The Effects of Exploration on Preschoolers' Problem-Solving Ability

Specific contributions of exploration for divergent and convergent problem-solving ability in preschool children were investigated. Participants were identified as players or nonplayers based on naturalistic observations of free-play activities, and were assigned to either an exploration or nonexploration control condition prior to administration of two divergent and two convergent problem-solving tasks. No significant differences were found between the exploration and nonexploration groups on either divergent or convergent problem-solving tasks. Subjects in the exploration group, however, spent significantly less time in the related convergent problem-solving task than in the nonrelated convergent task. The player/nonplayer distinction was also nonsignificant.     

Obsessive compulsive personality disorder as a predictor of exposure and ritual prevention outcome for obsessive compulsive disorder

Despite elevated rates of obsessive compulsive personality disorder (OCPD) in patients with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), no study has specifically examined comorbid OCPD as a predictor of exposure and ritual prevention (EX/RP) outcome. Participants were adult outpatients (n = 49) with primary OCD and a Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale (YBOCS) total score ≥ 16 despite a therapeutic serotonin reuptake inhibitor dose for at least 12 weeks prior to entry. Participants received 17 sessions of EX/RP over 8 weeks. OCD severity was assessed with the YBOCS pre- and post-treatment by independent evaluators. At baseline, 34.7% of the OCD sample met criteria for comorbid DSM-IV OCPD, assessed by structured interview. OCPD was tested as a predictor of outcome both as a diagnostic category and as a dimensional score (severity) based on the total number of OCPD symptoms coded as present and clinically significant at baseline. Both OCPD diagnosis and greater OCPD severity predicted worse EX/RP outcome, controlling for baseline OCD severity, Axis I and II comorbidity, prior treatment, quality of life, and gender. When the individual OCPD criteria were tested separately, only perfectionism predicted worse treatment outcome, over and above the previously mentioned covariates. These findings highlight the importance of assessing OCPD and suggest a need to directly address OCPD-related traits, especially perfectionism, in the context of EX/RP to minimize their interference in outcome.     

Effectiveness of Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Severe Mood Disorders in an Acute Psychiatric Naturalistic Setting: A Benchmarking Study

The current study examined the effectiveness of brief cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) for severe mood disorders in an acute naturalistic setting. The sample included 951 individuals with either major depressive disorder (n = 857) or bipolar disorder with depressed mood (n = 94). Participants completed a battery of self-report measures assessing depression, overall well-being, and a range of secondary outcomes both before and after treatment. We found significant reductions in depressive symptoms, worry, self-harm, emotional lability, and substance abuse, as well as significant improvements in well-being and interpersonal relationships, post-treatment. Comparable to outpatient studies, 30% of the sample evidenced recovery from depression. Comparison of findings to benchmark studies indicated that, although the current sample started treatment with severe depressive symptoms and were in treatment for average of only 10 days, the overall magnitude of symptom improvement was similar to that of randomized controlled trials. Limitations of the study include a lack of control group, a limitation of most naturalistic studies. These findings indicate that interventions developed in controlled research settings on the efficacy of CBT can be transported to naturalistic, “real world” settings, and that brief CBT delivered in a partial hospital program is effective for many patients with severe depressive symptoms.     

Identifying predictor variables of weight loss outcome: Implications for a stepped program and weight management

Abstract

Four variables were identified that predicted outcome for the minimal and moderate intensity weight control programs presented in sequence. Predictive models for pounds lost and percentage overweight lost were computed for both programs and follow-up and accounted for 33% to 62% of the variance. The predictor variable that contributed to the two programs and follow-up was success in losing weight previously. Greater rate of weight loss in the first five weeks contributed to the model for the minimal intensity program and for follow-up and total number of calories expended in nonroutine physical activity added to the model for the minimal intensity program. Marital dissatisfaction of subjects was a predictor for the moderate intensity program and follow-up. The findings have utility for a stepped program for weight and provide confirmation of variables noted as predictors in prior research. This study may help in the quest to identify consistent predictors of weight loss success.     

The impact of mothers' trait anxiety on their expectations of approach‐avoidance behaviour in anxious and non‐anxious children

This study investigated estimates of approach and avoidance behaviour in clinically anxious and non‐anxious children, and whether mothers' expectations of their children's avoidance differed as a function of high trait anxiety (HTA) versus low trait anxiety (LTA). Participants were 62 clinically anxious and 60 non‐anxious children aged 7–12 years and their mothers. Estimates of avoidance were obtained using an analogue task in which children and mothers were given threat and pleasant information about two novel animals and were asked to estimate children's avoidance of the threat animal's habitat when the threat animal was present (threat condition) and absent (safe condition) from the habitat and when its presence was uncertain (ambiguous condition). Contrary to expectation, anxious children did not differ from controls in estimates of avoidance in any condition. However, relative to HTA mothers of anxious children and LTA mothers of non‐anxious children, HTA mothers estimated greater approach behaviour by their non‐anxious children in the threat condition. Findings suggest that mothers' expectations of children's approach‐avoidance behaviour is influenced by both maternal and child factors.     

Predictors for relapse and chronicity in eating disorders: A review of follow-up studies

Abstract: Eating disorders have been known to be intractable. Yet, their long-term consequences have received relatively little attention in the literature. In this paper, the outcome and follow-up studies of anorexia nervosa and bulimia are reviewed and the current knowledge of the predictors and correlates of relapse and chronicity in each disorder is summarized. Based on the problems and limitations of the extant studies, suggestions for future research are offered, especially from a developmental perspective, to understand better the mechanisms underlying long-term prognosis and relapse.     

Worn out relationship? The role of expectations in judgments of relational boredom

This study examined the role of growth and security expectations in shaping people's judgments of relational boredom and conflict (for discriminant validity). In Studies 1 and 2, the type of expectation gaps (growth vs. security) in hypothetical relationships (as well as the occurrence of a gap in Study 2) was manipulated, and people's judgments of relational boredom and conflict were assessed; Study 3 assessed these associations in people's own relationships. Across all studies, people were more likely to diagnose boredom in other people's relationships (Studies 1 and 2) and their own relationship (Study 3) if the expectation gap for growth (vs. security) was greater. People reported more conflict in their own relationship if the expectation gap for security (vs. growth) was greater.