Fear

Anxiety disorders are common in adolescents (ages 12 to 18) and contribute to a range of impairments. There has been speculation that adolescents with anxiety are at risk for being treatment nonresponders. In this review, the authors examine the efficacy of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) for adolescents with anxiety. Outcomes from mixed child and adolescent samples and from adolescent-only samples indicate that approximately two-thirds of youths respond favorably to CBT. CBT produces moderate to large effects and shows superiority over control/comparison conditions. The literature does not support differential outcomes by age: adolescents do not consistently manifest poorer outcomes relative to children. Although extinction paradigms find prolonged fear extinction in adolescent samples, basic research does not fully align with the processes and goals of real-life exposure. Furthermore, CBT is flexible and allows for tailored application in adolescents, and it may be delivered in...

O objetivo geral do Diagnóstico da Violência e Criminalidade do Município de
Itabuna é aprofundar a análise dos principais problemas de violência e criminalidade,
bem como a percepção da população sobre os mesmos, buscando identificar os
principais fatores de risco e oportunidades de solução dos problemas enfrentados e
mobilizar os atores governamentais e não-governamentais, facilitando assim a
implementação das estratégias de intervenção propostas pelo projeto. A sua
importância não está apenas na divulgação de dados estatísticos sobre a segurança
pública no município, mas na transformação desses dados estatísticos brutos em algo
que possa servir para orientar ações futuras.

Background The levels and experiences of harassment of people with mental health problems in the community compared with those of the general population have not been explored. Aims To measure the levels and experience of harassment experienced by people with mental health problems in the community in Scotland and compare them with the general population. Method Experiences of harassment were collected by interviewing 165 individuals with mental health problems and a control group of 165 people from the general population. Results Harassment in the community was found to be twice as common for individuals with mental health problems (41%) than for those in the general population (15%). The harassment commonly involved verbal abuse referring to the individual's mental health problems and was committed primarily by teenagers and neighbours. Conclusions Harassment has a significantly higher prevalence among individuals with mental health problems living in the community and is beli...

Mutations of the fragile X mental retardation 1 (FMR1) gene are the genetic cause of fragile X syndrome (FXS). The presence of significant socioemotional problems has been well documented in FXS although the brain basis of those deficits remains unspecified. Here, we investigated amygdala dysfunction and its relation to socioemotional deficits and FMR1 gene expression in children and adolescents on the FX spectrum (ie, individuals whose trinucleotide CGG repeat expansion from 55 to over 200 places them somewhere ...

The Meaning Maintenance Model asserts that following a meaning threat, people will affirm any meaning,frameworks,that are available. Three experiments tested 1) whether people affirm alternative meaning,frameworks,after reading absurdist literature; 2) the role of expectations in determining whether absurdities are threatening; 3) whether people have a heightened need for meaning following exposure to absurdist art. In Study 1, participants who

After reading vignettes, a group of spider-phobic girls (n=18) and a group of nonphobic girls (n=18) rated the subjective probability of spiders entering their private living space, their tendency to approach and make physical contact, and the subjective probability of spiders doing physical harm. In addition, they indicated their eagerness to eat a favorite food item before as well as after it had been shortly contacted by spiders. In support of the idea that spider phobia results from the convergence of spiders’ disgusting properties and the subjective probability of involuntary contact, phobic girls reported relatively high ratings concerning: (a) the probability of spiders entering their room; (b) spiders’ tendency to approach and make physical contact; and (c) spiders’ disgust-evoking status. Finally, regression analysis indicated that spiders’ disgust-evoking status is the single best predictor of spider phobia, whereas the independent contribution of the perceived probability of spiders doing physical harm was found to be negligible. All in all, the present findings strongly support the idea that spider phobia essentially reflects a fear of physical contact with a disgusting stimulus.

"Scototaxis, the preference for dark environments in detriment of bright ones, is an index of anxiety in zebrafish. In this work, we analyzed avoidance of the white compartment by analysis of the spatiotemporal pattern of exploratory behavior (time spent in thewhite compartment of the apparatus and shuttle frequency between compartments) and swimming ethogram(thigmotaxis, freezing and burst swimming in the white compartment) in four experiments. In Experiment 1, we demonstrate that spatiotemporal
measures of white avoidance and locomotion do not habituate during a single 15-min session. In Experiments 2 and 3,we demonstrate that locomotor activity habituates to repeated exposures to the apparatus, regardless of whether inter-trial interval is 15-min or 24-h; however, no habituation of white avoidance was observed in either experiment. In Experiment 4,we confined animals for three 15-min sessions in the white compartment prior to recording spatiotemporal and ethogram measures in a standard preference test. After these forced exposures,white avoidance and locomotor activity showed no differences in relation to non-confined animals, but burst swimming, thigmotaxis and freezing in the white compartment
were all decreased. These results suggest that neither avoidance of thewhite compartment nor approach to the black compartment account for the behavior of zebrafish in the scototaxis test."

On ScienceDirect: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0166432810000550

African American women are more likely than other women to be diagnosed with breast cancer at a young age, to be diagnosed at a late stage, and to die from the disease. Yet we see evidence of irregular screening and follow-up. Previous research on psychosocial factors influencing decisions to screen reveals barriers: fear, fatalistic perceptions of cancer, inaccurate perceptions of risk, and associations with stigma. The current qualitative research with, largely, insured African American women ( n = 26), health navigators ( n = 6), and community stakeholders ( n = 24) indicates both positive and negative factors influencing decision making. The women in our sample believe in the value of early detection and are motivated to screen in response to encouragement from health providers. However, they also report several factors that contribute to their decisions to delay or not screen. These include (1) perceptions that the health community itself is confused about the need for screenin...

The precise contribution of visual information to contextual fear-learning and discrimination has remained elusive. To better understand this contribution, we coupled the context pre-exposure facilitation effect (CPFE) fear conditioning paradigm with presentations of distinct visual scenes displayed on 4 LCD screens surrounding a conditioning chamber. Adult male Long-Evans rats received non-reinforced context pre-exposure on Day 1, an immediate 1.5 mA foot shock on Day 2, and a non-reinforced context test on Day 3. Rats were pre-exposed to either digital Context (dCtx) A, dCtx B, a distinct Context C, or no context on Day 1. Context A and B were identical except for the visual image displayed on the LCD monitors. Immediate shock and retention testing occurred in dCtx A. Rats pre-exposed dCtx A showed the CPFE with significantly higher levels of freezing compared to learning controls. Rats pre-exposed to Context B failed to show the CPFE, with freezing that did not differ significant...

This international study in 42 countries inquired children’s perception of the coronacrisis, their knowledge on COVID-19 and the role the media play in this. It Shows that children who are better informed about COVID-19 and can identify Fake News are less "very worried" about the corona-Virus.

This study evaluated the causes of declining frequency of voluntary blood donations among educated elites as seen at the blood bank of University of Maiduguri Teaching Hospital, Maiduguri, Nigeria, over the last decade. The number of blood units received from educated elite donors during a 10-year period (1995-2004) at the blood bank were determined and expressed as percentages of total donations collected annually. The reasons for elite donor default were obtained through the use of questionnaires filled by defaulting donors. The proportion of educated elite donations steadily fell from 28% in 1995 to 7% in 2004. Reasons for defaulting from voluntary blood donations included fear for HIV screening in 86.7% of respondents, economic hardship/poor nourishment in 50.6% of respondents, changed address/logistic difficulties in 4.8% of respondents and ill health in 2.4% of respondents. Therefore, the steady fall in the proportion of elite donors over the years was mainly due to fear of HI...

Drawing from an approach-avoidance perspective, we examine the relationships between subordinates' perceptions of abusive supervision, fear, defensive silence, and ultimately abusive supervision at a later time point. We also account for the effects of subordinates' assertiveness and individual perceptions of a climate of fear on these predicted mediated relationships. We test this moderated mediation model with data from three studies involving different sources collected across various measurement periods. Results corroborated our predictions by showing (a) a significant association between abusive supervision and subordinates' fear, (b) second-stage moderation effects of subordinates' assertiveness and their individual perceptions of a climate of fear in the abusive supervision-fear-defensive silence relationship (with lower assertiveness and higher levels of climate-of-fear perceptions exacerbating the detrimental effects of fear resulting from abusive supervisio...

BackgroundFear of recurrence (FoR) following head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment is a major patient concern but is infrequently discussed in outpatient settings and may cause significant detrimental effect on patient psychological well-being.Fear of recurrence (FoR) following head and neck cancer (HNC) treatment is a major patient concern but is infrequently discussed in outpatient settings and may cause significant detrimental effect on patient psychological well-being.AimThe aim of this paper is to determine longitudinal trends and predictors of significant FoR.The aim of this paper is to determine longitudinal trends and predictors of significant FoR.MethodProspective data collection was obtained in 189 post-treatment HNC patients with 456 clinic attendances from October 2008 to January 2011. All patients completed Patient Concerns Inventory (PCI), University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire version 4 and the FoR questionnaires using a combination of paper and touch-screen technology.Prospective data collection was obtained in 189 post-treatment HNC patients with 456 clinic attendances from October 2008 to January 2011. All patients completed Patient Concerns Inventory (PCI), University of Washington Quality of Life Questionnaire version 4 and the FoR questionnaires using a combination of paper and touch-screen technology.ResultsThe prevalence of significant FoR was 35%, which was stable longitudinally. Logistic regression-delineated predictors of significant FoR were young age (<65 years), anxiety/mood and patient-reported FoR. Conventional prognostic factors including standard clinicopathological factors, treatment modality and length of follow-up did not predict significant FoR. Over time, 20% of patients reported significant FoR intermittently, whereas 30% experienced it consistently. The remaining 50% did not experience significant FoR.The prevalence of significant FoR was 35%, which was stable longitudinally. Logistic regression-delineated predictors of significant FoR were young age (<65 years), anxiety/mood and patient-reported FoR. Conventional prognostic factors including standard clinicopathological factors, treatment modality and length of follow-up did not predict significant FoR. Over time, 20% of patients reported significant FoR intermittently, whereas 30% experienced it consistently. The remaining 50% did not experience significant FoR.DiscussionPatient-related characteristics were more important than clinicopathological prognostic factors in predicting significant FoR, potentially creating a mismatch between the doctors' perception of patient's experience of FoR with what patients may experience. In the long term, FoR is expressed across a spectrum extending from ‘normal’ FoR to persistent significant FoR with an intermediate category of intermittent significant FoR. Those patients experiencing intermittent and consistent levels of significant FoR may benefit from psychological support. This study confirmed that self-reported screening FoR using the PCI is a valuable tool in identifying significant FoR. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.Patient-related characteristics were more important than clinicopathological prognostic factors in predicting significant FoR, potentially creating a mismatch between the doctors' perception of patient's experience of FoR with what patients may experience. In the long term, FoR is expressed across a spectrum extending from ‘normal’ FoR to persistent significant FoR with an intermediate category of intermittent significant FoR. Those patients experiencing intermittent and consistent levels of significant FoR may benefit from psychological support. This study confirmed that self-reported screening FoR using the PCI is a valuable tool in identifying significant FoR. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.