Public Speaking in Social Phobia: A Pilot Study of Self-Ratings and Observers' Ratings of Social Skills

Objectives: The aim of this pilot study was to investigate whether patients with social anxiety disorder (SAD) differ from controls in the quality of skill-related behaviors displayed during a speech and in overall behavioral adequacy as perceived by observers and by the patients themselves. Design: A total of 18 SAD patients and 18 controls were screened by a diagnostic interview and took part in a 3-minute speech of their own choosing. For each videotaped speech, observers rated the adequacy of the skill-related behaviors and overall performance adequacy. After the experiment, participants were asked to rate their own overall performance adequacy. Results: The results showed that SAD patients exhibited significantly worse voice intonation and fluency of the speech, however no differences were found in global self-ratings. Moreover, the performance evaluations of the SAD group were consistent with the observers, while the controls evaluated their performance lower than the observers. Conclusions: The results are inconsistent with the cognitive model, because patients with SAD did not underestimate their performance. Compared with spontaneous interactions, the clear rules established for such social situations as speeches may result in less cognitive distortion for SAD patients. (C) 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Clin. Psychol. 68:397-402, 2012.

Syntax of social life in postpartum depression: Mother-child interaction

Purpose: Understand the difficulties and experienced of individuals suffering from postpartum depression, related to mood disturbances, the mother-child bond and its repercussions in the meanings established for the experience of being a mother. Methods: Forty-one patients were interviewed, with ages ranging from 20 to 49 years, from a total of 106 attended at the Primary Care Unit, in the interior of the state of Parahiba, Brazil. A sample of 21 women was selected, presenting an inclusion profile, propitious to mapping postpartum depression. The eligible patients were referred by two PSF (Health Family) teams (one each from the urban and rural zones), aimed at diagnosing the psychic disturbance of the perperium. They were accompanied by a psychologist and all signed an informed consent form. A field diary supported the information recorded. Beck's Depression Inventory complemented the inclusion and follow-up of the patients. The data were analyzed statistically. Results: We confirmed the findings of the most recent studies that infant abandonment in the postpartum period occurs in situations where multiple and serious factors add up, such as misery (86.7%), little schooling (67%), lack of a support network (36.5%), estrangement of the mother's family relations (12%) and lack of paternal involvement (91.5%). Conclusion: The feeling of psyching pain and suffering, resulting from postpartum depression, is the most emphasized by women (87%) because it triggers the greatest discomfort, due to the difficulty in overcoming it.

Late-onset social anxiety disorder following traumatic brain injury

Background: Neuropsychiatric sequelae are the predominant long-term disability after traumatic brain injury (TBI). This study reports a case of late-onset social anxiety disorder (SAD) following TBI. Case report: A patient that was spontaneous and extroverted up to 18-years-old started to exhibit significant social anxiety symptoms. These symptoms became progressively worse and he sought treatment at age 21. He had a previous history of traumatic brain injury (TBI) at age 17. Neuroimaging investigations (CT, SPECT and MRI) showed a bony protuberance on the left frontal bone, with mass effect on the left frontal lobe. He had no neurological signs or symptoms. The patient underwent neurosurgery with gross total resection of the lesion and the pathological examination was compatible with intradiploic haematoma. Conclusions: Psychiatric symptoms may be the only findings in the initial manifestation of slowly growing extra-axial space-occupying lesions that compress the frontal lobe from the outside. Focal neurological symptoms may occur only when the lesion becomes large. This case report underscores the need for careful exclusion of general medical conditions and TBI history in cases of late-onset SAD and may also contribute to the elucidation of the neurobiology of this disorder.

Conceito de responsabilidade social de gestores e empregados

Este trabalho visou a avaliar a concepção de responsabilidade social de gestores e empregados de algumas empresas que participam da Política Nacional de Integração da Pessoa com Deficiência. A amostra foi constituída por 57 sujeitos, divididos em dois grupos: gestores e empregados. O grupo de gestores foi formado por 19 profissionais de recursos humanos, e o grupo de empregados, por 38 profissionais com deficiência. Os sujeitos foram solicitados a escrever as associações evocadas pelas palavras responsabilidade social em um período de 90 segundos. A partir dos dados coletados, as respostas dos sujeitos foram agrupadas em oito categorias: preocupação com o ambiente, inclusão social, solidariedade, respeito, compromisso social, sentimentos e atitudes positivos, coletividade e outras respostas. A análise estatística do Qui-quadrado permitiu rejeitar a hipótese nula com um alto grau de probabilidade. Verificou-se que o maior número de respostas associadas ao conceito de responsabilidade social concentrou-se nas categorias inclusão social, sentimentos/atitudes positivos e preocupação com o meio ambiente que, em conjunto, englobaram pouco mais da metade (52%) do total das respostas. A fim de avaliar o grau de associação entre as respostas dos gestores e dos empregados, foi calculado o coeficiente de correlação posto-ordem de Spearman. Os resultados permitiram identificar uma rede de conceitos associados ao conceito de responsabilidade social, tal como previsto por uma das teorias sobre formação de conceitos: a visão teórica.