Psychosocial functioning and depression: Distinguishing among antecedents, concomitants, and consequences.

In this article we attempt to distinguish empirically between psychosocial variables that are concomitants of depression, and variables that may serve as antecedents or sequelae of this disorder. We review studies that investigated the relationship between depression and any of six psychosocial variables after controlling for the effects of concurrent depression. The six variables examined are attributional style, dysfunctional attitudes, personality, social support, marital distress, and coping style. The review suggests that whereas there is little evidence in adults of a cognitive vulnerability to clinical depression, disturbances in interpersonal functioning may be antecedents or sequelae of this disorder. Specifically, marital distress and low social integration appear to be involved in the etiology of depression, and introversion and interpersonal dependency are identified as enduring abnormalities in the functioning of remitted depressives. We attempt to integrate what is known about the relationships among these latter variables, suggests ways in which they may influence the development of depression, and outline specific issues to be addressed in future research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age differences in five personality domains across the life span.

The present study addresses the issue of age differences in 5 personality domains across the life span in a cross-sectional study. In contrast to most previous studies, the present study follows a methodologically more rigorous approach to warrant that age-related differences in personality structure and mean level can be meaningfully compared. It uses data on 50 items of the Five-Factor Personality Inventory (FFPI) available from a study in a large and representative Dutch sample (N = 2,494; age range: 16 to 91 years) conducted in 1996 for the purpose of establishing norms for the FFPI. After having established strict measurement invariance, tests were made for factor covariances to be equal across age groups, revealing structural continuity of personality. Additionally, factor variances were shown to be equal across age groups. A number of age differences in the mean level of the five personality domains emerged. Specifically, older adults were, on average, more agreeable and, especially, more conscientious than middle-aged and younger adults. Findings from our study suggest that both continuity and change may mark personality over the course of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Acute psychophysiologic reactivity and risk of cardiovascular disease: A review and methodologic critique.

Recent behavioral and biomedical research has suggested that psychophysiologic responsiveness (reactivity) to emotional stress may be a marker of processes involved in the development of cardiovascular disorders. The assessment of reactivity focuses on acute changes in functioning as opposed to the sole assessment of resting levels of variables. Evidence is reviewed that links behaviorally induced cardiovascular and endocrine changes to coronary heart disease and essential hypertension. Particular attention is given to methodologic issues involving measurement. Different tasks and situations appear to elicit different patterns of physiologic responses. Reactivity per se should currently not be regarded as a proven risk factor. It is suggested that evidence does, however, justify continued laboratory and naturalistic hypothesis-testing research. The authors recommend methodologic studies to identify (a) the psychologic dimensions of stimuli that elicit reactivity in different subject groups, and (b) the patterns of physiologic responses produced. Such research would set the stage for epidemiologic studies to further examine relations between behavior and disease processes. (5 ? p ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Psychology and inferences about public policy.

The research literature of psychology may be brought to bear on public policy issues in three ways. First, psychology may be useful in establishing procedures for determining public policy. Second, psychology may be useful in formulating the structure for policy and its implementation. Third, the literature of psychology may be reflected in the actual content of public policy. There are many issues involved in making inferences about public policy from the psychological literature. Among these issues are the generalizability of findings from basic science and problems of overadvocacy on the part of policy consultants. Researchers expect that inferences from the psychological literature would lead to innovations in the policy, but the innovations themselves must be evaluated. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Four practical and conceptual assessment issues that evaluators should address in capital case mental retardation evaluations.

What unique assessment issues do evaluators face when conducting mental retardation evaluations in capital cases? This article describes 4 assessment issues and reports how 20 evaluators in 1 state have approached them: (a) What methods are appropriate for evaluating adaptive functioning in this context? (b) Should information about criminal behavior be used as evidence of adaptive functioning? (c) Should correctional officers serve as informants regarding adaptive behavior? and (d) How should the Flynn effect influence the interpretation of intelligence test scores? Implications for practice are that practitioners should expect to be asked about the relation between criminal behavior and adaptive functioning, must think carefully about the validity of tests of adaptive functioning for inmates, and must be knowledgeable about the current state of Flynn effect research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

If the null hypothesis is impossible, why test it?

Suggests that tests of the null hypothesis (NH) are informative only when the prior probability of the NH is reasonably large. In many situations, the NH represents a zero effect. An alternative approach suggests that researchers specify a good-enough belt that represents the range of outcomes that would be consistent with the hypothesis that a treatment had no effect. Focus is away from issues of statistical significance and toward the substantive significance of the results. Such a procedure also may result in NHs that have some probability of being true. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Adult romantic attachment: Theoretical developments, emerging controversies, and unanswered questions.

The authors review the theory of romantic, or pair-bond, attachment as it was originally formulated by C. Hazan and P. R. Shaver in 1987 and describe how it has evolved over more than a decade. In addition, they discuss 5 issues related to the theory that need further clarification: (a) the nature of attachment relationships, (b) the evolution and function of attachment in adulthood, (c) models of individual differences in attachment, (d) continuity and change in attachment security, and (e) the integration of attachment, sex, and caregiving. In discussing these issues, they provide leads for future research and outline a more complete theory of romantic attachment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hypoplastic left heart syndrome: "Which is the best operative strategy?"

It has been recognized for some time that psychiatric symptoms, such as depression, anxiety, and behavioral alterations, may occur in patients who have pituitary disease. From other research focused on endocrine abnormalities seen in patients with psychiatric illness, it is understood that there is a significant interrelationship between the endocrine system and mental health. More recent research focusing on neural circuits in the brain and the impact of alterations in neurotransmission and neurohormonal modulation has shown that the prefrontal cortex can be affected by perturbations in functioning occurring in distant sites. Such is the situation with the hypothalamic-pituitary axis. Through its rich connections with other limbic structures, the hypothalamic-pituitary axis may affect the behavioral control exerted by the prefrontal cortex, causing mood and personality alterations. In the more severe cases, an apathy syndrome may develop which must be carefully differentiated from depression and other cognitive disorders. This report will review: (1) the neuroanatomical components that cause the behavioral changes observed in many patients with pituitary disease; (2) the current concept of apathy syndrome; (3) the differentiation of apathy syndrome from major depression; (4) the underlying neurobiology of apathy, and (5) potential treatments.     

Evidence, ontology, and psychological science: The lesson of hypnosis.

Data are never free of philosophical encumbrances. Nevertheless, philosophical issues are often considered peripheral to method and evidence. Historical perspectives likewise are not considered integral to most data-driven disputes in contemporary psychological science. This paper examines the history of the investigation of hypnosis over the last 75 years to illuminate how evidence and method are entangled with epistemology and ontology, how new research directions are forged by changes in the cultural and philosophical landscape, and how unacknowledged philosophical assumptions can result in confusion and empirical cul-de-sacs. Theoretical disputes that appear to be simple empirical matters often entail hidden philosophical issues, and apparent historical continuity at the theoretical level can belie discontinuity at the ontological level. The lesson of hypnosis is that philosophical analysis is as important as methodological rigor. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Age, executive functions, and visuospatial functioning in healthy older adults.

Visuospatial test performance declines with age, whereas verbal test performance remains fairly constant. This pattern has been attributed to an age-related decline in either right-hemisphere functioning or executive functions (EFs), which may be associated with prefrontal cortical decline. Timed and untimed EF tests, and visuospatial tests requiring substantial integrative skill (I-VS) or little or no integrative skill (non-I-VS) were administered to young-old (aged 74 yrs and younger) and old-old (aged 75 yrs and older) healthy volunteers. Groups differed on I-VS tests and on many EF tests but not on non-I-VS tests. I-VS tests correlated highly with tests of EFs, but non-I-VS tests did not. These results are interpreted as supporting the proposal that an age-related decline in EF underlies the decline in visuospatial test performance observed with advancing age. Other issues regarding the relationship between age and EF are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Clients' perceptions of their psychotherapists' multicultural orientation.

The current retrospective study examined whether clients' (N = 176) perceptions of their psychotherapists' multicultural orientation (MCO) were associated with their psychological functioning, working alliance, and real relationship scores. Moreover, we tested whether clients' perceptions of the working alliance and the real relationship mediated the relationship between clients' perceptions of their psychotherapists' MCO and psychological functioning. The results showed that clients' perceptions of their psychotherapists' MCO were positively related to working alliance, real relationship, and psychological functioning. Only clients' ratings of the working alliance mediated the relationship between clients' perceptions of their psychotherapists' MCO and psychological functioning. Thus, because clients perceive their psychotherapists as being more oriented toward cultural issues, they may view the therapist as being more credible and may gain a sense of comfort in the therapeutic process. In turn, clients' strong alliance facilitates improvement in psychological well-being. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Mammy, Sapphire, and Jezebel: Historical images of Black women and their implications for psychotherapy.

Identifies 3 historical images of Black women (Mammy, Sapphire, and Jezebel), and discusses the impact of each image on Black women's psychological functioning. Issues associated with these images include disordered eating, concerns about skin color and other physical features, role strain, the expression of anger; sexual functioning, and victimization. Discussion focuses on the relevance of these issues to psychotherapeutic practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Suicide and malpractice liability: Assessing and revising policies, procedures, and practice in outpatient settings.

Addresses policies and procedures as well as issues of liability and malpractice related to working with suicidal outpatients in agency and private practice settings. Issues related to ethical practice with suicidal patients are raised, general recommendations for risk management are discussed, and a step-by-step model for establishing, assessing, and/or revising suicide policies and procedures is presented. Also provided are concrete and practical suggestions to improve clinical practice with suicidal patients that may significantly decrease the risk of malpractice liability and ultimately provide better clinical care to these patients. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pain, depression, and physical functioning following burn injury.

Objective: Little is known about how pain and depression after burn injury may influence long-term outcomes such as physical functioning. This prospective study examined associations between pain, depression, and physical functioning in a sample of burn injury survivors. Design and Participants: Questionnaires assessing pain, depression, and physical functioning were completed by 64 (52% of original sample) adult burn survivors shortly after discharge from burn care and at 1- and 2-year follow-ups. Results: Pain and physical functioning improved over the 2 years of the study, whereas depression levels were stable. Pain and depression were associated with poorer physical functioning over time, but associations varied according to the time span under consideration. Also, the association between pain and physical functioning was strongest among persons with higher depression scores. Conclusions: Pain and depression may contribute independently to compromises in physical functioning. The co-occurrence of pain and depression represents even greater risk for reduced physical functioning over time among burn survivors. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Modelling of the 3-dimensional structure of the epithelia, constructed of bi-, tri and tetracellular modules

A new approach for studying 3-dimensional histoarchitectonics of cellular layers is suggested. It is based on (1) development of theoretical concepts on module structure of tissues; (2) working out topological and geometrical models of tissue structure and; (3) their experimental testing using this approach. Spatial organization of certain stratified and pseudostratified epithelia was analysed and it was shown that their topology may be principally calculated. Such previously unknown characteristics of epithelia as translation symmetry and structure stoichiometry were described. This approach was shown to add to concept system of histology, reveal regularities of tissue spatial organisation and prognostic factors for their developmental changes. Cellular layers were shown to consist of a relatively small number of standard fragments (slices)--alone and arranged in different combinations thus providing a certain quantity of types of spatial organisations that is amenable to calculation.     

The kids are alright: Growth and stability in personality development from adolescence to adulthood.

This longitudinal study provides a comprehensive analysis of continuity and change in personality functioning from age 18 to age 26 in a birth cohort (N?=?921) using the Multidimensional Personality Questionnaire (A. Tellegen, 1982). Data were analyzed using 4 different methods: differential continuity, mean-level change, individual differences in change, and ipsative change. Convergent evidence pointing toward personality continuity, as opposed to change, was found. The personality changes that did take place from adolescence to adulthood reflected growth in the direction of greater maturity; many adolescents became more controlled and socially more confident and less angry and alienated. Consistent with this, greater initial levels of maturity were associated with less personality change over time. The results indicate that the transition from adolescence to young adulthood is marked by continuity of personality and growth toward greater maturity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The psychologist as general family practitioner.

Responses from 1,412 psychologists in United States, who indicated that private practice is their full-time occupation, showed that over 90% of them have been seeing different members of families for different reasons at different times over a period of years. Initially a child may have been seen for poor school adjustment; a year later one of the parents may have sought therapy for depression, and some years later a child may have come for college counseling. Such psychologists are functioning as general family practitioners or family psychologists. A review of theoretical orientation and geographical locations, as well as length of time in practice, suggests that this type of functioning is quite widespread among private practitioners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Scientific rigor, scientific integrity: A comment on Sommer and Sommer.

Examines ethical issues raised in an article by R. Sommer and B. A. Sommer (see record 1984-10654-001) that questioned the validity of results reported by H. Barber and R. Heber (1973). Among these issues are criteria for establishing whether a particular study is sufficiently rigorous to be the basis of valid conclusions, the determination of whether or not reported data are truthful, and appropriate means of making such a determination. It is argued that optimum assessments of these questions involve the separation of questions of rigor from questions of integrity. (3 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)