Publication trends in individual DSM personality disorders: 1971–2015

Growth in personality disorder research has been documented by previous authors up to 1995. The aim of the present study was to extend this by examining publications rates for individual DSM personality disorders over the period 1971–2005, and making projections to 2015 based on these data. It was found that personality disorder research has grown in absolute terms, and as a proportion of overall psychopathology research. Research output is dominated by borderline personality disorder, with strong publication rates in other conditions such as antisocial and schizotypal personality disorders. In contrast, several personality disorders such as schizoid and paranoid personality disorder have failed to attract research interest. Based on current projections, there is expected to be no research output in 2015 for schizoid personality disorder. It was found that the rate of publications for personality disorders was not influenced by the publication of the last three revisions of the DSM diagnostic criteria. Several potential explanations such as the difficulty in conducting certain types of personality disorder research, and the validity of the current DSM diagnostic taxonomy are discussed.     

Multilevel mediation analysis: The effects of omitted variables in the 1–1–1 model

Multilevel mediation analysis examines the indirect effect of an independent variable on an outcome achieved by targeting and changing an intervening variable in clustered data. We study analytically and through simulation the effects of an omitted variable at level 2 on a 1–1–1 mediation model for a randomized experiment conducted within clusters in which the treatment, mediator, and outcome are all measured at level 1. When the residuals in the equations for the mediator and the outcome variables are fully orthogonal, the two methods of calculating the indirect effect (ab, c – c′) are equivalent at the between‐ and within‐cluster levels. Omitting a variable at level 2 changes the interpretation of the indirect effect and will induce correlations between the random intercepts or random slopes. The equality of within‐cluster ab and c – c′ no longer holds. Correlation between random slopes implies that the within‐cluster indirect effect is conditional, interpretable at the grand mean level of the omitted variable.     

Report of the ACA Ethics Committee: 1994–1995

This report contains data about ethical complaints and inquiries processed by the Ethics Committee in 1994–1995. The number of complaints was substantially lower than the preceding year and there were also changes in the nature of the complaints. Most common standards called under this year's complaints had to do with dual relationships, meeting personal needs at the expense of the client, failure to terminate a counseling relationship if unable to be of assistance to the client, and violation of the responsibility to meet high ethical standards in various professional settings. This report also includes a discussion of the findings, information about the approval of the new Code of Ethics and Standards of Practice, and educational efforts undertaken by the committee.     

Report of the ACA Ethics Committee: 1993–1994

The activities of the American Counseling Association (ACA) Ethics Committee are reviewed for the year 1993–1994. Summary data of ethical complaints and formal inquiries received during the year are presented followed by a brief discussion of trends noted. Updated information about the revision of the ACA Ethical Standards and the Policies and Procedures for Processing Complaints of Ethical Violations is also provided.     

Report of the ACA Ethics Committee: 1996–1997

This report summarizes the activities of the American Counseling Association (ACA) Ethics Committee for 1996–1997. Summary data of the complaints filed and the inquiries received are presented along with a discussion of the other activities of the committee.