A Russian adaptation of the child behavior checklist: Psychometric properties and associations with child and maternal affective symptomatology and family functioning

The Child Behavior Checklist's (CBCL) applicability to a sample of 105 Russian 9- and 10-year-old children was evaluated by examining the internal consistency of Russian adaptations of parent and teacher report forms. In addition, child behavior scores were correlated with child reports of internalizing symptoms and maternal reports of their own internalizing symptoms and general family functioning. Finally, rates of child behavior problems and patterns of interrater agreement were compared with U.S. normative data. The psychometric properties of the adaptations demonstrate the adequacy of these instruments for use in Russia. Internal consistency and interrater agreement were generally comparable to estimates obtained in U.S. normative samples. Further, an exploration of the construct validity of the Russian versions of the CBCL and Teacher Report Form (TRF) lends additional support to the adequacy of these instruments.This work was supported in part by grants from the International Research Exchanges Board (IREX) (with funds provided by the Andrew Mellon Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities, and the U.S. Department of State) and the National Institute of Mental Health (MH-00508, an RSDA to D. Pauls). None of these organizations is responsible for the views expressed. In addition, the authors wish to thank Thomas Achenbach for his helpful comments and suggestions.     

Evaluation of a trial-based interview-informed synthesized contingency analysis

We evaluated the viability of an interview-informed synthesized-contingency analysis (IISCA) conducted in a trial-based format with 3 children with autism spectrum disorders who engaged in problem behavior. We compared results to those from typical trial-based and traditional functional analyses and found high degrees of correspondence. The trial-based IISCA format took the least amount of time to conduct and was associated with the lowest frequencies of problem behavior. Results are discussed in terms of merits of each of the 3 types of functional analysis arrangements and directions for future research.     

Repressive and defensive coping during fear and anger

In this study, the relationship between repressive and defensive coping styles and somatovisceral responses as well as emotion self-reports were investigated in 2 situational contexts conceived to induce fear and anger. Anxiety (State-Trait Anxiety Inventory; L. Laux, P. Glanzmann, P. Schaffner, and C. D. Spielberger, 1981) x Defensiveness (Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale; D. P. Crowne and D. Marlowe, 1960) x Emotion (fear, anger) moderated regression analyses revealed that compared with baseline during fear, defensiveness was related to a decrease in heart rate variability. Also during fear, repressive-defensive copers had lower self-reports of negative affect but showed higher behavioral negative affect (m. corrugator reactivity) than other participants. During anger, defensiveness was positively related to both diastolic blood pressure reactivity and m. zygomaticus reactivity. Additional analyses showed that emotional responses of repressive-defensive copers were strongly moderated by the situational context.     

A replication of the response‐restriction preference assessment

We replicated the response‐restriction (RR) preference assessment and compared results in terms of preference hierarchies to those from free‐operant and multiple stimulus without replacement (MSWO) formats with six children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). We also assessed social validity of each format with teachers and clinicians who work with children with ASDs. Complete hierarchies were produced in four of 18 assessments and with MSWO and RR formats only. Results of the social validity assessment varied across raters, with each preference assessment format receiving the highest rating from at least one rater. Results are discussed in terms of practical recommendations and relative to the preference assessment literature as a whole.     

A behavior-based circuit model of how outcome expectations organize learned behavior in larval Drosophila

Drosophila larvae combine a numerically simple brain, a correspondingly moderate behavioral complexity, and the availability of a rich toolbox for transgenic manipulation. This makes them attractive as a study case when trying to achieve a circuit-level understanding of behavior organization. From a series of behavioral experiments, we suggest a circuitry of chemosensory processing, odor-tastant memory trace formation, and the "decision" process to behaviorally express these memory traces--or not. The model incorporates statements about the neuronal organization of innate vs. conditioned chemosensory behavior, and the types of interaction between olfactory and gustatory pathways during the establishment as well as the behavioral expression of odor-tastant memory traces. It in particular suggests that innate olfactory behavior is responsive in nature, whereas conditioned olfactory behavior is captured better when seen as an action in pursuit of its outcome. It incorporates the available neuroanatomical and behavioral data and thus should be useful as scaffold for the ongoing investigations of the chemo-behavioral system in larval Drosophila.     

Gender differences in episodic memory and visual working memory including the effects of age

Analysing the relationship between gender and memory, and examining the effects of age on the overall memory-related functioning, are the ongoing goals of psychological research. The present study examined gender and age group differences in episodic memory with respect to the type of task. In addition, these subgroup differences were also analysed in visual working memory. A sample of 366 women and 330 men, aged between 16 and 69 years of age, participated in the current study. Results indicate that women outperformed men on auditory memory tasks, whereas male adolescents and older male adults showed higher level performances on visual episodic and visual working memory measures. However, the size of gender-linked effects varied somewhat across age groups. Furthermore, results partly support a declining performance on episodic memory and visual working memory measures with increasing age. Although age-related losses in episodic memory could not be explained by a decreasing verbal and visuospatial ability with age, women's advantage in auditory episodic memory could be explained by their advantage in verbal ability. Men's higher level visual episodic memory performance was found to result from their advantage in visuospatial ability. Finally, possible methodological, biological, and cognitive explanations for the current findings are discussed.     

Sex-specific clinical correlates of hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder

Little is known about whether the clinical correlates of hoarding behavior are different in men and women with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). In the current study, we evaluated the association of hoarding with categories of obsessions and compulsions, psychiatric disorders, personality dimensions, and other clinical characteristics separately in 151 men and 358 women with OCD who were examined during the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study. We found that, among men but not women, hoarding was associated with aggressive, sexual, and religious obsessions and checking compulsions. In men, hoarding was associated with generalized anxiety disorder and tics whereas, among women, hoarding was associated with social phobia, post-traumatic stress disorder, body dysmorphic disorder, nail biting, and skin picking. In women but not men, hoarding was associated with schizotypal and dependent personality disorder dimensions, and with low conscientiousness. These findings indicate that specific clinical correlates of hoarding in OCD are different in men and women and may reflect sex-specific differences in the course, expression, and/or etiology of hoarding behavior in OCD.     

Hoarding in obsessive-compulsive disorder: results from the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study

Hoarding behavior occurs frequently in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Results from previous studies suggest that individuals with OCD who have hoarding symptoms are clinically different than non-hoarders and may represent a distinct clinical group. In the present study, we compared 235 hoarding to 389 non-hoarding participants, all of whom had OCD, collected in the course of the OCD Collaborative Genetics Study. We found that, compared to non-hoarding individuals, hoarders were more likely to have symmetry obsessions and repeating, counting, and ordering compulsions; poorer insight; more severe illness; difficulty initiating or completing tasks; and indecision. Hoarders had a greater prevalence of social phobia and generalized anxiety disorder. Hoarders also had a greater prevalence of obsessive-compulsive and dependent personality disorders. Five personality traits were independently associated with hoarding: miserliness, preoccupation with details, difficulty making decisions, odd behavior or appearance, and magical thinking. Hoarding and indecision were more prevalent in the relatives of hoarding than of non-hoarding probands. Hoarding in relatives was associated with indecision in probands, independently of proband hoarding status. The findings suggest that hoarding behavior may help differentiate a distinct clinical subgroup of people with OCD and may aggregate in some OCD families. Indecision may be a risk factor for hoarding in these families.     

Is a repressive-defensive coping style really so bad? Comment on DeNeve and Cooper (1998)

This comment refers to the meta-analysis of K. M. DeNeve and H. Cooper showing that repressive defensiveness compared with 136 other personality traits was most strongly, but negatively, related to subjective well-being. It is shown that for theoretical and empirical reasons the relationship cannot be negative.