The relationship between lipreading, reading and visual and sequential memory was investigated in hearing 10-year-olds and two groups of hearing-impaired 10-year-olds, one educated through the medium of English and the other through British Sign Language. The scores and the pattern of correlations between the variables were hypothesized to be different in the three groups and this was found to be the case. In the case of the hearing, visual memory for complex shapes was significantly correlated with lipreading. For the oral deaf, reading ability was significantly correlated with lipreading, but for the bilingual deaf the correlation was not significant. The possible implications of these findings for the relationships between the cognitive processes involved in lipreading and for the education of the deaf are discussed.

Background & AimsThe long-term success of life-style interventions in the treatment of obesity is limited. Although psychological factors have been suggested to modify therapeutic effects, specifically the implications of attachment styles and the patient-therapist relationship have not been examined in detail yet.MethodsThis study included 44 obese patients who participated in a one-year multimodal weight-reduction program. Attachment style was analyzed by the Adult Attachment Prototype Rating (AAPR) inventory and its relation to a one-year weight reduction program was studied. The patient-therapist-relationship was assessed using the Helping Alliance Questionnaire.ResultsAttachment style was secure in 68% of participants and insecure (preoccupied and dismissing) in 32%. Interestingly a significantly higher weight-reduction was found in securely (SAI) compared to insecurely attached individuals (UAI; p < 0.05). This estimation correlated positively also to the quality of helping alliance (p = 0.004).ConclusionsThe frequency of insecure attachment in obese individuals was comparable to that of the normal population. Our data suggest a greater weight-reduction for SAI than for UAI, and the patient-therapist relationship was rated more positively. The conclusion can be drawn that a patient's attachment style plays a role in an interdisciplinary treatment program for obesity and has an influence on the effort to lose weight.

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In the last decades the number of obese and pre-obese patients in Western industrial nations increased. Obese patients have been largely unsuccessful in losing weight over time, but the causes of their difficulties and the causes of their obesity have remained unclear. We examined whether the attachment style and its interaction with interpersonal processes would shed light on this question. We analyzed 107 obese or pre-obese patients before the start of a weight loss intervention program. We used the Adult Attachement Prototype Rating (AAPR)-interview and related questionnaires (Helping Alliance Questionnaire (HAQ), Inventory of Interpersonal Problems (IIP-D), Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI)). According to the AAPR-rating 54% of the patients were secure and 46% insecure attached. The results suggest that insecure attachment style has an impact on psychic strain in obese patients unrelated to weight, gender and age. Additionally the insecure attachment style influences the therapeutic alliance experienced by patients and the therapist.