A Systematic Review of Online Sex Addiction and Clinical Treatments Using CONSORT Evaluation

Researchers have suggested that the advances of the Internet over the past two decades have gradually eliminated traditional offline methods of obtaining sexual material. Additionally, research on cybersex and/or online sex addictions has increased alongside the development of online technology. The present study extended the findings from Griffiths’ (2012) systematic empirical review of online sex addiction by additionally investigating empirical studies that implemented and/or documented clinical treatments for online sex addiction in adults. A total of nine studies were identified and then each underwent a CONSORT evaluation. The main findings of the present review provide some evidence to suggest that some treatments (both psychological and/or pharmacological) provide positive outcomes among those experiencing difficulties with online sex addiction. Similar to Griffiths’ original review, this study recommends that further research is warranted to establish the efficacy of empirically driven treatments for online sex addiction

Self-awareness in Dementia: a Taxonomy of Processes, Overview of Findings, and Integrative Framework

Purpose of Review: Self-awareness, the capacity of becoming the object of one’s own awareness, has been a frontier of knowledge, but only recently scientific approaches to the theme have advanced. Self-awareness has important clinical implications, and a finer understanding of this concept may improve the clinical management of people with dementia. The current article aims to explore self-awareness, from a neurobiological perspective, in dementia. Recent Findings: A taxonomy of self-awareness processes is presented, discussing how these can be structured across different levels of cognitive complexity. Findings on self-awareness in dementia are reviewed, indicating the relative preservation of capacities such as body ownership and agency, despite impairments in higher-level cognitive processes, such as autobiographical memory and emotional regulation. Summary: An integrative framework, based on predictive coding and compensatory abilities linked to the resilience of self-awareness in dementia, is discussed, highlighting possible avenues for future research into the topic

BMC Nephrol

BACKGROUND: To describe the quality of life of adolescents initiating haemodialysis, to determine the factors associated with quality of life, and to assess coping strategies and their impact on quality of life. METHODS: All adolescents initiating haemodialysis between September 2013 and July 2015 in French paediatric haemodialysis centres were included. Quality of life data were collected using the "Vecu et Sante Percue de l'Adolescent et l'Enfant" questionnaire, and coping data were collected using the Kidcope questionnaire. Adolescent's quality of life was compared with age- and sex-matched French control. RESULTS: Thirty-two adolescents were included. Their mean age was 13.9 +/- 2.0 years. The quality of life score was lowest in leisure activities and highest in relationships with medical staff. Compared with the French control, index, energy-vitality, relationships with friends, leisure activities and physical well-being scores were significantly lower in haemodialysis population. In multivariate analyses, active coping was positively associated with quality of life and especially with energy-vitality, relationships with parents and teachers, and school performance. In contrast, avoidant and negative coping were negatively associated with energy-vitality, psychological well-being and body image for avoidant coping, and body image and relationships with medical staff for negative coping. CONCLUSIONS: The quality of life of haemodialysis adolescents, and mainly the dimensions of leisure activities, physical well-being, relationships with friends and energy-vitality, were significantly altered compared to that of the French population. The impact of coping strategies on quality of life seems to be important. Given the importance of quality of life and coping strategies in adolescents with chronic disease, health care professionals should integrate these aspects into care management

Teacher beliefs about children with attention and behavioral difficulties

Scope and Method of Study: The current study attempted to extend the current literature on the topic of teacher beliefs about students with attention and behavior difficulties. Teachers' attributions, prognostic outlook, and willingness to accept treatments for students with attention and behavior problems were studied using hypothetical scenarios about a child who was either labeled ADHD or not labeled ADHD. The child in the vignette was also either a 6 year old boy or an 11 year old boy who received either stimulant medication, behavioral intervention, or a combined treatment. Teacher's acceptability of the proposed treatment was measured using the Intervention Rating Profile - 15 (IRP-15) to assess whether treatment acceptability varied as a function of the label, age, and treatment conditions. Prognostic outlook for the child was also assessed to measure teacher beliefs about the child's likelihood for future success or failure, likelihood for further classroom disruption, and likelihood for success or failure in interpersonal relationships. Teachers were also asked to rate their attributions of the child's behavior. Items were designed to reflect each of the three causal attributions, locus, stability, and controllability, and teachers were asked to make their attributions of the child in the vignette along the three dimensions.Findings and Conclusions: Teacher attributions of the child in the vignette did not differ based on label, age, and treatment. Overall, teachers attributed the cause of the child's behavior to internal, stable, and uncontrollable factors regardless of the label, age, and treatment condition. Teachers rated interventions as more acceptable when the child was labeled ADHD, with the work completion intervention rated as more acceptable for the 6 year old condition and stimulant medication rated higher for the 11 year old condition. Prognostic outlook ratings were highest when the child received the combined treatment package and lowest when the child was given the work completion intervention

Adult AD/HD, metamemory, and self-regulation in context

AD/HD in adulthood is associated with ongoing academic impairments. A metacognitive theoretical framework was used to review the extant literature on cognitive deficits in AD/HD and to construct laboratory measures of metacognitive monitoring and control relevant to educational settings. Reviewed evidence of deficits in metacognitive control was strong while evidence of problems in monitoring was equivocal. Two sets of laboratory memory tasks were used to address questions of metamemory monitoring and control, as well as to examine whether a highly unstructured task would be incrementally more difficult for adults with AD/HD due to greater demands on executive functioning. Sixty-eight adults with and without AD/HD were assessed using structured interviews and self-reports and completed laboratory tasks, interviews, and questionnaires tapping metamemory. Adults with AD/HD were just as accurate as the comparison group at predicting their memory performance, despite remembering fewer words on the unstructured task. Groups did not differ in the relationship between their predictions and their study behavior (study time, item selection) nor in the amount of time they spent studying items. However, adults with AD/HD were less likely to use a self-testing strategy during an unstructured task and were less likely to report associating word pairs during a structured, computerized task. Results suggest that adults with AD/HD may not be impaired in metacognitive monitoring during a task, but they are less likely to use effective study strategies than adults without AD/HD, especially when tasks are unstructured. Several targets for intervention are discussed and it is suggested that future research include assessments of self-efficacy, self-reported study behavior, and methods to investigate study plan formulation versus execution

A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students, Volume II

Provides a comprehensive review of research on the academic acceleration of gifted students

A cross-sectional study exploring levels of physical activity and motivators and barriers towards physical activity in haemodialysis patients to inform intervention development

Purpose. To describe physical activity (PA) levels and motivators and barriers to PA among haemodialysis patients and to identify an appropriate approach to increasing their PA. Methods. A cross sectional mixed methods study conducted in a tertiary and satellite haemodialysis unit. 101 participants aged 18 years and over, receiving regular haemodialysis for at least four months, were recruited. Patients with recent hospital admission or acute cardiac event were excluded. Participants completed health status (EQ-5D-3L™) and activity (Human Activity Profile) questionnaires. A subgroup were invited to wear accelerometers and wearable cameras to measure PA levels and capture PA episodes, to inform subsequent semi-structured interviews on motivators and barriers. Semi-structured interviews were analysed using the Framework Method informed by constructs of the Health Belief Model. Results. 98/101 completed the study (66 male, 32 female). For 68/98 participants, adjusted activity scores from the Human Activity Profile indicated ‘impaired’ levels of Physical Activity; for 67/98 participants, the EQ-5D-3L indicated problems with mobility. Semi-structured interviews identified general (fear of falls, pain) and disease specific barriers (fatigue) to PA. Motivators included tailored exercise programmes and educational support from health care professionals. Conclusions. Participants indicated a need for co-development with healthcare professionals of differentiated, targeted exercise interventions

Resilience Processes Demonstrated by Young Gay and Bisexual Men Living with HIV: Implications for Intervention

Given the increasing numbers of young gay/bisexual men (YGBM) diagnosed with HIV, it is important to understand the resilience processes enacted by this population in order to develop interventions that support their healthy development. Qualitative interviews were conducted with 54 YGBM (ages 17 to 24; 57% African American, 22% Latino) living with HIV from four geographically diverse clinics in the United States. Resilience processes clustered into four primary thematic areas: (1) engaging in health-promoting cognitive processes; (2) enacting healthy behavioral practices; (3) enlisting social support from others; and (4) empowering other young gay/bisexual men. These data suggest that YGBM living with HIV demonstrate resilience across multiple dimensions, including intrapersonal-level resilience related to individual cognitions and behaviors, as well as interpersonal-level resilience related to seeking support and providing support to others. Implications for the development of culturally-appropriate and strengths-based secondary prevention and other psychosocial interventions for YGBM living with HIV are discussed.Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/140154/1/apc.2013.0330.pd

Predictors of linkage to care following community-based HIV counseling and testing in rural Kenya

Despite innovations in HIV counseling and testing (HCT), important gaps remain in understanding linkage to care. We followed a cohort diagnosed with HIV through a community-based HCT campaign that trained persons living with HIV/AIDS (PLHA) as navigators. Individual, interpersonal, and institutional predictors of linkage were assessed using survival analysis of self-reported time to enrollment. Of 483 persons consenting to follow-up, 305 (63.2%) enrolled in HIV care within 3 months. Proportions linking to care were similar across sexes, barring a sub-sample of men aged 18–25 years who were highly unlikely to enroll. Men were more likely to enroll if they had disclosed to their spouse, and women if they had disclosed to family. Women who anticipated violence or relationship breakup were less likely to link to care. Enrolment rates were significantly higher among participants receiving a PLHA visit, suggesting that a navigator approach may improve linkage from community-based HCT campaigns.Vestergaard Frandse

Living positively with dementia: a systematic review and synthesis of the qualitative literature

Objective: Little is known about how and to what extent people with dementia live positively with their condition. This study aimed to review and carry out a synthesis of qualitative studies where accounts of the subjective experiences of people with dementia contained evidence of positive states, experiences or attributes. Methods: A meta-synthesis was undertaken to generate an integrated and interpretive account of the ability of people with dementia to have positive experiences. A methodological quality assessment was undertaken to maximize the reliability and validity of this synthesis and to contextualize the findings with regard to methodological constraints and epistemological concepts. Findings: Twenty-seven papers were included. Three super-ordinate themes relating to positive experiences and attributes were identified, each with varying and complementing sub-themes. The first super-ordinate theme related to the experience of engaging with life in ageing rather than explicitly to living with dementia. The second theme related to engaging with dementia itself and comprised the strengths that people can utilize in facing and fighting the condition. The third theme captured how people with dementia might transcend the condition and seek ways to maintain identity and even achieve personal growth. Conclusions: This review provides a first step towards understanding what conceptual domains might be important in defining positive outcomes for people who live with dementia. Highlighting the potential for people to have positive experiences in spite of or even because of their dementia has important implications for de-stigmatizing dementia and will enhance person-centred approaches to care