Do Cognitive Therapy Skills Neutralize Lifetime Stress to Improve Treatment Outcomes in Recurrent Depression?

Cognitive therapy (CT) is an efficacious treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD), but not all patients respond. Past research suggests that stressful life events (SLE; e.g., childhood maltreatment, emotional and physical abuse, relationship discord, physical illness) sometimes reduce the efficacy of depression treatment, whereas greater acquisition and use of CT skills may improve patient outcomes. In a sample of 276 outpatient participants with recurrent MDD, we tested the hypothesis that patients with more SLE benefit more from CT skills in attaining response and remaining free of relapse/recurrence. Patients with more pretreatment SLE did not develop weaker CT skills, on average, but were significantly less likely to respond to CT. However, SLE predicted non-response only for patients with relatively weak skills, and not for those with stronger CT skills. Similarly, among acute-phase responders, SLE increased risk for MDD relapse/recurrence among patients with weaker CT skills. Thus, the combination of more SLE and weaker CT skills forecasted negative outcomes. These novel findings are discussed in the context of improving CT for depression among patients with greater lifetime history of SLE and require replication before clinical application.

Trends in authorship based on gender and nationality in published neuroscience literature.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the disparity in authorship based on gender and nationality of institutional affiliation among journals from developed and developing countries. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Original articles from two neuroscience journals, with a 5 year impact factor >15 (Neuron and Nature Neuroscience) and from two neurology journals from a developing country (Neurology India and Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology) were categorized by gender and institutional affiliation of first and senior authors. Articles were further divided by the type of research (basic/translational/clinical), study/target population (adult/pediatrics/both) and field of neurology. Data was collected for the years 2002 and 2012. RESULTS: There are large disparities in authorship by women and from developing countries in high impact factor neuroscience journals. However, there was a non-statistical rise in female first and senior authorship over a 10 year period. Additionally there was a significant increase in first authorship from institutions based in developing countries in the two neuroscience journals examined (P < 0.05). In the two neurology journals based in India there was a significant increase in the number of articles published by international investigators between 2002 and 2012 (P < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Over the last decade, there has been a non-statistical increase in proportion of female first and senior authors, and a significant increase in authors from developing countries in high impact factor neuroscience journals. However they continue to constitute a minority. The disparity in authorship based on gender also exists in neurology journals based in a developing country (India).

Children's mental health and collective violence: a binational study on the United States-Mexico border.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the risk effects of poverty and exposure to collective violence attributed to organized crime on the mental health of children living on the United States-Mexico border. METHODS: A repeated, cross-sectional study measured risk effects by comparing scores of psychosocial and behavioral problems among children and adolescents living on the border in the United States or Mexico in 2007 and 2010. Patients living in poverty who responded once to the Pictorial Child Behavior Checklist (P+CBCL) in Spanish were randomly selected from clinics in El Paso, Texas, United States (poverty alone group), and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico (poverty plus violence group). Only children of Hispanic origin (Mexican-American or Mexican) living below the poverty level and presenting at the clinic for nonemergency visits with no history of diagnosed mental, neurological, or life-threatening disease or disability were included. RESULTS: Exposure to collective violence and poverty seemed to have an additive effect on children's mental health. Children exposed to both poverty and collective violence had higher problem scores, as measured by the P+CBCL, than those exposed to poverty alone. CONCLUSIONS: It is important to consider that children and adolescents exposed to collective violence and poverty also have fewer chances to receive treatment. Untreated mental health problems predict violence, antisocial behaviors, and delinquency and affect families, communities, and individuals. It is crucial to address the mental health of children on the border to counteract the devastating effects this setting will have in the short term and the near future.

Children’s mental health and collective violence: a binational study on the United States—Mexico border / Salud mental infantil y violencia colectiva: un estudio binacional en la frontera entre México y los Estados Unidos

Objetivo. Investigar los efectos del riesgo de pobreza y la exposición a la violenciacolectiva atribuida al crimen organizado sobre la salud mental de los niños que vivenen la frontera entre México y los Estados Unidos.Métodos. En este estudio transversal seriado se midieron los efectos del riesgo mediantela comparación de las puntuaciones de problemas psicosociales y conductualesen los niños y adolescentes que viven en la frontera entre México y los Estados Unidosen el 2007 y el 2010. Se seleccionó aleatoriamente a pacientes que viven en la pobrezaque habían respondido en una oportunidad anterior el Cuestionario de ComportamientoInfantil basado en Pictogramas (P+CBCL) en español a partir de consultoriosen El Paso, Texas, Estados Unidos (grupo afectado solamente por la pobreza), yCiudad Juárez, Chihuahua, México (grupo afectado por la pobreza y la violencia). Seincluyeron solamente niños de origen hispano (estadounidenses de origen mexicanoo mexicanos) que vivían en la pobreza, que consultaron por motivos que no eran urgenciasy que no presentaban antecedentes de enfermedades neurológicas, mentaleso potencialmente mortales, ni discapacidad.Resultados. La exposición a la violencia colectiva y la pobreza parecieron tenerun efecto aditivo sobre la salud mental de los niños. Los niños expuestos tanto a lapobreza como a la violencia colectiva tuvieron puntuaciones mayores de problemasconductuales y psicosociales según las mediciones del P+CBCL que aquellos expuestossolamente a la pobreza.Conclusiones. Es importante considerar que los niños y los adolescentes expuestosa la violencia colectiva y la pobreza también tienen menos oportunidades de recibirtratamiento. Los problemas de salud mental no tratados son factores predictivos de laviolencia, los comportamientos antisociales y la delincuencia y afectan a las familias,a las comunidades y a los individuos. Es crucial abordar el tema de la salud mentalde los niños en la región de la frontera a fin de contrarrestar los efectos devastadoresque esta situación ocasionará a corto plazo y en el futuro cercano.

Objective. To investigate the risk effects of poverty and exposure to collective violenceattributed to organized crime on the mental health of children living on the United States–Mexico border.Methods. A repeated, cross-sectional study measured risk effects by comparing scores ofpsychosocial and behavioral problems among children and adolescents living on the border inthe United States or Mexico in 2007 and 2010. Patients living in poverty who responded onceto the Pictorial Child Behavior Checklist (P+CBCL) in Spanish were randomly selected fromclinics in El Paso, Texas, United States (poverty alone group), and Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua,Mexico (poverty plus violence group). Only children of Hispanic origin (Mexican–Americanor Mexican) living below the poverty level and presenting at the clinic for nonemergency visitswith no history of diagnosed mental, neurological, or life-threatening disease or disability wereincluded.Results. Exposure to collective violence and poverty seemed to have an additive effect onchildren’s mental health. Children exposed to both poverty and collective violence had higherproblem scores, as measured by the P+CBCL, than those exposed to poverty alone.Conclusions. It is important to consider that children and adolescents exposed to collectiveviolence and poverty also have fewer chances to receive treatment. Untreated mentalhealth problems predict violence, antisocial behaviors, and delinquency and affect families,communities, and individuals. It is crucial to address the mental health of children on the borderto counteract the devastating effects this setting will have in the short term and the near future.