Evaluation of a short message service diary methodology in a nonclinical, naturalistic setting

Particularly suited to repeated measures in naturalistic settings, Short Message Service (SMS) is garnering increasing attention as a viable method of data collection. The current study explored issues of practical importance for the development of this methodology, including factors impacting on attrition and compliance, and participant perception of SMS. Using a business-card-sized questionnaire key, 98 university students were sent prompt SMS messages nightly for a week. Completion and compliance were very high in all participants who responded to at least one prompt SMS; those who responded at least once (n=63) responded to 83 percent of all seven prompts, with 95 percent of responses containing appropriate alphanumeric answers to all questions. However, a time lag between recruitment and participation was associated with a failure to commence the diary study. Participants reported positive perceptions of SMS privacy and convenience

The Importance of Importance: Self-Descriptors in Dysphoria

This study examined the relationship between importance ratings of positive and negative personal attributes and depressed mood. Undergraduate psychology students (n = 115) completed the Beck Depression Inventory-II and made self-referential ratings on several adjectives. Participants subsequently indicated how important it was for them to possess or fail to exhibit each of these traits. The results demonstrated that the perceived lack of important positive traits was related to increased depressed mood whereas not exhibiting important negative traits was associated with less depressed mood. Moreover, depressed mood was related to the degree to which respondents were certain about their endorsement of the traits. The implications of these results are discussed

Rumination and reminiscence in older adults: Implications for clinical practice

Reminiscence is proposed as an important activity for well-being in late life but recent reviews highlight the differential outcomes of this behavior. If older adults engage in reminiscing as a natural process, but do so with a ruminative style of thinki

Exploring the Relationship between Rumination, Self-compassion, and Mood

Self-compassion and rumination have been conceptualized as emotion regulation strategies, the former effective and the latter maladaptive, however, the relationship between these two approaches is largely unknown. This relationship was explored in 186 participants who completed a negative mood induction, and were randomly allocated to write about a negative event in either a self-compassionate or emotionally expressive way. Results showed that self-compassionate writing significantly predicted improved mood more so than writing in an emotionally expressive way. Greater rumination inhibited the degree to which mood improvements were made after writing, while trait self-compassion significantly predicted mood improvements. The present findings suggest that interventions to increase self-compassion can be therapeutically beneficial

Volume Kinetics for Infusion Fluids

Volume kinetics is a method for analyzing and simulating the distribution and elimination of infusion fluids. Approximately 50 studies describe the disposition of 0.9% saline, acetated and lactated Ringer´s solution, based on repeated measurements of the hemoglobin concentration and (sometimes) the urinary excretion. The slow distribution to the peripheral compartment results in a 50-75% larger plasma dilution during an infusion of crystalloid fluid than would be expected if distribution had been immediate. A drop in the arterial pressure during induction of anesthesia reduces the rate of distribution even further. The renal clearance of the infused fluid during surgery is only 10-20% compared to conscious volunteers. Some of this temporary decrease can be attributed to the anesthesia and probably also to preoperative psychological stress and/or dehydration.  Crystalloid fluid might be allocated to “non-functional” fluid spaces where it is unavailable for excretion. This amounts to approximately 20-25% during minor (thyroid) surgery

The Game of Late Life: A Novel Education Activity for the Psychology of Ageing

This article describes the development and evaluation of The Game of Late Life-a novel education activity for the psychology of ageing. The game was designed to provide transformational learning where students imagine themselves as older adults and move through late life via a game board, encountering various life events along the way. One of the key features of the game is that several of the life event outcomes (moves on the board) are dependent on the how the player interprets and responds to that event. The activity was evaluated across two semesters. In the first study, playing the game significantly improved students' attitudes towards ageing, but did not significantly reduce their anxiety about ageing. Open-ended responses indicated the discussion students engaged in during the game was an important factor for transformational learning. The second study replicated and extended the first by adding significantly more instruction to the tutors about fostering discussion and including specific questions about group discussion in the evaluation. Again, playing the game produced significantly more positive attitudes towards ageing, and in this second iteration it also significantly reduced anxiety about ageing. The student ratings of their tutor's ability to foster discussion were significantly related to the changes in these variables. Students also had very positive feedback about the game as an interesting and engaging activity. While this version of the game is designed around the psychology of ageing, the premise would be easily translated to any area of gerontological education across many disciplines

Humor styles and personality-vulnerability to depression

Sociotropy and autonomy are personality dimensions that represent vulnerabilities for depression, although relatively little is known about the social-psychological mechanisms underlying this association. The present research tested associations between personality-vulnerability dimensions, depressive symptoms, and positive and negative styles of humor in undergraduates as one means of characterizing the social interaction patterns of sociotropic and autonomous individuals. Sociotropy was associated with a self-defeating humor style, whereas Need for Control (an autonomy dimension) was related to the use of an aggressive humor style. Increased use of a self-defeating humor style and decreased use of self-enhancing and affiliative humor styles, were associated with increased depressive symptoms. The results are discussed relative to personality-vulnerability theories of depression