bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Implicit and Explicit Memory in Junior High and College Students
Authors: Parente Debora
Published: August 2011

This study compared the performance of 25 seventh and eighth grade boys and girls on tests of implicit and explicit memory to that of 34 men and women in college. The latter performed significantly better on the explicit memory test. Young adolescents showed a significant priming effect on the implicit memory test; college students did not. Findings suggest a ceiling effect for college students. The results support the distinction between implicit and explicit memory.
Gay Marriage Affiliation and Location in Return of Lost Letters: Reply to Waugh, Plake, and Rienzi (2000)
Authors: Bridges F. Stephen
Published: August 2011

Reinspection of Waugh, Plake, and Rienzi's 2000 data allowed for several additional analyses. Statistical confirmation was found for no more negative attitudes toward gay marriage as measured by returned responses among churchgoers than among the general public. Confirmation was also found for their previous conclusion that the putative gay marriage controversy among Christian church attendees would be greater than among the general public, but for reasons different from those they proposed. Finally, it is argued that the limitations for the lost letter technique in “prohibiting fine distinctions” is not always correct because their analysis of one research question seemed not too subtle a distinction for the technique.
Self-Evaluation and Choice: An Existential View of Paradoxical Treatments
Authors: Akillas Emmanuel
Published: August 2011

The use of the term paradox in the domain of psychotherapy is fundamentally different from its use in philosophy. Paradoxical interventions are not statements that can be both true and false but rather are agents of therapeutic change. However, this reified usage of the term has made it difficult to clarify the process by which paradoxical treatments become efficacious. These treatments can be viewed as epistemological paradoxes because they challenge traditional assumptions about the nature of psychological problems. Based on this analysis, it is argued that the effects of paradoxical treatments are mediated by a self-evaluation process that leads to a change in the meaning clients attribute to their symptoms.
Parental Control, Trait Anxiety, and Satisfaction with Life in College Students
Authors: Seibel Frank L. , Johnson W. Brad
Published: August 2011

Research on developmental psychopathology has highlighted the role of parental behavior in subsequent development of pathology in children and adolescents. Although parental psychological control has been an area of interest to researchers, the connection between psychological control and anxiety has not been well established. We administered measures of perceived parental control and acceptance (separate forms for mother and father), trait anxiety, and satisfaction with life to 202 undergraduate students. Analysis indicated that perception of parents (both mother and father) as psychologically controlling was significantly positively correlated with trait anxiety and significantly negatively correlated with satisfaction with life. This held even after the effects of psychological control by the other parent were statistically eliminated.
Posttraumatic Stress Symptoms in Refugees: Assessments with the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and the Hopkins Symptom Checklist–25 in Different Languages
Authors: Kleijn W. C. , Hovens J. E. , Rodenburg J. J.
Published: August 2011

The original versions of the Harvard Trauma Questionnaire and Hopkins Symptoms Checklist–25 were written and subsequently validated in the Cambodian, Laotian, and Vietnamese languages. For use in a Dutch treatment center, with refugee patients mostly speaking other languages, additional translations were made. The objective of this study was examination of the psychometric properties of some of these new translations, i.e., the Arabic, Farsi, Serbo-Croatian, Russian, and English bilingual adaptations. It is concluded that the psychometric properties of both tests are adequate across those different cultures and are, in general, applicable to measure symptoms of depression, anxiety, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Answering Two Criticisms of Hypothesis Testing: Reply to Serlin
Authors: Leventhal Les
Published: August 2011

Two criticisms of hypothesis testing have been repeated for half a century. Leventhal (1999) defended against those criticisms. Serlin (2000) commented on Leventhal's paper and criticized parts of Leventhal's defense. Serlin's comments are discussed and his criticisms answered.
Validation of the Crisis in Family Systems–Revised, a Contemporary Measure of Life Stressors
Authors: Berry Carolyn , Quinn Kelly , Shalowitz Madeleine , Wolf Raoul
Published: August 2011

The objectives of this study were to establish the validity of the Crisis in Family Systems–Revised, a recently developed measure of contemporary life stressors, using the same validation technique as in the original validation and to provide further evidence of construct validity by assessing its relationship to socioeconomic status and residential location. We conducted 124 in-person interviews with parents in three outpatient pediatric asthma clinics affiliated with an academic medical center. The design was cross-sectional and correlational. Total count of life stressors accounted for 19% of the variance in scores on the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression. Respondents using Medicaid and living in the city experienced more objective stressors, but the proportions of stressors rated as negative or positive (Valence), and ongoing (Chronicity) were fairly constant across subsamples, as was the Difficulty rating. Psychologists and health and mental health services researchers are in need of constructs relevant to contemporary society and its issues and tools to measure these constructs. Life stressors appears to be such a construct and the Crisis in Family Systems–Revised a measure with considerable utility.
Height, Societal Threat, and the Victory Margin in Presidential Elections (1824–1992)
Authors: McCann Stewart J. H.
Published: August 2011

Based on the idea that height serves as a heuristic for judgments about status, dominance, and leadership potential, two hypotheses were tested: (1) Heights of U.S. presidential election winners are positively correlated with estimates of social, economic, and political threat in election years. (2) Height and victory margin are positively correlated regardless of the magnitude of estimates of social, economic, and political threat in election years. Both hypotheses were supported for the 43 elections from 1824 to 1992.
Diagnostic Reliability and Accuracy of Pathological Grief and Psychiatric Disorders among Japanese Psychologists and Psychology Students
Authors: Tomita Takuro , Kitamura Toshinori
Published: August 2011

The present study examined the reliability and accuracy of diagnoses regarding pathological grief and other psychiatric disorders using a case vignette design Two Japanese psychologists (Ph.D. and M.A. levels) and five graduate students in psychology participated. Analysis suggests that psychologists and psychology students can reliably apply the diagnostic criteria for pathological grief and other psychiatric disorders.
Determinants of Coping: Some Alternative Explanations and Measurement Issues
Authors: Dewe Philip
Published: August 2011

The determinants of coping may be better understood if we considered the different constructs—stressors, strain, and coping within a transactional framework: a framework wherein stress is viewed as resulting from the transaction between the individual and the environment. Adopting such an approach may also require researchers to consider how stressful encounters are appraised—the meanings given to events, how coping strategies are classified, and how they are used in the coping process, whether linear additive coping scores really tell us anything about how individuals actually cope and whether it is now time to consider alternative methodologies if we are to better understand the complexities of the stress process.
Spence and Robbins' Measures of Workaholism Components: Test-Retest Stability
Authors: Burke Ronald J.
Published: August 2011

There has been a recent increase in research devoted to the study of workaholism, specifically concerning issues of definition and measurement. The present investigation examined the test-retest stability of Spence and Robbins' measures of the components of workaholism (1992), one of two measures that has been fairly widely used. These measures were found to be relatively stable in a sample of early-career managers ( n = 67) over a 12-wk. period.
Y2K Affiliation, Immediate Pedestrian Density, and Helping Responses to Lost Letters
Authors: Bridges F. Stephen , Thompson Paul C.
Published: August 2011

Of 75 letters “lost” in Florida, 41 were returned in the mail (the helpful response). Immediate pedestrian density was significantly related to nonhelping responses. The greater the number of subjects passing by a lost letter, the less likely any one of them would respond to it. The rates of return did vary with the addressees' affiliations. Returned responses for the affiliates, Y2K Arkbuilders and the Believers of God's Judgement Against Homosexuals: Y2K Millennium Bug, were substantially lower than for the affiliate, Y2K Computer Repair & Programming, Inc. Returns for the Believers of God's Judgement Against Homosexuals: Y2K Millennium Bug affiliate were significantly lower than for the Y2K Arkbuilders affiliate. Variables such as sex, race, and estimated age of subjects were not associated with helping to return a lost letter. The rate of return of lost letters is not the only important measure to be examined in studies using lost letters.
Peer versus Authority as Decision Maker: Are the Demographics of the Perceiver Related to Judgements of Fairness?
Authors: Miles Jeffrey A. , Palmer Todd S.
Published: August 2011

In a role-playing study, 264 university students evaluated the fairness of procedures and outcomes used to punish a student for plagiarizing from a web site. Individuals reading the scenario gave the highest ratings of justice when the decision maker was a group of nonpeers (faculty), compared to when the decision maker was an individual or peer (student). Sex and self-reported guilt of individuals reading the scenario also influenced their ratings of justice.
A Revised Psychoticism Scale for the Revised Eysenck Personality Questionnaire: A Study among Clergy
Authors: Francis Leslie J. , Robbins Mandy , Louden Stephen H. , Haley John M.
Published: August 2011

The psychometric properties of an improved 6-item form of the Eysenck Psychoticism scale are examined among three samples of clergy, 1,227 Anglican clergywomen, 1,468 Roman Catholic male priests, and 1,321 male and female Methodist ministers. On the basis of these data the scale is commended for further use.
Compulsive Checking and Selective Processing of Threatening Information
Authors: Novara Caterina , Sanavio Ezio
Published: August 2011

Threatening stimuli are processed differently from neutral ones by anxious and obsessive-compulsive subjects. In the present research, processing of threatening words was compared with that of neutral words for two groups of Italian students, one with high mean and one with low mean score on Checking, a subscale of the Padua Inventory. Two tests were given, a computerized version of the emotional Stroop task and a later recognition test under incidental learning conditions. The expected interference effect on the Stroop task for those scoring high on Checking was confirmed. These results suggest an association between compulsive checking and bias in the first automatic stages of processing of threatening stimuli.
Roles of Social Support and Social Skills in the Intercultural Adjustment of Japanese Adolescent Sojourners in the USA
Authors: Yashima Tomoko , Tanaka Tomoko
Published: August 2011

Intercutlural adjustment of Japanese high school students who sojourned in the United States for one year is the focus of the study. Building relationships with host nationals using limited English competency is the challenge that seems basic to successful adjustment to life in the USA. A path model was constructed in which English competence leads to better social skills, which in turn affects the amount of social support gained from host nationals. This model was tested through structural equation modeling, and the model's fit to the data was satisfactory. The predictive roles of English proficiency and personality were suggested in a supplementary analysis.
A Preliminary Study of Subjective Frequency Estimates of Words Spoken in Cantonese
Authors: Yip Michael C. W.
Published: August 2011

A database is presented of the subjective frequency estimates for a set of 30 Chinese homophones. The estimates are based on analysis of responses from a simple listening task by 120 University students. On the listening task, they are asked to mention the first meaning thought of upon hearing a Chinese homophone by writing down the corresponding Chinese characters. There was correlation of .66 between the frequency of spoken and written words, suggesting distributional information about the lexical representations is generally independent of modality. These subjective frequency counts should be useful in the construction of material sets for research on word recognition using spoken Chinese (Cantonese).
Career Group Counseling in Undecided College Female Seniors' State Anxiety and Career Indecision
Authors: Peng Huiling
Published: August 2011

A sample of female college seniors experiencing career indecision participated in a career group counseling ( n: 16), a wait-list control group ( n: 8), and an additional career-counseling group ( n: 11). Participants were administered the Career Decision Scale and the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory at pretest and posttest. Analysis of covariance of state anxiety scores and career indecision scores yielded significant main effects for treatment. Participants in the career-counseling groups showed a decrease in scores on state anxiety and career indecision. Implications for research and female career group counseling are also discussed.
Relationships between Hallucinations and Disorganization in Schizophrenic Patients
Authors: Kecskemeti S. , Loas G.
Published: August 2011

In two samples of 150 and 310 schizophrenic patients, scores for hallucinations were significantly associated with scores on disorganization.
Predicting the Extent and Stressfulness of Problem Rumors at Home among Army Wives of Soldiers Deployed Overseas on a Humanitarian Mission
Authors: Schumm Walter R. , Bell D. Bruce , Knott Benjamin
Published: August 2011

Nearly 500 civilian wives of enlisted soldiers from Fort Drum, New York were surveyed about the extent to which they experienced, as problems, rumors about what was happening in Somalia and when their soldier would return from the Operation Restore Hope deployment to Somalia in 1993. Rumors, as problems, were cited less frequently than loneliness, fears about the soldier's safety, or ignorance of the situation in Somalia but more frequently than problems with communication, finances, or legal issues. The strongest initial predictor of such problems was having communication problems with the soldier. Other significant predictors included length of deployment, soldier's rank, and unit support systems. More frequent use of telephone or regular mail, however, did not appear to reduce such rumors. Stressfulness of rumors appeared to be reduced by good unit leadership, good family support groups, and better emotional adaptability to deployment by spouses, while increased by reliance on surface mail for communication with one's deployed spouse. Subsequent analyses indicated that having fears about the safety of one's soldier or concerns about not knowing what was going on in Somalia were also significantly correlated with rumors as problems. Out results may support hypotheses that rumors serve to fill gaps in official information and justify spouses' anxieties regarding the safety of their deployed soldier.
Sex Differences in Associations of Temperament with Love-Styles
Authors: Worobey John
Published: August 2011

University students (439 women, 111 men) completed a questionnaire that included items assessing temperament and love-styles. While a single temperament and love-style association characterized the men, all five temperament dimensions were predictive of certain of the love-styles for the women.
Breast Self-Examination and Cervical (PAP) Smear Test: Attitudes and Self-Reported Practices among South African Women
Authors: Peltzer Karl
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the attitudes and practices of breast self-examination and cervical (Pap) smear test among South African women. The sample included 150 Black and 150 White women chosen by systematic random sampling from telephone directories. The Black women were within the age range of 18 to 80 years ( M age 38.9 yr., SD = 4.7), and the White women were within the age range of 19 to 91 years ( M age 41.8 yr., SD = 3.5). Analysis indicated that 97.1% of the White women and 44.9% of the Black women said that they know how to examine their breasts. Of those women, significantly more Black (56.1%) than White (8.9%) women examined with the recommended frequency of more than 10 times a year. Of the Black women 60.5% and 8.4% of White women had never had a cervical smear test. Logistic regression analysis indicated that attitudes were an independent predictor for these two tests.
University Students' Conceptions of First-Year Mathematics
Authors: Alkhateeb Haitham M.
Published: August 2011

The 1998 Crawford, Gordon, Nicholas, and Prosser Conceptions of Mathematics scale was administered to 156 first-year university students at a large public university in the midwestern United States. The scale represented fragmented and cohesive conceptions of mathematics. The reliability estimated as internal consistency had a Cronbach alpha of .80 for the fragmented scale and .87 for the cohesive scale. Factor analysis of the intercorrelations indicated the same two factors of fragmented and cohesive as in the original and other replicating studies. Students' conceptions of mathematics in this study were comparable to those reported in the original study.
Intergenerational Association of Alexithymic Characteristics for College Students and Their Mothers
Authors: Fukunishi Isao , Paris Wayne
Published: August 2011

The intergenerational association of alexithymic characteristics of mothers and their children were examined in a sample of 232 pairs of college students and their mothers. Scores on the Toronto Alexithymia Scale, Parental Bonding Inventory, and the Family Environmental Scale of college students were significantly correlated with their mothers' memories of when they were also 20 years old. College students' scores were significantly correlated with their mothers' scores on each questionnaire. The student-mother pairs were further divided into two family types, nuclear and extended families. Correlations were higher for scores of the nuclear family than for those of the extended family. Such results suggest there may be intergenerational transmission of alexithymia and related factors from mothers to children.
Attitudes towards Handicaps in South African and Indian University Students
Authors: Peltzer Karl , Cherian Lily , Cherian Varghese I.
Published: August 2011

327 first-year students in South Africa showed a significantly more favourable attitude towards handicaps than 205 first-year Indian students.
Apparent Higher Brain Weight in Suicide Victims: Possible Reasons
Authors: Balažic Jože , Marušič Andrej
Published: August 2011

In 2000 we tested previously reported findings by Salib and Tadros that brain weight of fatal self-harm victims is higher than of those who died of natural causes. Our results were based on data from 15 suicides and 15 deaths of other causes. Data included matching variables of age, sex, time between death and postmortem examination, and temperature of the surrounding environment. The exploratory variables were brain weight and method of death. No significant difference was found between the brain weights of suicides and others. On the other hand, some differences were obtained for different suicide methods, which also differed in the temperature of the environment, this being lower for the group of suicides that occurred outdoors (around or below 0°C). Once we excluded all the outdoor cases and controls, a significantly higher brain weight was obtained for suicide cases. These and previous results are intriguing and require explanation. Respirator brain syndrome as described by Moseley, Molinari, and Walker in 1976 may provide only a partial explanation. Another possible suggestion is that higher brain weight in suicide victims may be related to previously demonstrated increased amygdala blood flow and subsequent amygdala enlargement due to the increased processing of emotional information.
Confirmatory Factor Analysis and Job Burnout Correlates of the Health Professions Stress Inventory
Authors: Akhtar Syed , Lee Jenny S. Y.
Published: August 2011

Previous research in 1994 by Gupchup and Wolfgang identified four factors from Wolfgang's Health Professions Stress Inventory (1988) that were common among a sample of practicing pharmacists. The factors were labeled Professional Recognition, Patient Care Responsibilities, Job Conflicts, and Professional Uncertainty, respectively. We used confirmatory factor analysis to assess whether this factor structure was generalizable to nurses. To examine concurrent validity, we correlated the factors with Maslach and Jackson's three dimensions of job burnout, i.e., Emotional Exhaustion, Depersonalization, and Personal Accomplishment. Data were collected through a questionnaire survey of a random sample of 9,380 nurses from across 43 public hospitals in Hong Kong, from which 2,267 (24.2%) responded. Analysis indicated statistically acceptable goodness of fit indices for the four-factor solution. Except for the factor Patient Care Responsibilities, all other factors had moderate correlations between .44 and .53 with Emotional Exhaustion and Depersonalization. Correlations between the factors of Stress Inventory and Personal Accomplishment were small but significant, ranging from –.25 to .13. Areas for further improving the psychometric properties of the inventory are discussed.
Relationship between Stages of Smoking Acquisition and Environmental Factors among Junior High School Students
Authors: Otake Keiko , Shimai Satoshi
Published: August 2011

To study the relationship of stages of smoking acquisition and environmental factors, 757 Japanese junior high school students (390 boys and 367 girls) anonymously answered a questionnaire regarding the four stages of smoking acquisition (precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, and action stages) and environmental factors of smoking behavior. Analysis showed that the influence of advertising and students' interpersonal situations on smoking behavior increased from the precontemplation stage to the action stage.
An Evaluation of Touch on a Large Request: A Field Setting
Authors: Guéguen Nicolas , Fischer-Lokou Jacques
Published: August 2011

The effect of touch on compliance to a request has traditionally been tested with small solicitation (answer to a small questionnaire, give a dime to a confederate, …). In our experiment a larger request was evaluated. Passersby, 53 men and 67 women, were asked by two confederates to look after a large and very excited dog for 10 minutes because each wanted to go into a pharmacy where animals were prohibited. In half of the cases, subjects were touched during the request. Analysis showed that, when touched, 55% of the subjects agreed with the request whereas 35% only in the no-touch control condition agreed. This finding indicates that touch was positively associated with the subjects' compliance ( p<.03).
An Approach to the Hierarchical Model of Motivation in a Classroom: A Reply to Rousseau and Vallerand
Authors: Yamauchi Hirotsugu
Published: August 2011

Rousseau and Vallerand's comments on our recent article led to the present study of correlations between students' perception of teachers' attitudes, intrinsic-extrinsic motivation, and learning strategy with structural equation modeling. The analysis shows students' perception of teachers' attitudes influences the intrinsic-extrinsic motivation, which as mediator in turn affects students' learning strategies, and the paths were divided into two streams, one with more intrinsic attributes and the other with more extrinsic ones.
Relation of Study Strategies to the Academic Performance of Hong Kong University Students
Authors: Yip Michael C. W. , Chung Olive L. L.
Published: August 2011

A revised version of the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory was used to examine the relation of study strategies with academic performance of 100 Hong Kong university students. Analysis indicated the high academic-achieving group differed significantly from the low academic-achieving group in terms of intrinsic disposition factors of motivation, scheduling, concentration, and selecting main ideas.
School Characteristics among Children of Alcoholic Parents
Authors: Casas-Gil Maria J. , Navarro-Guzman Jose I.
Published: August 2011

Studies show that children of alcoholics constitute a population at-risk commonly for poor performance, skipping school days, and school drop out. The focus of the present study was to examine a variety of direct outcome variables measuring academic performance among a sample of 226 children, 108 of them from parents who misused alcohol in Cadiz. Parents were outpatients of a Health Service and received treatment for the drinking problem; 118 students were children of nonalcoholic parents attending the same schools as the children of alcoholic parents. Both groups were compared on age, sex, school grade, and social environment. The study identified five variables on which performance by children of alcoholic parents was poorer: intelligence, repeating a grade, low academic performance, skipping school days, and dropping out of school.
Children of Homosexual Parents Report Childhood Difficulties
Authors: Cameron Paul , Cameron Kirk
Published: August 2011

Referenced as both supporting and weakening the case for parenting by homosexuals, 57 life-story narratives of children with homosexual parents published by Rafkin in 1990 and Saffron in 1996 were subjected to content analysis. Children mentioned one or more problems or concerns in 48 (92%) of 52 families. Of the 213 scored problems, 201 (94%) were attributed to the homosexual parent(s). Older daughters in at least 8 (27%) of 30 families and older sons in at least 2 (20%) of 10 families described themselves as homosexual or bisexual. These findings are inconsistent with propositions that children of homosexuals do not differ appreciably from those who live with married parents or that children of homosexuals are not more apt to engage in homosexuality.
The Spanish Version of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire: Factor Structure and Internal Consistency Reliability
Authors: Campos Alfredo , González María Angeles , Amor Angeles
Published: August 2011

We examined the factor structure and internal consistency reliability of the Spanish version of the Vividness of Visual Imagery Questionnaire which was applied to a sample of 850 secondary school students. Factor structure investigated by principal components analysis, followed by varimax orthogonal rotation, indicated that a single factor explained 37% of the variance. The internal consistency of the questionnaire was good (Cronbach α = 88) We conclude that the Spanish version of the questionnaire, like the English version, has a single factor and high internal consistency reliability.
A Demonstration of Undergraduate Students' First Impressions and Their Ratings of Pathology
Authors: Roeckeletn Jon E.
Published: August 2011

An interactive team exercise based in the dual topic areas of social and abnormal psychology is described that employs videotaped case studies to sensitize students to the processes by which they form first impressions of other people, and to various issues regarding assessments of mental disorders. Each of three case studies is presented in two parts: Part 1 simulates a “first impression” condition—involving students' ratings of perceived pathology—by briefly showing only a patient (no soundtrack present), and Part 2 constitutes a “further disclosure” condition by giving more exposure—involving therapists' diagnoses and assessments—of the same patient with both sight and soundtrack presented. Data are reported from 12 introductory psychology classes in which students ( N = 367) rated the three patients on psychopathology is perceived severity of disorder as compared to the actual assessments (also contained on the videotapes) made by clinical psychologists and psychiatrists. The demonstration is useful in eliciting consistent and predictable first impressions from students, in stimulating classroom discussion about the value and accuracy of person perceptions and first impressions, and in alerting students to problems related to the identification of mental disorders.
Screening for Depression in Systemic Lupus Erythematosus with the British Columbia Major Depression Inventory
Authors: Iverson Grant L.
Published: August 2011

Accurate identification of depression in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is particularly complicated because the vegetative symptoms of depression also reflect core features of this autoimmune disease. Self-reported symptoms in patients with SLE ( n = 103) and community control subjects ( n = 136) were examined with the British Columbia Major Depression Inventory and the Beck Depression Inventory–II. The patients with lupus obtained higher scores on most items of the former inventory. A logistic regression analysis assessed whether a subset of these items were uniquely related to group membership. Clinically significant fatigue was much more common in patients with lupus than in the control group. Two items relating to sleep disturbance also entered the equation as unique predictors. The three-variable model resulted in 85% of the control subjects and 66% of the patients being correctly classified. A subset of patients with depression, according to the Beck inventory (17 or higher), were selected ( n = 41). Their most frequently endorsed symptoms on the British Columbia Inventory were fatigue (90.2%), trouble falling asleep (70.7%), cognitive difficulty (61%), and psychomotor slowing (58.5%). Only 29.3% reported significant sadness. 15% of these subjects were classified as not depressed, 46% as possibly depressed, and 39% as probably depressed on the British Columbia Inventory. It is advisable to assess whether patients are experiencing significant sadness or loss of interest before concluding that a high score on a screening test corresponds to probable depression.
Factor Analysis of Social Skills Inventory Responses of Italians and Americans
Authors: Galeazzi Aldo , Franceschina Emilio , Holmes George R.
Published: August 2011

The Social Skills Inventory is a 90-item self-report procedure designed to measure social and communication skills. The inventory measures six dimensions, namely, Emotional Expressivity, Emotional Sensitivity, Emotional Control, Social Expressivity, Social Sensitivity, and Social Control. The Italian version was administered in several cities in Northern Italy to 500 Italian participants ranging in age from 15 to 59 years. Factor analysis appears to confirm the adequacy of the inventory for the Italian adult population. Results indicate strong similarities between the Italian and American populations with respect to the measure of social skills. Indexes of internal reliability and test-retest reliability are good for almost all subscales of the inventory, which should encourage the use of this inventory with Italian samples.
Stigma Directed toward Chronic Illness is Resistant to Change Through Education and Exposure
Authors: Hayes Robert A. , Vaughan Christopher , Medeiros Traci , Dubuque Erick
Published: August 2011

In the mid-1980s, research reported that people living with HIV were viewed differently on measures of competence, dependence, morbidity, depression, and moral worth from those living with other chronic illnesses. 443 students were surveyed to evaluate present attitudes in comparison to this earlier research. The usefulness of imaginal exposure, i.e., imagining a loved one living with HIV, in reducing stigma toward people with HIV was also investigated. Analysis indicated no difference in the rating of AIDS and cancer patients on measures of competence, depression, and morbidity and patients with heart disease, the latter being rated significantly less competent and more depressed than AIDS or cancer patients. AIDS patients were rated significantly less dependent than cancer and heart disease patients. While these results suggest that stigma associated with an HIV/AIDS diagnosis, in general, may have decreased over the years, ratings of moral worth were still lower for AIDS patients than for patients with cancer and heart disease. Robustness of this specific aspect of stigma may be associated with sexual prejudice. Also, an imagined loved one who lives with HIV was rated significantly more favorably on all 5 composite scales than a generic person living with HIV, suggesting the usefulness of exposure as an intervention for attitude change. Limitations of the research are discussed.
Differences in Schwartz's Value Survey between High and Low Scorers on the Ecoscale
Authors: Clump Michael , Ramanaiah Nerella V. , Sharpe J. Patrick
Published: August 2011

The hypothesis that High ECOSCALE and Low ECOSCALE groups would have different value profiles was tested using 319 introductory psychology students (187 women and 132 men). The participants completed the ECOSCALE and Schwartz's Value Survey for partial course credit, after which the means of the two groups were compared using univariate and multivariate analyses of variance on Schwartz's Value Survey. Analysis indicated that the groups scoring high and low on the ECOSCALE had significantly different Value profiles, which supported the hypothesis. In addition, the High ECOSCALE group scored significantly lower on the Power scale and significantly higher on the Universalism and Benevolence scales.
Shame-Focused Coping Styles and Their Associations with Self-Esteem
Authors: Yelsma Paul , Brown Norman M. , Elison Jeff
Published: August 2011

109 college man and 76 college women ranging in age from 17 to 50 years and having an average age of 21 yr. completed Coopersmith's Self-esteem Scale and Elison's Compass of Shame Scale which measures four shame-focused coping styles. The total Compass of Shame score was significantly correlated with the Self-esteem scores. Scores on three of the shame coping subscales, Attack Self, Withdrawal, and Attack Other, were significantly correlated with Self-esteem scores; the Avoidance subscale was not. No significant sex differences were found either on self-esteem or any of the four, shame-coping subscales. A regression model that examined the predictive associations between four subscales of shame and Self-esteem indicated that shame scores accounted for 32% of the variance in Self-esteem.
Properties of the Symptom Check List (SCL-90–R) in a Psychosomatic Consultation-Liaison Setting
Authors: Schmitz Norbert , Hartkamp Norbert , Franz Matthias , Buse Stefan , Karig Roman , Tress Wolfgang
Published: August 2011

The present study aimed to assess the effect of psychological screening of medical inpatients using the Symptom Check List, SCL-90–R. A sample of 630 medical inpatients who were referred to a psychosomatic consultation-liaison service was assessed using the SCL-90–R. A clinical interview was conducted with all assessed patients. Patients referred to the consultation-liaison service showed high psychological distress. 73% of the subjects were classed as cases using the International Classification of Diseases (10th Revision) criteria and psychological impairment. The screening characteristics of the SCL-90–R were not as good as those reported for other outpatient samples. The SCL-90–R appears to have been valuable for the consultation-liaison service since subjects with mental disorders scored significantly higher on almost all the scales than subjects without mental disorders. The questionnaire can serve as a useful tool for understanding patients' current status regarding mental health problems.
Cliometric Metatheory: II. Criteria Scientists Use in Theory Appraisal and why it is Rational to do so
Authors: Meehl Paul E.
Published: August 2011

Definitive tests of theories are often impossible in the life sciences because auxiliary assumptions are problematic. In the appraisal of competing theories, history of science shows that scientists use various theory characteristics such as aspects of parsimony, the number, qualitative diversity, novelty, and numerical precision of facts derived, number of misderived facts, and reducibility relations to other accepted theories. Statistical arguments are offered to show why, given minimal assumptions about the world and the mind, many of these attributes are expectable correlates of verisimilitude. A statistical composite of these attributes could provide an actuarial basis for theory appraisal (cliometric metatheory).
Response to Mowrer and McCarver's Paper on Multicultural Perspective and Life Satisfaction
Authors: Ramirez Manuel
Published: August 2011

It is argued that the article by Mowrer and McCarver (2002) misrepresents Ramirez's work by making assumptions based on an incomplete definition of multicultural identity and by inferring that multicultural psychotherapy can serve as a cure-all for psychopathology. It is shown that the authors did not test Ramirez's model, but instead merely used his conceptual framework to develop and test their own measure of multicultural perspective.
Psychometric Properties of the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale Administered in a Crisis Residential Mental Health Treatment Setting
Authors: Uttaro Thomas , González Albert
Published: August 2011

The psychometric properties of the Behavior and Symptom Identification Scale, administered in a crisis residential mental health treatment setting, were investigated. Analyses indicated that Cronbach α reliabilities were very good compared to published research from inpatient and outpatient settings. Univariate and multivariate covariance analyses provided evidence supporting validity in terms of sensitivity to change during treatment and concurrent validity. Evidence supported the contention that women were more honest and realistic in their self-assessments but also that crisis residence treatment was efficacious for both sexes.
Beneficial and Adverse Effects of Pets
Authors: Bras̆ić James Robert
Published: August 2011

The beneficial and adverse effects of pets on people with special mental and physical conditions merit inclusion in psychological evaluations and treatments.
Factor Structure of the Preschool Personality Questionnaire in Iran
Authors: Etemadi Ahmad , Dreger Ralph Mason
Published: August 2011

This study is of Triandis's pseudoetic variety, not a cross-cultural study per se. The Preschool Personality Questionnaire which was standardized in the USA and partially standardized in Colombia was administered to 600 preschool children in Iran. Data from the entire sample were analyzed by both principal components, maximum likelihood, and alpha factor analyses. 14 factors were derived. Odd and even records were likewise factored. Six of the first seven factors were found and matched from odd to even cases. At least five of the total sample factors were judged by inspection to match similar dimensions in the USA. Factor scores for children in the standardizing sample were created by postmultiplying the raw score matrix by the 14-factor “reduced” factor structure matrix. These raw factor scores were then converted to STEN scores. Utilizing the entire sample factor structure matrix, factor scores and sten scores were derived for each of the 4-, 5-, and 6-yr.-old groups. By use of the norms based on this sample of Iranian children, further experiments can be carried out to investigate development of preschool children and other variables in Iran similar to those studied in the West.
Perceptions of Influence on Child's Competence among Fathers in the Military Context
Authors: Eaton Michelle , Fees Bronwyn S.
Published: August 2011

This study compared the beliefs of fathers serving in the military with those of a matched sample of civilian fathers on the time spent with their kindergarten child and their perceptions of their influence as well as their spouse's influence on their child's cognitive and emotional competence. Parents are considered prime agents of change during early childhood. However, fathers who serve in the military face challenges unique to this context and reflective of the frequent and intense demands on their time and attention. Results suggest that, in a time of peace, military and civilian fathers share similar perceptions and time reported spent with their child. Mothers were perceived to be equivalent in their influence to the military father.
Effects of Laughing, Smiling, and Howling on Mood
Authors: Neuhoff Charles C. , Schaefer Charles
Published: August 2011

This study examined the effects of forced laughter on mood and compared laughter with two other possible mood-improving activities, smiling and howling. While howling did not substantially improve mood, both smiling and laughing did. Moreover, laughter seemed to boost positive affect more than just smiling by 22 adults.
Effectiveness of the Responsible Social Values Program for 6th Grade Students in One Rural School District
Authors: Fitzgerald Shawn M. , Jordan Timothy R. , Yoo Laurie M. , Hart Raymond
Published: August 2011

The present study reports the effectiveness of an abstinence-based program (the Responsible Social Values Program) designed for 6th grade students in a rural school district. To assess whether this 6-hr. abstinence-based program changed students' knowledge of their sexual development during adolescence, attitudes toward early sexual involvement, intentions regarding sexual involvement, views related to expected consequences of being sexually involved, and views related to expected outcomes of being sexually involved, a pre-experimental one-group, pretest-posttest design was employed. Analysis indicated that the curriculum was effective in terms of improving scores for each of the constructs measured. Immediately after the 6-hr. program, more students stated that they planned to avoid having sex until marriage (70%) than prior to the program (50%). Replication with a control group and longer term follow-up testing is necessary.
Survey Return Rates Using a Covering Letter Signed by a Graduate Student or Faculty Member
Authors: Szirony Tracy A. , Telljohann Susan K. , Price James H. , Wolfe Elizabeth
Published: August 2011

This study assessed differences in response rate when the author of a survey was identified as a graduate student or a faculty member. A survey on research ethics was mailed to 500 nurse faculty members with half of the covering letters signed as a graduate student and half signed as a faculty member. There were 388 (78%) out of a possible 495 surveys returned. The response rate was 78% for graduate student and 77% for faculty identifications, not significant by chi-square test.
Figure-Drawing Indices of Psychological Accessibility
Authors: Craig Robert J. , Olson Ronald E. , Saad Sharon
Published: August 2011

We investigated the hypotheses that windows, doors, pathways, and size of the house in the House drawing of the House-Tree-Person projective drawing technique reflect psychological and social accessibility by correlating these variables with the Social Introversion scale of the MMPI–2. Subjects were 153 nonclinical, community adults, and 146 clinical patients currently receiving mental health services. While there were strong correlations among these figure-drawing variables, suggesting some common underlying dimension, these scores were not significantly correlated with psychological accessibility as measured by the Si scale of the MMPI–2. Possible interpretations were suggested.
Mathematics Self-Concept and Mathematics Anxiety of Undergraduate Majors in Education
Authors: Alkhateeb Haitham M. , Taha Nader
Published: August 2011

This study investigated the relation between mathematics self-concept and mathematics anxiety of a sample of undergraduate majors in education. Scores of 68 students (10 men and 58 women) on mathematics self-concept were positively correlated (.83) with mathematics anxiety.
The Birthdate Effect: An Extension of the Mere Ownership Effect
Authors: Nickell Gary , Pederson Katie , Rossow Cassie
Published: August 2011

Studies have shown that attributes or variables associated with oneself are liked or preferred more compared to similar attributes unrelated to the self. Nuttin found in 1985 that people tend to prefer the letters that occur in their own names more than the letters that do not occur in their names. This name-letter-effect was later explained as a more general “mere ownership effect.” The present purpose was to test whether the Mere Ownership Effect generalizes to a person's evaluation of their birthdate (month and year). 83 participants evaluated a variety of dates and objects. As expected, participants showed a significantly more positive evaluation of their own birth month and year than to their nonbirth months and years.
16PF in Screening for Appropriateness of Mentors
Authors: Garner Curtis M. , Byars Allyn , Greenwood Michael , Garner Karen A.
Published: August 2011

The utility of the Sixteen Personality Factor Questionnaire, Fifth Edition (16PF) as an indicator of mentor effectiveness was examined. A random sample of the 16PF scores of 74 mentors was drawn from a population of 837 mentors from Big Brothers Big Sisters. Caseworkers rated mentor's effectiveness using a rubric developed for this purpose. The rubric showed good interrater agreement. Caseworkers' ratings of mentor's effectiveness was used to rate mentors systematically as appropriate or inappropriate. The 16PF scores of mentors were compared at an alpha level of .05 for appropriate and inappropriate groups using independent t tests and multivariate analysis of variance, which reflected significant differences between male and female mentors on Factors E and Q3. Significant differences were also found between “appropriate” and “inappropriate” mentors on Factors L and Q4. These differences reflected only moderate effect sizes and lacked practical significance or meaning. The results suggest that, while the 16PF discriminates statistically between “appropriate” and “inappropriate” mentors, in terms of practical significance, the questionnaire is not particularly useful as an initial screening tool.
Homosexual Parents in British Custody Appeals
Authors: Cameron Paul
Published: August 2011

6 British child custody appeal cases including a homosexual parent were compared with 6 randomly drawn appeal cases between heterosexual parents for parental and mental instability, partners' instability, residential instability, criminality, and lying, and having harmed the children and exposing children to harms. In 3 of the 6 cases the homosexual or his associates were recorded as engaging in criminality, in another 2 cases with lying. In one of the 6 homosexual cases the children were recorded as harmed. The 9 recorded harms or probable harms to children in cases involving a homosexual parent were attributed to the homosexual or her associates; children were recorded as harmed and exposed to the harm of neglect in one of the 6 comparison cases.