bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Guttman scaling in agoraphobia: Cross‐cultural replication and prediction of treatment response patterns
Authors: Margraf Jürgen , Ehlers Anke , Taylor C. Barr , Arnow Bruce , Roth Walton T.
Published: July 2011

The Fear and Avoidance Scales (FAS) is an 11‐item questionnaire consisting of two subscales that measure features of agoraphobia and claustrophobia and that were demonstrated to be valid Guttman scales in a British clinical population. The purposes of the study reported here were to replicate the scale characteristics in the United States and to determine if improvement during treatment would follow the sequence predicted by the hierarchy implied in the scales. The FAS was given to 25 female agoraphobics before and after behavioural treatment. A principal components analysis replicated the agoraphobia and claustrophobia factors established in the British sample. Scalogram analyses showed that the Claustrophobia subscale of the FAS was a valid Guttman scale in the US sample whereas the Agoraphobia subscale yielded a high coefficient of reproducibility but a low coefficient of scalability. Treatment reduced the patients' fears and avoidances in the predicted sequence since for both scales the hierarchy of items remained unchanged following treatment.
Children's drawings of an anxiety‐eliciting topic: Effects on the size of the drawing
Authors: Fox Tania J. , Thomas Glyn V.
Published: July 2011

Our aim was to investigate whether or not children's drawings of a potentially threatening topic (a Hallowe'en witch) were made significantly smaller than drawings of a non‐threatening topic (a woman). The first study confirmed an earlier claim by Craddick (1963) that drawings of a witch were made significantly smaller on the day before Hallowe'en compared to drawings made one week before or after, but we found that drawings of a non‐threatening topic (a woman) changed in size in exactly the same way. Furthermore, we found no evidence that children became significantly more frightened of witches as Hallowe'en approached. In the second study, questionnaire responses were used to allocate children into two groups, those who were scared of witches and those who were not. Scared children drew both smaller witches and larger women than did non‐scared children, with the result that relative heights of witches compared to women differed significantly between the two groups. However, only the difference in the height of the drawings of a woman was statistically significant. The implications of these results for the clinical assessment of children through their drawings are discussed.
Estimation of verbal intelligence in an elderly community: A prediction analysis using a shortened NART
Authors: Beardsall Lynn , Brayne Carol
Published: July 2011

Estimation of premorbid IQ is useful for estimating true cognitive decline in dementia. The National Adult Reading Test ‐ NART (Nelson, 1982) ‐ has been shown to estimate premorbid IQ in hospital patients. NART is potentially of use in epidemiological studies. However, asking community elderly people to read a list of irregular and difficult words can cause distress. This paper explores the possibility of administering only a part of the NART. On the basis of scores on the first half of the test from an elderly rural community sample (N = 316), a regression equation has been developed to predict performance on the second half of the test. It was built using the scores of half the population free from clinical diagnoses and tested on the other half. It was also applied to a demented group and a depressed group from the same population. Total NART scores predicted in this way were highly significantly correlated with the actual NART score for all groups. Recommendations about the use of this shortened test are made.
Assessment of articulated thoughts in social anxiety: Modification of the ATSS procedure
Authors: Bates G. W. , Campbell I. M. , Burgess P. M.
Published: July 2011

In the present study an assessment strategy was developed which adapted the Articulated Thoughts during Simulated Situations (ATSS) paradigm devised by Davison, Robins & Johnson (1983). That strategy was applied to the assessment of social anxiety. Responses of 10 socially anxious and 10 non‐anxious males were compared as they imagined themselves participating in videotaped simulations of heterosocial interactions. Each time the subject was aware of a reaction to the events depicted, he stopped the videotape, and then articulated his thoughts. Consistent with cognitive conceptualizations of social anxiety, the articulated thoughts of anxious males were distinguished by a greater focus upon the self in general and by a concentration upon irrational concerns in particular. In contrast, non‐anxious males provided larger proportions of thoughts directed towards the environment and in particular, provided more positive thoughts both about other persons and their interactions in general. The theoretical and methodological implications of the data are discussed.
Prediction of survival in dementia by cognitive tests: A six‐year follow‐up
Authors: Gamsu C. V. , McLaren S. M. , Barry F. , McPherson F. M.
Published: July 2011

One hundred and sixteen elderly female in‐patients with confirmed diagnoses of senile or arteriosclerotic dementia were tested on the Paired‐Associate Learning Test (PALT) and Cognitive Assessment Scale (CAS) of CAPE and were followed up annually for six years. Comparison of those patients who had died by each follow‐up date with those who had survived showed that in general the latter had had better PALT and CAS scores.
British community norms for the Brief Symptom Inventory
Authors: Francis Valerie M. , Rajan Peter , Turner Nicola
Published: July 2011

British community norms (N = 376) for the Brief Symptom Inventory (Derogatis & Spencer, 1982) are presented. Means are significantly higher than previously published US norms for all symptom dimensions, and show variability according to age, sex and work status. The proportion of ‘cases’ in the sample is similar to other British estimates. It is recommended that culturally relevant norms should be established and used in future work with this instrument.
Cognitive function in diabetes mellitus: The effects of duration of illness and glycaemic control
Authors: Prescott J. Helen , Richardson John T. E. , Gillespie Christopher R.
Published: July 2011

Post‐mortem studies suggest that chronic, poorly controlled diabetes mellitus might be associated with degenerative changes in the central nervous system. However, the evidence that these changes are reflected in any impairment of cognitive performance is equivocal. The study reported here evaluated the effects of duration of illness and glycaemic control upon memory function in 40 cases of insulin‐dependent diabetes mellitus (IDDM). Duration of illness was inversely related to performance, but degree of glycaemic control had no effect at all. This suggests that any impairment of cognitive function associated with IDDM is more likely to be attributable to the impact of suffering from a life‐threatening disease rather than to organic neurological damage. The effect of chronicity was somewhat more pronounced in the case of concrete material than in the case of abstract material, and it is suggested that chronic IDDM might be associated with a specific impairment in elaborative encoding.
Cognitive predictors of attendance at antenatal classes
Authors: Michie S. , Marteau T. M. , Kidd J.
Published: July 2011

This study investigates what factors discriminate between women attending and those not attending antenatal classes in a sample of 94 primigravidous women. The 20 per cent of the sample who did not attend were less positive about the classes, more likely to evaluate the costs of attending as outweighing the benefits and more likely to think that avoiding them may help them cope. The best predictor of antenatal class attendance was women's intention at 28 weeks of pregnancy. The inclusion of demographic and attitude variables did not improve the accuracy of prediction. The most variable predicting intention was women's ‘cost/benefit’ judgement.
Improved detection of cognitive impairment with the NART: An investigation employing hierarchical discriminant function analysis
Authors: Crawford J. R. , Hart S. , Nelson H. E.
Published: July 2011

A series of discriminant function analyses was performed to examine the ability of the WAIS and NART to discriminate between healthy subjects and patients with dementia/cortical atrophy. Inclusion of NART estimated IQs in the analyses resulted in significantly greater discrimination than was achieved by WAIS IQs alone.
Group counselling for relatives of hospitalized presenile dementia patients: A controlled study
Authors: Perkins Rachel E. , Poynton Catherine F.
Published: July 2011

A controlled study is reported in which the effects of time‐limited group counselling for the relatives of hospitalized presenile dementia patients is evaluated. The results indicate that such group counselling was effective in increasing relatives' morale, increasing their knowledge about dementia, and increasing the number of activities performed with the patient during visits, but had no effect upon the frequency or duration of visits or the amount of verbal and non‐verbal communication between patient and relative. All changes achieved were maintained at three month follow‐up.
Young adult offspring of parents with drinking problems: Recollections of parents' drinking and its immediate effects
Authors: Velleman Richard , Orford Jim
Published: July 2011

One hundred and seventy 16‐ to 35‐year‐old offspring of parents with drinking problems were recruited from a variety of clinical and community sources and each was interviewed at length using a semi‐structured interview. The present paper focuses upon carefully reconstructed recollections of childhood, and presents quantitative information from the whole sample and three briefly described individual examples. Large variances on quantitative measures and very varied qualitative accounts of childhood were evident. The large majority described parental drinking problems which spanned their childhood and adolescent years without interruption and without treatment. Amongst the most frequently recalled effects on life at home were parental moodiness, unreliability, and a tendency to upset or fail to join in with family activities. Amongst negative childhood experiences recalled most frequently were worry and uncertainty, a feeling of family instability, the experience of being caught between the interests of two parents, and the adoption of certain adult roles. Those with mothers with drinking problems scored significantly higher on a scale of negative childhood experiences and mothers with drinking problems were more likely to have drunk regularly at home. Those offspring from families of higher social status estimated their parental problems to have started slightly later in childhood. Qualitative analysis suggested that whether excessive parental drinking is perceived as alien to or integral with family life may have been a neglected variable.
External attributions and outcome in depressive in‐patients
Authors: Priebe S. , Stieglitz R.‐D.
Published: July 2011

Thirty‐four voluntarily admitted depressive in‐patients were asked by their clinicians in the first interview why they came into hospital and what they expected there. Some patients expressed external attributions referring to other persons who were viewed as being responsible for the admission or for improvement under treatment. External attributions of this kind were found to have some negative predictive value for the outcome of treatment.
Dieting concerns of 10‐year‐old girls and their mothers
Authors: Hill Andrew J. , Weaver Claire , Blundell John E.
Published: July 2011

The responses of a group of 10‐year‐old girls on a dietary restraint questionnaire described a wide range of dieting concerns. Subgroups of highly restrained and low‐restrained girls were identified and their mothers interviewed. A strong relationship (r = .68) was found between the degree of dietary restraint expressed by the girls and their mothers. The highly restrained girls had a significantly higher EAT score than the low‐restrained girls, and shared with their mothers a susceptibility to the disinhibitory effects of negative mood states on their eating behaviour.
Suicidal intent, hopelessness and depression in a parasuicide population: The influence of social desirability and elapsed time
Authors: Salter Denis , Platt Stephen
Published: July 2011

This paper reports the first British study to assess the construct validity of Beck's Hopelessness Scale (HS) and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). On the basis of interviews with 50 economically active parasuicide patients, it was confirmed that hopelessness accounts for the relationship between depression and suicidal intent. Moreover, it was shown that social desirability neither confounds the relationship between hopelessness and suicidal intent, nor has any predictive power in explaining variation in suicidal intent. On the other hand, the interval (‘elapsed time’) between the commencement of the parasuicidal act and of the research interview was significantly and positively correlated with suicidal intent, and elapsed time was a significant predictor of the total score on Beck's Suicidal Intent Scale. Two explanations for this finding are proposed: the first is based on the possibility that elapsed time is an indirect or proxy measure of medical seriousness; the second derives from the likely impact of prolonged hospital stay on the patient's interpretation or understanding of his/her behaviour. Researchers are advised to take into account the moderating effect of elapsed time when designing studies which examine psychological processes in parasuicide.
Paranoia and social reasoning: An attribution theory analysis
Authors: Bentall Richard P. , Kaney Sue , Dewey Michael E.
Published: July 2011

The social reasoning of patients suffering from persecutory delusions and matched groups of depressed and normal controls was investigated using the framework of Kelley's (1967) theory of social attribution. Subjects were required to choose between person, circumstances and stimulus attributions for a series of social vignettes describing interactions between two persons. The vignettes varied in terms of the distinctiveness, consistency and consensus information supplied, as well as in respect of whether the actions described were positively or negatively valued. It was found that the deluded patients made excessive person attributions for negative events. It was also found that the deluded patients were excessively certain about their judgements compared to the depressed controls. Normal subjects tended to rate their certainty in their own judgements midway between the deluded and depressed patients.
Low self‐esteem in different psychiatric conditions
Authors: Silverstone Peter H.
Published: July 2011

This study measured the self‐esteem of 141 psychiatric out‐patients with a variety of DSM‐III‐R diagnoses. The results showed that there were wide variations in the level of self‐esteem between different diagnostic groups. The patients with depression had lower self‐esteem than most of the other patient groups except those with personality disorders. The groups whose self‐esteem was highest were those with anxiety disorders. Nonetheless, all patient groups scored more than normal populations in previous studies, suggesting that low self‐esteem may be involved in a wide range of psychiatric conditions.
Planning for community care: The Community Placement Questionnaire
Authors: Clifford P. , Charman A. , Webb Y. , Craig T. J. K. , Cowan D.
Published: July 2011

The article reviews methodological issues relating to planning surveys of long‐stay populations and describes the development of an assessment instrument, the Community Placement Questionnaire, designed to aid planning for long‐stay patients resident in hospitals scheduled for rundown or closure. Reliability and validity data are presented and the advantages and limitations of the instrument are discussed.
The stability of attributional style and its relation to psychological distress
Authors: Tiggemann M. , Winefield Anthony H. , Winefield Helen R. , Goldney Robert D.
Published: July 2011

A group of young adults completed the Attributional Style Questionnaire and measures of depressive affect and hopelessness on two occasions separated by a time interval of three years. Attributional style was demonstrated to be relatively stable over this time period, and was correlated with the measures of psychological well‐being. Specifically, those who scored highest on depressive affect and hopelessness attributed good outcomes more externally and less stably, and attributed bad outcomes to relatively more stable and global causes. In contrast to the hopelessness model of depression, however, multiple regression analyses showed that depressive attributions were not antecedent to increased psychological distress; nor were they a consequence. Furthermore, negative life‐events did not contribute to the prediction. It was concluded that the data are most consonant with Brewin's (1985) symptom model, in which depressive attributions are a concomitant or symptom of depression but have no causal impact on the onset or course of the disorder.
Profile analysis of the Wechsler intelligence scales: A new index of subtest scatter
Authors: Burgess Adrian
Published: July 2011

A statistical method of profile analysis originally suggested by Huba (1985, 1986), the Mahalanobis distance, D2, is described and discussed with reference to its use with the Wechsler scales. Examples are given to illustrate the properties of D2 and two BASIC computer programs are presented that will calculate D2; one for the WAIS‐R and the other which can be readily adapted to the test selection of the user's choice. It is argued that D2 is a useful addition to existing methods of statistical analysis of the Wechsler scales.
From Freud to cognitive science: A contemporary account of the unconscious
Authors: Power Mick , Brewin Chris R.
Published: July 2011

We present an account of two influential approaches to the unconscious; those of Freud and of cognitive science. It is argued that although Freud's ideas require updating in some respects, in other ways many of them have stood the test of time. We describe the similarities and differences between the two approaches and the attention each pays to innate cognitive and emotional competencies. Finally, we provide a contemporary cognitive account of the unconscious that attempts to combine the best of both approaches within an information‐processing framework.
The prevalence of cognitive impairment in a community survey of multiple sclerosis
Authors: McIntosh‐Michaelis S. A. , Roberts M. H. , Wilkinson S. M. , Diamond I. D. , McLellan D. L. , Martin J. P. , Spackman A. J.
Published: July 2011

A one in two alternate sample (N = 200) from a population‐based register of 411 people with multiple sclerosis (MS) was studied. Out of this sample, 147 people with MS and 34 people with rheumatoid arthritis were interviewed at home and completed a battery of neuropsychological tests. Cognitive impairment was found in 46 per cent of those with MS, with memory impairment in 34 per cent and failure on tests of frontal lobe function in 33 per cent. Physical disability was associated with cognitive impairment. Memory impairment was more common in those who had had MS for 10 years or more. A significant minority of people with mild physical disability and some who had had MS for less than a decade nevertheless had cognitive impairment. Relationships between cognitive impairment, other disease variables and psychosocial factors were examined. Counselling and rehabilitation programmes for people with MS and their families should take account of cognitive deficits that may be present.
Visual perceptual organization in schizophrenic patients
Authors: Rief Winfried
Published: July 2011

Place & Gilmore (1980) proposed that schizophrenic patients are deficient in the perceptual organization of visual stimuli. According to their theory, the patients should be less influenced by global characteristics of visual displays. In the present experimental approach, 24 schizophrenics, 12 alcoholics and 24 healthy controls were asked to identify the number of lines presented for 23 ms on a video screen. In one condition, the stimuli were identical to those used by Place & Gilmore: up to six lines were shown at the corners of an imaginary hexagon; all lines were either in the same direction (‘homogeneous’) or differed in orientation (‘heterogeneous’). In another condition the lines appeared at 10 different positions within the same field. The results of Place & Gilmore were not replicated; schizophrenics were only less influenced than the control group by different directions of the lines when three lines were presented. When more lines were presented, schizophrenics had the same advantage from homogeneity as the controls. If the basic configuration was a hexagon and six lines were presented, schizophrenics were able to profit very strongly from the global Gestalt. In summary, global characteristics of the visual displays do not facilitate visual information processing by schizophrenics as they do in the case of controls. However, if the basic Gestalt properties are strong enough, schizophrenics can take advantage of it. Thus the deficit of schizophrenics described by Place & Gilmore is relative and not absolute.
An exploratory study of drawings by bereaved children
Authors: Forrest Mary , Thomas Glyn V.
Published: July 2011

Bereaved and non‐bereaved children made drawings of a person, themselves, their family, and a topic of their choice; the drawings were then analysed to investigate whether the experience of bereavement was expressed in drawing in any reliable way. Bereaved children were no more likely than non‐bereaved children to include indicators of emotional disturbance in their human figure drawings. Bereaved children, however, were reliably more likely than non‐bereaved children to include themselves in a drawing of their family.
Reminiscing as a technique in the group psychotherapy of depression: A comparative study
Authors: Bachar E. , Kindler S. , Schefler G. , Lerer B.
Published: July 2011

Reminiscing as a technique of group psychotherapy for severely depressed hospitalized patients was found by patients and staff to be more efficacious than the traditional reflective non‐directive group psychotherapy approach. The therapeutic potential of reminiscing in combatting depressed mood was supported by the present findings. The suitability of reminiscing to the difficult task of handling groups of severely depressed hospitalized patients was demonstrated.
Estimating premorbid intellectual level in dementia using the National Adult Reading Test: A Canadian study
Authors: Sharpe Karen , O'Carroll Ronan
Published: July 2011

Twenty elderly demented subjects were compared with 20 elderly controls using a neuropsychological test battery which included the National Adult Reading Test (NART) and the WAIS‐R. Significant differences emerged between the two groups on all of the cognitive measures administered, with the exception of the NART and the Verbal‐Performance IQ discrepancy. Models were constructed using the normal controls as subjects where NART errors and WAIS‐R Vocabulary age scaled scores were regressed against WAIS‐R FSIQ and WAIS‐R VIQ. These regression equations were then used to estimate premorbid intelligence levels in the demented sample, and these estimates were compared with the ‘current’ measures (WAIS‐R FSIQ and WAIS‐R VIQ). NART estimated IQs were significantly higher than Vocabulary estimated IQs, which in turn were significantly higher than WAIS‐R FSIQ and WAIS‐R VIQ. These results confirm that the ability to pronounce irregular words correctly remains relatively unimpaired in dementia.
Face processing in psychiatric conditions
Authors: Archer Jacqueline , Hay Dennis C. , Young Andrew W.
Published: July 2011

Functional models of face processing have indicated that dissociations exist between the various processes involved, e.g. between familiar face recognition and matching of unfamiliar faces, and between familiar face recognition and facial expression analysis. These models have been successfully applied to the understanding of the different types of impairment that can exist in neuropsychological patients. In the present study, aspects of face processing in psychiatric patients were investigated in relation to Bruce & Young's (1986) model. Based on this functional model different predictions can be made. We contrast here the impaired expression analysis hypothesis, which is that psychiatric patients would show a deficit in facial expression recognition, but not in facial identity recognition or unfamiliar face matching, with the generalized deficit hypothesis, that patients would be impaired on all tasks. These hypotheses were examined using three forced‐choice tasks (facial recognition, facial expression recognition, and unfamiliar face matching) which were presented to schizophrenic and depressed patients, and to non‐patient controls. Results showed that schizophrenic patients performed at a significantly lower level than non‐patient controls on all three tasks, supporting the generalized deficit hypothesis.
Persecutory delusions and recall of threatening propositions
Authors: Kaney Sue , Wolfenden Melanie , Dewey Michael E. , Bentall Richard P.
Published: July 2011

Subjects suffering from persecutory delusions, psychiatric controls and normal subjects were required to recall immediately six passages of prose, half of which contained mildly threatening propositions. Deluded subjects recalled fewer propositions overall but more propositions of specifically threatening content. These findings suggest that the role of recall bias in persecutory delusions merits further study.
Changing perceived control in patients with physical disabilities: An intervention study with patients receiving rehabilitation
Authors: Johnston Marie , Gilbert Penny , Partridge Cecily , Collins Jenny
Published: July 2011

Physiotherapy patients' perceptions of personal control over recovery (during rehabilitation) have been shown to be predictive of their progress. An experimental letter, consisting of the routine appointment letter plus some paragraphs designed to increase perceived control, was sent to 39 randomly selected patients prior to their first appointment. The remaining 32 control patients received the routine letter only. Approximately one week after each patient's first appointment, all patients were interviewed. The group to whom the experimental letter had been sent were found, on average, to have significantly higher levels of perceived control and tended to be more satisfied with information than the control group. There were no significant differences between groups on accuracy of expectations of physiotherapy. It is suggested that this type of communication given prior to treatment might lead to patients making better and faster progress with recovery. However, this possibility needs to be investigated by further study.
Eating in the adult world: The rise of dieting in childhood and adolescence
Authors: Hill Andrew J. , Oliver Sarah , Rogers Peter J.
Published: July 2011

Dieting is a common practice among adolescent girls. Recent research suggests that adolescent dieting may not be benign and that it is becoming more frequent in younger age groups. The present study investigated dieting motivation and the underlying attitudes to body weight and shape in two age groups. Eighty‐four nine‐year‐old and 86 14‐year‐old girls from the same school completed assessments of dietary restraint, body esteem, body satisfaction and body figure preferences. The girls' body weight and height were also measured. The distribution of restraint scores revealed individuals from both age groups in every category of dieting motivation. Subjects in the upper and lower quartiles of the restraint distribution were identified and compared on the other measures. The highly restrained girls expressed low body esteem and discontent with their body build, weight and certain regions of their bodies. Furthermore, their ‘ideal’ body shape was significantly slimmer than their perceived current body shape, and slimmer even than that of the non‐dieters. This pattern held for both the nine‐ and 14‐year‐olds, of whom half of each age group were of average or below average weight index for their age. The appearance of these dispositions and behaviours by the age of nine, or possibly earlier, may result in a marked increase in future clinical eating problems and disorders.
Research and theory related to female reproduction: Implications for clinical psychology
Authors: Ussher Jane M.
Published: July 2011

Reproduction has been proposed as a cause of debilitation and psychological disturbance for centuries, recently reified through the three reproductive syndromes, the premenstrual syndrome, postnatal depression and the menopausal syndrome. The evidence for the existence of these syndromes is critically reviewed, and the different aetiological theories examined, with particular reference to biological and psychological theories. It is argued that whilst bio‐medical therapies presently dominate the literature, their efficacy is questionable owing to the lack of clear evidence for a hormonal substrate underlying symptomatology. Psychological interventions are reviewed, and multifactorial or individualized interventions recommended for adoption by clinical psychologists. The role of preventative work, through education, information provision and development of self‐help strategies, is discussed. It is concluded that whilst menstruation, childbirth and the menopause do not inevitably have a deleterious effect on women, and the validity of the reproductive syndromes may be questioned, reproduction does act as a salient source of attribution and is a possible contributory factor to distress. Reproduction thus needs to be considered by clinical psychologists, but not privileged above other factors which may contribute to difficulties which individual women may experience.
Stress, coping and coping resources as correlates of adaptation in myocardial infarction patients
Authors: Terry Deborah J.
Published: July 2011

A longitudinal study was conducted to examine the utility of a set of variables derived from the stress and coping literature as correlates of patients' level of psychosocial adaptation to a myocardial infarction. Forty patients participated in the study; data were collected soon after the patients' discharge from hospital and three months after the event. It was proposed that a high level of perceived stress associated with the infarct and the use of emotion‐focused coping strategies would be associated with poor adaptation to the event, whereas the use of problem‐focused strategies, high levels of self‐efficacy and access to the appropriate personal (control beliefs, self‐esteem and trait anxiety) and social (marital and family quality) coping resources were variables proposed to facilitate adaptation. There was only weak support for the proposed effects of perceived stress, and no support for the proposal that the use of problem‐focused strategies would facilitate the adaptation of infarct patients. In contrast, the data provided some support for the hypothesized effects of self‐efficacy and emotion‐focused coping. There was also evidence to suggest that adaptation to an infarct was facilitated if subjects had internal control beliefs, high self‐esteem, low trait anxiety and high‐quality family relations. Contrary to expectations, marital quality was largely unrelated to the measures of adaptation.
Recovery from minor abdominal surgery: A preliminary attempt to separate anxiety and coping
Authors: Manyande Anne , Salmon Peter
Published: July 2011

Using bivariate and canonical correlations, we investigated the dimensionality and post‐operative correlates of indices which, we suggested, could be related to active cognitive coping in 40 patients undergoing minor abdominal surgery. Trait anxiety and pre‐operative state anxiety were also measured; these intercorrelated, but each was independent of the putative coping measures. There were, however, intercorrelations amongst these questionnaires, which included the ‘worry’ scale of a coping checklist, Type A personality, pre‐operative arousal and, in a negative direction, ‘powerful others' health locus of control and pre‐operative stress. The dissociation between anxiety and the remaining measures emerged also in the post‐operative correlates of these two dimensions. Whereas anxiety predicted poorer self‐rated bodily state on the first post‐operative day, the coping measures predicted a better state seven days post‐operatively.
Treatment of depressive and obsessive‐compulsive symptoms in OCD by imipramine and behaviour therapy
Authors: Foa Edna B. , Kozak Michael J. , Steketee Gail S. , McCarthy Paul R.
Published: July 2011

The efficacy of behavioural treatment of obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) has been well documented. However, severely depressed OCD patients showed fewer short‐ and long‐term benefits than less depressed patients. The present study tested the hypothesis that reduction of depression by imipramine prior to behaviour therapy would enhance the effects of behavioural therapy on depressed OC patients. Thirty‐eight patients were divided into highly and mildly depressed groups according to their scores on the Beck Depression Inventory; half of each group received imipramine and half received placebo for six weeks. All patients then received three weeks of daily behavioural treatment (exposure and response prevention) followed by 12 weekly sessions of supportive psychotherapy. Results indicated that although imipramine improved depressive symptoms in depressed patients, it did not affect OC symptoms. Behaviour therapy markedly reduced OC symptoms but, contrary to our hypothesis, imipramine did not potentiate the effects of behaviour therapy. No differences between highly depressed and mildly depressed patients on OC symptoms were found in their responses to behavioural or supportive therapy.
Inhibition through negative priming with Stroop stimuli in schizophrenia
Authors: Laplante Louis , Everett James , Thomas Jacques
Published: July 2011

Stroop stimuli were used to measure the negative priming effect in eight positive and 10 negative schizophrenics, 21 depressive and 35 healthy control subjects in order to test hypotheses of insufficient versus persistent cognitive inhibition in schizophrenia. Data show that schizophrenics do not increase their response times to suppressor Stroop items compared to identical but neutral Stroop stimuli because the insufficiency of their inhibitory processes weakens the distractor‐suppression effect. However, pre‐exposure of the lexical distractor can compensate for insufficient inhibitory mechanisms in positive but not negative schizophrenics, suggesting more severe deterioration in the latter. Depressed subjects showed a slower development of cognitive inhibition. The results suggest important differences in the temporal evolution of inhibitory processes, and are discussed in terms of Hemsley's (1977) and Frith's (1979) theories.
Subscales of the Dysfunctional Attitude Scale*
Authors: Dyck Murray J.
Published: July 2011

Eight subscales based on items drawn from the original 100‐item Dysfunctional Attitude Scale (Weissman & Beck, 1978) were developed as potential markers of specific cognitive vulnerabilities (Beck, 1987). Six of the eight subscales were correlated with both depression and anxiety symptom measures, indicating that the ‘vulnerabilities’ represented by these subscales are unlikely to be specific to depression.
Representations of health, illness and medicines: Coping strategies and health‐promoting behaviour
Authors: Echabe Agustín Echebarría , Guillen César Sanjuan , Ozamiz J. Agustín
Published: July 2011

This study focuses on the different representations of health, illness and medicines that are held by the population of the Basque Country. In addition, relationships between these representations and both coping strategies towards first symptoms of disease and health‐promoting actions were studied. Three different representations were found: (a) an active/‘against medicines' representation; (b) a ‘magical/promedicines’ representation; and (c) a representation that combines aspects of the previous representations. These representations were anchored in different social groups (defined by age, educational background, etc.) and were related to different coping strategies in the event of first symptoms of illness, and to differences in health‐promoting behaviour.
Exhaustion as precursor of cardiac death
Authors: Appels A. , Otten F.
Published: July 2011

Excess fatigue is the most prevalent precursor of sudden cardiac death. This state may reflect prolonged tension or heart disease. In order to test the first explanation a prospective study was done among 3365 males, aged 45–59 years. This cohort was followed during an average period of 9.5 years. Exhaustion was assessed by the statement: ‘At the end of the day I am completely exhausted mentally and physically’. Among those free of coronary heart disease at the beginning, 69 subjects died because of myocardial infarction. Data were analysed using Cox's regression analysis. The results showed a highly significant interaction between duration of follow‐up and exhaustion upon the risk of cardiac death. The hazard ratios for exhaustion were 8.96, 6.33, 4.47 and 3.16 for the first 10, 20, 30 and 40 months of follow‐up respectively. Thereafter the association between exhaustion and cardiac death is no more significant. It is argued that exhaustion before cardiac death does not reflect manifest heart disease but that an interaction between prolonged tension and subclinical levels of ischaemia may increase the risk of cardiac death.
Selective processing of eating, weight and shape related words in patients with eating disorders and dieters
Authors: Cooper Myra J. , Fairburn Christopher G.
Published: July 2011

The Stroop colour‐naming task was used to investigate selective processing of eating, weight and shape related words in two groups of dieters, patients with anorexia nervosa, patients with bulimia nervosa and a group of non‐dieting controls. ‘Normal dieters' were no different from the non‐dieting controls. Dieters with a history of features of an eating disorder but no diagnosis and the patients with anorexia nervosa, like the patients with bulimia nervosa, showed selective processing of information related to eating, weight and shape.
Psychosocial aspects of cardiac rehabilitation in Europe
Authors: Maes Stan
Published: July 2011

While the present objectives of cardiac rehabilitation include recovery or restoration of everyday behaviour and secondary prevention, the effects of the traditional exercise‐based cardiac rehabilitation programmes are quite modest.

It is argued that psychological interventions may affect these targets more easily, since there is evidence from controlled studies that psychological interventions may have beneficial effects on psychosocial recovery, compliance with medical advice and cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. As a consequence one may expect that psychologists would be at least part‐time members of most cardiac rehabilitation teams in European countries.

In order to get an impression of the position of psychologists and the share of psychosocial care in cardiac rehabilitation in Europe, a questionnaire was sent out to two or three individuals in each European country. Health care professionals from 16 European countries returned their completed questionnaires on time.

Among other things, the results show that in general social workers and psychologists, who may be considered the main potential agents for psychosocial care, are largely underrepresented in cardiac rehabilitation teams.

As far as psychologists are concerned, the number involved in cardiac rehabilitation varies significantly from country to country. Three groups of countries could be distinguished: a group consisting of The Netherlands, Austria, and Italy, where psychologists are fairly well represented; a second one consisting of Norway, Finland and Belgium, where small numbers of psychologists are involved in cardiac rehabilitation; and a third group (the largest) consisting of Switzerland, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden, the UK, Greece, Portugal and Turkey, where the number of psychologists is negligible.
Cognitive predictors of health behaviour in contrasting regions of Europe*
Authors: Steptoe Andrew , Wardle Jane
Published: July 2011

Four important health behaviours – dietary fat avoidance, regular exercise, smoking and alcohol consumption – were assessed by questionnaire, together with measures of risk awareness and beliefs about the importance of each behaviour for health, in comparable samples of young adults from eight countries: Belgium, England, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Poland, Portugal and Spain. Results from 3223 men and 3930 women were analysed. Substantial differences in the prevalence of behaviours were identified, but no country consistently showed the most or least healthy profile across behaviours. Women tended to smoke and drink less than men and attempted to avoid dietary fat to a greater extent, while men exercised more than women. Ratings of the importance of behaviours for health were high, while risk awareness showed wide variations, with lower scores from samples in southern and eastern Europe. Across countries, few associations were observed between the prevalence of behaviour and either mean belief ratings or risk awareness. However, in comparisons of people who did and did not perform each behaviour, beliefs were consistently associated with practice. In multiple regression, beliefs about the importance of the behaviour for health independently accounted for 11.3 per cent of the variance in exercise, 18.9 per cent of the variance in smoking and 4.5 per cent of the variance in alcohol consumption. The association between beliefs and dietary fat avoidance was also substantial. In contrast, the relationships between risk awareness and behaviour were mixed. People who avoided dietary fat were more aware than others of the health risks of fat. But non‐smokers were less aware than smokers of the risks of smoking, and people who drank regularly were more aware of the dangers of alcohol than were non‐drinkers. The results are discussed in the context of the contribution of health psychology to European health promotion.
Subjective craving for opiates: Evaluation of a cue exposure protocol for use with detoxified opiate addicts
Authors: Powell Jane , Gray Jeffrey , Bradley Brendan
Published: July 2011

Cue exposure has been advocated as an intervention for reducing relapse rates in detoxified addicts, by extinguishing classically conditioned drug effects/craving which may have developed. Several studies with alcoholics have found cue exposure to be associated with reductions in craving, but no controlled study has yet shown such an effect in opiate addicts. The present controlled group design evaluates a protocol which draws from experience in the treatment of anxiety and requires that each stimulus exposure should be continued until within‐session habituation has occurred. It also explores whether there is any benefit of using a ‘cognitive aversion’ strategy during cue exposure, based on the social learning analysis that craving derives from expectancies of positive drug effects. A total of 21 detoxified in‐patients were randomized to routine ward treatment plus two sessions of either cue exposure (Group E) or cue exposure and cognitive aversion (Group E/CA), or to routine treatment alone (Group C). A specially designed Craving Test was carried out before and after treatment, to assess change in cue‐elicited reactions. The two treated groups showed significantly greater reductions in craving than Group C, but did not differ from each other. The cue exposure protocol has therefore been adopted for use in an ongoing clinical trial.
Reduced cognitive inhibition in obsessive—compulsive disorder
Authors: Enright Simon J. , Beech Anthony R.
Published: July 2011

On a semantic negative priming task designed to investigate putative inhibitory mechanisms of selective attention, obsessive–compulsive disordered (OCD) subjects were distinguished from all other sub‐categories of anxiety disorder (OAD). OCD subjects failed to show any priming effects in the repetition priming condition and exhibited facilitation in the semantic priming condition (i.e. shorter reaction times to previously ignored stimuli). OAD subjects demonstrated negative priming (i.e. longer reaction times to previously ignored stimuli) in both experimental conditions. These results are interpreted in terms of reduced cognitive inhibition in OCD and the implications of this hypothesis are discussed. Parallels are also drawn with previous studies regarding the results of high schizotypes and schizophrenic subjects using negative priming tasks.
Correlates of everyday memory among residents of Part III homes
Authors: Cockburn Janet , Smith Philip T.
Published: July 2011

Performance on the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) of 43 residents of Part III homes was compared with performance on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and the National Adult Reading Test (NART). Health, medication, self‐care and social activity were also measured. Results show that although Raven's score was the best predictor of memory test performance, it had a high refusal rate. Age was not a significant predictor of overall memory test score but results were complicated by age of entry into Part III, with older people performing better on some items. Medication, in particular drugs acting on the central nervous system, enhanced performance on some items.
The relationship between Beck's concepts of sociotropy and autonomy and the NEO‐Personality Inventory
Authors: Cappeliez P.
Published: July 2011

Beck (1983) proposed that two personality dimensions, sociotropy and autonomy, represent vulnerability factors for depression. This study assesses the relations between sociotropy/autonomy (Sociotropy/Autonomy scale) and five personality dimensions, i.e. neuroticism, extraversion, openness to experience, agreeableness, and conscientiousness (NEO‐Personality Inventory). Sociotropy was related positively to neuroticism and negatively to openness to experience. Autonomy was positively associated with conscientiousness.
Intelligence, previous convictions and interrogative suggestibility: A path analysis of alleged false‐confession cases
Authors: Sharrock Robert , Gudjonsson Gisli H.
Published: July 2011

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between interrogative suggestibility and previous convictions among 108 defendants in criminal trials, using a path analysis technique. It was hypothesized that previous convictions, which may provide defendants with interrogative experiences, would correlate negatively with ‘shift’ as measured by the Gudjonsson Suggestibility Scale (Gudjonsson, 1984a), after intelligence and memory had been controlled for. The hypothesis was partially confirmed and the theoretical and practical implications of the findings are discussed.
Crisis support in the aftermath of disaster: A longitudinal perspective
Authors: Joseph Stephen , Yule William , Williams Ruth , Andrews Bernice
Published: July 2011

Crisis support was assessed over an 18‐month period with survivors of the Jupiter cruise ship disaster. It was found that the support received from family and friends decreased significantly over time. In addition, higher crisis support in the immediate aftermath was found to predict less post‐traumatic symptomatology at a later period. The results are thought to have implications for the assessment and treatment of survivors at high risk of disturbance.