Anxiety and depression in children and adolescents: Negative affectivity and the utility of self-reports.

Self-reported depression and anxiety were examined in 233 inpatient children (aged 6–17 yrs) diagnosed with either an anxiety disorder or a depressive disorder. Depressed children reported more problems related to a loss of interest and low motivation, and they had a more negative view of themselves. Anxious children reported more worry about the future, their well-being, and the reactions of others. The groups did not differ in the degree of depressed affect reported in terms of being sad, lethargic, bothered by things, or feeling alone and isolated. Findings suggest that a general negative affectivity component is common to both anxiety and depression disorders and measures. Results demonstrate that anxiety and depression in children have distinguishing features that can be measured by common self-report instruments, and the findings indicate that one factor that may distinguish between anxiety and depression in children is positive affectivity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accounting for case manager effects in the evaluation of mental health services.

Three methods of accounting for case manager effects in tests of the efficacy of mental health services are explored. These methods include (1) treating the case manager as a fixed factor, (2) treating the case manager as a random factor, and (3) examining service effects within the case manager. They are demonstrated with data from a nationally known case management program serving individuals with serious and persistent mental illness. Specifically, 3 conceptually distinct types of services provided or brokered by case managers are identified: habilitation-rehabilitation, community support, and traditional psychiatric services. The effectiveness of each in improving clients' adjustment is then examined with multiple regression adjustment strategies and each of the 3 methods to account for case manager effects. The results provide strong support for effects attributable to case managers and some support for the efficacy of habilitation-rehabilitation and community support services beyond the effects of traditional psychiatric services. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treating addictive patients at suicidal risk.

Presents a model for conceptualizing 4 basic types of suicidality among substance abusers (avoidance of painful consequences, the depressive experience of "crashing," the threat of personal loss, and environmental strain) and offers practical tips for treating the problem. Four general forms of intervention are discussed: pacing the crisis encounter; desensitizing the patient's sense of desperation; talking frankly about the suicidality; and attending to one's own needs as a counselor. These crisis-intervention tips are intended to aid counselors in handling suicidality as it is manifested in substance-abusing populations. Tips and guidelines for suicidal risk assessment with drug and alcohol abusers are given. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of the inertia tensor in haptically perceiving where an object is grasped.

When an object is held and wielded, a time-invariant quantity of the wielding dynamics is the inertia tensor Iij. Examination of Iij as a function of different locations at which a cylindrical object is grasped revealed that the off-diagonal components of Iij, the products of inertia, related most systematically to grip position. In 3 experiments, Ss wielded an occluded rod held at an intermediate point along its length and reproduced, with the other hand, the felt grip position on a visible rod. In Exp 1, the wielded rods were homogeneous; in Exps 2 and 3, weights were added on either side of the grasp, with different manners of grasp contrasted in Exp 3. In all 3 experiments, perceived hand position was predicted by Iij. Discussion is focused on the role of Iij's eigenvalues in perceiving the magnitudes of objects and Iij's eigenvectors in perceiving hand–object relations (e.g., position of grasp). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

B. F. Skinner: Au-delá de la controverse.

Discusses controversies surrounding the work of B. F. Skinner's influence on various theories of human and animal behavior. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comments on “Fully magnetic attitude control for spacecraft subject to gravity gradient”

The Lyapunov argument used in Wi niewski and Blanke, (Automatica 35 (1999) 1201) to establish asymptotic stability of a magnetic control law for an earth-orbiting spacecraft is incorrect. It is shown here that a small change to the assumed form of the control law can remedy the situation.     

Typicality effects in attitudes toward social policies: A concept-mapping approach.

Social typicality effects occur when people apply their attitudes more consistently toward typical than toward atypical category members presumably because attitudes are directed toward the prototypic category member. Four studies tested whether individuals also apply social policy attitudes more consistently toward typical than toward atypical persons affected by the policy. Study 1 used attitude concept maps to assess how extensively individuals spontaneously reference the typical person affected by a social policy. Death penalty proponents did so more than did opponents; welfare proponents and opponents did so equally. In 3 other studies, death penalty proponents displayed greater typicality effects in sentencing "convicted murderers" than did opponents, welfare proponents and opponents displayed equal typicality effects in evaluating cases of suspected welfare fraud, and individuals whose attitude concept maps about welfare referred more to persons displayed greater typicality effects than did individuals whose maps referred more to principles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Why psychologists don't think like philosophers.

H. H. Kendler (see record 1994-09190-001), in his article on psychology and the ethics of social policy, argues in part that ethical imperatives cannot be inferred from empirical data. This argument is cited in opposition to what is purported to be the position of the American Psychological Association on the abortion issue. It is suggested that PhD candidates in psychology be well versed in the philosophical issues and debates that are the foundation for the formation of ethical principles. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive treatments for eating disorders.

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is applicable to all eating disorders but has been most intensively studied in the treatment of bulimia nervosa (BN). CBT is designed to alter abnormal attitudes about body shape and weight, replace dysfunctional dieting with normal eating habits, and develop coping skills for resisting binge eating and purging. CBT is effective in reducing all core features of BN and shows good maintenance of therapeutic improvement. Although superior to therapy with antidepressant drugs, CBT has not been shown to be consistently superior to alternative psychological treatments. Different hypotheses about CBT's mechanisms of action are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)