as a group, demonstrated more effective coping-related behavior than did their disabled peers. The disabled children were situationally effective, in that behavior used effectively in one type of situation was not generalized to other types of situations. Their coping behavior tended to be erratic, inflexible, or limited in the range of available management strategies. The greatest discrepancy between the two groups was in their self-initiated behavior. The findings suggest the need for intervention services to address the enhancement of coping behavior of infants and toddlers with disabilities.