A Nonverbal Learning Disability in a Case of Central Hypoventilation Syndrome without a PHOX2B Gene Mutation

This study examines the neuropsychological profile of a boy with congenital central hypoventilation syndrome (CCHS) without a paired-like homeobox gene (PHOX2B) mutation. CCHS is a rare disorder of autonomic nervous system development characterized by an impaired ventilatory response to hypercarbia and hypoxemia. Mild intellectual deficits are common but a specific cognitive profile is not established in CCHS. We describe a nonverbal learning disorder as a CCHS endophenotype and recommend that detailed neuropsychological testing be performed on all individuals with CCHS. Defining the psycho-educational needs in CCHS may avert compounding the emotional and medical stresses of this already debilitating disorder.     

Development and validation of a measure of perceived relative deprivation in childhood

Childhood adversity is known to impact psychological functioning and physical health in later life, but research into the mechanisms responsible has been impeded by the absence of a suitable retrospective measure of perceived relative deprivation in childhood. We developed and validated scores of the Perceived Inequality in Childhood Scale (PICS). In total, 683 students from Liverpool University, Liverpool Hope University and the University of East London were sampled by means of online methods. The data were separated using odd–even methods and an exploratory factor analysis identified a 2 factor solution: perceived relative deprivation (12 items) and family social capital (4 items). The measure was then subjected to confirmatory factor analysis and a 3 factor structure was revealed. The scale was further validated against Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD) scores of childhood addresses. The PICS is a brief, practical scale suitable for both small and large-scale research studies.     

The effects of sleep on episodic memory in older and younger adults

Evidence on sleep-dependent benefits for episodic memory remains elusive. Furthermore we know little about age-related changes on the effects of sleep on episodic memory. The study we report is the first to compare the effects of sleep on episodic memories in younger and older adults. Memories of stories and personal events were assessed following a retention interval that included sleep and following an equal duration of wakefulness. Both older and younger adults have superior memory following sleep compared to following wakefulness for both types of material. Amount of forgetting of personal events was less during wakefulness in older adults than in younger adults, possibly due to spontaneous rehearsal. Amount of time spent sleeping correlated highly with sleep benefit in older adults, suggesting that quantity of total sleep, and/or time spent in some stages of sleep, are important contributors to age-related differences in memory consolidation or protection from interference during sleep.     

Neuropsychological performance in older insomniacs

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this study was to examine daytime performance in older adults fulfilling the diagnostic criteria for DSM-IV Insomnia, using a comprehensive battery of neuropsychological tests, and to compare these objective findings with measures of self-reported cognitive functioning. A total of 121 participants (69% women) with a mean age of 64.0 were part of a thorough neuropsychological examination at a University-based neuropsychological clinic in Western Norway. Twenty-five percent of the participants fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for insomnia. In sum, the insomnia patients were not different from the good sleepers on any neuropsychological test measure, and none of the results on the performance measures were associated with the sleep-related daytime complaints. However, the insomniacs did rate their subjective memory performance as significantly worse than the good sleepers, and they also reported more depressive symptoms. We conclude that DSM-IV defined insomnia was not associated with any performance based measure; only with self-reported symptoms.     

Night Shift Working Mothers: Mutual Perceptions with Adolescent Children

The study investigated the mutual perception of relationships between mothers with day and night shift work and their teenage children. A cross-sectional survey using purposeful sampling was used. Two groups of 35 mothers and their adolescent children completed a Parent-Adolescent Relationship-Questionnaire (Robin, Koepke, Moye & Gerhardstein, 2009). Data was analysed by means of SAS and SPSS programmes. Findings show that adolescent children of day shift working mothers perceive communication and problem solving with their mothers as more efficient than adolescent children of night shift working mothers. Global Distress was lower in day shift mothers and their children. Night shirt work lowers the perceived quality of parenting.     

Change in sleep symptoms across Cognitive Processing Therapy and Prolonged Exposure: A longitudinal perspective

Sleep disturbance is a core component in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Although cognitive-behavioral treatments for PTSD reduce the severity of sleep symptoms, they do not lead to complete remission. The present study examines the impact of Cognitive Processing Therapy (CPT) and Prolonged Exposure (PE) on subjective measures of sleep disturbance from treatment randomization through long-term follow-up (LTFU). Participants were 171 female rape victims with PTSD who were randomly assigned to CPT, PE, or Minimal Attention (MA). After 6-weeks, the MA group was randomized to CPT or PE. Sleep symptoms were assessed at baseline, post-MA, post-treatment, 3-months, 9-months and LTFU using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and nightmare and insomnia items from the Clinician Administered PTSD Scale. Change in sleep during MA, from pre- to post-treatment for CPT and PE, and from post-treatment through LTFU was assessed using piecewise hierarchical linear modeling with the intent-to-treat sample. Controlling for medication, sleep improved during CPT and PE compared to MA, and treatment gains were maintained through LTFU. CPT and PE were equally efficacious and improvements persist over LTFU, yet, neither produced remission of sleep disturbance. Overall, sleep symptoms do not remit and may warrant sleep-specific treatments.     

Assessment of the Barnum Effect in Computer-Based Test Interpretations

A prototypic experiment for validating computer-based test interpretations (CBTIs) was conducted. Undergraduates (N = 63) completed the Comprehensive Personality Profile Compatibility Questionnaire (CPPCQ; Craft, 1987). One treatment group rated real CBTIs for relative accuracy, and another group rated bogus CBTIs. A significant main effect for differences in ratings indicated that the real CPPCQ profiles were rated as 74.5% accurate whereas the bogus CBTIs were rated as 57.9% accurate. Several covariate effects were tested, but none were significant.     

The rehabilitation of primary object relations in the first year of intensive therapy with a severely deprived child

The following is an account of the first year of a therapy carried out in the public sector of a child born at the beginning of 1990 in an eastern European country and brought up in a home for abandoned children until he was placed with Italian parents at the end of 1995. I shall describe the child's initial psychological state, vigorous, but desperate, and then go on to describe the course of the first year of therapy, focusing in particular on the sessions of the from period, in which, apart from the quality and intensity of his anxiety, his need to fie this anxiety by retracing the stages of his first object experiences is clear.     

Child psychotherapy then and now

The following is the text of an introductory presentation given on the occasion of the 40th Birthday Conference of the Journal of Child Psychotherapy. It provides an historical overview of the Journal's development, and in particular compares and contrasts the first two issues of the Journal with the two most recent. The importance of research is emphasised.     

Cognitive-behavioural Analysis and 1 reatment ot Insomnia

Abstract

Insomnia is a condition characterized by subjective complaints of insufficient sleep and poor daytime functioning. Objective measures of sleep and daytime functioning, however, seldom show evidence of a similar degree of dysfunction. Most insomniacs, for example, do not suffer from sleep deprivation or daytime sleepiness. This discrepancy between subjective and objective measures of sleep and daytime functioning suggests that cognitive factors may play a central role in persistent insomnia. In particular, it is argued that fears about insufficient sleep and its adverse daytime consequences tend to interfere with sleep, thereby causing a vicious cycle which serves to maintain the insomnia. It is also argued that perfectionist standards and other dysfunctional beliefs may predispose people to these kinds of fears. Finally, existing models for cognitive-behavioural treatment of insomnia are criticized for being almost exclusively focused on the night-time aspects of insomnia. If insomnia is maintained by various kinds of vicious cycles involving fears, beliefs, and standards with regard to daytime functioning, these daytime aspects of insomnia should receive more attention in cognitive-behavioural treatment.