Interaction Effects between Maternal Lifetime Depressive/Anxiety Disorders and Correlates of Children��s Externalizing Symptoms

We investigated the interaction effects between mother??s lifetime depressive/anxiety disorders and psychosocial correlates of 6 to 11 year-old children??s self-reported externalizing symptoms in the Quebec Child Mental Health Survey. A representative subsample of 1,490 Quebec children aged 6 to 11 years was selected from the original sample. We conducted multiple linear regression analyses using externalizing symptoms as reported by children through the Dominic questionnaire and multiple child, family and socioeconomic characteristics. Two variables interacted significantly with mother??s lifetime depressive/anxiety disorders to predict 6 to 11 year-old children??s self-reported externalizing symptoms: physical/sexual abuse and mother??s caring behaviours. Results underline the main contribution of mother-child relationship and stressful events in the association between mother??s lifetime depressive/anxiety disorders and children??s externalizing symptoms. It is suggested to develop preventive intervention programs oriented towards children of lifetime depressed/anxious parents who also report parent-child relational difficulties.     

Feeling safe at work: Development and validation of the Psychological Safety Inventory

Psychological safety, defined as perceptions that an individual within a team is supported and feels safe to take interpersonal risks, voice opinions, and share ideas, is vital for organizational effectiveness. However, there is no consensus on how workplace psychological safety should be measured. We developed the Psychological Safety Inventory (PSI) in response to organizational needs to accurately assess psychological safety. A 70-item version of the PSI was administered to 497 employees from Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom. Based on factor analytic findings, we reduced the preliminary PSI to a 30-item, five-factor scale. The PSI showed high reliability and correlated as anticipated with convergent measures. Overall, the PSI is a valid and reliable measure of workplace psychological safety.     

Factor structure of the SCL-90-R: is there one?

A review of the literature on the factor structure of the Symptom Check List-90-R (SCL-90-R) and its precursors makes evident the many problems inherent in this clinical assessment tool as a measure of independent dimensions of symptom distress, particularly in psychiatric patients. The many versions of the Symptom Check List are evaluated on several criteria (e.g., factor stability, factor loadings, proportion of variance, etc.). It is concluded that interpreting nine dimensions for clinical purposes is highly questionable. It is perhaps still a better measure of general distress as was intended in its original version approximately three decades ago.     

Escalating commitment to a relationship: The sexual harassment trap

Divergent perceptions of sexual harassment were explored in a case of a perpetrator's gradual sexual advancements and a target's escalating commitment to their relationship. Participants were 60 male and 60 female undergraduate students from a private midwestern university. Approximately 7% were minority members. Males and females interpreted the male perpetrator's actions differently, particularly when the female target made prior commitments to a friendly relationship. Specifically, males' ratings of sexual harassment decreased when the female target participated in increasingly informal, friendly interactions. Females ratings remained relatively constant despite the target's reactions. Attributions and reactions to the harassment also were influenced. Interestingly, as the target's commitment increased, both males and females reported a lower likelihood that the target would seek help.This study was part of the second author's master's thesis at Drake University. An earlier version of the study was presented at the 6th Annual Conference of the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology, St. Louis, Missouri, April 1991. The authors would like to thank John Binning, Michael Ford, William Klipec, Paula Radefeld, and LaVerne Rogers for their contributions to this research.     

Use of population-specific parameters in generating WAIS-R short forms

One method of increasing the validity of WAIS-R short forms in estimating the standard WAIS-R Full Scale IQ is by using population-specific parameters in generating WAIS-R short forms. Three studies were conducted to evaluate (1) the contribution of age-scaled scores in generating accurate short-form Full Scale IQ, (2) the psychometric properties (validity and reliability) of WAIS-R subtests with a heterogeneous psychiatric population and subsequent development of short forms based on these properties, and (3) the validity of these short forms with respect to Silverstein's (1982) and Cyr and Brooker's (1984) 2- and 4-subtest combinations. Analyses showed (1) the use of age-scaled scores did not increase validity, (2) different subtest combinations were generated based on the population-specific parameters, and (3) increases in validity occurred for some short forms derived from the clinical sample. Despite increases in validity, clinicians and researchers are cautioned about the use of short forms in clinical practice.     

Childhood Conduct Problems Trajectories are Associated with Distinct Antisocial Process Screening Device Dimensions

Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment - There is ongoing debate regarding whether psychopathy dimensions (i.e., narcissism, callous-unemotional [CU] traits, and impulsivity) can be...     

En quoi et pourquoi les hommes et les femmes sont-ils affectés différemment par la séparation conjugale ?

This article focuses on the consequences of divorce for both women and men and also for the reasons underlying those consequences. The consequences on psychological health, physical health, economical status, involvement with the child and relationship between ex-spouses are addressed as well as some problems that might spring from divorce such as Parental Alienation. Also, models allowing to explain the adaptation of adults to divorce are proposed and discussed. Finally, this article draws a portrait of the state of research in the field of divorce and proposed paths for further investigations.     

Meta-Analyses of the Associations Between Disinhibited Social Engagement Behaviors and Child Attachment Insecurity or Disorganization

Children with disinhibited social engagement disorder show reduced reticence with strangers, do not check back with their caregiver after venturing away, and may willingly leave with an unfamiliar adult. The recent DSM-5 has moved away from an attachment framework to understand disinhibited social engagement behavior (DSEB) due to studies indicating its presence in previously institutionalized children even after these children are adopted and show a selective, more secure attachment with their substitute caregiver (e.g. Chisholm et al., 1998). This meta-analysis aims to clarify the size of the associations between DSEB and attachment insecurity or disorganization. It also examines whether studies effect sizes differ according to various moderators (e.g., child age, type of attachment and DSEB measures). The results (k?=?24) showed that the associations between DSEB and attachment insecurity (d?=?0.48) or attachment disorganization (d?=?0.47) were of small magnitude. There were no publication biases. As for moderator analyses on both attachment insecurity and disorganization, the effect sizes in studies using DSEB observational measures (respectively d?=?0.63 and 0.57) were of moderate magnitude and stronger than those in studies not using an observational component (respectively d?=?0.28 and 0.32). Given these small-to-moderate associations, attachment can be considered a relationship process associated with DSEB, and attachment-informed interventions could be potential tools to reduce DSEB in children. Nevertheless, given the sizable unshared portion of variance between DSEB and child attachment, future studies should examine other variables related to caregiving and noncaregiving contexts to further understand DSEB.

     

Efficacy of the Health Belief Model for Predicting Intention to Pursue Genetic Testing for Colorectal Cancer

This study examined the Health Belief Model’s efficacy to predict intention to undergo genetic testing for the Colorectal Carcinoma (CRC) gene within a rural/frontier setting. Survey data were collected on 558 Southwest Montanan residents. Regression analysis revealed that perceived benefits, including affordability and satisfying curiosity, were the strongest indicators of intention to undergo genetic testing for CRC. Select consumer barriers and cues to action variables were also found to be significant predictors. Collectively the model explained approximately 36% of the variance. These preliminary findings have implications for genetic counselors, health practitioners and health care providers concerned with genetic counseling and addressing the public health issue of CRC.