Graduate employment status and health: a longitudinal analysis of the transition from student

The prevalence of unemployment and underemployment was explored longitudinally in 248 recent graduates (73 males and 175 females) over an 18–24 month transition from final year student to 9–12 months post-graduation. Over this period changes in levels of psychological distress, health behaviours, social support, optimism and achievement motivation were measured. Results show that both unemployment and underemployment have deleterious effects on psychological and physical health, social support, optimism and achievement motivation.

Spiritual support for caregivers of dementia patients

Dementia is considered the major psychiatric disorder of old age and affects over 4 million people in the United States. As Alzheimer's disease and other dementias progress, the patient can become increasingly dependent on the family for care. This dependency can place the caregiver in a role that is both difficult and demanding. In this study coping strategies used by family caregivers of dementia patients and caregivers' sense of burden were assessed. Burden scores were significantly correlated with spiritual support, an external coping strategy. When spiritual well-being is integrated with medical and psychosocial needs, the clergy and spiritual community can play an integral role in the care for families and dementia patients.     

The co-witness misinformation effect: memory blends or memory compliance?

For 30 years hundreds of researchers have shown participants videos and slide-sequences of events, presented the participants with misleading information, and found that this misinformation distorted their memories. The purpose of this study was to establish whether those misled participants are reporting a memory blend of the two sources of information or whether they are simply complying with the post-event information. A total of 92 participants were shown one of two versions of six different videos, which included some subtle differences. After having watched each video individually, participants were paired with someone who had seen the other version and they discussed the clips together. They then individually answered questions about the videos, and their responses showed that some of the distorted memories were blends of the original information and the post-event information. The implications of these findings are discussed.