Rebound or Resignation: Developing a Predictive Model of Return to Subjective Wellbeing Set-Point

Though subjective wellbeing (SWB) is generally stable and consistent over time, it can fall below its set-point in response to adverse life events. However, deviations from set-point levels are usually only temporary, as homeostatic processes operate to return SWB to its normal state. Given that income and close interpersonal relationships have been proposed as powerful external resources that are coincident with higher SWB, access to these resources may be an important predictor of whether or not a person is likely to recover their SWB following a departure from their set-point. Under the guiding framework of SWB Homeostasis Theory, this study considers whether access to a higher income and a committed partner can predict whether people who score lower than normal for SWB at baseline will return to normal set-point levels of SWB (rebound) or remain below the normal range (resigned) at follow-up. Participants were 733 people (53.3 % female) from the Australian Unity Longitudinal Wellbeing Study who ranged in age from 20 to 92 years (M = 59.65 years; SD = 13.15). Logistic regression analyses revealed that participants’ demographic characteristics were poor predictors of whether they rebounded or resigned. Consistent with homeostasis theory, the extent of departure from the proposed normal SWB set-point at baseline was significantly associated with rebound or resignation at time 2. These findings have implications for the way that SWB measures can be used in professional practice to identify people who are particularly vulnerable to depression and to guide the provision of appropriate and effective therapeutic interventions.     

Humility,stressful life events,and psychological well-being: Findings from the landmark spirituality and health survey

A growing body of research suggests that people who are more humble tend to enjoy better physical and mental health than individuals who are less humble. The next step in moving this literature forward involves explaining and empirically demonstrating how the potentially beneficial effects of humility arise. The purpose of this study is to address this issue by seeing whether humility buffers the effects of stressful life events on four measures of well-being: happiness, life satisfaction, depressed affect, and generalized anxiety disorder. Data from a new nationwide survey (N = 3010) suggest that the magnitude of the negative relationship between stressful life events and all four measures of well-being is reduced among people who are more humble. The theoretical implications of these findings are discussed.     

Evaluation of early relational disturbance in high-risk populations: Borderline personality disorder features,maternal mental state,and observed interaction

Despite the longstanding theoretical association in the attachment literature between maternal trauma history and disturbances in the mother–infant interaction, few studies have investigated mechanisms of transmission of traumatogenic relational patterns in high-risk mother–infant dyads. This study investigated interrelationships among maternal trauma history, distorted maternal representations (DMRs, i.e. disturbed thoughts and feelings about the infant and self-as-parent), maternal mentalisation (i.e. capacity to conceive of self and other's intentions in terms of mental states including thoughts, feelings, and desires), and quality of interaction in a clinical sample of mothers with Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD) features and their infants (N = 61). Measures used included the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire, Parent Development Interview, Mother–Infant Relationship Scale, Borderline Symptom Checklist-23, and the Emotional Availability Scales. The results indicated BPD features mediated the relationship between maternal trauma history and DMRs predicting disturbance in interaction. In addition, analyses showed that maternal mentalisation had a buffering effect between DMRs and maternal non-hostility and yet the severity of BPD features moderated the relationship between mentalisation and DMRs. The findings suggest postpartum borderline pathology may adversely impact the experience of being a parent for women with a relational trauma history including deficits in mentalisation (i.e. hypermentalising) and disturbances in the mother–infant interaction. Implications for research and clinical practice are discussed.     

Attributing Problem-Solving to God,Receiving Social Support,and Stress-Moderation

This research note explores the stress-moderating effects of attributing a problem-solving role to God among a nationwide sample of 2,260 Americans. Specifically, the ways in which the perception of “God-as-a-problem-solver” moderates stress is explored for Americans reporting low and high levels of social support from other people. Within a model that interacts two moderators (i.e., a moderated moderation analysis), two predictions are tested that extend from social support and sense of control frameworks. Consistent with one prediction, viewing God-as-a-problem-solver had a stress-buffering effect (i.e., a reduction of the negative impact of life stressors on a depressive symptomology outcome measure) among those receiving low social support. Consistent with a second prediction, viewing God-as-a-problem-solver served as a stress-exacerbator among those already receiving high levels of social support. Findings suggest that the optimal count of supportive sets of entities (be it God or other people) is no fewer or no more than one.     

A note on the geometric interpretation of the EM algorithm in estimating item characteristics and student abilities

This note uses the EM-algorithm in an item response model as an illustration of a general method of parameter estimation, which geometrically can be described as an alternating projection method. The research was initiated by a series of lectures on alternating projection methods given by Imre Csiszar in 1993 at Stanford University where the first author was a graduate student.     

Counselling in primary care: a review of the practice evidence

This paper describes the level of mental health problems that are encountered in primary health care. The limitations of using randomised control trials (RCTs) in evaluating effectiveness of psychological therapies in primary health care are described. Although the RCT may be useful in evaluating interventions in highly controlled situations, its use in evaluating clinically representative service delivery research is limited. A three-stage model of psychological therapies research is described to show that distinct stages require different methodologies in order to evaluate them, and this model is used to structure the review. The literature on research carried out in more naturalistic circumstances is then reviewed. Evaluating psychological interventions in this way shows there is considerable evidence that psychological therapies are effective in a number of ways in a primary care setting. The naturalistic studies that are more typical of clinical practice support the use of psychological interventions. The theme of the grey literature is almost entirely positive from the point-of-view of patients and GPs alike. However, there is considerable diversity in the sophistication of the methodology of the latter studies. Some were comprehensive evaluations, while others were more akin to audit. A major shortcoming is that few described their qualitative methodology. This said, the themes arising from the reports are very consistent and, had they been supported by a more robust qualitative methodology, would have added even more support, financially and clinically, for the arguments for counselling provision in primary health care. The level of referred clients' distress, measured by a variety of measures, was shown to be moderate to severe and similar to the level of patients referred to Community Mental Health Teams (CMHTs). When they were measured, there was a considerable reduction in subsequent psychiatric symptoms.     

Trait emotional intelligence: psychometric investigation with reference to established trait taxonomies

This paper sets out the theoretical foundation of emotional intelligence (EI) as a constellation of traits and self‐perceived abilities. The discriminant validity of trait EI is explored in two studies. In study 1 (N = 227), the psychometric properties of the BarOn Emotional Quotient inventory were scrutinized through confirmatory factor analysis and the measure was found to be unifactorial. When the EQ‐i was examined concurrently with the Eysenck Personality Profiler, a clear trait EI factor emerged in Eysenckian factor space. In study 2 (N = 166), a modified version of the EQ‐i was examined concurrently with the NEO PI‐R and a truncated trait EI factor was isolated within the Five‐Factor Model. Results are discussed with explicit reference to established personality models and it is concluded that trait EI can be conceptualized as a distinct composite construct at the primary level of hierarchical trait structures. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Depressive symptoms among women employed outside the home

Researchers who attempt to explain why paid employment is a source of psychological distress for some women must consider how a number of factors in the work and nonoccupational environments influence a woman's reaction to employment outside the home. We examined four aspects of the job that may be a source of distress for working women: job dissatisfaction, pay dissatisfaction, commitment to the work role, and full versus part-time employment. Of these, pay dissatisfaction and commitment to the work role emerged as significant predictors of depressive symptoms. With regard to home-related roles, neither help with housework nor the presence of young children in the home exerted a significant direct effect on psychological distress. Young children at home did, however, have a significant interaction effect with a woman's sex role beliefs. Finally, the presence of a conflict between the work and home roles was also a significant predictor of depression.