Influence of age, education, and blast exposure on the Test of Memory Malingering in an active-duty military sample.

Neuropsychologists use performance validity tests (PVT) to detect performance invalidity across various populations. Unexpected scores for normative and clinical populations on PVT performance could invalidate the assessment if the poor performance does not have a reasonable explanation. One of the most well-validated and frequently used PVT is the Test of Memory Malingering, whose usefulness has been analyzed in various populations, including the military. Studies on the influence of demographic variables and blast exposure on the performance of military samples have yielded inconclusive results. The current study investigates the influence of age, education, and blast exposure on the TOMM Trial 2 in a military sample that is representative of their demographics. The total sample size was 872 participants between 18-62 years of age (M = 26.35, SD = 6.63), divided into 832 males and 40 females. All participants were on active duty, and they had been deployed in war zones in Afghanistan and Iraq. They were referred to Carolina Psychological Health Services from the Naval Hospital of Camp LeJeune for psychological and/or neurological complaints, such as cognitive difficulties. The results show that age, education, and blast exposure variations do not affect TOMM performance. Further studies on the relationship between these variables should be pursued to elucidate how they are associated with the normative or clinical cognitive functioning of military populations.

Relationship between expressions of aggression and individual characteristics in correctional settings: A path analysis.

BACKGROUND: The reduction of misconduct levels and its prevention are two important objectives in prison settings, for which several strategies and control mechanisms are implemented. OBJETIVE: We explore the relationship between a set of socio-demographic, judicial, affective, and personality characteristics and various expressions of aggression. METHOD: An Ecuadorian sample of 675 sentenced male prisoners was assessed using the Spanish adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Three subscales of the PAI were used as outcome measures: Aggressive Attitude (AGG-A), Verbal Aggression (AGG-V), and Physical Aggression (AGG-P). RESULTS: Using path analysis, three models were obtained, each of which had four indicators. Borderline personality features and antisocial personality features emerged as indicators that were common to the three models. Anxiety-related disorders and non-support were indicators specific to AGG-A, whilst schizophrenia and non-support were indicators of AGG-V, and drug problems and crimes against property were indicators of AGG-P. CONCLUSION: This study indicates that each expression of aggression has a different structure, which suggests its usefulness for detecting the tendency of an inmate to predominantly express one form of aggression or another.

Influence of Socio-Economic Status on Psychopathology in Ecuadorian Children.

The socioeconomic status (SES) of parents has been reported to have a crucial impact on emotional competence in childhood. However, studies have largely been carried out in developed countries and in children in a specific age range, and it is not clear whether the effect of the SES of parents varies by age. The objective of this study was to investigate the psychopathological profile (including externalizing and internalizing problems) of children aged 7, 9, and 11 years old with low SES in a developing country (Ecuador). The study included 274 children (139 boys and 135 girls), who were divided between medium-SES (n = 133) and low-SES (n = 141) groups. Data were gathered on socioeconomic and anthropometric variables of the children, and the parents completed the Child Behavior Check-List (CBCL). In comparison to the medium-SES group, children in the low-SES group obtained higher scores for internalizing and externalizing symptoms and for total problems, and they obtained lower scores for social competence skills. The housing risk index and school competence were the two main predictors of internalizing and externalizing problems in this population.

Psychometric Properties of the Spanish Adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory in Correctional Settings: An ESEM Study.

The Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI; Morey, 1991, 2007) is among the most important personality and psychopathology assessment tools. However, its psychometric properties in the Spanish-speaking prison population have not yet been studied. We aimed to explore the factor structure of the Spanish adaptation of the PAI (Ortiz-Tallo et al., 2011) in an Ecuadorian sample of 811 convicted men using exploratory structural equation modeling, with the further objective of confirming its internal consistency. Hoelzle and Meyer (2009) identified three dimensions that are highly congruent across samples: general distress, elevated mood and dominance, and substance abuse and psychopathy. Taking these findings and the internalizing and externalizing dimensions (Ruiz & Edens, 2008) as a theoretical basis, three- and two-factor models were tested for the 22 scales and 11 clinical scales, respectively. We also tested four- and three-factor models that grouped the scales related to substance abuse as an independent factor, leaving intact the distribution presented by the remaining scales in the previous models. Although the original models showed a good fit, the 4- and 3-factor models obtained significantly better fit indexes. With respect to reliability, the Cronbach's alpha coefficients ranged from .49 to .89. This version shows acceptable psychometric properties in correctional settings.

¿Está asociado el abuso/dependencia de drogas a un funcionamiento ejecutivo específico en maltratadores? / No disponible

Aunque se ha explorado el perfil neuropsicológico de los maltratadores, no existe suficiente información sobre su funcionamiento ejecutivo considerando la gravedad del consumo de sustancias. Un conocimiento amplio y sólido del desempeño ejecutivo de esta población ayudaría a esclarecer su aportación específica a la diferenciación de ciertos subtipos de maltratador. Con este propósito se administró un protocolo conformado por pruebas que evalúan algunas funciones ejecutivas a 39 maltratadores con antecedentes de abuso/dependencia de sustancias (MC) (M = 38,79; DT = 6,74) y 39 maltratadores sin esta clase de antecedentes (MS) (M = 35,59; DT = 7,95), todos ellos procedentes de dos prisiones de Granada (España). Los MC presentaron un rendimiento más pobre que los MS en flexibilidad cognitiva, memoria de trabajo y control inhibitorio. Los hallazgos corroboran la asociación del abuso/dependencia de sustancias a un funcionamiento ejecutivo específico en los maltratadores, a la vez que contribuyen a la optimización de las estrategias de prevención de la violencia contra la pareja/expareja y de los programas de intervención con esta población

Although the neuropsychological profile of batterers has been explored, there is not enough information about their executive functioning according to the severity of substance use. A broad and solid knowledge of the executive performance of this population would help to clarify its specific contribution to the differentiation of certain batterer subtypes. For this purpose, a protocol consisting of tests that evaluate some executive functions was administered to 39 batterers with a history of substance abuse/dependence (MC) (M = 38.79, SD = 6.74) and 39 batterers without this kind of background (MS) (M = 35.59, SD = 7.95), all of them from two prisons in Granada (Spain). The MC presented less cognitive flexibility and worse working memory and inhibitory control than the MS. The findings corroborate the association of substance abuse/dependence to a specific executive functioning in batterers, while contributing to the optimization of strategies to prevent intimate partner violence and intervention programs with this population

Interaction between Socioeconomic Status and Cognitive Development in Children Aged 7, 9, and 11 Years: A Cross-Sectional Study.

The socioeconomic status (SES) of parents has a crucial influence on the cognitive development of children, but it is not clear whether this effect varies as a function of the children's age. The objective of this study was to investigate the development of children aged 7, 9, and 11 years of parents with extremely low SES in a developing country (Ecuador). Participating children were divided between a medium-SES group and a low-SES group. Statistically significant differences were observed as a function of SES group and age in verbal memory, language, and executive function, observing wider between-group differences among the 11-year-olds.

Are psychological measures and actuarial data equally effective in discriminating among the prison population? Analysis by crimes.

The ability of a wide range of psychological and actuarial measures to characterize crimes in the prison population has not yet been compared in a single study. Our main objective was to determine if the discriminant capacity of psychological measures (PM) and actuarial data (AD) varies according to the crime. An Ecuadorian sample of 576 men convicted of Robbery, Murder, Rape and Drug Possession crimes was evaluated through an ad hoc questionnaire, prison files and the Spanish adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory. Discriminant analysis was used to establish, for each crime, the discriminant capacity and the classification accuracy of a model composed of AD (socio-demographic and judicial measures) and a second model incorporating PM. The AD showed a superior discriminant capacity, whilst the contribution of both types of measures varied according to the crime. The PM generated some increase in the correct classification percentages for Murder, Rape and Drug Possession, but their contribution was zero for the crime of Robbery. Specific profiles of each crime were obtained from the strongest significant correlations between the value of each explanatory variable and the probability of belonging to the crime. The AD model is more robust when these four crimes are characterized. The contribution of AD and PM depends on the crime, and the inclusion of PM in actuarial models moderately optimizes the classification accuracy of Murder, Rape, and Drug Possession crimes.

Prevalence of psychopathological features in South American prison using the Personality Assessment Inventory / Prevalencia de características psciopatológicas en prisiones sudamericanas medida con el "Inventario de evaluación de la personalidad"

There is insufficient information available regarding the psychopathological characteristics of the prison population in low-middle-income countries. This study aimed to estimate the current prevalence of psychiatric symptoms and pathological personality traits among sentenced male prisoners from two Ecuadorian prisons. A sample of 675 individuals aged 18-75 years (M= 35.58, SD= 10.57) was assessed using the Spanish adaptation of the Personality Assessment Inventory (PAI). Current prevalence was 69.9% for at least one of the studied clinical syndromes. The most prevalent clinical syndromes were Alcohol problems (33.6%), Mania (32.3%), Drug problems (27.9%), Antisocial features (23.8%), Paranoia (21.4%), Schizophrenia (19.5%), and Somatic complaints (17.7%). Comorbidity was found in 49.8% of the sample. Taken together, Alcohol problems and Drug problems accounted for the highest prevalence (55.8% to 71.4%) among individuals with clinically significant scores in each of the syndromes analyzed. Further studies regarding the influence of the variables related to the prison context on the mental health of inmates will increase the usefulness of the findings

La información sobre la salud mental de la población penitenciaria en países con ingresos medios y bajos es reducida. El objetivo del estudio fue estimar la prevalencia actual de síntomas psiquiátricos y rasgos de personalidad patológicos en hombres que cumplen condena en dos prisiones ecuatorianas. Una muestra de 675 individuos, de 18 a 75 años de edad (M= 35,58; DT= 10,57), fue evaluada con la adaptación española del "Inventario de evaluación de la personalidad" (PAI). La prevalencia actual fue del 69,9% en al menos uno de los síndromes clínicos estudiados. Los síndromes clínicos más prevalentes fueron problemas con el alcohol (33,6%), manía (32,3%), problemas con las drogas (27,9%), rasgos antisociales (23,8%), paranoia (21,4%), esquizofrenia (19,5%) y quejas somáticas (17,7%). Además, se detectó comorbilidad en el 49,8% de la muestra. Los problemas con el alcohol y las drogas obtuvieron conjuntamente las mayores proporciones (55,8%-71,4%) del total de participantes con puntuaciones clínicamente relevantes en cada síndrome analizado. El estudio del efecto del contexto carcelario en la salud mental de los individuos potenciará la utilidad de estos hallazgos

Procesamiento emocional en maltratadores de género mediante el Test de Expresiones Faciales de Ekman y la Tarea Stroop Emocional / Emotional processing in batterers as assessed by Test Ekman Facial Expressions and Emotional Stroop Task in intimate partner violence situations

La investigación actual en el campo de la violencia de pareja es escasa en lo que se refiere al papel del procesamiento emocional de los maltratadores. Sin embargo, ningún estudio ha investigado en la misma muestra la capacidad de reconocer las emociones y la influencia de las emociones en los aspectos atencionales. El objetivo de este estudio es investigar en una muestra de maltratadores la capacidad de reconocer las emociones de fotografías estandarizadas y analizar la interferencia de las palabras con contenido emocional en una tarea atencional. La muestra consistió en 90 hombres condenados por violencia de pareja y 77 hombres condenados por otros delitos. Se evaluaron las características sociodemográficas asociadas a nuestra muestra y el procesamiento emocional de las expresiones faciales con la prueba de Ekman y la Tarea Stroop Emocional, diseñada específicamente para evaluar el procesamiento emocional en situaciones de violencia contra la pareja. Los resultados mostraron un mejor reconocimiento emocional de los maltratadores en las emociones faciales de enfado y sorpresa. Para el procesamiento de palabras con contenido emocional, las diferencias no fueron estadísticamente significativas.

Current research in the field of intimate partner violence has been scarce as regards the role of emotional processing in abusers. Nevertheless, no study has investigated the ability to recognize emotions and the influence of emotions on attention-related aspects among the same sample. The aim of this study is to investigate the ability to recognize emotions in standardized photographs, and to analyze the interference that words with emotional content exert on an attention task in a sample of abusers. The sample consisted of 90 men convicted of intimate partner violence and 77 men convicted of other crimes. Demographic characteristics associated to the sample were evaluated, as were emotional processing of facial expressions with the Ekman Test and the Emotional Stroop task, specifically designed to assess emotional processing in situations of intimate partner violence. The results showed better emotional recognition among abusers in the recognition of facial emotions of anger and surprise. As for the processing of words with emotional content, differences were not statistically significant.