bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
The consequences of perfectionism for patients with social phobia
Authors: Bieling Peter J. , Alden Lynn E.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To examine levels of perfectionism in social phobics and to explore the consequences of perfectionism for such individuals.

Design. A between‐groups laboratory design was used to provide a level of comparison between phobic and non‐phobic individuals in a controlled setting.

Method. Participants for the phobic group (N = 28) were recruited from waiting lists for treatment programmes, and matched controls (N = 29) were recruited from community advertisements. Volunteers for the study completed measures of perfectionism (Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale) and then completed a laboratory session in which they were asked to rate others' social standards for them and their own social ability.

Results. Social phobic individuals scored higher on socially prescribed perfectionism. Perfectionistic traits were associated with higher standards in social phobics, but not in controls. Finally, social phobia was associated with lowered perceptions of social ability.

Conclusions. Although social phobia and socially prescribed perfectionism were intertwined, the two conditions appeared to contribute to negative self‐appraisal through different processes. Social phobics who are perfectionistic are likely not only to have low levels of efficacy, but also to feel that others will have high expectations for them in social situations.
Selective processing of shape‐related words in women with eating disorders, and those who have recovered
Authors: Lovell Deborah M. , Williams J. Mark G. , Hill Andrew B.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. This study sought to investigate whether women with anorexia or bulimia nervosa and women who had recovered showed cognitive bias towards shape, food and adolescent issues.

Design. A five‐group analysis of variance design was used, in which the different client groups were the independent variables. The dependent variable was performance on an emotional Stroop task.

Methods. Current anorexia sufferers (N = 31), current bulimia sufferers (N = 24), recovered anorexics (N = 23), recovered bulimics (N = 11) and women who had never suffered from eating disorders (N = 33) were recruited through health‐care professionals, support groups and newspapers. Colour‐naming times for target and comparison Stroop cards were measured.

Results. Women currently suffering from bulimia, and women who had recovered from anorexia, were found to be more distracted by shape concerns than women who had never suffered eating disorders and women who had recovered from bulimia.

Conclusions. The results suggest that there may be an enduring cognitive bias among women who have recovered from anorexia. This is the first study in which impairment on an emotional Stroop task has been found to persist after recovery from a clinical condition.
Management of depression in the elderly by general practitioners: Referral for psychological treatments
Authors: Collins Elizabeth , Katona Cornelius , Orrell Martin W.
Published: July 2011

This study investigates referrals for psychological therapies in general practitioners (GPs) from five catchment areas. The results show that 93 per cent of GPs would consider referring elderly patients for psychological help but only 44 per cent had done so and one in three GPs were unfamiliar with the psychological therapies available. When GPs were asked to select a psychological treatment for depression, 60 per cent chose counselling compared to 21 per cent who chose cognitive‐behavioural therapy (CBT). Female GPs particularly favoured counselling. Experience in psychiatry was associated with selection of CBT. The results show that GP training and further education should emphasize psychological therapies. This should make referrals more appropriate and improve patient care.
Submissive behaviour and psychopathology
Authors: Allan Steven , Gilbert Paul
Published: July 2011

Objectives. A variety of behaviours have been identified as submissive (Buss & Craik, 1986). These are believed to be associated with vulnerability to psychopathology. This paper explores the construct and measurement of submissive behaviours and their association with psychopathology.

Design. Two self‐report scales were designed to measure the frequencies of (a) typical submissive behaviours (SBS) and (b) passive/withdrawal and affiliative strategies focused on conflict de‐escalation (CDS). The association of these scales with psychopathology was explored in a series of questionnaire studies.

Methods. Study 1 assessed the SBS using a student sample (N = 332) and a mixed clinical group (N = 136). Of these, 177 students and 66 patients also completed the SCL‐90‐R. In Studies 2 and 3, the CDS and its association with depressive symptoms were assessed using a student sample (N = 154) and a depressed patient group (N = 60).

Results. The SBS and CDS appeared reliable. There was a positive relationship between the SBS and the SCL‐90‐R, including interpersonal sensitivity and unexpressed hostility. The passive/withdrawal subscale of the CDS was associated with depressive symptoms. Evidence was obtained for sex differences with the affiliative subscale.

Conclusions. Some forms of submissive behaviour, especially those associated with passive/withdrawal and inhibition, are associated with a wide range of psychological problems.
Selective processing of concern‐related information in depression
Authors: Nunn Jean D. , Mathews Andrew , Trower Peter
Published: July 2011

Objectives. The major question examined in this paper is whether selective attentional and interpretative processing of emotional information occurs in depression, and if so, whether it depends on a close match between the material used and current concerns.

Design. Twenty‐four depressed patients and the same number of matched controls were tested using two selective processing tasks (described below), and their performance related to self‐reported sociotropic and autonomy‐related concerns.

Methods. Colour‐naming interference and interpretation of ambiguous situations were assessed using material judged relevant to each of the Sociotropy‐autonomy Scales.

Results. Depression was associated with a general interference effect for all negative concern words, and more negative interpretations of ambiguous situations, while controls showed a converse bias in favour of all positive interpretations. There was no convincing evidence that this negative processing bias was proportional to the match between material and self‐reported sociotropic or autonomous concerns.

Conclusions. Depressed patients showed evidence of cognitive biases favouring all negative self‐related information, on both attentional and interpretative tasks. We suggest that such effects in depression may occur only under conditions allowing the elaborative processing of negative material related to oneself.
Attributions and accessibility of explanations for future events in anxiety and depression
Authors: Byrne Angela , MacLeod Andrew K.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. The research examined qualitative and quantitative aspects of future thinking in mood‐disturbed participants.

Design. A cross‐sectional, mixed design compared three groups of participants on measures of future thinking using an adapted fluency paradigm.

Methods. Participants who were either anxious (N = 25), anxious and depressed (mixed; N = 25), or neither anxious nor depressed (control; N = 25) were presented with a range of future positive and negative events and asked to provide explanations as to why those events would (pro reasons) or would not (con reasons) happen to them. Number of reasons given of each type was measured. The reasons were further analysed in terms of a number of attributional dimensions.

Results. Mood‐disturbed participants (anxious and mixed) provided more pro relative to con reasons for negative events and more con relative to pro reasons for positive events. Compared to the control group, mood‐disturbed participants also provided more internal and more global reasons for why negative events would happen and for why positive events would not happen.

Conclusion. Mood‐disturbed participants differ from controls on qualitative as well as quantitative aspects of future thinking.
A three‐ to six‐year follow‐up of former long‐stay residents of mental handicap hospitals in Northern Ireland
Authors: Donnelly Michael , McGilloway Sinead , Mays Nicholas , Perry Sarah , Lavery Christine
Published: July 2011

Objectives. Little is known about the first cohorts of long‐stay hospital residents with learning disabilities who moved to the community. This study describes the pattern of residential reprovision for all former long‐stay residents discharged from the three mental handicap hospitals in Northern Ireland between 1987 and 1990 (N = 283) as well as describing aspects of quality of life for a smaller sample of people.

Method. The study employs a retrospective survey design and the method and findings are discussed within a quality of life framework. Information about destinational outcomes between 1987 and 1993 was collected for each former resident. Several instruments were also used to assess material, emotional and social wellbeing and development and activity for a 40 per cent sample of people (114/283) discharged from hospital during 1987–1990 and followed up in 1993.

Results. Approximately 70 per cent of residents were discharged to, and subsequently remained in, highly supported settings such as residential and nursing homes. Only 3 per cent were discharged to ‘independent living’ with their own families or foster families. Few of the sample had ‘major’ problems with daily living skills and serious behavioural problems were uncommon. Former patients were also more satisfied with their new homes and reported feeling happier, healthier and more independent since discharge. However, social networks were poor and there was no evidence to suggest that people were undertaking new or ‘ordinary’ daytime activities.

Conclusion. Although the material needs of former hospital residents (many of whom may have been ‘cream skimmed’ from the long‐stay population) appeared to be met and they were content with their new homes in the community, they had a limited choice of mainly private sector accommodation and few opportunities for personal and social development.
WAIS‐R short forms: Assessing the statistical significance of subtest differences
Authors: Crawford J. R.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To assist with analysis, in the individual case, of subtest profiles obtained from WAIS‐R short‐form administrations. Secondly, to offer a method of profile analysis for a full‐length WAIS‐R which is appropriate for use with agegraded scaled scores.

Design. The study used a psychometric method for profile analysis (Silverstein, 1982a) which deals more effectively than alternative approaches with the problems raised by conducting multiple comparisons.

Methods. A formula to compute the standard error of the difference between a subtest and mean subtest scores was applied to nine short forms and the full‐length WAIS‐R. The data used were derived from the WAIS‐R standardization sample.

Results. Tables for examining whether there are significant subtest differences in a clients WAIS‐R profile are presented.

Conclusions. An elegant method of analysing subtest profiles has been extended to permit its use with WAIS‐R short forms. Guidance on the use of the tables is offered; the distinction between reliable and abnormal differences is highlighted.
The discriminant validity of the Eating Disorder Inventory‐2
Authors: Schoemaker Casper , Verbraak Marc , Breteler Rien , van der Staak Cees
Published: July 2011

The scores of 78 bulimia nervosa (BN) patients and 67 general psychiatric outpatients on the Revised Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI‐2) were compared in a multivariate discriminant analysis. The bulimia scale was found to correctly classify 97 per cent of all cases. Of the EDI‐2 scales thought to be not directly related to food and weight, only interoceptive awareness (IA) and asceticism (AS) showed discriminative validity. Three eating‐related items were found to account for the discriminative value of the IA scale, and the new AS scale was found to be a discriminative extension of the EDI.
Mild head injury: Neuropathology, sequelae, measurement and recovery
Authors: King Nigel
Published: July 2011

Head injuries are common in industrialized countries and the majority of them are defined as ‘minor’ or ‘mild’ injuries (MHI). These terms, however, can be misleading because the sequelae that often follow such injuries can cause significant detriment to psychosocial and interpersonal functioning Clinical psychologists in most areas of specialism are likely to encounter MHI because of their high frequency and the types of problems they can cause. An overview of the body of knowledge on this subject is therefore of some importance. This paper reviews the literature concerning the neuropathology, measurement, sequelae and recovery of MHI. The following subjects are addressed: (i) the relationship between the neuropathology of severe head injury and the neuropathology of MHI; (ii) the limitations of traditional measures of head injury severity (e.g post‐traumatic amnesia) when applied to MHI; (iii) factors relevant to the recovery of post‐concussion symptoms following MHI; and (iv) intervention and treatment following MHI.
Eye‐movements and visual imagery: A working memory approach to the treatment of post‐traumatic stress disorder
Authors: Andrade Jackie , Kavanagh David , Baddeley Alan
Published: July 2011

It has been claimed that the symptoms of post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) can be ameliorated by eye‐movement desensitization‐reprocessing therapy (EMD‐R), a procedure that involves the individual making saccadic eye‐movements while imagining the traumatic event. We hypothesized that these eye‐movements reduce the vividness of distressing images by disrupting the function of the visuospatial sketchpad (VSSP) of working memory, and that by doing so they reduce the intensity of the emotion associated with the image. This hypothesis was tested by asking non‐PTSD participants to form images of neutral and negative pictures under dual task conditions. Their images were less vivid with concurrent eye‐movements and with a concurrent spatial tapping task that did not involve eye‐movements. In the first three experiments, these secondary tasks did not consistently affect participants' emotional responses to the images. However, Expt 4 used personal recollections as stimuli for the imagery task, and demonstrated a significant reduction in emotional response under the same dual task conditions. These results suggest that, if EMD‐R works, it does so by reducing the vividness and emotiveness of traumatic images via the VSSP of working memory. Other visuospatial tasks may also be of therapeutic value.
Coping with hallucinations: Exploring stress and coping framework
Authors: Farhall John , Gehrke Megan
Published: July 2011

This study explored application of the theoretical framework of Lazarus & Folkman (1984) to coping with hallucinations in schizophrenia. Eighty‐one patients were interviewed with a structured schedule. Unprompted reports of coping indicated wide use of both ‘hallucination‐specific’ and ‘general’ strategies. Factor analysis of a coping checklist produced three factors which were utilized in regression analyses. The active acceptance factor may relate to control of hallucinations, the passive coping factor predicted distress reduction but, surprisingly, the resistance coping factor, which contained hallucination‐specific coping strategies, predicted poor distress reduction. Clinical and research implications are noted.
The influence of methodological differences on the outcome of body size estimation studies in anorexia nervosa
Authors: Smeets Monique A. M. , Smit Filip , Panhuysen Geert E. M. , Ingleby J. David
Published: July 2011

A major problem that has dogged research into body image disturbance in anorexia nervosa concerns the diversity of measurement procedures employed in studies of body size estimation. Many researchers believe that results obtained with different procedures cannot meaningfully be compared with each other, because the methods used measure different aspects of the body image. A meta‐analysis of 33 body size estimation studies was conducted to investigate whether methodological differences do indeed influence outcome. This analysis revealed a general overestimation of body size among anorexia patients. Although a difference in mean effect size was found between studies using Body Part and Whole Body methods, this difference was absent when only the most commonly used Body Part method, the visual size estimation procedure, was considered. Among Whole Body methods, silhouette methods could not be distinguished from the rest in terms of effect size. It was concluded that Whole Body methods and the visual size estimation procedure assess correlated aspects of the body image.
Selective processing of three types of stimuli in eating disorders
Authors: Cooper Myra , Todd Gillian
Published: July 2011

A modified version of the Stroop colour naming task was administered to patients with anorexia nervosa, patients with bulimia nervosa and a control group. Stimuli were separated into three areas of concern. Compared to the controls, both patient groups showed selective processing of information related to eating and weight. Patients with anorexia nervosa also showed selective processing of information related to shape. There were no differences between the two patient groups.
Factorial structure of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test
Authors: Greve Kevin W. , Brooks Jill , Crouch John A. , Williams Mary C. , Rice Warren J.
Published: July 2011

This study examined the factorial structure of the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) in normal university students (N = 135) and a mixed clinical sample (N = 139). Two highly stable orthogonal factors were observed accounting for 70 and 21 per cent of the variance, respectively. Factor I was interpreted as reflecting undifferentiated executive function while Factor II may measure cognitive abilities associated with attentional function. This work can serve as the basis for further examination of the construct validity of the WCST and has implications for its use
Single case evaluation of the effects of aromatherapy and massage on disturbed behaviour in severe dementia
Authors: Brooker Dawn J. R. , Snape Melanie , Johnson Edward , Ward Diane , Payne Marie
Published: July 2011

Aromatherapy and massage could provide a useful addition to psychological therapeutic interventions with clients suffering from dementia. The effects of aromatherapy and massage on disturbed behaviour in four individuals with severe dementia were evaluated using a single‐case research design. Each participant received 10 treatment sessions of aromatherapy, aromatherapy and massage combined, and massage alone. The effects on each individual's behaviour in the hour following treatment were assessed against 10 ‘no treatment’ control sessions. Reliable individualized disturbed behaviour scales were designed. The effects of the treatments were mixed. The opinion of the staff providing treatment was that all participants benefited. On close scrutiny, only one of the participants benefited from the aromatherapy and massage to a degree that reached statistical significance. In two of the cases aromatherapy and massage led to an increase in agitated behaviour. The importance of the single case study approach with this client group is discussed.
A note of caution for clinicians using the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task
Authors: Ward Tony
Published: July 2011

In this study, a group of 30 university students were administered the Paced Auditory Serial Addition Task (PASAT) and their performance compared with that of an older group matched for ability on the National Adult Reading Test (NART). They were also compared on measures of memory (forwards and backwards digit span) and a timed visual search task. The younger participants showed significantly inferior performance on the PASAT. This is counter‐intuitive considering that the test is viewed primarily as a measure of speed of processing. There were no differences on measures of short‐term memory, but the older participants found fewer targets on the visual search task. The implications of this result for clinicians using the PASAT are discussed.
Simulating a memory impairment: Can amnesics implicitly outperform simulators?
Authors: Cochrane Haydee J. , Baker Gus A. , Meudell Peter R.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a variety of tests in differentiating simulating test performances from genuine memory‐impaired and normal (control) test performances.

Design. A simulation design was implemented, based on an analogue design in which normal participants were given experimental instructions to feign a mental impairment and are compared to (a) other normal participants with instructions to perform honestly, and (b) a comparison group, for example, acquired brain‐injured persons, with similar instructions.

Method. Forty individuals comprised the simulating and control group and all participants were randomly assigned to the simulating and control groups. Twenty memory‐impaired patients, all of whom had been diagnosed as suffering from a memory impairment following acquired brain damage, participated as the memory‐impaired control group. The simulation group was directed to imitate a person with a memory impairment. The primary outcome measure involved identifying those tests, if any, where simulators were significantly different from normal and memory‐impaired participants.

Results. On 5 of the 15 tasks administered, simulators performed significantly differently from normal and memory‐impaired participants. Of these 5 tasks, the coin‐in‐the‐hand, when administered in conjunction with the autobiographical interview, identified 95 per cent of the simulators without misclassifying any of the memory‐impaired or normal participants.

Conclusion. It is suggested that these two tests, when administered jointly, might be of use in clinical settings to assist in the detection of malingerers.
Care staff responses to people with learning disabilities and challenging behaviour: A cognitive—emotional analysis
Authors: Dagnan Dave , Trower Peter , Smith Rebecca
Published: July 2011

This study explores the application of Weiner's cognitive‐emotional model of helping behaviour to care staff responses to challenging behaviour of people with learning disabilities. Participants were 20 residential care staff who worked with people with challenging behaviour and 20 who did not. Six examples of challenging behaviour were presented, and for each behaviour participants were asked to give a probable cause, rate attributions of stability, internality, globality and controllability for their cause, their optimism for change of the behaviour, their evaluation of the behaviour and a person showing the behaviour, their emotional response to the behaviour and their willingness to put extra effort in to helping change the behaviour. Data were analysed using correlation and regression methods. Carers working with people with challenging behaviour were more likely to evaluate the person more positively and report they would be more likely to offer extra effort in helping. A path analysis showed that helping behaviour was best predicted by optimism, which was best predicted by negative emotion which was best predicted by the attribution of controllability. We conclude that attributions and emotions reported by carers in response to challenging behaviour are consistent with Weiner's cognitive‐emotional model of helping behaviour. Formulating carer behaviour using such models offers the possibility of using cognitive‐behavioural methods in working with staff beliefs, emotions and behaviour in response to challenging behaviour.
Malingering of memory impairment on the Colorado Priming Test
Authors: McGuire Brian E. , Shores E. Arthur
Published: July 2011

Objectives. We hypothesized that simulated malingerers would show a weaker priming effect and a longer response latency than control patients and patients with a brain injury on a priming test.

Design. Participants were compared on their performance on the Colorado Priming Test to replicate and extend the original validation study.

Methods. Of 33 participants, 16 were people with a brain injury and 17 were nonhead injured control patients who were also instructed to feign cognitive impairment (simulators N = 17).

Results. Up to 88 per cent of simulating malingerers and 75 per cent of head‐injured participants were correctly classified.

Conclusions. The Colorado Priming Test may be useful in identifying patients feigning memory impairment.
Cognitive inhibition in phobia
Authors: Kindt Merel
Published: July 2011

Objectives. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether cognitive bias for threat in anxious individuals may be attributed to a defective inhibition.

Design. It was investigated whether phobics and not non‐phobics would show a defective inhibition of threat words as compared to neutral words.

Method. Inhibition was measured by a negative priming task, which was administered to spider phobic participants (N = 29) and non‐phobic controls (N = 31).

Results. The phobics did not show less negative priming of threatening information. Instead, they showed a general delay on all probe displays that were presented after threatening primes.

Conclusion. Anxiety is related to defective inhibition of threat, in the sense that this inhibition consumes extra cognitive resources.
Drawing conclusions: A re‐examination of empirical and conceptual bases for psychological evaluation of children from their drawings
Authors: Thomas Glyn V. , Jolley Richard P.
Published: July 2011

Purpose. Although consideration of children's art work (usually drawings) in clinical investigations of children referred to psychologists is fairly common, there is little evidence for the reliability and validity of such assessments. We consider a variety of possible mechanisms which could operate to influence the characteristics of children's drawings, and review the evidence that such mechanisms operate to allow meaningful psychological evaluations of children from their drawings.

Methods. The problem for making a reliable interpretation of the significance of a drawing is that a given feature could plausibly support several very different interpretations, depending which of many possible processes was active or dominant in the production of the drawing. Evidence from studies of clinical populations and experimental studies with non‐selected samples are reviewed in the light of these possibilities.

Results. The review indicates that drawings are inaccurate and unreliable as personality or state assessments but can be influenced by children's emotional attitudes towards the topics depicted. The form of that expression, however, may be personal and idiosyncratic. Analogue studies of these effects undertaken with non‐clinical samples under controlled conditions have produced mixed results. At best the reported effects are small.

Conclusions. Children's drawings on their own are too complexly determined and inherently ambiguous to be reliable sole indicators of the emotional experiences of the children who drew them. Further research is needed to establish the extent to which such drawings can usefully facilitate assessment of children by other means or provide useful support as one of several converging lines of evidence.
Alliance structure assessed by the Agnew Relationship Measure (ARM)
Authors: Agnew‐Davies Roxane , Stiles William B. , Hardy Gillian E. , Barkham Michael , Shapiro David A.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. We used a new instrument, the Agnew Relationship Measure (ARM), to examine the alliance's dimensionality and to construct scales for use in future studies.

Design. We studied the alliance as reported on the ARM by both clients and therapists in the Second Sheffield Psychotherapy Project, a randomized comparison of two contrasting time‐limited psychotherapies for depression.

Methods. Clients (N = 95) and therapists (N = 5) completed parallel forms of the (ARM) after every session (N = 1120).

Results. Five scales were constructed, based on results of simultaneous components analyses and considerations of conceptual coherence and comparability across client and therapist perspectives.

Conclusions. Bond, partnership, and confidence overlapped statistically (consistent with previous studies), but there are conceptual and empirical reasons for retaining the distinctions. Openness represented a relatively independent dimension. The client initiative scale had low internal consistency but the items may have value for future investigations.
Customary physical activity and gender as precursors for late life personal disturbance
Authors: Bennett Kate Mary
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To examine whether customary physical activity (CPA) and gender are precursors for personal disturbance in later life.

Design. The study was part of a longitudinal study, with data collected in 1985 and 1989. Measures of CPA were obtained in men and women who by 1989 had developed elevated levels of personal disturbance. A case‐control design was used: the cases were matched with controls on their 1985 levels of personal disturbances, gender and age.

Methods. Levels of personal disturbance were measured using the Symptoms of Anxiety and Depression (SAD) Scale. CPAs were assessed using five continuous and two discrete measures of physical activity, including indoor productive activity, outdoor productive activity and flexibility. The cases were 26 women and 11 men and the controls were 26 women and 11 men.

Results. Both CPA and gender were found to be precursors for later elevated personal disturbance. Specifically, indoor and outdoor productive activity and activities requiring flexibility were precursors for elevated personal disturbance. The effects of gender were even more specific: a main effect for gender was found for indoor productive activity (women doing more than men); and an interaction effect was observed between personal disturbance and gender for outdoor productive activity (the difference between depressed and non‐depressed men is greater than between depressed and non‐depressed women).

Conclusions. The study found that both CPA and gender were precursors for elevated levels of personal disturbance. However, the effects of both CPA and gender were quite specific.
The ‘Severe Impairment Battery‘: Assessing cognitive ability in adults with Down syndrome
Authors: Witts Paul , Elders Sarah
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To examine the utility of the ‘Severe Impairment Battery’ (SIB—Thames Valley Test Company) in assessing cognitive ability of adults with Down syndrome.

Design. A within‐subject repeated measures design was used to determine test‐retest reliability of the SIB and the Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scales (Interview Edition—Survey Form, 1984) were used to establish SIB criterion validity.

Methods. Thirty‐three adults with Down syndrome (from 152 known to an NHS Trust learning disability service) were selected on the basis of their or their carers' written consent. At the first administration of the SIB with the participant, a staff member completed a Vineland ABS. Thirty days later, the SIB was readministered to the participant.

Results. Test‐retest reliability of the SIB was high as was criterion validity determined by correlating SIB and Vineland ABS scores. Floor effects were not encountered.

Conclusions. The SIB can successfully be used with adults with Down syndrome to assess cognitive functioning over a wide range of ability and may be useful, if used longitudinally, in assessing for deterioration in cognitive functioning associated with dementia. Methodological limitations are discussed.
Assessment of treatment outcome in depressed patients: Concordance of methods
Authors: Senra Carmen , Polaino Aquilino
Published: July 2011

Authors who compared the use of various depression scales for monitoring the effects of treatment have reported that the observed pattern of improvement depends on the scale used. The discrepancies have generally been attributed to interscale differences in content and administration mode. We investigated this phenomenon in a group of 52 out‐patients with non‐psychotic, non‐melancholic DSM‐III major depression disorders using three widely employed depression scales in both their usual formats and in formats for the alternative mode of administration. The six instruments were applied at admission and after 12 and 24 weeks' treatment. The results suggest that differences between the contents of different scales lead to differences in the global improvement reflected, but provide no evidence of significant discrepancy between the patterns of interviewer‐rated and self‐rated progress.
Depressive thinking and dysfunctional schematic mental models
Authors: Teasdale John D. , Lloyd Charlotte‐Anne , Hutton Jane M.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To examine the replicability and generalizability of findings suggesting that mood‐dependent negative thinking in depression reflects changes in the schematic mental models through which the world is interpreted, rather than a generalized increase in accessibility of negative constructs.

Design. Depressed and non‐depressed samples were compared on a sentence completion task concerning anticipated outcomes of social approval or success. This task was designed so that the schematic mental models view predicted more positive completions from depressed participants, the construct accessibility view predicting the opposite.

Methods. A total of 98 depressed participants (scoring > 15 on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies Depression Scale; CESD) from a depressive self‐help organization, and 50 non‐depressed controls (CESD < 16) completed the CESD, Sentence Completion Task and the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (DAS).

Results. Depressed participants made more positive completions in the Sentence Completion Task, and scored higher on the DAS than controls. Subanalyses suggested that the depressed group's increased positive completions were accounted for largely by those currently in psychiatric treatment; these participants also showed greater evidence of dysfunctional schematic models on DAS.

Conclusions. For depressed participants in psychiatric treatment, results replicate previous findings, supporting the view that negative depressive thinking reflects a change in schematic mental models through which the world is interpreted. Results are inconsistent with predictions from the construct accessibility view. The results have methodological implications for the use of the sentence completion task in future studies.
Parental autobiographical memory: Is this a helpful clinical measure in behavioural child management?
Authors: Hutchings Judy , Nash Susan , Williams J. Mark G. , Nightingale David
Published: July 2011

Objectives. The major hypothesis was that specificity scores on the Parent‐Child Autobiographical Memory Test (PCAMT; Hutchings, 1996) would differentiate between mothers of children referred to a child and adolescent mental health service for behavioural management, and those who were not referred. Within the referred sample, the objective was to examine the relationships between the PCAMT, mental health (Beck Depression Inventory; Beck, Ward, Mendelson, Mock & Erbaugh, 1961; General Health Questionnaire; Goldberg, 1972) and socio‐economic deprivation (SED5; Hutchings, 1996) and measures of outcome (Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory; Eyberg, 1980).

Design. Pre‐treatment measures on the PCAMT for the group of mothers whose children were referred were compared with measures on the PCAMT from a group of mothers of non‐referred children of similar ages. Within the mothers of the referred sample, correlations of the PCAMT with other measures were examined, pre‐ and post‐treatment.

Methods. Pre‐treatment PCAMT scores from 26 mothers of children with behaviour management problems from consecutive referrals to a child and adolescent mental health service were compared with PCAMT scores from 22 mothers of children of a similar age from a local playgroup. Within the referred group, the PCAMT was administered before (N = 26) and after (N = 16) treatment. The 16 treated families received behavioural management advice.

Results. The PCAMT distinguished between parents of children referred for behavioural management advice and a non‐clinical sample. Within the referred group it also distinguished between those who received treatment and those who did not attend treatment.

Conclusions. The PCAMT is considered to have the potential of being a useful instrument for identifying referred children whose mothers may not attend for treatment and possibly for identifying those mothers who would benefit most from concentrating on attending and observation skills in child management training.
Reported sexual abuse and subsequent psychopathology among women attending psychology clinics: The mediating role of dissociation
Authors: Ross‐Gower Jo , Waller Glenn , Tyson Mary , Elliott Peter
Published: July 2011

Objective. While there is now a good clinical research base that outlines the links between reported sexual abuse and psychological symptoms and disorders, there is less of an understanding of the psychological processes mediating that relationship. This study assessed the role of dissociation as a mediator between reported sexual abuse and a range of psychopathological characteristics.

Design. A patient‐series design was used.

Method. Participants were an unselected sample of 45 women attending clinical psychology services. Each woman was interviewed regarding a reported history of sexual abuse, and completed standardized measures of general psychopathology, borderline personality disorder characteristics and dissociation.

Results. Sexual abuse per se was associated with the extent of depression, somatization, compulsive behaviour, phobic symptoms and borderline personality disorder characteristics. In each case, dissociation served as a complete mediator in that link. However, the same mediating relationship was not found when attempting to explain the greater psychopathological impact of more ‘severe’ forms of abuse (childhood experiences; intra‐familial abuse).

Conclusions. These findings suggest that the effectiveness of clinical work with these psychopathological features would be enhanced if dissociation symptoms were addressed in women with a reported history of sexual abuse. However, the importance of that therapeutic target may be unrelated to the severity of the psychological disturbance.
Cognitive dissonance 1: An overview of the literature and its integration into theory and practice in clinical psychology
Authors: Draycott Simon , Dabbs Alan
Published: July 2011

Purpose. Clinical psychology may not be making full use of the experimental psychological research available to it. The purpose of this article is to review the literature on cognitive dissonance in order to assess its usefulness in developing and deconstructing clinical psychological therapies and practice.

Methods. Experimental, theoretical and review articles were examined in relation to their possible clinical implications, and included in this review if they related to the arousal, maintenance and reduction of the state termed cognitive dissonance. Well replicated findings based on experimentally sound paradigms were integrated to produce an overall view of the evidence in favour of the existence of these processes, and of the principles behind them.

Results. It is concluded that there is an effect on attitudes and behaviour of creating inconsistency in individuals, and that this is not explained away by alternative theories, which in many cases refer to special conditions which maximally arouse dissonance. The dissonant state lasts for a few minutes, but its effects can last for up to two weeks, and might be reinstated by reintroducing the original inconsistency. Individuals can react to dissonance through a variety of cognitive alterations which reinstate consistency. The choice of response is a function of its salience and the difficulty in its execution.

Conclusions. The literature supports the existence of the phenomenon termed cognitive dissonance, and one can distil the principles underlying its production, maintenance and reduction. This body of literature may provide insights into the conduct of therapy generally, as well as into the mechanisms of specific therapies which may guide modifications or development of alternative interventions.
Dependency and self‐criticism in bipolar and unipolar depressed women
Authors: Rosenfarb Irwin S. , Becker Joseph , Khan Arifulla , Mintz Jim
Published: July 2011

Objectives. The dependency and self‐criticism scores of women with histories of either unipolar disorder (N = 74) or bipolar disorder (N = 20) or no psychiatric history (N = 24) were compared to determine the influence of state depression on these personality dimensions.

Design. All women completed the Depressive Experiences Questionnaire and the Beck Depression Inventory. Patients were divided into currently depressed and remitted groups.

Results. Currently depressed women with unipolar disorder were more self‐critical and dependent than non‐psychiatric controls; women with unipolar disorder whose depression remitted were more self‐critical only. Women in both the depressed and remitted bipolar groups were more self‐critical than controls. Depressed bipolar patients did not differ from the controls in their level of dependency; remitted bipolar patients were significantly less dependent than controls.

Conclusions. Dependency needs in depressed women are heavily influenced by mood state. Self‐criticism appears to be a characterological trait in both major depression and bipolar disorder. Women with bipolar disorder in remission report fewer dependency needs than women with no history of psychiatric disorder. The data provide partial support for Blatt's (1974) hypothesis that dependency and self‐criticism reflect relatively stable personality dimensions in patients with a mood disorder.
A retrospective analysis of expressed emotion (EE) and affective distress in a sample of relatives caring for traumatically brain‐injured (TBI) family members
Authors: Flanagan Desmond A. J.
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To examine levels of expressed emotion (EE) and affective distress in relatives caring for severely brain‐injured family members.

Design. The study took the form of a retrospective, observational cross‐sectional analysis.

Method. Data on 28 relatives were reviewed. Each participant completed one affective health‐related questionnaire (Leeds Scales for the Self‐Assessment of Anxiety and Depression; Snaith, Bridge & Hamilton, 1976) and their EE was rated using the Camberwell Family Interview (CFI; Brown, Birley & Wing, 1972; Vaughn & Leff, 1976, modified for head‐injury relatives. Participants were rated as either high or low EE. Comparative statistical analysis examined differences in affective distress between the two groups.

Results. Of the 28 participants, 12 were rated high EE and 16 were rated low EE. Levels of anxiety were significantly higher among the high EE group, but levels of depression were not significantly different between the high and low EE groups. A significant correlation was found between EE and carer status, i.e. sole carers or family carers, with sole carers displaying significantly higher levels of EE than family carers. Multiple regression also revealed that carer status was most predictive of EE.

Conclusions. Discussion considers EE as a coping strategy. Further research into the predictive capability of EE as an indicator of affective distress in head‐injury families is suggested.
Continuous norming: Improved equations for the WAIS‐R
Authors: Taylor Robert
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To provide more satisfactory continuous norming equations for calculation of WAIS‐R IQ figures than are given in Zachary & Gorsuch (1985), and to provide additional equations applicable to subtest scores.

Design. Psychometric analysis of published normative data.

Method. Multiple regression analysis of relevant data concerning IQ scales and subtest scores as tabulated in Wechsler (1981), involving appropriate transformations of scores and age, followed by relevant analyses of differences between calculated and tabulated values.

Results. The derived equations perform relatively well. Computational details are provided.

Conclusions. Continuous norming procedures have recognised practical and theoretical advantages. Equations presented here fit tabulated WAIS‐R data more closely than do the previous equations; the general method and transformations used may be applicable to other comparable normative data sets.
The Modified Card Sorting Test: Test‐retest stability and relationships with demographic variables in a healthy older adult sample
Authors: de Zubicaray Greig I. , Smith Glen A. , Chalk Jonathan B. , Semple James
Published: July 2011

Objectives. To investigate the test–retest stability of a standardized version of Nelson's (1976) Modified Card Sorting Test (MCST) and its relationships with demographic variables in a sample of healthy older adults.

Design. A standard card order and administration were devised for the MCST and administered to participants at an initial assessment, and again at a second session conducted a minimum of six months later in order to examine its test‐retest stability. Participants were also administered the WAIS–R at initial assessment in order to provide a measure of psychometric intelligence.

Methods. Thirty‐six (24 female, 12 male) healthy older adults aged 52 to 77 years with mean education 12.42 years (SD = 3.53) completed the MCST on two occasions approximately 7.5 months (SD = 1.61) apart. Stability coefficients and test‐retest differences were calculated for the range of scores. The effect of gender on MCST performance was examined. Correlations between MCST scores and age, education and WAIS‐R IQs were also determined.

Results. Stability coefficients ranged from .26 for the percent perseverative errors measure to .49 for the failure to maintain set measure. Several measures were significantly correlated with age, education and WAIS–R IQs, although no effect of gender on MCST performance was found.

Conclusions. None of the stability coefficients reached the level required for clinical decision making. The results indicate that participants' age, education, and intelligence need to be considered when interpreting MCST performance. Normative studies of MCST performance as well as further studies with patients with executive dysfunction are needed.
Longitudinal intergroup contact effects on prejudice using self‐ and observer‐reports
Authors: Dhont Kristof , Van Hiel Alain , De Bolle Marleen , Roets Arne
Published: July 2011

Longitudinal effects of intergroup contact on prejudice were investigated in a sample of 65 young adults (Sample 1) and a sample of their close friends (Sample 2, N= 172), adopting a full cross‐lagged panel design. We first validated the self‐report measure of intergroup contact from Sample 1 with observer ratings from Sample 2 by demonstrating that self‐reports and observer ratings of contact were highly correlated. Moreover, we obtained significant cross‐lagged effects of intergroup contact on prejudice with both contact measures, thereby providing a second validation for the use of self‐reports of intergroup contact. Finally, by the use of latent change modelling, we demonstrated that, although no overall significant change in contact and prejudice over time was found, there was meaningful variation in absolute change in the individual levels of intergroup contact and prejudice. In particular, some individuals showed increases while others showed decreases in contact or prejudice across time. Moreover, higher levels of intergroup contact at Time 1 were followed by larger subsequent decreases in prejudice between Time 1 and Time 2, and changes in contact were significantly and negatively related to changes in prejudice. Methodological implications of the findings are discussed.