应对效能：问卷的编制及理论模型的建构

对应对效能的测量研究抽取了1806名高校大学生样本,另对某戒毒机构中30人的吸毒特殊人群进行了比较研究。结构方程建模的验证性研究证实了应对效能的存在及其重要作用：应对效能区别于一般自我效能,在对躯体症状、抑郁和焦虑的作用中,以及对严重突发性事件如对可能出现的SARS的应激反应的作用中,发挥更重要的作用;应对效能发挥作用的机制表明它是一个独立的更为稳定的变量。根据应对效能的理论假设编制的量表有良好的信度与效度。其克伦巴赫α系数为0.86,分半信度0.79,相隔两个月63个被试的重测信度为0.71。探索性因素分析和验证性因素分析揭示应对效能主要由三个因素构成,即自信程度、认知水平、胜任力的知觉。问卷的聚合效度与区分效度也比较满意。30个人的吸毒者与一般正常人的比较提供了实证效度的证据,应对效能能够有效区分吸毒人群与一般正常人群。以全国大学生的样本,建立了应对效能量表的常模。     

Social anxiety and related social impairment are linked to self‐efficacy and dysfunctional coping

Thomasson, P. & Psouni, E. (2010). Social anxiety and related social impairment are linked to self‐efficacy and dysfunctional coping. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, 51, 171–178. This study investigated relationships between severity of social anxiety as well as related experiences of social impairment and self‐efficacy, social control and coping strategies. Social anxiety was regarded as a continuum ranging from mild social discomfort to totally inhibiting anxiety. Participants (N = 113, ages 19–60 years), recruited from a forum for individuals with social phobia and among university students, responded to a self‐administered questionnaire. Besides the expected association between a low sense of social control and more severe social anxiety and related social impairment, we found severity of social anxiety and related impairment to be associated with low self‐efficacy. This relationship was partly mediated by dysfunctional coping strategies. We suggest that low self‐efficacy may increase an individual’s tendency to rely on dysfunctional coping strategies for dealing with anxiety experienced in social situations. In turn, using dysfunctional coping strategies appears to exacerbate the experience of impairment from social anxiety.     

The dimensional structure of the emotional self‐efficacy scale (ESES)

This study aims to investigate the underlying dimensionality of the emotional self‐efficacy scale (ESES) and determine its relationship with measures of ability emotional intelligence (EI) (Mayer–Salovey–Caruso EI Test), trait EI (Trait EI Questionnaire), personality, and cognitive ability. Participants included 822 undergraduate students and 263 graduates already in the workplace. Analyses of the data suggested a multidimensional factor structure for the ESES. The measure was found to correlate with trait EI and showed expected correlations with personality. It did not correlate with ability EI or cognitive ability. These findings are discussed and are interpreted as offering support for the use of the ESES as a reliable measure of emotional self‐efficacy.     

Therapeutic Implications of Religious-Related Emotional Abuse

Religion can play a positive role in preventing all types of abuse. Consequently, it is often difficult to believe that religion or a particular manner of religious awareness can also be conducive to the degradation and humiliation of individuals, and that it can be maneuvered to justify abusive behavior. In this article we discuss the emotional repercussions of religious-related abuse in the family, an aspect that is rarely documented in the field of psychotherapy, but has many negative consequences. Religious-oriented emotional abuse is traceable to several levels of human functioning: the individual's internal level of experiencing themselves, the interpersonal and systemic levels, where the individual enters relationships, as well as within the framework of the individual's relationship with God.     

Changes in Attitudes Toward Religion Among Those with Mental Illness

Despite the increased attention given to the religious experiences of those with mental illness, the specific nature of the changes in religious attitudes that occur within this population remain yet unknown. In this study, 406 individuals with persistent mental illness who attended one of 13 Los Angeles County Mental Health facilities completed a demographic questionnaire, an adapted version of the Religious Coping Index, and the Symptom Checklist 90-R. Over 54% of the participants reported a change in their religious beliefs such that their faith became stronger or weaker as a result, and 66% perceived these changes to be positive in nature. Qualitative codings suggest that a constructive or destructive use of religion and the quality of one's self-image and relationship with God are the primary themes underlying these changes. Those changes that were predominantly positive were associated with less severe symptomatology and more religious coping when compared to predominantly negative changes. These findings suggest that religious attitudes may be an ongoing and dynamic part of the experience of mental illness that should be considered in the treatment and research afforded by mental health professionals.