Book reviews

The American Journal of Psychoanalysis -     

Talk About School Between Mothers and Children With or Without ADHD

Twenty mother-child dyads including a child with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and 20 mother-child dyads containing a child without ADHD recorded a conversation about the children's school experiences. Mothers' ratings of their children's school-related performance were also assessed. Mothers of children with ADHD rated their children's behavioral conduct lower than did other mothers, and dyads including children with ADHD discussed behavioral conduct more and academics and interpersonal relationships less than did the other group of dyads. For ADHD dyads, less elaboration about children's interpersonal relationships was related to lower maternal ratings about children's school-related performance. The results are discussed in relation to potentially poorer developmental outcomes for many children with ADHD.     

Beneath the veil of thought suppression: Attentional bias and depression risk

Although cognitive theory predicts that depression-prone individuals possess negative information-processing biases, the reliable detection of this type of cognitive vulnerability has proved difficult. The present study tested the idea that depression-relevant, cognitive biases are often elusive because at-risk individuals actively try to suppress depressive thinking. The study employed a novel measure of information processing that involves the identification of words imbedded in a letter grid. A cognitive load - designed to disrupt thought suppression - caused a negative attentional shift among individuals at risk for depression (because of a previous episode), leading them to identify negative words at a rate equivalent to currently dysphoric participants. The hypothesised role of mental control was further supported by the fact that the load-related, attentional shift was strongly associated with chronic thought suppression.