An overview of psychotherapy outcome research: Implications for practice.

In the past 50 yrs, an extensive amount of research has examined the psychotherapy process. The empirical literature can be a valuable source of information for practitioners, but given the volume and complexity of the research, it is sometimes difficult to analyze the results as they relate to practice. This article provides an overview of major trends in psychotherapy outcome research and discusses implications for practice. It also examines the research in the areas of the therapeutic relationship, session factors, approaches and specific techniques, and client experiences. Implications for using the outcome research in working with clients are provided. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychosocial impact of skin disease. An overview

When the skin is disfigured by disease, it has an impact on the afflicted person. The intensity of the effect depends on many variables including the natural history of the disease, the characteristics of the individual patients and their life situation, as well as the attitudes and assumptions of the culture at large about the meaning of skin disease. Fantasies about skin disease, shared by patients and onlookers alike, relate to guilt, control of bodily boundaries, and perfectionist yearnings. Some issues involved in these fantasies include distortions about contagion, dirt, and sexuality. Ways of helping patients to manage the impact of their skin disease include an empathic doctor-patient alliance, education of patients and the community, and if indicated, referral for psychiatric consultation.     

Subliminal stimulation: An overview.

"Seldom has anything in psychology caused such an immediate and widespread stir as the recent claim that the presentation of certain stimuli below the level of conscious awareness can influence people's behavior in a significant way." Recent history relating to the technique is discussed under the topics of Recent Advertising Demonstrations, Research on Behavior without Awareness, and Effects of Inner States upon Thresholds. Unanswered Methodological Questions and The Ethics of Subliminal Influence are the other major topic areas. "The indiscriminate and uncontrolled application of psychological principles is increasing at a fearsome rate in the form of motivation research, propaganda, public relations, and a host of other useful practices based on the work of psychologists." Psychologists have a responsibility for assisting society to use its findings wisely. 132 references. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An overview of Markov chain methods for the study of stage-sequential developmental processes.

This article presents an overview of quantitative methodologies for the study of stage-sequential development based on extensions of Markov chain modeling. Four methods are presented that exemplify the flexibility of this approach: the manifest Markov model, the latent Markov model, latent transition analysis, and the mixture latent Markov model. A special case of the mixture latent Markov model, the so-called mover-stayer model, is used in this study. Unconditional and conditional models are estimated for the manifest Markov model and the latent Markov model, where the conditional models include a measure of poverty status. Issues of model specification, estimation, and testing using the Mplus software environment are briefly discussed, and the Mplus input syntax is provided. The author applies these 4 methods to a single example of stage-sequential development in reading competency in the early school years, using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study--Kindergarten Cohort. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Homosexuality and psychopolitics: An historical overview.

Traces various sources of attitudes toward homosexuality (HMSX) throughout history and explores the scientific and political forces that contributed to the depathologization of HMSX in the psychological community via the American Psychological Association. Advances in the understanding of lesbian and gay issues within psychology since the early 1970s are considered, as well as an analysis of the current state of attitudes toward HMSX within professional psychology. Attitudes toward HMSX within psychology have changed from viewing HMSX as a form of mental illness to considering gay males and lesbians to be an oppressed group in need of special considerations. However, more attention needs to be paid to the diversity within the lesbian and gay male populations in terms of race and ethnicity, religious diversity, class issues, and physical, emotional, and cognitive disability. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Matchmaking in psychotherapy: Patient-therapist dimensions and their impact on outcome.

Patient–therapist matching was investigated using recent theoretical and methodological developments to overcome some of the limitations that have hindered similar past efforts. Two hypotheses were tested: (a) Therapeutic outcome is affected by the interaction between patients' and therapists' self-concepts, and (b) increasing anticomplementarity between therapist self-concept and therapists' perceptions of patients' behavior is negatively associated with patient improvement. Data from the first 2 cohorts of the Vanderbilt II Psychotherapy Project (H. H. Strupp et al; see record 1989-10009-001) were analyzed. They included the therapies of 16 experienced therapists, who saw a total of 48 patients (38 women and 10 men) in time-limited psychotherapy. Patients' ages ranged from 24 to 65 years (M age?=?40). Outcome was measured from the perspective of the patient, therapist, and evaluating clinician. Each hypothesis was supported, but not across all 3 outcome perspectives. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Personal space: An evaluative and orienting overview.

Defines personal space (PS) and distinguishes it from its companion research areas and reviews and evaluates current PS theories and measurement techniques. The stop-distance and unobtrusive techniques appear best for experimental and naturalistic studies, respectively. It is suggested that considerable reevaluation of research on PS is necessary. Since only age, physical or psychological situation, stigmatizing conditions, and psychological disorders hold up as factors producing differences. Flight or withdrawal appears to result from intrusions and culturally appropriate interpersonal spacings enhance liking and message persuasiveness. It is concluded that more research is needed on theory construction, on comparative evaluation of the various measurement techniques, on specification of the 3-dimensional shape of PS, on specification of the intrusion–discomfort function, on the flexibility of PS, and on the subjective experience of PS. (4 p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Sexual orientation and human development: An overview.

What part does sexual orientation play in human development? Despite the apparent significance of sexual identities in shaping lives, developmental research and theory on sexual orientation have, until recently, been relatively limited. Today, as lesbian women, gay men, and bisexual people become more open about sexual identities, psychological knowledge about the ways in which developmental processes affect and in turn are affected by sexual orientation is growing rapidly. Groundbreaking research is being conducted, from a variety of perspectives, by investigators from many different traditions. Research on sexual orientation and human development has the potential to make important contributions both to the theory and to the practice of developmental psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Emergent trends in neuropsychology: An overview.

Discusses the following 3 emergent trends: neurodevelopmental, assessment, and intervention. Neurodevelopmental issues receive particular emphasis because of their importance to clinical neuropsychology as a whole. In this area, conceptual models bridging the neurosciences and human ability theory are rapidly developing. Boundaries between research and practice and between animal and human models are less distinct. In assessment, the need for theoretically meaningful assessment approaches is emphasized, with strong criticism for the continued development of brain-damage batteries. The need for more consideration of the measurement characteristics of such batteries is emphasized. The area of intervention efforts lacks a conceptual framework but has much promise for expanding the professional role of the clinical neuropsychologist. It is concluded that some of the needed theory, which is important for continued progress in assessment and intervention areas, can be obtained from psychological theories of cognition and behavior. (71 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypoactive sexual desire disorder: An overview.

This article reviews the current state of knowledge about hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD). Despite considerable clinical attention that has been given to this disorder, ambiguity remains concerning the nature and treatment of low sexual desire. This article reviews diagnostic issues, including prevalence estimates. Current theories of etiology and maintenance are highlighted, as well as available assessment strategies. Controlled treatment studies are reviewed, with particular focus on the need to develop desire-specific interventions. Throughout this review, areas where additional work is needed are highlighted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The potential impact on women from environmental exposures

BACKGROUND: Vascular complications following laparoscopic techniques may often be attributed to the incomplete control of bleeding sites at laparoscopy. When confronted with post-laparoscopy symptoms of hemodynamic insufficiency, the surgeon may infer the existence of hemorrhagic complications neglected at the laparoscopic session. METHODS: The author reviewed two otherwise normal cases of laparoscopic procedures that were complicated by bleeding disorders of unknown origin. RESULTS: Diagnosis and treatment of the hematologic complications revealed causes other than operator-inflicted injury. CONCLUSIONS: While laparoscopists should remain vigilant concerning the very real threat of overlooked vascular injury following laparoscopy, some patients may exhibit hemorrhagic symptoms unrelated to the laparoscopic procedure.     

Hepatic imaging. An overview

Chronic food restriction reduces blood pressure (BP) and sympathetic support of BP in aortic coarctation hypertension. The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that chronic food restriction would reduce sympathetic support of BP mediated by the paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei (PVN). Hypertension was induced in male Sprague-Dawley rats (n=40) by suprarenal aortic coarctation. Rats were assigned to either an ad libitum fed (AL) group or a food restricted (FR) group that received 60% of the food consumed by AL for 3 weeks. One week prior to data collection, catheters were implanted in the left carotid artery and right jugular vein. BP was measured for 2 days prior to, and 7 days after rats in AL and FR groups received either bilateral electrolytic lesions of the PVN (PVNx) or sham lesions (SHAM). Prior to either PVNx or SHAM, FR rats had significantly lower BP (AL=152+/-5; FR=113+/-2 mmHg), less of a depressor response to ganglionic blockade (AL=-58+/-4; FR=-35+/-2 mmHg), and lower plasma norepinephrine levels (AL=758+/-71; FR=380+/-23 pg/ml) compared to AL. PVNx reduced BP in both AL and FR rats (AL-PVNx=105+/-6 mmHg, FR-PVNx=101+/-3 mmHg). PVNx also lowered the depressor response to ganglionic blockade (AL-PVNx=-28+/-5 mmHg, FR-PVNx=-29+/-4 mmHg) and plasma norepinephrine levels (AL-PVNx=372+/-74 pg/ml, FR-PVNx=248+/-31 pg/ml). FR decreased the magnitude of the reductions in resting BP and in sympathetic activity in response to PVNx. These results indicate that intact PVN are required for maintenance of aortic coarctation hypertension, and implicate the PVN as a site involved in BP reductions produced by chronic food restriction.     

Oculoplastic surgery. An overview

BACKGROUND. The interface between the subspecialties of dermatologic surgery and oculoplastic surgery is broad. However, there are many commonly seen oculoplastic conditions that are not foremost in the mind of the dermatologic surgeon. OBJECTIVES. Common oculoplastic problems are detailed in this article and should provide the reader with a basis for understanding the wide spectrum of oculoplastic problems encountered in practice.     

Nosologic groups. An overview

A general analysis is made of the concept of nosologic groups. It is concluded that, even when 'artificial',they may prove to be useful research, didactic and differential diagnosis purposes. Nosologic groupings must, however, progress toward the finding of 'phenotypic communities' whose component syndromes share multiple foci of dysmorphogenetically intimate phenotypic overlap. The concepts of syndrome, anomalad, association, combination, dysplasia, phenotypic community and family of diseases are briefly analysed.     

Vanadium: a review of the reproductive and developmental toxicity

With the increasing numbers of older adults in our population, nurses are reexamining all aspects of nursing care in order to best meet the needs of these individuals. Normal age changes, the impact of decades of environmental challenges, successful adaptations, acute illnesses, trauma and chronic illnesses combine to create a challenge for accurate and effective assessment of elderly patients. The nurse finds her assessment skills challenged with increasing frequency by the elderly patient who is also acutely confused and experiencing discomfort. The purpose of this study was to explore the clinical utility, validity and reliability of four different approaches to nursing assessment of discomfort with this particularly vulnerable group of elders.     

Severity of perinatal cerebral injury and developmental outcome: A dose-response relationship.

The purpose of this study was to establish a dose–response relationship between extent of perinatal cerebral injury and quality of developmental outcome in childhood. To attain this goal, 54 school and preschool-age children who had incurred perinatal intracranial hemorrhage were recruited. The main index of hemorrhage severity—the degree of acute ventriculomegaly observed on the cranial ultrasonogram during the neonatal period—was significantly associated with outcome in all measured domains. These included verbal and nonverbal intelligence, motor skills, and behavioral problems associated with the externalizing and internalizing syndromal groupings. The putative neurobiological mechanisms underlying the observed dose–response relationship between perinatal lesion severity and developmental outcome are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Environmental risk, biological risk, and developmental outcome.

The impact of 2 environmental and 2 biological risk measures was studied in 175 preterm children. Levels of family risk, which included family composition, support, and interaction variables, and social class, as well as increases or decreases in family risk over the 1st yr of life, were examined with intraventricular hemorrhage (IVH) and other neonatal medical complications as predictors of cognitive and motor outcomes in the 2nd yr of life. Family risk, early medical risk, and the family risk?×?IVH interaction emerged as significant predictors of later development. Family risk had less impact on Ss at highest medical risk. Different regression equations for each outcome underscored the specificity of environmental effects on developmental outcomes. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cellular and metabolic engineering. An overview

Metabolic engineering is defined as the purposeful modification of intermediary metabolism using recombinant DNA techniques. Cellular engineering, a more inclusive term, is defined as the purposeful modification of cell properties using the same techniques. Examples of cellular and metabolic engineering are divided into five categories: 1. Improved production of chemicals already produced by the host organism; 2. Extended substrate range for growth and product formation; 3. Addition of new catabolic activities for degradation of toxic chemicals; 4. Production of chemicals new to the host organism; and 5. Modification of cell properties. Over 100 examples of cellular and metabolic engineering are summarized. Several molecular biological, analytical chemistry, and mathematical and computational tools of relevance to cellular and metabolic engineering are reviewed. The importance of host selection and gene selection is emphasized. Finally, some future directions and emerging areas are presented.