Does hostile rumination mediate the associations between reported child abuse, parenting characteristics and borderline features in adulthood?

This cross-sectional study investigated whether hostile rumination mediated the association between several indicators of a negative childhood environment (retrospectively reported child abuse and perceived parental care and overprotection) and borderline features. Community participants (N = 524) completed self-report measures in the laboratory. Results showed that adults exhibiting borderline features reported less parental care and more parental overprotection, as well as greater abuse. Additionally, hostile rumination statistically mediated the associations between all childhood environmental variables and borderline features, even controlling for depressive symptoms, alcohol use and impulsivity. Although cross-sectional data cannot test causal mediation, this pattern of results provides preliminary evidence that hostile rumination may partially account for the well-established connection between negative environments and borderline features. Future directions, including a discussion of longitudinal and experimental work that might help build on and strengthen the current findings, are explored.

Development and Psychometric Evaluation of the Child Neglect Questionnaire.

Neglect poses a significant risk for children throughout their development and is often linked with serious consequences that reach into adulthood. The Child Neglect Questionnaire (CNQ) fills existing gaps by incorporating multiple perspectives from both parents and the child, as well as measuring the complex phenomenon of neglect multidimensionally. Furthermore, this measure addresses the need for an instrument specifically developed for late childhood (ages 10-12), as much of the extant evidence and corresponding measures focus on young children and their mothers. A panel of three psychologists, using Cicchetti's model of child neglect as a theoretical guide, began by selecting items from an existing database. Results of exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and item response theory demonstrated the unidimensionality of physical, emotional, educational, and supervision neglect as well as a second-order construct of child neglect. Analyses controlling for risk status due to father's substance use disorder, socioeconomic status, and child's ethnicity demonstrated that father's and mother's (parental) neglect, particularly in the child's versions, had sound concurrent and predictive validity. Concurrently, at age 10-12, the child's version of both parents' neglect correlated with their parenting behaviors evaluated by other available measures. Prospectively, from 10-12 years of age to 11-13 years of age, parental neglect predicted child's drug use frequency with coexisting psychological dysregulation, psychiatric symptoms, antisocial behavior, non-normative sexual behavior, involvement with deviant peers and leisure activities thus demonstrating sound predictive validity. Also, internal consistency and inter-rater reliability were excellent. The CNQ, particularly the child's version, may thus be useful for detecting children at high risk for parental neglect.

Effects of Thought Suppression on Provoked Men's Alcohol-Related Physical Aggression in the Laboratory.

OBJECTIVE: This study utilized a comprehensive theoretical approach to provide the first data on the impact of thought suppression on provoked men's alcohol-related aggression. METHOD: A diverse community sample (58% African-American) of males between the ages of 21 and 35 (M = 25.25) were randomly assigned to one of two beverage conditions (i.e., alcohol, no-alcohol control). Following beverage consumption, participants were provoked via reception of electric shocks and a verbal insult from a fictitious male opponent. Participants' physical aggression was measured using a shock-based aggression task. RESULTS: Results indicated that acute alcohol intoxication significantly increased physical aggression among lower, but not higher, thought suppressing men. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest that, under conditions of interpersonal provocation, alcohol intoxication produces a myopic focus on hostile thoughts and angry affect in lower, but not higher, suppression men. This pattern of results provides support for the durability of the alcohol myopia effect and highlights the need for continued examination of alcohol's role in the disruption of protective factors for men's aggression. It is important for research to continue to identify modifiable cognitive variables that influence self-regulation of behavior; however, it is imperative that researchers consider the extent to which these variables withstand alcohol's effects.

Confirmatory factor analysis of the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult version in healthy adults and application to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

The Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A) is a questionnaire measure designed to assess executive functioning in everyday life. Analysis of data from the BRIEF-A standardization sample yielded a two-factor solution (labeled Behavioral Regulation and Metacognition). The present investigation employed confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) to evaluate four alternative models of the factor structure of the BRIEF-A self-report form in a sample of 524 healthy young adults. Results indicated that a three-factor model best fits the data: a Metacognition factor, a Behavioral Regulation factor consisting of the Inhibit and Self-Monitor scales, and an Emotional Regulation factor composed of the Emotional Control and Shift scales. The three factors contributed 14%, 19%, and 24% of unique variance to the model, respectively, and a second-order general factor accounted for 41% of variance overall. This three-factor solution is consistent with recent CFAs of the Parent report form of the BRIEF. Furthermore, although the Behavioral Regulation factor score in the two-factor model did not differ between adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and a matched healthy comparison group, greater impairment on the Behavioral Regulation factor but not the Emotional Regulation factor was found using the three-factor model. Together, these findings support the multidimensional nature of executive function and the clinical relevance of a three-factor model of the BRIEF-A.

Psychopathy and the prediction of alcohol-related physical aggression: the roles of impulsive antisociality and fearless dominance.

BACKGROUND: It is well established that individual difference factors modulate aggression under the acute effects of alcohol. In this investigation, we tested the hypothesis that one core dimension of psychopathy, Impulsive Antisociality, would modulate intoxicated aggression, whereas another dimension, Fearless Dominance, would not. METHODS: Participants were 516 young social drinkers (253 men and 263 women). Psychopathy was measured using the Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI; Lilienfeld and Andrews, 1996). Following the consumption of either an alcohol or a placebo beverage, aggression was measured with a task in which participants administered and received electric shocks to/from a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. RESULTS: Hierarchical regression analyses supported our hypothesis: Impulsive Antisociality predicted aggression under alcohol, whereas Fearless Dominance did not. CONCLUSIONS: Persons who tend to endorse antisocial and impulsive externalizing behaviors appear to be at greater risk for aggression under the acute influence of alcohol.

Failure to Consider Future Consequences Increases the Effects of Alcohol on Aggression.

The failure to consider the future consequences of one's behavior is a major risk factor for aggression. Aggressive people tend to act first, and think later. Some people focus on the -here and now rather than on the future, a tendency measured by the Consideration of Future Consequences (CFC) scale (Strathman, Gleicher, Boninger, & Edwards, 1994). Alcohol intoxication is a neuro-biological variable that produces similar effects. Participants in the present experiment completed the CFC scale and then consumed either an alcohol or a placebo beverage. Next, they competed against a same-sex ostensible partner on an interpersonally adversarial competitive task in which the winner could administer electric shocks to the loser (the aggression measure). As expected, aggression was highest in intoxicated persons with low CFC scores. Being unconcerned about the future consequences of one's actions, in conjunction with acute alcohol intoxication, combine in a pernicious manner to increase aggression.

Identifying component-processes of executive functioning that serve as risk factors for the alcohol-aggression relation.

The present investigation determined how different component-processes of executive functioning (EF) served as risk factors for intoxicated aggression. Participants were 512 (246 males and 266 females) healthy social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. EF was measured using the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A) that assesses nine EF components. After the consumption of either an alcohol or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm in which mild electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent. Aggressive behavior was operationalized as the shock intensities and durations administered to the opponent. Although a general BRIEF-A EF construct consisting of all nine components predicted intoxicated aggression, the best predictor involved one termed the Behavioral Regulation Index that comprises component processes such as inhibition, emotional control, flexible thinking, and self-monitoring.

The disguise of sobriety: unveiled by alcohol in persons with an aggressive personality.

This investigation examined the factor structure of 8 well-validated self-report measures that assess traits that fall under the rubric of an "aggressive personality" and then determined how those factor(s) moderated the association between alcohol intoxication and aggression. Participants were 518 (252 men and 266 women) healthy social drinkers between 21 and 35 years of age. Following the consumption of an alcoholic or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a laboratory aggression paradigm in which electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent. Aggression was operationalized as the shock intensities and durations administered to the opponent. Results demonstrated a unidimensional factor structure for the aggressive personality traits, which were then combined into a latent variable. The aggressive personality variable moderated the alcohol-aggression relation. Specifically, alcohol was significantly more likely to increase aggression in persons with higher, compared with lower, aggressive personality scores.

Performance on the Cognitive Estimation Test in schizophrenia.

The Cognitive Estimation Test (CET) is generally considered to be a measure of executive function, but there is little information with respect to its clinical utility in patients with schizophrenia. In the present investigation, we evaluated the clinical utility of the CET in 42 patients with schizophrenia relative to 42 healthy comparison subjects matched for age, gender, and parental education. Construct validity of the CET was examined though correlation with other tests of executive and nonexecutive cognitive functions. Patients with schizophrenia performed more poorly on the CET compared with the healthy comparison group, which could not be accounted for by greater level of depression in the patient sample. In the schizophrenia group, CET was correlated with measures of executive function but also general intellectual functioning, verbal learning, and auditory attention. CET performance was not associated with depression or overall severity of psychopathology in the patient sample. These findings provide support for the clinical utility of the CET in schizophrenia but indicate that both executive and nonexecutive cognitive functions contribute to performance on the measure. Thus, the integrity of other cognitive processes should be taken into consideration when interpreting the presence of a deficit in cognitive estimation in patients with schizophrenia.

Trait and state hostile rumination facilitate alcohol-related aggression.

OBJECTIVE: This investigation attempted to determine whether trait and state hostile rumination functioned as risk factors for the relation between acute alcohol intoxication and aggression. METHOD: Participants were 516 social drinkers (252 men and 264 women). Trait hostile rumination was assessed using Caprara's Dissipation-Rumination Scale. Following the consumption of either an alcohol or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. Aggression was operationalized as the combined mean responses for shock intensity and duration across all trials. In a subset of the sample (n = 320), state hostile rumination was assessed following the aggression task using a self-report measure. RESULTS: As expected, both trait and state measures acted as moderators. Specifically, acute alcohol intoxication was more likely to increase aggression in persons with higher trait and state hostile rumination scores compared with their equally intoxicated lower rumination counterparts. CONCLUSIONS: This was the first investigation to demonstrate that trait or state rumination significantly heighten the risk of intoxicated aggression. We believe that hostile rumination facilitates intoxicated aggression because ruminators have difficulty diverting their attention away from anger-provoking stimuli and related thoughts, thus making violent reactions more likely. Clinical and public health interventions would benefit by developing strategies to distract ruminative attention away from violence-promoting messages, especially when persons are under the influence of alcohol.

Alcohol, violence, and the Alcohol Myopia Model: preliminary findings and implications for prevention.

This experiment provided a preliminary test of whether the Alcohol Myopia Model (AMM; Steele & Josephs, 1990) would provide a guiding framework for the prevention of alcohol-related violence. The model contends that alcohol has a "myopic" effect on attentional capacity that presumably facilitates violence by focusing attention onto more salient provocative, rather than less salient inhibitory, cues in hostile situations. Participants were 16 intoxicated male social drinkers who completed a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task while they were exposed to either violence-promoting (n=8) or violence-inhibiting (n=8) cues. Aggression was operationalized as the intensity and duration of shocks administered by the participant to his "opponent." Despite being equally intoxicated, participants exposed to violence-inhibiting cues were dramatically less aggressive (d=1.65) than those exposed to the violence-promoting cues. Our data suggest that the AMM holds a great deal of promise to help develop effective prevention interventions for alcohol-related violence.

Beliefs about aggression moderate alcohol's effects on aggression.

The goal of this investigation was to determine whether permissive beliefs about aggression moderate the relation between acute alcohol intoxication and aggression in two large experiments. Participants in Study 1 were 328 (163 men and 165 women) social drinkers and those in Study 2 were 518 (252 men and 266 women) social drinkers. Beliefs about aggression were assessed using a well-validated self-report measure. Following the consumption of either an alcohol or a placebo beverage, participants were tested on a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from, and administered to, a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. Aggression was operationalized as the combined mean responses for shock intensity and duration across all trials. Our central finding was that alcohol increased aggression in persons with more approving beliefs about aggression than in those who did not hold such beliefs. Our results are discussed within the context of Huesmann's (1988) cognitive script model of aggression. Suggestions for violence prevention efforts are put forth as well.

Alcohol dose and aggression: another reason why drinking more is a bad idea.

OBJECTIVE: Numerous studies have examined the impact of alcohol on violence; however, only a small number have addressed differences elicited by different doses of alcohol. Such studies are limited by mixed findings, small sample sizes, inconsistent alcohol doses and control conditions, a bias toward studying only male participants, and the predominant use of only one particular measure to assess aggression. The present laboratory investigation was designed to elucidate and advance this literature by improving on these limitations. METHOD: Participants were 187 (95 men and 92 women) social drinkers. Following the consumption of one of six alcohol doses (i.e., 0.0 g/kg, 0.125 g/kg, 0.25 g/kg, 0.5 g/kg, 0.75 g/kg, and 1.0 g/kg), participants were tested on a laboratory task in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a fictitious opponent under the guise of a competitive reaction-time task. Aggression was operationalized as the intensity and duration of shocks administered to one's "opponent." RESULTS: Analyses revealed a highly significant positive linear trend between alcohol dose and aggression for both genders. CONCLUSIONS: Our data aid in clarifying a body of literature that has been afflicted with numerous limitations and will help guide the selection of alcohol doses for researchers conducting future laboratory-based aggression studies.

"There is no such thing as an accident," especially when people are drunk.

The intentionality bias is the tendency for people to view the behavior of others as intentional. This study tests the hypothesis that alcohol magnifies the intentionality bias by disrupting effortful cognitive abilities. Using a 2 × 2 balanced placebo design in a natural field experiment disguised as a food-tasting session, participants received either a high dose of alcohol (target BAC = .10%) or no alcohol, with half of each group believing they had or had not consumed alcohol. Participants then read a series of sentences describing simple actions (e.g., "She cut him off in traffic") and indicated whether the actions were done intentionally or accidentally. As expected, intoxicated people interpreted more acts as intentional than did sober people. This finding helps explain why alcohol increases aggression. For example, intoxicated people may interpret a harmless bump in a crowded bar as a provocation.

The Big, the Bad, and the Boozed-Up: Weight Moderates the Effect of Alcohol on Aggression.

Most people avoid the "big, drunk guy" in bars because they don't want to get assaulted. Is this stereotype supported by empirical evidence? Unfortunately, no scientific work has investigated this topic. Based on the recalibrational theory of anger and embodied cognition theory, we predicted that heavier men would behave the most aggressively when intoxicated. In two independent experiments (Ns= 553 and 327, respectively), participants consumed either alcohol or placebo beverages and then completed an aggression task in which they could administer painful electric shocks to a fictitious opponent. Both experiments showed that weight interacted with alcohol and gender to predict the highest amount of aggression among intoxicated heavy men. The results suggest that an embodied cognition approach is useful in understanding intoxicated aggression. Apparently there is a kernel of truth in the stereotype of the "big, drunk, aggressive guy."

Alcohol Myopia Revisited: Clarifying Aggression and Other Acts of Disinhibition Through a Distorted Lens.

The alcohol myopia model (AMM; Steele & Josephs, 1990) is reviewed in light of its unique ability to account for a variety of alcohol and nonalcohol-related disinhibited behaviors, particularly aggression. The AMM posits that alcohol has a narrowing, or a "myopic," effect on one's ability to attend to competing instigatory and inhibitory cues. Disinhibited behavior is presumed to occur when attention is directed toward salient provocative or instigatory cues rather than inhibitory cues. AMM research is reviewed with regard to stress and anxiety, risky sexual behavior, drinking and driving, suicide, disinhibited eating, smoking, and alcohol-related aggression. The AMM is also expanded by proposing five key mechanisms (i.e., negative affect, angry affect, hostile cognitive rumination, self-awareness, and empathy) that are likely to explain how the model is specifically involved in the alcohol-aggression relation. Finally, a number of public health interventions, extrapolated from the AMM, are proposed to stimulate future research directed at reducing the prevalence of alcohol-related violence.

Agreeableness and alcohol-related aggression: the mediating effect of trait aggressivity.

This study investigated the mediating effect of trait aggressivity on the relation between agreeableness and alcohol-related aggression in a laboratory setting. Participants were 116 healthy male social drinkers between 21 and 30 years of age. Agreeableness and trait aggressivity were measured using the Big Five Inventory and the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire, respectively. Following the consumption of an alcohol or no-alcohol control beverage, participants completed a modified version of the Taylor Aggression Paradigm, in which electric shocks were received from and administered to a fictitious opponent during a competitive task. Aggression was operationalized as the proportion of the most extreme shocks delivered to the fictitious opponent under conditions of low and high provocation. Results indicated that lower levels of agreeableness were associated with higher levels of trait aggressivity. In turn, higher levels of trait aggressivity predicted extreme aggression in intoxicated, but not sober, participants under low, but not high, provocation. Findings highlight the importance of examining determinants of intoxicated aggression within a broader theoretical framework of personality.

Applying the attention-allocation model to the explanation of alcohol-related aggression: implications for prevention.

The primary purpose of this article is to apply the attention-allocation model (AAM; Steele and Josephs, 1990 ) to the explanation, as well as the prevention, of alcohol-related violence. The AAM contends that alcohol has a "myopic" effect on attentional capacity that presumably facilitates aggression by narrowing attentional focus on the most salient provocative cues that are naturally present in hostile situations, rather than on less salient inhibitory cues. Data are presented to demonstrate support for the AAM with regard to alcohol-related aggression. The model has also been expanded to suggest some intermediary mechanisms that may account for how distracting attention away from provocative cues might be involved in the reduction of aggression. Finally, a number of practical suggestions are put forth regarding how the AAM can be applied to the prevention of intoxicated aggression.

The treatment of substance misuse in psychopathic individuals: why heterogeneity matters.

Psychopathy is a personality syndrome characterized by egocentricity, grandiosity, remorselessness, callousness, impulsivity, and manipulativeness. It is also a disorder highly comorbid with substance use disorders ( Derefinko and Lynam, 2007 ; Smith and Newman, 1990 ; Tourian et al., 1997 ). However, unlike their other criminal counterparts, psychopaths' substance use related problems appear remarkably resilient despite treatment ( Smith and Newman, 1990 ) leading many to conclude the dually diagnosed psychopathic substance misuser is "untreatable." However, this pessimistic stance is predicated upon the notion that psychopathy is a homogeneous, categorical construct. Such a conclusion leaves little hope for treating substance use problems in this population, and has certainly attenuated efforts at developing effective clinical interventions ( Seto and Quinsey, 2006 ). In this review, we argue that conceptualizing psychopathy as a heterogeneous and dimensional construct reveals a common thread of negative emotionality (NEM) that may clarify the relations between psychopathy and substance use disorders as well as pave the way for more practical and viable treatment options.