Reliability and validity of a bilingual measure of religiosity in English and Vietnamese: preliminary results from a pilot study

This study reports preliminary psychometric findings for a seven-item religiosity scale in a community-based sample of Vietnamese Americans ages 18 to 83 years (N = 119; 58% women, 42% men). A bilingual survey was distributed to Vietnamese who were evacuated during Hurricane Katrina and had returned after the disaster. Internal consistency, factorial structure validity, and criterion validity were evaluated on the scale items. The bilingual scale had good internal consistency. While exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis results provided support for a two-factor structure which captured Religious Involvement and Religious Coping, a one-factor model had slightly better fit. Individuals who scored high on the religiosity scale reported a significantly lower score on their stressful experiences during the hurricane, providing evidence of criterion validity.     

Images of God and the imaginary in the face of loss: a quantitative research on Vietnamese immigrants living in Canada

ABSTRACT

This study examines the relationships between images of God, the imaginary and experiences of loss among Vietnamese immigrants living in Canada. One hundred twenty-nine participants completed four sets of questionnaires: a demographic questionnaire, a Questionnaire on God Image, the Brief Symptom Inventory, the Davidson Trauma Scale. In the second phase, 32 participants were administered the AT.9 test (an archetypal test with nine elements). In this test, participants are asked to draw, using nine symbolic elements, and then write a story based on their drawing. Results showed that a positive perception of God negatively correlated with somatisation, anxiety and hostility, whereas negative God image was significantly related to high levels of emotional distress. Results also showed that the synthetic categories of the imaginary were associated with a positive perception of God; and were negatively associated with somatisation, intrusion and hyper-vigilance. Further discussions on the main findings will address cultural implications in the fields of Mental Health, Religion and Culture.     

"I know what I like": stability of aesthetic preference in Alzheimer's patients

Two studies explored the stability of art preference in patients with Alzheimer's disease and age-matched control participants. Preferences for three different styles of paintings, displayed on art postcards, were examined over two sessions. Preference for specific paintings differed among individuals but AD and non-AD groups maintained about the same stability in terms of preference judgments across two weeks, even though the AD patients did not have explicit memory for the paintings. We conclude that aesthetic responses can be preserved in the face of cognitive decline. This should encourage caregivers and family to engage in arts appreciation activities with patients, and reinforces the validity of a preference response as a dependent measure in testing paradigms.     

Simultaneous behavioral and neural (cochlear nucleus) measurement during signal detection in the rabbit

Classical conditioning of the rabbit nictitating membrane (NM) response was adapted as a model system for simultaneous measurement of behavioral and neural responses in auditory signal detection. Animals were trained to a 36-dB spectral-level white-noise CS paired with a corneal airpuff US. The CS intensity was then reduced to threshold, using a modified staircase procedure, and responses on detect and nondetect trials were compared for the same stimulus intensities. At threshold, the behavioral NM response was dichotomous, being present on detect trials and completely absent on nondetect trials. In marked contrast, evoked neural unit activity to the CS recorded from the anteroventral cochlear nucleus was clearly present and identical on both detect and nondetect trials, suggesting that the detection “decision” is made more centrally than the cochlear nucleus.     

Bayesian inference for psychology. Part II: Example applications with JASP

Bayesian hypothesis testing presents an attractive alternative to p value hypothesis testing. Part I of this series outlined several advantages of Bayesian hypothesis testing, including the ability to quantify evidence and the ability to monitor and update this evidence as data come in, without the need to know the intention with which the data were collected. Despite these and other practical advantages, Bayesian hypothesis tests are still reported relatively rarely. An important impediment to the widespread adoption of Bayesian tests is arguably the lack of user-friendly software for the run-of-the-mill statistical problems that confront psychologists for the analysis of almost every experiment: the t-test, ANOVA, correlation, regression, and contingency tables. In Part II of this series we introduce JASP (http://www.jasp-stats.org), an open-source, cross-platform, user-friendly graphical software package that allows users to carry out Bayesian hypothesis tests for standard statistical problems. JASP is based in part on the Bayesian analyses implemented in Morey and Rouder’s BayesFactor package for R. Armed with JASP, the practical advantages of Bayesian hypothesis testing are only a mouse click away.     

Bayesian inference for psychology. Part I: Theoretical advantages and practical ramifications

Bayesian parameter estimation and Bayesian hypothesis testing present attractive alternatives to classical inference using confidence intervals and p values. In part I of this series we outline ten prominent advantages of the Bayesian approach. Many of these advantages translate to concrete opportunities for pragmatic researchers. For instance, Bayesian hypothesis testing allows researchers to quantify evidence and monitor its progression as data come in, without needing to know the intention with which the data were collected. We end by countering several objections to Bayesian hypothesis testing. Part II of this series discusses JASP, a free and open source software program that makes it easy to conduct Bayesian estimation and testing for a range of popular statistical scenarios (Wagenmakers et al. this issue).     

Self-compassion reduces parental burnout: Mediation roles of parental psychological control and support

This study investigated the mediating role of parental psychological control (PPC) and support in the relationship between self-compassion and parental burnout syndrome. The study participants included 1185 Vietnamese parents who completed questionnaires regarding demographic information, parental burnout, self-compassion, parental support of the child, and PPC. We used data analyses, including structural equation modeling, to test the mediation roles of PPC and parental support of the child. Our main findings include: (1) self-compassion had a significant negative effect on parental burnout; (2) the mediation roles of PPC and parental support of the child were also significant. These results suggest that parents with high self-compassion tend to provide more support for children in daily parenting, which helps reduce parental burnout. In contrast, parents with low self-compassion were more likely to use PPC, which exacerbated their burnout. The results from this study provide suggestions for creating effective interventions in the family context to reduce parental burnout and improve parenting effectiveness.     

A narrative review of research on clinical responses to the problem of sexual offenses in the last decade

Research on the treatment and programs for people who have committed sexual offenses has greatly increased in the past decade. The aim of this review is to discuss research that has been published over that period (2010–2019) that is relevant for treatment providers. The articles included in this review were found through PsycINFO and PubMed (Medline) using the keywords “treatment or therapy” and “sex offen*”. The inclusion criteria were publications that discuss treatment of persons who have committed sexual offenses (written in the English language only). Any articles that examined only special populations were excluded, such as those that examined persons who committed sexual offenses who were female, had intellectual disabilities, deafness, juveniles, etc., because these groups will likely have needs and responsivity factors that differ from the “average” natal-born male sex offender. Results showed that several meta-analyses indicate that treatment is effective in reducing sexual recidivism. The most frequently used treatment for sex offenders is cognitive behavioral therapy, which is often provided in conjunction with pharmacological treatment to reduce sexual impulsivity and/or sex drive. This review is limited to the specific key search terms. The findings of this review support the use of treatment and a community reintegration approach when treating persons who have committed sexual crimes to prevent sexual recidivism.     

Perceptions of the Efficacy of Prayer and Conventional Medicine for Health Concerns

Previous research has associated prayer practices with positive health outcomes, but few studies have examined: (a) the perceptions of prayer in relation to perceptions of the efficacy of conventional medicine, and (b) whether the perceptions of prayer efficacy differ based on illness type, context of prayer, and whether prayer is for the self or someone else. The current study surveyed 498 emerging adults at a public university. Conventional medicine was perceived as more effective for alleviating health concerns overall, but participants perceived prayer as most effective when performed in a group setting for someone else. Individuals perceived prayer as more effective than conventional medicine when they reported greater religious activity, lower health locus of control, and higher spiritual locus of control.

     

Behavioral and Psychological Symptoms that Predict Cognitive Decline or Impairment in Cognitively Normal Middle-Aged or Older Adults: a Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychology Review - Epidemiological studies have revealed that behavioral and psychological (or non-cognitive) symptoms are risk factors for cognitive decline in older adults. This study aimed...