- Home
- A-Z Publications
- Annual Review of Clinical Psychology
- Previous Issues
- Volume 3, 2007
Annual Review of Clinical Psychology - Volume 3, 2007
Volume 3, 2007
- Preface
-
-
-
Mediators and Mechanisms of Change in Psychotherapy Research
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 1–27More LessAbstractThere has been enormous progress in psychotherapy research. This has culminated in recognition of several treatments that have strong evidence in their behalf. Even so, after decades of psychotherapy research, we cannot provide an evidence-based explanation for how or why even our most well studied interventions produce change, that is, the mechanism(s) through which treatments operate. This chapter presents central requirements for demonstrating mediators and mechanisms of change and reviews current data-analytic and designs approaches and why they fall short of meeting these requirements. The role of the therapeutic alliance in psychotherapy and cognitive changes in cognitive therapy for depression are highlighted to illustrate key issues. Promising lines of work to identify mediators and mechanisms, ways of bringing to bear multiple types of evidence, recommendations to make progress in understanding how therapy works, and conceptual and research challenges in evaluating mediators and mechanisms are also presented.
-
-
-
Evidence-Based Assessment
John Hunsley, and Eric J. MashVol. 3 (2007), pp. 29–51More LessAbstractEvidence-based assessment (EBA) emphasizes the use of research and theory to inform the selection of assessment targets, the methods and measures used in the assessment, and the assessment process itself. Our review focuses on efforts to develop and promote EBA within clinical psychology. We begin by highlighting some weaknesses in current assessment practices and then present recent efforts to develop EBA guidelines for commonly encountered clinical conditions. Next, we address the need to attend to several critical factors in developing such guidelines, including defining psychometric adequacy, ensuring appropriate attention is paid to the influence of comorbidity and diversity, and disseminating accurate and up-to-date information on EBAs. Examples are provided of how data on incremental validity and clinical utility can inform EBA. Given the central role that assessment should play in evidence-based practice, there is a pressing need for clinically relevant research that can inform EBAs.
-
-
-
Internet Methods for Delivering Behavioral and Health-Related Interventions (eHealth)
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 53–76More LessAbstractEmerging communications technologies allow us to potentially reach more individuals with effective health-related advice and information at a very low cost. As we begin a new era of “personalized medicine,” advances in consumer health informatics will parallel and eventually merge with those being made in bioinformatics (e.g., genomic information), medical informatics (e.g., electronic medical records), and public health informatics (e.g., disease surveillance). This article discusses access, use, quality, and types of eHealth programming with a focus on the Internet as the initial instantiation of this programming. Also discussed are criteria relevant to the dissemination of eHealth programming in real-world settings. Finally, possible directions for future eHealth research are presented.
-
-
-
Drug Abuse* in African American and Hispanic Adolescents: Culture, Development, and Behavior
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 77–105More LessAbstractAn understanding of African American and Hispanic adolescent drug abuse occurs at the intersection of context, development, and behavior. The focus of this review is on the impact of racial/ethnic culture as one of the important contexts that influence adolescent development toward or away from prosocial behaviors. Because family plays a major role in both African American and Hispanic cultures, it is also a centerpiece of any discussion of adolescent development in these groups. This review on the state of the science in drug abuse for African American and Hispanic adolescents focuses on epidemiology, culturally specific risk and protective processes, and prevention and treatment research. From the perspective of a broad lens, specific minority groups such as African Americans and Hispanics would appear to have more in common than not. However, each of these groups encompasses considerable genetic, historical, social, and cultural heterogeneity. Investigation across such diversity will yield a more complete picture of the human condition.
-
-
-
Depression in Mothers
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 107–135More LessAbstractWhether one takes a biological, psychological, or psychosocial perspective, depression in mothers raises concerns about risks for the development of psychopathology in the children. This review addresses the complexity of that risk and the essential role of development in a model that explains processes of transmission. This article addresses the following aims: (a) to provide convincing evidence that depression in mothers is an important topic for clinical psychologists; (b) to summarize current theoretical models of mechanisms of risk for the development of psychopathology in children of depressed mothers and the status of empirical support for those models; (c) to examine the theoretical bases and current status of evidence for moderators of this risk; (d) to argue for the advantages to be gained from a developmental psychopathology perspective on this topic; and (e) to point to future directions for theory, research, and practice.
-
-
-
Prevalence, Comorbidity, and Service Utilization for Mood Disorders in the United States at the Beginning of the Twenty-first Century
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 137–158More LessAbstractThe results of recent community epidemiological research are reviewed, documenting that major depressive disorder (MDD) is a highly prevalent, persistent, and often seriously impairing disorder, and that bipolar disorder (BPD) is less prevalent but more persistent and more impairing than MDD. The higher persistence and severity of BPD results in a substantial proportion of all seriously impairing depressive episodes being due to threshold or subthreshold BPD rather than to MDD. Although the percentage of people with mood disorders in treatment has increased substantially since the early 1990s, a majority of cases remain either untreated or undertreated. An especially serious concern is the misdiagnosis of depressive episodes due to BPD as due to MDD because the majority of depression treatment involves medication provided by primary care doctors in the absence of psychotherapy. The article closes with a discussion of future directions for research.
-
-
-
Stimulating the Development of Drug Treatments to Improve Cognition in Schizophrenia
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 159–180More LessAbstractCognitive impairment in schizophrenia is a core feature of the illness (i.e., not a result of clinical symptoms or drug treatments) that is related to the daily functioning of patients. Because schizophrenia is associated with poor community functioning, there is considerable interest in finding treatments to improve cognition in schizophrenia in the hopes that such improvement will yield functional benefits. Before the U.S. Food and Drug Administration could consider granting approval to any new drug for improving cognition in schizophrenia, it was first necessary to achieve consensus on the measurements and methods that would be used in clinical trials, as well as neuropharmacological targets. The U.S. National Institute of Mental Health launched an initiative to help address these obstacles to drug approval (MATRICS). This initiative has generated several additional follow-up initiatives including a clinical trial network and consensus projects for other clinical targets, such as negative symptoms. This review describes how an area that was primarily of academic interest (cognition in schizophrenia) became a focus of public health concerns and drug-development policy.
-
-
-
Dialectical Behavior Therapy for Borderline Personality Disorder
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 181–205More LessAbstractSince the introduction of Linehan's treatment manuals in 1993, dialectical behavior therapy (DBT) has been widely disseminated throughout multiple therapeutic settings and applied to a variety of diagnoses. The enthusiasm with which it was embraced by clinicians early on led some to question whether DBT's popularity was outstripping its empirical foundation. Most of the specific concerns raised regarding DBT's early empirical base have been meaningfully addressed in subsequent randomized controlled trials. This review provides a brief introduction to DBT, followed by a critical appraisal of empirical support for the treatment and a discussion of current research trends.
-
-
-
A Meta-Analytic Review of Eating Disorder Prevention Programs: Encouraging Findings
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 207–231More LessAbstractThis meta-analytic review found that 51% of eating disorder prevention programs reduced eating disorder risk factors and 29% reduced current or future eating pathology. Larger effects occurred for programs that were selected (versus universal), interactive (versus didactic), multisession (versus single session), solely offered to females (versus both sexes), offered to participants over 15 years of age (versus younger ones), and delivered by professional interventionists (versus endogenous providers). Programs with body acceptance and dissonance-induction content and without psychoeducational content and programs evaluated in trials using validated measures and a shorter follow-up period also produced larger effects. Results identify promising programs and delineate sample, format, and design features associated with larger effects, which may inform the design of more effective prevention programs in the future.
-
-
-
Sexual Dysfunctions in Women
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 233–256More LessAbstractIn this article, we summarize the definition, etiology, assessment, and treatment of sexual dysfunctions in women. Although the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth edition (DSM-IV-TR) is our guiding framework for classifying and defining women's sexual dysfunctions, we draw special attention to recent discussion in the literature criticizing the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria and their underlying assumptions. Our review of clinical research on sexual dysfunction summarizes psychosocial and biomedical management approaches, with a critical examination of the empirical support for commonly prescribed therapies and limitations of recent clinical trials.
-
-
-
Relapse and Relapse Prevention
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 257–284More LessAbstractMost psychological disorders and problem behaviors are characterized by very high rates of postremittance relapse. Thus, advances in the long-term efficacy of psychological interventions require understanding the causes and processes of relapse, with the ultimate goal of developing strategies that reduce the probability of relapse. Existing psychological theory and interventions relevant to relapse and relapse prevention (RP) are reviewed, with a focus on addictive behaviors. The past two decades have produced increased attention toward the relapse problem and important advances in the conceptualization of relapse (i.e., as a process rather than a discrete event). Further progress will require the translation of basic theory into applied theory, the development of integrative theories of relapse, and the design and testing of theory-based, multimodal RP interventions.
-
-
-
Marital and Family Processes in the Context of Alcohol Use and Alcohol Disorders
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 285–310More LessAbstractAlcohol use is often part of the fabric of marriage and family life, and although it is associated with certain positive effects, excessive drinking and alcohol disorders can exert a negative effect on the marital development and on the development of children in the context of the family. This review considers evidence that alcohol influences and is influenced by marital/family processes, including transitions into marriage and parenthood, marital satisfaction, marital violence, parenting, and child development. The review discusses the importance of antisocial behavior and the need to examine women's drinking, and the joint impact of men's and women's drinking on marital/family processes. The review highlights the lack of studies in certain key areas, including the link between discordant drinking and violence and marital satisfaction, the role of alcohol in child neglect, and the potential role of marital conflict as a mediator or moderator of the relationship between alcohol and child functioning.
-
-
-
Unwarranted Assumptions about Children's Testimonial Accuracy
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 311–328More LessAbstractWe examine eight unwarranted assumptions made by expert witnesses, forensic interviewers, and legal scholars about the reliability of children's eyewitness reports. The first four assumptions modify some central beliefs about the nature of suggestive interviews, age-related differences in resistance to suggestion, and thresholds necessary to produce tainted reports. The fifth unwarranted assumption involves the influence of both individual and interviewer factors in determining children's suggestibility. The sixth unwarranted assumption concerns the claim that suggested reports are detectable. The seventh unwarranted assumption concerns new findings about how children deny, disclose, and/or recant their abuse. Finally, we examine unwarranted statements about the value of science to the forensic arena. It is important not only for researchers but also expert witnesses and court-appointed psychologists to be aware of these unwarranted assumptions.
-
-
-
Expressed Emotion and Relapse of Psychopathology
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 329–352More LessAbstractExpressed emotion (EE) is a measure of the family environment that predicts worse clinical outcomes for patients with a range of disorders. This article describes the assessment of EE and the evidence linking EE to clinical relapse in patients with psychopathology. This is followed by consideration of the possible explanatory models that might account for the EE-relapse link and a review of the evidence suggesting that EE may play a causal role in the relapse process. The results of studies describing the effect of EE on patients, as well as cross-cultural aspects of the construct, are highlighted. Finally, the possibility that high levels of EE may stress patients by perturbing activity in neural circuits that underlie psychopathology is considered and new directions for EE research are outlined.
-
-
-
Sexual Orientation and Mental Health
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 353–375More LessAbstractThis article provides an overview of current psychological research on mental health and sexual orientation, as well as clinical practice with sexual minorities. The historical context for current research questions and controversies is described, and the findings of recent empirical research on psychological well-being and distress among nonheterosexuals are summarized. The minority stress model is used to frame a discussion of stressors unique to sexual minorities and to consider their possible effects on psychological well-being. The possible ameliorative effects of adopting a sexual orientation identity are examined, followed by a discussion of how these ideas translate into contemporary clinical work with sexual minority clients. The review concludes with a brief discussion of priority areas for empirical research and clinical practice.
-
-
-
Coping Resources, Coping Processes, and Mental Health
Vol. 3 (2007), pp. 377–401More LessAbstractCoping, defined as action-oriented and intrapsychic efforts to manage the demands created by stressful events, is coming to be recognized both for its significant impact on stress-related mental and physical health outcomes and for its intervention potential. We review coping resources that aid in this process, including individual differences in optimism, mastery, self-esteem, and social support, and examine appraisal and coping processes, especially those marked by approach or avoidance. We address the origins of coping resources and processes in genes, early life experience, and gene-environment interactions, and address neural underpinnings of coping that may shed light on evaluating coping interventions. We conclude by outlining possible intervention strategies for improving coping processes.
-
Previous Volumes
-
Volume 20 (2024)
-
Volume 19 (2023)
-
Volume 18 (2022)
-
Volume 17 (2021)
-
Volume 16 (2020)
-
Volume 15 (2019)
-
Volume 14 (2018)
-
Volume 13 (2017)
-
Volume 12 (2016)
-
Volume 11 (2015)
-
Volume 10 (2014)
-
Volume 9 (2013)
-
Volume 8 (2012)
-
Volume 7 (2011)
-
Volume 6 (2010)
-
Volume 5 (2009)
-
Volume 4 (2008)
-
Volume 3 (2007)
-
Volume 2 (2006)
-
Volume 1 (2005)
-
Volume 0 (1932)