“Do More,Feel Better”: Pilot RCT of Lay-Delivered Behavioral Activation for Depressed Senior Center Clients

This pilot randomized control trial (RCT) tested “Do More, Feel Better” (DMFB), a lay-delivered Behavioral Activation intervention for depressed senior center clients. The study examined: (1) the feasibility of training older lay volunteers to fidelity; and (2) the acceptability, safety, and impact of the intervention. Twenty-one lay volunteers at four senior centers were trained in DMFB. Fifty-six depressed clients were randomized to receive 9 sessions of DMFB or Behavioral Activation delivered by social workers (MSW BA). Research assessments of overall client activity level (BADS) and depression severity (HAM-D) were conducted at baseline and Weeks 3, 6, and 9. Eighty-one percent of lay volunteers who underwent training were formally certified in DMFB. Depressed clients receiving each intervention reported high levels of satisfaction and showed large and clinically significant changes in 9-week activity level (d ≥ 1.35) and depression severity (d ≥ 3.34). Differences between treatment groups were very small for both activity level (d_MSW = 0.16; 95% CI, -0.70 to 1.02) and depression (d_MSW = 0.14; 95% CI, -0.63 to 0.91). Increases in activity level were associated with decreases in depression (β = -0.42; 95% CI, -0.55 to -0.30). Both interventions appeared to work as intended by increasing activity level and reducing depression severity. “Do More, Feel Better” shows the potential of evidence-based behavioral interventions delivered by supervised lay volunteers, and can help address the insufficient workforce available to meet the mental health needs of community-dwelling older adults.     

Telephone-Based Behavioral Activation for Improving Sleep Quality in Family Caregivers of People With Dementia: A Pilot Randomized Controlled Trial

Sleep disturbances are common among family caregivers of people with dementia (PWD). Although behavioral activation (BA) shows the potential to improve sleep quality, to date, evidence for this treatment’s feasibility and efficacy for family caregivers of PWD is limited. Therefore, this study pilot tested an evidence-based BA protocol for improving sleep quality in Chinese family caregivers of PWD. The BA intervention involved eight weekly individual telephone-based sessions designed to teach caregivers specific BA techniques. Sleep quality and depression were measured using the Chinese versions of the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression (CES-D) Scale, respectively. This study also measured leisure activity, positive aspect of caregiving, caregiving burden, health status, and relationship satisfaction. All participants were asked to complete the assessments on paper at baseline and immediately after the intervention. After completing the pilot randomized controlled trial, semistructured interviews were conducted to explore participants’ experiences participating in the BA intervention. A total of 71 family caregivers of PWD (35 in the intervention group and 36 in the control group) were recruited. The majority of participants were female (n = 53, 74.65%), and their mean age was 54.07 years (SD = 10.95). Compared with controls, caregivers in the intervention group displayed significantly greater improvement in sleep quality, as well as perceptions of positive aspects of caregiving and reduction of depression. Most participants were very satisfied with the intervention. These findings suggest that individual telephone-based BA interventions are feasible, acceptable, and effective in improving sleep quality and psychological health in family caregivers of PWD. These results contribute to the literature by providing evidence for developing effective, accessible, and sustainable BA interventions for family caregivers of PWD.     

冲动性的测量方法

近年来,冲动性引发的社会问题引起广泛关注。本文梳理了冲动性定义和测量方法,例举了常用的11个量表和5种行为测量任务,讨论和总结了其关系。总体说来,量表之间相关较高,行为测量任务之间、量表和行为测量任务之间的相关较低。当前冲动性研究领域理论框架和定义凌乱,缺乏一致认可的测量方法。我们认为,整合已有定义和测量方法,利用机器学习算法等新技术方法建模,对深入理解“冲动性”、发现更好的冲动性测量方法至关重要。     

A meta-analytic approach to the association between inhibitory control and parent-reported behavioral adjustment in typically-developing children: Differentiating externalizing and internalizing behavior problems

Impairments in inhibitory control (IC) are traditionally seen as a vital aspect in the emergence and course of maladaptive behavior across early childhood. However, it is currently unclear whether this view applies to both the externalizing and internalizing domain of parent-reported behavioral adjustment. Furthermore, past (meta-analytic) developmental research and theory characterizing this association have largely neglected the vast heterogeneity of IC measures and conceptualizations. The present meta-analyses examined the association of IC with parent-reported externalizing (N = 3160, 21 studies) and internalizing (N = 1758, 12 studies) behavior problems, assessed with the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), in non-clinical populations of children aged 2–8 years. They further investigated the moderating effects of a priori IC categorization, according to a recently proposed two-factor model of IC (“Strength/Endurance” account, Simpson & Carroll, 2019). In line with previous research in the clinical domain, the current results corroborate the notion of a robust, but small association between IC and externalizing behavior problems (r = ?0.11) in early childhood. However, although frequently proposed in the literature, no significant linear association could be identified with internalizing behavior problems. Furthermore, in both meta-analyses, no significant moderating effects of IC categorization could be revealed. These findings enhance our knowledge about the cognitive underpinnings of early-emerging maladaptive behavior, indicating that different subtypes of IC are statistically related with externalizing, but not internalizing behavior problems. Overall, the small association of IC ability with behavior problems in non-clinical populations provokes broader questions about the role of IC in behavioral adjustment.     

低社会经济地位影响自我调节的神经机制

自我调节是个体为了实现目标并适应不断变化的环境而监控和调节自己的认知、情绪和行为的能力, 在成就、人际交往和健康等各个领域发挥着作用, 被视为是人类成功和幸福的关键。然而, 大量研究发现个体的社会经济地位越低, 自我调节能力越差。为了提高低社会经济地位者的自我调节能力, 必须深入考察低社会经济地位影响自我调节的机制。神经科学为此提供了独特而重要的信息：低社会经济地位改变了背外侧前额叶皮层、扣带回、腹内侧前额叶、杏仁核、海马体、腹侧纹状体的结构和功能, 进而影响了自我调节的各个成分(认知调节、情绪调节、行为调节)。未来研究除了对神经机制中每条因果链进行更严格地考察外, 还应将神经生物学与发展心理学联系起来深入揭示不同发展阶段低社会经济地位对自我调节的独特影响机制, 并关注低社会经济地位者在神经和行为层面特定反应的适应性, 在此基础上开发出系统、持续、有效的干预方案。     

注意过程中的行为振荡现象

行为振荡是个体心理加工过程的周期性动态变化在行为上的表现。通过高时间分辨率的行为采样方法, 行为振荡研究为探索视觉注意的时间动态结构提供了一个新的视角。各种不同的注意任务中都发现存在行为振荡现象。大量行为振荡证据表明, 注意过程存在两种主要的节律成分：反映注意抑制的α节律(8~13 Hz)和反映注意转移的θ节律(4~8 Hz)。这些结果有助于揭示注意的时间动态结构, 也为序列搜索理论和平行搜索理论之间的争论提供了新的分析思路。行为振荡的节律特征会受到一些潜在因素(如任务难度、线索有效性)的影响。行为振荡和神经振荡在某些任务中表现出相同的节律成分, 提示两者涉及了相似的心理过程。后续研究应进一步关注各种不同的注意控制过程以及多模态交互任务, 深入探索其行为振荡特点, 以更好地揭示注意的动态加工过程。     

Group prevention of depression and anxiety symptoms

To prevent depression and anxiety, we delivered a brief, classroom-based cognitive-behavioral workshop along with ongoing Web-based materials and e-mail coaching to college students at risk for depression. At risk was defined as having mild to moderate depressive symptoms on a self-report measure of depression. Two hundred forty students were randomized into either an eight-week workshop that met in groups of 10, once per week for 2 h or into an assessment-only control group. We plan to track participants for 3 years after the workshop and here we report the 6 month preventive effects on depression and anxiety. The workshop group had significantly fewer depressive symptoms and anxiety symptoms than the control group, but there was no significant difference between the conditions on depression or anxiety episodes at 6 month follow up. The workshop group had significantly better well being than the control group, and the workshop group had significantly greater improvement in optimistic explanatory style than the control group. Improved explanatory style was a significant mediator of the prevention effects from pre- to post-workshop for depressive and anxiety symptoms, as well as for improved well being.     

Accounting for the shared environment in cognitive abilities and academic achievement with measured socioecological contexts

Behavioral and molecular genetic research has established that child cognitive ability and academic performance are substantially heritable, but genetic variation does not account for all of the stratification of cognitive and academic outcomes across families. Which specific contexts and experiences contribute to these shared environmental influences on cognitive ability and academic achievement? Using an ethnically and socioeconomically diverse sample of N = 1728 twins ages 7–20 from the Texas Twin Project, we identified specific measured family, school, and neighborhood socioecological contexts that statistically accounted for latent shared environmental variance in cognitive abilities and academic skills. Composite measures of parent socioeconomic status (SES), school demographic composition, and neighborhood SES accounted for moderate proportions of variation in IQ and achievement. Total variance explained by the multilevel contexts ranged from 15% to 22%. The influence of family SES on IQ and achievement overlapped substantially with the influence of school and neighborhood predictors. Together with race, the measured socioecological contexts explained 100% of shared environmental influences on IQ and approximately 79% of shared environmental influences on both verbal comprehension and reading ability. In contrast, nontrivial proportions of shared environmental variation in math performance were left unexplained. We highlight the potential utility of constructing “polyenvironmental risk scores” in an effort to better predict developmental outcomes and to quantify children's and adolescents’ interrelated networks of experiences. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at: https://youtu.be/77E_DctFsr0     

Fetal behavioral responses to the touch of the mother’s abdomen: A Frame-by-frame analysis

The aim of the present study was to examine whether fetuses respond to the touching of the mother’s abdomen, and if they do, whether they differentiate based on familiarity and the source of the touch, utilizing 3D real-time (4D) sonography.Behavioral responses of 28 fetuses (20th to 33rd week of gestation; N = 15 in the 2nd and N = 13 in the 3rd trimester) were frame-by-frame coded using a coding system comprising 20 codes and were analyzed in four conditions, during the touch of the (1) mother, (2) the father, (3) the stranger and in a (4) no-touch, control condition.Fetuses showed differential responses to the touch, in particular in the duration of their reaching out to touch the uterus wall in the four conditions, and self-touch, dependent on the gestational age of the fetus. Fetuses in the 3rd trimester touched the uterus wall significantly longer than fetuses in the 2nd trimester did, when the mother touched compared to the control condition. At the same time, fetuses in the 3rd trimester also touched themselves less during the mother’s touch, compared when the stranger touched and also compared to the control condition.This differential response of the older fetuses might be due to the maturation of the central nervous system, and may indicate the emergence of a proprioceptive self-awareness by the 3rd trimester.     

结构化面试预测效度的贡献成分分析

以情境面试和行为面试为主要形式的结构化面试,被广泛证明能够预测员工绩效,但其构念效度一直没被清晰地证明.面试的结构性、应聘者印象管理行为、动机、认知能力和人格特征等成分对结构化面试的预测效度都有积极贡献,这种对结构化面试预测效度贡献成分的分析有助于认清结构化面试的构念效度.未来的研究需关注结构化面试构念是否以人际技能为主,以及人际技能、动机、认知能力各自所占比重.