Research and Publications - Department of Psychology

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Fair Tests of Clinical Trials: A Treatment Implementation Model
(1994) Lichstein, Kenneth; Riedel, Brant W.; Grieve, Rick; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
We propose a psychotherapy treatment implementation model whereby adequate levels of independent treatment components: delivery, receipt, and enactment, are prerequisite to asserting a valid clinical trial had been conducted. The delivery component refers to the accuracy of treatment presentation, receipt refers to the accuracy of the client's comprehension of treatment, and enactment refers to the extent of out of session application initiated by the client. Clinical scientists regularly address one or two of these components, but rarely all three, according to a survey we report. Sources and effects of model deficits, i. e., inadequate levels of treatment components, as well as methods of component assessment and induction are discussed. We conclude that faults in any one of the components drain validity proportional to the degree of deficit, and that clinical trials have often incorrectly been considered fair tests resulting in biased efficacy judgments.
Contextual Factors in Risk and Prevention Research
(2004-07) Lochman, John; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This paper reviews how cascading levels of contextual influences, starting with family factors and extending to neighborhood and school factors, can affect children’s behavioral and emotional development. The ability of contextual factors to trigger or to attenuate children’s underlying temperament and biological risk factors is emphasized. Recognition of the powerful effects of an array of contextual factors on children’s development has clear implications for preventive interventions as well. Intervention research can explore the effects of multicomponent interventions directed at children’s family and peer contextual influences, can examine how contextual factors predict children’s responsivity to interventions, and can examine how contextual factors have effects on how, and how well, interventions are delivered in the real worlds of schools and community agencies.
Girl talk - Gossip, friendship, and sociometric status
(Wayne State University Press, 2007) McDonald, Kristina L.; Putallaz, Martha; Grimes, Christina L.; Kupersmidt, Janis B.; Coie, John D.; Duke University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study examined the characteristics of gossip among fourth-grade girls and their close friends. Sixty friendship dyads were videotaped as they engaged in conversation, and their gossip was coded. Analyses revealed gossip to be a dominant feature of their interaction and that it was primarily neutral in valence. Sociometrically popular girls and their friends were observed to gossip more about peers, and their gossip was more evaluative than that between rejected girls and their friends. Gossip frequency and valence related to observed friendship closeness and friendship quality. Race differences in the characteristics of gossip were also explored. The study results are important in our efforts to develop a fuller understanding of the important interpersonal process of gossip and the functions that it serves in the context of close friendships.
Early temperamental and psychophysiological precursors of adult psychopathic personality
(American Psychological Association, 2007) Glenn, Andrea L.; Raine, Adrian; Venables, Peter H.; Mednick, Sarnoff A.; University of Southern California; University of York - UK; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Emerging research on psychopathy in children and adolescents raises the question of whether indicators, such as temperament or psychophysiology, exist very early in life in those with a psychopathic-like personality in adulthood. This study tests the hypothesis that individuals who are more psychopathic in adulthood would be less fearful and inhibited and more stimulation seeking/sociable at age 3 and that they would also show reduced age 3 skin-conductance (SC) responsivity. In a community sample of 335 3-year-olds, behavioral measures of temperament were taken and electrodermal activity was recorded in response to both orienting and aversive tones. R. D. Hare's (1985) Self-Report Psychopathy scale (SRP-II) was administered at follow-up at age 28. Individuals scoring higher on the measure were significantly less fearful and inhibited, were more sociable, and displayed longer SC half-recovery times to aversive stimuli compared with controls at age 3. Contrary to predictions, they also showed increased autonomic arousal and SC orienting. Findings appear to be the first to suggest that a prospective link may exist between temperament and psychophysiology in very young children and psychopathic personality in adulthood.
Vitamins and sleep: An exploratory study
(Elsevier, 2007-12) Lichstein, Kenneth L.; Payne, Kristen L.; Soeffing, James P.; Durrence, H. Heith; Taylor, Daniel J.; Riedel, Brant W.; Bush, Andrew J.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Study objective: We analyzed archival data from an epidemiology study to test the association between vitamin use and sleep. Design: Random digit dialing was used to recruit 772 people ranging in age from 20 to 98 for a study of people's sleep experience. These individuals completed a set of questionnaires about their sleep, health, and daytime functioning. Five hundred and nineteen of these participants had available vitamin use data. Setting: Home. Participants: Five hundred and nineteen people participated. Recruitment applied minimal screening criteria and no attempt was made to favor people with or without sleep disturbance. Interventions: This survey included no intervention. Participants completed 2 weeks of sleep diaries and a set of questionnaires. Of particular salience to the present study, participants reported their vitamin use in listing all medications and nutritional supplements being used currently. Measurements and results: For those individuals taking a multivitamin or multiple single vitamins, sleep diaries revealed poorer sleep compared to non-vitamin users in the number and duration of awakenings during the night. After controlling for age, ethnicity, and sex the difference in number of awakenings was still marginally significant. The rate of insomnia, conservatively defined, and consumption of sleep medication were also marginally significantly higher among individuals taking multi-/multiple vitamins compared to those not taking vitamins. Conclusions: Disturbed sleep maintenance was associated with multi-/multiple vitamin use. Five equally plausible explanations were advanced to explain this association including vitamins cause poor sleep, poor sleepers seek vitamins, and unidentified factors promote both poor sleep and vitamin use. These data are considered preliminary. Methodological characteristics of future studies were described that hold the promise of more clearly illuminating the association between vitamins and sleep. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
The neurobiology of psychopathy
(Saunders, 2008) Glenn, Andrea L.; Raine, Adrian; University of Pennsylvania; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Numerous studies have tackled the complex challenge of understanding the neural Substrates of psychopathy, revealing that brain abnormalities exist on several levels and in several structures. As we discover more about complex neural networks, it becomes increasingly difficult to clarify how these systems interact with each other to produce the distinct pattern of behavioral and personality characteristics observed in psychopathy. The authors review the recent research on the neurobiology of psychopathy, beginning with molecular neuroscience work and progressing to the level of brain structures and their connectivity. Potential factors that may affect the development of brain impairments, as well as how some systems may be targeted for potential treatment, are discussed.
Brain abnormalities in antisocial individuals: Implications for the law
(Wiley, 2008) Yang, Yaling; Glenn, Andrea L.; Raine, Adrian; University of Southern California; University of Pennsylvania; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
With the increasing popularity in the use of brain imaging on antisocial individuals, an increasing number of brain imaging studies have revealed structural and functional impairments in antisocial, psychopathic, and violent individuals. This review summarizes key findings from brain imaging studies on antisocial/aggressive behavior. Key regions commonly found to be impaired in antisocial populations include the prefrontal cortex (particularly orbitofrontal and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), superior temporal gyrus, amygdala-hippocampal complex, and anterior cingulate cortex. Key functions of these regions are reviewed to provide a better understanding on how deficits in these regions may predispose to antisocial behavior. Objections to the use of imaging findings in a legal context are outlined, and alternative perspectives raised. It is argued that brain dysfunction is a risk factor for antisocial behavior and that it is likely that imaging will play an increasing (albeit limited) role in legal decision-making. Copyright (c) 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Psychological treatment of insomnia in hypnotic-dependant older adults
(Elsevier, 2008-01) Soeffing, James P.; Lichstein, Kenneth L.; Nau, Sidney D.; McCrae, Christina S.; Wilson, Nancy M.; Aguillard, R. Neal; Lester, Kristin W.; Bush, Andrew J.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; State University System of Florida; University of Florida; University of Memphis; University of Tennessee System; University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Background: The existing literature does not address the question of whether cognitive-behavioral therapy would have an impact on insomnia in older adults who are chronic users of sleep medication and have current insomnia, but are also stable in their quantity of medication usage during treatment. The present report seeks to answer this question. Methods: Hypnotic-dependant older adults, who were stable in their amount of medication usage and still met the criteria for chronic insomnia put forth by American Academy of Sleep Medicine, were treated using a cognitive-behavioral intervention for insomnia. The three-component treatment included relaxation training, stimulus control, and sleep hygiene instructions. Participants were randomly assigned to either the active treatment group or a comparably credible placebo control group, and were instructed not to alter their pattern of hypnotic consumption during treatment. Results: The active treatment group had significantly better self-report measures of sleep at post-treatment. Statistically significant improvement was paralleled by clinically meaningful improvement for key sleep variables. As planned, there was no significant change in sleep medication usage from pre- to post-treatment. Conclusions: The findings support the use of cognitive-behavioral therapy for insomnia in hypnotic-dependant older adults. (c) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Peer contextual influences on the growth of authority-acceptance problems in early elementary school
(Wayne State University Press, 2008-04) Stearns, Elizabeth; Dodge, Kenneth A.; Nicholson, Melba; Conduct Problems Prevention Res Gr; University of North Carolina; University of North Carolina Charlotte; Duke University; Northwestern University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
This study investigated the effects of the peer social context and child characteristics on the growth of authority-acceptance behavior problems across first, second, and third grades, using data from the normative sample of the Fast Track Project. Three hundred sixty-eight European American and African American boys and girls (51% male; 46% African American) and their classmates were assessed in each grade by teacher ratings on the the Teacher Observation of Child Adaptation-Revised. Children's growth in authority-acceptance behavior problems across time was partially attributable to the level of disruptive behavior in the classroom peer context into which they were placed. Peer-context influences, however, were strongest among some-gender peers. Findings held for both boys and girls, both European Americans and African Americans, and nondeviant, marginally deviant, and highly deviant children. Findings suggest that children learn and follow behavioral norms from their same-gender peers within the classroom.
Psychopathy and instrumental aggression: Evolutionary, neurobiological, and legal perspectives
(Pergamon, 2009) Glenn, Andrea L.; Raine, Adrian; University of Pennsylvania; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
In the study of aggression, psychopathy represents a disorder that is of particular interest because it often involves aggression which is premeditated, emotionless, and instrumental in nature; this is especially true for more serious types of offenses. Such instrumental aggression is aimed at achieving a goal (e.g., to obtain resources such as money, or to gain status). Unlike the primarily reactive aggression observed in other disorders, psychopaths appear to engage in aggressive acts for the purpose of benefiting themselves. This is especially interesting in light of arguments that psychopathy may represent an alternative life-history strategy that is evolutionarily adaptive; behaviors such as aggression, risk-taking, manipulation, and promiscuous sexual behavior observed in psychopathy may be means by which psychopaths gain advantage over others. Recent neurobiological research supports the idea that abnormalities in brain regions key to emotion and morality may allow psychopaths to pursue such a strategy-psychopaths may not experience the social emotions such as empathy, guilt, and remorse that typically discourage instrumentally aggressive acts, and may even experience pleasure when committing these acts. Findings from brain imaging studies of psychopaths may have important implications for the law. (c) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Neurobiology of Psychopathy: A Neurodevelopmental Perspective
(Sage, 2009) Gao, Yu; Glenn, Andrea L.; Schug, Robert A.; Yang, Yaling; Raine, Adrian; University of Pennsylvania; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
We provide an overview of the neurobiological underpinnings of psychopathy. Cognitive and affective-emotional processing deficits are associated with abnormal brain structure and function, particularly the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex. There is limited evidence of lower cortisol levels being associated with psychopathic personality. Initial developmental research is beginning to Suggest that these neurobiological processes may have their origins early in life. Findings suggest that psychopathic personality may, in part, have a neurodevelopmental basis. Future longitudinal studies delineating neurobiological correlates of the analogues of interpersonal-affective and antisocial features of psychopathy in children are needed to further substantiate a neurodevelopmental hypothesis of psychopathy.
Increased DLPFC activity during moral decision-making in psychopathy
(Nature Portfolio, 2009) Glenn, A. L.; Raine, A.; Schug, R. A.; Young, L.; Hauser, M.; University of Pennsylvania; University of Southern California; Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT); Harvard University; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
The neural correlates of moral decision-making in psychopathy
(Nature Portfolio, 2009) Glenn, A. L.; Raine, A.; Schug, R. A.; University of Pennsylvania; University of Southern California; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Increased Volume of the Striatum in Psychopathic Individuals
(Elsevier, 2010) Glenn, Andrea L.; Raine, Adrian; Yaralian, Pauline S.; Yang, Yaling; University of Pennsylvania; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Background: The corpus striatum, comprised of the caudate, putamen, and globus pallidus, plays an important role in reward processing and may be involved in the pathophysiology of antisocial behavior. Few studies have explored whether differences are present in the striatum of antisocial individuals. Here, we examine the structure of the striatum in relation to psychopathy. Methods: Using a case-control design, we examined the volume of the striatum in psychopathic individuals compared with control subjects matched for age, sex, ethnicity, and substance dependence. Twenty-two psychopathic individuals assessed using the Psychopathy Checklist-Revised and 22 comparison subjects underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging. Volumes of the left and right lenticular nucleus (putamen and globus pallidus), caudate head, and caudate body were assessed and the psychopathic and control groups were compared. Results: Psychopathic individuals showed a 9.6% increase in striatum volumes. Analyses of subfactors of psychopathy revealed that caudate body volumes were primarily associated with the interpersonal and affective features of psychopathy, while caudate head volumes were primarily associated with the impulsive, stimulation-seeking features. Conclusions: These findings provide new evidence for differences in the striatum of psychopathic individuals. This structural difference may partially underlie the reward-seeking and decision-making deficits associated with psychopathy.
No volumetric differences in the anterior cingulate of psychopathic individuals
(Elsevier, 2010) Glenn, Andrea L.; Yang, Yaling; Raine, Adrian; Colletti, Patrick; University of Pennsylvania; University of California System; University of California Los Angeles; University of Southern California; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Functional imaging studies of psychopathy have demonstrated reduced activity in the anterior cingulate, yet it is unclear whether this region is structurally impaired. In this study, we used structural MRI to examine whether volumetric differences exist in the anterior cingulate between psychopathic (n = 24) and control (n = 24) male participants. We found no group differences in the volume of the anterior cingulate or its dorsal and ventral subregions. Our findings call into question whether the anterior cingulate is impaired in psychopathy, or whether previous findings of reduced activity may result from reduced input from other deficient regions. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
Characteristics of Generalized Anxiety Disorder in Patients With Dementia
(Sage, 2011) Calleo, Jessica S.; Kunik, Mark E.; Reid, Dana; Kraus-Schuman, Cynthia; Paukert, Amber; Regev, Tziona; Wilson, Nancy; Petersen, Nancy J.; Snow, A. Lynn; Stanley, Melinda; Baylor College of Medicine; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Background: Overlap of cognitive and anxiety symptoms (i.e., difficulty concentrating, fatigue, restlessness) contributes to inconsistent, complicated assessment of generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) in persons with dementia. Methods: Anxious dementia patients completed a psychiatric interview, the Penn State Worry Questionnaire-Abbreviated, and the Rating for Anxiety in Dementia scale. Analyses to describe the 43 patients with and without GAD included the Wilcoxon Mann-Whitney two-sample test, Fisher's exact test. Predictors of GAD diagnosis were identified using logistic regression. Results: Those with GAD were more likely to be male, have less severe dementia and endorsed more worry, and anxiety compared to patients without GAD. Gender, muscle tension and fatigue differentiated those with GAD from those without GAD. Conclusions: Although this study is limited by a small sample, it describes clinical characteristics of GAD in dementia, highlighting the importance of muscle tension and fatigue in recognizing GAD in persons with dementia.
Is It Wrong to Criminalize and Punish Psychopaths?
(2011) Glenn, Andrea; Riane, Adrian; Laufer, William S.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Increasing evidence from psychology and neuroscience suggests that emotion plays an important and sometimes critical role in moral judgment and moral behavior. At the same time, there is increasing psychological and neuroscientific evidence that brain regions critical in emotional and moral capacity are impaired in psychopaths. We ask how the criminal law should accommodate these two streams of research, in light of a new normative and legal account of the criminal responsibility of psychopaths.
Evolutionary theory and psychopathy
(Pergamon, 2011) Glenn, Andrea L.; Kurzban, Robert; Raine, Adrian; University of Pennsylvania; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa
Psychopathy represents a unique set of personality traits including deceitfulness, lack of empathy and guilt, impulsiveness, and antisocial behavior. Most often in the literature, psychopathy is described as pathology a disorder that has been linked to a variety of biological deficits and environmental risk factors. However, from an evolutionary perspective, psychopathy, while it could be a disorder, has been construed in the context of an adaptive strategy. In this article we will examine the strengths and weaknesses of two models suggesting that psychopathy is an adaptive strategy, and one model suggesting that it is a form of pathology resulting from accumulated mutations. Overall, we do not find that there is strong enough evidence to draw firm conclusions about one theory over another, but we highlight some areas where future research may be able to shed light on the issue. (C) 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Psychometric properties of a structured interview guide for the rating for anxiety in dementia
(Routledge, 2012) Snow, A. Lynn; Huddleston, Cashuna; Robinson, Christina; Kunik, Mark E.; Bush, Amber L.; Wilson, Nancy; Calleo, Jessica; Paukert, Amber; Kraus-Schuman, Cynthia; Petersen, Nancy J.; Stanley, Melinda A.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; Baylor College of Medicine; University of Houston
Objectives: The Rating Anxiety in Dementia (RAID; Shankar, K. K., Walker, M., Frost, D., & Orrell, M. W. (1999). The development of a valid and reliable scale for rating anxiety in dementia (RAID). Aging and Mental Health, 3, 39-49.) is a clinical rating scale developed to evaluate anxiety in persons with dementia. This report explores the psychometric properties and clinical utility of a new structured interview format of the RAID (RAID-SI), developed to standardize administration and scoring based on information obtained from the patient, an identified collateral, and rater observation. Method: The RAID-SI was administered by trained master's level raters. Participants were 32 persons with dementia who qualified for an anxiety treatment outcome study. Self-report anxiety, depression, and quality of life measures were administered to both the person with dementia and a collateral. Results: The RAID-SI exhibited adequate internal consistency reliability and inter-rater reliability. There was also some evidence of construct validity as indicated by significant correlations with other measures of patient-reported and collateral-reported anxiety, and non-significant correlations with collateral reports of patient depression and quality of life. Further, RAID-SI scores were significantly higher in persons with an anxiety diagnosis compared to those without an anxiety diagnosis. Conclusion: There is evidence that the RAID-SI exhibits good reliability and validity in older adults with dementia. The advantage of the structured interview format is increased standardization in administration and scoring, which may be particularly important when RAID raters are not experienced clinicians.
Attachment Style Is Associated With Perceived Spouse Responses and Pain-Related Outcomes
(American Psychological Association, 2012) Forsythe, Laura P.; Romano, Joan M.; Jensen, Mark P.; Thorn, Beverly E.; University of Alabama Tuscaloosa; University of Washington; University of Washington Seattle
Purpose/Objective: Attachment theory can provide a heuristic model for examining factors that may influence the relationship of social context to adjustment in chronic pain. This study examined the associations of attachment style with self-reported pain behavior, pain intensity, disability, depression, and perceived spouse responses to pain behavior. We also examined whether attachment style moderates associations between perceived spouse responses and self-reported pain behavior and depressive symptoms, as well as perceived spouse responses as a mediator of these associations. Method: Individuals with chronic pain (N = 182) completed measures of self-reported attachment style, perceived spouse responses, and pain-related criterion variables. Results: Secure attachment was inversely associated with self-reported pain behaviors, pain intensity, disability, depressive symptoms, and perceived negative spouse responses; preoccupied and fearful attachment scores were positively associated with these variables. In multivariable regression models, both attachment style and perceived spouse responses were uniquely associated with self-reported pain behavior and depressive symptoms. Attachment style did not moderate associations between perceived spouse responses to self-reported pain behavior and pain criterion variables, but negative spouse responses partially mediated some relationships between attachment styles and pain outcomes. Conclusions/Implications: Findings suggest that attachment style is associated with pain-related outcomes and perceptions of spouse responses. The hypothesized moderation effects for attachment were not found; however, mediation analyses showed that perceived spouse responses may partially explain associations between attachment and adjustment to pain. Future research is needed to clarify how attachment style and the social environment affect the pain experience.

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