Beyond Face and Voice: A Review of Alexithymia and Emotion Perception in Music, Odor, Taste, and Touch

Alexithymia is a clinically relevant personality trait characterized by deficits in recognizing and verbalizing one's emotions. It has been shown that alexithymia is related to an impaired perception of external emotional stimuli, but previous research focused on emotion perception from faces and voices. Since sensory modalities represent rather distinct input channels it is important to know whether alexithymia also affects emotion perception in other modalities and expressive domains. The objective of our review was to summarize and systematically assess the literature on the impact of alexithymia on the perception of emotional (or hedonic) stimuli in music, odor, taste, and touch. Eleven relevant studies were identified. On the basis of the reviewed research, it can be preliminary concluded that alexithymia might be associated with deficits in the perception of primarily negative but also positive emotions in music and a reduced perception of aversive taste. The data available on olfaction and touch are inconsistent or ambiguous and do not allow to draw conclusions. Future investigations would benefit from a multimethod assessment of alexithymia and control of negative affect. Multimodal research seems necessary to advance our understanding of emotion perception deficits in alexithymia and clarify the contribution of modality-specific and supramodal processing impairments.

Vineland-3 Structural Validity and Interpretability of Domain Scores: Implications for Practitioners Assessing Adolescents With Developmental Conditions

The Vineland-3 purports to measure three dimensions of adaptive behavior, but empirical evidence pertaining to its structural validity is lacking. In this study, factor analyses were conducted on the standardization sample data for the comprehensive forms within the 11- to 20-year-old age range. Results did not support the three domain structure of the test and indicated domain scores did not add additional information about an individual's adaptive performance that was not already accounted for by the Adaptive Behavior Composite (ABC) score alone. Practitioners assessing adolescents with developmental conditions should consider using the ABC score within a multimethod assessment protocol for the various purposes of adaptive behavior assessment including the identification of intellectual disability.

Multimethod Assessment of Personality and Psychopathology

Multimethod assessment of personality and psychopathology plays a central role in diagnosis, treatment planning, and risk management. This chapter presents an evidence-based framework for multimethod assessment of personality and psychopathology in clinical and research settings, with an emphasis on test score integration. To implement this framework the clinician must: (a) understand the intra- and interpersonal processes that underlie different assessment methods; (b) interpret meaningful test score divergences as well as convergences; and (c) contextualize work in this area using ideas and findings from beyond clinical psychology. Following a discussion of major personality and psychopathology assessment tools and the intra- and interpersonal dynamics that influence responses to interviews, self-attribution tests (which have traditionally been identified as objective or self-report tests), and stimulus-attribution measures (traditionally labeled projective tests), conceptual, clinical, and empirical implications of current findings in this area are discussed. A template for multimethod assessment in clinical settings is presented, using personality pathology as an exemplar. A multimethod, process-focused approach to test score validation is described, which yields separate indices of outcome-focused and process-focused validity. Finally, the principles of multimethod assessment are applied to emerging models of personality and psychopathology.

Join-Me: um framework para integração entre provedores de serviços e operadores de redes móveis

Com a popularização dos smartphones e do acesso móvel à Internet, Provedores de Serviços e Operadores de Redes Móveis têm empregado significativos esforços para elevar a qualidade de experiência (QoE) dos usuários. Observa-se, no entanto, que em tais esforços não há uma integração entre ambas as partes, que permitiria o uso avançado e sob demanda de recursos para impactar positivamente na QoE dos usuários. Para suprir esta lacuna, este trabalho apresenta Join-Me, um framework que possibilita que Provedores de Serviços transfiram módulos de seus serviços para a infraestrutura dos Operadores de Redes Móveis. Com a gestão de tais módulos feita internamente pela rede, os serviços podem ser entregues tão próximos do usuário quanto necessário, contando com uma gerência dinâmica de recursos e respeitando a privacidade do usuário. Join-Me define, além dos componentes funcionais necessários, uma interface que permite aos Provedores de Serviços especificarem, para cada um dos módulos de um serviço, a demanda por uso de recursos, pela qual serão tarifados adequadamente. Um serviço de telemedicina interativa com vídeo de ultra alta definição é utilizado como prova de conceito, sendo avaliada com o método de Video Multimethod Assessment Fusion, de forma a demonstrar concretamente o ganho de QoE como intencionado por Join-Me.

Adolescente no contexto das altas habilidades/superdotação: avaliação psicopedagógica

<p>Trata-se de estudo de caso, objetivando-se pôr à prova a suspeita de características de altas habilidades/superdotação (AH/SD) em um adolescente de 12 anos, do sexo masculino, realizando-se dez sessões de avaliação psicopedagógica. Após anamnese detalhada com a mãe e com o adolescente, foram empreendidos testes psicopedagógicos e um de eficiência intelectual, aplicado por uma psicóloga colaboradora, como forma de avaliação multirreferencial e multimétodos. O adolescente foi avaliado com bons recursos intelectuais; todavia, características de AH/SD foram vistas apenas pela mãe, e não pelos professores participantes. Acompanhamento assistido em atividades e oferecimento de enriquecimento curricular nas áreas de seu interesse (dentro ou fora da sala de aula) e no nível de seu desempenho foram prescritos.</p><p><strong>Palavras-chave: </strong>Avaliação Assistida, Aluno com Altas Habilidades/Superdotação, Interação Professor-aluno.</p><p> </p><p><strong>Adolescente en el contexto de las altas habilidades/superdotación: evaluación psicopedagógica</strong></p><p>Se trata de un estudio de caso, que tuvo el objetivo de poner a prueba la sospecha de características de altas habilidades/superdotación (AH/SD) en un adolescente de 12 años, del sexo masculino; se realizaron diez sesiones de evaluación psicopedagógica. Después de anamnesis detallada con la madre y el adolescente, se realizaron tests psicopedagógicos y uno de eficiencia intelectual, aplicado por una psicóloga colaboradora, como forma de evaluación multirreferencial y multimétodos. El adolescente fue evaluado como teniendo buenos recursos intelectuales; aun considerando esto, características de AH/SD fueron vistas solo por la madre y no por los profesores participantes. Se prescribió acompañamiento asistido en actividades y ofrecimiento de enriquecimiento del plan de estudios en las áreas de interés del adolescente (dentro o fuera del aula) y en el nivel de su desempeño.</p><p><strong>Palabras clave: </strong>Evaluación Asistida, Alumno con Altas Habilidades/Superdotación, Interacción Profesor-alumno.</p><p> </p><p><strong>The adolescent in the context of high ability/giftedness: psycho-pedagogical evaluation</strong></p><p>This is a case study aiming to test suspected characteristics of high ability/giftedness (HA/G) in a 12-year-old male adolescent, comprising ten psycho-pedagogical assessment sessions. After a detailed anamnesis with the mother and the adolescent, a collaborating psychologist applied psycho-pedagogical tests and one of intellectual efficiency as a form of multi-referential and multimethod assessment. The adolescent was evaluated as having good intellectual resources. However, HA/G characteristics were seen only by the mother, and not by the participating teachers. Assisted monitoring of activities and offering of curricular enrichment in the areas of interest (inside or outside the classroom) and at the level of his performance were prescribed<em>.</em></p><p><strong>Keywords: </strong>Assisted Assessment, Student with High Ability/Giftedness, Teacher-student Interaction.</p>

Psychometric Concerns in the Assessment of Trauma-Related Symptoms in Older Adults

Assessment of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in older adults is still in its infancy despite reflections on this subject in past literature. Factors that influence assessment are traumas that occurred long in the past, lower prevalence, the fact that older people complain less, more misinterpretation of avoiding and intrusion symptoms, more somatic comorbidity, and higher risk of cognitive impairment. The Clinician Administered PTSD Scale is mostly used to diagnose PTSD, but is less researched in older individuals. Only two screening instruments have been validated specifically for older adults, the PTSD Checklist (PCL) and the Self-Rating Inventory for PTSD. The PCL scale has been used more often, has been translated in various languages, and is also suitable for clinician rating, which is considered more appropriate for older adults. The PCL-5, based on the new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition, criteria was researched in older veterans but needs further validation. Biological measures have not yet been adapted for assessment in the complex biological systems of older age. Multimethod assessment and computerized screening are becoming more important and can address many of the difficulties in this field. Finally, much can be learned from knowledge already acquired from younger adults.

Ethnicity Differences in Sleep Changes Among Prehypertensive Adults Using a Smartphone Meditation App: Dose-Response Trial

Background African Americans (AAs) experience greater sleep quality problems than non-Hispanic Whites (NHWs). Meditation may aid in addressing this disparity, although the dosage levels needed to achieve such benefits have not been adequately studied. Smartphone apps present a novel modality for delivering, monitoring, and measuring adherence to meditation protocols. Objective This 6-month dose-response feasibility trial investigated the effects of a breathing awareness meditation (BAM) app, Tension Tamer, on the secondary outcomes of self-reported and actigraphy measures of sleep quality and the modulating effects of ethnicity of AAs and NHWs. Methods A total of 64 prehypertensive adults (systolic blood pressure <139 mm Hg; 31 AAs and 33 NHWs) were randomized into 3 different Tension Tamer dosage conditions (5,10, or 15 min twice daily). Sleep quality was assessed at baseline and at 1, 3, and 6 months using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and 1-week bouts of continuous wrist actigraphy monitoring. The study was conducted between August 2014 and October 2016 (IRB #Pro00020894). Results At baseline, PSQI and actigraphy data indicated that AAs had shorter sleep duration, greater sleep disturbance, poorer efficiency, and worse quality of sleep (range P=.03 to P<.001). Longitudinal generalized linear mixed modeling revealed a dose effect modulated by ethnicity (P=.01). Multimethod assessment showed a consistent pattern of NHWs exhibiting the most favorable responses to the 5-min dose; they reported greater improvements in sleep efficiency and quality as well as the PSQI global value than with the 10-min and 15-min doses (range P=.04 to P<.001). Actigraphy findings revealed a consistent, but not statistically significant, pattern in the 5-min group, showing lower fragmentation, longer sleep duration, and higher efficiency than the other 2 dosage conditions. Among AAs, actigraphy indicated lower sleep fragmentation with the 5-min dose compared with the 10-min and 15-min doses (P=.03 and P<.001, respectively). The 10-min dose showed longer sleep duration than the 5-min and 15-min doses (P=.02 and P<.001, respectively). The 5-min dose also exhibited significantly longer average sleep than the 15-min dose (P=.03). Conclusions These findings indicate the need for further study of the potential modulating influence of ethnicity on the impact of BAM on sleep indices and user-centered exploration to ascertain the potential merits of refining the Tension Tamer app with attention to cultural tailoring among AAs and NHWs with pre-existing sleep complaints.