bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
‘What colour is your pet dinosaur?’ The impact of pre‐interview training and question type on children's answers
Authors: Gee Susan , Gregory Marian , Pipe Margaret‐Ellen
Published: February 2003

Purpose. Two studies evaluated the effects of question type and of brief pre‐interview training, involving instructions and practice, on the number of correct answers and errors given by children in a structured interview.

Methods. A total of 157 children aged from nine to 13 were interviewed about a visit to a science centre with both misleading and non‐misleading open and closed questions. The children also rated their confidence in each of their answers. Half the children received pre‐interview training designed to discourage compliance and guessing.

Results. In Study 1 pre‐interview training decreased commission errors to misleading questions, but also decreased the number of correct responses to non‐misleading questions. In Study 2 a revised training package decreased errors for misleading questions without impacting on correct responses.

Conclusions. Brief pre‐interview interventions can reduce children's compliance with misleading questions in experimental situations. Both studies provided some support for the cognitive processing hypothesis that the confidence‐accuracy relationship will be stronger for open than for closed questions.
Repetitions, warnings and video: Cognitive and motivational components in preschool children's suggestibility
Authors: Endres Johann , Poggenpohl Claudia , Erben Christina
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The effects of situational factors on the suggestibility of preschool children were examined in two experiments which used the Bonn Test of Statement Suggestibility as a dependent measure. This test comprises three subscales which are made up of different question formats: misleading yes‐no questions, wrongly disjunctive alternative questions and question repetitions. The primary purpose of the two studies was to test expectations about different effects of situational and individual factors on these three subscales.

Method. In Expt 1, a 2 2 factorial design with stimulus presentation (single vs. repeated reading of the story) and warning (standard condition vs. explicit warning of misleading questions) was used with 92 children aged between 4 and 7 years. Experiment 2 used a one‐factorial design with three conditions (standard, warning and video recording) and a non‐suggestive follow‐up questioning phase; participants were 60 children aged between 5 and 6 years.

Results. Both better memory due to repeated presentation and the warning led to a reduction of errors in answers to suggestive questions, with differing patterns of effects for these experimental factors. Video recording did not affect participants' performance. In the non‐suggestive follow‐up interview the children were able to correct most, but not all, of their previous errors.

Conclusions. These results show that the three suggestibility scales include cognitive and social‐motivational components. Age‐appropriate instructions, which should include an explicit permission to refuse an answer, are recommended for interviewing young children. Due to these large situational effects and unresolved issues of validity, caution is appropriate in using test scores for single‐case evaluations.
Predicting release and disciplinary outcome with the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles: Female data
Authors: Walters Glenn D. , Elliott William N.
Published: February 2003

Purpose. This study was designed to assess the predictive validity of the Psychological Inventory of Criminal Thinking Styles (PICTS) in female offenders.

Methods. In the first of two studies, outcome data on 118 female inmates released from a state correctional facility were correlated with the PICTS thinking style scales. In a second study, disciplinary adjustment data on 100 female federal inmates were correlated with the PICTS thinking style scales.

Results. In the first study the PICTS Sentimentality (Sn) scale correlated moderately with subsequent release outcome independent of subject ethnic status and confining offence. In the second study the PICTS Cutoff, Entitlement, Power Orientation, Cognitive Indolence and Discontinuity scales correlated moderately with subsequent disciplinary outcome independent of subject age and ethnic status.

Conclusion. These findings lend preliminary support to the practical utility of the PICTS thinking style scales as predictors of release and disciplinary outcome in female offenders, but suggest that release outcome and disciplinary adjustment are not predicted by the same PICTS thinking style scales.
Children's responses when interviewers distort details during investigative interviews
Authors: Roberts Kim P. , Lamb Michael E.
Published: February 2003

Objective. Misunderstandings sometimes occur during investigative interviews when an interviewer distorts details provided by the child. This was examined in the present study by investigating (i) when and how ‘distortions’ occur, and (ii) children's responses to the distortions.

Method. In all, 140 such distortions were identified in 68 formal investigative interviews of 3‐ to 14‐year‐olds who had made allegations of sexual or physical abuse. Features of the utterance in which the distortion was made were coded (e.g. the complexity of the utterance, the topic that was being discussed) and analysis of variance and chi‐square tests were used to determine whether these affected children's responses to the interviewers' distortions.

Results. One‐third of the distortions were corrected by the children. The children were most likely to correct interviewers when the distortions were embedded in short utterances and when the interviewers changed aspects of someone's identity. When children did not correct the interviewers, the interviewers continued to misrepresent the details in the remainder of the interview.

Conclusions. Although some children felt comfortable correcting the interviewers, a substantial portion of the distortions were not corrected. The results of the study suggest that it might be valuable to inform children at the beginning of the interview that they can and should correct interviewers, and to provide children with the opportunity to practice doing this prior to the substantive phase of the interview.
Surviving electronic monitoring in England and Wales: Lessons learnt from the first trials
Authors: Nee Claire
Published: February 2003

Purpose. To consider the salient findings from the government trials of electronic monitoring in England and Wales, particularly those related to the experience of being electronically monitored. To look at the extent to which these were taken on board in the design of the new curfew order with electronic monitoring.

Arguments. The new curfew order became a sentencing option in three pilot areas in 1995. Its use and effectiveness in reducing offending behaviour have been watched very closely by a variety of practitioners and policy makers within the criminal justice system, including the courts, the police, the probation service and not least, the Home Office. Little attention has been given in the resulting commentary, however, to the recommendations arising from the first government trials of electronic monitoring in 1989. These highlighted many problems related to the conditions which those monitored were subject to. This study looks specifically at recommendations regarding information given to the candidate; appraisal of the dwelling in which monitoring is to take place and effects on cohabitees; minimum and maximum curfew hours; and the need to improve the hardware and software associated with monitoring. It then looks at the progress of the current curfew order; assesses whether the suggested improvements have been made; and looks at the effects on the offender's ability to comply with the order.

Conclusions. In many respects lessons learnt during the first trials have contributed to the apparent success of the new curfew order. However, while evidence is promising so far, the future of the order remains unclear.
The IRA funeral murders: The confession of PK and the expert psychological testimony
Authors: Gudjonsson Gisli H.
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The aim of this study was to discuss the case of PK, who was sentenced to life imprisonment in 1990 for involvement in the murder of two British soldiers who were attacked by a crowd of people attending a funeral procession. The main evidence against him at trial was a confession elicited in 1988 during a custodial interrogation.

Methods. The case was referred to the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland in May 1997 to consider the admissibility and weight of a psychologist's report which raised doubts about the reliability of the confession. The psychologist testified before the Court of Appeal after his testimony was held admissible. The appellant's psychological vulnerabilities during the police interrogation were presented and it was shown how they cast doubt on the reliability of the confession PK had made to the police.

Results. After hearing the expert psychological evidence, the conviction was overturned and the appellant was released from custody. This was the first major criminal case in Northern Ireland where psychological evidence carried sufficient weight for a confession to be deemed unreliable.

Conclusions. The judgment shows the influence of expert psychological testimony in a case of disputed confession. Psychologists have a valuable contribution to make to criminal proceedings and it is likely that there will be an increasing demand for their services in the future.
Provictim attitudes and empathy in relation to bullying behaviour among prisoners
Authors: Ireland Jane L.
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The main aims of the study were to investigate attitudes towards the victims of bullying, and to explore the role of empathy in bullying others. It was predicted that those who reported ‘bullying others’ would report less positive attitudes towards victims and lower levels of empathy than those who did not engage in bullying behaviour. It was predicted that differences would be found in attitudes and empathy between sex. No predictions were made with regard to adults vs. young offenders.

Method. The sample was selected from five separate prison establishments and consisted of 98 young offenders (21 women and 77 men) and 211 adult offenders (53 women and 158 men). Prisoners were categorized as ‘bullies’, ‘bully/victims’, ‘pure victims’ or ‘not involved’ on the basis of a self‐report behaviour checklist (Direct and Indirect Prisoner Behaviour Checklist (DIPC)). A modified version of the Rigby & Slee (1991) Provictim Scale and the Davis (1980) Interpersonal Reactivity Index were used to measure attitudes and empathy respectively.

Results. The attitudes of the ‘bully’ and the ‘bully/victim’ group were found to reflect their behaviour in that both were less ‘provictim’ than those not involved in bullying. Women were significantly more provictim than men, and adults were significantly more provictim than young offenders. Women scored significantly higher on some components of empathy than men. The implications of these findings for bullying intervention programmes are discussed.
Clinical and risk management factors in risk prediction of mentally disordered offenders‐more important than historical data?: A retrospective study of 40 mentally disordered offenders assessed with the HCR‐20 violence risk assessment scheme
Authors: Strand Susanne , Belfrage Henrik , Fransson Goran , Levander Sten
Published: February 2003

Purpose. The predictive validity of the risk prediction instrument HCR‐20 was studied. Methods. Two matched groups of discharged forensic psychiatric patients, one who had recidivated into violent criminality and the other not, were assessed with the HCR‐20. This was done retrospective and blind to the outcome.

Results. The results show an overall high predictive validity (AUC = .80). However, historical data had none, or a low, validity while clinical and risk management data had a very high validity.

Conclusions. One of the most interesting findings in this study is that clinical and risk management factors came out as more predictive of future violence than historical factors, which is very much contrary to findings in past research. We think that one has to bear in mind that both clinical and risk management factors are heavily influenced by historical information. Thus, historical data are probably as important as is generally shown in follow‐up studies of violence in various offender groups. However, using the HCR‐20, which allows systematic and reliable coding of clinical and risk management factors, seems to make it possible to use these factors more successfully than has been hitherto possible.
The accuracy and suggestibility of children's memory for neutral and criminal eyewitness events
Authors: Ochsner Joyce E. , Zaragoza Maria S. , Mitchell Karen J.
Published: February 2003

Purpose. A critical issue for psychologists interfacing with the legal system is knowing the extent to which laboratory studies of children's testimony generalize to eyewitness situations involving criminal events. The present study was designed to assess whether young children's eyewitness performance following a criminal event would differ from their performance following a neutral event, an issue that has received little empirical attention to date.

Methods. The accuracy and suggestibility of 30 first grade children who witnessed a staged event that culminated in a purse theft were compared to that of 30 first graders who witnessed the same event, but without the theft.

Results. Children who viewed the theft were found to be more accurate on various measures of recall and recognition than children who viewed the neutral event. On the other hand, children who viewed the theft were not always less suggestible than children who witnessed the neutral event.

Conclusion. Taken together, the results suggest that studies of neutral eyewitness situations are likely to underestimate children's memory performance in criminal eyewitness situations.
Misremembering story material
Authors: Mazzoni Giuliana A. L. , Vannucci Manila , Loftus Elizabeth F.
Published: February 2003

Purpose. In this research we assessed whether after a subtle suggestion, participants could be led to falsely remember that they had experienced certain items on a key list, when in fact those items were taken from stories they had constructed.

Method. In three experiments 78 participants created a story either about themselves (Expts 1 and 2) or about their partner (Expt 3). In Session 1 they brought their stories to the experimental session and were presented with a list of words. The next day, in Session 2, they received a subtle suggestion that some ‘story’ words were on the presented list. One day later, in Session 3, they had a recognition task where list words were mixed with story words, and they tried to recognize the list words. In addition, for each ‘recognized’ word they gave a remember/know response.

Results. In all three experiments when participants falsely recognized their story words and claimed they were list items, they also reported that they genuinely ‘remembered’ the story items from the list, as opposed to simply ‘knowing’ that they had been previously presented on the list. These special false alarms occurred not only when participants had generated a story about themselves, but also when they read a story about themselves, or generated a story about another person.

Discussion. These findings indicate that self‐generation and self‐referencing are factors that modify the memory quality of false recognitions, so that false recognition has a recollective quality that is as strong as the recollective quality of correct recognitions.
Violence risk assessment: Science and practice
Authors: Douglas Kevin S. , Cox David N. , Webster Christopher D.
Published: February 2003

Within the conceptual framework of the scientist‐practitioner model, this paper describes how the science of risk assessment has progressed to a point where it can be of definite assistance to clinicians. Similarly, clinicians can be of marked help to researchers as they play a role in concept definition and as they design and carry out studies to determine the accuracy of their predictions. Risk assessments ought to be carried out in accord with state‐of‐the‐discipline knowledge. Until fairly recently, it may have been argued that the state of knowledge did not provide any sort of reliable or trustworthy direction on violence risk assessment. This position seems no longer tenable. Topic areas discussed include violence and risk assessment generally, the actuarial‐clinical prediction debate, the validity of violence risk assessments, predictors of violence, violence risk assessment schemes (empirically validated structured clinical decision‐making), communication of risk assessment findings, and implications for training.
When the killer suffers: Post‐traumatic stress reactions following homicide
Authors: Pollock Philip H.
Published: February 2003

Objectives. The present study aimed to consider the extent to which post‐traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) occurs after homicide and to examine characteristics of the offence and the offender which contribute to the development of these symptoms. It was proposed that type of violence (reactive versus instrumental) would be related to PTSD symptoms. Using Blackburn's typology of violent offenders, it was also hypothesized that primary and secondary psychopath, controlled and inhibited types would demonstrate differing forms of violence, prevalences and patterns of post‐traumatic stress symptoms following the homicide.

Method. Eighty homicide perpetrators were allocated equally to the four offender types based on their profiles on the Special Hospitals Assessment of Personality and Socialisation (SHAPS). Each offender completed the Post‐Traumatic Stress Disorder Interview and the violence displayed during the index offence was classified as either reactive or instrumental.

Results. Of the total sample, 52% met criteria for current PTSD. Reactive violence and reporting that the offence was traumatic were related to a current diagnosis of PTSD. Differing prevalences and patterns of PTSD symptoms were noted for Blackburn's offender types. Primary psychopaths showed instrumental violence and were the least traumatized. Secondary psychopaths were the most symptomatic, but not necessarily due to involvement in the homicide. Controlled and inhibited types both typically displayed reactive violence and had higher levels of current PTSD symptoms related to involvement in the offence itself.

Conclusions. The extent to which PTSD follows homicide is a function of both personality type and form of violence. The results can be understood in terms of the cognitive model of Meichenbaum (1996) and also the defining dimensions of Blackburn's typology.
Victims, violent crime and the criminal justice system: Developing an integrated model of recovery
Authors: Macleod Malcolm D. , Paton Douglas
Published: February 2003

Purpose. This study examines the social psychological and organizational factors which affect recovery from stress and trauma as a consequence of criminal victimization.

Arguments. The argument is advanced that some obvious contradictions in the literature can be resolved by conceptualizing the social psychology of criminal victimization in a contingent rather than a prescriptive manner. Two distinct groups are examined: one where the victimization experience is rare and isolated, and the other where the victimization experience is chronic or repetitive because of the victim's professional status (e.g. police officers). It is argued that drawing this distinction affords an opportunity to illustrate the theoretical implications of victimization and how these implications are, to some extent, contingent upon status.

Conclusions. It is concluded that (i) the complexity of control processes can be better understood when considered in a contingent manner, and (ii) in order to understand how these contingent processes operate, one needs to take into account the wider social psychological environment and the extent to which other processes support and sustain individual control efforts. These ideas are summarized in the form of an integrated model of criminal victimization which, in turn, may form the basis for effective therapeutic and procedural interventions. It is also hoped that this integrated model will permit other researchers to place their work within the criminal justice system in a useful and coherent way.
Measuring influential police interviewing tactics: A factor analytic approach
Authors: Pearse John , Gudjonsson Gisli H.
Published: February 2003

Purpose. This study was concerned with examining the types of tactics employed by police officers to overcome a resistant suspect and elicit a confession to a major crime. The main hypothesis is that tactics that seek to maximize or exaggerate the strength of the evidence against the suspect, or that seek to minimize the suspect's responsibility or role in the offence will be present in serious cases where initial resistance was overcome.

Method. The interview data from 18 serious criminal cases were subjected to a detailed analysis using a specially constructed coding frame that identified the nature and number of tactics present in every 5‐minute segment of each interview.

Results. A total of 39 interviewing tactics were identified, of which 33 were factor analysed. Six factors emerged and were rotated using the varimax procedure. The first three factors were ‘overbearing’ in character. They were labelled Intimidation, Robust Challenge and Manipulation. The remaining three factors were identified as Question Style, Appeal and Soft Challenge.

Conclusion. This Police Interviewing Analysis Framework (PIAF) provides the first systematic attempt to identify, analyse, measure and display the dynamics of the police‐suspect interview. In order to overcome resistance the police resorted to manipulative and coercive tactics. The nature of the tactics used and their frequency were found to be related to the likelihood that the courts would rule the evidence inadmissible.
Public attitudes toward the treatment of sex offenders
Authors: Brown Sarah
Published: February 2003

Purpose. To investigate public attitudes towards the treatment of sex offenders, and more specifically to investigate attitudes and anticipated behaviour towards a sex offender treatment centre being located in the local community and the acceptance, into the community, of known, convicted, sex offenders who have completed their sentences.

Methods. A postal questionnaire sent to a sample (selected randomly from the electoral register) of 500 individuals in a British city, in May/June 1995.

Results. Responses were received from 312 members of the original sample (response rate of 65%). Attitudes toward the treatment of sex offenders were often positive, although generally only if this takes place alongside some form of punishment. However, respondents were much less supportive of treatment taking place within their own communities and of accepting known sex offenders back into the community.

Conclusions. Respondents tended to endorse the idea of treatment in custodial settings but if treatment is only provided in prison, large numbers of offenders would not be able to receive treatment and the process begun, for some, in prison would not be able to be continued after release. More work is needed to see why some groups (younger respondents and those in the Registrar General's socio‐economic groups I and II) are more favourable to treatment in the community, which may then be used to gain the support of a larger section of the community.
Offence seriousness in adolescent delinquent behaviour
Authors: Sankey M. , Huon G. F.
Published: February 2003

Purpose. Crime statistics reveal that only a small minority of juveniles engage in serious delinquent behaviour. Yet scoring procedures in self‐report measures of delinquency do not differentiate between serious and non‐serious offenders. Rather, their total scores obscure such qualitative differences This study revisits the notion of classifying individuals as more or less serious offenders and argues that such a classification system should be included in studies of juvenile delinquency.

Method. Scores on the Self‐Reported Delinquency Scale (Mak, 1993) were obtained from 131 adolescents (72 females and 59 males). Seriousness judgments for each of the items on Mak's scale were obtained from 13 police officers, 14 teachers, 12 lawyers and 15 psychology students. Those judgments were used to derive seriousness scores for each adolescent participant, and several strategies were evaluated for distinguishing serious from non‐serious offending.

Results. The results show that the raters judged different categories of offences to be differentially serious, with crimes against the person being judged as most serious. Incorporating only the ‘most serious’ offences was identified as more useful than employing the range of offences in order to distinguish serious from non‐serious offenders.

Conclusions. Acknowledging the difficulties involved in choosing an optimal classification system, it is proposed that self‐report measures for juvenile crime or delinquency ought to incorporate an index for distinguishing serious from non‐serious offenders. Distinguishing levels of offending seriousness could prove useful for identifying those adolescents who are most at‐risk for continuing involvement in crime.
The influence of consequentiality on perceptions of crime seriousness
Authors: Casey Sinead , O'Connell Michael
Published: February 2003

Objective. To investigate whether some individuals take into account the consequences of an offence as well as the perpetrator's intention when evaluating the seriousness of that offence.

Method. A sample of respondents (N = 133) was asked to rate the seriousness of two sets of offences, the sets differing not in the acts described but in the consequences of each act. A group of ratio scores was devised on the basis of the relationship between the ratings of two criminal acts differing only in their consequences.

Results. Respondents did not show a uniform response to the change in outcome. One factor was extracted from the ratio scores and proved significant in explaining the variance of seriousness perceptions towards two further offence vignettes.

Conclusions. The intentionality of the offender appears to be important for all individuals in rating seriousness while only some are also influenced by the outcome of the act. Consensus about offence seriousness is achieved despite the use of very different rules of evaluation.
Minor psychiatric disturbance in women serving a prison sentence: The use of the General Health Questionnaire in the estimation of the prevalence of non‐psychotic disturbance in women prisoners
Authors: Smith Catrin , Borland John
Published: February 2003

Purpose. Minor psychiatric disturbance contributes considerably to the workload of health care staff in women's prisons, although the indefinite nature of the complaint makes epidemiological investigation problematic. This study tests the utility of a standard measure of psychological distress, the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), and considers the relationship between minor psychiatric disturbance in women prisoners and other criterion variables.

Methods. A questionnaire survey, including the GHQ, was distributed to 377 women prisoners, the total population of three women's prison in England on a given day.

Results. In all, 214 respondents returned questionnaires (a response rate of 57%). The GHQ was completed by 95% (204) of the respondents who returned their questionnaires. Of these women, 107 (52%) were identified as possible psychiatric ‘cases’. Psychiatric morbidity was significantly associated with self‐reported ill‐health, psychosocial concerns, negative evaluations of aspects of prison life and an expressed need for help and advice.

Conclusions. The results are broadly supportive of the utility of the GHQ in this setting and point to differential influences upon the psychological well‐being of women prisoners. The findings have implications for further research, requirements for service provision and for mental health promotion in women's prisons.
Skills training for aggression control: Evaluation of an anger management programme for violent offenders
Authors: Watt Bruce D. , Howells Kevin
Published: February 2003

Purpose. In Western Australia approximately 450 violent offenders per year are referred to a cognitive‐behavioural anger management programme (Skills Training for Aggression Control; STAC). Efficacy of the STAC programme with male adult inmates was investigated in two studies.

Methods. A pre‐test‐post‐test non‐equivalent group design was utilized for Study 1 (N = 39) and Study 2 (N = 50). Violent offenders participating in STAC programmes were compared to a waiting‐list control group on the dependent variables of anger knowledge, trait anger, anger expression, observed aggressive behaviour, and prison misconduct. Differential treatment effects according to trait anger level were examined in Study 2 anticipating greater gains for high trait anger violent offenders.

Results. Data analyses provided little support for the hypothesized STAC participants' treatment gains relative to the control group participants. Hypothesized differential treatment effect by trait anger level was not supported.

Conclusions. Based on the limited support for the STAC programmes' treatment efficacy, caution is recommended before implementing anger management programmes with violent offenders.
Attendance and reattendance for breast cancer screening: A prospective 3‐year test of the Theory of Planned Behaviour
Authors: Rutter D. R.
Published: February 2003

Objective. To test the ability of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to predict attendance for breast cancer screening and reattendance 3 years later, using data from a prospective longitudinal study. Method. A total of 1215 women who had never had breast screening completed a postal questionnaire sent to them shortly before they were to receive their first invitation for X‐ray mammography in the UK's National Health Service Breast Screening Programme. The questionnaire included items to tap attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control and intention to attend. Attendance and then reattendance 3 years later were monitored from screening clinic records. Results. Two main results are reported. (1) Intention and first‐time attendance were predicted successfully from the TPB, and attendance was the single predictor of reattendance 3 years later. (2) The TPB was able to distinguish between intenders who attended and those who did not. Conclusion. The implications of the results are considered both for theory and for policy and practice. Particular attention is paid to the possibility of designing interventions to increase attendance and reattendance.
The relationship between perceived risk, thought intrusiveness and emotional well‐being in women receiving counselling for breast cancer risk in a family history clinic
Authors: Kent Gerry , Howie Helen , Fletcher Michelle , Newbury‐Ecob Ruth , Hosie Ken
Published: February 2003

Objectives. This study was designed to assess changes in perceived risk, cognitive intrusions and distress in women undergoing counselling for familial risk of developing breast cancer. Design. A longitudinal design in which 90 consecutive women attending a family history clinic were asked to indicate their concerns before counselling and then again 3 and 6 months post‐counselling. Method. Questionnaires included measures of thought content and intrusiveness, cancer specific distress (Cockburn, De Luise, Hurley, & Clover, 1992), a Visual Analogue scale (VAS) of perceived risk, and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale (Zigmond & Snaith, 1983). Results. Sixty‐nine women agreed to take part in the study, with 49 completing all three sets of questionnaires. Before counselling, thought intrusiveness and HAD depression scores accounted for 69% of the variance in the measure of cancer specific distress. Women who dropped out of the study before the post‐counselling assessments reported higher levels of intrusiveness at baseline than those who completed the study. Perceived risk was only moderately related to actual risk post‐counselling and increases/ decreases in thought intrusiveness correlated positively with increases/decreases in both perceived risk and distress. Conclusions. Psychological distress is related to levels of perceived risk, a relationship which may be mediated by thought intrusiveness. It could be more appropriate for genetic counselling services to provide strategies for managing intrusiveness of worries rather than attempting to modify risk perceptions.
Beliefs versus feelings: A comparison of personal models and depression for predicting multiple outcomes in diabetes
Authors: Hampson Sarah E. , Glasgow Russell E. , Strycker Lisa A.
Published: February 2003

Objective. To evaluate the relative contributions of personal models and depression to the prediction of multiple outcomes in diabetes. Design and methods. Participants (N = 111) in a randomized trial of an intervention to increase dietary self‐management for diabetes patients were assessed for individual differences on three components of personal models (Seriousness, Treatment Effectiveness and Control)and depression on two occasions over a 3‐month period. The predictive utility of personal models versus depression was evaluated for dietary, physiologic and quality‐of‐life outcomes, controlling for baseline levels. Results. Personal models and depression were relatively stable over 3 months (r = .56‐.70). Personal models were predictive of outcomes in each category (eating patterns, p < .01; glycosylated haemoglobin, p < .01; physical functioning, p < .05; mental health, p < .05), whereas depression was only predictive of the mental health component of quality of life (p < .01). Conclusions. Personal models appeared to be stronger and more consistent predictors of outcome than depression. The implications of these findings were discussed in terms of the self‐regulatory model and interventions to improve diabetes self‐management.
Prediction of quality of life in patients with end‐stage renal disease
Authors: Martin Colin R. , Thompson David R.
Published: February 2003

Objectives. To examine the relationship between dialysis adequacy, psychological status and quality of life in patients with end‐stage renal disease (ESRD) treated with continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis (CAPD). Design. A single group, cross‐sectional study with correlational and multiple regression analyses. Methods. Seventy‐two patients were assessed on measures of dialysis adequacy (kinetic transfer/volume urea), self‐report depression and anxiety (Hospital Anxiety and Depression (HAD) scale), locus of control (Locus of Control of Behaviour (LCB) scale) and quality of life (Kidney Disease Quality of Life (KDQOL) instrument). Results. Using correlational and multiple regression analyses it was found that psychological factors, particularly depression, were much stronger determinants of quality of life in CAPD patients than biological indices of dialysis adequacy. A significant proportion of the patients was distressed as assessed by the HAD scale. Patients also tended to be external in locus of control orientation. Conclusions. Assessment of psychological status and psychosocial needs should be an integral part of the therapy offered to CAPD patients in order for them to achieve an optimal quality of life.
Ranking the criteria for assessing quality of life after disability: Evidence for priority shifting among long‐term spinal cord injury survivors
Authors: Weitzenkamp D. A. , Gerhart K. A. , Charlifue S. W. , Whiteneck G. G. , Glass C. A. , Kennedy P.
Published: February 2003

Objective. To identify the criteria spinal cord injury (SCI) survivors use in assessing their quality of life and to examine the concept of priority shifting following SCI. Design. Comparison of results obtained from a population‐based sample of SCI men to comparable general non‐disabled population norms. Subjects. 195 SCI men, injured 23‐49 years earlier, who participated in a population‐based study of outcomes following long‐term SCI. Setting. Two British regional SCI treatment centres: the National Spinal Injuries Centre at Stoke Mandeville Hospital in Aylesbury, and the Regional Spinal Injuries Centre at the District General Hospital in Southport. Main outcome measurement. Flanagan's Quality of Life and Individual Needs Questionnaire, which ranks 15 life priorities in terms of importance and how wellpersonal needs are met in each area. Results. SCI men differed from non‐disabled people in how they ranked the determinants of their quality of life. Unlike non‐disabled people, for the SCI men neither health nor work were highly correlated to their perceived quality of life. Though age did not seem to explain observed differences, severity of the disability and individuals' own abilities and accomplishments did play a role in their rankings. Conclusions. These findings suggest that SCI men do change the criteria they use in assessing their quality of life and may in fact devalue less attainable goals while increasing the importance of areas in which they might be successful.
Pathological worrying, illness perceptions and disease severity in patients with psoriasis
Authors: Fortune Donal G. , Richards Helen L. , Main Chris J. , Griffiths Christopher E. M.
Published: February 2003

Objectives. To investigate the cognitive model of psoriasis held by patients and to explore its relationship with pathological worrying, and with the clinical severity and anatomical location of the patients' psoriasis. Design. Correlational design. Methods. A total of 140 patients with psoriasis attending the University of Manchester's Psoriasis SpecialityClinic at Hope Hospital, Salford underwent a medical examination where the clinical severity of their psoriasis and medical history were assessed by their dermatologist. The Penn State Worry Questionnaire (PSWQ) and the Illness Perception Questionnaire (IPQ)were used to assess worry and illness representations, respectively. Results. Clinical severity of psoriasis was not associated with illness perceptions nor with pathological worry. A logistic regression analysis indicated that pathological worry was associated with stronger beliefs in psoriasis having serious consequences, and stronger beliefs in an emotionalcause. Women were also significantly more likely to be members of the pathological worry group. It was found that 38%of the sample scored within one standard deviation of the worry score for patients diagnosed with Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Conclusions. A considerable number of patients with psoriasis experience high levels of worrying thoughts that are linkedmore to personal and social evaluative concerns than to the pathophysiology or course of their disease.
Fifty cases of general hospital parasuicide
Authors: O'Connor Rory C. , Sheehy Noel P. , O'Connor Daryl B.
Published: February 2003

Objectives. This study investigates 50 cases of parasuicide (defined as any act of deliberate self‐harm irrespective of intention) admitted via an accident and emergency department of a general hospital and identifies differences between parasuicide sub‐types. Design. A cross‐sectional design is employed. Methods. Fifty individuals were interviewed the morning following a parasuicidal episode. Index parasuicides (N = 24) were compared with repeaters (N = 26). Those who verbalized their desire to die (N = 21) were compared with those who did not want to die (N = 16) and those who were ambivalent (N = 13). The interview schedule measured five risk factor domains including self‐report of mental and physical health, perceptions of control, isolation and stressors. Results. The prevalence of previously reported risk factors was replicated. Those who repeatedly attempted suicide tended to view their actions as more aggressive and were less relieved to be alive than those who attempted suicide for the first time. They also tended to be more angry at being alive and recognized the fatal consequences of their acts. Those who verbalized a wish to die differedfrom those who did not, and from those who were ambivalent, in terms of perceived aggressiveness of their actions, relief atbeing alive, anger and perceived risk. Conclusions. Self‐report measures can distinguish repeaters from first‐time parasuicides. These findings could be integrated into existing risk assessment procedures and improve their effectiveness.
Pre‐infusion expectations predict post‐treatment nausea during repeated adjuvant chemotherapy infusions for breast cancer
Authors: Montgomery Guy H. , Bovbjerg Dana H.
Published: February 2003

Objectives. To examine the relations between expectations of post‐treatment nausea (PTN) and experience of post‐treatment nausea beginning at the first infusion and continuing across a series of subsequent infusions in order to assess the influence of patients' expectations on a non‐volitional outcome in a clinical setting. Design. The study utilized a prospective, longitudinal design to capture the development of relations between expectations and experiences of post‐treatment nausea.

Methods. Fifty‐two women with breast cancer scheduled to receive standard outpatient adjuvant chemotherapy were studied. Study questionnaires included measures of chemotherapy‐related side effects, patient expectations, emotional distress and mood disturbance.

Results. Significant relations between expectations and incidence of post‐treatment nausea at Infusions 2‐7 were found (p < .05). To explore the possibility that expectations were simply based on patients' most recent experience of post‐treatment nausea, we statistically controlled for that experience. Expectations of post‐treatment nausea made a unique contribution to the prediction of post‐treatment nausea at Infusions 4‐7 (p < .05) in that analysis. No support was found for the possibility that the relations between expectations and post‐treatment nausea were due to patients' emotional distress at the time of the assessments.

Conclusions. These results provide the first indication in the literature that the influence of expectations on post‐treatment nausea changes as patients gain experience with chemotherapy.
Application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour to two dietary behaviours: Roles of perceived control and self‐efficacy
Authors: Povey Rachel , Conner Mark , Sparks Paul , James Rhiannon , Shepherd Richard
Published: February 2003

Objectives. This study examined the application of the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) to two dietary behaviours with a particular focus on the roles of perceived control and self‐efficacy as two components of the perceived behavioural control construct in the TPB. Methods. A total of 287 members of the general public completed questionnaires, one concerning the influence of TPB variables on intentions and behaviour for either eating five portions of fruit and vegetables per day (N = 144) or eating a low‐fat diet (N = 143), and the second concerning actual eating behaviour one month later. In addition, the individual components of perceived behavioural control (perceived control and self‐efficacy) and their determinant beliefs were examined. Results. For each behaviour, the TPB variables were found to be good predictors of intentions (fat intake, R2= .637; fruit and vegetable intake, R2= .572), although less good at predicting behaviour (fat intake, R2= .185; fruit and vegetable intake, R2= .321), with self‐efficacy being consistently more predictive than perceived control. In addition, examination of their determinant beliefs revealed self‐efficacy and perceived control to have difference bases. The conceptual and empirical distinctions between perceived control and self‐efficacy are discussed.
The relative benefits of being optimistic: Optimism as a coping resource in multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's disease
Authors: de Ridder Denise , Schreurs Karlein , Bensing Jozien
Published: February 2003

Objective. To explore two issues involving the relationship between optimism and adaptation in chronically ill patients. The first issue involves the question whether the impact of optimism on adjustment is disease‐specific, that is whether patients who are confronted with extreme levels of uncontrollability and unpredictability generated by their condition benefit more from an optimistic attitude than those who are confronted with less high levels of those disease characteristics. The second issue relates to the question whether greater optimism produces better adjustment or whether, in contrast, a medium level of optimism plays a more adaptive role. Design. The cross‐sectional design involves 166 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) or multiple sclerosis (MS) recruited from patient's organizations. Method. Regression analyses were employed to test for a disease‐specific effect of dispositional optimism (measured by the Life Orientation Test) on coping (measured by the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations) and adjustment (measured by the Sickness Impact Profile) by introducing interactions between optimism and disease in the analysis. Curvilinear effects were tested by introducing a squared optimism variable. Results. These show that optimism has a disease‐specific effect on physical adjustment and on the use of emotion‐oriented and avoidant coping strategies. Although the study's cross‐sectional design does not allow for causal inferences, these data suggest that MS patients may benefit more from optimism than PD patients and also that, in comparison with PD patients, optimism in MS patients does not necessarily promote avoidant and emotion‐oriented coping. The results also show a medium level of optimism to promote the application of task‐oriented and avoidant coping strategies. Conclusion. It is concluded that context‐specific constraints associated with type of disease may affect the assumed beneficial role of optimism on adjustment.
A longitudinal analysis of psychological impact and coping strategies following spinal cord injury
Authors: Kennedy Paul , Marsh Neal , Lowe Rob , Grey Nick , Short Emma , Rogers Ben
Published: February 2003

Objectives.This study longitudinally examines the relationships between psychological impact and coping in a cohort of 87 traumatic spinal cord injured individuals. Trieschmann (1988) emphasized the need to adopt a more longitudinal method of enquiry, elaborating not only on aspects of psychological impact following spinal cord injury (SCI), but exploring the relationship between psychological well‐being coping strategies and adjustment. Within the framework proposed by Folkman and Lazarus (1988), coping is conceptualized as a mediator of emotional reactions, and Leventhal, Nerenz, and Steele (1984) suggest an interaction between coping and emotional outcomes. Design. A prospective longitudinal multiple wave panel design was utilized. Methods. Repeated, standardized measures were collected across nine observational periods from onset of injury to community placement. Forward stepwise variable selection multiple regression analyses were employed to examine concurrent predictive factors and prediction over time. Results. At 6 weeks post‐injury, 64% of the variance in depression was predicted by the use or non‐use of three coping strategies. The coping measures collected at 6 weeks post‐injury predicted 67% of the variance in depression at 1 year post‐discharge. This study not only elaborates on the pattern of adjustment post‐traumatic SCI, but specifies the relationship between coping and adjustment. Moderating variables did not account for significant variance. Conclusions. This study demonstrates a predictive relationship between coping and adjustment and highlights a number of dispositional factors that require further examination.