Patricia L. Kaminski

Hippocampal volume and memory performance in a community‐based sample of women with posttraumatic stress disorder secondary to child abuse

Childhood abuse is linked to posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which follows abuse survivors into adulthood. This study identified the neuropsychological and neuromorphological sequelae of PTSD among prepubescently abused women. Right-handed women aged 20–40 years were placed into PTSD and abuse, abuse only, and normal control groups (n = 17 per group). Participants were screened for trauma history and psychiatric symptoms, demographically matched, and given neuropsychological tests and a magnetic resonance scan of their brain. Women with PTSD did not express significant deficits in memory performance or hippocampal volume when compared with the abuse and normal control groups.

Childhood Emotional Abuse, Adult Attachment, and Depression as Predictors of Relational Adjustment and Psychological Aggression

This study examined the theoretically expected contributions of early emotional abuse, adult attachment, and depression to several aspects of romantic relationship functioning. College students in dating relationships (N = 285) completed an online survey, including measures of childhood emotional maltreatment, adult attachment style, psychological distress, and romantic relationships. Results indicated that childhood emotional maltreatment directly predicted insecure adult attachment. In the full models, emotional maltreatment contributed to dyadic adjustment, but was not a significant predictor of psychological aggression or victimization. In contrast, depression accounted for the largest proportion of variance in the models for reported psychological aggression and victimization, but was nonsignificant for dyadic adjustment. Adult attachment style emerged as an important predictor of all 3 relationship constructs.

Grandparents Raising Their Grandchildren

Abstract Grandparents who raise their grandchildren have become more prevalent as an alternate family form that is, by its very nature, intergenerational in character. This paper explores the state of our knowledge about such grandparents in light of the following themes: (1) the diversity among grandparent caregivers, (2) the importance of social support for such persons and the impact of raising a grandchild on relationships with others, (3) theoretical perspectives on grandparents raising their grandchildren, (4) the salience of issues related to parenting among grandparent caregivers, and (5) interventions with custodial grandparents. The implications of these issues for current and future cohorts of grandparent caregivers are discussed, as are directions that future work with such grandparents might take in light of these issues.

Men, muscles, and mood: The relationship between self-concept, dysphoria, and body image disturbances☆

Beginning in the early 1990s investigations into the body image concerns of men have increased, and this study adds to extant research by examining correlates of more general body dissatisfaction (BD) and symptoms of muscle dysmorphia (MD) in particular. Three hundred four undergraduate men completed a broad-based symptom inventory, a self-concept questionnaire, and an instrument that assessed problematic body image, eating, and exercise patterns as well as specific symptoms of MD. Multiple regression analyses suggest that lower ratings of overall self-concept and higher levels of depression, anxiety, and interpersonal sensitivity are predictive of body image concerns in men. Furthermore, these variables accounted for almost twice the variance in general BD than they did for specific symptoms of MD. In addition, anorexic and bulimic behaviors, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and risk factors for interpersonal problems were also associated with symptoms of MD, even when BD was controlled.

Typical and Optimal Aging in Women and Men: Is There a Double Standard?

Gender stereotypes of typical and optimal, mentally healthy aging were examined with sixty-year-old and seventy-five-year-old women, men and gender-unspecified older people as target persons. Respondents were young adult individuals (N = 232) and their older adult relatives/acquaintances (N = 233). Perceptions of typical aging varied depending on the age of the respondent, the target gender and the target age. Gender stereotypes were more pronounced than age stereotypes: respondents described same-gender targets more similarly than same-age targets. Older women were rated higher on dimensions related to nurturance while older men were rated higher on intellectual competence and autonomy. Perceptions of optimal aging were not found to be affected by the gender of the respondent or target. Views of optimal aging, however, were influenced by respondent and target age. These findings suggest a double standard of aging for typical but not for optimal aging.

RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN GRIEF AND FAMILY SYSTEM CHARACTERISTICS: A CROSS LAGGED LONGITUDINAL ANALYSIS

The present study explored the question of whether the grief process affects the characteristics of relationships within the family system or, alternatively, whether family characteristics affect the experience of grief symptoms. Sixty-one people who had recently experienced the death of a parent (82%) or spouse (18%) completed a questionnaire to assess their current grief symptomatology and characteristics of the relationships within their family 4-5 weeks after the death, and again six months later. Results from cross-lagged panel analyses suggested that increased expression of family affect, family cohesion, and both higher total Family Environment Scale and Family Assessment Measure Version III General scores were predictors of fewer grief symptoms over time. Overall, these results suggest that knowledge of a variety of aspects of a familys structure and process shortly after a death may help predict the later grief of the loss of a loved one.

Gender Differences in Body Esteem Among Older Adults

ABSTRACT Ninety-five adults aged 60–91 completed measures of Body-as-Object Esteem (BOE) (i.e., appearance) and Body-as-Process Esteem (BPE) (i.e., function) to explore gender differences in body esteem among older adults. As hypothesized, a significant age by gender interaction revealed that men become more disparaging of the appearance and function of their bodies in their last decades of life, while women do not. Level of physical disability was negatively correlated with BOE, particularly for disabled women. Furthermore, as is seen across the life-span, self-esteem is a significant predictor of BOE. Disabled participants who were older than 74 years had disproportionately low BPE scores and similarly poor global self-esteem. Whether working with older adults or studying body esteem in this population, it is vital that both dimensions of body esteem are assessed along with the impact of disability status, gender, self-esteem, and age.

The Role of Attachment Style in Coping with Job Loss and the Empty Nest in Adulthood.

The current study employed a life events perspective to examine the relationship between attachment style and both adjustment and coping processes in adults during two specific life events involving both the loss of and a renegotiation of an attachment relationship: the launching of children from the family of origin and job loss, which represent both normative and nonnormative transitions, respectively. Using median splits for each attachment dimension (closeness, dependency, and anxiety) to define secure, anxious, and avoidant styles, based on the work of Collins and Read, analyses failed to yield a significant multivariate life event by style interaction. However, a statistically significant multivariate main effect for life event and for attachment style was obtained. Additionally, findings suggested that to a certain extent, the impact of attachment style and life events is moderated by gender, wherein a supplemental analysis yielded a significant life event by gender by level of closeness interaction. The data support the notion that securely attached individuals may be more equipped to meet developmental life challenges in adulthood, and extend previous work that is limited to women and to the empty nest.

Factitious Psychological Disorders: The Overlooked Response Style in Forensic Evaluations

ABSTRACT Forensic psychologists face two formidable challenges in the assessment of feigned mental disorders, not only identifying bogus presentations but also determining their primary motivation. Regarding the type of motivation, factitious presentations are largely overshadowed in forensic assessments by malingering. The study addresses the diagnostic conundrums inherent in distinguishing factitial from malingered presentations. As the first analogue research, it examines two factitious conditions (i.e., dependent and demanding interpersonal styles) and a malingered disability case. Advanced doctoral students in psychology were used because of their sophisticated understanding. They were administered the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI) and Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) via a simulation design. Contrary to expectations, few differences were found between factitial and malingering conditions on these measures. Of conceptual significance, results indicated that both factitious groups espoused an acute need for treatment. Of clinical relevance, the PAI Defensiveness Index produced moderate to large effect sizes between malingering and factitious presentations. Finally, the SIMS did not differentiate types of feigned condition, although a new index appears promising.

Perceptions of the Losses Experienced by Custodial Grandmothers

The purpose of this study was to investigate factors that influence societal perceptions of grandparents who have become custodians of their grandchildren. Over 1200 adult volunteers evaluated a randomly assigned scenario describing a grandparent raising a grandchild, where scenarios varied in terms of grandchild gender, grandparent ethnicity, the presence/absence of grandchild problems, and the reason for the assumption of the grandparent caregiving role. Subjects rated scenarios according to the extent to which they thought the custodial grandparent was experiencing a variety of losses. Overall, perceptions of loss were greater for grandmothers whose grandchild was experiencing an emotional/ behavioral problem, and for those grandmothers whose grandchild had been abandoned or abused, or whose adult child had died, been incarcerated, or abused drugs. Due to an interaction between ethnicity and reason for role assumption, however, those findings are best interpreted in the context of the ethnicity of the grandparent. Depending on the context, respondents were less sensitive to losses suffered by Hispanic, African American, or Caucasian grandmothers. These data suggest that ethnicity of the grandparent and reason for assuming the custodial role affect the degree to which people are sensitive to the losses that custodial grandparents experience. These differences are likely to affect the extent to which others publicly acknowledge the grief of custodial grandparents. Moreover, ethnic stereotypes may interfere with an equitable allocation of social support for, and services to, grandparent caregivers. In this light, researchers should continue to study these disparities, as they are likely to affect the adjustment of grandparents to the custodial role.