Interactive scaling with individual subjects

A metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) procedure based on computer-subject interaction is developed, and an experiment designed to validate the procedure is presented. The interactive MDS system allows generalization of current MDS systems in two directions: (a) very large numbers of stimuli may be scaled; and (b) the scaling is performed with individual subjects, facilitating the investigation of individual as well as group processes. The experiment provided positive support for the interactive MDS system. Specifically, (a) individual data are amenable to meaningful interpretation, and they provide a tentative basis for quantitative investigation; and (b) grouped data provide meaningful interpretive and quantitative results which are equivalent to results from standard paired-comparisons methods.This report was supported in part by a PHS research grant, No. M-10006, from the National Institute of Mental Health, in part by a Science Development grant, No. GU-2059, from the National Science Foundation, both granted to the Psychometric Laboratory at the University of North Carolina, and in part by a PHS research grant, No. MH-16474, from the National Institute of Mental Health, Public Health Service, granted to the second author. The major portion of this research was performed while the second author was the L. L. Thurstone Distinguished Fellow at the Psychometric Laboratory of the University of North Carolina while on leave from the University of Southern California. The authors are indebted to Amnon Rapoport and Thomas S. Wallsten for their critical evaluations of an earlier version of this report. While this paper was entirely a cooperative effort on the part of both authors, the first author was primarily responsible for the algorithms, and the second for developing the mathematical model.     

Function invariant and parameter scale-free transformation methods

The parameter matrices of factor analysis and principal component analysis are arbitrary with respect to the scale of the factors or components; typically, the scale is fixed so that the factors have unit variance. Oblique transformations to optimize an objective statement of a principle such as simple structure or factor simplicity yield arbitrary solutions, unless the criterion function is invariant with respect to the scale of the factors, or the parameter matrix is scale free with respect to the factors. Criterion functions that are factor scale-free have a number of invariance characteristics, such as being equally applicable to primary pattern or reference structure matrices. A scale-invariant simple structure function of previously studied function components is defined. First and second partial derivatives are obtained, and Newton-Raphson iterations are utilized. The resulting solutions are locally optimal and subjectively pleasing.Aspects of this paper were presented at the 1970 and 1974 annual meetings, Society of Multivariate Experimental Psychology, and the 1975 annual meeting, Psychometric Society. This investigation was supported in part by a Research Scientist Development Award (K02-DA00017) and research grants (MH24149 and DA01070) from the U. S. Public Health Service. The assistance of Bonnie Barron, Sik-Yum Lee, and several extremely helpful reviewers is gratefully acknowledged.     

Problems with EM algorithms for ML factor analysis

Rubin and Thayer recently presented equations to implement maximum likelihood (ML) estimation in factor analysis via the EM algorithm. They present an example to demonstrate the efficacy of the algorithm, and propose that their recovery of multiple local maxima of the ML function “certainly should cast doubt on the general utility of second derivatives of the log likelihood as measures of precision of estimation.” It is shown here, in contrast, that these second derivatives verify that Rubin and Thayer did not find multiple local maxima as claimed. The only known maximum remains the one found by Jöreskog over a decade earlier. The standard errors obtained from the second derivatives and the Fisher information matrix thus remain appropriate where ML assumptions are met. The advantages of the EM algorithm over other algorithms for ML factor analysis remain to be demonstrated.     

Biological substrates of empathy and facial modulation of emotion: Two facets of the scientific legacy of John Lanzetta

The impact of John Lanzetta's emotion research on our understanding of the interplay between psychological and physiological processes in emotion is examined. Lanzetta's work in two areas is reviewed along with related work by others. The first area concerns the biological substrates of empathy. Here Lanzetta studied emotional contagion, and in particular the conditions under which viewing another person's emotions can cause expressive and physiological changes in the observer. The second area concerns the facial modulation of emotion. Here Lanzetta studied the capacity of voluntary facial expression to alter the physiological and subjective aspects of emotion. The article closes with a personal reflection on Lanzetta as a scientist and as a person.The author's research reviewed in this article was supported by National Institute on Aging Grant AG07476 and National Institute of Mental Health Grants MH39895 and MH50841 to Robert W. Levenson.     

Explorations of the effectiveness of a voluntary sector psychodynamic counselling service

This paper reports two studies of individual psychodynamic counselling provided by a voluntary sector service. The first study examines evidence of the effectiveness of counselling, as evaluated by the General Health Questionnaire and Personal Opinion Survey. Measures of the process of counselling indicated the improvements that clients attributed to counselling, the changes that occurred during it, and the factors that were most beneficial, as well as the approaches used by counsellors. The second study, using the CORE Outcome Measure and ratings of problem severity, found counselling to be equally effective with disadvantaged and non‐disadvantaged clients, as defined by British Department of Health criteria, but these clients differed somewhat in their perceptions of helpful aspects of counselling. Both studies also indicated predictors of positive outcome of counselling. The studies are used to illustrate some of the methodological issues around research in this area.     

As Good as GOLD: Gram–Schmidt Orthogonalization by Another Name

Generalized orthogonal linear derivative (GOLD) estimates were proposed to correct a problem of correlated estimation errors in generalized local linear approximation (GLLA). This paper shows that GOLD estimates are related to GLLA estimates by the Gram–Schmidt orthogonalization process. Analytical work suggests that GLLA estimates are derivatives of an approximating polynomial and GOLD estimates are linear combinations of these derivatives. A series of simulation studies then further investigates and tests the analytical properties derived. The first study shows that when approximating or smoothing noisy data, GLLA outperforms GOLD, but when interpolating noisy data GOLD outperforms GLLA. The second study shows that when data are not noisy, GLLA always outperforms GOLD in terms of derivative estimation. Thus, when data can be smoothed or are not noisy, GLLA is preferred whereas when they cannot then GOLD is preferred. The last studies show situations where GOLD can produce biased estimates. In spite of these possible shortcomings of GOLD to produce accurate and unbiased estimates, GOLD may still provide adequate or improved model estimation because of its orthogonal error structure. However, GOLD should not be used purely for derivative estimation because the error covariance structure is irrelevant in this case. Future research should attempt to find orthogonal polynomial derivative estimators that produce accurate and unbiased derivatives with an orthogonal error structure.     

The Effects of Work-Related and Boundary-Related Stress on the Emotional and Physical Health Status of Ordained Clergy

This research is the second component of a three-part series that explores the relationship between stress and health in the clerical profession. The first article (Wells, Journal of Religion and Health 51(1):215–30, 2012) determined that there is an association between two different sources of stress in the clerical profession (work-related stress and boundary-related stress). This research explores the association between these two sources of stress and two different measures of health (emotional health and physical health). Utilizing the same dataset from the previous research (Wells, Journal of Religion and Health 51(1):215–30, 2012), and simple and multiple regression, this research determined that there is a positive association between the two sources of stress (work-related stress and boundary-related stress) and the two measures of health (physical health and emotional health). African-American and obese clergy exhibited lower levels of physical health as stress increased. Clergy with children and those with higher levels of education exhibited lower levels of emotional health as stress increased. African-American clergy consistently exhibited higher levels of emotional health than their White colleagues did. Finally, age and length of time in ministry are associated with higher levels of emotional health but lower physical health status.     

Structural equation models with continuous and polytomous variables

A two-stage procedure is developed for analyzing structural equation models with continuous and polytomous variables. At the first stage, the maximum likelihood estimates of the thresholds, polychoric covariances and variances, and polyserial covariances are simultaneously obtained with the help of an appropriate transformation that significantly simplifies the computation. An asymptotic covariance matrix of the estiates is also computed. At the second stage, the parameters in the structural covariance model are obtained via the generalized least squares approach. Basic statistical properties of the estimates are derived and some illustrative examples and a small simulation study are reported.This research was supported in part by a research grant DA01070 from the U. S. Public Health Service. We are indebted to several referees and the editor for very valuable comments and suggestions for improvement of this paper. The computing assistance of King-Hong Leung and Man-Lai Tang is also gratefully acknowledged.     

Analyses of changes in verbal behavior following a cognitive-behavioral treatment for impulsivity

Analyses were conducted to examine further the results of a cognitive-behavioral treatment for impulsivity in emotionally disturbed children (Kendall & Finch, 1978). The verbal behaviors of treated impulsive children, impulsive controls, and reflective children, recorded during MFF performance at pretreatment, posttreatment, and follow-up, were examined. The results indicated nonsignificant effects for several specific codes; however, the impulsive children that had received treatment evidenced a significant increase in total on-task verbal behavior at posttreatment. Discussion includes a consideration of these findings in regard to the efficacy of the cognitive-behavioral treatment and the need for research on the assessment of cognitive variables in children.This research was supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health (l F31 MH 05270-01) to the first author and from Virginia Mental Health Fund to the second author. Preparation of this report was also supported by a research grant from the Graduate School of the University of Minnesota (440-0160-4909-02). Thanks are extended to Donald MacEachern for his consultation on data analysis, to Steven D. Hollon and Terry F. Pechacek for consultation on computer analyses, and to Mary D. and Priscilla H. for coding the verbal data.     

Classical and bayesian inference in certain latency processes

Certain aspects of point estimation are treated for two kinds of exponential latency processes. The first unitary process is represented by a simple exponential density in which the rate parameter may be viewed as an unknown constant or as a random variable. If a second, slower exponential process is grafted onto the first, there results a postulated two-component latency between stimulus and response. Moments estimators are derived for the two parameters of this latter density, and the relevance of the second parameter to decision time is emphasized.This research was supported in part by National Institutes of Health Grant MH-04439-05. The author would like to express his appreciation to James Baker of Oregon Research Institute for certain helpful comments concerning aspects of this work.     

Improving the efficiency and effectiveness of interactively selected MDS data designs

Two revisions of interactive MDS data selection procedures are presented. One revision improves the estimates of the MDS parameters by adding an analysis of the volume of the spatial coordinates of stimuli. Frames of stimuli augmented by an analysis of volume should more nearly surround the swarm of stimulus points. The second revision, based on randomly ordering the list of stimuli, permits more efficient data designs to be selected by reducing the number of judgments collected but never analyzed.This investigation was supported in part by a Research Scientist Development Award (KO2-DA00017), research grants (DA01070 and MH24149) from the U.S. Public Health Service, and a research and instruction award (IUC 2-47622-1990) from the University of California.     

Sex differences in the clinical expression of depression

Recent epidemiological studies have established that the lifetime prevalence rate of depression is greater in women than in men. It was the purpose of the present study to investigate the possibility that the true prevalence of male depression is underestimated because males have learned through social rejection that it is inappropriate for them to openly express depressive feelings. Consistent with this notion that men only express depressive symptoms consonant with their traditional male sex role, a discriminant function analysis performed on the self-reported symptomatology of depressed patients revealed that men were more likely to report sex role appropriate symptoms such as work-related problems and somatic concerns. Since other self-presentational concerns may contribute to the sex difference in depression, it is suggested that future research directly examine the ways in which men experience and express symptoms of depression.An earlier draft of this article was presented at the 55th Annual Meeting of the Eastern Psychological Association, Baltimore, Maryland, April 1984. This research was supported in part by a grant from the Medical Research Council of Canada, awarded to the first author, and Grant No. 6606-1768-46 from the Health Services and Promotions Branch of Health and Welfare Canada, awarded to the second author. The authors would like to thank Dr. Paul Grof, Kaely Hutchinson, and the staff and patients of Hamilton Psychiatric Hospital for their help and cooperation with the project.     

The Moderating Effects of Congregational and Denominational Support on the Impact of Stress on Clerical Emotional and Physical Health Status

This research is the third component of a three-part series that explores the relationship between stress and health in the clerical profession. The first article (Wells J Relig Health 51:215–230, 2012) determined that there is an association between two different sources of stress in the clerical profession (work-related stress and boundary-related stress). The second article (Wells Pastor Psychol 62:101–114, 2013) determined that there is an association between the two sources of stress and two differing measures of health (emotional health and physical health). This third and final article establishes congregational and denominational support as possible moderators of the effects of both sources of stress on emotional and physical health. The same dataset utilized in the two previous studies is used in this research. Simple and multiple regression are utilized. This research determined that support from both the congregation and the denomination moderates or lessens the negative effects of stress on clerical health status.     

Recommendations for Research Success: One Investigator’s Perspective

This article is a personal reflection by an investigator with over 25 years of funding from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). The article: (1) highlights research opportunities for psychologists at the NIH outside of the traditional mental health arena; (2) provides specific recommendations to individual investigators to enhance their likelihood of obtaining NIH funding; (3) specifies needed changes in psychology’s research education and training programs to prepare the next generation of psychologists for research success; and (4) asks the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers to play a lead role in both research training and advocacy. This article is based on a presentation given at the 3rd national conference of the Association of Psychologists in Academic Health Centers in May of 2007 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.     

The classification of individuals into two criterion groups on the basis of a discontinuous payoff function

An analytic method is presented for optimally classifying individuals into two subgroups on the basis of a cutting score on a test or test composite. The development assumes the test and criterion scores to be normally distributed, and the correlation surface to be bivariate normal. It is further assumed that individuals belong to the first or second sub-group depending on whether their criterion score is above or below a specified value. The predictor cutting score is determined so as to maximize the expected value of the decision procedure, taking gains and losses associated with correct and incorrect assignments into account.The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect those of the Navy Department. This research was supported in part by a grant from the National Institute of Mental Health, MH 10449-01.     

Introduction

Clinical research is now a global enterprise. However, research ethics capacity has lagged behind the growth and expansion of clinical research in low and middle income countries. To address this mismatch, the Fogarty International Center of the National Institutes of Health has created a program to fund education in research ethics. This series of articles describes the experiences of graduates from 5 nations of the University of Toronto’s Joint Centre for Bioethics International Masters of Health Science Program. The program has graduated 32 students to return to their institutions to build research ethics capacity.     

A computational procedure for tau correlation

Thetau coefficient is defined, and a computational procedure for tied ranks is described. The procedure maintains continuous computational checks, saves labor, and particularly facilitates the use oftau with large samples. It is also shown howtau correlation may be applied toQ-sorts with any shape of forced distribution or with unforced distributions.The procedure described was developed in connection with research at the Counseling Center, University of Chicago. The research is supported by a grant (PHS M 903) from the National Institute of Mental Health, of the National Institutes of Health, Public Health Service.     

Chaplaincy,Cancer, Aged Care and COVID-19

Journal of Religion and Health - Four key topics are explored in this second issue of the Journal of Religion and Health for 2022. Following a condemnation of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, (1)...     

Health-Risking Social Behaviors: Moving Forward

The National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have a long history of supporting investigator-initiated research and research training to enhance the scientific understanding of and effective interventions for a range of problems associated with youth violence. New technologies are emerging and basic research has promise for increasing our understanding of how biological factors operate in conjunction with other factors to contribute to violent behavior, psychopathology, and drug abuse. This article describes emerging areas and directions for research in this important area of public health.The views expressed are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the National Institute of Mental Health, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the National Institutes of Health, the Department of Health and Human Services, or the U.S. Government.