Severity of Emotional and Behavioral Problems Among Poor and Typical Readers

The purpose of this study was to examine the severity of behavioral and emotional problems among adolescents with poor and typical single word reading ability (N = 188) recruited from public schools and followed for a median of 2.4 years. Youth and parents were repeatedly assessed to obtain information regarding the severity and course of symptoms (depression, anxiety, somatic complaints, aggression, delinquent behaviors, inattention), controlling for demographic variables and diagnosis of ADHD. After adjustment for demographic variables and ADHD, poor readers reported higher levels of depression, trait anxiety, and somatic complaints than typical readers, but there were no differences in reported self-reported delinquent or aggressive behaviors. Parent reports indicated no differences in depression, anxiety or aggression between the two groups but indicated more inattention, somatic complaints, and delinquent behaviors for the poor readers. School and health professionals should carefully assess youth with poor reading for behavioral and emotional symptoms and provide services when indicated.     

Emotional Responses to APO E Genotype Disclosure for Alzheimer Disease

The purpose of our study is to assess the emotional responses to disclosing APO E genotype to asymptomatic older adults at increased risk for Alzheimer disease (AD). This is a longitudinal cohort study of volunteer subjects who were aged 50 years or over, asymptomatic for (AD), had a family history of AD, passed a psychological assessment, and participated in pre- and post-test genetic counseling and three follow-up visits over 10 months. We analyzed responses by three emotional constructs: depressed, worried, and relieved. Three hundred and twenty-eight subjects were screened, 76 received their APO E genotype. When emotional responses occurred it was immediate, between baseline and the 1 month follow-up. Emotional reactions did not change significantly past 1 month. Our results suggest that for emotionally stable persons, disclosing results of their APO E genotype, high risk subjects did not report more depression or worry and low risk subjects felt relieved by knowing the results. Future studies should evaluate the risks of disclosure to family members involved in the diagnostic work-up of a relative and include subjects from a broader range of emotional stability and socioeconomic background.     

Peritraumatic dissociation and experiential avoidance as predictors of posttraumatic stress symptomatology

This study examined whether peritraumatic dissociation serves as a proxy risk factor for experiential avoidance in its relationship with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptomatology. One hundred eighty-five trauma survivors completed measures that assessed for peritraumatic dissociation, experiential avoidance, and PTSD symptom severity. The results indicated that peritraumatic dissociation and experiential avoidance were significantly related to PTSD symptomatology at baseline. However, after initial levels of PTSD symptomatology were taken into account, only experiential avoidance was related to PTSD symptoms both 4- and 8-weeks later. These results indicate that peritraumatic dissociation is not a proxy risk factor for experiential avoidance and contributes to the growing body of literature indicating that experiential avoidance is an important factor related to the psychological symptoms experienced by trauma survivors.     

Unwanted memories of assault: what intrusion characteristics are associated with PTSD?

Intrusive memories are common in the immediate aftermath of traumatic events, but neither their presence or frequency are good predictors of the persistence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Two studies of assault survivors, a cross-sectional study (N=81) and a 6-month prospective longitudinal study (N=73), explored whether characteristics of the intrusive memories improve the prediction. Intrusion characteristics were assessed with an Intrusion Interview and an Intrusion Provocation Task. The distress caused by the intrusions, their "here and now" quality, and their lack of a context predicted PTSD severity. The presence of intrusive memories only explained 9% of the variance of PTSD severity at 6 months after assault. Among survivors with intrusions, intrusion frequency only explained 8% of the variance of PTSD symptom severity at 6 months. Nowness, distress and lack of context explained an additional 43% of the variance. These intrusion characteristics also predicted PTSD severity at 6 months over and above what could be predicted from PTSD diagnostic status at initial assessment. Further predictors of PTSD severity were rumination about the intrusive memories, and the ease and persistence with which intrusive memories could be triggered by photographs depicting assaults. The results have implications for the early identification of trauma survivors at risk of chronic PTSD.     

Cognitive predictors of posttraumatic stress disorder in children: results of a prospective longitudinal study

The present study explored whether cognitive factors specified in the Ehlers and Clark model (Behav. Res. Ther. 38 (2000) 319) of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) predict chronic PTSD in children who had experienced a road traffic accident. Children were assessed at 2 weeks, 3 months, and 6 months after the accident. Data-driven processing during the accident, negative interpretation of intrusive memories, alienation from other people, anger, rumination, thought suppression and persistent dissociation at initial assessment predicted PTSD symptom severity at 3 and 6 months. On the basis of sex and stressor severity variables, 14% of the variance of PTSD symptoms at 6 months could be explained. The accuracy of the prediction increased to 49% or 53% when the cognitive variables measured at initial assessment or 3 months, respectively, were taken into account.     

句子重音对汉语同音异义词的解歧作用

通过针对包含两对汉语同音异义词(“qui(4)shi(4)”(“趣事”或“去世”和“sheng(1)xue(2)”(“声学”或“升学”))的10个发音人语料的声学特征分析和知觉实验,结果发现：消除这两对同音异义词歧义的不是词重音而是句子重音。这个研究结果说明：汉语中句子重音能够通过选择强调同音异义词的某个音节来消除它们的歧义。     

初中学生心理健康状况及其影响因素

本研究对441名初中学生进行问卷调查,结果发现：1．有7．5％的初中学生存在明显的心理健康问题。2．初中学生心理健康存在性别与年级的差异。女生比男生,初三、初二学生比初一学生有更多的心理健康问题。3．日常生活压力是影响初中学生心理健康的重要因素。4．解决问题、求助两种应付方式对学生的心理健康有积极作用,而自责、幻想、忍耐、合理化等应付方式则会危害心理健康。     

Anxiety and counter-conditioning: the role of the behavioral inhibition system in the ability to associate aversive stimuli with future rewards

A total of 130 female undergraduates performed a counter-conditioning choice-task. This task presented two response alternatives and subjects were instructed to earn the maximum number of points. Responses to button 1 were normally followed by an immediate reward (an average gain of 7.5 points). Responses to button 2 were always followed by a punishment (an average loss of 20 points), but caused the next-but-one press on button 1 to give an average gain of 115 points. Thus, subjects were required to learn and maintain this counter-conditioning association. Four groups of subjects were formed according to the scores on the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward scales (which are measures of individual differences of Gray's anxiety and impulsivity personality dimensions, respectively). A 69.2% of subjects learned and maintained the counter-conditioning association. As predicted, personality results confirmed that subjects with lower scores on the Sensitivity to Punishment scale learned the counter-conditioning association better and faster when compared with high scorers. Results are consistent with Gray's Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS) model of anxiety which holds that individual differences in anxiety may relate to the ability to associate aversive stimuli with a future reward. Assuming that anxiety depends on BIS functioning, our results show that high trait anxious subjects, if compared with low anxious ones, would have a lower ability for associating an aversive event with a later appetitive one. This learning process would serve non-anxious subjects to reduce the aversiveness of cues of punishment and to cope better with stressful situations.     

Intertask consistency of blood pressure responses to laboratory stressors may increase with prolonged exposure

In this study, one of the predictions of the reactivity hypothesis was investigated: the intertask consistency of blood pressure (BP) responses. Twelve young male subjects underwent cold-pressor (14°C) and digit-scan (counting even numbers) tests in randomized order. Cardiovascular parameters were recorded during a 2-min pretask baseline, a 10-min stressful exposure, and over a 5-min post-task baseline. The intertask correlations between the cold pressor and digit scan increased with prolonged exposure and were higher for almost all of the systolic BP measurements than for the diastolic measurements. After prolonged exposure, the hemodynamic mechanisms of BP elevations during the digit scan shifted from an increase in both cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance to solely an increase in peripheral vascular resistance. Increased peripheral vascular resistance was the consistent cause of the BP elevations with the cold pressor. Accordingly, the hemodynamic shift on the part of the digit scan seemed to heighten the intertask BP correlations. Some other factors influencing the intertask BP correlations are also discussed.     

Change in the Psychological Adjustment of Children with Cystic Fibrosis or Sickle Cell Disease and Their Mothers

Objectives: This study has three interrelated objectives: (1) to track the adjustment of children and adolescents with sickle cell disease (SCD) or cystic fibrosis (CF) and their mothers through a third assessment point 2 years after the initial assessment; (2) to determine whether the adaptational processes of the transactional stress and coping model associated with adjustment at the initial assessment continue to be associated with adjustment 2 years later; and (3) to determine whether the pattern of association of adaptational processes with adjustments differs by illness subgroup. Methods: The study samples included 59 children with CF and 50 children with SCD and their mothers. Measures were obtained on maternal adjustment and appraisals of daily and illness stress, coping methods, and family functioning. Child measures included child-reported and mother-reported child adjustment and child perceptions of self-worth and health locus of control and pain coping methods. Results: Consistency in adjustment classification was only 31–32% for child self-report, 66% for mother-reported child behavior problems, and 56–77% for mother self-reported adjustment for the CF and SCD groups, respectively. Support was provided for the association of adaptational processes with maternal adjustment and with the adjustment of children with SCD but not for children with CF. Conclusion: The stability of adjustment has implications for prevention and treatment intervention and subsequent research steps. Intervention efforts should be focused on the relatively small subgroups of children with chronic illnesses and their mothers with consistently poor adjustment.