Assessing postpartum depression: Evidences for the need of multiple methods

IntroductionDifferent methods and instruments are frequently used to measure postpartum depression (PPD) in research, e.g. PPD-specific scales, DSM-based diagnostic interviews and rating scales assessing general depression. However, it is unsure whether these measures would lead to the same results, e.g. in the identification of “depressed” women or in their relations to third variables.Objective(s)We compared different measures of PPD and their relations with a third variable, namely the mothers’ marital satisfaction.MethodWe recruited 65 mothers to take part in a study about the impact of PPD on the development of early family relations. Maternal PPD was assessed with multiple methods (i) a PPD-specific scale, (ii) a DSM-based diagnostic interviews and (iii) a rating scale designed to assess the severity of depressive symptoms. We assessed mothers’ marital satisfaction with the Marital Adjustment Test (MAT).ResultsResults showed weak overlap between PPD-specific scale and DSM-based diagnosis of PPD, and modest correlations between the PPD-specific scale and the general depression rating scale. Only the score on the PPD-specific scale could predict marital satisfaction.ConclusionAs we found discrepancies between different measures of PPD, we suggest being cautious in the choice of measures and using multiple methods to measure PPD in a comprehensive way.     

Reprint of: stuttering treatment control using P300 event-related potentials

Positron emission tomography studies during speech have indicated a failure to show the normal activation of auditory cortical areas in stuttering individuals. In the present study, P300 event-related potentials were used to investigate possible effects of behavioral treatment on the pattern of signal amplitude and latency between waves. In order to compare variations in P300 measurements, a control group paired by age and gender to the group of stutterers, was included in the study. Findings suggest that the group of stutterers presented a significant decrease in stuttering severity after the fluency treatment program. Regarding P300 measurements, stutterers and their controls presented results within normal limits in all testing situations and no significant statistical variations between pre and post treatment testing. When comparing individual results between the testing situations, stutterers presented a higher average decrease in wave latency for the right ear following treatment. The results are discussed in light of previous P300 event-related potentials and functional imaging studies with stuttering adults.Educational objectives: The reader will learn about and be able to describe the: (1) use of P300 event-related potentials in the study of stuttering; (2) differences between stuttering and non-stuttering adults; and (3) effects of behavioral fluency treatment on cerebral activity in stuttering speakers.     

Modeling storage and retrieval processes with clinical populations with applications examining alcohol-induced amnesia and Korsakoff amnesia

Multinomial processing tree models can provide for measures of underlying cognitive processes. In this paper, the Chechile [Chechile, R. A. (2004). New multinomial models for the Chechile-Meyer task. Journal of Mathematical Psychology, 48, 364-384] 6P model is described and applied to several applications involving clinical populations. The model provides for separate measures of storage and retrieval. Monte Carlo studies were conducted to examine the relative accuracy of two methods for obtaining an overall condition estimate for the 6P model, i.e., averaging estimates found for individuals versus pooling the multinomial frequency data before estimating the model parameters. The sampling studies showed that the pooling of frequencies resulted in more accurate parameter estimates. However, psychological assessment in clinical psychology requires precise measurement on an individual basis. In order to recover information about individuals from pooled frequency information, a modified jackknife method was advanced. The jackknife method is based on a contrast between the overall pooled frequency information and the pool frequency without the observations from a single individual. Another series of Monte Carlo simulations demonstrate that the new jackknife method resulted in better recovery of the correct individual parameter values relative to estimates based on only the data from the individual. Finally, the 6P model was used to examine the data from two previously reported studies with clinical populations. One application addressed the effect of alcohol-induced amnesia, and the other application dealt with Korsakoff amnesia. In both cases the pattern of storage and retrieval measurements resulted in a clarification of the underlying storage and retrieval differences between the clinical group and the control group.     

A standardised database of Chinese emotional film clips

Film clips are widely used in emotion research due to their relatively high ecological validity. Although researchers have established various film clip sets for different cultures, the few that exist related to Chinese culture do not adequately address positive emotions. The main purposes of the present study were to establish a standardised database of Chinese emotional film clips that could elicit more categories of reported positive emotions compared to the existing databases and to expand the available film clips that can be used as neutral materials. Two experiments were conducted to construct the database. In experiment 1, 111 film clips were selected from more than one thousand Chinese movies for preliminary screening. After 315 participants viewed and evaluated these film clips, 39 excerpts were selected for further validation. In experiment 2, 147 participants watched and rated these 39 film clips, as well as another 8 excerpts chosen from the existing databases, to compare their validity. Eventually, 22 film excerpts that successfully evoked three positive emotions (joy, amusement, and tenderness), four negative emotions (moral disgust, anger, fear, and sadness), and neutrality formed the standardised database of Chinese emotional film clips.     

Modal Deduction in Second-Order Logic and Set Theory - II

In this paper, we generalize the set-theoretic translation method for poly-modal logic introduced in [11] to extended modal logics. Instead of devising an ad-hoc translation for each logic, we develop a general framework within which a number of extended modal logics can be dealt with. We first extend the basic set-theoretic translation method to weak monadic second-order logic through a suitable change in the underlying set theory that connects up in interesting ways with constructibility; then, we show how to tailor such a translation to work with specific cases of extended modal logics.     

Properties of the size–weight illusion as shown by lines of subjective equality

We studied the size–weight illusion through comparative judgments. The experiment had two direct aims: to verify whether the relative contribution of size to apparent heaviness can differ for different stimulus sets, and to verify whether that contribution can differ for different methods of comparing two objects (consecutive vs. simultaneous weighing). Thirty university students participated. Results show that the relative contribution of size depends on stimulus set, but is independent of the method used for comparing objects. The first finding implies that a linear model cannot describe the integration of size and weight information in the illusion; the second finding is evidence for the low-level character of the integration process.     

Opening the black box: Presenting a model for evaluating organizational-level interventions

Organizational-level occupational health interventions are often recommended when improvements in working conditions, employee health, and well-being are sought within organizations. Research has revealed that these interventions result in inconsistent effects despite being based on theoretical frameworks. This inconsistency indicates that intervention studies need to be designed to examine directly how and why such interventions bring about change and why they sometimes fail. We argue that intervention studies should include a process evaluation that includes a close examination of the psychological and organizational mechanisms that hinder and facilitate desired intervention outcomes. By drawing on existing intervention literature we present an evidence-based model containing three levels of elements that appear to be crucial in process evaluation. We describe how this model may be applied and developed in future research to identify better the mechanisms that link intervention processes to intervention outcomes.     

Progress with Science and Religion Issues: Critical Questions and Suggestions

Progress with the marriage of science and religion is slowed by “sterile” controversies. Ways toward overcoming them are suggested here. These concern the metaphysical foundations of science and religion (science and spirituality, science and theology) with a specific emphasis on epistemology, ontology, anthropology, aims, methodological procedures, limitations of binary logic, and the use of other types of logic (in particular relational and contextual reasoning). Dialogues between science and religion can have positive practical societal relevance, and therefore need to progress faster. An enlargement of humanity's mental horizons and development—especially of epistemic cognition—seems to be called for in order to secure the future of a global intellectual culture. Suggestions for achieving this are included.     

Research in the consulting room

Psychoanalysis, this paper argues, has since its inception practised an effective method of research based on the clinical consulting room, and this explains its success in generating new knowledge over a long period. Different sciences evolve research methods which are appropriate to their particular objects of study. The clinical research method is well adapted to the distinctive object of study of psychoanalysis?-?the variety of unconscious states of mind. Convergences between psychoanalytic and more conventionally scientific methods, including experimental studies, are greatly to be welcomed, but the paper nevertheless suggests that additions to psychoanalytic understanding will continue to come mainly from clinical work with children and adults. Selon l'auteur, la psychanalyse a pratiqué dès ses débuts une méthode de recherche fort efficace, basée sur ce qui se déroule dans le cabinet de consultation clinique; c'est cela, dit-il, qui explique son succès à faire naître, depuis fort longtemps, de nouvelles connaissances. Chaque discipline scientifique développe sa propre méthode de recherche, censée s'appliquer à ses objets d'étude spécifiques. La méthodologie clinique est bien adaptée à l'objet d'étude spécifique de la psychanalyse, à savoir la diversité des états psychiques inconscients. S'il convient, bien évidemment, à accueillir certaines convergences entre la méthode psychanalytique et d'autres, plus classiquement scientifiques (y compris les études expérimentales), l'auteur prétend néanmoins que des avancées dans la compréhension psychanalytique continueront à surgir principalement du travail clinique auprès d'enfants et d'adultes. In questo articolo si sostiene che la psicoanalisi ha fin dal suo esordio messo in pratica un metodo di ricerca efficace basato sul lavoro clinico nella stanza di consultazione, e questo spiega come sia stato possibile produrre con successo nuova conoscenza nell'arco di un lungo periodo. Scienze diverse sviluppano metodi di ricerca appropriati ai loro particolari oggetti di studio. Il metodo di ricerca clinico si adatta bene all'oggetto peculiare di studio della psicoanalisi - la molteplicita' degli stati mentali inconsci. Ben vengano le convergenze tra il metodo psicoanalitico e altri metodi scientifici piu' convenzionali, compresi gli studi sperimentali, ma nell'articolo si suggerisce che nuove aggiunte al sapere psicoanalitico continueranno a venire soprattutto dal lavoro clinico con adulti e bambini. Dieser Artikel argumentiert, dass Psychoanalyse seit ihren Anfängen eine effektive Forschungsmethode, basierend auf dem klinischen Behandlungszimmer, praktizierte und dies erklärt ihren Erfolg, neues Wissen über eine lange Zeit hinweg zu schaffen. Verschiedene Wissenschaften erschaffen Forschungsmethoden, die jeweils ihren Studienobjekten angemessen sind. Die klinische Forschungsmethode ist dem bestimmten Studienobjekt der Psychoanalyse -die Verschiedenheit von unbewussten Gemütszuständen, angepasst. Konvergenzen zwischen psychoanalytischen und konventionelleren Wissenschaftsmethoden, einschliesslich experimenteller Studien, sollten sehr willkommen geheissen werden, aber der Artikel schlägt vor, dass Zusätze zum psychoanalytischen Verstehen hauptsächlich weiterhin aus der klinischen Arbeit mit Kindern und Erwachsenen kommen werden.     

A probabilistic threshold model: Analyzing semantic categorization data with the Rasch model

According to the Threshold Theory (Hampton, 1995, 2007) semantic categorization decisions come about through the placement of a threshold criterion along a dimension that represents items' similarity to the category representation. The adequacy of this theory is assessed by applying a formalization of the theory, known as the Rasch model (Rasch, 1960; Thissen & Steinberg, 1986), to categorization data for eight natural language categories and subjecting it to a formal test. In validating the model special care is given to its ability to account for inter- and intra-individual differences in categorization and their relationship with item typicality. Extensions of the Rasch model that can be used to uncover the nature of category representations and the sources of categorization differences are discussed.