Social anxiety disorder in childhood and adolescence: descriptive psychopathology

Although the presentation of social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adults is well documented, less is known about its clinical manifestation in children and adolescents. To date, most studies have included combined samples of children and adolescents despite the fact that this age range represents an extensive period of growth and development. This study compares and contrasts the clinical presentation of SAD among children (ages 7-12) and adolescents (ages 13-17). One hundred and fifty children (n=74) and adolescents (n=76) with a primary diagnosis of SAD participated in the study. The assessment battery included clinical ratings and behavioral observation as well as parental and self-report. The results indicate that, although the symptom presentation of children and adolescents with primary SAD shares many features, children tend to present with a broader pattern of general psychopathology, while adolescents have a more pervasive pattern of social dysfunction and may be more functionally impaired as a result of their disorder. These findings suggest that interventions for SAD need to carefully consider clinical presentation of the disorder as it manifests in childhood and adolescence.     

Enhancing Salesperson Trust: An Examination of Managerial Values,Empowerment, and the Moderating Influence of SBU Strategy

Within a sales environment, the development and conveyance of managerial values play a critical role in enhancing salesperson trust and performance. This study identifies specific managerial values (i.e., integration, flexibility, control, spontaneity, etc.) that support particular business strategies (i.e., prospector, defender, or analyzer). The proposed model investigates the impact of aligning managerial value systems to SBU type on building trusting relationships within a manager–salesperson context. Study results suggest various implications for managers.     

Use of Community-Based Participatory Research Methods in Adults' Health Assessment

Since adults 18 to 64 years of age represent the fastest growing population, we conducted a community assessment to assess health status, chronic disease prevalence, health behaviors, utilization of health screenings, and access to health care. A total of 450 adults completed a 56-item assessment on quality of life. Prevalence of risk factors for cardiovascular disease and diabetes were higher than Healthy People 2010 targets. Respondents reported poor health behaviors, such as a lack of physical activity. Data from this community assessment will be used for program development and to obtain funding.     

Burning and cutting: Identifying the traits of individuals with an enduring propensity to tan and to undergo cosmetic surgery

• The research investigated the trait predictors of the propensity to use two beautification procedures that have the potential to harm health – the propensities to tan and to obtain cosmetic surgery. The results of a survey of 231 adult consumers revealed that a different combination of hierarchically arranged traits was predictive of the two procedures. These results suggest that different strategies are required in order to market or demarket tanning and plastic surgery. The research also made methodological contributions by revealing that two forms of vanity identified in the literature – physical view vanity and physical concern vanity – represent two different constructs rather than two dimensions of an underlying construct.

Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The illusion of mental health: in the mind of which beholder?

We reference self-ratings and clinician ratings of childhood anxious symptoms to a third data source well delineated with regard to the pathophysiology of anxiety. A total of 36 children with anxiety disorders and other children were administered yohimbine, an alpha-sub-2-adrenoreceptor antagonist, in response to which anxiety-prone children have blunted output of growth hormone. We assessed neuroendocrine reactions. In general, participants who claimed anxiety that was unconfirmed by clinicians displayed anxiotypic neuroendocrine profiles, whereas those who denied anxiety detected by clinicians did not, suggesting self-report may have had the advantage over clinician ratings in some instances. Nuanced and contextualized conclusions in this area of work are needed. In response to the question "the illusion of mental health: in the mind of which beholder?," we answer "it depends on the sample and the syndrome under study."     

Psychopathology of Adolescent Social Phobia

Sixty-three adolescents with social phobia and 43 with no psychiatric disorders were compared across a number of clinical variables. In addition to clinically impairing social fear, adolescents with social phobia had significantly higher levels of loneliness, dysphoria, general emotional over-responsiveness and more internalizing behaviors than normal controls and 57.1% of socially phobic adolescents had a second, concurrent diagnosis, 75% of which were other anxiety disorders. In addition, adolescents with social phobia were significantly less socially skilled. Though similar in some respects to childhood social phobia, adolescent social phobia has a unique clinical presentation. The importance of developmental differences on the development of age-appropriate interventions is discussed.     

Interference Control in Children with First Episode Major Depression: A Brief Report

The ability to deal with sources of conflict, that is, interference control, was evaluated in a group of 11 children with first episode Major Depression and a peer control group. To this end, the Eriksen and Schultz (1979 Eriksen, C. W. and Schulz, D. W. 1979. Information processing in visual search: A continuous flow conception and experimental results. Perception and Psychophysics, 25: 249–263. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) task was used. Here, the participant is presented with a stimulus that simultaneously activates two conflicting response channels: One response is activated by the instructions, whereas the other response is activated by elements in the array that strongly invite an alternative — yet incorrect — response. Findings provided no evidence for an undisturbed interference control nor impaired overall processing speed in children with first episode Major Depression.