Creative Genius as a Personality Phenomenon: Definitions,Methods, Findings,and Issues

Genius first became the subject of scientific inquiry in the early 19th century, and it has continued to attract research interest to the present day. Although genius can be defined as either superlative intelligence or achieved eminence, this review is restricted to the latter definition, and is further confined to creative achievement. The article then describes the main methods for studying creative genius as a personality phenomenon. These methods entail three central dichotomous methodological decisions: single‐case versus multiple‐case samples, qualitative versus quantitative analyses, and direct versus indirect assessments. Next, the main empirical findings are presented with respect to both generic traits and domain‐contingent traits. There follows a brief discussion of three major issues: genetic and environmental influences, additive and multiplicative effects, and individual and situational factors. Given the intrinsic importance of the phenomenon and the many questions still unanswered, creative genius certainly deserves future treatment in personality psychology.     

A brief primer on sleep for pediatric and child clinical neuropsychologists

Sleep problems are common in the children seen by pediatric and child clinical neuropsychologists, and these problems have the potential to significantly impact the child and his or her family. All are treatable to some degree, and some respond extremely well to existing treatments. This article provides a brief overview of the impact, nature, screening, and treatment for childhood sleep problems, with a particular emphasis on issues relevant to practicing neuropsychologists.     

Development and initial validation of the medical fear survey-short version

The present investigation employs item response theory (IRT) to develop an abbreviated medical fear survey (MFS). Application of IRT analyses in study 1 (n = 931) to the original 50-item MFS resulted in a 25-item shortened version. Examination of the location parameters also resulted in a reduction of the Likert-type scaling of the MFS by removing the last response category ("terror"). The five subscales of the original MFS were highly correlated with those of the MFS-short version. The short version also displayed comparable convergent and discriminant validity with the original MFS in relation to measures of fear, disgust, and anxiety. Confirmatory factor analysis in Study 2 revealed that the five-factor structure of the MFS-short form fit the data well in U.S. (n = 283) and Dutch (n = 258) samples. The short form also had comparable convergent and discriminant validity with the original MFS in relation to domains of disgust in both samples. Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis in Study 3 demonstrated that the subscales of the short version were comparable with the original MFS in classifying participants high (n = 40) and low (n = 40) in blood/injection phobia. Last, structural equation modeling in Study 4 (n = 113) revealed that the MFS-short form demonstrated excellent convergent/discriminant validity with strong associations with injection fear and no association with spider fear. These findings suggest that the MFS-short form has considerable strengths, including decreased assessment time, while retaining sound psychometric properties.     

Developing work–family balance through conflict management*

An often‐neglected perspective is that work–family incompatibilities are not only intrapersonal role conflicts but also typically involve interpersonal conflicts. This study adopts an episodes approach and uses the theory of cooperation and competition to understand the interaction that promotes resolving work–family conflict incidents. Two‐hundred and four Chinese dual‐career parents each described a specific work–family conflict incident and responded to specific questions to code the interaction. Structural equation analyses indicated that cooperative goals facilitated constructive controversy that in turn promoted high quality resolutions, strong relationships, and confidence in the future of their work and family lives.     

Experiences of HIV-related discrimination and consequences for internalised stigma,depression and alcohol use

Objective: HIV stigma undermines health and well-being of people living with HIV (PLWH). Conceptual work on stigma mechanisms suggests that experiences of stigma or discrimination increase internalised stigma. However, not all PLWH may internalise the HIV discrimination they experience. We aimed to investigate the role of stress associated with events of HIV-related discrimination on internalised HIV stigma, as well as the downstream effects on depressive symptoms and alcohol use severity.

Design: 199 participants were recruited from an HIV clinic in the southeastern United States.

Main study measures: HIV-related discrimination was assessed using items adapted from measures of enacted HIV stigma and discrimination. Participants rated perceived stress associated with each discrimination item. Internalised HIV stigma was assessed using the internalised stigma subscale of the HIV Stigma Mechanisms Scale. Depressive symptoms were assessed with the Centre for Epidemiological Studies-Depression Index. Alcohol use severity was assessed with the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test.

Results: In serial mediation models, HIV-related discrimination was indirectly associated with both depressive symptoms and alcohol use severity through its associations with stress and internalised HIV stigma.

Conclusions: Understanding the mechanisms through which PLWH internalise HIV stigma and lead to poor health outcomes can yield clinical foci for intervention.