Perceived Health Barriers and Health Value in Seniors: Implications for Well-Being and Mortality1

There is growing evidence to suggest that the ways in which people think about their health problems may have significant implications for psychological and physical well-being. This possibility has the greatest consequences for those groups facing health problems on a daily basis, in particular, the elderly. This study examined the role of perceived health barriers and value for health in later life. A Perceived Health Barriers (absent, present) by Health Value (low, medium, high) 2.3 factorial design was analyzed for younger and older seniors on: number of life-threatening diseases, need for health care, and life satisfaction. In addition, a longitudinal design was used to examine the joint roles of perceived health barriers (PHBs) and health value (HV) on mortality. Findings generally indicated that individuals’ PHBs and HV are associated with health-related outcomes; however, the results differed for young and old elders. Among young elders, those with PHBs and those with high HV had the most negati e profile. That is, they had more diseases, higher health care needs, and lower life satisfaction. Among older elders, the findings were more complicated in that the relationship between PHB and the outcomes depended on HV. Overall, the patterns for old elders suggest that perceived health barriers are most relevant among those with medium value for health and least relevant among those with low value for health.     

The susceptibility of the Rorschach to malingering: a critical review

Empirical studies of malingering on the Rorschach are reviewed. Results from these studies are to this point inconsistent and inconclusive. Although several indices are related to malingering in individual studies, no specific malingering pattern has been found that replicates across studies. A methodological problem specific to this literature is discussed and future research designs are recommended.     

Book Reviews

G rünbaum , A dolf . Validation in the Clinical Theory of Psychoanalysis: A Study in the Philosophy of Psychoanalysis
H ollis , J ames . The Middle Passage: From Misery to Meaning in Midlife
B ertoia , J udi . Drawings from a Dying Child: Insights into Death from a Jungian Perspective
H olt , D avid . The Psychology of Carl Jung: Essays in Application and Deconstruction     

Assisting At-Risk College Students With Attributional Retraining and Effective Teaching1

Attributional retraining appears to be an effective remedial intervention for college students. However, the potential moderating effects of student and classroom characteristics have not yet been investigated systematically. In two studies, attributional retraining was provided to low- and high-risk students, followed by a videotaped lecture presented by either an ineffective or effective instructor. Attributional retraining enhanced achievement on a lecture-based achievement test only when combined with effective teaching, improving the achievement of students who had previously performed poorly (Experiment l), and of low-achieving externals (Experiment 2). The intervention provided no advantage for previously successful students and low-achieving internals. Moreover, attributional retraining induced a more internal attribution profile in students with an external locus, and increased expectations of future success in both externals and internals, but again only when students also received effective instruction. These results suggest that contextual factors related to the classroom, such as quality of instruction, and individual differences have to be considered when developing attributional retraining programs.     

Book Reviews

F ordham , M ichael . The Making of an Analyst: A Memoir
R edfearn , J oseph . The Exploding Self: The Creative and Destructive Nuckus of the Personality
G ordon , R osemary . Bridges: Metaphor for Psychic Processes
J ackson , M urray and W illiams , P aul . Unimaginable Storms: A Search for Meaning in Psychosis
S tevens , anthony . Jung
W eissman , J udith . Of Two Minds: Poets Who Hear Voices     

Multiaxial taxonomy of fibromyalgia syndrome patients

Pain, disability, and depression are present in various degrees in patients with fibromyalgia syndrome. Cluster analysis was used in this research to ascertain the existence of subgroups of patients in a fibromyalgia sample based on these variables. Two clusters were defined: one characterized by high levels of pain, disability, and depression (n=51) and another characterized by low levels of pain, disability, and depression (n=67). Multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) confirmed differences between clusters on these health status factors and a second MANOVA revealed that the subgroup with a poorer health status reported greater passive coping, helplessness, and stress, and less satisfaction with social support, than the subgroup with better health status. Logistic regression indicated that the best discriminator of subgroup membership was helplessness. These results suggest that different approaches to patient management, particularly intervention strategies aimed at reducing helplessness, may be beneficial for patients with high levels of pain, disability, and depression.     

Propensity to Sexually Harass: An Exploration of Gender Differences

This research explored the propensity ofpredominantly white male and female college students toengage in severe forms of sexual harassment. Inaddition, this research assessed the extent to whichmales' and females' intentions to harass are based onsimilar aspects of harassment situations. Resultsindicated that males had significantly higherpropensities to harass members of the opposite sex thanfemales. Additionally, the distributions of male andfemale scores on an instrument measuring propensity toharass were significantly different. Finally, analysessuggested that males and females attended to different aspects of harassment situations. Femalesappeared to attend to the nature of the powerrelationship between the potential harasser and target,which they defined more broadly than males, whereasmales attended to the sexual aspects of thesituation, which they defined more broadly than females.These results are discussed and their implicationsconsidered.     

Compassion: An east‐west comparison

Compassion is an emotion that occupies a central position in Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy while it is often a neglected subject in contemporary western philosophy. This essay is a comparison between an Eastern view of compassion based upon Mahāyāna Buddhist perspectives and a western view of the same emotion. Certain principles found in Mahāyāna Buddhist philosophy such as the Bodhisattva Ideal, and suffering (dukkha) to name two, are explored for the information they contain about compassion. An essay by Lawrence Blum is taken as representative of a Western view (but not exclusively) and it is analyzed for its shortcomings in light of the Buddhist view. The conclusion briefly describes the value of understanding an eastern view on compassion as a means of filling the void one finds in western medical ethics discourse which focuses so heavily, and redundantly, upon issues such as patient autonomy and paternalism.     

Attributional style,attributional retraining,and inoculation against motivational deficits

College students periodically experience many challenges in pursuit of their educational goals. Such experiences can have deleterious effects on subsequent motivation and performance when they are perceived as negative. Research shows that some students who experience negative events are buffered against motivational deficits, whereas others are motivationally at-risk. Several individual difference variables have been proposed to account for such diverse reactions. A longitudinal field study that involved three phases was conducted to extend this research. Phase I examined the motivational buffering effects of academic attributional style on students' performance, motivation, and emotions. Results indicated that attributional style related to students' performance, motivation, and emotions. Specifically, students who routinely made unstable and controllable attributions for negative academic events exhibited the greatest performance and motivation compared to students who typically made stable and uncontrollable attributions. Phases II and III were designed to examine the remedial benefits of attributional retraining for different attributional styles. Findings indicated that attributional retraining influenced motivation, emotions, and course grade. These results were qualified by the interaction between attributional style, attributional retraining, and time. Findings are discussed within Weiner's (1985, 1986) attribution theory. This research was based, in part, on the first author's dissertation submitted to the Department of Psychology and the Faculty of Graduate Studies of The University of Manitoba in partial fulfillment for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy. This research was supported by a Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRCC) doctoral fellowship, a University of Manitoba doctoral fellowship, and a SSHRCC postdoctoral fellowship to the first author. In addition, the research was also supported by a SSHRCC research grant (#410911296) to the second author. The authors gratefully acknowledge the helpful comments of Bernard Weiner, Harvey Keselman, John Adair, Rodney Clifton, and Robert Altemeyer. Also appreciated was the assistance of Verena Menec and the Higher Education Research group.