Parental rearing and eating psychopathology.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to identify the relationship between perceived rearing styles and the clinical expression of Eating Disorders (ED). METHODS: One hundred and ninety-six patients diagnosed of an ED and 127 healthy student as controls selected from the Nursing College were evaluated for general psychopathology (STAI, BDI II, RSE), and for abnormal eating attitudes (EAT, EDI-II, BITE). The EMBU (‘my memories of upbringing’) was administered for the assessment of perceived parental rearing styles and was used a questionnaire to assess familial variables. RESULTS: In relation to the control group, patients with ED perceived greater rejection, overprotection and less warmth than the controls. Patients who perceived greater paternal favoritism, maternal overprotection and low paternal emotional warmth, showed higher levels of anxiety. Paternal affection and maternal attitudes of rejection, overprotection and favoritism were related to lower self-esteem. Regarding abnormal eating attitudes, body dissatisfaction inversely correlated with paternal emotional care and maternal favoritism. The EDI subscales: ineffectiveness, perfectionism and ascetism were associated to parental rejection. Maternal rejection also related with drive for thinness, interoceptive awareness and impulse regulation. Perceived emotional warmth was related with perfectionism. Bulimia subscale and BITE scores were inversely associated to paternal overprotection and affection, and scored significantly higher in paternal favoritism and rejection from both parents. CONCLUSIONS: Perceived parental bonding is different in the various subtypes of EDs. Patients diagnosed of Bulimia Nervosa or Eating Disorders Not Otherwise Specified perceived greater rejection, less affection and a greater overprotection than Anorexia Nervosa patients and controls.

Older adults' memory for medical information, effect of number and mode of presentation: An experimental study.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze different ways of presenting medical information to older adults, tailoring the information and its presentation to the characteristics of memory function in old age. METHODS: Experimental study. We took into account the following variables: amount of information, type of information and mode of presentation, and time delay. RESULTS: The greater the number of recommendations, the lower the recall; visual presentation does not enhance verbal presentation; lifestyle information is recalled better than medication information; after ten minutes the percentage of memory decreases significantly; the first and last recommendations are better remembered. CONCLUSION: As a whole, these findings show that older adults remember more medical information when very few recommendations are provided in each session. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: It is inadvisable to overload older adults with a large amount of information: It is better to program more consultations and provide less information.

Age and Gender Differences in Emotion Regulation Strategies: Autobiographical Memory, Rumination, Problem Solving and Distraction.

Our study tested the hypothesis that older adults and men use more adaptive emotion regulatory strategies but fewer negative emotion regulatory strategies than younger adults and women. In addition, we tested the hypothesis that rumination acts as a mediator variable for the effect of age and gender on depression scores. Differences in rumination, problem solving, distraction, autobiographical recall and depression were assessed in a group of young adults (18-29 years) compared to a group of older adults (50-76 years). The older group used more problem solving and distraction strategies when in a depressed state than their younger counterparts (ps .06). Ordinary least squares regression analyses with bootstrapping showed that rumination mediated the association between age, gender and depression scores. These results suggest that older adults and men select more adaptive strategies to regulate emotions than young adults and women with rumination acting as a significant mediator variable in the association between age, gender, and depression.

Life review therapy using autobiographical retrieval practice for older adults with clinical depression.

The aim of this experiment was to examine the efficacy of life review based on autobiographical retrieval practice for treating depression in older adults. Thirty-seven clinically depressed older adults aged 64-83, who were also receiving pharmacological treatment, were randomly assigned to life review therapy or to a placebo condition with supportive therapy. Results indicated decreased depression for both conditions, with no significant differences between the two therapies. There was some indication of greater gain in production of specific memories among those in life review therapy. Patients who produced higher numbers of specific memories decreased their depression scores at a faster rate.