Predicting Response to an Internet-Delivered Parenting Program for Anxiety in Early Childhood

Previous research has identified factors related to outcome in child anxiety treatment and parent training programs for child behavior problems. However, it is unclear what factors predict outcomes in interventions delivered online to parents of young children at risk of anxiety. This study investigated predictors of child anxiety outcomes among 433 families with young children (3–6 years) who participated in a randomized controlled trial of Cool Little Kids Online, an eight-module early intervention program for child anxiety based on cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). Potential predictors included baseline demographic factors, child and parent mental health factors, and indicators of program use, including number of online modules completed and frequency of homework practice. Results showed that only access to a printer moderated intervention effectiveness. Printer access predicted lower child anxiety in the Cool Little Kids Online group, but had no effect on outcomes in the wait-list group. In both groups, higher levels of child anxiety symptoms, child-inhibited temperament, and poorer parent mental health at baseline predicted higher levels of child anxiety symptoms at 6-month follow-up. The amount of online program use was not related to improvements in child anxiety symptoms. However, parents who reported practicing the program skills more frequently showed greater reductions in child anxiety, and access to a printer was related to frequency of program skills practice. These findings provide empirical support for the important role of skills practice in online CBT interventions, and suggest that practicing program skills may be more important than completing the online modules.     

Parent-infant interaction: a growth model approach

The aim of this study is to compare the interaction of fathers and mothers with their 10–12 months old infants (n = 97; parental sensitivity and mood, and infant mood) during five structured contiguous play segments, and to examine the utility of individual growth modeling. Conventional comparison of means across play-segments showed that parents were equally responsive, but mothers were happier than fathers, and infants were equally happy during interaction with both parents. Sensitivity and mood were more strongly related for mothers than for fathers. Uni- and multivariate growth models revealed fine-grained patterns not seen in conventional analysis: (a) parental and infant mood decreased across play more for mothers than for fathers, (b) parental sensitivity in one play-segment predicted parental mood and infant mood in the next segment, (c) change in infants’ mood was related to change in sensitivity in mothers, and to change in mood in fathers, and (d) mothers’ sensitive interaction with the infant was predicted by family socio-demographic background.     

Individual differences in risk perception versus risk taking: handedness and interhemispheric interaction

Research indicates that right-hemisphere mechanisms are specifically sensitive to and averse to risk. Research also indicates that mixed degree of handedness is associated with increased access to right hemisphere processing. Accordingly, it was predicted that mixed-handers would exhibit greater risk aversion. Participants were presented with various risky activities and were asked to rate (i) the perceived risk, (ii) the perceived benefit, and (iii) their likelihood to engage in each activity. No handedness differences were found for any of these ratings. Regression analyses, however, indicated that the likelihood to engage in risky activities was predicted primarily by the perceived risks in mixed-handers and by the perceived benefits in strong-handers.     

Benefits of interhemispheric collaboration can be eliminated by mixing stimulus formats that involve different cortical access routes

Previous studies indicate that the benefits of dividing an information processing load across both cerebral hemispheres outweigh the costs of interhemispheric transfer as tasks become more difficult or cognitively complex. This is demonstrated as better performance when two stimuli to be compared are presented one to each visual field and hemisphere than when both stimuli are presented to the same single hemisphere (an across-hemisphere advantage). Two experiments indicate that this finding does not generalize to complex tasks that require matching numeric quantities represented by two very different visual formats whose processing involves somewhat different cortical areas: digits and dice-like dot patterns. In fact, mixing these stimulus formats consistently produces a within-hemisphere advantage. We propose that, when two simultaneously presented stimuli are presented in sufficiently different visual formats, identification of the two stimuli may take place in parallel, via different cortical access routes and with little or no interference, even when they are presented to the same cerebral hemisphere.     

Interacting personality traits? Smoking as a test case

We question whether it is profitable to look at smoking (both smoking status and the number of cigarettes smoked a day): (1) in terms of the personality traits of Extraversion, Neuroticism and Psychoticism; (2) in terms of their pairwise interactions; (3) with respect, rather, to impulsivity or sensation seeking; or (4) taking into consideration both these levels of analysis. Our sample comprised 121 smokers and 111 non‐smokers (mostly students). No interactions were predictive of smoking. Both Psychoticism and impulsivity were found to be central traits—thereby providing support for the notion that it is a better strategy to look at smoking in terms of both these levels of analysis. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

早期复发性流产的系统论思考

早期复发性流产是妊娠期妇女较常见的疾病。根据系统论方法主要基本原则,分析其在早期复发性流产诊断治疗中的指导性作用。揭示在医学科学研究中自觉、主动地运用辩证思维方法和系统论科学方法,可以拓展我们的研究思路,为疾病的诊断治疗提供最佳方案。     

Suppressing and focusing on a negative memory in social anxiety: effects on unwanted thoughts and mood

Researchers have hypothesized that thought suppression contributes to the large volume of unwanted thoughts in anxiety disorders. However, comparisons to both non-suppression and non-anxious groups are necessary for studies on thought suppression in high anxiety. Participants completed a series of thought verbalization periods and a social interaction. During one period, participants were randomly assigned to focus upon a negative social memory, suppress it, or think freely while monitoring the memory. Results indicated that thought suppression and focusing caused a greater rise and subsequent decline in unwanted thoughts than monitoring instructions for both high and low social anxiety groups. Importantly, highly socially anxious participants had more unwanted thoughts overall, but did not respond significantly differently to thinking instructions when compared to the less anxious group. Interestingly, highly socially anxious participants did report more thought suppression attempts in their everyday life. They also appeared to benefit by experiencing less shyness after suppression when compared to focusing, a pattern not evident for the low social anxiety group.     

真菌性角膜炎的早期诊断技术

真菌性角膜炎是危害人类的严重眼科疾病,早期诊断是降低其致盲的关键步骤。概述真菌性角膜炎早期诊断技术的发展简史,分析各种早期诊断技术的优缺点。启示综合运用真菌性角膜炎的早期诊断技术,可提高本病的早期诊断率,改善人类生活质量。     

污名应对研究：发展脉络、理论取向与展望

污名应对是指被污名者运用不同策略来反抗社会赋予他们的贬低性标签的动态过程。这一领域的研究正在从站在污名施予者的立场考察污名的影响转向到强调被污名者作为主动应对者。目前,对污名应对的研究有三种理论取向：权衡比较取向、认同威胁取向和个人与情境互动取向。污名应对研究对于改善被污名者的心理健康和改进消除污名影响的政策等有重要意义。未来应进一步加强对可隐藏性污名应对的研究,综合使用量化和质性研究范式,关注污名应对的纵向研究,加强污名应对理论的实际应用     

亲子关系与问题行为的动态相互作用模型：对儿童早期的追踪研究

通过对81名幼儿的父母历时两年的三次追踪测查,考察了父子、母子关系与儿童问题行为的动态相互作用模型。结构方程模型的分析结果表明：一方面,相邻两次测查的母子、父子关系、各种问题行为之间的路径系数都非常显著;另一方面,母子关系与退缩、攻击问题的双向作用,父子关系与攻击、违纪问题的双向作用都得到了支持,焦虑问题对父子、母子关系的作用,违纪问题对父子关系的作用也都得到了支持