The efficacy of the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program in improving parenting and child behavior: a comparison with two other treatment conditions

The aim of this randomized controlled trial was to evaluate the efficacy of an evidence-based parenting program (the Triple P-Positive Parenting Program), intending to improve parenting skills and children's well-being. Parents participating in a Group Triple P program (n=50 couples) were compared with parents of a non-treated control group (n=50 couples) and parents participating in a marital distress prevention program (couples coping enhancement training (CCET)) (n=50 couples). The two major goals of this study were (a) to evaluate the efficacy of Triple P compared with the two other treatment conditions over a time-span of 1 year and (b) to answer the question whether this program that was developed in Australia is culturally accepted by Swiss parents. Results revealed that Triple P was effective with Swiss families. Mothers of the Triple P group showed significant improvements in parenting, parenting self-esteem, and a decrease in stressors related to parenting. Women trained in Triple P also reported significantly lower rates of child's misbehavior than women of the two other conditions. However, in men only a few significant results were found. Positive effects of the relationship training (CCET) were somewhat lower than those for the Triple P. These findings are further discussed.     

Extraversion and positive affect: A day reconstruction study of person–environment transactions

Extraversion is robustly correlated with positive affect, but the reasons for this correlation remain unclear. One possibility is that extraverts and introverts both enjoy interacting with others, but extraverts do so more frequently. Another possibility is that extraverts enjoy social interactions more. Both hypotheses were tested using the Day Reconstruction Method. Subjects reported on interactions with others and positive affect experienced during all of the episodes from a single day. Results were consistent with the first hypothesis: the relation between extraversion and positive affect was partially mediated by extraverts’ greater social participation. The findings support a transactional approach to personality, in which traits like extraversion are seen as styles of actively engaging with the environment.     

Confidence and decision type under matched stimulus conditions: overconfidence in perceptual but not conceptual decisions

Within the domain of metacognition, there is disagreement whether different processes underlie evaluations of confidence in perceptual versus conceptual decisions. The relationship between confidence and accuracy for perceptual and conceptual decisions was compared using newly created stimuli that could be used to elicit either decision type. Based on theories of Brunswikian and Thurstonian uncertainties, significant underconfidence for perceptual decisions and overconfidence for conceptual decisions were predicted. Three within‐subjects experiments did not support this hypothesis. Participants showed significant overconfidence for perceptual decisions and no overconfidence for conceptual decisions. In addition, significant hard‐easy effects were consistently found for both decision types. Incorporating our findings with past results reveals that both over‐ and underconfidence are attainable on perceptual tasks. This conclusion, in addition to the common presence of hard‐easy effects and significant across‐task correlations in over/underconfidence, suggests that confidence judgments for the two decision types may depend on largely shared processes. Possible contributions to confidence and over/underconfidence are explored, focusing on response time factors and participants' knowledge bases. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cognitive and Behavioral Treatments for Anxiety and Depression in a Patient with an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD): A Case Report and Clinical Discussion

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are the treatment of choice for patients at risk for potentially life threatening arrhythmias. The associated stress of living with an implanted device and receiving ICD shock therapy has been noted to exert a psychological toll on the individual patient and family. Anxious and depressive symptomatology is frequently reported by these patients, thus creating a demand for tailored psychological interventions for this population. The current case report describes the components, delivery, and effectiveness of a targeted treatment approach for anxiety and depression in an individual with an ICD. Test results and interview data revealed significant improvements in multiple domains of cognitive, emotional, and behavioral functioning. Improvements in marital relations were also achieved. These treatment effects were maintained at follow-up and in the context of acute, medical stressors. Future clinical and research directions are also discussed.     

内隐社会认知的研究方法综述

内隐社会认知(implicit social cognition)是指在社会认知过程中虽然个体不能回忆某一过去经验(如用自我报告法或内省法),但这一经验潜在地对个体的行为和判断产生影响。内隐社会认知研究采用的是内隐记忆的间接测量技术和方法,使原来行为主义、精神分析学派等无法实证研究的内部心理过程得到了直接的实验室观察。将人的认知过程的两个方面结合起来考察,具有更为全面的理论基础。随着内隐记忆研究方法的不断进步与创新,内隐社会认知已成为社会认知领域的一个研究热点。     

The measure of a nation: The USDA and the rise of survey methodology

Survey research has played a major role in American social science. An outgrowth of efforts by the United States Department of Agriculture in the 1930s, the Division of Program Surveys (DPS) played an important role in the development of survey methodology. The DPS was headed by the ambitious and entrepreneurial Rensis Likert, populated by young and talented social scientists getting their first practical experience, and fed by the needs of the US government fighting World War II. The DPS innovations included open-ended interviewing and area probability sampling methodology as illustrated in the War Bond studies and the Master Sample of Agriculture. This paper examines the creation of the DPS, its work, and its legacy.     

Men’s Gendered Constructions of Intimate Partner Violence as Predictors of Court-Mandated Batterer Treatment Drop Out

The purpose of this study was to explore the meaning men make of their violence toward intimate partners and to examine if and how these meanings and constructions of violence predicted who drops out of batterer treatment prior to program completion. We used both qualitative and quantitative data collected from 154 men court-mandated to participate in a batterer intervention program. The qualitative findings indicated that the men in this sample minimized and denied responsibility for the violence they used towards their intimate partners while simultaneously rationalizing and justifying their violent behavior. Such findings provide insight into how denial and minimization and, more broadly, men’s constructions of masculinity might predict their tendency to drop out of batterer treatment. Furthermore, building upon our qualitative findings, logistic regression analysis revealed that men who were lower income, no longer intimately involved with the women they abused, and who reported lower levels of physical violence and higher levels of hostility were more likely to drop out of the batterer treatment program.     

Mother and father adjustment during early parenthood: the roles of infant temperament and coparenting relationship quality

We explored how parent gender, infant temperament, and coparenting dynamics worked together to shape mothers’ and fathers’ depressive symptoms, stress, and parental efficacy during early parenthood. We were interested in the coparenting relationship as a context that shapes how parents respond to their infant's temperamental qualities. Participants were 139 couples who had recently given birth to their first child. Parent reports of temperament were collected when the infant was 4–8 months old and reports of coparenting and parent adjustment were collected at 13 months. Two-level random intercept models revealed interactions between temperament and coparenting, highlighting the family system as a context for how men and women adapt to their parenting role. There was little evidence for mother–father differences in these associations.     

Ursolic acid attenuates lipopolysaccharide-induced cognitive deficits in mouse brain through suppressing p38/NF-κB mediated inflammatory pathways

Evidence indicates that systemic administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) induces brain inflammation, ultimately resulting in cognitive deficits. Ursolic acid (UA), a plant-derived pentacyclic triterpenoid, is well known to possess multiple biological functions, including antioxidant, anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory activities. In the present study, we assessed the protective effect of UA against the LPS-induced cognitive deficits in mice. We found that UA significantly improved cognitive deficits of LPS-treated mice in open field, step-through passive avoidance and Morris water maze tasks. One potential mechanism of this action was attributed to the decreased production of pro-inflammatory markers including COX-2, iNOS, TNF-α, IL-1β, IL-2 and IL-6 in LPS-treated mouse brain. Mechanistically, UA markedly inhibited LPS-induced IκBα phosphorylation and degradation, NF-κB p65 nuclear translocation and p38 activation in mouse brain, but did not affect the activation of TLR4, MyD88, ERK, JNK and Akt. Taken together, these results suggest that UA may be useful for mitigating inflammation-associated brain disorders by inhibiting pro-inflammatory factors production, at least in part, through blocking the p38/NF-κB signaling pathways.     

大学生情绪调节方式与生活满意度研究

本研究使用大学生情绪调节方式问卷测查大学生情绪调节方式与大学生生活满意度之间的相关研究。研究结果表明：正情绪调节方式中的情绪分享、自我激励、克制、情绪维持、情绪表露及负情绪调节方式中的转移注意力、认知重评因素与生活满意度之间存在正相关关系,而调节积极情绪的行动动机方式、调节负性情绪的发泄、压抑、体验痛苦、放松等方式则与生活满意度之间有着负相关关系。自我激励方式、发泄、压抑、体验痛苦调节方式对生活满意度具有显著的预测力。