[1] Le Grange, D., O’Connor, M., Hughes, E. K., Macdonald, J., Little, K. & Olsson, C. A. (2014). Development antecedents of abnormal eating attitudes and behaviours in adolescence. International journal of eating disorders, 47(7), 813-824
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This study is on developmental data from an Australian population- based birth group to identify developmental markers of abnormal eating habits and behaviours in adolescence. Within this research there were two main aims, the first aim was to develop a model identifying infant and childhood developmental correlation of abnormal eating habits and behaviours in adolescence. The second aim was to explore the potential gender differences. The data for this subject was drawn from a 30 year old longitudinal study that has followed the health and development of a population based group across 15 waves of data collection: The Australian Temperament Project. Participants in this research are the 1,300 youth who completed the 11th survey at the age of 15-16 and who completed the eating disorder inventory. Negative- Due to the participants answering a survey the results could suffer from social desirability bias which could affect the validity of the study. This research is useful as it indicates the gaps in our understanding of the origins of abnormal eating habits and the behaviour in adolescence.
[2] Young, J. W. & Geyer, M. A. (2015). Developing treatments for cognitive deficits in schizophrenia: the challenge of translation. Journal of psychopharmacology, 29(2), 178-196
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This study refers to the treatments established to reduce the effects of schizophrenia, such as antipsychotics. Their knowledge has been enhanced from researching this subject as they found cognitive enhancers are required for patients in order to improve their everyday lives. Antipsychotics treat psychosis but they do not enhance cognition therefore they are not antischizophrenics. They suggest that the cognitive domains will need to be measured similarly in animals and humans so they can test their targets before conducting expensive clinical experiments. This is useful as it shows how psychology has helped developed the treatment of schizophrenia. It has aided in the development of cognitive therapies to improve patients everyday life.
[3] Brune, M., Schaub, D., Juckel, G. & Langdon, R. (2011). Social skills and behavioural problems in schizophrenia: The role of mental state attribution, neurocognition and clinical symptomatology. Psychiatry Research, 190(1), 9-17.
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This research believes that poor social skills and unusual behaviours are the main features of schizophrenia. They believe that there is a relationship between poor social skills and the presence of negative social skills, but other symptom domains seem less clear. Therefore to examine the relationship between social skills, neurocognition and clinical symptomatology, the researchers gathered data from previous studies in to one sample of 69 patients with schizophrenia. The sample was arranged for IQ, age range and attention deficits. The results for this study found that the capacity for mental state attributions plays in important role for social skills in schizophrenia. This study proposes a few key suggestions of the symptoms of schizophrenia which allow us to recognise them in the diagnosis of this mental illness, which then allows researchers to form treatments.
[4] Janes, E., Riby, D. M. & Rodgers, J. (2014). Exploring the prevalence and phenomenology of repetitive behaviours and abnormal sensory processing in children with Williams Syndrome. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 58(8), 746-757.
Search engine: iFind research, Psychinfo: search terms “Abnormal behaviour AND psychology” “Contribution OR impact OR add OR influence”
The study is a small amount of research with people who have Williams Syndrome mostly young children aged 6-15. The research suggests that children with the condition may be vulnerable to sensory processing abnormalities and usually present repetitive and restricted behaviours. The study consisted of parents of 21 children with Williams Syndrome who completed a semi-structured interview designed to draw out the form, frequency, impact and developmental course of a range of sensory processing abnormalities and repetitive behaviours. The findings show that the sensory processing difficulties are predominantly characterised by hypersensitivities. Parents reported a wide range of restricted and repetitive behaviours which were often associated with their child’s sensory symptoms. This study contributes to our understanding of the sensory functioning and repetitive behaviours in Williams Syndrome. It also indicates the difficulties experiences by children who have the disorder. Negative- difficult to compare the results of the interviews because each interview is unique.