Understanding thought disorder in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders : exploring the relation and implications of affect.

The significance of affect in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders has received considerable support, including its role in cognitive processing and executive function. Findings examining affect and cognition in schizophrenia appear to parallel findings with healthy controls: positive affect contributes to broad, top-down processing and negative affect leads to narrow, bottom-up processing. This dissertation extends this exploration to the study of affect and its role in thought disorder, a core, and yet enigmatic feature of schizophrenia-spectrum disorders. This dissertation examines the role of affective intensity and valence in thought disorder severity. Self-reported affective intensity and valence were assessed with the PANAS, and thought disorder severity was evaluated by scoring Rorschach protocols using the Thought Disorder Inventory. The dissertation has two hypotheses: (1) affective intensity is a more significant factor than affective valence in predicting the severity of thought disorder in schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder, and (2) positive affect is related to categories that reflect broader, more associative processing, while negative affect is related to categories that reflect narrowed processing. Both hypotheses were supported. Affective intensity significantly predicted thought disorder severity and was a better predictor, overall, then affective valence. Furthermore, positive and negative affect were related to indicators of broad versus narrow processing, respectively. Self-reported negative affect emerged as a particularly salient variable in thought disorder severity and presentation. The current findings have implications for our understanding of the mechanisms underlying thought disorder severity in schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, and the significance of affective experience in this spectrum of illness

An Assessment of School Adjustment in Head Start Children

The purpose of the current study was to pilot test measures of cognitive-linguistic achievement and socioemotional competence to create an all encompassing model of school adjustment in a sample of Head Start children (N = 36). Past research examining school adjustment in low-income children has failed to address all of the components of school adjustment while often employing the same reporter (the teacher) for both predictor and outcome measures. Cognitive-linguistic measures included four subtests from the Woodcock-Johnson Tests of Achievement and two assessments of phonological awareness (rhyming and alliteration). Emotion regulation measures included teacherreported emotionality and emotion regulation, parent-reported emotionality and emotion regulation, and an assessment of how children spend their time waiting during a delay of gratification task. Social functioning measures included student-teacher relationship quality, teacher-reported social competence and behavior problems, and a sociometric interview that provided information about peer relationships in the classroom. Results revealed significant differences between children who have friendships and are well-liked and those who do not have these positive peer relationships. Teacher-reported emotion regulation predicted the presence of positive peer interactions. In turn, the presence of prosocial peer interactions was highly related to socioemotional outcomes and highly predictive of cognitive indices of school adjustment

Setting the Mood for Critical Thinking in the Classroom

Most current efforts to enhance critical thinking focus on skills practice and training. The empirical research from the fields of cognition and affect sciences suggest that positive mood, even when transiently induced, can have beneficial effects on cognitive flexibility and problem solving. We undertook this study to test this hypothesis in a practical setting. Using an A-B-A-B within subject design, we measured the impact of positive (versus neutral) mood on critical thinking demonstrated on four essay exams in an undergraduate course in personality. There was a significant enhancing effect of positive mood on critical thinking in female students, but not in male students. We discuss possible sex differences that may account for the partial support of the mood-critical thinking effect

Demographic correlates of attenuated positive psychotic symptoms

It is now well established that the utilization of standardized clinical criteria can enhance prediction of psychosis. These criteria are primarily concerned with the presence and severity of attenuated positive symptoms. Because these symptom criteria are used to derive algorithms for designating clinical high risk (CHR) status and for maximizing prediction of psychosis risk, it is important to know whether the symptom ratings vary as a function of demographic factors that have previously been linked with symptoms in diagnosed psychotic patients. Using a sample of 356 CHR individuals from the NAPLS-II multi-site study, we examined the relation of three sex, age, and educational level, with the severity of attenuated positive symptom scores from the Scale of Prodromal Symptoms (SOPS). Demographic factors accounted for little of the variance in symptom ratings (5–6%). Older CHR individuals manifested more severe suspiciousness, and female CHR participants reported more unusual perceptual experiences than male participants. Contrary to prediction, higher educational level was associated with more severe ratings of unusual thought content, but less severe perceptual abnormalities. Overall, sex, age and education were modestly related to unusual thought content and perceptual abnormalities, only, suggesting minimal implication for designating CHR status and predicting psychosis-risk

Setting the Mood for Critical Thinking in the Classroom

Most current efforts to enhance critical thinking focus on skills practice and training. The empirical research from the fields of cognition and affect sciences suggest that positive mood, even when transiently induced, can have beneficial effects on cognitive flexibility and problem solving. We undertook this study to test this hypothesis in a practical setting. Using an A-B-A-B within subject design, we measured the impact of positive (versus neutral) mood on critical thinking demonstrated on four essay exams in an undergraduate course in personality. There was a significant enhancing effect of positive mood on critical thinking in female students, but not in male students. We discuss possible sex differences that may account for the partial support of the mood-critical thinking effect

Estimating Child Sleep From Parent Report of Time in Bed: Development and Evaluation of Adjustment Approaches

Objective To develop and evaluate adjustment factors to convert parent-reported time in bed to an estimate of child sleep time consistent with objective measurement. Methods A community sample of 217 children aged 4–9 years (mean age = 6.6 years) wore actigraph wristwatches to objectively measure sleep for 7 days while parents completed reports of child sleep each night. After examining the moderators of the discrepancy between parent reports and actigraphy, 3 adjustment factors were evaluated. Results Parent report of child sleep overestimated nightly sleep duration by ~24 min per night relative to actigraphy. Child age, gender, and sleep quality all had small or nonsignificant associations with correspondence between parent report and actigraph. Empirically derived adjustment factors significantly reduced the discrepancy between parent report and objective measurement. Conclusions Simple adjustment factors can enhance the correspondence and utility of parent reports of child sleep duration for clinical and research purposes

Rehabilitation of the adolescent with a substance use disorder: Overview of treatment efficacy

Background: Several studies have shown that substance use disorder (SUDs) among adolescents is related to multiple behavioural problems and needs specific treatment compared to adults. Objectives: The aim of the present paper was to investigate the gold standard of rehabilitation efficacy for SUDs in adolescence. Methods: A careful review of the literature was conducted on the treatment and rehabilitation of adolescents with SUDs. A total of 11 articles from peer-reviewed journals was selected for this review. Results: Family therapy is the treatment with the strongest evidence of effectiveness for reducing SUDs in adolescents, although other types of treatments appear to be beneficial such as cognitive-behavioural therapy and other psychological approaches. Despite the effectiveness of the treatments, the rate of relapse remains high among adolescents with SUDs. Conclusion: Currently, psychological treatments, particularly family therapy, are most frequently applied to adolescents with SUDs. Pharmacotherapy is reserved for adolescents with a SUDs in co-morbidity with other mental disorders and a therapeutic community is suggested for these at-risk adolescents

Executive functions form a single construct and are associated with schooling: Evidence from three low- and middle- income countries.

Measuring executive function (EF) among adults is important, as the cognitive processes involved in EF are critical to academic achievement, job success and mental health. Current evidence on measurement and structure of EF largely come from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. However, measuring EF in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) is challenging, because of the dearth of EF measures validated across LMICs, particularly measures that do not require extensive training, expensive equipment, or professional administration. This paper uses data from three LMIC cohorts to test the feasibility, validity and reliability of EF assessment in adults using three sub-tests (representing key components of EF) of the NIH Toolbox Cognitive battery. For each cohort, all three EF measures (inhibition, flexibility and working memory) loaded well onto a unidimensional latent factor of EF. Factor scores related well to measures of fluid intelligence, processing speed and schooling. All measures showed good test-retest reliability across countries. This study provides evidence for a set of sound measures of EF that could be used across different cultural, language and socio-economic backgrounds in future LMIC research. Furthermore, our findings extend conclusions on the structure of EF beyond those drawn from WEIRD countries

Executive functions form a single construct and are associated with schooling: evidence from three low- and middle- income countries

Measuring executive function (EF) among adults is important, as the cognitive processes involved in EF are critical to academic achievement, job success and mental health. Current evidence on measurement and structure of EF largely come from Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich and Democratic (WEIRD) countries. However, measuring EF in low-and-middle-income countries (LMICs) is challenging, because of the dearth of EF measures validated across LMICs, particularly measures that do not require extensive training, expensive equipment, or professional administration. This paper uses data from three LMIC cohorts to test the feasibility, validity and reliability of EF assessment in adults using three sub-tests (representing key components of EF) of the NIH Toolbox Cognitive battery. For each cohort, all three EF measures (inhibition, flexibility and working memory) loaded well onto a unidimensional latent factor of EF. Factor scores related well to measures of fluid intelligence, processing speed and schooling. All measures showed good test-retest reliability across countries. This study provides evidence for a set of sound measures of EF that could be used across different cultural, language and socio-economic backgrounds in future LMIC research. Furthermore, our findings extend conclusions on the structure of EF beyond those drawn from WEIRD countries