An understanding of factors that enhance empathic parenting behaviors is of considerable importance to the study of child development and to the development of parenting interventions to promote child adjustment. Moreover, gaining a better understanding of the factors that predict empathic parenting with older children is of interest since most research examining parental empathy focuses on infants. These were the goals of the current study. Guided by Belsky's 1984 process model of the determinants of parenting that impact child development, an expanded model of the determinants of parenting is proposed that includes various parent, child, and contextual factors of influence. Using data from a community sample, a partial least squares path analysis approach was employed to test the model's strength in predicting empathically attuned parenting with children ages 5 to 10 years and, ultimately, the child's psychoemotional functioning. Results support the expanded model; however, a reduced model was found to be superior and revealed unique relationships between the determinants of parenting. Specifically, a parent's psychoemotional functioning and childrearing beliefs and attitudes were found to be critical to the parent's ability to engage in empathic parenting behaviors. Other parent factors such as the parent's developmental history of abuse, maladaptive personality traits, …

I analyzed the 2004 and 2006 Health and Retirement Study data to test structural equation models of the quality of life (QOL) construct. The participants (N = 1352) were non-institutionalized individuals aged 42 and older (M = 65.70, SD = 10.88), with an average education of 12.73 years (SD = 2.96) and of varied ethnicities. The results indicated that physical functioning, affective experience, life satisfaction and social support could serve as indicators for a second order QOL factor. Furthermore, the developed QOL model explained 96% of the variance of the CASP-19 (Control, Autonomy, Self-realization and Pleasure), a QOL measure that reflects fulfillment of psychological needs. The results also indicated that Depression and Life Satisfaction are related through reciprocal causation and that Physical Functioning is more likely to cause a change in Depression than the reverse. The results suggest that QOL is a complex, multidimensional concept that should be studied at different levels of analysis.

Abuse and neglect occurring in childhood have been associated with a number of functional and physiological effects on the brain. This study extends previous research that investigated the quantitative electroencephalogram (qEEG) patterns in children with histories of relational trauma through the inclusion of additional participants and measures. As in previous studies, the relative power, absolute power, and coherence values in children with histories of abuse were compared to the Neuroguide database. Results did not show any significant differences in relative or absolute power in the theta range. Similarly, there were no significant coherence differences. Database comparisons were also made using low resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) in order to determine which sub-cortical brain structures may be affected by abuse or trauma, though there were no significant differences in any frequency (0-30Hz). A review of the literature suggests that the prevalence of mu in normal adults and children ranges from 0 to 19%. The present study found a mu prevalence rate of 60.6% in the children who experienced abuse or neglect. Finally, comparisons were made between participants who demonstrate a mu pattern and those who do not to determine if this pattern is associated with certain behavioral and/or attention problems as assessed …

Childhood exposure to familial violence increases risk for adult pathology, namely posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression. Primary PTSD symptoms of hyperarousal and avoidance are implicated in overgeneral memory (OGM) theory in prior research. Individuals with trauma history tend to report OGMs, or non-specific autobiographical memories, perhaps to avoid unpleasant arousal elicited by recalling specific events. OGM, PTSD, depression, and arousal were assessed in adults with and without familial violence history. Arousal was measured via galvanic skin response (GSR) during an autobiographical memory task (AMT), requiring memory recall in response to emotionally-valenced cue words. Familial violence history was linked to higher incidence of PTSD symptoms. Childhood psychological violence was predictive of adult PTSD. Rates of depression, OGM, and arousal did not significantly vary by violence history. Significant gender differences were found relating to type of violence exposure and adult functioning. Research limitations, clinical implications, and future research suggestions are discussed.

Freely choosing a life direction, or flexible valuing, is a core component of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT). Initial research suggests that valuing behavior may contribute to psychological well-being, but has been stymied by a lack of an efficient measure. The current study examined the psychometric characteristics of a new measure of flexible valuing, the Meta-Valuing Measure (MVM), in a sample of 532 undergraduates. Exploratory factors analysis revealed 3 orthogonal factors, Valuing (α = .94), Freedom from Values Conflict (α = .92), and Flexibility in Valuing (α = .73). The majority of expected relationships with other constructs were significant including those with measures of values, mindfulness, quality of life, experiential avoidance, and psychological distress.

The current study aimed to examine the naturalistic relationship between physical activity and sleep by exploring frequency, type, and timing of exercise and their association with a variety of sleep variables (e.g., sleep onset latency, wake after sleep onset, sleep efficiency). Young adults (n = 1003) completed a variety of self-report questionnaires, including a week-long sleep diary and a survey of typical frequency, type, and timing of exercise completed in the past week. Increased frequency of physical activity was related to increased sleep efficiency (total sleep time/time in bed), decreased time in bed, and decreased time spent awake in bed in the morning. Greater amounts of exercise energy expenditure (i.e., metabolic equivalents) per week was related to increased sleep efficiency, and decreased time in bed and time spent awake in bed in the morning. After controlling for other factors, this relationship remained true only for time spent awake in bed in the morning. Early morning exercisers reported shorter total sleep time and time in bed than those who typically exercised at other times. No exercise differences were found between those who met the research diagnostic criteria for insomnia and those who did not. This study provides valuable information to help …

Deciding to exercise requires trade-offs between immediate and delayed benefits. These momentary decisions may be moderated by personality such that patterns of individual behavior emerge. The aim of the current study was to determine if higher levels of optimism and lower levels of delay discounting were related to exercise frequency. A sample of 360 undergraduate students completed a survey study related to understanding the choices made by undergraduates and how other factors relate to their decision-making. The survey included measures of optimism, delayed discounting, and self-reported exercise frequency in four domains: cardiovascular, resistance, sports, active lifestyle. Hierarchical linear regression was used to examine optimism and delay discounting as predictors of exercise frequency. Optimism and delay discounting were negatively correlated, but neither was related to exercise frequency. Furthermore, optimism and delay discounting were not significantly related to frequency spent in cardiovascular, resistance, or active lifestyle exercise. However, women scoring higher in delay discounting were more likely to participate in physical sports. The present study helps inform future research by showing potentially important psychosocial variables related to optimism, delay discounting, and exercise.

In this study, the relationship between formal training opportunities and internal promotions in organizations was examined in order to support the value of organizations investing in employees through training opportunities, as training is often seen as an expense to be cut in difficult times. Differences between general and specific training topics on the impact of frequency of promotion in an organization were addressed, as well as assessing differences between employees and managers. Training allows for a more capable workforce and pool of employees to pull from when an organization needs to hire. Hiring from within can save time, money, and allow for a proven person-organization fit that hiring from the external workforce cannot provide. The archival data used in the study were from the National Organizations Survey, 1996-1997 which included organizations of all sizes and forms. The analyses produced mixed support for the hypotheses. Significant relationships were found between hours of formal training and frequency of promotions of employees, and between importance of training in promotions and frequency of promotions for managers. Multiple regressions revealed that the hypothesis predicting that increased hours of training focused on general skills would positively contribute to promotion rates was not supported for either employees …

Performance on the Spatial Span subtest of the Wechsler Memory Scale has been viewed as an indicator of working memory and visuospatial processing. A number of factors including age and gender have been posited to effect performance on Spatial Span by older adults. The current study examined the impact of various forms of cognitive impairment and severity of impairment on Spatial Span performance. Five hundred thirty-eight individuals between the ages of 65 and 89 were evaluated in a university memory disorders clinic using a battery of neuropsychological tests that included Spatial Span. Participants were grouped by consensus diagnosis into type of cognitive impairment (Alzheimer's disease, vascular disease, amnestic mild cognitive impairment or non-amnestic mild cognitive impairment) or cognitively normal. As expected, an increase in severity of impairment results in a decrease in Spatial Span Total Score. Other findings included a weak relationship between age and Spatial Span Total Score. Gender, as well as age, did not fully account for the decline in Spatial Span Total Score. Spatial Span Forward score was not as good a predictor of severity in that reduction in score for Spatial Span Forward remains relatively stable regardless of level of impairment. Spatial Span Backward performance was …

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of participants' abused or nonabused status as it interacted with their age and gender in producing different patterns of Hand Test responses as a function of the age or gender of the card. Participants, 61 young adults (M age = 23) and 60 older adults (M age = 73), were presented with the original Hand Test cards, as well as four alternate versions (e.g., young male, young female, older male, and older female). Expected effects varying by age, gender, and abuse status were not found. Results indicated main effects for participant abuse status, which were largely consistent with previous Hand Test research. Significant interaction effects were also found for participant age by participant abuse status (p < .05), as well as participant age by participant gender by participant abuse status (p < .05). An interaction effect was also found for Hand Test version by participant abuse status (p < .05), Hand Test version by participant age by participant abuse status (p < .05), as well as Hand Test version by participant gender by participant abuse status (p < .05). These results suggest that the alternate forms of the cards may …

Headache pain impacts most of the population at some point in life, at an enormous cost to day-to-day functioning. Determination of the variables that are associated with prevalence and severity of headaches has been inconsistent. One area that deserves more attention is the relationship between headaches and sleep. For instance, several sleep parameters may precipitate or exacerbate headaches, but previous research often used inconsistent and limited assessments of both headaches and sleep, making results difficult to interpret and compare. The current study seeks to extend previous research by using more comprehensive and empirically validated assessment techniques to study the relationship between sleep and headaches in a healthy sample. Greater self-reported sleep quality is related to lower headache frequency and severity, and lower self-reported sleep quality is characteristic of individuals having migraine-type headaches. Greater sleep efficiency is related to lower headache severity and shorter headache duration. Greater sleep onset latency is related to longer headache duration and greater headache severity. Greater number of nighttime awakenings is related to greater headache severity and is characteristic of individuals having a diagnosable headache disorder (either tension-type or migraine-type). Stress appeared to be a partial mediator between self-reported sleep quality and headache severity. Further experimental …

The purpose of this study was to examine whether Psychological Well-Being (comprised of self-esteem, optimism, satisfaction with life, and self-determination), perfectionism, body surveillance, and neuroticism moderated the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptoms after controlling for social desirability and actual physical size. 847 female undergraduate students participated in the study. Participants completed an online questionnaire packet. An exploratory factor analysis determined that self-determination, optimism, self-esteem, and satisfaction with life loaded on to one factor representing Psychological Well-Being. Hierarchical moderated regression (HMR) was used to control for the influences of social desirability and body mass index on bulimic symptoms and then determine the main and interactive effects of body dissatisfaction and each moderator. Four variables (neuroticism, body surveillance, concern over mistakes, and doubts about actions) strengthened the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptomatology, whereas Psychological Well-Being weakened the relationship. Parental expectations, parental criticism, and personal standards did not moderate the relationship between body dissatisfaction and bulimic symptomatology.

The study investigated an organized semantic fluency task, (the Controlled Animal Fluency Task - CAFT) as a measure of executive functioning (EF) in adults, and the relationship with instrumental activities of daily living (IADL). Participants (N = 266) consisted of a clinical sample (n = 142) utilizing neuropsychological assessment data collected at an outpatient psychological center, and a community sample (n = 124). The clinical sample was a heterogeneous mixed neurological group including a variety of health conditions and comorbid anxiety and depression. The CAFT Animals by Size demonstrated a significant positive correlation with Category Fluency (r = .71, n = 142, p < .001) , Animal Fluency (r = .70, n = 142, p < .001), and with other, established neuropsychological measures. The CAFT Animals by Size condition demonstrated a significant moderate negative correlation with IADL for the sample as a whole (r = -.46, n = 248, p < .001), and for the clinical sample (r = -.38, n = 129, p < .001), but not for the community sample. In a hierarchical regression analysis, CAFT Animal by Size explained additional variance in IADL (&#916;R2 = .15). In a hierarchical regression analysis predicting IADL with the control variables …

Malingering is the deliberate production of feigned symptoms by a person seeking external gain such as: financial compensation, exemption from duty, or leniency from the criminal justice system. The Test Translation and Adaptation Guidelines developed by the International Test Commission (ITC) specify that only tests which have been formally translated into another language and validated should be available for use in clinical practice. Thus, the current study evaluated the psychometric properties of a Spanish translation of the Structured Interview of Reported Symptoms (SIRS). Using a simulation design with 80 Spanish-speaking Hispanic American outpatients, the Spanish SIRS was produced reliable results with small standard errors of measurement (SEM). Regarding discriminant validity, very large effect sizes (mean Cohen's d = 2.00) were observed between feigners and honest responders for the SIRS primary scales. Research limitations and directions for future research are also discussed.

The acquirement of a disability (e.g., spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, amputation, multi trauma) is a risk factor for psychological disturbance (e.g., depression). Research has established that social support and secure attachment are protective factors against psychological disturbance. Attachment patterns have also been associated with differences in perceived social support. Secure attachment and higher perceived social support have been implicated in greater levels of resilience but need to be validated with a population of individuals who have acquired a disability. The Experiences in Close Relationships, Social Provisions Scale, Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale, Personal Health Questionnaire - 9 Depression Scale, and a Demographic were administered to 102 adult inpatients at a rehabilitation hospital undergoing an individualized rehabilitation program. Two MANOVAs were conducted to examine the direct associations of attachment classifications with the major dependent variables, as well as the various social support subscales. Path analysis tested two mediational models suggested by literature. Model 1 assessed the mediating role of attachment anxiety and attachment avoidance on the effect of social support on depression and resilience. Model 2 assessed the mediating role of social support on the effect of attachment anxiety or attachment avoidance on depression and resilience. Partial support was obtained for …

Structural equation modeling was used to examine how childhood sexual abuse (and other associated variables, such as family functioning and experiencing multiple forms of abuse) relates to revictimization and psychological distress. Participants were women who participated in Project HOW: Health Outcomes of Women interviews, a longitudinal study that spanned six waves of interviews. Only women with a history of childhood sexual abuse were included in the present study (n=178). Experiencing nonsexual child maltreatment in addition to childhood sexual abuse appears directly related to adult sexual and physical revictimization and indirectly related to psychological distress. Childhood sexual abuse alone was not predictive of revictimization or psychological abuse. This suggests that other mediating factors may explain the relation between CSA and revictimization found in other research. Clinical implications based on the results of the present study emphasize the importance of identifying children who have experienced multiple forms of abuse as particularly at risk for future victimization. In addition, providing interventions with a focus on education and empowerment might decrease risk for future violence and subsequent emotional maladjustment. Potential future research could examine the treatment outcomes and efficacy of these interventions as well as identify those mediating factors that increase the risk for …

Behavior analysts who study verbal behavior theorize that people derive relationships between stimuli - forming stimulus classes such that psychological functions transfer among stimuli and therefore affect behavior. Verbal processes are thought to play a role in cancer patients' behavioral flexibility. The current study examined if an analogue intervention produced changes in relations between health-relevant stimuli from pre- to post-test in patient and student samples. A matching-to-sample (MTS) task required participants to form three 4-member classes that included health, treatment, or neutral terms. Participants next listened to either an acceptance-based or a control-based rationale and therapy exercise, or a distracter task. Then, they were re-exposed to the MTS task. Latencies and accuracies for learning each class as well as between condition differences were examined. Finally, changes in ratings of stimuli from pre to post analogues were measured. Differences in stimuli ratings were seen in the student sample, reflecting transfer of function and some reduction in responsiveness to stimuli following intervention, but overall no learning performances are found. Discussion explores the consistency of the findings with acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) theory in light of the seemingly lack of findings.

The study explored whether certain factors might be used to distinguish between people with cancer who do or do not want detailed information about their disease progress, do or do not want to be informed if their disease is no longer considered curable, and who do or do not want an estimation of life expectancy if their disease is no longer considered curable. The factors included whether an individual has an internal versus external locus of control, uses an active coping strategy or a planning coping strategy, the level of spirituality, and age. Participants consisted of 51 people with cancer from a cancer center in the state of Washington. Results indicated that 98% wanted detailed information about their disease progress, 94% wanted to be informed if their disease was no longer considered curable, and 78% wanted an estimation of life expectancy if their disease was no longer considered curable. Due to the majority of the participants endorsing the need for prognostic information none of the factors (e.g. coping strategies, locus of control, spirituality) were able to predict the information needs of the patients with cancer. Clinical implications of this study suggest that physicians have an ongoing, open dialogue with their …

Approximately 2-11% of adolescents report chronic insomnia. The study used an archival data set from ADDHealth that assessed adolescent health and health-related behaviors. Adolescents (N = 4102) provided data at baseline (Time 1) and at 1-year follow-up (Time 2). Participants were excluded if no ethnicity, gender, or insomnia data were given at Time 1 or 2. Females were more likely to report insomnia than males at Times 1 and 2. In addition, adolescents with remitted insomnia were significantly younger than adolescents without insomnia at Times 1 and 2. Analyses found a prevalence of 9.6%, a remittance of 6.2%, an incidence of 4.4%, and a chronicity of 2.9%. At Time 1 and 2, AWI were significantly more likely to have depression, suicidal behaviors, and behavioral problems in school than AWOI. At Time 2, incidence and chronic insomnia increased the risk of depression, suicidal behaviors and behavioral problems in school. Risk and protective factors analyses indicated psychological counseling was associated with both remitted and chronic insomnia and depression was associated with incidence insomnia.

Previous research, as well as theory, has supported the existence of a relationship between death anxiety and loneliness in older adults but a causal examination has not been possible until now. A hypothesized model was developed which states that loneliness will lead to death anxiety mediated by cultural worldview. Longitudinal data was analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling in order to more fully explore this potentially causal relationship. The primary model was supported suggesting that loneliness can lead to death anxiety as mediated by cultural worldview. Implications and future directions are discussed.

Positive psychology has led a movement that concentrates on positive characteristics. The current study examined the relationship between positive emotions, negative emotions, flourishing, languishing, and cardiovascular functioning. The study uses guided imagery to help participants recall a negative emotional event and positive emotional event in a counterbalanced order. The reverse order allowed us to examine the differential contributions of stress buffering versus facilitated recovery effects to higher levels of heart rate variability (HRV). The study also examined the relationship between mental health categories and known cardiovascular disease risk. Univariate analysis of variance revealed that positive emotions can serve as a stress buffer and dampen cardiovascular responses to a negative event. Also, analysis revealed a trend for the prediction that positive emotions can facilitate cardiovascular recovery following a negative event. Exploratory analysis did not reveal differences between a facilitated recovery group and a buffering group for cardiovascular measures. Future studies should include tighter control to help compare the differential influences of stress facilitation and stress buffering on cardiovascular functioning. The results from the study indicate that it is still too early to tell whether mental health buffers those individuals from developing CVD, and to answer whether languishing increases the risk of …

Given the centrality of body dissatisfaction in the manifestation of health risk behaviors (e.g., eating disorders, muscle dysmorphia) and psychological distress in men, the ability to measure it accurately is essential. Across two studies, the psychometric properties and factor structure of a new measure of male body satisfaction were established. The Body Parts Satisfaction Scale for Men (BPSS-M) was found to have three scores: full body muscularity and leanness (18 items), upper body (12 items), and legs (4 items). All three scores were internally and temporally reliable, and support was found for the convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity of the scores. The BPSS-M represents an advance in the measurement of male body image, providing researchers and clinicians with a versatile and valid way to assess this important construct.

This study is part of a larger research project examining family attachment processes. The current study tests a family process model that postulates the mediating role of parent-child attachment and sibling relationship quality in the associations of parent psychopathology or marital adjustment to children's psychological dysfunction. A community sample of 86 families with at least one school-aged (8-12 years) child was recruited from area schools and organizations. Families came to the UNT Family Attachment Lab, where they participated in research tasks, including interviews, self-report instruments, and videotaped interaction tasks. Specific questionnaires used in this study included the Sibling Relationship Questionnaire, the Security Scale, the Behavior Assessment System for Children, the Symptom Assessment-45 Questionnaire, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale. Using a single indicator for each variable, path analyses tested three paternal models, three maternal models, and three systemic models using different informants' (i.e., father, mother, child) reports of child functioning as the outcome variable. Results of this study highlight the positive relationship between parent marital adjustment and parent-child attachment security, as well as the inverse relationship between maternal psychopathology and mother-child attachment security. In addition, the inverse relationship between parent-child attachment security and child psychological dysfunction was significant across nearly all …

This study investigated the relationship among anxiety, depression, and sleep disturbances and the treatment of these three disorders through neurotherapy. Research suggests that these conditions commonly co-occur in the general population and that central nervous system (CNS) arousal may play a primary role in the development and maintenance of these disorders. Several recent studies suggested that neurotherapy, a biofeedback-based treatment for CNS dysregulation, might be an effective treatment for comorbid conditions, particularly the ones of interest here, depression, anxiety, and sleep disturbances. This investigation used a clinical case-series design to assess pre/post neurotherapy changes on objective measures of anxiety, depression, and sleep and to determine whether changes in anxiety and depression then predict improvements in sleep quality. Data for 23 participants (10 males) were obtained from files of adults (Mage = 40.22 years, SD = 16.20) who received at least 15 neurotherapy sessions (M = 47.83 sessions, SD = 22.23) the University of North Texas Neurotherapy Lab. Matched pair t-tests revealed that symptoms of sleep disturbance, depression, and anxiety showed significant improvements following neurotherapy. Neurotherapy treatment effect sizes generally ranged from moderate to large (d = .414 - .849). Multiple regression analysis found that changes in self-reported anxiety symptoms, but …