The American psychologist
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The American psychologist · Jul 2020
Ethical considerations for psychologists in the time of COVID-19.
Psychologists are in a position to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic through research, practice, education, and advocacy. However, concerns exist about the ethical implications associated with transitioning from face-to-face to online or virtual formats as necessitated by stay-at-home orders designed to enforce the social distancing required to flatten the curve of new COVID-19 cases. The purpose of this article is to review potential ethical issues and to provide guidance to psychologists for ethical conduct in the midst of the current crisis and its aftermath. In addition to contextualizing relevant ethical considerations according to the principles and standards of the current American Psychological Association's ethics code, vignettes are presented to exemplify the ethical dilemmas psychologists in various roles may face when responding to COVID-19 and to offer suggestions and resources for resolving potential conflicts. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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The American psychologist · Feb 2020
Randomized Controlled TrialRandomized controlled trial testing the effectiveness of adaptive "SMART" stepped-care treatment for adults with binge-eating disorder comorbid with obesity.
This randomized controlled trial (RCT) tested effectiveness of adaptive SMART stepped-care treatment to "standard" behavioral weight loss (BWL [standard]) for patients with binge-eating disorder (BED) and obesity. One hundred ninety-one patients were randomly assigned to 6 months of BWL (standard; n = 39) or stepped care (n = 152). Within stepped care, patients started with BWL for 1 month; treatment responders continued BWL, whereas nonresponders switched to cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), and patients receiving stepped care were additionally randomized to weight-loss medication or placebo (double-blind) for the remaining 5 months. ⋯ In summary, BWL (standard) and adaptive stepped-care treatments produced robust improvements in binge eating and weight loss in patients with BED/obesity. Within adaptive stepped care, weight-loss medication enhanced outcomes for BED/obesity. Implications for clinical practice and future adaptive designs are offered. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved).
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The American psychologist · Feb 2019
CommentEthical considerations of compelled disclosure of sexual assault among college students: Comment on Holland, Cortina, and Freyd (2018).
The recent article "Compelled Disclosure of College Sexual Assault" (Holland, Cortina, & Freyd, 2018) documents the variability in how campuses define responsible employees, reviews the assumptions underlying compelled disclosure, and offers alternatives to compelled disclosure. Compelled disclosure conflicts with several of the general principles of the American Psychological Association's (2016) ethics code and, as a result, is likely to conflict with the values of many psychologists. In this response, the ethical conflicts are identified and recommendations to psychologists to address these conflicts are offered. Specifically, psychologists should take an active role in learning about their campus policy, identify methods to increase student knowledge of their disclosure requirements, consider ways of reminding students of their disclosure requirements if they believe a student is likely to make a disclosure, advocate to campus authorities to ensure appropriate roles are designated as confidential, and respond to the need for more research in this area to help inform policy change and increase student support. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).
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The American psychologist · Jul 2018
ReviewThe strength of the causal evidence against physical punishment of children and its implications for parents, psychologists, and policymakers.
The question of whether physical punishment is helpful or harmful to the development of children has been subject to hundreds of research studies over the past several decades. Yet whether causal conclusions can be drawn from this largely nonexperimental research and whether the conclusions generalize across contexts are issues that remain unresolved. ⋯ They then review research demonstrating that physical punishment is linked with the same harms to children as is physical abuse and summarize the extant research that finds links between physical punishment and detrimental outcomes for children are consistent across cultural, family, and neighborhood contexts. The strength and consistency of the links between physical punishment and detrimental child outcomes lead the authors to recommend that parents should avoid physical punishment, psychologists should advise and advocate against it, and policymakers should develop means of educating the public about the harms of and alternatives to physical punishment. (PsycINFO Database Record
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The American psychologist · Jul 2018
Biography Historical ArticleGold Medal Award for Life Achievement in Psychology in the Public Interest: James M. Jones.
The American Psychological Foundation (APF) Gold Medal Awards recognize distinguished and engaging records of accomplishment in 4 areas of psychology. The 2018 recipient of the Gold Medal Award for Life Achievement in Psychology in the Public Interest is James M. Jones, PhD. ⋯ Jackson, PhD; Archie L. Turner; and Stewart E. Cooper, PhD, APA Board of Directors liaison. (PsycINFO Database Record