Advances in Psychology Research : Volume 138

In this compilation, the authors examine how recent, massive advances in the technology and reach of the social media, through platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube have spawned a new global debate on the human dimensions of wildlife conservation, with possible impacts on the public perception and application of conservation policy.

Moreover, the authors examine the current data analysis tools and technologies that are used to detect extreme online criminal behaviour and the challenges that exist associated with the use of these technologies.

Next, in the context of Peters, Sunderland, Andrews, Rapee, and Mattick's Social Phobia Scale and Social Interaction Anxiety Scale, one study examines support for a bifactor model, factor-based internal consistency reliabilities of the factors in this model, and measurement invariance across gender for the items in the bifactor model.

Volume 138 goes on to estimate the prevalence and profile of psychiatric comorbidity in a sample of patients who requested treatment for chronic use of cocaine, including 258 patients who met the inclusion criteria evaluated using Psychiatric Research Interview for Substance and Mental Disorders, a semi-structured diagnostic interview that differentiates primary mental disorders from those induced by cocaine.

An additional review provides an overview of the advantages and disadvantages of two approaches to health intervention development, followed by a discussion about how the two approaches can be integrated into a more general framework guiding persuasive intervention development.