Behavioral Sciences — Open Access Journal

Several studies have examined the cognitive profile of people with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (ASD) (IQ > 70), and its relationship with the symptoms of ASD and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV (WISC-IV). However, no data exist on the similarities or differences in this profile in less affluent countries. The present study examined the cognitive profile and its relationship with the symptoms of ASD and ADHD in 30 subjects aged 6–16 years with high-functioning ASD and compared the results with those of 30 typically developing (TD) subjects. In line with previous research findings, the WISC-IV cognitive profile analysis of subjects with high-functioning ASD showed a good competence in Matrix Reasoning and weaknesses in Comprehension, but the main distinguishing point was the competence in processing speed in both groups. In the present study, the Verbal Comprehension Index correlated negatively with the communication symptoms, and the Working Memory Index correlated positively with the social symptoms in the ASD group. Given the similarities that exist between the results of the present research and previous studies, it may be concluded that there are similarities in the cognitive profile of individuals with ASD. Full article

Social networking sites (SNSs) have become ubiquitous in our everyday lives, and for all its communicative benefits, excessive SNS use has been associated with a range of negative health implications. In the present study, the authors use eye-tracking methodology to explore the relationship between individual differences in personality, mental well-being, SNS usage, and the focus of Facebook users’ visual attention. Participants (n = 69, mean age = 23.09, SD = 7.54) completed questionnaire measures for personality and to examine changes in depression, anxiety, stress, and self-esteem. They then engaged in a Facebook session while their eye movements and fixations were recorded. These fixations were coded as being directed to social and update areas of interest (AOI) of the Facebook interface. An exploratory analysis of personality factors revealed a negative correlation between openness to experience and inspection times for the updates AOI and an unexpected negative relationship between extraversion and inspection times for social AOI. There were correlations between changes in depression score and inspection of updated AOI, with reduced depression scores associated with increased inspection of updates. Finally, self-reported duration of participants’ typical Facebook sessions did not correlate with eye-tracking measures but were associated with increased Facebook addiction scores and greater increases in depression scores. These initial findings indicate that there are differences in the outcomes of interacting with Facebook which can vary based on Facebook addiction, personality variables, and the Facebook features that individuals interact with. Full article

The present study evaluates the psychometric properties of the Conflicts in Romantic Relationships Over Facebook Use Scale with a sample of Puerto Rican adults. A total of 300 Puerto Ricans participated in this confirmatory and psychometric study. The results confirmed that the scale has a multidimensional structure. These dimensions are: Partner Facebook intrusion, Conflict over Facebook use, and Jealousy over Facebook use. A total of 18 items complied with the criteria of discrimination and presented appropriate factorial loads (six items per dimension). The Cronbach’s alpha indexes of the dimensions ranged between 0.87–0.95, and the omega coefficients ranged between 0.88–0.95. In summary, the instrument has the appropriate psychometric properties to continue with validation studies, as well as to be implemented in various work areas, both theoretical and applied. Full article

Violence against women on college campuses continues to be a pervasive public health problem with approximately one in five women experiencing sexual assault and one in nine women experiencing rape while in college. The current study examined relationship and sexual violence among National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) Division I universities. Based on previous research, Division I universities seem to report higher rates of sexual assault, but within-group differences have yet to be examined. The data include 1422 four-year private and public institutions with at least 1000 students who submitted Clery data (2014) on rape, domestic and dating violence, and stalking. Division I campuses reported significantly higher reports of violence against women compared to Division II, III, and universities with no athletic programs. There were no differences in violence reported across the three subdivisions within Division I, however, certain conferences reported significantly higher relationship and sexual violence within the football bowl and football championship subdivisions. These findings have important implications for targeting higher risk campuses, such as the Big 10, Big 12, Ivy League, Pac-12, and SEC with much needed sexual assault prevention programs. Full article

Background: Although high educational attainment is linked to better health and lower health risk behaviors, this effect may be systemically smaller for racial and ethnic minority groups compared to Whites. However, it is still unknown whether these diminished returns also apply to marginalization based on sexual orientation. Aims: In a national sample of adults which was composed of people of color, we compared straight and homosexual people for the association between education attainment and obesity. Methods: The Social Justice Sexuality Project (SJS-2010) is a cross-sectional national survey of health and wellbeing of predominantly people of color who identify as homosexual. The current analysis included 2884 adults (age 24 or more) who were either heterosexual (n = 260) or homosexual (n = 2624). The predictor variable was education attainment, and the outcome variable was obesity status (body mass index larger than 30 kg/m² [kilograms per meter squared]). Demographic factors (age and gender), household income, nativity (US born vs. immigrant), and health (self-rated health and current smoking) were the covariates. Sexual orientation was the moderator. Results: In the pooled sample, high education attainment was protective against obesity status. Sexual orientation interacted with education attainment on odds of obesity, which was suggestive of stronger protective effects of high education attainment against obesity for heterosexual than homosexual individuals. Conclusion: High education attainment better protects heterosexual than homosexual people against obesity, a pattern similar to what has been observed for comparison of Whites and non-Whites. Smaller protective effects of education attainment on health behaviors of marginalized people are possibly, due to prejudice and discrimination that they experience. Discrimination may minimize stigmatized individuals’ abilities to mobilize their economic and human resources and translate them to tangible outcomes. This finding extends the Minorities’ Diminished Returns theory, suggesting that it is not just race/ethnicity but possibly any marginalizing and stigmatizing social identity that results in diminished returns of socioeconomic status resources. Full article

Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are classified as a somatoform conversion disorder. We present a case of a 24-year-old male with a past psychiatric history of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and anxiety disorder, admitted to our inpatient psychiatric unit. The patient experienced multiple episodes of seizures during hospitalization. Work up was unremarkable, and PNES were suspected and later confirmed with video-electroencephalography (video-EEG). He underwent supervised withdrawal of antiepileptic medications with the initiation of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which reduced the frequency of seizures. Diagnosis of PNES can present as a challenge and failure to diagnose its psychological nature can lead to a delay in the psychological intervention. CBT leads to a decrease in seizure frequency, and improvement in psychiatric symptoms, psychosocial functioning, and quality of life. It is important to consider PNES in the differential diagnosis of seizures presented by psychiatric patients, as CBT is necessary for better patient outcomes. Full article

Unpaid caregivers (CG) provide most of the assistance to persons with dementias (PWD) living in the community. This study explores the current state of knowledge regarding the concept of sense of coherence (SOC) and CG of PWD via a concept analysis. The identified defining attributes were health, health-related quality of life (HRQoL), CG burden, CG stress, coping as a strength, gender, and decreasing sense of CG coherence over the progression of the disease (dementia). Further study by health care professionals using clinical observations, large samples of respondents, a consistent theory, valid and reliable instruments used to measure defining attributes consistently, and critical reviews of the literature are needed. Full article

Black adolescent and young adult women in the United States experience a disproportionately higher rate of HIV infections than White and Hispanic adolescent and young adult women. Heterosexual sexual activity is the main route of infection for women, regardless of race or ethnicity. We examined two potential barriers to reducing Black adolescent and young adult women’s HIV risk: high levels of self-silencing and low levels of sexual relationship power. Data were collected on a small convenience sample of sexually active Black college-aged women (N = 57, M_age = 19.6, SD = 1.4) who answered questions about their current or most recent dating relationship. We found that higher levels of self-silencing were significantly related to lower condom use frequency and to a lower likelihood of reporting condom use at last sex. No significant associations were found between sexual relationship power and condom use (frequency or at last sex). Data from this study suggest that self-silencing, which involves putting the needs of others ahead of one’s own in order to avoid conflict in relationships, is an important variable to consider when examining potential risk factors for sexually transmitted HIV among Black college-aged women. Implications for future studies on HIV risk are reviewed. Full article

Sleep disturbances are very common in children with autism; it is for this reason that instruments that facilitate their evaluation are necessary. Objectives: Perform sleep assessment from a subjective perspective in a group of children with primary autism and compare them with a control group, using the Sleep Habits in Children Survey (CSHQ), with the purpose of determining sleep disturbances according to the subscales used. Method: A prospective cross-sectional study was conducted in a group of 21 patients with primary autism. For the evaluation of sleep disturbances, we chose the CSHQ survey. The differences between the independent groups were calculated by applying a Mann–Whitney U test. Results: In the group of children with autism, higher values of the total scale were observed in comparison with the control group (p = 0.00) which It is congruent with a large sleep dysfunction. Significant differences were observed for all subscales (p = 0.00), with the exception of the subscale number 7. Conclusions: A high presence of sleep disturbances was observed in children with primary autism, with the exception of sleep breathing disorders, which did not show significant differences between the groups. Full article

Introduction: There is growing scientific interest in understanding the biological mechanisms affecting and/or underlying violent behaviors in order to develop effective treatment and prevention programs. In recent years, neuroscientific research has tried to demonstrate whether the intrinsic activity within the brain at rest in the absence of any external stimulation (resting-state functional connectivity; RSFC) could be employed as a reliable marker for several cognitive abilities and personality traits that are important in behavior regulation, particularly, proneness to violence. Aims: This review aims to highlight the association between the RSFC among specific brain structures and the predisposition to experiencing anger and/or responding to stressful and distressing situations with anger in several populations. Methods: The scientific literature was reviewed following the PRISMA quality criteria for reviews, using the following digital databases: PubMed, PsycINFO, Psicodoc, and Dialnet. Results: The identification of 181 abstracts and retrieval of 34 full texts led to the inclusion of 17 papers. The results described in our study offer a better understanding of the brain networks that might explain the tendency to experience anger. The majority of the studies highlighted that diminished RSFC between the prefrontal cortex and the amygdala might make people prone to reactive violence, but that it is also necessary to contemplate additional cortical (i.e., insula, gyrus [angular, supramarginal, temporal, fusiform, superior, and middle frontal], anterior and posterior cingulated cortex) and subcortical brain structures (i.e., hippocampus, cerebellum, ventral striatum, and nucleus centralis superior) in order to explain a phenomenon as complex as violence. Moreover, we also described the neural pathways that might underlie proactive violence and feelings of revenge, highlighting the RSFC between the OFC, ventral striatal, angular gyrus, mid-occipital cortex, and cerebellum. Conclusions. The results from this synthesis and critical analysis of RSFC findings in several populations offer guidelines for future research and for developing a more accurate model of proneness to violence, in order to create effective treatment and prevention programs. Full article

Recent research has distinguished between actual posttraumatic growth (PTG) and perceived PTG. We used a prospective research design to measure both actual and perceived PTG in an attempt to replicate and extend previous findings. We examined college students (N = 64) who experienced a traumatic event between the start (Time 1) and end (Time 2) of a semester. We included three measures of change from pre- to post-trauma: (1) Actual PTG (change scores in measures of PTG domains), (2) perceived general growth (Time 2 ratings of functioning at Time 1 subtracted from actual ratings given at Time 1), and (3) perceived PTG (self-reports of PTG on the posttraumatic growth inventory). The results revealed perceived general growth and actual PTG were significantly correlated, suggesting that participants’ perceptions of change were accurate. However, perceived PTG was not significantly related to either actual PTG or perceived general growth. Further, increases in actual PTG and perceived general growth were significantly related to decreases in distress and unrelated to coping. By contrast, higher levels of perceived PTG were significantly related to increases in distress and higher levels of avoidance coping. Our results suggest perceived PTG may be more of a coping process than an accurate recall of posttraumatic change. Full article

According to the minorities’ diminished returns (MDR) theory, socioeconomic status (SES) indicators such as education attainment have smaller protective effects on health risk behaviors for racial and ethnic minority groups in comparison to the ‘dominant’ social group. However, most studies of MDR theory have been on comparison of Blacks versus Whites. Much less is known about diminished returns of SES in ethnic subpopulations (i.e., Hispanics versus non-Hispanic Whites). To test whether MDR also holds for the social patterning of problematic alcohol use among Hispanic and non-Hispanic Whites, this study investigated ethnic variations in the association between education attainment and alcohol binge drinking frequency in a population-based sample of adults. Los Angeles Family and Neighborhood Survey, 2001, included 907 non-Hispanic White and 2117 Hispanic White adults (≥18 years old). Hispanic ethnicity (moderator), education attainment (independent variable), alcohol binge drinking frequency (dependent variable), and gender, age, immigration status, employment status, self-rated health, and history of depression (confounders) were included in four linear regressions. In the overall sample that included both non-Hispanic and Hispanic Whites, higher education attainment was correlated with lower alcohol binge drinking frequency (b = −0.05, 95% CI = −0.09–−0.02), net of covariates. A significant interaction was found between ethnicity and education attainment (b = 0.09; 95% CI = 0.00–0.17), indicating a stronger protective effect of high education attainment against alcohol binge drinking frequency for non-Hispanic than Hispanic Whites. In ethnic-stratified models, higher level of education attainment was associated with lower binge drinking frequency among non-Hispanic Whites (b = −0.11, 95% CI = −0.19–−0.03), but not among Hispanic Whites (b = −0.01, 95% CI = −0.04–0.03). While, overall, higher education attainment is associated with lower frequency of alcohol binge drinking, this protective effect of education attainment seems to be weaker among Hispanic Whites compared to non-Hispanic Whites, a phenomenon consistent with the MDR theory. Full article

This research revealed the children with difficulties in attentional functions among healthy children attending primary school and aimed to identify the possible sociodemographic factors, such as the child’s age, gender, and school grade, that could influence attentive performance. The participants were 105 children aged 6–10 years (M age = 8.6; SD = 1.04), attending primary schools. Family economic condition was mostly at a medium level (63.5%), and parents most frequently had 13 years of schooling. The computerized test KiTAP was administered to children to assess their attentional functions. Results showed a higher frequency of omissions and false alarms and a reduced speed in alertness, go/no-go, and sustained attention tasks compared to Italian norms. Hierarchical regression analyses were run with school grade, gender, and current age as independent variables and mean reaction times (and standard deviation), number of omissions, and false alarms as dependent ones. The results showed that male gender and attending a lower grade impacted on lower attentional performance in several subtests. Girls showed the best performances in tests of distractibility and impulsive reaction tendencies, while higher school grade positively influenced divided and sustained attention. These results could be useful to identify children with major attentional difficulties, and some recommendations for future studies and the implementation of attention empowerment programmes are proposed. Full article

Patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease present sleep disorders with a higher frequency than the general population. The sleep architecture in these patients shows variations with respect to the normal population, so in this work it was decided to investigate the characteristics of the macroarchitecture of sleep in patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. A polysomnographic study was carried out on 77 patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. All the studies were processed according to the AASM Manual for the Scoring of Sleep and Associated Events v.2.2, and to the criteria of the International Classification of Sleep Disorders 3rd ed. (2014). Processing was carried out using descriptive statistics, as well as non-parametric analysis for comparison between cases and controls. The group of patients showed significant reductions of the N2, N3, and REM sleep stages when compared with a control group, as well as a significant increase in intra-sleep wakefulness. The number of REM–NoREM sleep cycles and sleep efficiency showed marked reduction compared to the control group. There was a statistically significant difference in the macroarchitecture of sleep between patients diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and healthy controls. Full article

Recording of team meeting’s processes with electronic devices can be problematic because of the invasiveness of the process: issues with privacy; interpretation difficulty with noise or quiet speech; and distortion of participants’ behaviour. There is a need for less intrusive methods. We developed the interaction diagram method by extending the directed graph nature of sociograms to capture the time sequence of events, including the identification of the person, communication behaviour, and duration of interactions. The method was tested on engineering team meetings. Data processing by quantitative and qualitative analysis is shown to be feasible. Several team roles were observed in the engineering context: Initiator; Passive collector; Explorer; Information provider; Facilitator; Arbitrator; Representative; Gatekeeper; Connector; and Outsider. The work provides a graphical representation of the record of the interaction flow during meetings. It does this without needing video recording. It is also an efficient method, as it does not require subsequent transcription or coding. It provides a procedure to quickly analyse communication situations, identify group roles, and compare group activity at different meetings. Full article

Administration of erythropoietin (EPO) is neuroprotective against a variety of experimentally-induced neurological disorders. The aim was to determine if EPO protects against hippocampal neurodegeneration as well as impairment of cognition and motor performance, associated with long-term diabetes. BALB/c mice were randomly allocated between control, diabetic and EPO-treated diabetic groups. EPO-treated diabetic mice were administered EPO 0.05 U/kg/day i.p. three times/week for 10 weeks. Cognition was assessed by Morris water maze. Brain samples were processed for light microscopic evaluation of hippocampus. Controls showed gradual improvement of cognitive performance in water maze when comparing latency (p < 0.01) and distance swum to reach the platform (p = 0.001). There was a similar trend for improvement in EPO-treated diabetics (p < 0.001). Latency did not improve in diabetic animals indicating lack of learning (p = 0.79). In probe trials, controls and EPO-treated diabetics spent more time in the training quadrant than expected by chance (p < 0.001). Diabetics did not show memory recall behavior; performance was significantly worse than expected by chance (p = 0.023). In diabetics, there was neurodegeneration in hippocampus and reduction in number of granule cells (p < 0.01) in the dentate gyrus. EPO treatment improved these neurodegenerative changes and preserved numbers of granule cells (p < 0.1, compared to controls). Erythropoietin treatment is protective against cognitive deficits and hippocampal neurodegeneration in diabetic mice. Full article

Real-life stressors, such as university examination, cause an increase in sympathetic activity of the nervous system innervating the heart, and thus an increase in heart rate (HR). Our study aimed to detect changes in heart rate variability (HRV) during different stages of an exam in a group of 90 healthy university students (30 males and 60 females), over 4 h of monitoring divided into 1 h before, 2 h during, and 1 h after the examination. HRV was significantly highest after the exam, indicating release from stress, as compared to before and during the examination when stress was observable. Undergraduate students in different academic years did not differ in terms of stress, indicating the absence of adaptation to exam procedures. However, HR and R-R interval after the exam showed significant difference between first year undergraduate studies and first year of a graduate program, indicating a higher degree of confidence in graduate students. Results also suggest that HRV in females is significantly lower than that in males before and after examination, despite men having greater sympathetic input. In conclusion, the results of our novel study assessing stress in real-time examination show important gender differences, and lack of adaptation with academic study year. Full article

How perceptual limits can be reduced has long been examined by psychologists. This study investigated whether visual cues, blindfolding, visual-auditory synesthetic experience, and musical training could facilitate a smaller frequency difference limen (FDL) in a gliding frequency discrimination test. Ninety university students, with no visual or auditory impairment, were recruited for this one-between (blindfolded/visual cues) and one-within (control/experimental session) designed study. Their FDLs were tested by an alternative forced-choice task (gliding upwards/gliding downwards/no change) and two questionnaires (Vividness of Mental Imagery Questionnaire and Projector–Associator Test) were used to assess their tendency to synesthesia. The participants provided with visual cues and with musical training showed a significantly smaller FDL; on the other hand, being blindfolded or having a synesthetic experience before could not significantly reduce the FDL. However, no pattern was found between the perception of the gliding upwards and gliding downwards frequencies. Overall, the current study suggests that the inter-sensory perception can be enhanced through the training and facilitation of visual–auditory interaction under the multiple resource model. Future studies are recommended in order to verify the effects of music practice on auditory percepts, and the different mechanisms between perceiving gliding upwards and downwards frequencies. Full article