Marital satisfaction and psychological well-being in clinical and non-clinical samples

The study examined depression, anxiety, marital satisfaction in individuals from a clinical sample and individuals from a community sample. Gender was also considered in this study. Participants of this study consisted of 268 individuals; this sample was divided between a clinical and non-clinical sample from a community in the Midwest region of the United States. The study used the Brief Symptom Inventory to measure the levels of depression and anxiety, and the Dyadic Adjustment Scale to measure marital satisfaction. The hypotheses were tested using factorial analysis of variance. Overall results suggest that depression and marital satisfaction significantly impact each other and that the clinical sample significantly differs in level of depression from the non-clinical sample

New mentalization-based therapy for borderline personality disorder

Introduction: Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) is characterised by deficits in affect and impulse regulation, along with interpersonal difficulties (Lieb et al., 2004). It is thought to develop through a complex relationship between adverse childhood events, such as childhood abuse and genetics. A recent developmental model of BPD and one that is gaining popularity focuses on mentalization. Following their exposition of the mentalizing model of BPD, Bateman and Fonagy developed the Mentalization Based Treatment (MBT) intervention for BPD (Bateman & Fonagy 2006). This intervention includes both group and individual therapy with the focus on the patient’s relationship with the therapist and other members of the group. Promising evidence that MBT interventions are effective for treating symptoms of BPD is beginning to emerge. Methods: First a systematic review examining the prevalence of childhood abuse in BPD patients was conducted. Second, an empirical study of the efficacy of a group-only adaptation of the MBT intervention for BPD, delivered in a routine health service setting. Finally, planned exploratory analyses were conducted in order to ascertain what factors might predict group completion. Results: The results of the systematic review suggested that that emotional abuse (mean prevalence 63%) and emotional neglect (mean prevalence 63.1%) are the most common forms of abuse reported by this population followed by physical neglect (mean prevalence 40.89%) , sexual abuse (mean prevalence 36.9%) and physical abuse (mean prevalence 32.49%). The results of the second study revealed that the HUB is an acceptable treatment to participants, with indicators of treatment efficacy in relation to reducing overall psychiatric symptoms along with specific symptoms including interpersonal sensitivities, depression, phobic anxiety and paranoid ideation. Finally, exploratory analyses suggested that patients who were older and with less histrionic symptoms (as defined by the Personality Disorder Questionnaire-4) were more likely to complete the HUB. Conclusions: These findings demonstrate that a group-only MBT intervention displays promising effectiveness in treating core symptoms of BPD and is acceptable to patients. Further it suggests that group-only MBT interventions are worth continued investigation both into their efficacies and the potential efficiencies associated a group-based intervention

The effects of gonadal hormones on the expression of the clock protein PER2 in the central extended amygdala

Most biological processes exhibit circadian rhythms that are synchronized by the master clock located in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN). Recently, cells in the oval nucleus of the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (OV-BNST), the central nucleus of the amygdala (CEA), basolateral amygdala (BLA) and dentate gyrus of the hippocampus (DG), have been shown to rhythmically express Period 2 (PER2), a clock protein. It is known that gonadal hormones have an effect on circadian rhythms. However, yet to be determined is what influence they might have on brain circadian oscillators outside of the SCN. The purpose of this series of experiments is to examine PER2 expression; firstly, in intact females over the course of the estrous cycle and, secondly, in gonadectomized females, males, and intact males. Results obtained from the intact females suggest that the pattern of PER2 expression in the OV-BNST and the CEA changes as a function of stage of the estrous cycle. In ovariectomized females peak PER2 expression in the OV-BNST and CEA is at ZT13, the same was also found in gonadectomized and intact males. Together, the data from these studies suggest that gonadal hormones may influence the circadian functioning of these two brain regions

Insights From Deploying a Collaborative Process for Funding Systems Change

Many foundations are seeking to impact root causes of social issues through funding initiatives that are both technically and socially complicated and where past experience is no guarantee of success. These situations exhibit the growing need for more adaptive funding approaches, such as emergent philanthropy. This article looks at an application of emergent strategy at the Colorado Health Foundation. It shares tools used to design the funding approach for the foundation’s Creating Healthy Schools initiative, including support for grantees in refining their grant-proposal budgets and activities, decreasing duplication, and leveraging resources more effectively. This article will look at lessons learned, including the need to continue to evolve emergent philanthropy and collaboration not only between funders and grantees, but between funders themselves. The authors hope the tools experimented with in this case will help other foundations design and implement system-change strategies in complex environments

Positive Attitudes as a Mediator Between Moral Disengagement and Cyberbullying Behaviors

Objective. The current study examined whether (1) higher moral disengagement scores would be positively correlated with higher frequencies of engaging in cyberbullying, (2) positive attitude scores would be positively correlated with higher frequencies of engaging in cyberbullying, and (3) positive attitudes towards cyberbullying would mediate links between moral disengagement and frequency of engaging in cyberbullying. Method. Three surveys, the Mechanisms of Moral Disengagement Scale (MMD), Cyberbullying Perpetration Measure (CPM), and Positive Attitudes towards Cyberbullying Questionnaire (PATC) were administered to 114 undergraduate students. Results. Correlational analysis indicated significant positive correlations between PATC and CPM scores (r = .442, p \u3c .01), CPM and MMD scores (r = .199, p \u3c .05) and MMD and PATC scores (r = .591, p \u3c .01). Therefore all preconditions for mediation analysis were met. Several regression analyses were conducted to determine the mediation effects of positive attitudes toward cyberbullying on the relationship between cyberbullying behaviors, moral disengagement, and sex. Moral disengagement regressed onto cyberbullying behaviors with statistical significance, indicating there was a relationship that could be mediated (R = .246, p \u3c .05) Moral disengagement also regressed significantly onto positive attitudes toward cyberbullying, establishing a link between the two predictors (R = .596, p \u3c .001). A large, positive correlation was found between self-reported cyberbullying behavior in college students and the optimal linear combination of predictors (R = .462, p \u3c .001), such that as self-reported cyberbullying behaviors increased, so did positive attitudes towards cyberbullying and moral disengagement. In the final regression model, moral disengagement was not statistically significant (B = -.041, p = .250), resulting in complete mediation by positive attitudes toward cyberbullying. Implications. While previous research has shown moral disengagement to be a potential factor in reasons for cyberbullying perpetration behaviors, the current study found that moral disengagement required positive attitudes toward cyberbullying in order to evoke higher rates of cyberbullying. As there is relatively little research examining the relationship between cyberbullying behaviors, moral disengagement, and positive attitudes towards cyberbullying, future research would do well to further investigate these links. Concerning educational bullying prevention and awareness programs, program developers are advised to target attitude change and to include information regarding moral disengagement and its potentially harmful effects

Exploring Women’s Experience in Ivy League Law School Classrooms

This study seeks to explore the experiences of women in the law school classroom. Participants from an Ivy League law school were placed in focus groups and asked to reflect on their law classroom experiences as it pertained to their gender. Results indicated that in an environment that adheres to typical law school pedagogy – such as the Socratic method – women experienced a multitude of challenges within the classroom. The issues reported by the focus group participants generally fell into these five main themes: (1) concern about being perceived as overly emotional or speaking from experience, (2) apprehension about discussing women’s issues, (3) gender differences in participation and reinforcement, (4) gendered speech, and (5) differential treatment of female faculty members. This study demonstrates the need for an examination of pedagogical approaches to eradicate unfavorable learning environments for women in law school classrooms

Exploring Women’s Experience in Ivy League Law School Classrooms

This study seeks to explore the experiences of women in the law school classroom. Participants from an Ivy League law school were placed in focus groups and asked to reflect on their law classroom experiences as it pertained to their gender. Results indicated that in an environment that adheres to typical law school pedagogy – such as the Socratic method – women experienced a multitude of challenges within the classroom. The issues reported by the focus group participants generally fell into these five main themes: (1) concern about being perceived as overly emotional or speaking from experience, (2) apprehension about discussing women’s issues, (3) gender differences in participation and reinforcement, (4) gendered speech, and (5) differential treatment of female faculty members. This study demonstrates the need for an examination of pedagogical approaches to eradicate unfavorable learning environments for women in law school classrooms

Do Learners Fear More than Fear Itself: The Role of Fear in Law Students Educational Experiences

While previous research has examined the various relationships between fear and learning in K-12 academic settings, the relationship is surprisingly unexplored amongst law students. Using a descriptive qualitative approach, we examine the role fear plays in law students’ learning experiences. Through a series of semi-structured interviews a few areas of interest emerged including: fears related to disappointing family members and professors, as well as fears of peer judgment from classmates. The findings of this study demonstrate the unique relationship between the type of fear and how it influences academic motivation within this sample of law students. Based on our findings, we propose suggestions for future research that addresses the potentially detrimental effect of peer judgment on graduate students’ academic motivation

Geometric phase and dimensionality reduction in locomoting living systems

The apparent ease with which animals move requires the coordination of their many degrees of freedom to manage and properly utilize environmental interactions. Identifying effective strategies for locomotion has proven challenging, often requiring detailed models that generalize poorly across modes of locomotion, body morphologies, and environments. We present the first biological application of a gauge-theory-based geometric framework for movement, originally proposed by Wilczek and Shapere nearly $40$ years ago, to describe self-deformation-driven movements through dissipative environments. Using granular resistive force theory to model environmental forces and principal components analysis to identify a low-dimensional space of animal postures and dynamics, we show that our approach captures key features of how a variety of animals, from undulatory swimmers and slitherers to sidewinding rattlesnakes, coordinate body movements and leverage environmental interactions to generate locomotion. Our results demonstrate that this geometric approach is a powerful and general framework that enables the discovery of effective control strategies, which could be further augmented by physiologically-relevant parameters and constraints to provide a deeper understanding of locomotion in a wide variety of biological systems and environments