Role of maternal depression in perceptions of child maladjustment.

We investigated (a) the relation of maternal depression to perceptions of externalizing and internalizing disorders in children and (b) quality of communication in a mother–child interaction task as a function of maternal depression and perceptions of the child. 64 children of unipolar or bipolar mothers, chronic medically ill or normal mothers were studied; clinical diagnoses, children's reports, and teachers' ratings served as objective criteria of children's maladjustment. Maternal depression defined by current symptomatology on the Beck Depression Inventory and by psychiatric status was not associated with misperceptions of psychopathology. Maternal depression interacted with children's actual behaviors to predict mothers' perceptions: nondepressed mothers were less accurate reporters of problems in children than were depressed mothers. Depressed mothers who perceived maladjustment in their disturbed children made more negative comments in interactions than did nondepressed mothers of disturbed children. The apparent mutual impact of mothers' and children's maladjustment requires fuller exploration in offspring studies. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

An integrative conceptual framework of disability: New directions for research.

Advances in research on disability and rehabilitation are essential to creating equal opportunity, economic self-sufficiency, and full participation for persons with disabilities. Historically, such initiatives have focused on separate and specific areas, including neuroscience, molecular biology and genetics, gerontology, engineering and physical sciences, and social and behavioral sciences. Research on persons with disabilities should examine the broader context and trends of society that affect the total environment of persons with disabilities. This article examines the various disability paradigms across time, assessing the relative contribution of the socioecological perspective in guiding research designed to improve the lives of persons with disabilities. The authors recommend new research directions that include a focus on life span issues, biomedicine, biotechnology, the efficacy and effectiveness of current interventions, an emphasis on consumer-driven investigations within a socioecological perspective of disability, and the implications for research and practice. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Generation of stress in the course of unipolar depression.

The effect of stressful events on depression has been amply demonstrated, but the opposite relation is also important. The author examined event occurrence over 1 yr in 14 women with unipolar depression who were compared with demographically matched groups of women with bipolar disorder (n?=?11), chronic medical illness (n?=?13), or no illness or disorder (n?=?22). Interview assessments of life events, severity, and independence of occurrence confirmed the hypothesis that unipolar women were exposed to more stress than the normal women, had significantly more interpersonal event stress than all others, and tended to have more dependent events than the others. The implication is that unipolar women by their symptoms, behaviors, characteristics, and social context generate stressful conditions, primarily interpersonal, that have the potential for contributing to the cycle of symptoms and stress that create chronic or intermittent depression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of functional performance of a soldier in full chemical and biological protection versus battle dress

The comparison of functional performance between a soldier wearing a chemical and biological (CB) protective equipment and an ordinary battle dress (BD) was conducted at Protechnik's facilities and Jozini–South Africa. The basis of the comparison was that CB protective equipment causes compatibility problems such as mobility and clearance, and that these factors would affect the soldier when performing various activities. Sixteen obstacle courses were erected to simulate a range of functions normally performed by an infantry soldier. Time taken by each soldier to complete a variety of motions and obstacle clearance activities was recorded. It was found that the CB protective equipment interfered with the soldier's performance. The soldier's movements were observed to be restricted and abnormal. The time taken to complete similar activities was longer when wearing the CB protective equipment than ordinary BD.

Relevance to industry

To determine the effect of protective equipment on functional performance.     

Maintaining the Safe and Effective Therapeutic Relationship in the Context of Distrust and Anger: Countertransference and Complex Trauma.

Prior research has shown that anger is a prominent feature in the psychopathology of trauma survivors. This hostile reactivity can be difficult for clinicians, who must balance instruction or interpretation designed to teach clients appropriate ways to handle anger and judicious withholding of response to maintain the therapeutic alliance for other purposes. Unlike studies that ask therapists to report their own mistakes, this research centers on advice given by 132 interview participants who had completed long-term trauma therapies. Clients generally reported greater satisfaction with trauma clinicians who were emotionally disclosing after angry episodes and who took partial responsibility for disagreements in therapy. Outcomes and satisfaction tended to be poor if therapists were "blank screens" in the face of anger. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Effect of clove extract pretreatment and drying conditions on lipid oxidation and sensory discrimination of dried omena (Rastrineobola argentea) fish

Sun‐drying is a low‐cost, low‐technology fish preservation method frequently employed in developing areas. However, the process promotes lipid oxidation and its associated undesired flavours and odours. This study investigated low‐technology solutions for impact on lipid oxidation and sensory attributes of oven‐dried omena fish (Rastrineobola argentea). Two oven‐drying conditions and four doses of clove water extract ‘dip’ pretreatments were studied in a complete factorial design. Lipid oxidation in dried fish was assessed by TBARS, peroxide value and fatty acid analysis by GC‐FID. Results showed that soaking in 10 g L^?1 clove water extract for 1 h and oven‐drying at 150 °C × 30 min significantly reduced TBARS and peroxide values in omena fish by 77% and 79%, respectively, and polyene index showed improved retention of long‐chain polyunsaturated fats, compared to original drying condition. Lastly, panellists of a triangle test were able to discriminate between biscuits made with the modified and original dried fish.     

Chick Chorioallantoic Membrane as an In Situ Biological Membrane for Pharmaceutical Formulation Development: A Review

The use of animals in research has always been a debatable issue. Over the past few decades, efforts have been made to reduce, replace, and refine experiments for ethical use of experimental animals. The use of chick chorioallantoic membrane (CAM) was one of the proposed alternatives to the Draize rabbit ocular irritation test with several advantages including simplicity, rapidity, sensitivity, ease of performance, and cost-effectiveness. The recent use of CAM in the development of pharmaceuticals and testing models to mimic human tissue, including drug transport across CAM, will be discussed in this review.     

Mediators of aggression among young adult offspring of depressed mothers.

The current article explores the connection between maternal depression and offspring aggression during the transition to adulthood, expanding the scope of prior research on this topic. Both family-level factors (including parent–child relationship quality and maternal romantic relationship quality) and youth factors (including depression history and social functioning in midadolescence) were tested as potential mediators in a longitudinal community sample of 710 youth at ages 15 and 20. The results suggest that maternal depression confers a risk for higher levels of aggressive behavior by offspring at age 20. Structural equation models suggested that the association between maternal depression and youth aggression is fully mediated by youth history of depression by midadolescence, even when accounting for the stability of aggression between ages 15 and 20. Parent–child relationship quality, youth social functioning, and maternal relationship quality were not unique mediators of this association. Limitations and implications are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Axis II symptomatology, depression, and life stress during the transition from adolescence to adulthood.

This study examined 2 models of the relationship between personality disorder symptomatology and depression, incorporating life stress as an intervening variable. In a community sample of late adolescent women, symptoms of Cluster B disorders predicted interpersonal chronic stress and self-generated episodic stress over 2 years, controlling for initial depression. Cluster A symptoms also predicted subsequent chronic interpersonal stress, over initial depression. Cluster C pathology did not predict subsequent stress. Personality disorder symptomatology was also associated with partner reported relationship dissatisfaction. Support was found for a mediation model whereby women with higher levels of initial personality disturbance in Clusters A and B generated excessive amounts of episodic stress and interpersonal chronic stress in the next 2 years, which, in turn, increased vulnerability for depressive symptoms. A moderation model, whereby the presence of greater personality disorder symptoms would increase the likelihood of depression in response to stress, was not supported. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Perceptions of stressful life events and depression: A test of attributional models.

Tested the attributional models of depression proposed by L. Y. Abramson et al (see record 1979-00305-001), using 278 undergraduates who had recently experienced a stressful event and 51 55–79 yr old adults who sought treatment for problems with depression. Three questions were addressed: (a) the validity of the hypothesized independent and direction relation between each of the dimensions of internality, stability, controllability, intentionality, and globality and depression; (b) the causal relation between attributions and depression in a 2-mo prospective study; and (c) evaluation of the model on the 2 disparate samples. Ss were administered a battery of depression measures; students completed an attribution questionnaire, while adults completed a measure of life stress attributions. Causal modeling statistical procedures were applied to both the question of concurrent relations and causal relations between cognitions and depression. Results suggest minimal support for the attributional model: The dimensions were not each independently and directly associated with depression in the manner predicted, and the model that best fit the data was generally congruent for both the normal and clinical samples. In terms of direction of causality, the data were more consistent in indicating that depression causes cognitions than in indicating the reverse. (45 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)