Executive Functioning and Delay Discounting of Four Different Outcomes in University Students

The study investigated a potential relationship between level of executive functioning and rates of delay discounting (i.e., the subjective decrease in the value of an outcome if its delivery is delayed). University students completed an executive-functioning questionnaire and then a delay-discounting task involving four different outcomes (money, cigarettes, dating partner, body image). Results showed that the overall measure of executive functioning was a significant predictor of rates of discounting of three of the four outcomes, and approached significance for the fourth outcome. Further, different subscales of executive functioning were significantly correlated with discounting of different outcomes. These results suggest that executive functioning plays a role in discounting of delayed outcomes and that procedures designed to affect either executive function or delay discounting might result in concomitant changes in the other measure.     

Negotiating Reintegration and Meanings of Space: Formerly Abducted Youth in Uganda

The war in Northern Uganda has ended, and youth who were abducted by the Lord's Resistance Army continue to return to communities. Research conducted in the summer of 2010 in two locations in Uganda, Gulu and Masindi, shows that the process of reintegration is an ongoing process in which formerly abducted youth (FAY) negotiate social relations for reintegration in a very interactive way. FAY consciously decide to stay quiet about their past to avoid compromising social reintegration. The experience‐oriented approach has allowed for an in‐depth exploration and understanding of the reintegration process from the perspective of FAY. In Northern Ugandan cosmology, meaning given to FAY personal spaces dominates. With FAY facing social exclusion by community members and the need to overcome boundaries to reintegration, coping mechanisms are adopted to facilitate reintegration and to carve out personal space within the Northern Ugandan cosmology. In the exploration of the process of negotiating reintegration, a conceptual model is adopted and adjusted to represent personal space within Northern Ugandan cosmology. The main findings suggest that FAY negotiate social relations for reintegration in a very interactive way and that they consciously decide to stay quiet about their past so as to not compromise social reintegration. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Stigmatised Identity and Service Usage in Disadvantaged Communities: Residents', Community Workers' and Service Providers' Perspectives

The impact of community stigmatisation upon service usage has been largely overlooked from a social identity perspective. Specifically, the social identity‐mediated mechanisms by which stigmatisation hinders service use remain unspecified. The present study examines how service providers, community workers and residents recount their experience of the stigmatisation of local community identity and how this shapes residents' uptake of welfare, education and community support services. Twenty individual and group interviews with 10 residents, 16 community workers and six statutory service providers in economically disadvantaged communities in Limerick, Ireland, were thematically analysed. Analysis indicates that statutory service providers endorsed negative stereotypes of disadvantaged areas as separate and anti‐social. The awareness of this perceived division and the experience of ‘stigma consciousness’ was reported by residents and community workers to undermine trust, leading to under‐utilisation of community and government services. We argue that stigmatisation acts as a ‘social curse’ by undermining shared identity between service users and providers and so turning a potentially cooperative intragroup relationship into a fraught intergroup one. We suggest that tackling stigma in order to foster a sense of shared identity is important in creating positive and cooperative service interactions for both service users and providers. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

What is happening in the world of therapeutic communities?

This overview of the contributions to the special edition illustrates something of how the collection of papers reflects the marginal nature of therapeutic communities, and makes parallels as to how they are forever struggling to survive, yet generate a passion of ideas and intellectual resilience that no project-managed health service can extinguish. It briefly describes the theoretical and geographical terrain covered, and signals how the cross-disciplinary incorporation of congruent ideas can be added to the traditional bedrock of therapeutic community practice. It ends by stating the context of the new, and seemingly successful, organization which assembled these contributions into its inaugural conference – and suggests that the journey could, and ultimate should, go further.     

Discomfort in the community. The place of psyche: Between zōē and bios

In this paper, the author considers the treatment of people diagnosed with a psychosis or borderline personality disorder in therapeutic communities from a psychoanalytic perspective, with a particular focus on the work of Jacques Lacan and of André Green. He discusses two key questions. First, how are these patients to recover life? – not just in the biological sense but in terms of subjectivity. Secondly, is it ever really possible to build relationships with them? In relation to this second question, the author emphasizes the importance of the training and supervision of practitioners, as well as their own analysis. Therapeutic communities, above all, he argues, can provide structure and security in a society which is increasingly fragmented and unstable.     

The structure of executive functioning in 11 to 14 year olds with and without special educational needs

The structure and development of executive functioning (EF) have been intensively studied in typically developing populations, with little attention given to those with Special Educational Needs (SEN). This study addresses this by comparing the EF structure of 132 adolescents (11–14 years-old) with SEN and 138 adolescents not requiring additional support (Non-SEN peers). Participants completed verbal and non-verbal assessments of key components of EF: inhibition, working memory and switching. Confirmatory Factor Analysis on each group tested one-, two- and three-factor models of EF. In both groups, there was statistical support for the fit of one- and two-factor models with no model being clearly better than the others; there was little support for three-factor models. Parsimony suggests that the one-factor model best represents the structure of EF. In light of our results, the implications for the nature of EF in early adolescence in both SEN and Non-SEN groups are discussed.     

Determinants of ethnic identity development in adulthood: A longitudinal study

Ethnic identity is defined in terms of the interaction between exploration of and commitment to a given cultural background. The present study investigated the effect of individual background, role transitions, and the social environment on the development of ethnic identity in a sample of German adults aged 21–73 years (N = 2,940). Additionally, identity transitions and the moderating effect of disequilibrating life events on identity over time were examined (N = 827). Overall, results are consistent with findings for other identity domains: Respondents could be assigned to one of four identity stages, ranging from unexamined to achieved identity. Particularly, the individual background and the extent of community involvement affected ethnic identity formation in adulthood. Longitudinal analyses revealed that only one-third of respondents had remained in the same identity stage; most individuals had transitioned forward or backward. Changes in ethnic identity were not moderated by disequilibrating life events.     

The Incubator Treatment Development Model: The SAFETY Treatment for Suicidal/Self-Harming Youth

Youths who make suicide attempts or engage in repetitive self-harm are at risk for future suicide attempts and death by suicide or self-harm. This treatment development report focuses on the Safe Alternatives for Teens and Youth (SAFETY) treatment. SAFETY is a 12-week outpatient child and family-centered cognitive-behavioral treatment, informed by dialectical-behavior therapy, and designed to promote safety following a suicide attempt or repeated episodes of self-harm. Previous reports have described results of small open and randomized treatment development trials. Here, we describe our “incubator” treatment development model. Combining scientific rigor with attention to the community context in which treatment is delivered, the incubator model emphasizes laboratory-based treatment development trials and quantitative and qualitative data generated through partnerships with community treatment sites and youth and parent consumers of care. Aims of this approach are to: (1) integrate information from our partners throughout the treatment development process; (2) create a more feasible and easily transportable “youth” and “family” centered treatment; and (3) accelerate the pace with which laboratory-based treatment advances can be incorporated into improvements in community care. We describe our incubator treatment development model and how data generated through our treatment development process and interactions between the laboratory and community teams contributed to the development of the SAFETY treatment.     

高功能自闭症儿童不同常规度转喻加工的发展：来自ERP的证据

采用ERP技术考察了6~11岁高功能自闭症（HFA）儿童常规和新奇转喻的认知加工过程及发展轨迹。结果显示,6~8岁HFA组和典型发展（TD）组加工常规和新奇转喻的N400波幅无差异,未出现常规度效应,其波幅与错误句也无差异。9~11岁HFA组对新奇转喻N400波幅负于常规转喻,出现常规度效应,常规转喻N400波幅异于错误句,9~11岁TD组常规和新奇转喻均异于错误句。6~8岁HFA组对常规转喻N400差异波负于9~11岁,6~8岁TD组对常规和新奇转喻均负于9~11岁。HFA组转喻N400波幅均负于TD组。结论：HFA儿童常规和新奇转喻的加工较TD儿童存在缺陷。从6岁到11岁,HFA儿童常规转喻加工随年龄增长显著提高,新奇转喻则未出现明显变化,较之常规转喻,新奇转喻的加工尤为困难。     

青少年家庭功能与心理复原力的关系：一个有调节的中介模型

为探讨家庭功能、自我控制与青少年心理复原力的关系及其作用机制,采用家庭功能评定量表、自我控制量表、心理复原力量表对浙江省、山东省、河北省957名中学生进行调查。结果发现：（1）家庭功能对青少年心理复原力具有显著正向预测作用。（2）自我控制在家庭功能和青少年心理复原力之间起到部分中介作用。（3）家庭功能对青少年心理复原力中介过程的前半段路径受到性别调节,相比于女生,男生群体的家庭功能对自我控制的影响更为显著。