A controlled trial of psychodynamic psychotherapy for co-occurring borderline personality disorder and alcohol use disorder.

A randomized controlled trial was conducted to determine whether a manual-based psychodynamic treatment, labeled dynamic deconstructive psychotherapy (DDP), would be feasible and effective for individuals with co-occurring borderline personality disorder (BPD) and alcohol use disorder. Thirty participants were assessed every 3 months during a year of treatment with either DDP or treatment as usual (TAU) in the community. DDP participants showed statistically significant improvement in parasuicide behavior, alcohol misuse, institutional care, depression, dissociation, and core symptoms of BPD, and treatment retention was 67% to 73%. Although TAU participants received higher average treatment intensity, they showed only limited change during the same period. The results support the feasibility, tolerability, and efficacy of DDP for the co-occurring subgroup and highlight the need for further research. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Cognitive versus behavior therapy in the group treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive disorder.

This study examined the effects of cognitive-behavior therapy (CBT) compared with traditional behavior therapy (exposure and response prevention [ERP]) in the group treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder. Of the 76 participants who started treatment, 38 were wait-listed for 3 months before treatment to assess possible course effects. Both treatments were superior to the control condition in symptom reduction, with ERP being marginally more effective than CBT by end of treatment and again at 3-month follow-up. In terms of clinically significant improvement, treatment groups were equivalent on the conclusion of treatment, but 3 months later significantly more ERP participants met criteria for recovered status. Only 1 of 7 belief measures changed with treatment improvement, and the extent of this cognitive change was similar between CBT and ERP groups. Discussion includes consideration of optimal formats for the delivery of different types of treatment. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Costs of a predictable switch between simple cognitive tasks following severe closed-head injury.

The authors used a predictable, externally cued task-switching paradigm to investigate executive control in a severe closed-head injury (CHI) population. Eighteen individuals with severe CHI and 18 controls switched between classifying whether a digit was odd or even and whether a letter was a consonant or vowel on every 4th trial. The target stimuli appeared in a circle divided into 8 equivalent parts. Presentation of the stimuli rotated clockwise. Participants performed the switching task at both a short (200 ms) and a long (1,000 ms) preparatory interval. Although the participants with CHI exhibited slower response times and greater switch costs, similar to controls, additional preparatory time reduced the switch costs, and the switch costs were limited to the 1st trial in the run. These findings indicate that participants with severe CHI were able to take advantage of time to prepare for the task switch, and the executive control processes involved in the switch costs were completed before the 1st trial of the run ended. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Developmental Outcome of Drug-Exposed Children Through 30 Months: A Comparison of Bayley and Bayley-II.

This study examined the effects of the Bayley Scales of Infant Development (BSID) version on developmental outcomes among drug-exposed children, some of whom received an intervention. Developmental outcome was evaluated with the BSID at 12 and 18 months and with the BSID-II at 24 and 30 months. In the repeated measures analyses, children scored higher on the BSID Mental Developmental Index (MDI; p     

The role of perceived barriers and relational support in the educational and vocational lives of urban high school students.

Drawing on developmental contextual theory, the authors examined the relationship of perceived barriers and support with school engagement and vocational attitudes among 9th-grade urban high school students in 2 studies. Study 1 (N=174) showed that both perceived barriers and perceived support from family kin were associated with youths' commitment to school and aspirations for success in their future careers. Study 2 (N=181) replicated and extended Study 1, demonstrating that perceived barriers, general perceptions of support, and kinship support were associated with behavioral and attitudinal indexes of school engagement, as well as with aspirations for career success, expectations for attaining career goals, and the importance of work in one's future. The findings contribute to efforts to identify individual and contextual factors relevant to the educational and vocational lives of urban minority youth. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Sexualized violence against women and children: A psychology and law perspective.

Reviews the book, Sexualized violence against women and children: A psychology and law perspective by B. J. Cling (see record 2004-21899-000). This book uniquely combines the fields of law and psychology in addressing the topic of sexual victimization of women and children. Clearly, violence of this nature continues to require attention in the literature, and this book provides an excellent historical and current understanding of the multifaceted issues involved in these crimes. The book consists of three parts: sexualized violence against women, sexualized violence against children, and perpetrators of sexualized violence and other harms against women and children. This is an excellent sourcebook for those who work in the area of sexual victimization, as it blends the worlds of law and psychology. It provides a thorough understanding of the interplay of victims, offenders, and the legal system. Strengths of the book include the breadth of information, as well as the citation of current literature and legal precedents. The editor has clearly chosen authors who are expert in their scholarship, allowing both the experienced clinician and the emerging professional to benefit from reading this book. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Semantic priming after severe closed head trauma: Automatic and attentional processes.

The 2-process theory of semantic priming (J. H. Neely, 1977; M. I. Posner and C. R. Snyder, 1975) was used to determine the maintenance of automatic processes after severe closed head injury (CHI) and to determine whether processes that demand attention suffer a deficit. Ss with severe CHI (N?=?18,?>?2 yrs postinjury) and 18 matched control Ss completed a lexical decision task in which a category prime was followed by a target. Automatic and attentional priming were determined by orthogonally varying prime–target relatedness, expectancy, and stimulus onset asynchrony. Although the CHI Ss had slower reaction times (RTs) overall, there were no significant group differences in the magnitude of either the automatic or attentional component of semantic priming. The present results indicate the integrity of semantic processes and normal semantic priming in long-term patients with severe CHI. The results are discussed in relation to an attentional resource hypothesis. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Hands-On Undergraduate Geotechnical Engineering Modules in the Context of Effective Learning Pedagogies, ABET Outcomes, and Our Curricular Reform

Hands-on inquiry-based educational modules were designed for two undergraduate geotechnical engineering courses at the University of Vermont. The modules were designed to achieve three objectives: (1) meet the goals of our ongoing civil and environmental engineering curricular reform (e.g., inquiry-based experiential learning and civic engagement through service-learning); (2) reach higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy in specific topical areas addressed by the modules; and (3) help achieve Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) outcomes for civil and environmental engineering programs. All four modules were conducted within team settings and required students to write formal technical papers or reports followed by presentations. An additional underlying objective was the development of students’ interpersonal and communication skills. The educational modules included: (1) Atterberg limits using Casagrande and fall cone devices; (2) physical, analytical, and numerical modelings of steady-state seepage; (3) validation of undrained slope stability, bearing capacity of shallow foundations, and active and passive lateral earth pressure analytical solutions using centrifuge modeling; and (4) service-learning projects related to foundations, retaining structures, or slope stability for rehabilitation of historic structures. Student reflection and self-assessment activities were conducted. The student self-assessment results and assessments of student work indicated that many of the curricular reform objectives, ABET outcomes, and higher levels of Bloom’s taxonomy could be reached through these modules. Modules similar to these could be effective in other engineering disciplines and subdisciplines.     

Category-based and feature-based processes in performance appraisal: Integrating visual and computerized sources of performance data.

Recent developments in computerized performance monitoring (CPM) raise issues about how supervisors use monitored information. On the basis of theories of person perception that distinguish between category-based and feature-based information-processing strategies, the authors examined how raters integrate performance information from 2 sources: visual and computerized. Ss received positive or negative computerized data and viewed positive or negative episodes of a secretary's performance. Visual data were most influential in determining raters' processing strategies, suggesting that raters used category-based strategies when viewing positive performance and increased their use of feature-based strategies when viewing negative performance, regardless of the evaluative implications of the computerized data. Implications for performance appraisal and CPM systems are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)