Anxiety sensitivity and distress tolerance typologies and relations to posttraumatic stress disorder: A cluster analytic approach

A growing literature suggests a relationship between a high anxiety sensitivity (AS; the fear of anxiety and its related consequences)/low distress tolerance (DT; the capacity tolerate internal negative states) profile and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. However, specific profiles have not been identified or examined specifically in Veteran samples. Thus, the aims of the present study were to establish empirically derived profiles created from response patterns on the Anxiety Sensitivity Index and Distress Tolerance Scale and to examine associations with PTSD symptom clusters among a sample of combat-exposed Veterans (N = 250). A cluster analytic approach was used to identify AS/DT profiles, and a series of multivariate analyses of variance with post hoc analyses was conducted to examine the relationship between each AS/DT profile and each PTSD symptom cluster. Results indicated a 3-cluster solution including a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile, a low AS/high DT “resilient” profile, and an average AS/DT “intermediate” profile. The at-risk profile was associated with significantly greater symptoms in each PTSD cluster (i.e., hyperarousal, avoidance, re-experiencing) when compared to the other two profiles. The at-risk profile was also associated with greater depressive symptoms and lower self-reported resilience. These findings extend the previous literature by identifying a high AS/low DT “at risk” profile and its associations with PTSD symptoms, underscoring the potential utility in targeting these affect-regulation constructs for clinical intervention.     

关于孝文化批判的再思考

中国传统孝化构建的权利义务关系,是一种不公正的权利义务关系,在五四运动中受到较为彻底的批判。梁漱溟、陈寅恪、冯友兰对孝化批判保持了较为冷静的态度;当代新儒家和海外学杜维明对孝化给予更为积极的肯定,他们的肯定意见启发人们对孝化批判进行新的思考。孝化是一个以孝为教的化丛,发挥着社会道德教育的功能。对孝化的绝对化否定带来道德教育的家庭缺位,也带来公忠伦理的畸重和人伦、情感伦理的畸轻。     

Authoritarian Parenting Style in Asian Societies: A Cluster- Analytic Investigation*

While the beneficial effects of authoritative parenting style have consistently been demonstrated for Caucasian samples, these effects have not always been found for Asians. It appears that adolescents who perceived their parents’ style of parenting as authoritarian are not one homogeneous group. Cluster analyses performed for adolescents’ perceived mothers’ and fathers’ authoritarian parenting style using adolescents’ self-report scores on personal adjustment and social variables as the clustering variables found similar two-cluster solutions (maladjusted and well-adjusted). External validation evidence revealed that adolescents in the maladjusted cluster had poorer attitudes towards school and teachers compared to adolescents in the well-adjusted cluster for both samples. These findings suggest that authoritarian parenting style could possibly have a different cultural meaning for Asians. ^*The authors would like to thank staff from Tampines Family Service Center for their assistance with data collection. The schools, adolescents and principals who participated in this project are also gratefully acknowledged and thanked. This research is supported by the Voluntary Welfare Organization Capability Fund grant from the National Council of Social Service, Singapore.     

Role of Stressful Life Events in Homelessness: An Intragroup Analysis

The present paper describes the results of an analysis of individual differences—using multidimensional strategies—in stressful life event data collected from a representative sample of homeless people (N = 289) in Madrid, Spain, which revealed the existence of three subgroups within the sample. Each subgroup can be defined by the following differentiating characteristics: The first cluster (n = 124) was characterized by economic problems; the second (n = 80) by health problems, alcohol abuse, and death of one or both parents; and the third cluster (n = 50) by an accumulation of stressful life in childhood events and alcohol abuse. In order to define the subgroups, the article also examines the differences found in other variables such as total duration of homelessness, mental and physical health status, and social support availability, among others. The existence of such subgroups within the homeless population emphasizes the importance of designing different interventions for each of these groups, adapted to their diverse needs.     

Cluster analysis reveals distinct patterns of saccade impairment and their relation to cognitive profiles in Parkinson's disease

Saccade performance has been reported to be altered in Parkinson's disease (PD), however, with a large variability between studies as both motor and cognitive impairment interfere with oculomotor control. The aim of this study was to identify different patterns in saccade alterations in PD using a data-driven approach and to explore their relationship with cognitive phenotypes. Sixty-one participants with PD and 25 controls performed eye-tracking (horizontal and vertical prosaccades, antisaccades) and neuropsychological testing. Hierarchical cluster analysis was applied to the eye-tracking data to subsequently compare the clusters based on demographical, clinical and cognitive characteristics. The three identified clusters of saccade alterations differed in cognitive profiles from healthy controls, but not in PD-related motor symptoms or demographics. The rate of directive errors in the antisaccade task was increased in clusters 1 and 2. Further, cluster 1 was defined by a general disinhibition of reflexive saccades and executive dysfunction in the neuropsychological evaluation. In cluster 2, prolonged saccade latencies and hypometria were accompanied by multidomain cognitive impairment. The cluster 3 showed increased antisaccade latency and vertical hypometria despite lack of evidence for cognitive impairment. Our results suggest that there may be at least two opposing patterns of saccade alterations associated with cognitive impairment in PD, which may explain some of the contradictory results of previous studies.     

Profiles of Self-Esteem in Early Adolescence: Identification and Investigation of Adaptive Correlates

Investigated profiles of self-esteem during early adolescence and their adaptive correlates in two separate longitudinal studies. Using multidimensional ratings of self-esteem within a developmental-ecological framework, cluster analysis revealed five distinct profiles for each sample. The profiles found were characterized by differing patterns of self-evaluation across major contexts of development, including consistently positive or negative ratings for all domains as well as more variable patterns in which ratings for one or more domains (e.g., school) were elevated or diminished relative to those for other areas. Profiles, in turn, were found to be related to measures of youth adjustment both concurrently and longitudinally, independent of their associations with ratings of global self-esteem. Prospective analyses in each study further revealed that profile type predicted differential change in measures of youth adjustment over time, whereas this type of relationship was not found for global ratings of self-esteem. Implications for esteem-enhancement interventions with youth are discussed.     

The classification of neuropsychological deficit

The study involves classification of neuropsychiatric patients on the basis of neuropsychological and intelligence test performance. One hundred twenty-five hospitalized male neuropsychiatric patients with various diagnoses were administered the Halstead-Reitan and Luria-Nebraska neuropsychological test batteries, as well as the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. A cluster analysis was performed for each of those three procedures utilizing Ward's method. It was found in all cases that clusters were determined on the basis of level rather than pattern of performance. Relationships were found between cluster membership and age, education, and presence or absence of structural brain damage but were not found for diagnoses of schizophrenia or alcoholism. Schizophrenic and alcoholic patients were found in all clusters in the case of all three test procedures. Differences in clustering among the three test procedures were noted, with the WAIS being relatively more sensitive to educational differences while the Halstead-Reitan was more sensitive to age differences. The clinical utility of classifying patients on the basis of neuropsychological and cognitive test performance was discussed.Acknowledgement is made to the Veterans Administration for support of this research.     

Cognitive process-based subtypes of developmental coordination disorder (DCD)

The purpose of the study was to identify the cognitive subtypes demonstrated by children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD) using the Planning-Attention-Simultaneous-Successive Processing (PASS) theory and the Cognitive Assessment System (D-N CAS). Participants were 108 children aged 5- and 6-years old, 54 with DCD and 54 without DCD, all attending typical kindergartens. They were examined on 31 cognitive-motor variables. Hierarchical-agglomerative and iterative partitioning cluster analyses including 9 motor and 7 cognitive variables revealed the following six subtypes:

• oC1 = children at risk (having considerable difficulty with jumping and minor difficulty with manual dexterity and simultaneous coding);
• oC2 = children on the mean (all cognitive-motor scores close to the mean);
• oC3 = free from cognitive-motor problems (all scores above average);
• oC4 = manual dexterity, planning and simultaneous coding difficulties;
• oC5 = manual dexterity, dynamic balance, and planning difficulties;
• oC6 = generalized cognitive-motor dysfunction (all scores considerably below average).

It is well known that DCD is a heterogeneous condition. However, whenever cognitive processes were lower than average, cognitive-motor relationship was evident in subgroups C1, C4, C5 and C6. Early identification of task-specific cognitive-motor difficulties may be essential for early educational intervention practices in order to anticipate and improve learning, academic and performing difficulties.     

Networks of prospective thoughts: The organisational role of emotion and its impact on well-being

Recent research has shown that many prospective thoughts are organised in networks of related events, but the relational dimensions that contribute to the formation of such networks are not fully understood. Here, we investigated the organisational role of emotion by using cues of different valence for eliciting event networks. We found that manipulating the emotional valence of cues influenced the characteristics of events within networks, and that members of a network were more similar to each other on affective components than they were to members of other networks. Furthermore, a substantial proportion of events within networks were part of thematic clusters and cluster membership significantly modulated the impact of represented events on current well-being, in part through an intensification of the emotion felt when thinking about these events. These findings demonstrate that emotion contributes to the organisation of future thoughts in networks that can affect people's well-being.