Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionism as Mediators of Adult Attachment Styles and Depression,Hopelessness, and Life Satisfaction

This study examined the relationships between adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, anxious and avoidant adult attachment styles, depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction among a sample of 180 undergraduate students. Maladaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between both forms of adult attachment and depression, hopelessness, and life satisfaction. Adaptive perfectionism mediated the relationship between avoidant adult attachment and hopelessness and life satisfaction. Implications for counselors and future research directions are discussed.     

Identification of Developmentally Appropriate Screening Items for Disruptive Behavior Problems in Preschoolers

Screening preschool-aged children for disruptive behavior disorders is a key step in early intervention. The study goal was to identify screening items with excellent measurement properties at sub-clinical to clinical levels of disruptive behavior problems within the developmental context of preschool-aged children. Parents/caregivers of preschool-aged children (N?=?900) were recruited from four pediatric primary care settings. Participants (mean age?=?31, SD?=?8) were predominantly female (87 %), either white (55 %) or African-American (42 %), and biological parents (88 %) of the target children. In this cross-sectional survey, participants completed a sociodemographic questionnaire and two parent-report behavioral rating scales: the PSC-17 and the BPI. Item response theory analyses provided item parameter estimates and information functions for 18 externalizing subscale items, revealing their quality of measurement along the continuum of disruptive behaviors in preschool-aged children. Of 18 investigated items, 5 items measured only low levels of disruptive behaviors among preschool-aged children. The remaining 13 items measured sub-clinical to clinical levels of disruptive behavior problems (i.e., >1.5 SD); however, 5 of these items offered less information, suggesting unreliable measurement. The remaining 8 items had high discrimination and difficulty parameters, offering considerable measurement information at sub-clinical to clinical levels of disruptive behavior problems. Behaviors measured by the 8 selected parent-report items were consistent with those identified in recent efforts to distinguish developmentally typical misbehaviors from clinically concerning behaviors among preschool-aged children. These items may have clinical utility in screening young children for disruptive behavior disorders.     

Understanding emotional display rules at work and outside of work: The effects of country and gender

This study examined the long-held, but empirically untested assumption that emotional display rules at work are different from more general display rules. We examined whether the effect of context (work vs. non-work) on display rules depended on rater gender, rater country (i.e., Singapore, United States), and discrete emotion (anger, contempt, disgust, fear, sadness, and happiness). Results revealed that display rules at work involved less expressivity of emotion than did display rules outside of work for all six emotions. Further, display rules in Singapore involved less expressivity of anger, sadness, and fear than display rules in the US, with no country differences being observed for the emotions of happiness, contempt, and disgust. These results were qualified by significant country-by-gender interactions for anger, contempt, and disgust, a significant country-by-context interaction for fear, and a three-way interaction (i.e., country-by-gender-by-context) for sadness.     

Controlled trial of a minimal-intervention exercise program for middle-aged working women

Abstract

Despite potential for major benefits, middle-aged women have low levels of aerobic exercise. A 12-week minimal-intervention exercise program was evaluated with female university employees aged 40 to 61. Following pre-testing, participants were randomly assigned to exercise or wait-list control. Testing was repeated at 12, 24 and 48 weeks. Exercisers improved significantly in aerobic fitness at 12 and 24 weeks, both groups decreased resting arterial pnssurc and body composition measures, and improved in exercise knowledge. Effects, however, were not well maintained at 48 weeks. These results are comparable to those obtained fmm intensive interventions and, while modest, suggest that a threshold has been reached for the modification of physiological control systems which are important for reducing cardiovascular disease risk. Middle-aged women face major social and practical baniers to regular exercise, and the minimal-intervention approach allows for a combination of flexibility and structure which seems appropriate for this group.     

Temporal dimensions of the self-concept: Entrapped and possible selves in chronic pain

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore temporal aspects of chronic pain patients' conceptions of their selves; what they were in the past, how they were functioning at the present and what they thought about their potential and future. In-depth interviews with 21 chronic pain patients were performed and analysed. The main results of the analysis included four higher-order conceptual patterns: “the body and I”, “maintaining the consistency of past self”, the “entrapped self”, and “projected selves, defined by others”. These results are presented in a systems-oriented model illustrating the temporal dynamic between the perceived functioning self, the body and others, such as health care personnel and significant others. The mechanisms of the process of how selves are developing in the chronisation or healing process of pain are finally discussed. A clinical implication of these findings might be that with an enlarged insight of the temporal dynamic and the importance of interactive and social factors in shaping positive possible selves, health care personnel can contribute more effectively in stew-arding the chronic pain patient toward health-promotive ends and a concomitantly higher quality of life.     

Psychosocial factors associated with hiv testing amongst scottish gay men

This article describes the relationship between HIV testing and a range of psychosocial, sexual and socio-demographic variables. Trained research staff distributed a self-report questionnaire in the gay bars of Glasgow and Edinburgh, in May 2000. Questionnaires were completed by 803 men (a response rate of 78%). We present the results of both bivariate and multivariate analyses identifying key variables associated with never having had an HIV test. Thus we outline some psychosocial barriers to HIV testing. Multivariate analysis indicated that the most important factor associated with never having tested was fear of a positive result; this was particularly true for those men who reported higher levels of risky sexual conduct. We discuss the relevance of these findings in terms of presenting a psychosocial agenda which demands that stigma and the social exclusion of HIV positive people should be addressed before gay men are encouraged to seek HIV testing.     

Neuropsychological Functioning in Children with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has been associated with deficits in the areas of verbal memory and learning, executive functioning, working memory, and attention in adults. Findings have been less consistent in the few studies examining neuropsychological functioning in childhood PTSD, which are often limited by comparing children with PTSD to children without trauma histories, making it unclear whether observed neuropsychological deficits are related to trauma exposure or to PTSD symptomatology. In an ethnically diverse sample of 62 children who witnessed intimate partner violence (n = 27 PTSD+ and 35 PTSD?), children with PTSD exhibited slower and less effective learning, heightened sensitivity to interference, and impaired effect of rehearsal on memory acquisition on the California Verbal Learning Test – Children's Version, a word list learning task. Both groups performed in the below average range on measures of executive functioning, attention, and intellectual ability.     

Cognitive-behavioural Treatment of a Patient Suffering from Menière's Disease

Abstract

Vertigo and dizziness may cause considerable discomfort and feelings of uncertainty. It is no surprise that vertigo is the most disabling symptom in Menière's disease, an inner ear disorder. The other two cardinal symptoms are tinnitus and hearing impairment. In this study, one severely disabled woman was treated with a cognitive-behavioural treatment comprising, among other components, relaxation training, stabilization of gaze, cognitive restructuring and behavioural task setting. The patient responded well to the treatment, during which her vertigo attacks disappeared. During the follow-up period, she experienced vertigo attacks again, but after two booster sessions the vertigo attacks vanished for the rest of the follow-up period. The results are further discussed.     

The protective role of compassion satisfaction for therapists who work with sexual violence survivors: an application of the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions

Therapists who work with trauma survivors, such as survivors of sexual violence, can experience compassion satisfaction while experiencing negative effects of trauma work, such as secondary traumatic stress. We examined whether the negative effects of secondary traumatic stress on therapist adjustment would be buffered by compassion satisfaction and whether the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions could be applied to examine the factors (positive emotions and positive reframing) that relate to compassion satisfaction. Sixty-one therapists who work with sexual violence survivors completed measures of secondary traumatic stress, compassion satisfaction, adjustment, positive emotions and positive reframing. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses found that compassion satisfaction buffered the negative impact of secondary traumatic stress on therapist adjustment when adjustment was conceptualised as anxiety. Using non-parametric bootstrapping, we found that the relationship between greater positive emotions and greater compassion satisfaction was partially mediated by positive reframing. The findings indicate that compassion satisfaction is likely to be helpful in ameliorating the negative effects of secondary traumatic stress on anxiety in therapists who work with sexual violence survivors and that the broaden-and-build theory of positive emotions may provide a strong theoretical basis for the further examination of compassion satisfaction in trauma therapists.