Psychopathy screening of incarcerated juveniles: a comparison of measures

How well do brief screening measures correspond with a full-scale assessment of psychopathy among juvenile offenders? This study compared 3 independent screening measures (the Antisocial Process Screening Device [APSD] Self-Report [A. A. Caputo, P. J. Frick, & S. L. Brodsky, 1999], the APSD Staff Rating [P. J. Frick & R. D. Hare, 2001], and the Psychopathy Content Scale [D. C. Murrie & D. G. Cornell, 2000] on the Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory [T. Millon, 1993]) with the Psychopathy Checklist: Youth Version (PCL:YV; A. E. Forth, D. S. Kosson, & R. D. Hare, in press) in a sample of 117 incarcerated male juveniles. Modest correlations (.30-.49) were found between PCL:YV scores and those of the 3 screening measures, and there was moderate accuracy (67%-82%) in identifying youth who scored relatively high (> or = 25) on the PCL:YV. Although these results support the construct of adolescent psychopathy, they indicate substantial limitations in the use of psychopathy screening measures with juvenile offenders.     

A Review of: “Couple Power Therapy”

Abstract

Events of parental divorce: Stressfulness ratings by children, parents, and clinicians, by S. A. Wolchik, I. N. Sandler, S. L. Braver,&;B. S. Fogas, 1986, 14, 59-74     

Book Reviews

Abstract

Beaumont, P.B. (1993). Human resource management: Key concepts and skills. London: Sage Publications. Pp. 225. ISBN 0-8039-8815-X. £12.95.

Sims, D., Fineman, S., &; Gabriel, Y. (1993). Organizing and organizations: An introduction. London: Sage. Pp. xi + 324. £12.95.     

Spatial Training Improves Children's Mathematics Ability

We tested whether mental rotation training improved math performance in 6- to 8-year-olds. Children were pretested on a range of number and math skills. Then one group received a single session of mental rotation training using an object completion task that had previously improved spatial ability in children this age (Ehrlich, Levine, &; Goldin-Meadow, 2006 Ehrlich , S. , Levine , S. , &; Goldin-Meadow , S. ( 2006 ). The importance of gestures in children's spatial reasoning . Developmental Psychology , 42 , 1259 – 1268 .[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). The remaining children completed crossword puzzles instead. Children's posttest scores revealed that those in the spatial training group improved significantly on calculation problems. In contrast, children in the control group did not improve on any math tasks. Further analyses revealed that the spatial training group's improvement was largely due to better performance on missing term problems (e.g., 4 + ____ = 11).     

Individual Differences in Instructor Attitudes Underlying Maltreatment and Effective Mentoring in Basic Military Training

U.S. Air Force noncommissioned officers assigned to basic military training instructor (MTI) duty completed measures of attitudes previously linked to sexual harassment and sexual assault in the research literature: (a) attitudes of antipathy toward women (hostile sexism, Glick &; Fiske, 1996 Glick, P., &; Fiske, S. T. (1996). The ambivalent sexism inventory: Differentiating hostile and benevolent sexism. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 491–512. 10.1037/0022-3514.70.3.491[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), and (b) attitudes favoring authoritarian use of power. Concurrent validation against trainee evaluations of MTIs on broader criteria showed that proauthoritarian attitudes were negatively associated with ratings of MTI effectiveness in mentoring and leadership; additionally, MTIs with stronger attitudes of hostile sexism were more likely reported as engaging in maltreatment of female trainees. These initial results contribute to ongoing understanding of individual differences as relevant to improve screening for a position of authority over the lowest ranking, and potentially most vulnerable military members. Directions for future research and implications for personnel selection and broader cultural changes are discussed.     

Development of the Short Version of the Individuation Test for Emerging Adults (ITEA–S) and Its Measurement Invariance Across Slovene and U.S. Emerging Adults

In this study we developed a short version of the Individuation Test for Emerging Adults (ITEA–S) and tested its measurement invariance across Slovene and U.S. samples of emerging adults. The item reduction process resulted in retaining 21 out of 36 items. The content analysis of the retained and discarded items revealed that the ITEA–S adequately measures the 5 individuation domains (support seeking, connectedness, intrusiveness, self-reliance, and fear of disappointing the parent). In our samples, the ITEA–S demonstrated evidence for construct validity and its 5 scales showed adequate internal consistency. The scale scores were also meaningfully associated with the relevant demographic variables in both countries, as well as the three scales of the Psychological Separation Inventory (Hoffman, 1984 Hoffman, J. A. (1984). Psychological separation of late adolescents from their parents. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 170–178.[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; the Slovene sample), and the scales of the Differentiation of Self–Revised questionnaire (Skowron &; Schmitt, 2003 Skowron, E. A., &; Schmitt, T. A. (2003). Assessing interpersonal fusion: Reliability and validity of a new DSI Fusion with Others subscale. Journal of Marital and Family Therapy, 29, 209–222.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; the U.S. sample). The results of multiple group confirmatory factor analyses supported the hypothesis of full metric and partial scalar invariance for both ITEA–S forms (in relation to mother and father) across the 2 country groups.     

Gender Differences in Academic Achievement: Is Writing an Exception to the Gender Similarities Hypothesis?

The gender similarities hypothesis by J. S. Hyde (2005 Hyde, J.S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), based on large-scale reviews of studies, concludes that boys and girls are more alike than different on most psychological variables, including academic skills such as reading and math (J. S. Hyde, 2005 Hyde, J.S. (2005). The gender similarities hypothesis. American Psychologist, 60, 581–592.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). Writing is an academic skill that may be an exception. The authors investigated gender differences in academic achievement using a large, nationally stratified sample of children and adolescents ranging from ages 7–19 years (N = 2,027). Achievement data were from the conormed sample for the Kaufman intelligence and achievement tests. Multiple-indicator, multiple-cause, and multigroup mean and covariance structure models were used to test for mean differences. Girls had higher latent reading ability and higher scores on a test of math computation, but the effect sizes were consistent with the gender similarities hypothesis. Conversely, girls scored higher on spelling and written expression, with effect sizes inconsistent with the gender similarities hypothesis. The findings remained the same after controlling for cognitive ability. Girls outperform boys on tasks of writing.     

Effect of Group Identification on the Use of Attributions

Abstract

(Tomkins, S. S. The Thematic Apperception Test; the Theory and Technique of Interpretation. New York: Grune &; Stratton, 1947. Pp. 297.) Reviewed by Frederick Wyatt     

Quality of Life in the U.S. Navy: Impact on Performance and Career Continuance

Previous research has shown the importance of quality of life (QOL) for critical organizational outcomes such as the retention of U.S. Navy personnel (Wilcove, Schwerin, &; Wolosin, 2003 Wilcove, G., Schwerin, M. and Wolosin, D. 2003. An exploratory model of quality of life in the U.S. Navy.. Military Psychology, 15(2): 133–152. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and Marines (Hindelang, Schwerin, &; Farmer, 2004 Hindelang, R. L., Schwerin, M. J. and Farmer, W. L. 2004. Quality of life (QOL) in the U.S. Marine Corps: The validation of a QOL model for predicting reenlistment intentions.. Military Psychology, 16(2): 115–134. [Taylor &; Francis Online], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). These studies employed a life domains approach addressing a full range of work and non-work life needs as well as specific aspects of each life domain. In contrast, most other research exploring outcomes critical to military organizations focused only on work life needs of personnel (e.g., job satisfaction, organizational commitment, command climate). This study extends previous research by (a) including both performance and career-continuance plans of personnel as outcomes of interest, (b) exploring the contribution of an additional life need—spiritual well-being—to the measurement of QOL, and (c) examining changes in perceptions of QOL over time between 1999 and 2002 among U.S. Navy personnel. Implications of findings to military personnel, families, and manpower and personnel policy as well as future directions for research are discussed.     

Book reviews and books received

Counselling and spirituality Lyall, D. 1995 Counselling in the Pastoral and Spiritual Context Buckingham, Open University Press ISBN 0-335-19162-2 £10.99

Career counselling Seligman, L. 1994 Developmental Career Counseling and Assessment (2nd ed.) London, Sage ISBN 0-8039-5804-8 £19.95

Women's careers Walsh, W.B. &; Osipow, S.H. (Eds), 1994 Career Counseling for Women Hove, Erlbaum ISBN 0-8058-1035-8 £53.50

Crisis? what crisis? Dattilio, F.M. &; Freeman, A. (Eds), 1994 Cognitive-Behavioral Strategies in Crisis Intervention New York, Guilford ISBN 0-89862-221-2 £25.00

Guidance on research methods McLeod, J. 1994 Doing Counselling Research London, Sage ISBN 0 8039 7804 9 £10.95

Barker, C. Pistrang, N. &; Elliott, R. 1994 Research Methods in Clinical and Counselling Psychology Chichester, Wiley ISBN 0-471-93612-X £29.95

Research into creative therapies Gilroy, T. &; Lee, C. (Eds), 1995 Art and Music Therapy and Research London, Routledge ISBN 0-415-10045-3 £37.50 (hardback); £15.99 (paperback)

Treating stress Palmer, S. &; Dryden, W. 1995 Counselling for Stress Problems London, Sage ISBN 0-8039-8863-X £12.95

Breast cancer Batt, S. 1994 Patient No More: the Politics of Breast Cancer London, Scarlet Press ISBN 1-85727-167-3 £10.99

Supervision Feltham, C. &; Dryden, W. 1994 Developing Counsellor Supervision London, Sage ISBN 0-8039-8939-3 £9.95     

Empathizing and Systemizing (Un)justified Mediated Violence: Psychophysiological Indicators of Emotional Response

This article examines individual variability in empathizing and systemizing abilities (Baron-Cohen, 2003 Baron-Cohen, S. (2003). The essential difference: Men, women and the extreme male brain. London, UK: Penguin. [Google Scholar], 2009 Baron-Cohen, S. (2009). Autism: The empathizing &; systemizing (E–S) theory. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1156, 68–80.[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) on emotional responses to mediated violence. It is predicted that these abilities influence feelings of distress and enjoyment while processing violent media and that they interact with the motives for aggressive behavior—whether the violence was justified or not. Psychophysiological measures of negative and positive valence activation and arousal were recorded for 90 participants while they were exposed to fourteen full-motion film clips that contained violence that was either justified or not by the narrative. Results show unjustified content led to greater physiological arousal and greater negative valence activation overall and to a significantly greater extent in highly empathetic viewers. Advantages of employing the empathizing—systemizing theory to mediated violence research are discussed.     

Assessing autobiographical memory: the web-based autobiographical Implicit Association Test

By assessing the association strength with TRUE and FALSE, the autobiographical Implicit Association Test (aIAT) [Sartori, G., Agosta, S., Zogmaister, C., Ferrara, S. D., &; Castiello, U. (2008). How to accurately detect autobiographical events. Psychological Science, 19, 772–780. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02156.x] aims to determine which of two contrasting statements is true. To efficiently run well-powered aIAT experiments, we propose a web-based aIAT (web-aIAT). Experiment 1 (n?=?522) is a web-based replication study of the first published aIAT study [Sartori, G., Agosta, S., Zogmaister, C., Ferrara, S. D., &; Castiello, U. (2008). How to accurately detect autobiographical events. Psychological Science, 19, 772–780. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.2008.02156.x; Experiment 1]. We conclude that the replication was successful as the web-based aIAT could accurately detect which of two playing cards participants chose (AUC?=?.88; Hit rate?=?81%). In Experiment 2 (n?=?424), we investigated whether the use of affirmative versus negative sentences may partly explain the variability in aIAT accuracy findings. The aIAT could detect the chosen card when using affirmative (AUC?=?.90; Hit rate?=?81%), but not when using negative sentences (AUC?=?.60; Hit rate?=?53%). The web-based aIAT seems to be a valuable tool to facilitate aIAT research and may help to further identify moderators of the test’s accuracy.     

Immediate Psychological Impact of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill: Symptoms of PTSD and Coping Skills

Five hundred eighty-eight participants completed the Short Post Traumatic Stress Disorder Rating Interview (SPRINT; Connor &; Davidson, 2001 Connor, K. and Davidson, J. 2001. SPRINT: A brief global assessment of post-traumatic stress disorder. International Clinical Psychopharmacology, 16(5): 279–284. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the Brief COPE (Carver, 1997 Carver, C. S. 1997. You want to measure coping but your protocol's too long: Consider the Brief COPE. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 4(1): 92–100. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) to determine the psychological impacts and coping styles of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill on Gulf Coast residents. Participants were divided into at-risk and nonrisk groups based on their occupations. Results indicated that 28% of the respondents scored above the SPRINT cutoff score, indicating significant levels of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms. Furthermore, the Brief COPE results revealed that the at-risk group showed a negative correlation between active coping and the level of PTSD-related symptoms. The at-risk respondents also showed negative correlations of PTSD-related symptoms with coping strategies such as acceptance, planning, positive reframing, humor, and religion. Future research directions are also discussed.     

Using PPT to Analyze Suboptimal Human–Automation Performance

Diagnostic automation aids are designed to improve human performance by increasing accuracy in event detection tasks. However, human–automation performance has frequently fallen short of expectations, particularly when the aid is highly reliable. In those cases, human–automation performance is often suboptimal, in that a human being augmented with a diagnostic aid does more poorly than the automation itself. Previously, there have been only ambiguous explanations for why this occurs, with few suggestions on how to effectively eliminate suboptimal performance. Fortunately, with the advent of a new general theory of task performance, termed Potential Performance Theory (PPT) by D. Trafimow and S. Rice (2008 Trafimow, D. and Rice, S. 2008. Potential Performance Theory: A general theory of task performance applied to morality. Psychological Review, 115(2): 447–462. [Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; 2009), one can now determine exactly why suboptimal performance occurs. Results from the present study reveal that inconsistency is the culprit, rather than just poor strategy selection. Furthermore, PPT allows one to determine exactly how much of the performance decrement is because of inconsistency.     

Personality Assessment: A Competency–Capability Perspective

This article begins by reviewing the proficiency of personality assessment in the context of the competencies movement, which has dominated health service psychology in recent years. It examines the value of including a capability framework for advancing this proficiency and enhancing the quality of personality assessments, including Therapeutic Assessment (Finn &; Tonsager, 1997 Finn, S. E., &; Tonsager, M. E. (1997). Information-gathering and therapeutic models of assessment: Complementary paradigms. Psychological Assessment, 9, 374–385. doi:10.1037//1040-3590.9.4.374[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), that include a personality assessment component. This hybrid competency–capability framework is used to set the stage for the conduct of personality assessments in a variety of contexts and for the optimal training of personality assessment. Future directions are offered in terms of ways psychologists can strengthen their social contract with the public and offer a broader array of personality assessments in more diverse contexts and by individuals who are both competent and capable.     

A Review of “A Dictionary of Philosophy of Religion”

ABSTRACT

HOLMAN OLD TESTAMENT COMMENTARY: EXODUS, LEVITICUS, NUMBERS. Glen S. Martin. Nashville, TN: Broadman &; Holman Publishers, 2002, 387 pp., $19.99. Reviewed by Gregg Watson.

THE WESTMINSTER DICTIONARY OF NEW TESTAMENT AND EARLY CHRISTIAN LITERATURE AND RHETORIC. David E. Aune. Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press, 2003, xii, 595 pp., ISBN: 0-664-21917-9, $49.95. Reviewed by Iren L. Snavely, Jr.

ENCYCLOPEDIA OF RELIGION AND WAR, Routledge Encyclopedias of Religion and Society Series. Edited by Gabriel Palmer-Fernandez. New York &; London: Routledge, 2004, 512 pp., 33 b/w illustrations, ISBN: 0-415-94246-2, $125.00. Reviewed by Al Vara.

READING IS BELIEVING: THE CHRISTIAN FAITH THROUGH LITERATURE AND FILM. David S. Cunningham. Grand Rapids, MI: Brazos Press, 2002, 237 pp., $18.99. Reviewed by Robert F. Darden III.

UNDERSTANDING THE HADITH: THE SACRED TRADITIONS OF ISLAM. Ram Swarup. Amherst, NY: Prometheus Books, 2002, 258 pp., $22.00. Reviewed by Jeannie Colson.

AN INDEX TO ENGLISH PERIODICAL LITERATURE ON THE OLD TESTAMENT AND ANCIENT NEAR EASTERN STUDIES, Vol. VIII, ATLA Bibliography Series, 21. Compiled and edited by William G. Hupper. Lanham, MD and London: The American Theological Library Association, and The Scarecrow Press, 1999, 483 pp., $70.00. Reviewed by John Dickason.

BIOGRAPHICAL DICTIONARY OF EVANGELICALS. Editor: Timothy Larsen; Consulting Editors: David Bebbington and Mark Noll. Leicester, England and Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2003, 816 pp., $45.00. Reviewed by J. Michael Garrett.

LOGOS BIBLE SOFTWARE SERIES X-SCHOLAR'S LIBRARY (QB). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, 2004, $599.95, CDROM or DVD. Reviewed by Jason D. Baker.     

Processing of musical structure by high-functioning adolescents with autism spectrum disorders

Enhanced pitch perception and memory have been cited as evidence of a local processing bias in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). This bias is argued to account for enhanced perceptual functioning (Mottron &; Burack, 2001 Mottron, L. and Burack, J. A. 2001. “Enhanced perceptual functioning in the development of autism”. In The development of autism: Perspectives from theory to research, Edited by: Burack, J. A., Charman, T., Yirmiya, N. and Zelazo, P. R. 131–147. Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.  [Google Scholar]; Mottron, Dawson, Soulières, Hubert, &; Burack, 2006 Mottron, L., Dawson, M., Soulières, I., Hubert, B. and Burack, J. 2006. Enhanced perceptual functioning in autism: An update, and eight principles of autistic perception. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1): 27–43. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0040-7[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and central coherence theories of ASD (Frith, 1989 Frith, U. 1989. Autism: Explaining the enigma, Oxford: United Kingdom: Blackwell.  [Google Scholar]; Happé &; Frith, 2006 Happé, F. and Frith, U. 2006. The weak coherence account: Detail-focused cognitive style in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 36(1): 5–25. doi:10.1007/s10803-005-0039-0[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). A local processing bias confers a different cognitive style to individuals with ASD (Happé, 1999 Happé, F. 1999. Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(6): 216–222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]), which accounts in part for their good visuospatial and visuoconstructive skills. Here, we present analogues in the auditory domain, audiotemporal or audioconstructive processing, which we assess using a novel experimental task: a musical puzzle. This task evaluates the ability of individuals with ASD to process temporal sequences of musical events as well as various elements of musical structure and thus indexes their ability to employ a global processing style. Musical structures created and replicated by children and adolescents with ASD (10–19 years old) and typically developing children and adolescents (7–17 years old) were found to be similar in global coherence. Presenting a musical template for reference increased accuracy equally for both groups, with performance associated to performance IQ and short-term auditory memory. The overall pattern of performance was similar for both groups; some puzzles were easier than others and this was the case for both groups. Task performance was further found to be correlated with the ability to perceive musical emotions, more so for typically developing participants. Findings are discussed in light of the empathizing-systemizing theory of ASD (Baron-Cohen, 2009 Baron-Cohen, S. 2009. Autism: The Empathizing-Systemizing (E-S) Theory. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1156: 68–80. doi:10.1111/j.1749-6632.2009.04467.x[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]) and the importance of describing the strengths of individuals with ASD (Happé, 1999 Happé, F. 1999. Autism: Cognitive deficit or cognitive style?. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3(6): 216–222. doi:10.1016/S1364-6613(99)01318-2[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]; Heaton, 2009 Heaton, P. 2009. Assessing musical skills in autistic children who are not savants. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society Biological Sciences, 364: 1443–1447. doi:10.1098/rstb.2008.0327[Crossref], [PubMed], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]).     

The Effect of the Accountability Variables of Responsibility,Openness, and Answerability on Authentic Leadership

One salient aspect of authentic leadership is the possibility that it can be developed (Walumbwa, Avolio, Gardner, Wernsing, &; Peterson, 2008 Walumbwa, F. O., Avolio, B. J., Gardner, W. L., Wernsing, T. S., &; Peterson, S. J. (2008). Authentic leadership: Development and validation of a theory-based measure. Journal of Management, 34(1), 89–126. doi:10.1177/0149206307308913[Crossref], [Web of Science ®] , [Google Scholar]). However, the relative paucity of research on authentic leadership as a dependent variable needs to be addressed. The purpose of this cross-sectional quantitative study is to examine the three factors of accountability: (a) responsibility, (b) openness, and (c) answerability (Wood &; Winston, 2007 Wood, J. A., &; Winston, B. E. (2007). Development of three scales to measure leader accountability. Leadership &; Organization Development Journal, 28(2), 167–185. doi:10.1108/01437730710726859[Crossref] , [Google Scholar]) as antecedents to authentic leadership. Using survey results from a sample of full-time employees at six faith-based institutions of higher education in the United States, a predictive relationship was investigated through hierarchical regression analysis. The results indicated that the variables of responsibility, openness, and answerability predict the perception of authentic leadership.