Trauma Skills Program in a Youth Detention Facility

Childhood trauma exposure and trauma-related symptoms are significant risk factors for involvement with the juvenile justice system. Limited research has assessed the effectiveness of trauma interventions for juveniles in secure facilities. The current study is a program evaluation of a pilot program at a youth detention facility (YDF) in Sacramento, California that ran from 2017 to 2020. The Trauma Skills Program consisted of ten weekly group sessions, each 90-minutes in length, held in a classroom at the YDF. The Trauma Skills Program was designed to target trauma-related symptoms by providing psychoeducation, validation, and support, as well as improving coping skills for trauma-related responses, and increasing willingness to participate in trauma-related therapeutic services. Juveniles reported significantly more knowledge about trauma, perceived support at YDF, use of healthy coping skills, and willingness to engage in trauma therapy at post-program than pre-program. Trauma-related symptoms (i.e., negative alterations in cognitions and mood, re-experiencing, avoidance, and hyperarousal symptoms) did not decrease from pre-program to post-program. Qualitative data about the Trauma Skills Program was mostly positive and indicated a desire to use the skills learned outside of YDF. Potential explanations for the lack of change in trauma-related symptoms from pre- to post-program could be a result of juveniles' increased knowledge and awareness of trauma-related symptoms, inconsistent attendance, or lack of effectiveness of the implemented intervention

Histometric data obtained by in vivo confocal laser scanning microscopy in patients with systemic sclerosis

BACKGROUND: It would be a benefit if time-saving, non-invasive methods could give hints for diagnosing systemic sclerosis. To investigate the skin of patients with systemic sclerosis using confocal laser scanning microscopy in vivo and to develop histometric parameters to describe characteristic cutaneous changes of systemic sclerosis observed by this new technique, we conducted an exploratory study. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Fifteen patients with systemic sclerosis treated with extracorporal photopheresis were compared with 15 healthy volunteers and 10 patients with other disorders also treated with extracorporal photopheresis. All subjects were investigated using confocal laser scanning microscopy in vivo. RESULTS: Micromorphologic characteristics of skin of patients with systemic sclerosis and measuring parameters for melanisation, epidermal hypotrophy, and fibrosis for dislocation of capillaries by collagen deposits in the papillary dermis were evaluated. An interesting finding was an increased thickness of the tissue in the dermal papillae superior to the first dermal papilla vessel. It was also possible to reproduce characteristic histologic features by confocal laser scanning microscopy in vivo. Histometric parameters for fibrosis and vascular features developed in this study showed significant differences in patients with systemic sclerosis compared to controls. CONCLUSIONS: Although the predominant histopathological features in systemic sclerosis are findings of the reticular dermis and the subcutis, and in histopathological investigation the epidermis seems to remain unaffected by the disease, we have demonstrate some characteristic differences in the epidermis and papillary dermis by confocal laser scanning microscopy in vivo. Some of them have not been described so far. However, to use this technique as a tool for diagnosis and/or staging of systemic sclerosis, further studies are needed investigating the sensitivity and specificity of the histometric parameters developed in this study

The effect of emotion on interpretation and logic in a conditional reasoning task

The effect of emotional content on logical reasoning is explored in three experiments. The participants completed a conditional reasoning task (If p, then q) with emotional and neutral contents. In Experiment 1, existing emotional and neutral words were used. The emotional value of initially neutral words was experimentally manipulated in Experiments 1B and 2, using classical conditioning. In all experiments, participants were less likely to provide normatively correct answers when reasoning about emotional stimuli, compared with neutral stimuli. This was true for both negative (Experiments 1B & 2) and positive contents (Experiment 2). The participants' interpretations of the conditional statements were also measured (perceived sufficiency, necessity, causality, and plausibility). The results showed the expected relationship between interpretation and reasoning. However, emotion did not affect interpretation. Emotional and neutral conditional statements were interpreted similarly. The results are discussed in light of current models of emotion and reasoning. Copyright 2006 Psychonomic Society, Inc