Psychosocial correlates of emotional distress and risk behavior in african-american women at risk for hiv infection

We examined a model of stress and coping in 749 African-American women at risk for HIV infection. Women in the sample were either homeless, intravenous drug users (IVDUs) sexual partners of IVDUs, or prostitutes. A model was hypothesized based on stress and coping theory and research. Antecedents studied were personal resources, specifically self-esteem and available support. Mediators were threat appraisal and coping efforts. Outcomes studied were emotional distress and HIV risk behaviors. Structural equation modeling techniques were used to test hypothesized pathways between these variables. Forty-five percent of the variance in emotional distress in these women was explained by the model with self-esteem and avoidant coping the strongest predictors. Ten percent of the variance in risk behavior was explained by the model with emotional distress the strongest predictor. Direct and indirect pathways predicting risk behavior and distress are discussed. Implications of results for intervention and theory building are considered.     

Analyse de la détresse psychologique de leaders narcissiques organisationnels : une étude de cas comparative

The present article is a comparative case study that explores the manifestations of psychological distress of two types of narcissistic organizational leaders. More specifically, the aim of this case study is to check for possible differences between a grandiose narcissistic leader and a vulnerable narcissistic leader in relation to three main variables associated with the manifestation of psychological distress. These variables are: trigger factors, the modulation of negative emotional reactions, the presence of early maladaptive schemas and the use of dysfunctional coping strategies. The results obtained indicate that the manifestation of psychological distress by the grandiose narcissistic leader varies in certain respects from that of the vulnerable narcissistic leader. Indeed, the psychological distress manifested by the grandiose narcissistic leader is mainly characterized by anxiety and cognitive problems. Moreover, his psychological distress appears to be accompanied by a fear of public achievement failure and the partial use of two types of dysfunctional coping strategies – self-aggrandizement with reference to ostentation and self-softening underpinned by social withdrawal. With regard to the psychological distress of the vulnerable narcissistic leader, it is essentially characterized by a profound sense of depression and irritability. Moreover, it is associated with a fear of public interpersonal rejection; the internalization of negative emotions (feelings of guilt, self-criticism and feelings of worthlessness); and the partial use of two types of dysfunctional coping strategies – self-softening underpinned by social withdrawal and self-aggrandizement with reference to ostentation.     

The role of surface discontinuity and shape in 4-month-old infants' object segregation

This research examined whether 4-month-old infants use a discontinuity in an object's front surface to visually segregate a display into two separate objects, and whether object shape enables its use. In Experiment 1, infants saw a three-dimensional display composed of two parts with distinctly different shapes. Two groups of infants saw a display in which these two shapes were divided by a visible discontinuity in the front surface (i.e., a boundary between the two objects). One of these groups saw the display move apart at the discontinuity when a gloved hand pulled one object; the second group saw the two objects move together as a single unit. A third group saw a modified version of this display that had no discontinuity present. The results suggested that infants regarded the discontinuity as an indication that the display could be composed of more than one object. In Experiment 2, infants saw the same display, but with a shape that did not highlight the discontinuity. The infants in this study showed no evidence of using the discontinuity. Together, the findings suggest that 4-month-old infants use the surface discontinuity between two objects as an indication that multiple objects could be present in a display, but only when scanning the outer edges of the display leads them to attend to it.     

Psychological Distress in Orphan,Vulnerable Children and Non-Vulnerable Children in High Prevalence HIV/AIDS Communities

The degree of psychological distress and access social support is investigated in children (n = 741) living in nine high prevalence HIV/AIDS communities. They comprised (i) vulnerable, maternally-orphaned (n = 319); (ii) vulnerable and not orphaned (n = 276); and (iii) typically developing (n = 146). The following psychometric tests were administered: The Trauma Symptom Checklist for Children (Townsend, 2002); the Reynolds Depression Scale for Children (Reynolds, 1989); and the Social Support Scale (Beale Spencer, Cole, Jones & Phillips Swanson, 1997). Primary caregivers completed the Conners' Parent Rating Scale (Conners, Parker, Sitarenios, & Epstein, 1998) and an Adversity Index (Killian, 2004a) to establish the vulnerability status of each child. The data were analysed to distinguish the groups from each other regarding profiles of distress. The findings suggest that vulnerable children, be they orphaned or not, manifest similar degrees of emotional distress and perceived themselves as unable to access social support. Interventions should address the needs of both orphans and other vulnerable children, without prioritising the needs of orphans over other vulnerable children.     

Early development of attentional disengagement and phasic alertness

Attention development is a critical foundation for cognitive abilities. This study examines the relationship between phasic aspects of alertness and disengagement in infants, using the overlap paradigm. Research shows that visual disengagement in overlap condition is modulated by auditory cues in 6-year-olds. Our participants were aged 6 months (N = 20), 12 months (N = 27), and 24 months (N = 14). Phasic alertness during overlap and no-overlap tasks was manipulated using a spatially nondirective warning signal shortly before onset of the peripheral target. Responses in overlap condition were slower and fewer than in no-overlap condition. The signal showed a tendency to reduce latencies in both overlap and no-overlap conditions. While our hypothesis that the warning signal might be more effective in younger infants was not supported, we confirmed the association reported in previous studies between temperamental soothability and disengagement latencies in infancy.     

Depressive symptoms during pregnancy: impact on neuroendocrine and neonatal outcomes

Objective

To explore the interplay of maternal depressive symptoms on the infant limbic-hypothalamic-pituitary axis (LHPA) and neurological development.

Design

Pregnant women were monitored for depressive symptoms using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) at 28, 32, and 37 weeks of gestation and at delivery. A mixture growth curve analysis divided the women into three risk groups: low/stable, intermediate, and high/increasing depression based on BDI scores. The infant neuroendocrine system was examined using cord blood for adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH) and cortisol measurements. Two-week-old infants were examined using Neonatal Intensive Care Unit Neurobehavioral Scale (NNNS).

Results

Infants born to women of the high/increasing depression group had significant ACTH elevation at birth. On NNNS examination, these infants were more hypotonic and habituated to auditory and visual stimuli.

Conclusion

When compared to non-depressed women, maternal depressive symptoms, even in the absence of major depressive disorder, appeared to facilitate a different developmental pathway for the infant LHPA and early neurological development.     

Maternal posttraumatic stress symptoms and infant emotional reactivity and emotion regulation

The current study examined associations between maternal posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and infant emotional reactivity and emotion regulation during the first year of life in a primarily low-income, urban, ethnic/racial minority sample of 52 mother–infant dyads. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing their own trauma exposure history and current PTSD and depressive symptoms and their infants’ temperament when the infants were 6 months old. Dyads participated in the repeated Still-Face Paradigm (SFP-R) when the infants were 6 months old, and infant affective states were coded for each SFP-R episode. Mothers completed questionnaires assessing infant trauma exposure history and infant current emotional and behavioral symptoms when the infants were 13 months old. Maternal PTSD symptoms predicted infants’ emotion regulation at 6 months as assessed by (a) infant ability to recover from distress during the SFP-R and (b) maternal report of infant rate of recovery from distress/arousal in daily life. Maternal PTSD symptoms also predicted maternal report of infant externalizing, internalizing, and dysregulation symptoms at 13 months. Maternal PTSD was not associated with measures of infant emotional reactivity. Neither maternal depressive symptoms nor infant direct exposure to trauma accounted for the associations between maternal PTSD symptoms and infant outcomes. These findings suggest that maternal PTSD is associated with offspring emotion regulation difficulties as early as infancy. Such difficulties may contribute to increased risk of mental health problems among children of mothers with PTSD.     

Trait emotional intelligence and mental distress: The mediating role of positive and negative affect

Over the past decade, emotional intelligence (EI) has received much attention in the literature. Previous studies indicated that higher trait or ability EI was associated with greater mental distress. The present study focused on mediating effects of positive and negative affect on the association between trait EI and mental distress in a sample of Chinese adults. The participants were 726 Chinese adults (384 females) with an age range of 18–60 years. Data were collected by using the Wong Law Emotional Intelligence Scale, the Positive Affect and Negative Affect Scale, and the General Health Questionnaire. Hierarchical regression analysis showed that EI was a significant predictor of positive affect, negative affect and mental distress. Further mediation analysis showed that positive and negative affect acted as partial mediators of the relationship between EI and mental distress. Furthermore, effect contrasts showed that there was no significant difference between the specific indirect effects through positive affect and through negative affect. This result indicated that positive affect and negative affect played an equally important function in the association between EI and distress. The significance and limitations of the results are discussed.     

Is Viewing Ostracism on Television Distressing?

ABSTRACT

Being ostracized can be a painful and distressing experience and can lead to subsequent aggression by the victim. However, it is unknown whether watching someone else be ostracized either in real life or on television is similarly distressing. The purpose of the current study was to examine what type of distress (if any) is induced after viewing ostracism on television. The study consisted of 50 participants, half who viewed a movie clip containing ostracism and half who viewed a control clip. Physiological and self-report data revealed that viewing ostracism was distressing to participants. In particular, participants who viewed the ostracism clip reported a lower sense of belonging, self esteem, and mood, and a greater increase in heart rate and skin conductivity than those who viewed the control clip.     

Mediators of the shame-guilt-psychological adjustment relationship

Lynch, J. S., Hill, E. D., Nagoshi, J. L. & Nagoshi, C. T. Mediators of the shame-guilt-psychological adjustment relationship. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology 53, 437-443. A college student sample (109 women, 90 men) was administered measures of psychological adjustment, shame, guilt, personal fear of invalidity, and aspects of empathy, including personal distress in emergencies and fantasy involvement. Consistent with previous studies, shame but not guilt was significantly positively correlated with poor psychological adjustment. Path analyses with bootstrapped mediation tests indicated that the shame-adjustment relationship was significantly mediated by fear of invalidity, personal distress, and fantasy involvement. A novel finding was that the relationship between guilt and maladjustment was significantly mediated by proneness to fantasy. The findings are discussed in terms of an integrated theory of the shame-fear/distress-maladjustment relationship as a framework for understanding the maladaptive, individualistic shame experience.