Rearing practices and impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms in relation to inflated responsibility and obsessive‐compulsive symptoms

Smári, J., Rúrik Martinsson, D., & Einarsson, H. (2010). Rearing practices and impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms in relation to inflated responsibility and obsessive‐compulsive symptoms. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 392–397. The aim of the study was to investigate potential precursors of inflated responsibility (responsibility attitudes) and obsessive‐compulsive (OCD) symptoms. It was argued that both parental overprotection and impulsivity, separately and in interaction with each other, contribute to inflated responsibility and OCD symptoms. In a large sample of young adults (N = 570), self‐report measures of OCD symptoms (OCI‐R), responsibility attitudes (RAS), anxiety/depression (HADS), rearing practices (EMBU), present and past impulsivity/hyperactivity symptoms (IMP/HY) were administered. Overprotection as well as IMP/HY were found to predict OCD symptoms as well as inflated responsibility. Finally, a significant interaction was found between IMP/HY and overprotection with regard to both OCD symptoms and inflated responsibility. This effect reflected that IMP/HY was more strongly related to OCD symptoms and responsibility in people who had not been overprotected than in people who had been. Conversely overprotection was related to OCD symptoms and responsibility in people low but not in people high in IMP/HY. The results seem to indicate that the inadequacy between offer and need for parental control may play a role in the development of OCD symptoms.     

Systematic Review of the Clinical Presentation of Schizophrenia in Intellectual Disability

Schizophrenia and intellectual disability (ID) co-occur three times more than would be expected by chance. This has led to speculation that a particular form of schizophrenia may give rise to both the symptoms of schizophrenia and the intellectual impairment. If this was the case, one may expect the presentation of schizophrenia in an ID population to differ from that in a population with average/high IQ. A systematic review and meta-analysis was undertaken of studies comparing the clinical presentation of schizophrenia in people with mild/borderline ID to that in people with average/high IQ. Five studies were eligible for inclusion. Four reported more negative symptoms in the ID population, while two reported more positive symptoms. Meta-analysis demonstrated that the ID population experienced more negative symptoms. The available evidence supports the proposal that the clinical presentation of schizophrenia in an ID population differs from that in a population with normal IQ.     

Towards an ontology for psychosis

There is a pressing need for data interoperability in neuroscience especially in mental health and psychiatric research. Heterogeneity of data in the domain is a combination of a plethora of assessment methods and two clinical classification systems with no formal method of interconversion. Ontologies with their formal logical basis have been successfully used to achieve interoperability in other fields of biology. We discuss the need for an ontology in the domain of psychosis and propose a methodology for building such an ontology. We outline the various factors that are important for building a unifying ontology and how this might serve as a good start for building better classification systems in psychiatry.     

He throws like a girl (but only when he's sad): emotion affects sex-decoding of biological motion displays

Gender stereotypes have been implicated in sex-typed perceptions of facial emotion. Such interpretations were recently called into question because facial cues of emotion are confounded with sexually dimorphic facial cues. Here we examine the role of visual cues and gender stereotypes in perceptions of biological motion displays, thus overcoming the morphological confounding inherent in facial displays. In four studies, participants’ judgments revealed gender stereotyping. Observers accurately perceived emotion from biological motion displays (Study 1), and this affected sex categorizations. Angry displays were overwhelmingly judged to be men; sad displays were judged to be women (Studies 2–4). Moreover, this pattern remained strong when stimuli were equated for velocity (Study 3). We argue that these results were obtained because perceivers applied gender stereotypes of emotion to infer sex category (Study 4). Implications for both vision sciences and social psychology are discussed.     

Effects of induced sad mood on facial emotion perception in young and older adults

Older adults perceive less intense negative emotion in facial expressions compared to younger counterparts. Prior research has also demonstrated that mood alters facial emotion perception. Nevertheless, there is little evidence which evaluates the interactive effects of age and mood on emotion perception. This study investigated the effects of sad mood on younger and older adults’ perception of emotional and neutral faces. Participants rated the intensity of stimuli while listening to sad music and in silence. Measures of mood were administered. Younger and older participants’ rated sad faces as displaying stronger sadness when they experienced sad mood. While younger participants showed no influence of sad mood on happiness ratings of happy faces, older adults rated happy faces as conveying less happiness when they experienced sad mood. This study demonstrates how emotion perception can change when a controlled mood induction procedure is applied to alter mood in young and older participants.     

Attitudes Toward Business as a Function of Student Quality and Career Intentions

This study sought to determine student attitudes toward business as a social institution, careers in business, and businessmen, and then to relate these attitudes to measures of career intention and student quality. A random sample of 91 subjects was administered a double pre-tested questionnaire after results of a pilot study were reviewed. Positive and negative attitudes toward business were analyzed following three popular hypotheses: the “values” hypothesis, the “seduction” hypothesis, the “grey flannel suit” hypothesis. A negative relation between student quality and intention to enter business careers was found. The most consistent underlying explanation for this result was found to relate to student values and motivations and not to attitude sources external to the individual.     

Neuropsychology,genetic liability,and psychotic symptoms in those at high risk of schizophrenia

Neuropsychological assessments were compared among individuals at enhanced genetic risk of schizophrenia (n = 157) and controls (n = 34). The relationship between cognitive impairments and the presence of psychotic symptoms and measures of genetic risk was explored in the high-risk subjects. Neuropsychological differences were identified in many areas of function and were not accounted for by the presence of psychotic symptoms. Genetic liability was not associated with neuropsychological performance or with psychotic symptoms, but exploratory analysis showed some tests were associated with both liability measures. These results suggest that what is inherited is not the disorder itself but a state of vulnerability manifested by neuropsychological impairment, occurring in many more individuals than are predicted to develop the disorder.     

Psychological Adjustment and Knowledge About Hereditary Hemochromatosis in a Clinic-Based Sample: A Prospective Study

This study assessed psychological adjustment and quality of life relative to population-based norms and knowledge about hereditary hemochromatosis in a sample of 101 patients who attended a hemochromatosis clinic. Participants were assessed prior to their clinic visit, and two weeks and 12 months after attendance, using self-administered questionnaires. Mean Mental Health Component Scores from the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-36) (45.3, 95% CI 43.2, 47.4) were as compromised as those found amongst stroke victims (45.9, 95% CI 42.8, 49.0) who had participated in a national health survey. Recall of the genetic testing result was less than optimal, in that only 69.3% of those with genetic testing results knew whether they carried one or two mutations. This study demonstrates that patients would benefit from routine assessment of psychological distress and referral to mental health professionals of those whose levels of distress suggest a need for clinical intervention. Results also show that patients may benefit from strategies aimed at improving recall of genetic testing results.