Recent advances in the study of development, social and personal experience, and psychopathology

The field of developmental psychopathology has been challenged by various issues in understanding the link between social experiences and psychopathology. These challenges involve conceptual, methodological and statistical concerns that are often interrelated. This article examines four advances in resolving these concerns. First, co-rumination and deviancy training are discussed as specific interpersonal processes that are examples of important social experiences for predicting psychopathology. Second, dynamic properties of dyadic interaction are discussed as one of the recent advances in methodology for this area. Third, the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model is outlined as one of the recent statistical advances in the study of individuals within a dyad. Fourth, changes in the study of culture are presented as informing the understanding link between social experiences and developmental psychopathology

An analysis of undergraduate sacred music curriculum content in colleges and universities accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music.

The purpose of this study was to analyze undergraduate sacred music curriculum content in colleges and universities accredited by the National Association of Schools of Music. The study was designed to answer the following research questions: (1) What course topics are offered in the undergraduate sacred music curriculum among NASM schools? (2) To what extent are the course topics offered? (3) What value do church music faculty place on each course topic in the curriculum? (4) What do church music professors at these schools indicate is necessary to keep the church music degree in North America vital? (5) How do the findings of this study compare with findings of previous studies?The research was conducted by means of a content analysis of academic catalogs and a survey questionnaire mailed to undergraduate sacred music faculty at seventy NASM schools in the United States. For the content-analysis portion of the study, required course titles from each institution were categorized into major groupings and subgroupings. The survey component sought information relative to the institution and to the sacred music curriculum. Open-ended questions focused on the preference for a master's degree in sacred music, the preference for an undergraduate music education degree, and strengthening the sacred music program in North America. The data in this component of the study are compiled from fifty-one responses, representing 73% of the population.The topics that received the highest emphasis in sacred music programs among NASM schools were applied voice, choral ensemble, organ literature, music theory, aural skills, and senior recital. Topics that were rated as most important included music theory, aural skills, applied voice, choral conducting, choral ensemble, and hymnology/congregational song. Seventeen of the respondents indicated that in order to keep the undergraduate sacred music degree vital in North America the curriculum should be revised to include the study of additional musical styles, including popular music. However, these respondents also stated that the inclusion of other musical styles in the curriculum should be a supplement, not a substitute, to the traditional curriculum

Reactivity and Distortions in the Self: Narcissism, Types of Aggression, and the Functioning of the Hypothalamic–Pituitary–Adrenal Axis During Early Adolescence

A multisample, multistudy project aimed at understanding how individual differences in narcissism during early adolescence are related to distortions in the aggression, and the reactivity of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis to negative and positive experiences. The findings indicate that individual differences in narcissism are a remarkably stable aspect of personality during early adolescence. It is predictably related to an inflated view of the self that is not warranted by objective indices of social functioning. Further evidence shows that it promotes the continuity of aggressive behavior and is more strongly related to reactive aggression than to proactive aggression and more strongly related to relational aggression than to physical aggression. Finally, there is evidence that distortions in the self may derive from the inadequate functioning of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis, one of the body’s main response system for dealing with stress. These findings are discussed in terms of the processes by which early adolescents react to threats and arousal in their daily functioning

The Presence of a Best Friend Buffers the Effects of Negative Experiences

The goal of the current study was to examine how the presence of a best friend might serve as protection against the effect of negative experiences on global self-worth and the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis (HPA axis). A total of 103 English-speaking male (n = 55) and female (n = 48) participants from Grade 5 (M = 10.27 years) and Grade 6 (M = 11.30 years) completed booklets about their experiences that occurred 20 min previously and how they felt about themselves at the moment, and they provided saliva multiple times per day over the course of 4 consecutive days. Having a best friend present during an experience significantly buffered the effect of the negativity of the experience on cortisol and global self-worth. When a best friend was not present, there was a significant increase in cortisol and a significant decrease in global self-worth as the negativity of the experience increased. When a best friend was present, there was less change in cortisol and global self-worth due to the negativity of the experience

Context-Dependent Peer Victimization: Are physical and relational aggression tolerated differently in mixed-sex versus all-girl schools?

Contextual differences in the association between different forms of aggressive behavior and victimization were studied with a sample of 197 boys and 149 girls from mixed-sex schools and in 336 girls from all-girl schools (M = 10.21 years of age) in two cities in Colombia. Results showed that boys generally engage in more physical than relational aggression, whereas girls engage in more relational than physical aggression. Among boys, the association between aggression and victimization was significant only for the measure of relational aggression, whereas, for girls, victimization was significantly correlated only with physical aggression. This latter association was found to be significantly stronger for girls from the all-girl schools than for the girls from the mixed-sex schools. These findings are discussed in terms of how mixed-sex and same-sex groups, as different forms of peer context, affect the social dynamics related to the association between aggression and victimization

Meaning-centered group psychotherapy in Portuguese cancer patients: A pilot exploratory trial

Spiritual well-being and a sense of meaning are important influences for quality of life (QoL) in patients with advanced cancer (Field and Cassel, 1997; Sinclair et al., 2006). The importance of the existential care lead to the emergence of meaning-focused interventions (Breitbart, 2002; Chochinov et al., 2005; Puchalski, 2013) in advanced cancer patients or terminally ill (Yalom and Greaves, 1977; Spiegel et al., 1981; Edelman et al., 1999; Edmonds et al., 1999; Classen et al., 2001; Kissane et al., 2003, 2007; Lee et al., 2006; Breitbart et al., 2010; Chochinov et al., 2011). In response to this need, Breitbart and his investigation group developed meaning-centered psychotherapy (MCP) to help patients with advanced cancer sustain or enhance a sense of meaning and purpose in their lives, even as they approach the end of life (Breitbart, 2000, 2002; Greenstein and Breitbart, 2000; Breitbart et al., 2010, 2015; Van der Spek et al., 2013; Applebaum et al., 2015). MCP was first developed in a group format (meaning-centered group psychotherapy — MCGP), which is a manualized eight-week intervention (each session: 1.5 h) that utilizes a combination of didactics, experiential exercises and discussion (Breitbart, 2002). The first randomized control trial (RCT) showed benefits in enhancing spiritual well-being and a sense of meaning (Breitbart et al., 2010). Further studies suggested that more severe forms of despair respond better to existential interventions (Breitbart et al., 2015).P30 CA008748info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Anal cancer: an essay on etiology, risk conditions, vulnerability, and care of carriers

 Introduction: The incidence of anal cancer is influenced by individual factors and socially determined conditions of vulnerability. In Brazil, it has increased in recent decades. A probable explanation for the growing incidence is the low coverage of screening and prevention programs. Objective: The aim of this study was to reflect on risk factors, the need for early diagnosis, and care of people with anal cancer and to associate social vulnerability in the understanding of illness and care in the Unified Health System (SUS). Methods: This is a systematic literature review with consultations carried out in open electronic databases: SciELO, Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations, and CAPES Publications Portal. The descriptors used were “anal cancer,” “anal cytology,” “anal cancer precursor lesions,” “primary prevention,” “integrality in health,” and “public health policies.” Results: Ensuring access to services is a common guideline in the literature. Based on the recovered references, two axes of analysis were built: in the first, ideas to reflect on care with collective health approaches were systematized, mainly on the etiology, biological risk factors, and conditions of vulnerability for cancer development to which the subjects are exposed. In the second, ideas to propose care technologies are put forward, with evidence from similar protocols and policies, especially the “Cervical Cancer Control Program,” which deals with a pathology with cytohistological and etiological similarities, risk factors, diagnostic techniques, and skilled health professionals. Conclusion: The reviewed sources point to the possibility of incorporating, as a SUS policy, large-scale actions of prevention, screening, and early diagnosis, to qualify and expand the initiatives of promotion and care. The professional cytotechnologist can be a decisive factor in the implementation of the care policy, expanding assistance to the population and qualifying the services

Clinically Determined and Self-Reported Dental Caries Status During and After Pregnancy Among Low-Income Hispanic Women

This analysis assessed, during and one-year after pregnancy: 1) the prevalence of and relationship between self-reported and clinically determined dental caries and oral health status, and whether self-reports are a potential proxy for professional determination; 2) factors associated with high levels of professionally determined or self-reported oral disease