Blinded continuous monitoring in clinical trials with recurrent event endpoints

In studies with recurrent event endpoints, misspecified assumptions of event rates or dispersion can lead to underpowered trials or overexposure of patients. Specification of overdispersion is often a particular problem as it is usually not reported in clinical trial publications. Changing event rates over the years have been described for some diseases, adding to the uncertainty in planning. To mitigate the risks of inadequate sample sizes, internal pilot study designs have been proposed with a preference for blinded sample size reestimation procedures, as they generally do not affect the type I error rate and maintain trial integrity. Blinded sample size reestimation procedures are available for trials with recurrent events as endpoints. However, the variance in the reestimated sample size can be considerable in particular with early sample size reviews. Motivated by a randomized controlled trial in paediatric multiple sclerosis, a rare neurological condition in children, we apply the concept of blinded continuous monitoring of information, which is known to reduce the variance in the resulting sample size. Assuming negative binomial distributions for the counts of recurrent relapses, we derive information criteria and propose blinded continuous monitoring procedures. The operating characteristics of these are assessed in Monte Carlo trial simulations demonstrating favourable properties with regard to type I error rate, power, and stopping time, ie, sample size.     

An Interview with Joyce Edward: Exemplary Clinician, Advocate, and Scholar

Over the years, noteworthy social workers have been interviewed for the Clinical Social Work Journal. This article features an interview with Joyce Edward who is recognized for her many extraordinary contributions to clinical social work. Joyce has co-written or co-edited three exceptional books for the social work clinician, she has been an esteemed teacher and a vocal activist for quality mental health care. In this interview Joyce reflects on family influences, her work as a social caseworker, the psychoanalytic luminaries with whom she trained, her concerns about the clinical education of today's social work students, and finally, her perspective on managed mental health care.     

The Existential Side of Kohut's Tragic Man

This article explores the way in which Kohut's concept of Tragic Man functions as a response to criticisms of self psychology as proffering a partial, utopian, strife-denying theory of human development. After citing several representative critiques in this respect, I review the concept of Tragic Man as defined by Kohut, and then seek to deepen the clinical usefulness of this concept through a discussion of affects, empathy, and free association. A clinical vignette concludes the paper, through which some of these ideas find illustration.     

运用心理学移情原理消除师生的情感障碍

英语教学的成败是诸多因素相互作用的结果 ,但无论这些因素多么错综复杂 ,主要还是来自教和学两方面。教师和学生能否在教学中相互理解从而形成互动是教学成败的关键。文章将着重讨论师生间营造互动关系中的两个重要环节———情感与移情     

高校加强大学生心理健康教育问题探索

本文针对近期大学生中出现的一系列心理问题,结合教学实际,就如何加强大学生心理健康教育进行了探讨,提出开设心理健康课、成立心理咨询中心等建议。     

科学心理学研究方法论的比较与整合

科学心理学形成以来 ,西方主要流派的研究方法论在心理科学的发展中有其贡献和局限。通过客观、发展的观点对心理学研究方法论的演化过程进行比较和分析 ,发现建构一个全面的、系统的、综合的心理学研究方法论是极其必要的 ,而且更具有现实可能性     

人的视觉心理艺术浅析

本文就人的视觉在对事物的色彩、形式、形状、光和影等诸方面,所产生的心理艺术影响作了剖析。并论述了视觉心理在电影、绘画等艺术创作中的重要性。从而激励人们更好地关注和创作美的作品。     

告别平均与追求公平——转型期不公平心理的变迁及原因分析

改革开放 2 0多年来 ,不公平心理始终是社会心理失衡反应的一个突出方面。伴随不同时期改革在内容、领域方面的不同 ,以及由此引发的社会各群体利益格局的变化 ,不公平心理反映在指向和强度上又呈现出明显的阶段性特点。不公平心理的指向反映了公众对改革内容、进程的要求和愿望 ,其强度则决定了社会为政府留置的改革心理空间的大小。     

试论詹姆士的“意识流“理论

本文指出,詹姆士的意识流理论不仅是其彻底经验主义的基础,而且在心理学和文艺领域都具有重要影响,应引起人们足够重视.     

中国心理学史与中国的本土心理学研究之比较

中国的本土心理学和中国心理学史研究既有区别,又有联系。中国的本土心理学以内发性本土化原则为指导,以中国人的心理行为和本土的传统心理学为研究对象,在研究方法上采取多元化的态度。中国心理学史以外在逻辑原则为主导原则,以中国心理学思想为研究对象,形成了系统的研究方法。中国的本土心理学和中国心理学史研究有相同的文化背景和研究价值,这构成了二者契合的前提。中国的本土心理学和中国心理学史可以相互借鉴,共同建构科学的中国心理学。