Nigel Hunt

Dependence on computer games by adolescents

As computer game playing is a popular activity among adolescents, a questionnaire study was undertaken with 387 adolescents (12–16 years of age) to establish their “dependence” using a scale adapted from the DSM-III-R criteria for pathological gambling. Analysis indicated that one in five adolescents were currently “dependent” upon computer games. Boys played significantly more regularly than girls and were more likely to be classified as “dependent.” The earlier children began playing computer games it appeared the more likely they were to be playing at “dependent” levels. These and other results are discussed in relation to research on other gaming dependencies.

The psychological impact of alopecia.

Alopecia is a chronic dermatological disorder in which people lose some or all of the hair on their head and sometimes on their body as well. It is a chronic inflammatory disease that affects the hair follicles. It is neither life threatening nor painful, though there can be irritation of the skin, as well as physical problems resulting from the loss of eyelashes and eyebrows. The aetiology and subsequent development of alopecia is not fully understood, but it is an autoimmune disorder that arises from a combination of genetic and environmental influences.1 We have included alopecia secondary to chemotherapy in the current review as, although there are fundamental aetiological differences, they may share similarities—for example, anxiety arising from the alopecia and the psychological impact relating to identity. Alopecia has few physically harmful effects, but may lead to psychological consequences, including high levels of anxiety and depression. Medical treatment for the disorder has limited effectiveness, and the failure to find a cure can leave patients very distressed. This article reviews the research into the psychological impact of alopecia. We conducted the searches for this clinical review in September 2005 through Ovid, focusing particularly on Medline, PsycINFO, ScienceDirect, the Cochrane Library, and the Web of Science. Searches went as far back as 1980. The main terms used were: alopecia, stress, psychology, treatment, anxiety, depression, and trauma. We also examined the reference lists of articles found. We included all studies that focused on the psychological consequences of alopecia, irrespective of method used. Studies were excluded if they focused on androgenetic alopecia. We included studies relating to hair loss from chemotherapy, as some of the evidence shows that such hair loss can be psychologically damaging beyond the impact of the chemotherapy. We included a total of 34 studies in the analysis (table). …

Cognitive processing, rumination, and posttraumatic growth

Intrusive thoughts about traumatic events are an important factor in determining the development of posttraumatic growth, although research has focused on the frequency rather than the type of intrusions. Based on cognitive processing models of posttraumatic growth, the authors present two cross-sectional studies exploring different types of intrusive ruminations about trauma and their associations with posttraumatic growth. Study 1 examines brooding and reflection; Study 2 uses measures of both deliberate and intrusive rumination regarding a past trauma. The results indicate that intrusive reexperiencing and ruminative brooding are not significantly associated with posttraumatic growth, whereas deliberate rumination is significantly positively associated with posttraumatic growth (β = .44, p < .001) and reflection (partial r = .20, p = .003) is positively associated with posttraumatic growth in the context of low brooding.

A Practical Guide to the E-Mail Interview

The e-mail interview is a novel technique that has a number of advantages over traditional interviewing, but there are also some disadvantages. In this methodological article, the authors review the issues surrounding the use of the e-mail interview, providing a concrete example of its use, that of interviewing people with alopecia areata regarding psychological issues associated with the disorder. The authors show in the article that the e-mail interview is an effective interview technique but that users must take account of a number of sensitive issues, and there are a number of serious disadvantages that limit its use to specific areas. The e-mail interview cannot be used simply as a cheap alternative to face-to-face interviews in all circumstances.

Executive function deficits in short‐term abstinent cannabis users

Few cognitive tasks are adequately sensitive to show the small decrements in performance in abstinent chronic cannabis users. In this series of three experiments we set out to demonstrate a variety of tasks that are sufficiently sensitive to show differences in visual memory, verbal memory, everyday memory and executive function between controls and cannabis users.

The long-term consequences of war: the experience of World War II

Abstract Seven hundred and thirty-one World War II and Korean War veterans completed a questionnaire about their experiences and their current psychological reactions to the war. Nineteen percent scored above the cut-off points for both the General Health Questionnaire and the (war-related) Impact of Event Scale, demonstrating that, even over 50 years after the event, many veterans still experience problems relating to their war experiences. Psychological distress was in part directly related to particular experiences, but intrusion and avoidance both played an important role as mediating variables. Other factors, such as prisoner of war (POW) status, type of service, rank, and illness were also considered. The findings indicate that the effects of a traumatic experience such as war can persist into later life.

Memory and Meaning: Individual and Social Aspects of Memory Narratives

Memory is critical to an understanding of traumatic stress, but most research has focused on individual traumatic memories and not accounted for broader social and cultural memories. The present theoretical article focuses on memory and meaning, and the clinical implications of this, demonstrating that an understanding of traumatic memory requires an understanding of the impact of both individual narrative and societal discourse. Without meaning, memory is nothing. This applies equally to traumatic memory. This position is discussed in relation to the study of aging war veterans, their traumatic memories, and the development of narratives to explain difficult past life events.

World war II veterans, social support, and veterans' associations.

Abstract People use many different coping strategies to deal with their traumatic recollections. Twenty-five British World War II veterans were interviewed regarding the ways they used social support both during the war and in the years afterwards. The findings demonstrate that social support is used in fundamentally different ways. During the war comradeship was particularly important and even fifty years after the war comrades are still a valuable resource for discussing war experiences, and dealing with the emotional content of traumatic recollections. Veterans rely on wives and families to help deal with the more physical and practical elements of coping, but tend not to discuss their traumatic memories with them. The findings show that social support is an important lifelong coping strategy for World War II veterans.

A randomised controlled pilot study: the effectiveness of narrative exposure therapy with adult survivors of the Sichuan earthquake

BackgroundPost-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) is a common psychological reaction after large-scale natural disasters. Given the number of people involved and shortage of resources in any major disaster, brief, pragmatic and easily trainable interventions are needed. The aim of this study is to evaluate the efficacy of Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) as a short-term treatment for PTSD using Chinese earthquake survivors.MethodsA randomized waiting-list control pilot study was conducted between December 2009 and March 2010, at the site of the Sichuan earthquake in Beichuan County, China. Adult participants with newly diagnosed Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) were randomly allocated to Narrative Exposure Therapy (NET) or a Waiting-List (WL) condition. The latter received NET treatment after a two-week waiting period. To compare the effectiveness of NET in traumatised earthquake survivors, both groups were assessed on PTSD symptoms, general mental health, anxiety and depression, social support, coping style and posttraumatic change before and after treatment and two months post treatment.ResultsAdult participants (n=22) were randomly allocated to receive NET (n=11) or WL (n=11). Twenty two participants (11 in NET group, 11 in WL) were included in the analysis of primary outcomes. Compared with WL, NET showed significant reductions in PTSD symptoms, anxiety and depression, general mental stress and increased posttraumatic growth. The WL group later showed similar improvements after treatment. These changes remained stable for a two-month follow-up. Measures of social support and coping showed no stable effects.ConclusionsNET is effective in treating post-earthquake traumatic symptoms in adult Chinese earthquake survivors. The findings help advance current knowledge in the management of PTSD after natural disasters and inform future research. Larger sample sizes are needed to extend the present findings.Trial registrationChinese Clinical Trial Registry ChiCTR-TRC-12002473

Falklands War veterans’ perceptions of social support and the reconciliation of traumatic memories

The current paper focused on the role social support plays in the reconciliation of traumatic memories. Four currently serving, male Royal Marines ranging from 40–42 years participated in semi-structured one-to-one interviews that explored perceptions of social support. Using thematic analysis, comradeship was found to be important in terms of maintaining support networks. However, this resource was used to avoid the reconciliation of traumatic memories. Social support from family members was sought when veterans were reassured that relatives would understand their experiences, and could support reconciliation. The importance of positive societal reaction was also emphasized. The paper concludes by highlighting the potential for early life reconciliation of traumatic war memories through the creation of a meaningful personal narrative.