Understanding your own and other's minds: the relationship to eating disorder related symptoms.

A study using a cross-sectional survey design examined whether eating disorder (ED) related symptoms are associated with understanding one's own and others' minds. A non-clinical sample of 145 women completed self-report questionnaires and recorded their emotional, cognitive and behavioural responses to descriptions of scenarios (vignettes). Responses to scenarios were made from the perspective of self, an attachment figure and a same sex acquaintance.

The relationship between body weight (body mass index) and attachment history in young women.

Objective: This study investigated whether attachment history predicts unique variance in body mass index in young women.

Method: A cross-sectional design was employed. One hundred and forty five women completed self report measures of attachment history and psychological symptoms.

A multidimensional measure of core beliefs relevant to eating disorders: preliminary development and validation.

Core beliefs associated with eating disorders are likely to be multidimensional, and may not be adequately captured by existing measures. The current study aimed to develop such a measure and examine its relationship to eating disorder symptoms, anxiety, depression and putative diagnoses of their related disorders. Core belief items were rated by 500 female participants aged 18-65, who also completed self-report measures of eating disorder symptomatology, depression, anxiety, and self esteem.

The diagnosis of eating disorders in adults with learning disabilities: Conceptualisation and implications for clinical practice.

Objective: The literature suggests that less attention has been afforded to eating disorders (EDs) in adults with learning disabilities (LDs) than in adults of normal intellect. This review aimed to examine the methods, prevalence and implications of an ED diagnosis in adults with LDs.

Method: Key texts, journals and online databases were searched for literature examining disordered eating in adults with LDs.

Understanding the association between condom use at first and most recent sexual intercourse: an assessment of normative, calculative, and habitual explanations.

The aim of this study was to provide a better understanding of the likely mechanisms underlying regular condom use. In 2009, 1145 sexually active individuals aged 18-65 years were surveyed online, after being recruited via an e-mail message circulated at a large Croatian university and posted on various social networking websites. Participants' mean age was 28.

Sense of coherence and psychological outcomes in people with spinal cord injury: appraisals and behavioural responses.

Study Design: Longitudinal, multi-wave design.

Objectives: To investigate the contribution of sense of coherence (SOC), appraisals, and behavioural responses when predicting psychological outcomes to spinal cord injury (SCI).

Method: Patients (N=237) sustaining a SCI aged 17 or above were recruited from specialist spinal injuries centres across six European countries.

The DSM diagnostic criteria for female sexual arousal disorder.

This article reviews and critiques the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for Female Sexual Arousal Disorder (FSAD). An overview of how the diagnostic criteria for FSAD have evolved over previous editions of the DSM is presented and research on prevalence and etiology of FSAD is briefly reviewed. Problems with the essential feature of the DSM-IV-TR diagnosis-"an inability to attain, or to maintain.

Life satisfaction, appraisals and functional outcomes in spinal cord-injured people living in the community.

Study Design: Multi-centre, single cohort.

Objectives: To assess the relationship between cognitive appraisals in a spinal cord-injured population living in the community, and examine how these factors affect social participation, life satisfaction and functional outcomes.

Setting: The National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville, UK; Princess Royal Spinal Injuries Centre, Sheffield UK; Midlands Centre for Spinal Injuries, Oswestry, UK.

A multi-centre study of the community needs of people with spinal cord injuries: the first 18 months.

Study Design: Multi-centre, single cohort.

Objectives: To assess the needs, perceived environmental barriers, level of participation and psychological function of spinal cord injured patients living in the community 3-18 months after discharge.

Setting: The National Spinal Injuries Centre, Stoke Mandeville, UK.

Emotional face processing in women with high and low levels of eating disorder related symptoms.

Objectives: Emotional processing has rarely been investigated in those "at risk" of developing an eating disorder. This study investigated the processing of six basic emotions depicted on faces in an "at risk" group, compared to a control group.

Design: Participants were women with high (N=29) and low (N=23) levels of eating disorder symptoms who were not taking psychotropic medication.

Sibling psychological adjustment to type 1 diabetes mellitus.

Objective: Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a chronic condition whose management affects the whole family, and siblings of children with chronic conditions have been shown to be at higher risk of emotional and behavioural problems. The aims of this study were to investigate sibling adjustment to T1DM using a cross-sectional questionnaire survey design.

Methods: Forty-one families (48% of those eligible) were recruited from a children's diabetes clinic.

Anxiety, depressive, and posttraumatic stress symptoms in mothers of children with type 1 diabetes.

This study investigated the prevalence of mothers' anxiety, depression, and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms triggered by their child's type 1 diabetes and identified individual diabetes-related traumatic stressors. Sixty mothers of children who had been diagnosed with diabetes within the past 5 years were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview (SCID) DSM-IV-PTSD module, and completed the Posttraumatic Stress Diagnostic Scale (PDS) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Fifteen percent of participants met criteria for partial and 10% for full PTSD.

Stages of change in anorexic and bulimic disorders: the importance of illness representations.

This study investigated the relationship between illness representations and stage of change in women with anorexic (N=33) and women with bulimic (N=36) disorders. A cross-sectional design was employed and participants were asked to complete a set of questionnaires. The relationship between illness representations and stage of change was explored in the two groups separately using hierarchical multiple regression analyses.

Using imagery to identify and characterise core beliefs in women with bulimia nervosa, dieting and non-dieting women.

Women with bulimia nervosa (BN), dieters and non-dieting control participants were questioned about spontaneous imagery linked to concern with food and eating, weight and shape. The downward arrow technique was used to access any associated negative or core beliefs, which were examined for belief, distress and content. A semi-structured interview with open and closed questions was used.

The experience of 'feeling fat' in women with anorexia nervosa, dieting and non-dieting women: an exploratory study.

Objective: To provide a preliminary, systematic exploration of some features associated with the experience of 'feeling fat'.

Method: Women with anorexia nervosa (N = 16), women who were dieting (N = 15) and non-dieting women (N = 17) took part in a semi-structured interview.

Results: Feeling fat was common in all three groups of women.

Metacognition in anorexia nervosa, dieting and non-dieting controls: a preliminary investigation.

Objective: The aim of the current study was to provide a preliminary investigation of the presence of metacognition in anorexia nervosa (AN).

Method: Female participants with a history of AN (N=16), dieters (N=15) and non-dieting controls (N=17) completed self-report questionnaires, including one assessing five dimensions of metacognition.

Results: Those with a history of AN, compared to both control groups, had higher scores on metacognition; indicating higher levels of uncontrollability and danger; cognitive confidence; need for control; and cognitive self-consciousness, but not higher levels of positive beliefs.

Does oral contraceptive-induced reduction in free testosterone adversely affect the sexuality or mood of women?

The aim of this study was to examine whether changes in plasma androgen levels (total testosterone (T), free testosterone (FT), and dehydro-epiandrosterone-sulfate (DHEA-S)) induced by oral contraceptive (OC) use were related to changes in sexual interest or response or in mood. Sixty-one women provided blood samples and were assessed, using interviews and standardized questionnaires, prior to starting, and after 3 months on OCs (Ortho-Tricyclen, Ortho-Tricyclen-Lo, or Ortho-Cyclen, all containing the same progestagen, norgestimate). Significant decreases in T, FT, and DHEA-S were found after 3 months, although the extent of reduction was variable across women.

Beliefs and their relationship to eating attitudes and depressive symptoms in men.

Objective: The applicability of the cognitive model of eating disorders, particularly the role of deeper level beliefs, has not yet been investigated in men. The current study investigated the relationship between negative self-beliefs, underlying assumptions about weight, shape and eating, eating attitudes and depressive symptoms in a student sample of young men.

Method: Fifty-six young male students completed self-report questionnaires, including measures of deeper level beliefs previously found to be typical of women with eating disorders and women with disturbed eating attitudes.

Assessment of condom use in men and women.

Self-reported condom use is a key variable in surveys of sexual behavior and in studies evaluating interventions to reduce the risk of sexually transmitted infections. This article provides a review of how male condom use has been assessed in research. We critically review a number of methodological issues, including the length of the recall period, terminology, specification of partner variables, validity and reliability of condom use, and use of newer data collection methods such as daily diaries and computer-assisted and online technologies.

The sexual excitation/sexual inhibition inventory for women: psychometric properties.

This article reports on the development of a new questionnaire designed to assess the propensity for sexual excitation and sexual inhibition in women: The Sexual Excitation/Sexual Inhibition Inventory for Women (SESII-W). The theoretical model underlying this research, the Dual Control Model, postulates that sexual response depends on a balance between excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms and that individuals vary in their propensity for excitation and inhibition. This study describes the development and initial validation of the SESII-W in a sample of 655 women (M age, 33.

Assumptions and beliefs in adolescents with anorexia nervosa and their mothers.

A pilot study examined the specific cognitive content of female adolescents with anorexia nervosa. The relationship between daughter and mother concerns, and concerns in mothers, also were investigated. All participants completed a measure of assumptions and negative self-beliefs related to eating disorders.

Socio-cultural and cognitive predictors of eating disorder symptoms in young girls.

There is some evidence for a relationship between socio-cultural variables and the development of disordered eating or concerns. However, the role of individual cognition in adding to this relationship has not yet been investigated. The current study therefore had two main questions.

The specific content of core beliefs and schema in adolescent girls high and low in eating disorder symptoms.

The specific content of core beliefs and schema in adolescent girls high and low in eating disorder symptoms was investigated using the Eating Disorder Belief Questionnaire (EDBQ)-negative self-beliefs sub-scale and Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ). Girls with high Eating Attitude Test (EAT) scores had higher scores on both measures (using total and sub-scale scores) than girls with low EAT scores. However, all scores were related to eating disorder as well as depressive symptoms.

Core beliefs and the presence or absence of eating disorder symptoms and depressive symptoms in adolescent girls.

Objective: Core beliefs specific to eating disorder and depressive symptoms were investigated in four groups of adolescent girls well matched on these symptoms.

Method: A total of 272 girls were included and two measures of core beliefs were compared. The measures were the Young Schema Questionnaire (YSQ) and the Negative Self-Beliefs subscale of the Eating Disorder Belief Questionnaire (EDBQ).