Children's social problem-solving skills, behavioral adjustment, and interventions: A meta-analysis evaluating theory and practice

Meta-analyses were performed to examine reported relations between children's interpersonal cognitive problem-solving (ICPS) skills and adjustment, and to specify the effects of ICPS training. In general, the relation between ICPS and adjustment appears robust, and interventions yield clear increases in ICPS skills. Intervention effects on behavioral adjustment are somewhat more equivocal; meta-analytic results differ depending on whether behavioral ratings or observations are the dependent variables. Age of subject, source of publication, and expertise of investigator are boundary conditions for the meta-analysis regarding ICPS and adjustment; teacher/child dialogues on ICPS principles in real-life situations, expertise of investigator, source and quality of publication, and length of interventions mediate magnitude of certain intervention effects. Further research is needed where data were sparse, as in follow-up data and effects of intervention for various special populations.     

Choice reaction time with a random foreperiod

Choice reaction latencies were measured at three different a priori probabilities for two stimulus alternatives. Unlike the results of some other studies, the mean latency of a given response was nearly the same whether the response was correct or incorrect. The discriminable stimuli were a 1000- or a 1700-Hz tone presented at 70 dB SPL. Latencies and standard deviations, based on about 17,000 observations, are reported for three observers. The data are compared with predictions of the optimum sequential model of Wald and Stone and two modifications of that random-walk model, one proposed by Link and Heath and the other proposed by Laming. Fast-guess analyses were also carried out. The three-parameter version of either the sequential or the modified random-walk models provided reasonably accurate predictions of the mean data for each observer. The parameters estimated by the fast-guess analysis were unrealistic. There are three obvious differences between this experiment and most previous choice reaction-time experiments. First is stimulus modality#x2014;we used an auditory signal, whereas most of the previous studies used a visual signal. Second, the observers practiced more in this experiment than in most previous experiments. Finally, there was a random foreperiod with a heavy penalty for anticipations. One or more of these factors is the probable reason for the discrepancy between our results and those of previous studies.     

A double-edged sword: How social diversity affects trust in representatives via perceived competence and warmth

Previous research has claimed that diversity erodes trust, even though the empirical evidence is mixed and restricted to ethnic neighborhood diversity. Against the backdrop of increasing diversity within the political sphere and concurrently declining political trust, we examined the impact of social diversity on trust in groups of political representatives. In two experiments (N₁ = 109, N₂ = 248) we tested how the diversity of political parties affected citizens’ trust in them. In line with predictions of the stereotype content model, diverse parties were perceived as warmer and less competent than non-diverse parties (Experiments 1–2). Additionally, party diversity was perceived as having more benefits, but also involving more threats (Experiment 2). Consequently, diversity had both positive (via warmth and benefits) and negative (via competence and threats) indirect effects on trust. These results help to untangle previously mixed, for the most part non-experimental, findings of the relationship between diversity and trust.     

The Simulated Self – Fiction Reading and Narrative Identity

Philosophia - How do participating in a work of fiction and imagining a fictional world intertwine with the reader’s life? I develop an account that explores the relation between fiction...     

Antenatal caregiving representations and perinatal behavior in mothers with severe lifetime psychopathology

Psychopathology poses a risk for optimal parenting. The current study explored antenatal caregiving representations as markers for later risk of nonoptimal maternal behavior among mothers with severe mental illness. Sixty-five mothers diagnosed with psychosis, bipolar disorder, depression (psychopathology group), and nonclinical controls participated in a longitudinal study from pregnancy to 16 weeks after birth. Mental health diagnoses and caregiving representations were assessed during pregnancy. Maternal behavior was assessed during the 5-min recovery phase of the still-face paradigm at 16 weeks. Mothers with psychopathology reported significantly higher levels of “heightened” caregiving representations (i.e., separation anxiety from the child) than did controls. The only significant diagnostic group difference in perinatal maternal behavior was that mothers diagnosed with depression exhibited more overriding-intrusive behavior than did nonclinical control mothers. Regression modeling results showed that antenatal caregiving representations of “role reversal” predicted significantly lower levels of sensitivity and higher levels of overriding-intrusive behavior independent of the effect of psychopathology. The findings can be interpreted in the context of representational transformation to motherhood during pregnancy. The results provide preliminary evidence for the potential of a new questionnaire measure of caregiving representations as a screening instrument for antenatal representational risk.     

Adolescent identity formation: a Swedish study of identity status using the EOM-EIS-II

The aim of this study was to examine ego identity status among Swedish adolescents using the EOM-EIS-II. Identity status scores and distributions were examined for 222 (108 female, 114 male) Swedish high school students. Identity status differences were found between genders. There was a greater likelihood of female adolescents being categorized as moratoriums than were males, and there was a greater likelihood of males being categorized as diffusions than were females. Statistically significant differences were found between genders on the following subscales: moratorium, foreclosure, and diffusion. No statistically significant differences were found between females and males on the identity achievement subscale. To achieve a preliminary construct validation of the results from the EOM-EIS-II, four of the 222 participants were also assessed using Marcia's identity status interview. A fairly good accordance between the interview assessment of identity status and the EOM-EIS-II assessment were found. Interview results showed differences between the interviewers on each subscale (IA, M, F, and D). The same differences were detected on three of four subscales when assessing these individuals' identity statuses using the EOM-EIS-II.     

Gender differences in psychopathy in a Swedish offender sample

In this study we examined gender differences in the PCL:SV employing a variety of statistical methods with two subsets of psychopathic individuals drawn from larger samples of 129 female and 499 male Swedish offenders. The larger samples included forensic psychiatric patients, forensic psychiatric evaluees and criminal offenders. We found gender differences in antisocial behavior, as defined in factor 2 of the PCL:SV, with female psychopaths (PCL:SV>or=18) displaying significantly more lying, deceitfulness and lack of control, while male psychopaths were more antisocial as measured by the PCL:SV. We conclude that it might be meaningful to use gender specific definitions in the assessment of psychopathy or, alternatively, slightly revise the diagnostic tools. Our results support the use of the three-factor model of the PCL-R and PCL:SV introduced by Cooke and Michie (2001) in female populations.     

Reliability and Validity Evaluation of the Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in Swedish correctional and forensic psychiatric samples

This study evaluated the structural reliability, construct-related validity, and cultural validity generalization of the Hare Psychopathy Checklist: Screening Version (PCL:SV) in a sample of more than 560 male and female Swedish forensic psychiatric treatment patients, forensic evaluation patients, and criminal offenders. Structural reliability was excellent for most indices. PCL:SV scores were higher for males than females for total and Part 1 scores (interpersonal/affective features) but not for Part 2 (behavioral features). With some exceptions, PCL:SV scores were meaningfully related to aggression to others, a measure of risk for violence, substance use problems, personality disorder (positive), and psychosis (negative). Correlations between PCL:SV and aggression were larger for females than males, although the difference was smaller when personality disorder was held constant. The structural reliability and pattern of validity coefficients were comparable in these Swedish samples to other non-North American samples. Implications for the cross-cultural manifestation and correlates of psychopathy are discussed.     

Interpersonal problems and outcome in outpatient psychotherapy: findings from a long-term longitudinal study in Germany

We used a comprehensive longitudinal data set from Germany to examine trajectories of symptom distress depending on interpersonal problems at study intake measured via the Inventory of Interpersonal Problems-64 (IIP-64; Horowitz, Strau, & Kordy, 1994). Participants (N=622) underwent mid- or long-term outpatient psychotherapy (either psychodynamically oriented psychotherapy, cognitive behavioral therapy, or analytic psychotherapy). Data comprises up to 5 assessments during a 2-year period and was analyzed via hierarchical linear modeling. In the analytic psychotherapy subgroup, initial symptom level was higher in submissive patients. Initial interpersonal problems were not predictive of the rate of symptom change during therapy. Only in psychodynamic treatments, low affiliation positively affected treatment outcome. Interpersonal problems at intake were not related to the number of utilized sessions and utilization rate across treatment subgroups. We discuss the findings and outline future research topics.