Your assignment is to select a psychological disorder we have studied during this course,
and explore the most recent empirical (i.e., published research study) evidence that has
been uncovered about this disorder. In this paper, you should discuss new developments in
any one of the following areas: etiology (i.e., causes), treatment, cultural/gender
differences.
Therefore, in addition to your textbook/lectures, which can provide a source of background
information, you must use 1 outside reference for this paper. This reference must be a
journal article that was published this year or last year (2022 or 2023). You can find this
article by searching in the PsycInfo database (through the library website) or Google
Scholar (scholar.google.com), and restricting your search to 2022-current. You cannot use
magazines, newspapers, Wikipedia, websites, or books instead. Also, make sure to use an
article that describes an empirical study – not a literature review (i.e., an article that
describes several other articles), a dissertation, or a pre-registration (i.e., a study that has
not been conducted yet). Please make sure to cite your references at the end of the paper.
Be extremely careful to not plagiarize your source – paraphrase, don’t directly copy! Also,
please do not quote from your journal article – make every effort to paraphrase the
information only.
In a ~2 page typed essay (double spaced, 12 point font), consider the following:
a. Briefly (2-3 sentences) describe the purpose of the article – why were they
interested in doing this study and what did they hope to find? (4 points)
b. Briefly (one paragraph) describe the method of the article. What participants
were in the study? What procedures did the study consist of? How did they
measure the results (for example, did they measure symptoms, did they use a
diagnosis, did they give participants a questionnaire)? (8 points)
c. What were the results of the study (i.e., what did they find)? Describe the
major significant (and non-significant, if there are any) findings reported in
the results section. For example, your study might find that a particular type of
treatment reduced some specific symptoms at six and 12 month follow-ups,
but not 18 months, or your study might find that Hispanic participants report
higher levels of certain types of symptoms, but not others, or your study might
find that one particular type of childhood experience is a risk for the disorder
but only among African American participants. You do not have to include the
numeric (statistical) results, but you can if you want to.
d. What do these findings reveal that is a new development over what was
previously known? How does this study change or add to our understanding
of this disorder? You should draw upon the existing knowledge we already
had about this disorder (i.e., from your textbook and/or lecture notes) to
answer this question. This is a very important section of the paper, so don’t be
too brief!
e. How can clinicians or other professionals use this new information in practical
settings? Be as specific as you can in your recommendations.