“WHAT can men do, what do they do, and what do they want to do ?”—these are the uestions that Prof. Thorndike seeks to answer in a very comprehensive and elaborate treatise. His undertaking is inspired by the belief that man has the possibility of almost complete control of his fate if only he will be guided by science, and that his failures are attributable to ignorance or folly. The main approach is through biological psychology, but all the social sciences are appealed to and utilized in an effort to deal with the human problem as a whole. The relative immaturity of the sciences dealing with man is continually stressed, but it is claimed that they provide a body of facts and principles which are “far above zero knowledge”, and that even now they are capable of affording valuable guidance in the shaping of public policy. Human Nature and the Social Order By E. L. Thorndike. Pp. xx + 1020. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1940.) 18s. net.

Human Nature and the Social Order

Cognitive psychology and emotional disorders

Although there are dozens of books on cognitive therapy of depression, a majority are edited volumes and relatively few are distinguished by the comprehensive mastery of the material and clarity of exposition apparent in this book by Clark, Beck, and Alford. This volume offers a relatively up-to-date (circa 1999) and scholarly review of the phenomenology of depressive disorders from the cognitive perspective, along with detailed evaluations of the literature pertaining to the key hypotheses of the cognitive model of depression.

The book is well written, but it is not for the cognitive therapy neophyte. It is rather lengthy and detailed. Moreover, as might be expected, the discussions of criticisms of the cognitive model are somewhat partisan, and the authors consistently present the cognitive model as dynamic and organic (as opposed to static) in response to new and at times contradictory data. Nevertheless, it provides a valuable source companion to the classic but outdated treatment manual originally published in 1979 by Dr. Beck and colleagues (Cognitive Therapy of Depression) and the excellent how-to book by Dr. Judith Beck, Cognitive Therapy: Basics and Beyond, which was published in 1995.

Subheads, periodic summaries, and statements of key points within each chapter focus the reader's attention and enhance comprehension; the authors are, after all, expert cognitive therapists. There is a minimum of redundancy across the 11 chapters, and although the copyediting is not infallible (e.g., influential early behaviorist Charles Ferster is referred to as “Fester” in both the text and the reference list), typographical errors are few.

As a treatment researcher, I was disappointed that the authors did not devote at least one chapter to reviewing the comparative outcome research studies of CT. Outcomes data has been one of the key aspects of the scientific foundation of CT for nearly 25 years.1 This is a shortcoming, particularly in view of work linking early evidence of CT's superiority (over other therapies) to strong allegiance effects2 and the increasing number of studies in which CT has not performed so well under more “neutral”3,4 or even potentially “allegiance-disadvantaged”5–7 conditions. Ultimately, the most pragmatic benefit of an elegant, scientifically strong model of psychopathology is the ability to translate such knowledge into greater or more enduring benefits for our patients. In this regard, it is not yet clear that the elaborate suprastructure of schema theory actually adds such benefits relative to simpler behavioral5 or interpersonal6 models of intervention.

Scientific Foundations of Cognitive Theory and Therapy of Depression

Background
Suicide is a leading cause of death and a complex clinical outcome. Here, we summarize the current state of research pertaining to suicidal thoughts and behaviors in youth. We review their definitions/measurement and phenomenology, epidemiology, potential etiological mechanisms, and psychological treatment and prevention efforts.

Results
We identify key patterns and gaps in knowledge that should guide future work. Regarding epidemiology, the prevalence of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among youth varies across countries and sociodemographic populations. Despite this, studies are rarely conducted cross-nationally and do not uniformly account for high-risk populations. Regarding etiology, the majority of risk factors have been identified within the realm of environmental and psychological factors (notably negative affect-related processes), and most frequently using self-report measures. Little research has spanned across additional units of analyses including behavior, physiology, molecules, cells, and genes. Finally, there has been growing evidence in support of select psychotherapeutic treatment and prevention strategies, and preliminary evidence for technology-based interventions.

Conclusions
There is much work to be done to better understand suicidal thoughts and behaviors among youth. We strongly encourage future research to: (1) continue improving the conceptualization and operationalization of suicidal thoughts and behaviors; (2) improve etiological understanding by focusing on individual (preferably malleable) mechanisms; (3) improve etiological understanding also by integrating findings across multiple units of analyses and developing short-term prediction models; (4) demonstrate greater developmental sensitivity overall; and (5) account for diverse high-risk populations via sampling and reporting of sample characteristics. These serve as initial steps to improve the scientific approach, knowledge base, and ultimately prevention of suicidal thoughts and behaviors among youth.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/jcpp.12831

Annual Research Review: Suicide among youth - epidemiology, (potential) etiology, and treatment.

Methods to Assess Adverse Childhood Experiences of Children and Families: Toward Approaches to Promote Child Well-being in Policy and Practice.

Online Social Support for Young People: Does It Recapitulate In-person Social Support; Can It Help?

Objective Universal mental health screening in pediatric primary care is recommended, but studies report slow uptake and low rates of patient follow-through after referral to specialized services. This review examined possible explanations related to the process of screening, focusing on how parents and youth are engaged, and how providers evaluate and use screening results. Method A narrative synthesis was developed after a systematic review of 3 databases (plus follow-up of citations, expert recommendations, and checks for multiple publications about the same study). Searching identified 1,188 titles, and of these, 186 full-text articles were reviewed. Two authors extracted data from 45 articles meeting inclusion criteria. Results Published studies report few details about how mental health screens were administered, including how clinicians explain their purpose or confidentiality, or whether help was provided for language, literacy, or disability problems. Although they were not addressed directly in the studies reviewed, uptake and detection rates appeared to vary with means of administration. Screening framed as universal, confidential, and intended to optimize attention to patient concerns increased acceptability. Studies said little about how providers were taught to explore screen results. Screening increased referrals, but many still followed negative screens, in some cases because of parent concerns apparently not reflected by screen results but possibly stemming from screen-prompted discussions. Conclusions Little research has addressed the process of engaging patients in mental health screening in pediatric primary care or how clinicians can best use screening results. The literature does offer suggestions for better clinical practice and research that may lead to improvements in uptake and outcome.

/pdf/universal-mental-health-screening-in-pediatric-primary-care-1mwxdt6ol9.pdf

Universal mental health screening in pediatric primary care: a systematic review.

A systematic review examined universal mental health screening in pediatric primary care, and found little research has addressed patients' engagement in the process or how clinicians can best use screening results.

Universal Mental Health Screening in Pediatric Primary Care: A Systematic Review

Adolescents are among the most frequent users of social media websites, raising concern about the dangers of cyber bullying or cybervictimization (CV). A 12-month longitudinal study examined the unique, prospective relation of CV to the development of negative self-cognitions and depressive symptoms in a community sample of 827 children and young adolescents (ages 8-13; 55.1 % female) from the southeastern United States. Over and above conventional types of peer victimization, CV significantly predicted changes in self-referential negative cognitions, victimization-related cognitive reactions, and depressive symptoms, even after controlling for baseline levels of the dependent variables. Results also showed that CV was significantly less stable than other forms of victimization and tended to increase slightly with time. The study highlights the unique effects of CV and has implications for research and practice.

Longitudinal and Incremental Relation of Cybervictimization to Negative Self-Cognitions and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adolescents

A new measure, the Online Social Support Scale, was developed based on previous theory, research, and measurement of in-person social support. It includes four subscales: Esteem/Emotional Support, Social Companionship, Informational Support, and Instrumental Support. In college and community samples, factor analytic and item response theory results suggest that subtypes of in-person social support also pertain in the online world. Evidence of reliability, convergent validity, and discriminant validity provide excellent psychometric support for the measure. Construct validity accrues to the measure vis-a-vis support for three hypotheses: (a) Various broad types of Internet platforms for social interactions are differentially associated with online social support and online victimization; (b) similar to in-person social support, online social support offsets the adverse effect of negative life events on self-esteem and depression-related outcome; and (c) online social support counteracts the effects of online victimization in much the same way that in-person friends in one social niche counterbalance rejection in other social niches. (PsycINFO Database Record

Rachel L. Zelkowitz

Papers

Online Social Support for Young People: Does It Recapitulate In-person Social Support; Can It Help?

Universal mental health screening in pediatric primary care: a systematic review.

Universal Mental Health Screening in Pediatric Primary Care: A Systematic Review

Longitudinal and Incremental Relation of Cybervictimization to Negative Self-Cognitions and Depressive Symptoms in Young Adolescents

The Online Social Support Scale: Measure development and validation.