Internalizing Symptoms and Affective Reactivity in Relation to the Severity of Aggression in Clinically Referred,Behavior-Disordered Children

We examined the affective correlates of aggression in children referred to a partial hospitalization program for the treatment of behavior disorders who did not have a mood or anxiety disorder. Parent and teacher ratings of the children’s impulsivity, internalizing symptoms, affective reactivity, and aggression were examined for their interrelationships and then entered into regression analyses to predict the child’s level of aggression in the home, at school, and in the treatment program. Intercorrelations among three affective reactivity factors were modest. Both internalizing symptoms and affective reactivity contributed to aggression severity beyond impulsivity and demographics. Only child irritability predicted treatment program aggression. Because of their potential role in understanding children’s behavioral disturbances, internalizing symptoms and negative emotionality merit careful assessment and treatment in treatment programs serving hard-to-manage children with behavior disorders.     

Adorno and Heidegger on language and the inexpressible

I argue that the reflections on language in Adorno and Heidegger have their common root in a modernist problematic that dissected experience into ordinary experience, and transfiguring experiences that are beyond the capacity for expression of our language. I argue that Adorno’s solution to this problem is the more resolutely “modernist” one, in that Adorno is more rigorous about preserving the distinction between what can be said, and what strives for expression in language. After outlining the definitive statement of this problematic in Nietzsche’s early epistemological writings, I outline Heidegger’s solution and subsequently Adorno’s critique of Heidegger. Finally, I argue that situating Adorno within the modernist problem of language and expression is crucial for making sense of his philosophy as a form of critical theory.

Personality,counterfactual thinking,and negative emotional reactivity

ObjectivesPeople differ substantially in their emotional responses to negative stimuli. Separate lines of research have reported that individual differences and mental simulations contribute to emotional symptoms. Here, we explore the independent and interrelated contribution of personality traits and counterfactual thoughts to the intensity, duration, and overproduction of negative emotions.MethodA sample of mixed-level athletes (n = 243) completed questionnaire assessments in relation to their most recent unsuccessful competition.ResultsWe found that personality dimensions (extraversion, neuroticism, and openness) relate to the direction and magnitude of person counterfactuals. We also found that personality dimensions (neuroticism, extraversion, openness, and agreeableness) and the direction of counterfactual thoughts (upward or downward) relate to the intensity, duration, and/or overproduction of negative emotions. Lastly, we found that personality and counterfactual thoughts had independent rather than interrelated contributions to the experience of unpleasant emotions.ConclusionsThese findings carry important theoretical and practical implications with regard to identifying individuals susceptible to experiencing elevated emotional symptoms in response to short-term stressors.     

A holistic perspective on career development in UK female soccer players: A negative case analysis

ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to examine career experiences of UK-based female youth soccer players from a holistic perspective with a view to producing a grounded theory of factors contributing to career/talent development and transitions in UK youth female soccer.MethodologyA Grounded Theory methodology (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) was used. Negative case (Denzin, 1989) former female soccer players (N = 13), their best friend (N = 13), soccer coaches (N = 4), and teachers (N = 8) took part in semi-structured interviews about factors associated with talent development and career transitions in female youth soccer.ResultsMultiple social agents (players, team-mates, peers, teachers, parents and siblings) need to optimally interact to ensure that an optimal talent development and learning environment is created. This will provide a supportive holistic talent development environment, lead to adaptive player-level changes, and a greater chance of successful athletic and dual career development.ConclusionsThis study presents a rich understanding of the dual careers of players who did not make it in female soccer. By considering their perspectives alongside of a range of important social agents, we have been able to construct a substantive grounded theory of factors contributing to career/talent development and transitions in UK youth female soccer. As a result, these findings may contribute to policy and practice development in UK female youth soccer.     

Negative thoughts in depression: A study in Iran

The cognitive theory of depression proposes significant relations between negative thoughts and depression. Evidence for the model has been widely observed in Western countries. However, despite the high prevalence of depression in the Middle East (ME), there has been limited research that has evaluated the cognitive profiles of people living in this region, and especially in non-Arab countries like Iran. The current research examined these relationships in Iran. Convenience sampling was used to recruit 80 depressed and 80 non-depressed individuals via advertising in clinics and public areas, respectively. Depression status was checked with a structured interview, the Major Depressive Disorder subscale of the Psychiatric Diagnostic Screening Questionnaire, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II. All participants completed the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire-Negative to examine the frequency of negative automatic thoughts. Unlike other results from Arab countries, depressed participants indicated significantly more negative thoughts towards self and future compared with the non-depressed group. The results of the present study are consistent with the negativity hypothesis of the cognitive theory of depression. Further research is needed in the in ME, to investigate other hypotheses of this theory in this region. Strengths and limitations of the present study are discussed.     

Social anxiety and adolescence: Interpretation bias in an Italian Sample

Interpretation bias, namely the tendency to systematically assign a negative meaning to ambiguous social situations, has been extensively studied in adult populations, while in adolescents it has received little attention. We aimed to address this gap by analyzing the three components of interpretation bias (negative interpretations, positive interpretations, belief in negative interpretations) in Italian adolescents aged between 14 and 17, comparing two groups: high (n = 32) and average (n = 33) social anxiety. The participants filled Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS), and Adolescents’ Interpretation and Belief Questionnaire (AIBQ). We found that the bias is specific to social anxiety (not due to the presence of negative mood) and present only in social situations. Instead, contrary to the hypothesis, Italian adolescents with high social anxiety have both negative bias and absence of the positive bias. Hence, preventive interventions should focus not only on the reduction of negative interpretations. They should also reinforce positive interpretations and target belief in negative interpretations. Based on these considerations, we gave some suggestions to improve the tasks of the Cognitive Bias Modification addressed to adolescents. Finally, belief in negative interpretations and the relationship between negative and positive interpretations in social anxiety deserve further study, both in adolescents and in adults.     

Does childhood general cognitive ability at age 12 predict subjective well-being at age 52?

Drawing on a broad, multidimensional conceptualization of subjective well-being, this study examined the power of childhood general cognitive ability to predict life satisfaction, satisfaction with eight individual life domains, and the frequency of experiencing positive and negative affect in middle adulthood. Data were obtained from a representative Luxembourgish sample (N = 738; 53% female) in a longitudinal study conducted in 1968 and 2008. Childhood general cognitive ability was unrelated to life satisfaction, negatively related to negative affect and satisfaction with free time, and positively related to positive affect and satisfaction with some of the life domains associated with socioeconomic success (i.e. finances, self, housing, work, or health). This predictive power persisted even when childhood socioeconomic status was controlled.     

How the brain responds to any: an MEG study

The word any may appear in some sentences, but not in others. For example, any is permitted in sentences that contain the word nobody, as in Nobody ate any fruit. However, in a minimally different context any seems strikingly anomalous: ^*Everybody ate any fruit. The aim of the present study was to investigate how the brain responds to the word any in such minimally different contexts - where it is permitted (licensed) and where it is not permitted (unlicensed). Brain responses were measured from adult readers using magnetoencephalography (MEG). The results showed significantly larger responses to permissible contexts in the left posterior temporal areas between 400-500 ms and 590-660 ms. These results clarify the anatomy and timing of brain processes that contribute to our judgment that a word such as any is or is not permitted in a given context.     

Exploring the unique and interactive roles of distress tolerance and negative urgency in obsessions

Recent research has implicated relationships between emotion dysregulation and obsessions. Evidence suggests low distress tolerance and greater tendency to act impulsively in the face of negative affect (or negative urgency) are strongly related to obsessions. The current study sought to examine the unique and interactive roles of distress tolerance and negative urgency in the prediction of obsessions. A large non-clinical sample (N = 238) was administered a range of self-report measures. Results revealed that both poor distress tolerance and greater negative urgency were uniquely associated with obsessions but not other obsessive-compulsive symptoms, even when controlling for gender, depression, anxiety, and generalized anxiety disorder symptoms. Additionally, low distress tolerance and high negative urgency interacted with each other in the prediction of greater obsession symptoms. Overall, the findings help clarify the emerging literature linking emotion dysregulation to obsessions.     

The effects of negative affectivity on self-reported activity limitations in stroke patients: Testing the Symptom Perception,Disability and Psychosomatic Hypotheses

This study investigated whether Negative Affectivity (NA) causes bias in self-report measures of activity limitations or whether NA has a real, non-artifactual association with activity limitations. The Symptom Perception Hypothesis (NA negatively biases self-reporting), Disability Hypothesis (activity limitations cause NA) and Psychosomatic Hypothesis (NA causes activity limitations) were examined longitudinally using both self-report and objective activity limitations measures. Participants were 101 stroke patients and their caregivers interviewed within two weeks of discharge, six weeks later and six months post-discharge. NA and self-report, proxy-report and observed performance activity (walking) limitations were assessed at each interview. NA was associated with activity limitations across measures. Both the Disability and Psychosomatic Hypotheses were supported: initial NA predicted objective activity limitations at six weeks but, additionally, activity limitations at six weeks predicted NA at six months. These results suggest that NA both affects and is affected by activity limitations and does not simply influence reporting.